Learning to feel comfortable being me

I have always struggled with me. I have had a hard time liking myself and who I am and the way I am. I have always hated pictures of myself and usually avoid being in them if possible. After reading some articles/blog posts about being in the pictures anyway, I decided that I need to just quit worrying about what I look like and whether I like how I look in the pictures and just be in them. I don't think my kids will be worried about how I looked. Hopefully they'll just be happy I'm in them at all.
I am also learning to love myself for who I am. DYT has helped me realize that I am not a mistake or flawed. I am not like my mom in lots of ways but that's ok. It's ok if I do things slower cause I get caught in the details and 'what ifs'. I have learned that some of the things I thought were weaknesses are actually my gifts to the world.
I have learned that Heavenly Father has made me the way I am and that as His child I have value and worth. Maybe some of that acceptance comes from age as well. I find as I get older I care less what anyone else thinks about me. That's a nice place to be...to finally feel comfortable being me!

probably my favorite picture of myself. I didn't smile big enough to squish my eyes shut! LOL

We were taking pictures for a DYT contest of a mom and daughter dressing their truths.

She's much more comfortable in front of a camera than I am...

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Trying to make beach waves in my hair with salt spray...

Not too wavy, but I kind of liked it...

Not bad for a girl with stick-straight hair...

This was a really GOOD hair day...

Used a flat iron to make these soft curls. Oh, the irony. Using a flat iron to add curls to naturally straight hair.

I felt really pretty this day...

Not afraid to be in pictures anymore. If I wait until I think I look good enough for pictures there will never  be any of me in them for my kids to see...

Holding Kami on her blessing day. So fun to be a grandma!

Shoe Redo

I finally decided to be brave and attempt some minor shoe fix-up. Paint scares me for some reason but I decided I had very little to lose with these two pairs of shoes. I've had these LEI ruffly flats for a year since I began dressing my truth. They were a great color to begin with, but you can see the wear on them and they were becoming quite useless to me. Not nice enough for Church anymore.

you'd think I used them for brakes when I ride a bike or something.

This pair of wedges I bought a couple of years ago looking for a fun pair of sandals. I think they have T2 characteristics. The cascading flowers and the straps are soft suede. Unfortunately they are black. Yup, that color I don't wear anymore. So it was either paint them or DI them. 

You can see my expert painting techniques here. Stuffing them with grocery bags and taping off the heels. Pro.

I used Krylon Brushed Metallic spray-paint in the Brushed Nickel color. Here are the results. I am pretty happy with them and I think I'll get lots more wear out of them. You can hardly see the scuff marks!

And here are the wedges. I think they turned out very cool. The flowers are more visible and the straps have an almost sparkly look because of the suede. Can't really see that in the photo. So excited to have some heels to wear now!

And just for fun, thought I'd share the new sandals I found. Another LEI shoe from Walmart. I got them to wear to Youth Conference because we were going to be doing a lot of walking and I didn't want to wear something between my toes or shoes that would give me blisters. I need to get some silver nail polish and cover the rivets which are a yellowy color, but they are so comfy and have a slight wedge heel to them. Sort of dressy but comfy casual at the same time.

Cause I'm Cheap Like That

I found this jewelry kit at Walmart when I went to Club Night in April. It was discounted to $7. I liked the shapes of the earrings in the kit and the pink was good as well so I threw it in my cart.

 I broke it out a few days ago and made a matching set of earrings and necklace. I have found that I really like making jewelry and it's not as difficult as I thought it would be.

 Here are the earrings. I like the oval shapes and the dangling pink beads and thought they were very fitting for my Type 2 wardrobe. Below are the earrings and 30"necklace. The whole set came together in less than an hour. And thanks to the marked down cost of the kit, each item cost a whopping $1. That makes me smile, cause like the title says, "I'm cheap like that."

Another T2 look

This was an outfit I wore last week sometime. I really liked the subtle tone differences in the shirt, cardigan and flower. 

The shirt is taupe, sort of purplish brown/gray. Got it at our local thrift store for $2. It flows nicely, almost has a silky feel. I believe it's rayon. 

The cardigan came from Down East last summer. I love the soft lavender color and it's very lightweight. The only thing I've decided I don't love about it is the hanging open factor. For some reason I just don't like those ends flapping as I walk. So I tie them loosely and get that draping quality in the front. I've debated trimming them into a more rounded shape rather than how angular they are now. Perhaps that would make it more comfortable for me to wear. 

The flower I got at our local scrapbook supply store and attached a hairclip to it. It is also a taupe, but a more brownish version. 

The dark jeans are some Old Navy jeans I got at the DYT store in Jan. I love them and the subtle details on them. No bling on my backside.

