{look}

Details grab your attention.  Whether you are inclined to volitionally notice the finite or not, particulars have a way of altering your outlook with an experience more deep and defined.  I always think of a doctor's office when I muster up my mindset on the affect of the detail.  Apprehensive and unsettled are most visits to the doctor.  Anticipating news be it good or bad, uncovering health issues and/or settling on treatment plans are all potentials in the repertoire of one said visit.  You make your entrance.  Check the furniture and the walls.  Is it sterile and outdated?  Do you notice onetwothousand many artificial plants from circa 1984? You know the kind with the mauve tipped leaves?  Or, do you find it a space filled with warm tones, updated decor and local art adorning the walls?    How about the lighting?  Is it inyourfaceflorescence? Now the people.  Yes, most definitely the people.  Check them.  How do they greet you?  Does the front desk lady have the face of a wrinkled prune like she has a permanent sour candy lodged in her corner jaw?  Is she welcoming and call you by name with a smile?  Does she ignore the incoming phone call to field your immediate insurance questions?  She should.  I hope that she does.  What about the nurses?  Do they bark orders and lack tact when asking you to shed clothing that you not dare release in front of anyone except your spouse?  What about your doctor?  Does he listen to you with his eyes on yours?  Does he interrupt what you are saying?  Is he constantly writing while you talk?  Does he find time to explain the course of treatment or consider your body and that it is yours not his?


Yes, details count.

And, I wanted to take the month of May to look for those details in my life.  Yes, the wrinkled prune receptionist and the nurse who knows my boys' favorite sucker flavors too.

So, let's begin this visit, shall we?

For those just joining, go here to catch up on just what exactly I am doing each month.  You can also go here to read about my word for 2012.  And, finally, here to read about my weekly accounts of defining this word in my life.

Ensemble statistics:

shirt:

The Limited brand
Goodwill $2.29 {1/2 off weekend}

  • I swooned when my hand filed through the rack and my finger tips happened upon this piece.  For those of you who know me, you can only imagine my intense delight and how it was displayed.  My fingers immediately began caressing the beaded shoulder cuffs.  Like a hungry hawk, I carefully combed over for any missing beadwork.  It's Goodwill.  The graveyard of all beadwork gone bad.
  • This blouse was in perfect shape. Not a bead missing.
  • It's killer navy. Killer.  Navy is so very the trend right now.  All kinda classic and such a great shade to pair with just about any color on the wheel.  And, my personal favorite?  It's not black.
  • The scoop drape neckline.  Can I have a moment of silence, please?  Thank you.  I could potentially pen an entire book on the value of a good swoop neckline blouse.  Whether you are small chested or well endowed upstairs, the swoop neckline is of value, people.  Value I say.  It provides instacharacter if you ask me.  It's like a dramatic screenplay with all the internal swells of steamy details but completely written for the PG audience.  It is classic.
  • Nice lint on the chestal area, Meg.  Good cameras don't miss out on the details.
  • This shirt is the perfect length.  Stopping just before the hind end.
  • The fabric.  Another moment please.   Thank you.  It is the absolute perfect stretchy cotton material.  Good brands use good fabrics.  {insert plug for k.Mac here}.  This fabric snuggles your bodice yet gives you the feeling of freedom too.  I love that this blouse can be worn in its full length stretch or pulled up for bunchy blousing too.  Either way the shirt rocks.  I love purchasing a clothing item that is versatile in wear.


A shout out to Eli G. Cobble photography on this next image.  He has requested that I start adding in some photos he takes without my directing.  I feel all kinds of Farrah Fawcett from Charlie's Angels in this unscripted shot.  See what I mean about the drape neckline?


Pants:
  • Ann Taylor brand
  • Goodwill $2.24 {1/2 off weekend}
  • These are a white denim jean.
  • They have a straight leg.  Not skinny jean nor the flare leg look.
  • I really enjoy the length.  Being 5'9", I long ago let go of the "I have to have just the right pant length for flats and heels" and embraced the "I will pretend I am in style even if, in fact, I am not" with regard to pant length.  I realize the luck I have struck with having a frame that isn't considered either TALL or SHORT.  
  • I have worn these pants with ballet flats as well as sandal wedges and booties.  I have refrained from the super tall heel of platform nature as that may just be a stretch in the "I will pretend I am in style even if, in fact, I am not" department.  Some things are just wrong.  It's best to know them and act accordingly.
  • Filigree silver threading floral design on the left side pant line edge and the right pocket.  BRILLIANCE, Ann Taylor.  
  • This one-up detail masterfully accomplishes the art of unique. {insert k.Mac plug here} 
  1. It sets these pants apart from the typical white pant. 
  2. It provides instacharacter.


