Mavis: Too Much and Too Little

Changing it up font-wise. Trying to see if I can get a different look going since I seem to be monopolizing our little corner of the blog universe. 

For anyone other than sisters that read this, know that there are 3 more people that are able to post here. One of them you've met (and she created the site; thank you Debbie) and the other 2 have not yet posted. I hate that I can't shake the urge to keep posting because everything I post is drivel, but I love... love, love, love blogging and can't seem to stop.

[Admitting one has a problem is the first step to curing oneself of said problem, right? Well I don't know if that's going to happen with me and my blogging obsession, but at least I've made it to Step 1.]

Worse than my fascination with posting my biz all over the webs is the compulsion to find somewhat topical photos on Google and post them here as well, to break up the text and make me giggle. There's nothing quite like a picture of a screaming baby to hammer home an otherwise bland point. 

Like, I'm pretty bored this morning.

So I search for clever photo.

Then I insert said photo:

... and instantly it's more relatable! 
So now I'm tired like this poor kid. 
"This carpet is boring. I'm just... over it."

As usual, I'm feeling chatty. A fellow sister availed me to a fantastic blog the other day and I've been obsessed with it ever since. I even read an entry out loud to my husband last night before we fell asleep. He didn't find it as amusing as I did, but at least he stayed awake long enough to listen to me read it with the enthusiasm of a TwiHard and intermittently interject with comments like, "See honey? You're not the only man who turns into a 500-degree oven at night? Isn't that awesome? Don't you feel BETTER?!?!" (Pretty sure he's never had a problem with his nighttime heatwave.)

But even more than the delightful posts about everyday life in the wonderful, wonderful Pacific Northwest, I find her fashion tutorials to be the most inspiring content. Which leads me to another admission that will hopefully set the stage for some kind of change in my life: I am a fashion coward.

Fashion is something that I have very strong opinions about.   But because I exhaust myself formulating opinions about other people's fashion all the time, most days I end up walking out of the house looking like a "before" version of a sad school teacher from TLC's "What Not to Wear." 

[ I can't even find a picture of bad office fashion on Google that does me justice. I might have to post a homegrown look. ]

[Let me think this over. ]

Okay... let's do this.

This is a "crazy" blouse and a pencil skirt. This is about as risky as wearing water wings in a toddler pool. But this is pretty standard.

<Snore>

Part of my problem is that my morning routine largely consists of being able to answer "yes" to the following very important questions:

1. Is there coffee?

2. Did I remember to put on deodorant?

3. Is there coffee?

4. Am I wearing pants?

So you can see how little emphasis is placed on being fashion-forward in my life. It's sad.

As you can imagine, this "work look" is pretty easy to achieve so I do it daily. It usually consists of 3 staple pieces - a very bland top of some sort, shoes and something to cover my butt. Either pants or a skirt. If I'm feeling extra lazy and can't even muster the mental commitment to choose 2 whole items of fabric clothing for myself, I'll wear a very non-offensive dress with no accessories.

My personal color palate is a solid mix of "don't look at me" and "back off." Black, white, neutral colors, minimal accessories... rinse, wash, repeat. 

I feel like accessories make me look like a pirate and that anything I see in a magazine won't look right on me because of my shape. So like all things I am fearful of, I choose to deal with them... not at all. Avoid, avoid, avoid.

However, because of this fab blog, I'm now re-thinking the 'pop of color.' I plan to shop during my lunch hour with the hope of finding one piece that I can easily integrate into my office wardrobe without having a panic attack. 

My next baby step will be the purchase of a fun accessory. When I am sufficiently satisfied that I can rock these items and still look like a normal person at work without being boring, I'll post a picture here.

Don't hold your breath, though. My ability to talk myself out of things is the stuff of legend. Chances are I will be in head-to-toe khaki tomorrow, but at least I'm going to try. 

And that's the most important part of the process.