I have on a silver necklace with personalized charms to honor my mom and her battle with cancer and my dad who passed away in Dec. I know the circular shapes aren't just right, but because of it's sentimental value and it connecting me to my parents I wear it every day anyway. I also have on a pair of oval lacy silver earrings from Wallyworld. Very lightweight. Love them.

This is my natural hair color. I have finally gotten rid of the highlights I had put in a year ago to 'brighten' myself up. I finally, for the first time in my life, like my natural hair color and am finding ways to wear it that are soft, flowy and comfortable. No more helmet hair! 

The Closet Makeover

This is the story of the transition of my closet. From black and white and blah.......(pre-DYT) to

COLOR!!

My closet really used to consist of mostly black, white and brown. I had a very few patterned shirts, mostly solids. I did have a few bright shirts, trying to add some color to myself, but they were more T1 tints.I had really fallen into that trap that 'black makes you look thinner' and 'black goes with everything'.

I love my closet now. I love that all the clothing there is intermixable. I can pull any of them out, put them together and they will coordinate and look good on me. I do need to expand my green choices a bit and maybe some more blues as well, but it's been a very liberating transition and I am so thankful to have found Dressing Your Truth.

I've decided to post some of the outfits I put together. Mostly as a visual for myself to see how they look somewhere other than in the mirror. (My mirror has issues with telling the truth). Also as a catalog of possibilities. One thing I really love about my closet now is that all the clothing coordinates and the possibilities are limitless. It's so fun to see what new look I can create. This will help me see if it was a win or not.

Today I went for a very casual look. Since I started DYT I have been trying to be more dressy than just jeans and a T, my standard uniform prior to DYT. But there are days when you just want to be comfy and casual. Today was one of those days.

I layered a light gray tshirt under a gray burnout tshirt from Aeropostale'. The Aero tshirt is a big too large and so it drapes but since I'm T2 I think that's perfect!

I put on my silver oval earrings but still felt a little blah, so I added the dusty blue scarf I made from an old tshirt.(love, love, love these scarves!! Tutorial here) I think it adds just enough interest at the neckline.

I still find myself doing a bit too much contrast. I originally put on a purple/lavendar tshirt scarf, but decided I wanted to go with a more blended, monochromatic look. It's a challenge for me to go monochromatic.

*Please ignore the visible muffin top, I'm working on removing that!

I am what I thought I was.....

Wow. I really meant to be better at updating this blog this year. Guess the year is not over and I still have time to do better.

So after my trip to the DYT Center in Draper, I'm happy to announce that I'm a Type........................................................................................
2!!
I am what I thought I was. And I'm very happy about that!

It was a very interesting experience. I was privileged to meet with Sarah Tuttle, and she spent about 20 minutes with me, helping me decide/see for myself that I am a Type 2. The draping consisted of (with as few specifics as possible to not cause a problem with the DYT co.) placing on me type specific versions of one color. Along with that there was a piece of a patterned cloth that was type specific and a piece of jewelry that was type specific.

Sarah sat me near a north-facing window for true light and in front of a mirror. She looked at me and shared with me what facial features she did see in my face. She said she saw T1 in my upturned nose and higher forehead as well as rounder cheeks. She saw T4 in my straight eyebrows and parallel lines on the sides of my nose. T2- she saw my oval face and softer cheek/jaw and s-curve from brow to around my mouth. Then she put the fabrics for the type that I thought I was on me, then layered the others over that from the type with the features most recognized to the least. So T2 was on the bottom and T3 on the top.

The T3 color and pattern were just completely wrong. Too much movement. They were quickly discarded. T4 was next. Colors weren't too bad, but when the patterned piece was near my face, it was just overpowering me. They were removed and we went to T1. We played around with it for a time. The colors were actually quite good on me. Again it came to the pattern and metal. The piece of fabric was a polka dot and in Sarah's words,"Just looks 'silly'". The animation of it was not good for me. Then we just had the T2 fabrics to look at. Again, the colors are good, and the patterned piece just made my face look smoother and softer and not so blotchy. And it flowed with me.

I was thrilled to get this chance. I was a bit nervous going in, but it was a great time and I'm so glad I took the chance to do it. Sarah was so kind and sweet, making me feel very comfortable and at home. I also took the time to shop while I was there. I think that is something I will do as often as I can. I loved that I didn't even need my style guide. They have all the clothing sorted by type on the racks. So you just head to the the T2 rack and start shopping. I found a pair of much-needed jeans, a jacket and about 4-5 shirts, as well as a pair of earrings.

I'm looking forward to catching a club night this year sometime and I'm also planning to attend the annual event they hold. This year it's the end of September. Can't wait to meet so many women who are living their truth.

HMMmmmm......

