Mad Men Casting Call Contest: Carolyn Braden!

Trying to win yet another contest. Help me out! Click on the link below and it will take you to my voting page on the AMC's Mad Men website. Click on how many stars you rate my Mad Men Style photo (5 stars please, please, please!). Do it once a day per computer until August 11th and lets' see if I can win the walk on role on AMC's Mad Men and a $1,000 Banana Republic gift certificate.

Thanks lovely readers!

http://madmencastingcall.amctv.com/photos/view/1879

Get some Tretorns! Remember these shoes? I remembered them back in
March when I saw them at a store during spring break. Well, they
showed up again at a store in Orlando this summer and I couldn't pass
them up again. I wore these as a kid. They were fashionable then,
and they are fashionable now! I love the ones I got in a bright
yellow color. I love yellow. It's such a cheery color and it's alot
like red; No one misses you when you wear it!

Sent from my iPhone

Shoes and Fall Style 2009

Yep.

Here it is.

I just got the new issue of InStyle Makeover in the mail today.

It's so great to see......my ideas are right on cue!!!!!

The first style I saw that I was on top of is the SATIN SHOE. I have been in love with satin shoes ever since trying on my mom's toe shoes when I was a little girl. I have a pair of green satin shoes and a pair of gold satin shoes but I still was in need of my red satin shoes. You know, my Dorothy shoes. After searching and searching for the right red satin shoe, my efforts have finally paid off. I searched stores everywhere I went. Last summer I scoured the internet and stores in search of the shoe, but found absolutely nothing! I thought "Why in the world aren't designers making the red satin shoe???????" I thought maybe The Wizard of Oz people had some kind of patent on the red shoe that has the little bow on the toe. I kept finding red patent shoes, but I didn't want those! I gave up and just figured I was ahead of my time in the fashion world (again...it happens all the time!) and stopped my search.
Something told me the other day to try again. So, I typed "red satin shoe" into my Google browser and found my shoe! I found quite a few to choose from too! I ended up going with a cute sling back, peep toe, bow adorned 3 and 3/4th inch heels from Zappos. One of Zappos' hubs is in Kentucky, not too far from my home, so I ordered the shoes (FREE SHIPPING!) and had them in 2 days. The shoe is absolutely gorgeous. My husband called them my Dorothy shoes and told me those shoes should be saved for special places and I totally agree. Maybe if I click my heels together with these shoes, I can get to the home my heart desires. :)

What is it about shoes? I love them as so many women (and some men) do in our world. I figure they are great things to buy because it is the one thing you don't really outgrow as an adult.

Then, I was watching a show the other day and they showed Blake, the chief shoe giver, from the Toms shoe company. I've loved Toms shoes for a couple of years now. They are comfortable, stylish, and for every pair you buy, Blake and his company donates a pair of shoes to a child in need. He really does. They have a new style that just recently came out and I saw it on that t.v. show. (I think it was the Daily 10 on E or something) The style is a wrap boot. Look it up at Toms.com and see if you like it. I really loved it, so I ordered it and it came today. I ordered it in black and I can wear it now (it looks really good with shorts or skirts) and in the fall and probably all seasons. It's that versatile.

Be daring when it comes to your shoes. Try bright colors. So many women wear black heels with everything, but try a color the next time. Any bright color will make a simple outfit really look amazing. I did black shorts, a black tank top, a vintage scarf (in bold blues, blacks, golds, greens, and reds), and simple gold hoops with my green satin shoes a couple of weekends ago and it looked great and I was comfortable. I always dress in what I am comfortable in or else I know I will be miserable.

Now, I wonder where I'll get to wear my red shoes first.............................................

Coming for fall:

Do the silver nail. Try to pick one that has a small hint of gold in it. That way you can wear it with silver or gold and it will look great!

Grown out hair. Yep, the bob is growing out. Try braiding pieces to help in the growing out process. Use hair accessories like bobby pins, headbands, and barettes too.

Taking care of your skin. (Especially the face!) The summer days are coming to an end and it's time to ask yourself this question: Did I put sunscreen on this summer? I hope you did!
We are not getting any younger girls! Start slathering on the wrinkle cream in your 20's to keep your skin looking youthful. Don't think that you won't get wrinkles, because you will. My mom told me to really slap the creams on the neck area heavily. I use Aveeno age cream and it doesn't break my sensitive skin out. Since I started putting it on my neck, I have noticed a difference in a line that was on my neck. The line really has softened.

