Group Therapy: Can 30-somethings wear SEQUINS?

- Mel

Alternatively titled: Must. Not. Buy. Another Pair of Sequin Shoes!

An anonymous Reader asked: Can a 30-something pull off wearing sequins?

Answer: A resounding YES!

1. Aqua Spineless Sequin Jacket {ASOS} / 2. Embellished top {White House Black Market} / 3. Foldover Sequin Clutch {ASOS} / 4. Worn This Way sequin bootie {ModCloth} / 5. MICHAEL Michael Kors Tuxedo Sequin Tuxedo Pants {Nordstrom}

Sequins are like Happiness Therapy — an outfit pick-me-up and a MUST for those who don’t really experiment with bold colors.

Just this year (ahem, year 35), I invested in a sequin party dress from ASOS (it’s backless and super chic!), sequin leggings from h&m (via Poshmark) and an embellished cardigan from White House Black Market.

Unless it’s New Year’s Eve or a fab bash (in which case, ALL OF THE SEQUINS!), subtlety is key. And the trick to not looking like a holiday character is to NOT wear sequins from head-to-toe. A little accent here and a hint of shimmer there equals: classic-with-personality.

Remember, sequins are not glitter. No woman over the age of 30 should be wearing glitter on her person. Unless it’s Halloween, and in that case, let me remind you that you should definitely NOT be wearing “Sexy {insert character here},” Miss 30-something. Trust me. You’re not too old for fun, but you’re certainly too wise (and classy!) to be mostly naked in October.

30-Something with a Sequin Fetish? Let’s talk about it via twitter & facebook!

Nov 9th & 30-something half birthdays

- Mel

You know what’s worse than turning 35?

Turning 36.

No, I’m not kidding.

35 is still in the middle (even though you’ve just skipped to the next age demographic); you’re no closer to 30 than 40… well, not until the day after your birthday if you’re a Glass Half Empty type of 30-something. Alas, the hump: you’re officially in your mid 30s. Mid-effin-30s.

AND THEN YOU HAVE TO GO AND DO THINGS LIKE MAKE 5-YEAR-PLANS WITH YOUR BOYFRIEND AND THINK ABOUT BEING 40 YEARS OLD.

Yes, all caps and bold. And *puke*

Today is my half birthday, and I’m officially halfway to 36.

I feel like I’m about to have a crisis…

Shoe Therapy: Bakers Shoes and Wedge love

- Mel

Hey, let’s lighten up the mood in here! Indulge in a little Shoe Porn with me?

I exclaimed at the beginning of the season “How do I not own any closed-toe wedges?!” after seeing them endlessly pinned and continuously highlighted in magazine features. My current collection of peep and open toes just weren’t going to cut it in these cold Pittsburgh temps, obvs.

Of course, do I really need another pair of shoes? Don’t answer that.

Then, Bakers Shoes sent me a Sale email, and I acquired two pairs to take me through Fall.

It’s a done deal. A done, super fashionable deal.

Follow my Shoes!!! board on Pinterest!

Aroma-therapy: my favorite scents

- Mel

Last weekend, the boyfriend asked me to rank my favorite scents in order. I have no idea how this conversation was even prompted.

I think he was surprised by a few of the (admittedly) ridiculous ones, but I was (am) completely serious:

  • Clean, fresh linens (I cannot STAND when clothing smells like you’ve been sitting outside for too long; adding to that: a linen is not fresh if it has been hanging outside. Just saying.)
  • Lemons (boyfriend also hates when I put them down the drain… but it’s like a fresh burst of citrus tree!)
  • Bleach (no, really; it’s the only way the bathroom is REALLY clean; I relate that smell to cleanliness.)
  • Gardenias (I might have forgotten this in my spouting off, but it’s on the list)
  • Lavender (I DID remember this one; I currently have a bouquet of dried, smashed lavender in my car… perhaps that’s what started the conversation?)
  • Mulling spices (reminds me of Fall and Winter at my grandmother’s making spiced cider)
  • New paper (printer paper, greeting cards, a box of new envelopes, journals… not newspapers or books though. They smell dirty. *smirk*)

So random, right?