Shoes:
  • A gift from my sister-in-law, a.k.a. the shoe goddess, Melissa.
  • These are a light gray suede with a clever twist design on the side.  This twist design is another feather in the cap of detail.
  • When I look down at them on my feet, they look like elf shoes.
  • Fortunately, they do not give off that vibe from other angles.
  • I wore them back in February documented here.
  • I just recently wore them with a pair of white cuffed short-shorts and gold metallic ruffle tank. I opted for a turquoise/coral/pearl/gold chunky necklace and the rhinestone bracelets you see me in with this outfit.  I really liked the eclectic summer vibe I had going on.  Suede booties in summer?  Yep.  Guilty.


Accessories:

belt:

  • $.25
  • Goodwill {1/2 off weekend}
  • A yummy mustard yellow with silver studding all the way around.
  • My best friend, Angela June, made a bee line to me with this belt in hand.  She looked at me motioning to the belt in her hand and then dropped it into our joint buggy and said, "It's got you written all over it."
  • I love that she knows me even in belts.


Sunglasses:



Earrings:

  • silver circles interlocked and dangling
  • I got these in middle school.
  • When your own things can be labeled vintage, you have arrived.



Bracelets:

  • $5.00
  • Dillard's Department Store pre-Thanksgiving sale.
  • HUGE rock like rhinestones with a magnetic clasp.
  • Get compliments on these all the time.
  • The rhinestones have a gray vibe to them which promotes an old world vintage look.


Ring:

  • The Laura ring by Premier Jewelry.
  • FREE!
  • I had a party and received over $400 in free jewelry.  The Laura ring was first up on my wish list.  It totally looks like an heirloom passed down from my grandmother.  It is my go-to right hand ring.
  • Jennifer Hudson Rimback was my jewelry party consultant.  She rocks!



Hair:

  • FRESH WASHED from the night before. {Can you believe it?  I need a moment here.  Thank you.}
  • zero product. {I don't own any.}
  • Hot rolled using these.  They are the bomb when it comes to hot rollers. Emily Murphy Fraker's hair totally sold me on this purchase.
  • I rolled my hair pieces back as opposed to forward.
  • When I took the rollers out, I did nothing but shake my head up and down 2 times and then sideways once.
  • Flipped my bangs under with a big round curling iron.



And, there you have it.



Total outfit investment:  $13.78

May 2012

My word:

 My personal word of growth for May 2012 was look.

My mission:

I wanted to take the time to look and pay attention to the details of my life.


My boys:

Find them where they are.



My business:

Look for ways to improve and celebrate.


My husband:

Notice him.


My energy and my time:

See who in your life deserves this.


My God:

Where is He?  Look for Him.



My status:

* * * *
4 out of 5 stars.


My memories:

My boys:

Oftentimes, I want to finagle their personalities too much.  I push them more than I should.  This month I made a point to let them be.  Watch them unfold their passions and look back at what they have learned in our year together in school.  I stopped instructing so much and just let them celebrate their accomplishments.  I watched baseball brothers.  I looked out, let go and found them full in the art of creating and pretend.  I looked on as my sons set their own schedules of play, took care of their own needs with snacks and water bottles filled, and chose their own style for clothes.  Growing up is that sneaky heartbeat of hurt and a whole lotta pride too.


My business:

I watched new clients come in with a smile on my face!  I paid attention to fabrics that made heads turn.  I looked for new ways to hedge success in and progress forward.  I looked at myself too.  I made more sense of my work schedule and reminded myself that working hours are important in an at-home business.  I let the ebbs and flows of my projects meld and tried not to be caught up in the my penciled in deadlines.  I also looked at the routine of project completion and set more solid guidelines for myself.

My husband:

I watched him sleep.  His eyelashes are so long and thick.  He has the most handsome jawline even in rest.  I watched him make me laugh.  I watched him make me mad too. He gets me through and through.   He is so candidly great with the boys. I see him making great things happen in his profession.  He is a hard worker and so very humble.  I see him making more of himself in such great strides.  With all of this in just a month's glance, it makes scheduled work hours in an at-home business, all the more coveted by me.

My energy and my time:

It is meant for the people in my life that are fair and loving.  And, I am so fortunate to have so many I want to give my time and energy to.  For the ones who are not fair and loving, I see you.  It is no longer necessary that my time and energy be given away to people who do not operate with fairness and out of love.  This lesson hurts on many levels.  

My God:

He is there is the tiniest of details.  He seeks my attention there.  Just like the silver threaded filigree floral design, the beaded shoulder cuffs, the mustard yellow belt and the scoop drape neckline, God is that in tune with the finite.  He makes mishaps work out, He turns hurt into hope and resolution, He finds me complacent and pushes me to move.  I watched this month as He placed burdens on my heart only to transform them into outlets for me to act in the way that He would want me to.  He grounds me in humility and then asks me for more of myself to Him.  I have worked to have my eyes fixed on His place in my life this month.


May your doctor's office visits be void of sour candy lodged pruned faces and inyourfaceflorescence; God's all about infusing instacharacter in your life.

Yes, details count.

.mac :)

inspiration, blog seriesMeghan CobbleComment