DIY Fishtail Maxi Dress

Alright, I'll admit it... I'm a self made fashionista. I do not have the room in our budget to adorn myself in the latest fashions, so I have to make do with what I've got! Don't we all? I am certainly not complaining, the opportunity to express my creativity is fulfilling!

I am not sure if it was last year or the year before but I spotted a dress I fell in love with when I was out shopping with friends. You know the one, the loose fitting slightly draped gathered waist dresses. I think I was at JCrew but I know I saw some at several of the outlet stores. 

Surely you've seen the type, these are from Revolve Clothing:

             

Anyway, I hardly ever shell out full price for anything and before I even dare go shopping I see if I can make do with what I've got. Well, let me tell you... I did it! I have this maxi dress, see... I bought it on sale for like $8 from ASOS (excellent site for sale shoppers, btw) and I wear it everywhere. I pulled it out while on vacation and it was hot so I wanted something shorter. I wanted a day dress. So I reached down and grabbed the sides of the dress right at my thighs and I hiked it up. I then took my most used fashion accessory, a men's belt I found at a thrift store that's about an XXL, and I did what I always do with it: I wrapped it around my waist to hold up the excess fabric. Then I untucked the dress a bit and VOILA! I got what I was looking for. I EVEN got the added surprise of the fishtail in the back!!! I couldn't believe it, a double whammy! I paired it with my brightest fuschia colored lace bra to add a pop of color and I could not have been happier with the look. Just between you and me, I wore this for like 3 days in a row.

Ugh! Terrible posture, eh? Whatev's... we were on vacay!

So that's that, my DIY Fishtail Maxi Dress. I would imagine any maxi dress would work and any type of waist belt would, too. I hope it works out for you!

I'm linking up with Julie at White Lights on Wednesdays for her Wednesday Whatsits. Check it: 

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Sweater Weather Fashion Faves

It's that time of year again! 

Time to look less sexy and more comfy.

Break out the scarf! I collect them, so the first sign of a chill and I'm all thrilled!

I personally carry my hoodie year round, but I like having the good old 'campfire' excuse to snuggle up in it.

I can't resist a good cardigan with skinnnies and fall fave footwear, boots.

I buy cardigans everywhere, but my fave spot to score them is thrift stores.

I personally seek the 'old lady' type. 

The sleeves often are a bit short, but I roll them or at the most, hem them to a crop fit.

I was delighted years ago when wearing shorts and tights became a fashion must.

This look, with a classic velvet jacket, gives way for my desire to be edgy and comfy.

  

I achieve my most favorite look by pairing my skinny black skirt 

with a pair of thigh high stockings and a chunky sweater. 

But I can't wait to pull off the 'night' version of the look above... 

with a sweater pulled over a glamorous dress!

Lover Boy is gonna have to take me somewhere nice!

xo

I'm LINKING UP with Mom2MemphisandRuby for Fall Fashion Must Have's Top 10!

Okay, so I shared the link to this post on Facebook and had to include the song for those of you link back to there from there:

Embarrassing? Psht!

There's something so liberating about coming out with it. I am linking up with The Eloping Stethoscope in lieu of Mom2MemphisandRuby's Tuesday Top 10. Paige is hosting this month and has a pretty banging topic for this week!

Reader Beware: You're about to get to know me... really well. 

Disclaimer: Isn't it crazy how the 'embarrassing things' are often just 'the truth'. I was thinking and came to the conclusion after this list that I get embarrassed about things I have done and shouldn't have.  However, instead of hiding behind the shame, I do it and then learn from it and then don't hide it from anyone. I have found being honest about my 'learning experiences' helps me overcome and learn from each one. I get a strange sense of accomplishment, perhaps because I overcame them and the shame. People make mistakes. I'm a professional. Also, some of these embarrassing things are things I could be embarrassed about... but I'm not. Starting with Number One:

1. I see a therapist.

         Before you say I shouldn't be embarrassed, you see the way someone looks at you when you start a sentence with "Yeah, I know what you mean! My therapist said..."

2. I hate to shower.

        I hate to bathe. I hate to get wet. The longest I have ever gone without a bath is about 13 days... give or take a few. I used to have to be coaxed into it. Hahaha, this one time, I had to be forced into the tub like a cat would have been. Don't worry though, I'm not the smelly kid. Ha! I've since changed my hippie ways.