Keep wearing those sunglasses! Wear them in all seasons! They will protect your eyes and prevent squinting! (Eye wrinkles!)

Thinking you are beautiful. Who really cares what anyone else thinks!?!? God made you perfect. You know all those little flaws you think you see when you are putting on your makeup in the morning? They are all in your head! What's beautiful to one person may not be beautiful to another. So, I say, hang out with the people who see the beauty in all things. If you surround yourself with positivity, everything will be beautiful to you. The ones that pick on you? They are just jealous or just really insecure. Seriously.

Trees. There is something about trees right now.

More thoughts soon!

Just a Few Inspirations....

Top Gun. What is it about this movie all of the sudden??? I have a feeling about it for some reason. Maybe I should go watch it.

Boot sandals. I picked up a pair on sale a couple of weeks ago. These are ankle high, zip in the back, open toed, and have fringe on the top. They are brown leather. At first, I did not like these shoes!!! My mom encouraged me to try them on and they were so comfortable and looked really cute! Worn with the right outfit, they rock!!

Matte nail polish will be everywhere this fall. I knew it was coming! A while ago, I had my nails done and the polish turned matte for some reason when it went on my nails. I really liked the look. That polish, in particular, wasn't supposed to turn matte, but it made me think. Why not matte?? OPI is bringing it to stores soon so try it and see if you like it.

READ!!! I can't say it enough. Read a book this summer! I've read four so far and I'm going to pick out another one tonight. My faves right now are The Shack (William P. Young), The Alchemist (Paulo Coehlo), and anything by Sophie Kinsella (her real name is Madeleine Wickham). Kinsella has another book coming out soon! I have the new Alice Sebold (Almost Moon) on hold to read soon as well.

Scarves. Yeah, yeah...I know they've been around for a while in fashion now. But go find yours at a consignment or thrift store. You'll find some unique ones and won't spend a fortune. I was at a Zegna outlet recently and they had a scarf marked from $495.00 down to $35.00. Yes, a good deal when you consider the price, but wow! $495.00! Someone call me out if you ever see me say that I spent that on a scarf. Yes, some scarves I own may have cost that much once upon a time, but I didn't spend that much on them! They were incredible thrift finds. I promise!

Fall inspirations coming soon!

June things....feelings, ideas....

I had some thoughts while on vacation. Some more inspirations I guess.

The first thought I had when I came back was.....I want to go back to that beach. Of course, don't we all want to go back on vacation when we come home? I just love, love, love the beach. We went to Sanibel Island and I will say this as an idea for you all: Go there at some point in your life. No matter who you are, you could go there for a week and totally be unrecognized by anyone. It is, in my opinion, one of the best islands of the United States to visit. It is so peaceful, so serene, and so beautiful. Sanibel Island is known for their shelling, and no joke..................you find millions of shells! The shelling is almost like a scavenger hunt. You want to find more and more and more! Now, what to do with the three bowls of shells I brought home? Well, I am going to turn some of the Sea Fans into jewelry and hair pins. They shimmer the most beautiful colors. The conch type shells will probaly decorate my sea inspired bathroom. The rest? Who knows. Just looking at them takes me back to the ocean. Maybe I'll find a large glass container, put some sand in it, and then add the shells so I have a little beach of my own in my home. My mom gave me that idea last night. Shells are incredibly "in" at this moment. I paid close attention to the conch/nautilis type of shells. Something about their spiral type shape. I love holding the shell to my ear and hearing the ocean again. Remember doing that?

We also drove to Orlando to go to Disney World's Magic Kingdom for my June 11th birthday. (Gemini oh so much). It was free for me to get in because right now anyone that fills out their birthday form on their website and takes it to Disney on their birthday gets in free that day. A one day ticket to Disney runs about $75.00, so the free ticket was very welcome. They give you a birthday button with your name on it and then every worker in the park that sees it will wish you a happy birthday. It was fun and took me back to being a kid. I am totally a kid on many days of my life, and people tell me that all the time. I believe thinking like a kid, not giving a care in the world, and using your imagination as much as possible can be a good thing for adults. Adults often forget what being like a kid is. If we could connect with our kid like feelings again, I think things may be a little happier sometimes. Try Disney World or any other kid activity at some point this summer and see what happens.

While on vacation, I found the Burberry hat I wanted. Well, almost. We went to a magnificent mall in Orlando and the Burberry store had my hat on sale! It was unfortunately in the wrong size. I was so disappointed. But then, the sales woman asked "Would you like me to try to find the hat in another store?" I jumped on that opportunity! She found it at another Florida store and had it shipped to my house. At the sale price! So, here's a tip: If you ever find the perfect outfit or accessory but it's not in your size, ask the store to try to find it in another store and have it shipped to you. Even if it's on sale, you can still try to get it!

