From Frump-tastic to Fanta-bulous New York & Co. Style

It's hard for me to justify spending money on myself. My husband will send me to the store with permission to buy clothes for myself and I come home with entirely new outfits for him and the boys, and if I'm lucky some cheap shirt I found on the clearance rack at Target for $5 or less for myself. I constantly know the needs of others around me, and therefore it's hard to splurge on myself.

For years my cheap half target/half hand me down wardrobe, supplemented with the generous Christmas and Birthday gifts from my three moms, have been enough to sustain me. I like to look nice, but I'm a homebody at heart anyway so my jeans usually end up looking sad and my shirts have baby scars on them (you know, nearly invisible finger prints, stretch marks, or rings from where the boys have pawed or spit all over me), my hair gets in my face so I pull it up, and who has time for makeup with 2 strong willed high energy boys underfoot?

This post is mostly about looking good, and taking care of myself in a physical sense, but lets step aside for just a moment and talk about the deeper issue. This same excuse that lurks in and prevents me from spending too much money on myself, or too much time on my looks crosses over into that spiritual sense as well. The morning routine is too crazy or rushed, so reading, praying, praising might get pushed aside. In the evenings I'm so burned out I don't always take the time to enjoy my blessings or take care of the things and people I've been blessed with. Cleaning my kitchen or bathing my children gets pushed off to another time, another day. And the cycle and pattern continues, I begin to feel even more bogged down, even more stressed out, scrounging the dirty clothes for something clean enough to wear, feeling as far from fabulous as possible right down there at frump-tastic.

I want to be better in this department, I know that by starting my day out with a little extra me and God time, making sleep, reading, and grooming priorities I begin to feel better about myself and do better at taking the attitude of "Do all things as though you are doing them unto the Lord" seriously. Therefore, I want  know I need to keep reading each morning, do my hair and makeup regularly, and take better care of my clothes. Last month I began the process by buying myself some clothes from the one and only New York and Company. My favorite store. My all time favorite store, and I discovered that their email list is the most beneficial thing to be on. Ever. They are constantly sending coupons for 40% to 50% off your entire purchase that run simultaneously with bogo sales. SCORE :) (Fantastic! But also dangerous!)

What a difference a pair of good quality jeans makes!!!!!!!!! Just slipping these babies on makes me feel like a woman! In addition to that, they are a little long, and nice enough that they require a nice pair of heels (I prefer my boots) and let me tell you there is something about the combination of my tall boots, sexy jeans, and scarf that make me feel like I walked out of a big city and not rolled out of bed in plain ol' MI.

This isn't to say I want to ignore my families needs entirely, I know vamping up my wardrobe will be a slow process done over time, but it's a goal and that my friends is the first step. This isn't a new goal, it's one I tend to bring up once a year or so (last year my sisters bought me some awesome accessories for Christmas which I still love and use frequently, and FYI if you are reading this, this would be an excellent idea for Christmas again this year), but as, up until about 6 months ago, I'd been in about a 5 year run of either being pregnant, thinking about being pregnant, or nursing, my goal just never seemed to stick. But now is the time! My baby is almost two and it's high time I start thinking about me again.

Today I woke up before the kids and did my devotions for the third day in a row. Today marks the fourth day  that I got dressed nice, did my hair, and my makeup and wore my boots :) Today is a good day.

Feels good to look good. At least at the beginning of the day! By the time I get home you can't hardly tell but it's the effort that counts right?

This little goal, happens to align perfectly with one of my favorite bloggers, Sarah Mae, new Motivotional challenge. Yes you read that right, a combination between Motivation and Devotional. Isn't it Fanta-bulous? I can't pass up the opportunity to do something motivotional just because it's so stinking fun to type. I hope you'll head over to her blog and check back here Monday to see what a Motivotional is all about (I just had to type it one last time!)



Also linking up today with a new discovery of mine in this ginormous blogging world Mrs. T, Naturally for her Blog Out of the Box link up on "A Day In My Life."

Thanks for stopping by today friends, please feel welcome to poke your nose around and get to know me better!