the return of the stylista, earring therapy

I hesitate to tell you...In terms of personal style, I'd classify myself as a recovering mama. Now look at that picture. I mean, come on! That's me. First time proud mama. Little A sure is a cutie, but newbie mama's wearing some version of a tank top, hair yanked back into a bun and no adornments but a wedding band. I was probably wearing capri-mom-jeans too. Not so cute. Happy, proud, glowing, but not cute.

Now, for those of you who haven't known me very long...I used to be pretty hip. I gave up my some of my style to be more conservative, then decided to be a stay at home mom, which translated to frugal shopper. That dwindled into "I need to put on something that can handle spit up and still look decent."

But, alas, with continued limited funds, extremely limited time, lots of spit up, and another baby planned for a couple of years down the road, I continued on without much thought about my appearance aside from "hair up" or "hair down."

I moved to Hickory and most of my new friends were either single, newly married or surprisingly stylish in spite of their mom-status (mother of one, two, three, four?!) I loved being friends with all these lovely ladies, who were lovely on the inside and out...but I couldn't help but feel like I just wasn't fitting in. I just didn't care anymore about who made my shoes, whether my jeans were flared or skinny or that the outlet mall in Gafney was having a huge sale.

Well, time for baby number three brought more changes than I realized. I was excited to be pregnant for the last time, and this time...I wanted to enjoy it in every way. I wanted to dress that big baby belly as best as I could! I still didn't want skinny jeans, or care if I was wearing the most popular color of the year, but I wanted to enjoy getting dressed for each day.

And then I rediscovered EARRINGS! Oh man, oh man...I hadn't bothered with earrings since high school, and let me tell you...a world of difference!

It sounds silly, but there's a connection between how much thought I put into getting ready for the day and how much I value the minutes in the day. If I stay in pajama pants and throw my hair up in a bun...it's a boring, clean up the house sort of day, but if I put on earrings...well, who knows what this day will bring?

Now, I'm not just advertising MY earrings, although I love wearing earrings that can't be bought at the mall,...I'm calling out to women who've lost the joy in adorning themselves and saying "Start with the ears and work your way down!" Oh, and earrings don't get much spit up on them either!