3 & 4. I never graduated college.

        I hate school. I've been to two and dropped out of both within a few weeks. Technically, I don't even think I can say I gave it the ol' college try! 

       Another thing... I majored in booze and sex. There, I said it. The few years after high school and those couple of weeks I spent in college made me a shining example of why you shouldn't shelter your kids too much. Let them make their mistakes at home, in high school, where you can protect them and help them and save them from bigger mistakes. I was the stereotypical crazy ass girl with no direction and with no idea how to lead my own life because until then, no one let me. Want to scare your kids straight? Call me. For reals.

5. This photo:

6. I sing karaoke.

       I should be embarrassed about it because I suck at it. My fave song to sing is Johnny & June's "Jackson". A couple of drinks and an energized mischievousness have landed me mid bar belting this classic more than once!

7 & 8. My day job.

         I model.I know, most women would be proud. I really am of the runway stuff, it's the pin up stuff that makes my cheeks blush. 

         I'm also kinda embarrassed about our 'real' day job... even though I spend all of my energy convincing my husband we shouldn't be. We work in scrap metal; in a junkyard. It's the complete opposite of a glamorous day job like modeling, but it pays the bills really, REALLY, REALLY well.

9. I totally love The Twilight Saga.
         If you've ever had a fairy tale romance (like I did in high school) then you get it. No explanation necessary.

10. I'm a klutz.
         Just now, I busted my lip while putting my headphones back on to listen to music as I finish this post.

HelloCotton Blog Hop!

Welcome to Tuesday's Blog Hop - Let's Have Fun #2!!

Your Host:

The DIY Dreamer

This Week's Co-Hosts:

It's Overflowing 
Our Beautiful Blessings
The Life of a Not So Ordinary Wife
My Beautiful Crazy Life
Sneakers Over Stilettos
Chickadette
The Vintage Milk House

For those of you who do not know what Hellocotton is...

Hellocotton allows you to follow for free the most talented women bloggers out there. It is the easiest way to discover the latest on trends and to take on a daily dose of inspiration. Hellocotton also allows you to comment, vote and share it all with your friends.

Go and sign up to Hellocotton so that you can join in this Blog Hop.

RULES:

1- Follow your hosts.  

They are the first 8 in the linky and they will follow you back.

2- Link up your Hellocotton link (not your blog).

3- Check out the other blogs on the list and follow some.

4- Grab the button below and place it somewhere on your blog.

This is will help increase the success of this Blog Hop.

You can even Facebook or Tweet about it.

<div align="center"><a href="http://thediydreamer.blogspot.com" title="The DIY Dreamer"><img src="http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d189/lexieex/The%20DIY%20Dreamer/BlogHopFun1.png" alt="The DIY Dreamer" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

HAVE FUN with the Blog Hop!

The Covert Robin Gift Exchange

I was lucky enough to get to be a part of The Covert Robin Gift Exchange for March! I think so far, I've gotten the BEST gift out there! I wish I had a picture of my face when I opened it. I was thrilled! Check it:

Hi Chickadette readers, Kristin here from Australia.  I blog over at pritty tings and was assigned Ashley to make my (not so covert now) gift for!!!  As I hadn't come across Ashley's blog before I immediately checked her out.  Hmm what to make for Ashley??? After a week or so pondering this and checking out her posts and pinterest boards, I received some purse frames that I had ordered from Etsy and that was that, I was going to make her (my very first) framed clutch!  I used this U-Handbag - Straight Edge Purse Frame as a reference for making the clutch.  However I wanted a different shape to the one in the tutorial so I drew out my own pattern as the tutorial suggests, using the frame I had.

 

Once I had the template, I cut all the pieces I needed.

I used drill (yellow), fusible fleece (not suggested in tutorial but I added it for a bit of protection, iron on heavy woven interfacing (sew-in is suggested but I only had iron on and it worked) and a fabric placemat for the lining (blue and white patterned) they were already stiff so I didn't use a second lot of interfacing.

For the VW beetle, I just drew the VW picture onto some baking paper, re-drew over the pencil with permanent marker on top of paper (as you look at it now), marked where I wanted the beetle to sit with pins in the fabric then flipped it over and positioned the picture between the pins (marker side to the fabric).  I ironed the paper, this caused the image to be transferred to the back of the fabric so I had a guide to follow when stitching the beetle on.