Aromatherapy is popular for a reason. Your sense of smell is most closely tied to memory, and the smell of a favorite flower or spice or an old boyfriend’s cologne can be mood changing — both positive and negative. I can often be REALLY sensitive to smells (actually, most of my senses are super-heightened), but the fresh and airy scents help me relax.

And the pungent ones put me into cleaning overdrive — ha!

Finding Your Place: the loss and cultivation of identity

- Mel

I realized that making a commitment to blog for 30 days straight, that I’d be “calling it in” on more than one occasion (I promise not TOO many only-picture posts; I don’t want to talk your ear off either). But the REAL goal is opening up this page every day, logging into WordPress, considering what to write in this space — the possibility of connecting with Readers (hi there, if there’s anyone out there!) — creating a habit. Creating a new identity, albeit online.

Starting over with this new site, there is considerable time to realize any sort of growth or success or even pride. In life, you experience many stages of growth and need to adapt accordingly. Take this blog, for instance: I need to find my voice here. Find topics to write about that matter to a completely different audience. Just writing SOMETHING is an exercise in finding myself again.

I’ve now experienced the death of a blog too — a “popular” one at some point in its existence. And, likely, an idea that was stretched for far longer than its need. Can the Stages of Grief be applied to the loss of a blog?

The Kubler-Ross model, commonly known as the Stages of Grief, include the following steps:
Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance

More recently, there has been the addition of Shock and Guilt to encompass a “seven stages” cycle of grief.

I only kicked the “other” blog to the curb when I could hit PUBLISH on that final Goodbye post. When I knew everything would “be OK” (however many emotions I go through that equate to relapsing those stages). And as I go through a variety of online and in-real-life changes, I’m feeling a considerable loss of identity.

I thought the worst of that was behind me when I turned 35…

Every 30-something Needs: a Halloween costume!

- Mel

Because of the storms (but in hindsight, a ill-conceived premonition), Trick-or-treating was postponed to Saturday.

I haven’t dressed up in costume for a couple years, but since organizing our basement, I know exactly where ALL OF THE HALLOWEEN things are. I used to be REALLY into Halloween costumes and parties; hence, the box dedicated to its holiday. So, I pulled together this character that was also easy to layer, given that the temperatures hovered around 40 degrees.

I even still had my old football cleats from when I used to play flag football in Ohio (and there was still some caked-in mud on the soles). You know, for authenticity.

Trick-or-treating in our neighborhood is INSANE — we get HUNDREDS of kids. We bought six bags of candy last year… and ran out in less than an hour-and-a-half. This year, we purchased more (and made an effort to buy the variety bags with small, kid-friendly sized candies) — and STILL RAN OUT. Our neighbors had plans, so they gave us an extra bag for us to make it through the last half hour. Cutest costume: the toddler in the train costume.

And then our other neighbor (who’s been on our street since 2000) brought over a bottle of champagne to celebrate our one-year-anniversary. That’s my kind of treat!

Post #4 Completed!

Things to Do With An Extra Hour

- Mel

The ending of Daylight Savings Time is tonight; standard time resumes at 2am. The cure for my insomnia? Likely not, since I’ll be likely be awake to see it. But I’d give anything to use that hour for some extra sleep. The time change in the Spring always wrecks havoc on my sleeping schedule that inevitably lasts throughout the summer.

Where my sleep-challenged party people at?

Here are some items on my to-do list for the weekend that will easily fill up that 25th hour slot (since the likelihood of me sleeping is nil):

  • eyebrow waxing – overdue
  • paint my nails – trying to get back into the habit
  • shave my legs – um… it’s been too long
  • rearrange my attic guest room – to what? I’m not quite sure. But I want a reading nook.
  • prime a dresser for painting – finally got “permission” for this project
  • catch up on episode of Damages – still on Season 2

OK. So maybe I need, like, five more hours. And then another three or so to sleep.

How do you plan to spend your extra hour?

Post #3 complete.