Love The Life You Live.



Did your mother and/or grandmother ever tell you, "you're not allowed to wear pattern with pattern because that doesn't match and is against the rules."  Mine did and for a lot of years I was terrified to sport pattern avec pattern because I felt like I was a walking fashion travesty.  Well, guess what?  Rules schmools, my lovelies....step outside of the box and give it a try like I did with outfit #2 for my winter photo shoot on COLOR!  This outfit is all sorts of wonderful from Chic Style Utah, Just Be Purses, Le Gap and Girl Ran Away With The Spoon.

This outfit has so many great elements.  The top is from Chic Style and is made by an American company called Kut from the Kloth.  It is such a phenomenal line and the quality makes up for the price.  I have a LOT of it in my closet.  The camisole that I'm wearing under it is from a company called Niki Biki.  It is a company that makes one-size-fits-all camisoles, tank tops, bandeaux, among other tops.  It's a fab line and the camisoles are extra long which is a WIN WIN WIN for this super long torso, super endowed lady.  

Can we all just take a moment and let out a deep sigh over the bag?  Oh the bag.  This is a handmade gem from a company called Just Be Purses.  My hilarious brother-in-law calls it my Mary Poppins bag.  Another funny story about this purse is it was MIA for about 6 months before I had this photo shoot because I own four of Suzy's purses and I rotate them.  Somehow this purse, which I purchased 2 years ago, got thrown in my Monica closet and sucked into the vortex of no return.  I was very glad I found it without having to disassemble the entire closet because let's be honest, that equals putting my life into my own hands.  The main reason I love Just Be Be purses is their unique design and they match everything.  Suzy uses so many different types of fabric that there is all sorts of color on each of them and I can use each purse with all my outfits...even the t-shirts and jeans.  These purses make a hoodie and jeans look bad ass and classy.  Period. 

We took the photos for this outfit in Huntsville.  What a cute little town.  I seriously love living in Ogden and I especially love Ogden Valley.  It is my happy place.  It is also fresh air in the winter...remember those crappy winter blues I told you all about?  Well, it is a regular occurrence for me to jump in my trusty SUV and take a drive to the valley to find sunshine and fresh air.  I affectionately call them Sunday sunshine adventures.

The necklace is another reminder with words.  It says "Love the Life you Live."  The artist that made it is also local (yay!) and she does great work.  Her name is Ashley Bennett Stoddard and Chic Style is the exclusive retailer for her pieces in Utah.  Ashley is also the artist that designed the snowboard pendent from my annual giveaway.  Loving the life we live can be pretty damn hard sometimes, but it can also be really glorious!  I consistently have to remind myself that I need to bloom where I am planted and embrace the here and now.  The late, great John Lennon said, "life is what's happening while we're making other plans."  Yep.  Pretty much.  How many times do we miss out on the little moments, the small victories and the simple pleasures because we are freaking the hell out about a trivial matter?  Embrace those you love more, thank the people who make your life a little easier and show compassion to those who have it worse than you.  They are out there and you may not even realize who they are.  I've found that the practice of recognizing the little things in my life that I'm grateful for helps keep me centered and grounded in the fact that I am SO very blessed.  The most important thing we should remember about life is sometimes there is a time and place for breaking the rules such as wearing polka dotted skinnies with floral or staying out late to laugh our guts out with the gal pals, telling that cute boy you know that he is in fact your favorite even though he drives you bat shit crazy OR ignoring the ever growing pile of laundry that needs to be folded.  Break the rules.  Enjoy life.  And if all else fails...choose the red shoes.... or boots in this case.

So when the going gets rough and you feel like life is against you, find a cute bag, wear pattern avec pattern, break some rules and make plans for the here and now.  You can do it.  I can do it.

The moral of the story:  With the right outfit and gratitude in your heart, you too can feel the love for the life you live.

Until next time, my lovelies!

-R

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