I rarely get all gussied up any more, but for some reason I took a notion to on Saturday. Hubby, Pumpkin and I were taking Hubby’s cousin and his daughter out to eat and to a few other places, and Hubby kept complimenting me on how nice I looked (even thought I was just wearing shorts and a v-neck shirt). So I decided to take it up a notch, and put on some earrings and a necklace. Not a big deal, just rather unusual for me lately.

I do love jewelry, but I’ve gotten out of the habit of wearing it. But if Hubby bought me some nice new stuff, I’d be rocking it each and every day. (Hint, hint, Hubby!) Jewel Elegance has some gorgeous diamond rings at nice prices that would make great Mother’s Day gifts. And if you want an even better deal, use coupon code THTM10P801321 to get 10% off!

I won’t hold my breath until I get another diamond. It’s just not in the budget right now, even at an awesome price. But I can dream, can’t I?

Before I got married, and for a short time afterward, I was heavily into fashion accessories. I wasn’t the type to wear a bunch of heavy gold chains and rings Mr. T-style, though. I liked some bold pieces, but I was always careful not to overdo it. Unless you consider my multiple ear piercings (six in one ear, five in the other) overdoing it.

I pierced my own bellybutton once, and wore a simple beaded hoop in it until the hole got torn badly and I had to let it grow up. I adored sterling silver, and owned several silver rings, particularly thumb rings. And when it was sunny out, I often sported a pair of shades. I owned several pairs of both trendy and vintage sunglasses.

When I met Hubby, I was rarely seen without accessories. But he wasn’t crazy about all of my earrings, so I started wearing fewer of them. Eventually I started wearing less and less jewelry, until I was usually wearing none except my diamond engagement ring.

Now I occasionally don a necklace, bracelet, or pair or two of earrings, but most of the time I just don’t bother. I get tired of the same accessories after a while, and I haven’t been able to justify spending money on new ones for a long time. And maybe I’m getting old, but it’s just not a big deal to me any more. I no longer feel naked without a few pounds of jewelry on.

I’m the type of person who rarely dresses up. I’ve had one job that had a business casual dress code, and I got accustomed to wearing cute pantsuits, khakis and skirts while I was there, but other than that I’ve pretty much always been a casual gal.

Hubby is the same way. His idea of getting dressed up is putting on a good pair of jeans or khakis, a button-up shirt, and his cowboy boots. You’ll never see him fussing over cufflinks- I doubt he’s even aware of what they are.

Seeing how I work from home, for myself, and don’t usually meet clients face-to-face, I have it made as far as dressing as I please. But Hubby’s new job requires him to dress fairly neatly. That has been a bit of a challenge, because is afraid to ruin the few good pairs of pants he has. When he gets back to work, I’m going to have to do some clothes shopping for him. Heaven knows he won’t do it himself.

You wouldn’t really know it to look in my closet right now, but I love shoes. They were once my biggest weakness. Before I moved out from my mom and dad’s, I counted my shoes once. I had 70 pairs!

I got rid of most of those when Hubby and I moved in together. I kept some of my favorites, such as a groovy pair of platform shoes and some shiny, black chunky-heeled boots. But even they are gone now. I’m not sure where the platforms got to, because I would definitely still wear them. Maybe they were one of the pairs that would no longer fit me after Pumpkin was born.

Now I still have several pairs of shoes. But most of them are sandals, and out of those there are only a few that I wear. I think I have about three pairs of winter shoes. My, how things change.

I barely got out of bed in time this morning to get Pumpkin up and get her ready for school. I threw on the hideous red sweatpants and stained t-shirt I had on yesterday as soon as I got up. Once I woke up a little, I remembered that I had to go to the phone company and pay part of the cell phone bill while I was out, so I threw on this black denim button-up shirt that I hate. I know they say that black is slimming, but I swear that shirt makes me look twenty pounds heavier.

So I went out and took Pumpkin to school and went to pay the phone bill. I ended up standing in there forever because they were having computer problems and had to call the main office to get my balance. I finally got out of there and hightailed it home so I could try to get some work done. When I walked into the living room and saw myself in the mirror, I was horrified. Did I really go out of the house like that?

I mean, I usually put on some makeup before I go out, and today was no exception. But wearing what I was wearing, I think not wearing makeup would have been more fitting.

You’re probably thinking I’m vain right about now, but I’m really not. I just like to look presentable when I go out in public. And this morning I was (and still am) anything but. I guess I should give in and wash some clothes so I’ll have something decent to wear.

It has been many years since I have indulged my inner fashion diva. There was a time when whatever I wore made a statement, whether it was jeans or a dress. But I got married and settled down, and now there are times when I get depressed just looking in my utterly lackluster closet.

A big factor in my unfashionableness is lack of funds. I still have an eye for great clothing and accessories. For example, I just love Bracher Emden Handbags such as the one pictured above. I would have one in a heartbeat, but I don’t have $1380 to spend on it at the moment.

For those of you who love high fashion, check out ElectricLadyland.com. It’s an online store that is not only named after an album by one of my favorite artists (Jimi Hendrix), but has fabulous clothing and accessories, including that awesome purse up there!

There were lots of things I didn’t like about being pregnant when I was expecting Pumpkin. My feet swelled terribly. I was pregnant during the summer with no air conditioning. And I broke out in this itchy rash that my doctor simply called a pregnancy rash, and I couldn’t take anything to alleviate it. And need I mention those awful maternity clothes?

I was pretty lucky because I didn’t have to buy any maternity clothes. There was a huge plastic tub of maternity clothes that was being passed around in my family at the time, and I got use of them. They were pretty decent looking for maternity clothes, but they were nothing like the stylish clothes that I was accustomed to wearing.

I wish I could have had some of the hip & cool b-buckles that are available now when I was pregnant. They’re these neat little things that you can put on your pre-pregnancy jeans that allow you to wear them for the whole nine months. It’s said that celebrity moms like Gwyneth Paltrow and Julia Roberts are big fans of them. They come in some really cool designs- I particularly love the Mom tattoo one.

Pregnancy is a beautiful and miraculous thing, but there are some things about it that are tough. With b-buckles, at least you won’t have to give up your sense of style any more when you’re expecting.

Do you ladies out there like to keep your men looking sharp? I try, but Hubby is such a country boy. His version of dressing up is cowboy boots and a button-up shirt. Not that I don’t think he looks absolutely stunning dressed that way.

For those guys who make it a point to always be dressed to the nines, there’s Belisi’s Sharp by Design Blog. It has captivating articles on the latest fashion trends for men. And I even found a little something there for the more casual types such as my dear sweet husband.

If you want to stay on top of the men’s fashion world, be sure to bookmark Belisi’s Sharp by Design Blog. And if you want to give your favorite guy a hint, set it as the home page in his browser.