Gardening in High Heels

cultivate a beautiful life

Sunday Lately, 98

Sunday Lately is a weekly link up brought to you by the Blogger Tribe. Link up and see what's been happening lately!Sunday Lately is a weekly linkup hosted by the Blogger Tribe (which is being fearlessly lead by Meghan, Nicole, Katy, and myself). We e-hang out every Sunday, sharing a small glimpse into the last week of life in our own worlds. We’d love if you could join us!
This week’s themes: Creating, Finding, Switching, Forgetting, Craving

Creating

I’m trying my very, very best to create a plan for 2017, or at least the first quarter of 2017. Here’s the thing…I love plans. I love lists. I love knowing what’s going to happen. (In case you’re wondering, I’m not Type A or controlling or anything……..) But I hate mapping things out that far and planning blog posts and such. I know it makes life easier, but I just can’t. It’s such a catch-22 because I know (and preach) the benefits of scheduling and planning, but it feels so limiting for me.

Finding

I am still trying to find my planner for 2017. I guess I have planning on the brain. Hm. Anyway. I have it narrowed down to a few, but I’m so terrified to dive in because in my head, I’m thinking, “What if I pick the wrong one? I want this to be the right one for the whole year. I don’t want to spend a fortune!”

Money is the big one for me. I don’t want to be stuck paying for something if it doesn’t work and I’m worried I can’t make it work if I pick the wrong one. I liked The Happy Planner this year, but a) I felt bad that I didn’t decorate mine as lavishly as you see on Instagram and b) it was just too big to take everywhere. I know I can get a Happy Planner Mini, but I also know that Moleskine worked great for me, but they changed their format. I can always make mine, but I’m not a bullet journal/handlettering artist and I’ll feel bad that mine doesn’t look as pretty (coming full circle to The Happy Planner again). Ugh. Comparison trap like CRAZY.

And then there’s Get to Work Book, Danielle LaPorte’s Desire Map Planner (which I really want), the Passion Planner, the Sugar Paper LA planners at Target, Rifle Paper Co, ban.do, and the cute Moleskine Peanuts limited edition one.

And it’s a freakin’ planner. Not something to get worked up about.

Switching

I’ve been trying to switch to a more-meatless diet. I’m trying very hard to clean out the pantry before Thanksgiving, so I’m only using things I already have in the cabinets or freezer and purchasing produce as needed. This lends itself very nicely to meatless meals (no offense, if you store meat in your cabinets, I don’t think we can be friends). I made Emily Levenson’s Buffalo Chickpea Burgers the other night and they were delicious. They won’t replace sinking my teeth into an amazing burger that I’ll undoubtedly have to get a Burgatory now that I’m thinking about it, but they were tasty, filling, and pretty cheap!

Forgetting

I’m trying very hard to forget my planner saga (which seems impossible given how much space I dedicated to it here). I’ll probably end up with three planners this year. Oh well.

Craving

Now all I can think about is the world’ biggest, juiciest, most unhealthy burger and a big pile of fries. Sweet potato preferred, but regular fries with big flakes of salt and pepper would do.

What’s been happening with you lately? Link up with us and share!


Sunday Lately, 97

Sunday Lately is a weekly link up brought to you by the Blogger Tribe. Link up and see what's been happening lately!Sunday Lately is a weekly linkup hosted by the Blogger Tribe (which is being fearlessly lead by Meghan, Nicole, Katy, and myself). We e-hang out every Sunday, sharing a small glimpse into the last week of life in our own worlds. We’d love if you could join us!
This week’s themes: Doing, Appreciating, Designing, Humming, Expecting

 

Doing

I have been drinking all the coffee, so I’ve been doing all the things. I have a few spray paint projects that I’ve completed and I’m mostly happy with them. I took an old plant stand that was rusty and gave it a fresh coat of paint so I can use it inside this winter. I also gave a plain cork board a layer of paint, though I’m not totally happy with it. I really wanted something over my desk to tack notes and clipboards to, but it doesn’t quite work. We’ll get there.

Plant stand makeover in progress. Spray paint is a miracle worker!

This is the WIP of the plant stand. I’ll share completed pictures of both projects later!

Appreciating

I have really been appreciating the warmer weather this past week. It was so warm, I was sitting outside with short sleeves on and was actually starting to sweat in the sun. I was also able to pull the plants out of the garden and lay down newspaper to keep the weed growth to a minimum when it was sunny. It’s a nice change from doing it in past years in really cold temps. That is perfectly fine for me in November. Anything to keep the Vitamin D flowing and the heating bill low.

Designing

I’m trying to slice up a shirt to wear for this month’s edition of On a Shoestring. The theme is holiday parties and I have a shirt that fits fine, but it has a weird splotch on it, so I’m trying to refashion it into something holiday-worthy without spending anything. I know Amy is going to come up with something so spectacular for this one!

Humming

I’ve plugged my old iPod in my car again and I’ve been jamming out to a friend’s indie band, Mariage Blanc. So I’ve been alternating between them and that annoying Judah and the Lion song I keep hearing every time I have the actual radio on. It’s like Mumford & Sons to the banjo power. Now, this is just my opinion, but it is the most annoying song ever. I don’t think it’s a alt song, but I keep hearing it on the alt station. It’s like a weird bluegrass/rap combo that just doesn’t make sense to me. Maybe the band has other songs that are less banjo-y. Maybe my tastes will change. Who knows.

Expecting

I’m sadly expecting the weather to get a bit cooler and it’s making me sad. Or maybe it’s just Judah and the Lion stuck in my head.

What’s been happening with you lately? Link up with us and share!


