Grey is the new Black

Yes, Grey is the new black in my world!! LOL. I got some new boots.. nice Italian leather.. and now, what to wear the suckers with? Apparently you can do GREY AND BROWN (whoops I had brown and black here by mistake)???? Has anyone tried it???

I have missed you all, seems like a while since I've been on here. My outfit photos from yesterday didn't turn out so I did not post them, but I promise you,  I was wearing color!!  Do you know how when you take on something new, like a resolution, or you are focusing on making a change, that what shows up is everything BUT that?? For example, I am focusing on wearing MORE COLOR, so what I am noticing is how much BLACK everyone around here wears!!  Its everywhere and it seems like business people wear it as a sign of IMPORTANCE.  Long black trench coats. Black suits. Black brief cases.  Black scarf with Black Jacket.  Black black black black.  Why does our culture dress so dark all the time???

Okay rant over. Just me going through withdrawal.  I will be okay. Remember Oath #11 from my Fashion Oath about Rule #6 .

Work is BUSY so not much time to visit on here lately. I am however, still getting in my regular workouts (swimming and running at 6am) and Thursdays teach spin class.  Speaking of which, time to get to bed!!

Love ya xoxo Jodi

Lovely Ladies: Zan

My name is Zan. I work from home running a productivity consulting business. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen, feeding my family, so I thought I'd share some of my favourite aprons. I have the beige one with a cow on it from a French market in Provence (we spent the summer there in 2010) and then an amazing Christmas gift this year from my mother-in-law a reversible hand-made (by her) apron.

The black short-sleeved sweater is a favorite for a number of reasons:
1) I bought it in Seattle at Anthropologie
 2) we had 10 minutes in the store as we had to go somewhere
3) I was a little frazzled but committed to finding something
4) grabbed this but thought it was too expensive
5) turns out it has been my favourite items all year and has come in handy in formal and casual situations
6) dress it up in 2 seconds with a fancy necklace
7) you can see it in the photo with my big red necklace that I love.

Since the kitchen is often my "home" I sometimes end up in crocks with wam hot pink striped sock, pyjamas, crazy scarf to keep warm and various tops to stay warm. NOT FEATURED as it's certainly no fashion statement - but I feel great in it (despite my daughter's grumblings). 

So there you have it. Some funky jeans, with a big star on the butt, some boots from groundhog, top from Anthropologie and my lovely apron! I am warm, cozy, feel great and acceptable if a neighbour drops by. And I do have a secret desire to be much more of a fashion statement and express myself more and that is coming soon! See the PS. 

PS - I am taking on a transformation in 2011 as I turn 40. Taking this hot body from 37% body fat to less than 25% body fat, and you may see me in a dress in the next update of lady of the month. You can follow my transformation at alicem.ca  and learn about my work at www.zenproducticity.ca

* Photos compliments of Zan's daughter Sophia (good job Sophia!!!)

2011 Fashion Oath

I must say, I am copying ML of TwentyYorkStreet and her New Years NON Resolutions. Well, lets just say I am creating my 2011 Fashion Oath for myself and telling you all so it keeps me honest :)

Yes, thats me above... I took the picture through the window of a salon, into the reflection of the mirror inside. Cool Hey?

Jodi's day2daywear 2011 Fashion Oath:
I promise to love and honour the following:

1.  I only buy beautiful colors (no more black)
2.  I wear color abundantly
3.  I eagerly experiment with color combinations and patterns
4.  I buy Quality vs Quantity
5.  I  buy one, give one (as ML puts it!!) Love this!
6.  I love my body and feel svelte, sexy and fabulous in everything I wear
7.  I have fabulous jewelry and accessories (its all about the accessories!!)
8.  2011 is the funkiest fashion year I've ever had (I take risks and have FUN)
9.  All my friends and family see how much fun I am having with my wardrobe and they begin experimenting and having more fun with their wardrobe too!!
10.  My blog is a creative resource for twice as many people as it was in 2010.
11. I follow Wayne Dyer's Rule #6:  Don't Take Yourself so G*d dang seriously!!

January: Month of Color

Friday- jeans day!  And such lame photos today since it was raining and I did the shoot inside. These are about as lame as the photos from when I first began blogging!!! Yes, yes, I know lame is an outdated word...

GUESS WHAT?? Since you have heard me complaining about all the black in my wardrobe I realized its time to take action here! SO I am declaring January the month of color. What this means is as of my next post and for the rest of January, I will be wearing colors and little to no black!  (Now I have to get my butt out shopping woo hoo).  Seriously, I have too much black so I am going to go out and hunt for some splashes of color to add (SKIRTS!) so I  can shake up the blackaholic in me (kindof like a 12 step program for color!! LOL).  Of course, I will be visiting you all for ideas as usual and my fav UK blogger Emma is always a color inspiration so perhaps I begin looking like a clone of her??? I could only WISH!!  And then... well. What could the theme for February be? Oh boy!!