Once I had it stitched on, I simply (or not so simply when it came to the tight corners) followed the tutorial to sew it up and glue it in to the frame.

So that's it, I hope you like your gift Ashley and thanks for having me on your blog.

Kindest regards

Kristin

So there's this link up...

I was found by a chick named Natalie and so I visited her blog, like ya do, and it is awesome.

On her blog I found this pretty banging link up!

"3 Favorite Songs"

Are you flipping kidding me? How could I resist? Mama loves her tunes!

Fortunately/unfortunately I have a tight list of 50 Top 3 Favorite Songs categorized by genre and so on.

Here are 3 random 5 Star Rating ones chosen by my iTunes.

"Polite Dance Song" by The Bird and The Bee / Album: Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future

"I Would Do Anything For You" by Foster The People / Album: Torches

"Canopy Shade" by Trophy Wife / Album: Bruxism

Watch this video... for reals.

*Click the link up photo to join us!

Between Two Evils, Both.

As my pregnancy curse draws to an end, I find myself daydreaming more and more about what I'm going to get to do when I'm NOT pregnant. Things I've been refraining from in order to be a stand up mom from the get go. Things that remind me that Mommy has a life.

{Warning! This is one of those 4:07 AM confession like posts that has not been edited to appease anyone.}

I Want To:

1. Do it. That's right, do it. Starting out strong, here, but bare with me. Bare it all. That's what I want to do. I mean, let's face it, I've spent more months pregnant with my beau (with ailments... like, all of them) than not and well... my current physical state is testament to what we found out we had in common after we started dating.

2. Drink the whole bottle of wine... myself. Specifically on a night when I'm hanging on the back porch of certain friend's house. Or sunning in the pool at others. Then, because I'm sure my tolerance will be devoured by the same evil wizard who took it in spite after my first pregnancy, I want to experience the love/hate relationship with a hangover that only allows memories of the night entrance into my psyche in forms of bright broken rays of light.

3. Go hiking with my boys. I'm especially wanting to get more into geocacheing. I haven't ever taken Aiden Gray with me but come on, he's my kid and his father's son so he'll totally be down to hunt for treasure. Also, I want to see Aiden's face light up when he first recognizes the water fall is in front of him. I'll probably let him spend another summer running around nude in the middle of the woods splashing in and out of the stream. Heck, you're only 5 once! Then, we'll watch The Goonies.

4. Sleep on my belly. I usually sleep in a very feminine seductive position that beckons for me to be cuddled. However, if I'm exhausted, like really exhausted, then I like to fall into the bed face first with limbs hanging over the edge and my OCD thrown out of the window! The drama behind the emotion is suited for my personality. Ha! Anyway... it's been months now since I woke up on my belly with a smile in my own drool to the comfort of a fully rested body and soul.

5. Go dancing. I want to meet up with Stella, dress the part, and head to Athens for a night of dancing, ciggies, and whiskey sours. Our handlers will be Jameson for her and Jack for me, as always. (That one's for you, too, Julie) We'll start the night mixing and matching our mood with the appropriate scene and end up where ever we're entertained more.

6. Eat sushi. 7. Wear a miniskirt. 8. Wake up on the beach. 9. Throw a party. 10. See a Motion City Soundtrack show.

Coincidentally, I'm linking up with Lena @ M2M&R!

Spread the Love Facebook Hop Link Up! Say What!?

The time is here! Today begins the Share The Love Facebook Hop!!

{scroll down my page to get the button from a grab box}

Your hosts for this great event will be 
Katie from Party Of Four

Lena from Mom2MemphisandRuby

Stephanie from Rice & Relaxing

Cerrisse from The Posh Daisy

Tiffany from Breakfast With Tiffany

Ashley from Chickadette 

  Please read these rules before linking up. 

1. Please "like" all 6 of your party hosts.  

2. Link up your business and/or shop Facebook pages.

3. Be sure to "like" other pages that are linked up because they will be visiting you to. 

4. Leave a comment letting your new friends where you came. 

Join Us!

