Me in Melange

Uh-Instagram-much?

How much is too much? Not sure, but I do understand why people are diggin' on the 'gram. It's a cool way to post pictures quick that you can really easily doctor up.  You make all your pictures look like the perfect candle lite, blurred around the edges, I-look-10-years-younger, uber arty, coolness.  All I know, is there is some potential for some false advertising because I think pretty much everyone looks 10x better on an instagram pic.  So last night I lay in bed with my 3 year old because he still says "you lay-iii-me" and I can never say no.  So as he drifted off, I decided to see what other people do on instagram, keeping in mind my only real experience were the postings of my 11 year old, and the 4 pictures we've posted so far for the store :-).  

All I can say is WOW.  WOW.  There are some impressive, artistic people out there, with an amazing eye.  People who give you a little glimpse into some cool worlds.   But yikes, there are also a lot narcissitic, self-worshipping situations going on and instagram is the perfect forum.  Seriously, there was one gal who literally posted 100's of pictures of herself, scantily clad in provocative attire (and most attire is provocative if you are a 32HHH up top), with loads of tattoos which might have been artistic, but you can't really see, and all she did was take selfies.....and she had 50,000 people following her and hundreds and hundreds of comments to each pic!!!  Oh, well, to her credit, she did throw in a few pics of her son, who was pretty cute.  No joke.    I had no IDEA there was this whole crazy instagram world.  It's like twitter for purely visual people who in reality might have nothing to say whatsoever, even less then the character limit on Twitter, but just want to show off  their gorgeous-self (or something or someone else gorgeous).  It's brilliant.   I wasted a solid 45 minutes...it was like a train wreck that I coudn't stop looking at---like an episode of Hoarders, or Duck Dynasty.  You don't know why you are fascinated by the person who took 5000 pictures of herself in every boob enhancing shot possible, but you are.  

Then there is whole high-school-popularity-revival-mentality that goes along with it...the who-likes-who, who-comments-on-what, who-follows-who, and even if you didn't care 24 hours ago, suddenly it feels like a personal insult that you don't have more followers and no one has liked you.  The pressure I tell you, the pressure :-).

All that being said, Amanda and I agree, we're totally addicted.  We were debating how much 'gramming we could do and not look crazy.  After my investigation last night, I'm going to say, quite a bit, quite a BIT.  

Stay tuned, Amanda is gonig to send a pic of the brand new Hard Tail sportswear which will look even better in the instagram shot, but don't worry, it's equally adorable in person ;-)!

Signed, LV {lv}

 

Instagram, here we come!

Yeah, I realize it's been around, and popular for awhile now. I will readily admit, I'm not the technology/social media guru I should be.  So it took my 11 year old daughter--yes Ava taught me--to make me realize that pretty much EVERYONE is on it, except me.  Ava spends a lot of time on instagram...a LOT.  When you are 11 you also have no shame in posting endless pictures of yourself for no reason, because you can still get away with saying, "I look beautiful, why wouldn't I post it??"  I'm not sure what I'm scared of more, her outrageous self-confidence, or the possibility that life might quash some of it?

So, this morning I posted the very first picture I've ever posted on our instagram page---and it's a snippet of me, taken on Saturday night as I was going to dinner at friends' house.  I was wearing a Prairie Underground tunic from last season that some of you might recognize...I had on a couple Satori Rue pearl/leather necklaces, you can't see it, but the tunic is layered over what I always wear, a black Hard Tail long sleeve tee (love those things), and then I had my Henry & Belle super skinny jeans, and I wore my tall black boots.  I was "Melange-ed out" :-). I love that Prairie tunic, even my mother-in-law at 60+ was diggin' that tunic, even though it's pretty edgy really with all the raw hem edges, and the loose ribbon bib down the front.  Prairie Underground, I love you.

Watch for more Instagram pics...I'm going to go find my dog and take a pic of him right now, because he's so darn beautiful.

Signed, ME {lv}

It's a new year....24 days in!

It's taken me awhile to embrace 2014 fully. I needed the post-holiday hangover to wear off first, I needed to regain my strength after succumbing with wild abandon to the Christmas mania.  Each year I promise it will be different, and each year it's the same.  Not sure if I'm just doped up on egg nog and sugar cookies, or there is really some magic Christmas dust in the air that falls down upon me and turns me into a walking, talking, Martha-Stewart-Wanna-Be-Present-Buying-Card-Making-EggNogg Latte drinking- FREAK for 2 solid months.  I'm bracing myself already for next year because there's no stopping it.

BUT, I digress....this is all about 2014.  Here's what I'll say, I'm excited.  It's going to be a good year, I can feel it.  First, I'm pretty jazzed about the clothes for spring, and that helps (Prairie Underground comes Monday and I can't wait), and I'm pretty excited about my finely honed, razor focused New Year's Resolutions that are going to be actualized and make me a healthier, more well rounded and happier person (tall order).  I should have put "write on blog more", but luckily for everyone, I didn't.  Instead, I broke it down to three very clear, very specific things that I'm going to make happen.  I'll share, just because.

1.  Sleep more.  The recommended 8 hours might be unrealistic, but I'm shooting for a less sleep deprived existence, one that doesn't necessitate 3 cups of coffee just to unglue my eyes.  To this end I've been wearing for the last two weeks the Jawbone bracelet, which is ingenious.  It tracks your sleep, how many steps you take, and all kinds of other stuff if you have the patience to figure it out.  All I really care about is the sleep aspect, and I have to say, this thing is pretty awesome.  The other night when my beloved and highly annoying dog woke up at 2:30 a.m. pretending to need to be let outside, my trusty Jawbone tracked the break in sleep, the time awake, and the painful number of minutes it took me to actually fall back to sleep.  It even breaks down the light and deep sleep cycles.  If nothing else it reminds me on a daily, and weekly (nifty reminder emails), just how many days I'm NOT meeting my sleep goals.  I think just being reminded that I'm sucking, helps me suck less.