Sunday Lately, 95

Sunday Lately is a weekly link up brought to you by the Blogger Tribe. Link up and see what's been happening lately!Sunday Lately is a weekly linkup hosted by the Blogger Tribe (which is being fearlessly lead by Meghan, Nicole, Katy, and myself). We e-hang out every Sunday, sharing a small glimpse into the last week of life in our own worlds. We’d love if you could join us!
This week’s themes: Completing, Visiting, Repeating, Writing, Scheduling

 

After a few really warm days here in Pittsburgh, I’m finally getting into the fall feel of things. The rain can stop at any time, though…

Fall fashion with Gardening In High Heels

Completing

So the last time I wrote a Sunday Lately post (ahem, wonderful consistency, no?) I mentioned that I was doing a Pilates challenge at Dragonfly Pilates where I was taking 30 classes in 25 days. The official count was 35 classes in 21 days. Next up is a Matwork challenge. People don’t really like Mat, apparently, because there isn’t the help from an apparatus; it’s just you and the mat. It’ll be an awesome challenge.

Visiting

I started to go back to the gym. And I didn’t totally hate it. But it really wasn’t as much fun as a Pilates class nor did the time go by as quickly.

Repeating

It feels like doing the dishes is never-ending. I have a dishwasher, but I tend to just wash everything by hand because it’s usually just a plate and a fork. Or just a spoon if I’m feeling particularly lazy (and I mean, a serving of ice cream is one container, right?)

Writing

I started a new series with Amy from Amy and Angie called On A Shoestring focusing on dressing, decorating, and dining….on a shoestring budget. I’m so excited to get back into writing fashion-y posts. I was hit by a brain wave the other day that just because I don’t want to spend money on new clothing like I see other bloggers doing doesn’t mean that I have to. So I decided to make my own rules. It felt weird to get in front of the camera again, but after a few awkward shots, I’m really happy with this fall look and 3 simple (basically free) things to add to a summer outfit to make it fall-appropriate.

Transition Your Closet To Fall--add dark lipstick.

Scheduling

Some meetings, finally. It feels like I’m finally starting to make some headway with AngelicaRoss.co and I’ve talked to a few great women from the Propelle Rock It group that I belong to. It’s nice to get some collaborations and some brainstorming going again.

What’s been happening with you lately? Link up with us and share!


On A Shoestring: Transition Summer Clothes

Okay, I don’t know about y’all, but I don’t really dress seasonally appropriate. I don’t put summer clothes in storage and bring out the winter stuff. I like to have it all at my fingertips (sometimes to the detriment of my schedule in the morning), but sometimes that leaves me looking really not right for the season. And cold. I’m a person who likes to be warm. Oh, and save my money.

Enter a new series: On a Shoestring. I’m collaborating with Amy over at Amy and Angie on a series of posts to re-imagine fashion, food, decor (sorry, there’s no f-word for that) and more all on a shoestring budget. It doesn’t take a Rockefeller-sized closet (or house) and budget to look good.

It's so easy to take your summer outfits and make them fall-ready and fabulous, even on a budget!

Today’s mission: transition summer clothes. I love my summer dresses, but they don’t always scream autumn. And I’m like, I paid for it, I’mma wear it as much as I can! Gotta keep that cost-per-wear low.

I took this adorable summer dress (from Rosewood Boutique in Sewickley – they’re currently having a going-out-of-business-25%-off sale) and added three really budget friendly elements to make it jewel toned and weather-friendly.

Take any summer dress and easily transition it to a fall-ready outfit.

It already started out with a fall color, navy, so the transformation process was pretty simple.

First thing’s first: add in structure, especially with a flow-y dress like this. Nothing screams structure more than a good leather jacket (yeah, yeah, yeah, leather jackets aren’t cheap, but find one that fits within your budget and buy it. Take care of your clothes and it’s great investment.)

After the leather comes some tights. Stay warm, right? I buy most of my tights on clearance at Target. They have amazing patterned tights and beauties like the ruby-hued ones I’m rocking.

Finally, a dark vampy lip. Hell, even a berry lip will do.

Transition Your Cloest To Fall -- add leather! Love this jacket!

Transition Your Cloest To Fall -- add tights

Transition Your Cloest To Fall -- add tights

Transition Your Cloest To Fall--add dark lipstick.

You absolutely have to check out how Amy refashioned a white lace dress into a cute skirt and totally nailed a cozy fall look. For $3. Three stinkin’ dollars! Killin’ it.

Here’s the details on what I’m wearing. Everything was already in my closet. I just had to mix it together.

Dress: ETWO (from Rosewood Boutique)

Jacket: BB Dakota (from No. 14 Boutique – see it here another way)

Tights: Merona, Target

Booties: Old Navy

Lips: Notion, Ultra Matte Lip from ColourPop Cosmetics

Transition Your Cloest To Fall-Three Easy and Budget Friendly Steps

How do you transition your summer clothes?

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Can you hear you?

“I wanted to make sure you could hear you.”

Colleen Donaghy, played by Elaine Stritch, spits out this line in the “Hiatus” episode of 30 Rock. Let me set the scene… She’s at dinner with Jack and his fiancee, Phoebe. Phoebe says that she wants to get married in the spring as the petunias start to bloom. Colleen asks what she said and Phoebe repeats herself. Again, Colleen says, “What?” and Phoebe turns to Jack and asks if she’s hard of hearing.

That’s when this line comes out: “No, no, no. I can hear you. I just wanted to make sure you could hear you.”

Brilliant. How many times do we speak without really hearing what we’re saying? We’ve all been there. We think what we say is the funniest, most intelligent, most supportive, most whatever thing we’ve ever said…and it’s hot garbage.

This is your reminder to listen more than you speak, ask questions, and make sure you can hear you.

Can you hear you? Awesome reminder to think more than you speak.

(And if you’re interested, here’s a Google search for the episode. Find a YouTube video that looks good and go to town.)

 

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