Try outlet shopping. Orlando had some good outlets, but I know there are tons of outlets out there in the world. Las Vegas has some of the best! Not all outlets have great prices, but try them out and see if you can find a deal. I found a Lacoste polo shirt for $25.00, and it was orginally $74.00. Try on everything you find if possible. You never know if the reason it ended up in the outlet was because of sizing, color, or past season. I really feel like designer things are way too expensive. Sorry design labels!! But, that's how I feel. I always think "Why is it marked up so high, but it always goes on sale for a reasonable amount?" I understand the concept......you know.....it's designer, so it's better, so it has to be expensive. But I just don't know about that.

When I came home from vacation, I immediately started organizing my home. I know people do their cleaning in the spring, but I am a summer cleaning girl. After spending the whole last week in a clutter free hotel environment, my stuff at home really got on my nerves! I guess this thought is happening because I am getting older.....wiser? But....my thought is, I don't really need alot of stuff. I was content having the few items I had on vacation and didn't miss the bulk "stuff" I have at home. I felt this way last year when my husband and I had to move into an apartment because we sold our house and didn't have another to move into immediately. I really didn't miss anything that was in our storage unit, other than my photo albums. I think constantly to myself, as long as I have my husband and my animals around, I really have all that I need. I know I talk about the things I want to purchase in this blog sometimes. I do like to shop, but I know there are more important things to living a life. I know we all need a roof over our heads, food, heat, etc., but the extra "stuff" is just that, STUFF. So with that being said, I am getting rid of a ton of stuff. I will be calling charities around town and getting rid of anything that hasn't seen the light of day since we moved into this house last July. I encourage everyone to do the same. We, for some reason, have an extra couch, dining room table, and dryer in our garage. It's going to be GONE soon. My old purses that I swore I would use again, GONE. That sewing machine that I wanted so bad because I swore I would be making all my curtains for my home, GONE. I will be selling some of the items and putting that money towards my home renovation, but everything else that is in good condition is going to charity.

I just read in Woman's Day magazine about people that spend more of their money on experiences instead of clothes, shoes, or material things, are happier. The article said we will never get tired of our good memories, but we will get tired of that pair of shoes you just bought. I like that idea. With that thought, comes an "in style" thing to do that so many people forget about. Go to the Drive-In this summer. My friend just did and had a great time. As we drove home from Florida, we drove many back roads to avoid the Bonaroo concert traffic. We passed two small towns and saw Drive-In's filled with cars in both towns. I will go this summer.

When we got home from vacation, my husband's father washed and waxed his car for him. (We took my little convertible on our trip instead of my husbands large car....I was so proud of myself for fitting a week's worth of clothes into just one duffle bag!). The wax he used was Turtle Wax Ice. It goes on clear, so you don't have to worry about getting it on the black areas of your car. The car looks brand new. While you are washing your car this summer, try giving it a good wax. You will be glad you did.


The color yellow really stands out to me. Blue is still great, but yellow is so happy. I love wearing the color.

The best snack that is selling out everywhere is Edamame. We have been eating it here at home for over a year now, and we love it. We buy it frozen, boil it for a couple of minutes, drain the water, sprinkle a little low sodium soy sause on them, and they taste amazing. We buy the ones in the pods, then pull the middles out with our teeth to eat them. I guess you could eat the pod, but I don't like to. Try them with Teriayki sauce or a little bit of salt too.

Look to the sky. I know I've had dreams about storms for a while now, but wow. The weather continues to be active. It has been incredibly active for almost a year now. I love looking at the sky. It can tell you so much. My Nani told me to always look to the sunset when you want to know how the weather will be the next day. She said if it was a beautiful sunset with many colors, the weather the next day will be wonderful. If the sunset is not so great, the weather the next day may be bad. I do this alot, and usually the sunset is correct in some kind of weather forecasting. The book I just read, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, had a character in it that paid very close attention to nature. He got very in tune with it and, well, good things happened.

Wow..........I had alot to say. This may have been my biggest single blog to date. Hope it didn't bore you too much. :)

---C

Just a quick thought............

I know I've said this before, but...............

The Sun. Pay attention to it. Sunsets, sunrises, the morning sun, the afternoon sun, the evening sun; They must be a focus for the next couple of months.