Well, on top of all the other changes this one is not so important but it is interesting. I have been trying to live as a Type 2 (DYT lingo) for the last 9 or so months. I have enjoyed it and been happy doing so. But a chance comment from a person on the T2 Facebook page has made me have some questions. She mentioned that I look very T1 to her, possibly even T4. The avatar that I had on fb at the time was 10 years old so I decided to take some new pictures and post them. I did so on a day that I was dressed T2 with wavy hair and grayish clothing. I posted them on my fb group and hoped that someone could see the 'blended' look to my face in spite of the turned up nose and 'apply' cheeks'. Everyone who commented mentioned something besides T2, mostly T1. Here is that picture. I look old and tired. ( I am, mostly)Someone then asked me to take and post a picture of myself in something more T1, just for comparison's sake. So I went to my closet and dug out a bright pink cardigan I kept and threw it on over the brown shirt I was wearing that day. Took the picture, posted it and you know what? Even I could see it. I looked more alive in the brighter color. One lady said I looked 10 years younger and I had to agree. Check it out below.

So now I'm unsure again what my dominant Type is. Maybe I am a T1 with a strong secondary 2 instead of the 2/1 I thought I was. I'm heading to Draper in a couple of weeks to get an energy draping done. I just want to know for sure. It has caused me to do a lot of reflecting and thinking about why I would choose to live in my secondary if that is truely what my T2 is. It's quite an interesting journey. I'll let you know how it turns out!

DYT update

So the promised pictures will have to wait. I can't seem to find my camera which has my memory card full of pictures in it. I really wish I could find it, or at least my mind. Maybe then I could remember where I'd put the blasted thing. LOL

It has been a crazy summer. I was really hoping to go to SLC to attend an intro night or a club night at the DYT center, but that never happened.

I was able to go up in August and had every intention in the world of stopping by the center in Draper to look at jewelry and accessories. But again, it didn't happen. It was too hot, the vehicle I was driving had no a/c and I had the baby with me, so I decided it was not the right time for me to shop. On that trip I did make it to a DI and can I just tell you what a different experience it was for me? I took my style guide with me and I first pulled things off the rack if they were the right color. Then I looked at the fabrication and design lines and if they were Type 2 AND close to my size then I put them in my cart to try on. I went to the dressing room with probably 30 items in my cart. That has never happened before. EVER! I ended up with about 5 shirts and a pair of jeans for $29. Then I found a cute gray T with soft, vintage embellishments in pinks and purples at Sams Club for another $7. I was so happy to have some new items to wear. Still wishing for a scarf or two or some jewelry. One of these days.

I think that day will be here soon. Someone kind ;) (you know who you are) used my DYT link and purchased a book and online course, and I received a commission for that. I'm so excited to have some store credit to use. I'm sure that true to my type, I'll debate and debate about how to spend it, but I am looking forward to putting some of those wonderful items in my virtual shopping cart and then getting a fun package in the mail.

I have not made as much progress with my hair redo as I would have liked. I had my hair-wiz sister cut it quite short in May because I was having the post-partum hair loss. I think though that that has mostly ended, so I'm in the growing it out a bit mode and it's in the icky in-between stage. You know the one. The one where you can't do a thing with it and just want it to grow fast or get it all chopped short again. I do need to visit my sis again and have her try to get my hair back to its natural ash blonde and maybe put some lighter ash highlights in it. Can't believe I'm saying that. For so many years I've tried desperately to add some brightness to my hair with golden and reddish tones. Typical Type 2 trying to be Type 1 thing to do. Haha.

I will take some new pictures and try to get them posted sooner rather than later. I'm anxious to share my very gradual transformation.

Dressing Your Truth

I have been in a fashion funk for a long time. Lot of things contributed to that. Too much weight from lots of babies, very little disposable income (gotta feed all those kids), and just not knowing what looked good on me or how to put things together. Last fall I was introduced (through the internet) to a program called Dressing Your Truth. I was intrigued and asked my family to give me the book about it for Christmas. I read it and thought I knew what my type was but wasn't sure. I watched some of the videos that are available to watch online and still wasn't sure. Then I listened to a conference call and true to my type was too reserved to ask any questions, although I had them. So I read the book again, with the things in mind from the call as I read, and things started jumping out at me. Why I do things the way I do them. I was able to pin down my type. FINALLY!! I saved up the funds to purchase the online course for my type and I've been attempting to 'live my truth' since then. Of course I can't do a complete overhaul in a month. I just don't have the funds, but I have been able to purchase a couple of things and it's so nice now to know what colors, lines and types of clothing to look for. I don't feel lost in the store anymore! And for me that's huge! I have always hated to shop cause there are too many choices. Now I can really zero in on what will look best on me. HOORAY!!!! I will make some changes to my hair and clothing. This is so EXCITING!! This experience it has been very liberating in many ways beyond the clothing/beauty part.