2.  Have more sex.  Goal, 3-4 times a week.  Yes, you heard me right.  I'll say no more on this subject (ok, maybe just a little more)....all the relationship books say that number is in the ballpark of where you need to be to have a healthy intimate relationship with your partner.  Not such an easy goal, let me tell you (and if you think it's easy and have 4 kids, a job, and a dog, please write and tell me your secret, better yet, sell it for a million bucks).  This is a resolution that was NOT shared with my husband, #1 because god forbid he holds me to it all year long, and #2, what if I need to meet my goals with someone other than my husband?   Ha, ha, just a joke.  Really, it was. :-)

 

3.  Say YES more.  This started as a "say yes more to my kids", and has morphed to a "say yes more to myself too" resolution.  Say yes more to my kids is because I have to face the fact that my controlling nature forces me to say "no" sometimes for no good reason.  So I'm trying to pick my battles, and just let all the lesser things go.  Say yes to myself goes for all those things that I tend to neglect and/or keep from myself out of a sense of some responsibility for efficiency. I.E..."no I can't stop and get a manicure, I've got stuff to do", "no I can't have a long lunch, I should be working", "no I can't take a nap, I've got laundry to do."  My life is micro-organized, there's no free minutes, no free hours...but mostly because I say "no" to giving myself free minutes and hours.  This is a hard resolution for me, but I'm really going to work at it.

I've got no goals that are clothes related...darn, that would be cool if I did.  I can't really make a resolution out of buying more Raw Earth and Margaret O'Leary for myself can I?  Or CAN I??  Maybe that's a "yes you can" thing----I'll tack that on to resolution #3 :-).

I'm very aware as I start out this year how fortunate I feel that I'm surrounded by such inspirational, funny, and intelligent women...that bring to the table their honesty, loyalty and humor---all making life so much better.  I really believe that like energy attracts like energy, and that my life, my business, my friends, our customers, everything, is a result of the energy we put out and the energy that attracts.  Hard to put into sufficient words, but I think most of you will just get it, even without more elegant phrasing.  I'll leave it with a thank you, a deep and heartfelt thank you.  

Happy New Year (24 days late)!

oxox, Signed, ME {lv}

 

"Butterfly, butterfly I see you there, It's beautiful the way your wings caress the air..." -- Ashley Landry

The first sign of Spring? Margaret O'Leary has sent us this soft, sweet pullover covered in beautiful butterflies. The classic crew neck and short sleeve silhouette is perfect to dress up or down, and like the butterfly, flit from this look to that. Wear this pretty piece with a pleated skirt for a chic, vintage-inspired outfit, or pair it with the perfect slim ankle pant, try it under a jacket at work, or dress it way down on the weekend with some distressed boyfriend jeans, rolled of course, with an adorable oxford. So pretty, and a wonderful piece to help us prepare for the next season. 

Through 1/24 we're offering 20% any MOL order of $150 or more.

Happy spring to all!!! 

Goddess

We are all goddesses. Beautiful, creative, hard-working, loving, funny and intelligent goddesses! We are celebrating that particular aspect of ourselves this year. 2014 is our year!  And we have the tee shirt to prove it! Om Girl is on the same wavelength evidently because they sent us a gorgeous collection to swathe us in comfortable beauty. Organic cotton and rayon blends are silky and soft on the skin. This beautiful print makes us feel more zen just looking at it, and the other beautiful, softly draped and sculpted pieces make us feel casually elegant and ready to relax! 

Hollywood Treat

Oh, Hollywood. You're like too much cake...delicious for the first few bites, then a little sickening by the end. The glam of the red carpet is a sweet treat this year, giving us many stunning looks as well as the usual "what were they thinking" moments we love to hate. My personal faves of the evening were Sandra Bullock, Jennifer Lawrence, Lupita Nyong-o', Michelle Dockery, and Zoe Deschannel, The "you're out of your mind" looks of the evening went to Emma Thompson (what is UP with that skin tight gold turtleneck AND big hair?! And Julia Roberts.who seemed to have thrown on a strapless dress over her Gap button down shirt. So Crazy!) 

(and speaking of crazy, how about the way the photographers speak to the stars on the carpet? So rude! There ought to be a rule for paparazzi: no talking. )

Operation Hard Tail

Can we just expound for a moment on the virtues of our beloved Hard Tail yoga pants? A legendary fit that makes our booties look....hot! The quality cotton/lycra blend lasts forever and keeps its shape, no matter what you're up to! These pants carry us with confidence off to yoga class, the gym, the park, the playground, or just lounging about the house in the utmost comfort and cuteness!

We adore Hard Tail yoga pants and to start off 2014 in the best possible way, we want to share the love with you!  

Grab a pair of classic Hard Tail yoga pants and enjoy 25% off!

The perfect pant to wear with Hard Tail's sexy tanks and beautiful new Saddle Wrap cardigan! 

2014 is rockin' already!!!! xoxo

Resort 2014. Oh Yes!

Ahhhhhhh. That is the sound of relief. Eileen Fisher has sent her 2014 Resort Collection just in time to clear the cobwebs from our mind, to sweep the last of the holiday clutter out the door, and RELAX! It's the perfect way to ring in a fresh new year in Eileen's fresh new collection! Even if we can't get away at the moment, we can certainly put ourselves in a vacation-state-of-mind!!!