Mandatory Metallica.

Happy November, my lovelies!  This is the first of three fashion features that are the result of a last minute photo shoot with Kel-Z Photography.  Kelsey is a local photographer from Ogden and we had a great time capturing some of my favorite outfits for themed posts that also bring out my random fashionista side!  Enjoy!

Well here we are. November. This week I put together my holiday card (oh ya it's true and I got a screaming good deal) and all I could muster up for the sentiment was "a whirlwind year of tears and triumphs." That, my friends sums it all up in one short sentence. However, those triumphs (plural) include this blog and my original premise and love will always be fashion. And so I begin with this fashion feature to ring in month eleven. 

Mandatory Metallica you ask? Ha! Ya! Mandatory FRICKIN Metallica. I promised last month in a previous blog post that I would tell you about my music tastes and what has helped and continues to help me on my gloomy days. When I lived in Salt Lake and while I was in therapy, I got addicted to going to the gym. I spent a LOT of time numbing reality there. Yes the exercise was good and yes the endorphines assisted me in not killing a few people, but it was still REALLLLY really hard to deal. I remember many a nights of walking out of the gym at 9:15 pm, after 3 intense hours of working out, and still sobbing in my car. So don't think you can sell me on exercise takes it all away. Yes, it does to a point but there will still be days that suck so damn bad that even 3 hours of endorphins and ya still cry. Most of those 9:15 pm departures also included a lengthy drive home to my house and that's when my zen came back a little. Zen restoration with Metallica. There is a radio station in Salt Lake called KBER FM 101.1 and every night at 9 pm they have Mandatory Metallica.  It is glorious and it soon became one of the most therapeutic 15 minutes of my day! I would crank the metal and drive home and breathe. In and out. In and out. And then I would get home, sit in my driveway all crustified from sweating for 3 hours and crying in my car and I would let the song finish. And then I would go back to my reality and go to bed.

So, when I decided to have fashion features for Novemebr I knew that I needed to share this story with you because it has truly been my happy place. There is just something that gets me deep down inside when "Whiskey In a Jar" comes on the radio and I LOVE IT. LOVE. IT

My look in these photos is a must-have look for me in the fall. I spend all of my days during the week dressing up so when I get home on the weekends I want chill, easy, edgy and comfy, BUT! I don't want to look like I rolled out of bed in the trailer park. The t-shirt and cardigan look is so much fun. This outfit was purchased from the following places:

Cardigan, shoes & scarf: Chic Style - South Ogden, UT

Tee shirt: Hot Topic - Ogden, UT

Capris: Macy*s - Salt Lake City, UT

Another awesome touch to this outfit is my jewelry. You will notice a particularly stunning turquoise ring. That ring is a one-of-a-kind design made just for me by a talented local artist called Taveen Jewelry. She did exactly what I envisioned and I love wearing it. The compliments are plenty too. The other ring on my thumb is from a local junk store and I got a fabulous deal for that one too. 

There is a time when we just have to look past the trends and dress however the hell we want to. I will also be brutally honest that this week has not been good for me in the self image department. I've gained some stress then happy weight. We are all at different stages of our lives and the most important thing to remember is to learn from our past, appreciate our present and look forward to the future with faith and hope. That's all we can do. I can't change what has happened in my life, but I can honestly say that it has helped shape me and teach me to be a good human and I know that when I kneel to commune with God that I can say I'm doing my best and right now some might not think my best is synonymous with their best and that's ok. I feel good in my own skin. (Well most of the time). 

The moral of the story: there will be some days that no matter how much we sweat and jump up and down our emotions will still get the best of us. But, there is always those serene moments of Mandatory Metallica that can bring solace outside of the box!

Until next time, my lovelies!

-R