Rena Anne Photography

My Mommy

My mother doesn’t always agree with my fashion choices or the way I put outfits together, but there are so many things I have learned from her. My mother taught me:

-how to put colors together. (She has an amazing understanding of colors and complimentary colors.)

-to appreciate my body and wear things that compliment me.

-to be confident and not care what other’s think of me.

-to dress appropriately and modestly.

-how to accessorize (she’s got an awesome collection of jewelry).

and

-to shop the sale rack and look for good deals.

I am so thankful for my mother that loves me no matter what I’m wearing. I hope that someday I can have a girl someday to pass on all of my fashion knowledge. Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms out there!

Happy Friday!

Change.

Change is good. But it’s also super scary because it takes us out of our comfort zone and puts us into a new, possibly uncomfortable, place. Even if the change is for the better, it is still nerve-wracking.

But change is important to experience new things and to move us towards our best self. Especially in fashion.

Not changing can result in dating you. We’ve all seen that lady who is STILL rocking the Farah Fawcett haircut she had in high school.

Imagine if I kept wearing the same outfits I had in high school. Yikes. I changed from that silly, naive girl and will continue to grow and change as the years go by.

Last Friday, I got my bangs cut short by the lovely Jenni at Envision Salon. This scared me to death to do because I was afraid it would make me look like a twelve-year-old (or like Harriet from Small Wonder…remember that show?). I am super happy with the results and thankful I don’t resemble a jr. higher.

I challenge you this week to do something that you’ve always wanted to do or admired someone else doing, but have always been too scared to do. I was inspired by Taylor Swift in one of her new videos.

Here are a list of things you could choose to do, if you find yourself lacking inspiration:

-wear a cardigan instead of a sweatshirt

-wear a pair of high heels

-wear a color you don’t often choose, perhaps something metallic

-wear a bold piece of jewelry

-buy some skinny jeans…and WEAR them!

-wear a blazer

-cut your hair shorter or get bangs (duh.)

-wear a dress/skirt a different length than you are used to (like a maxi dress or a mini skirt)

-wear a belt at your waist

-get highlights or dye your hair a different color

-wear ankle boots

-learn how to put your hair in a new hairstyle

-wear cowboy boots with shorts

-get a spray tan (Check out Raving Tans if you are in the area. Heather is the best!)

-wear bright pink or red lipstick

-wear fun color tights

Comment and let me know what you plan on doing. Let’s change TOGETHER!!

Real Talk

For the past week, I have been exhausted. Not the kind of tired caused by staying up too late (although I did that too), but the kind of tired that makes Rip Van Winkle’s sleep super appealing (a fifty-year nap-oh yeah!). It’s super annoying because I feel like I have no energy to do anything.

Unfortunately, my personality and my life doesn’t let me stop, so I keep doing my normal daily routine, but with my eyelids half shut. Or one eye open and the other closed.

Luckily enough, shopping is one of my “daily routines” (much to my husband’s displeasure), so they haven’t forgotten my name at the local Goodwill.

Here are a list of my favorite places to shop:

Plato’s Closet-Duh. This store is amazing, but warning, you find such good deals and great stuff that you might end up buying more than you planned.

Ross-I go more for the shoe section than the clothes. I find that the Vista one (if you’re local) is better than either Escondido ones.

Goodwill-The Escondido one is two stories and the second story is their “boutique”. Honestly, I think they just call the upstairs that so they can justify charging a bit more, but there are still insanely amazing finds (H&M leather jacket for only $20!) on both floors and none of their prices could be considered expensive.

La Tienda Thrift Store-This two-story thrift store in San Clemente is my absolute favorite. I seriously make the forty-five mile trip JUST to shop at that store. They sell furniture, home stuff and lots of clothes. One time I found two pairs of Rainbow sandals in excellent condition for $2 each!!

Poway Thrift Stores-There is a strip mall full of great thrift stores (off Poway Road, just past Carriage Rd) that range from sorta junky to vintage/antiques. Totally worth checking out, especially if you have time just to mill around.

Thrifty Threads-This resale store in Encinitas is small, but packed full of trendy finds. Make sure to bring cash because they don’t take cards.

Target-I love to scour through their clearance sections, especially when I was buying maternity clothes. If I find something I like at full-price, I wait patiently for it to make its way to the discounted rows. I also subscribe to “Target Daily Deals” (totally free!) and have gotten a lot of cool, on sale things shipped free to my house.

Old Navy-I usually shop online, which is sooooo dangerous. It’s easier to stalk things online and wait for them to go on sale. I love just about anything from this store.

Lands End Canvas-This is the younger division of Lands End. They have really cute things, similar to JCrew and once discounted are not too expensive. Also, if you sign up for emails, they will send you extra coupons/discounts.

I realize a couple of these stores are only for local San Diegans, but I suggest that you explore the area you live in for great little resale/thrift/consignment stores. If you find one you like, go ahead and ask the owner what stores they like because I’m 95% sure they will have an opinion. And don’t forget to continually return to that store because resale stores are constantly restocking, so consistency is key. Most of all, have fun and make every shopping trip an adventure!

Happy Friday!

Spring Break & An Ode to My Cousin

This week I’ve been on spring break, which means my brain is on a completely different schedule. All week, I’ve had completely no idea what day it is. Thank goodness for the calendar on my iPhone dinging me and reminding me that I have things to get done, etc. Fortunately, I remembered enough to take pictures of my outfits, although I forgot a couple days. You can tell that I wore jeans a whole lot more than normal. My focus was being comfy, lazy and hanging with my kids.

…

When I was growing up, I never went clothes shopping. I grew up with six older girl cousins, who lived not far from me, so I always got to wear their hand-me-downs. Thankfully their fashion taste wasn’t completely awful, so I didn’t mind too much. I still LOVE getting hand-me-downs and making a used piece my own.

My cousin, Emily, is two years older than I am. When we were younger, I idolized her. She seriously could do no wrong in my eyes, except that she wanted nothing to do with me (but isn’t that always how it is with younger cousins/siblings?!). Emily was super interested in fashion/beauty, which no one else in my family cared much about. She was the only one I knew that got giddy over clothes, like me. She had her own style and could make anything work.

Now that we are in the same stage of life -both mothers of younger children, home owners, working moms- we have become great friends. I am so thankful for Emily’s lead in not saying, “Oh, I don’t think I could wear that”, but making anything work regardless of what people would say. She completely OWNS an outfit and always looks put together. We thrift store shop together and enjoy making possible outfits out of the clothes that we find. Emily has a completely different style than I do, but I LOVE her artistic eye and confidence.

This post is my giant thank you letter to Emily for unknowingly guiding me to find my own style and giving me the confidence to take care of myself (she’s a size 0!) and care about what I look like, no matter how tired or overwhelmed by life I am. She is an eBay master shopper & I still LOVE getting her hand-me-downs (especially on the rare occasion when they fit me!). Such a beautiful person, inside & out and I am so happy to call her my cousin AND friend. Love you, Emily.

Who is your inspiration?

This was my Easter dress. Check below for the great deal I got on it.

Proof that those amazing deals are out there! Brand new with tags still on! I was extremely stoked it was in my size!!!

Happy Friday!