Toodle doo dahlings until next time.  And yes, I did swim this morning at 6am and thats why you see me with bloodshot eyes (full of chlorine!! urgh) - will post you an idea of what my weekly workouts look like another time!!  xoxo J

Rainy Day Blue

Look what Cinderita sent me today!! I laughed my butt off!!!  :

Power Posing Lowers Stress, Boosts Confidence

A Harvard Business study suggests that striking a "power pose" (think superhero stance or perhaps Madonna's Vogue video?) lowers the stress hormone cortisol by an average of 25% and boosts testosterone in both sexes by about 17%! So the next time your tank is running low or you're a little stressed out, don your cape and strike that classic Superman/Wonder Woman pose, or lean forward over your desk with your hands slightly apart or put your feet on your desk and clasp your hands behind your back. And heck, if striking a pose doesn't help lower your stress, at least you'll look darn good trying.  ( I don't have the source for this...)

And I'd say my fashion shoot for the day pretty much sums it all up.  Rain. Nuff said!!

No excuse for greasy hair

Yeah Yeah, I look all greasy today. Well. Can you give me a chance to explain?  The Plan: take the car at 7am to the insurance adjustor to get a quote from the 'accident' (remember the accident?)  and then go to the gym, workout then shower. go to work.  NOT SO. Today didn't go as planned.  No gym. No workout. No shower.  P U.  And No lunch packed either.  So this is the only little piece of my kitchen I could find at lunchtime to take my photos since it was also raining today.  So meet a piece of my kitchen nook, and my cat. She is showcasing my necklace today.  And I promise. No more greasy hair!!  ME NO LIKE.

(and I am heading out for a run right now...)! THERE.

Love your closet

As I look in my closet and see all the black staring back at me I know it's serious time for an overhaul coming up (READ: Get rid of a bunch of black!).  Some useful resources I have found:

• Save money by spending time in your closet (YouLookFab)
• Wardrobe strategy: fewer options can be fab (YouLookFab)

• Creating a working closet (Part I) Purge (Kendi Everyday)
• Creating a working closet (Part II) Assess (Kendi Everyday)

• How can I organize my closet to make my morning easier (WorkChic.com)

• Effective inventories and honed style (Already Pretty)
• Grouping: and easy route to a happier closet (Already Pretty)

Blackaholic

 

  
Okay. Please let me complain just once this year. I will be quick. Some idiot guy HAD to be standing on our street for 2 hours with a tripod and camera. What he was photographing, I have NO idea. But this was MOST annoying as I had planned to do my photos on the street by my house since I don't have a vehicle today. So instead I felt like I was held hostage in my house waiting for him to leave.  Instead I snuck out the back to our compost heap!! NICE. REAL fashion shoot here alright!!

I am seriously addicted to black. I am a blackaholic. I am breaking free of it though. I am on a black shopping ban at least.  I am so unimpressed with my boring winter wardrobe today.  Anyway- I am also working from home and had to go out for a quick meeting so this was the outfit. More black and brown for you. Not much for inspiration but hey, what's a girl to do? Plus it was darn cold yet again so I had to be quick!!

6am swim this morning. I felt like I was dragging a big bag of potatoes behind me.. ohhhh not fun!! Where did the extra weight come from??? (if you are smart- don't answer...)LOL

Poncho Day

Happy 1/1/11. What a cool day.  Last night we went out for a really amazing dinner and then came home and had a bottle of wine and watched a foreign movie. Very low key.  I went for a run in the SUN first thing this morning, followed by homemade brunch and then a long lazy stroll to do a photoshoot.  Well. The plan was to go out for a cuppa tea and while getting ready fiance said " What are you doing?  This isn't a fashion show"... WELL. Little does he know.  Any outing is my own version of a fashion show (and half the time thats the whole reason for going OUT). What if some local reader SEES me out in public?  What about having the camera on hand to capture the outfit?  Sheeessshhh!!!


As for New Year's Resolutions. I don't do them. Instead I create a vision board.  I am almost done the one I'm working on and it has photos of things like ripped athletes, beautiful beaches in Fiji and Tahiti, healthy food, magical gardens and lots of great clothes!!  I will post it up for you all to see when it's done.  Also, while we began training in November, I am now officially back into serious Triathlon training mode which means multiple workouts per day, not as much chocolate and lots of water and vitamins, low stress, lots of rest.  So, get your eyes ready... you will begin to see me physically transform again over the next few months as I get ready for the 2011 race season!!  I  am excited!! I love racing!!!

For the first day of the year, we had an incredible sunset- this photo I took just 1 block from my house. How awesome is THAT!!!    Happy New Year everyone!!! xoxox J

Daily Outfit: the RED coat

The Red Coat. It was so cold there was no way I could wear anything else. Other than a snowmobile suit maybe!!  And there was no way I could fiddle around taking any more than a few photos outside today (my poor purple fingers!!!).  A splash of red for the end of the year.  Here's to an exceptional blogging year and everything else for you all.  Thanks for visiting me regularly, thanks for your ideas, thanks for your humour and most of all thanks for your friendship!!!

Bring on 2011!!!