<a href="http://1momma3boys.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x386/katieboatright/facebookhop-1.jpg" /></a>

I'm pretty sure I remember being told this link up was going 'live' tomorrow, so mark your calendars to check back over here and link up. This hop is specifically designed for those of us with Facebook pages for our blog.

www.facebook.com/chickadette

With Google denying other platforms (Typepad, Wordpress, etc) access to Google Friend Connect beginning in April, you'll be seeing a significant change in how people follow your blog. I seriously suggest setting up a Facebook page or a Bloglovin' page. I have found these sites to be the easiest way to keep track of my favorite blogs! There are also other avenues such as Twitter, Google+, and Linky Followers but I honestly haven't mastered those yet so I am going to keep my opinion of them to myself for the time being.

BTW,
I love you.

Thank You For Being A Friend

I seriously could probably categorize my besties with these characters. I think the Golden Girls are a great example of how completely contradicting personalities can come together and be best friends. You'll read repeatedly on this blog how much I love how different each of my friends are! I think that the fact I surround myself with such unique ladies contributes to me being personally well rounded.

 

Top Ten Link Up w Mom2MemphisandRuby

I am linking up with Lena @ Mom2MemphisandRuby.

I had every intention on posting this yesterday but was otherwise distracted!

1. I love his determination. When we met Brett was probably the first (yes, FIRST) man to ask me out on a date, appropriately. He came to me and introduced himself and hung out with me for a bit as a friend before asking me out to dinner. He made me feel like a lady! He made me feel respected and desired. Then, I turned him down. I have NO idea what I was thinking... I nearly passed on the most amazing man I still have ever met! He stuck around though... or rather, allowed me to stick around while I figured things out. When we had only been together a few months, I wrote 'Our Love Story'. It's cute, there wasn't much to write because we had only been together 2 months when he proposed. I'm thinking of writing another to see what perspective I would have now.

Our Love Story

Ashley Marie was a waitress at Natalie Jane's Tavern. Brett was a chef at Black Dog Bistro. Brett asked Ashley out and she said "No." but she let him buy her lots and lots and lots and LOTS of lunches. Ashley told Brett to listen to a song called "Stand Too Close" by Motion City Soundtrack. They became best friends and drank wine, listened to music, and talked all night... and morning. Then she said "Yes!" Their first date was at Glen Ella Springs. Brett met Aiden. Ashley met O'Ryan. They all went to the park and they all fell in love. Now they're going to be a family.

2. Our 'firsts' have each been more amazing than the one before.

3. Brett is extremely supportive. Every single idea I come up with for whatever reason, he's there. He wants me to keep putting effort into doing the things I love. He likes to see me work hard and succeed. My business, my blog, my parenting are all much more rewarding now that I have him backing me. Even our failed attempts at things, like our blog 'Dating for Dinner' have been fun!

4. He is determined to be the best man he can be. 

5. Brett depends on me to be there for him. I know, at first thought, this wouldn't seem  like a good thing. Women typically don't seem to go for the 'needy' types. Honestly though, it's nice to be needed when it is in a mature and healthy way. I love how he lets me know that I've made such a significant impact on his life so much so that he couldn't imagine his own without me any more. I need him just as much.

6. Brett is fun. I enjoy being with him. No television, internet, or money? No problem! My favorite memories of our time together are the ones from the beginning when we would lay around on the couch and drink wine and listen to music and talk. I LOVE how that still happens.

7. Brett is full of surprises! He literally surprises me all of the time with such sweet gestures and presents! Believe me, I haven't ever had a guy pamper me or think of me like he does.

8. He can weather my storms. I'm not always the easiest to deal with. In a certain mood I can pitch a fit that should leave me broken and lonely, however, he's still there. He hugs me and kisses me and understands what I'm going through.

9. Brett thinks I'm gorgeous. He expresses it in such a way that makes me feel differently than every time I've been told in the past. The look in his eyes make his words more believable, like there's something more to understand than his comment being a compliment.

10. He my baby daddy. The crap we've been through in only 8 months would land most in a looney bin! Both of us have had hard pasts significant enough to make a psychiatrist swoon and neither ever intended for our existence with each other to get so complicated at times. For some reason though, the trials we have been faced with (like our unexpected bundle of joy being conceived merely one month after we met) seem less like horrific mistakes and more like unexpected blessings.

11. Aaaaand he cleans house, cooks dinner, watches the boys while I sleep, makes me laugh, holds my hand during pain, hugs me when I cries, loves my family, adores my friends, and is soooo good looking.

Link Up: