{Daily outfit} Pocketed. 7.18.12

Tee shirt? Gap Outlet. Vintage 1950's skirt? Thrifted. Bruno Magli wedges? Thrifted. Vintage clutch? Snagged from my friend Jamie.

Tied with 1940's pickup trucks, pretzel M&M's, babies with red hair, never-before-seen episodes of New Girl and Woodford whiskey, a vintage skirt with pockets emphatically ranks near the top of my list of things that make me happy. I like having pockets to warm my hands when I'm in a location that insists on blasting its air conditioning at arctic temperatures. Pockets are also helpful for stashing the little things my kids discover during the day, like loose change that has mysteriously escaped my wallet and illicit candy snagged from kindly bank tellers.

So hurray to skirts with pockets. And pretzel M&M's too. Because they're delicious.

(Thank you for yesterday's warm welcome back to blogging.  It meant so much.)

Oh hi.

Vintage sequin jacket? Thrifted. Vintage tee? Thrifted. Joe's Jeans? Thrifted. Bruno Magli wedges? Thrifted. Python purse? Thrifted.Turquoise necklace and bracelet? Thrifted.

Oh hello there. It's nice to see you again. 

The past few weeks away from the blog have found me engaging in such scintillating activities as swimming with my kids; reading and rereading new books (Gone Girl - get it); thrifting; working at Vintage Martini; and wondering whether I would ever blog again. My life at home has been just as tumultuous as you'd expect it to be for someone going through a divorce, and the last thing I want is for this blog to devolve into a WAAH WAAH WAAH POOR ME I"M SO SAD AND DEPRESSED WILL I EVER LOVE AGAIN BOO HOO HOO sob fest.

So instead, I present you with this entirely-inappropriate-for-Texas-summer-heat outfit. I wore this to work today while pulling consignments and tagging vintage and shockingly managed to keep every sequin on my jacket intact.

{Almost daily outfit of the day} Cornflower 3.30.12

1950's shirt dress from Archive Vintage; thrifted Bruno Magli heels; thrifted python bag; thrifted rose gold Michael Kors watch; Forever 21 & Neiman Marcus bracelets

The main story on the news these days is the half a billion dollar lottery drawing scheduled to take place tonight. Sometimes, when I'm having trouble falling asleep, I fantasize about what I would do if I won. I'd likely behave exactly as most would if they suddenly came into money -- I'd travel, and pay off debt, and probably purchase a larger house. I'd treat my friends to a lavish vacation and help out family, and donate to various charities. I'd open a vintage shop and host dinner parties, and hire a housekeeper to do my laundry.

It's nice to sit and fantasize about the what-ifs and could-be's of lottery drawings. But truth be told, if I really was to win the lottery, my first priority would be to hire a tailor to create 100 copies of this dress in different fabrics, colors and sleeve lengths. It's that perfect.

{Almost daily outfit of the day} Pop of neon for Poshmark! 2.22.12

Vintage thrifted chambray shirt; Current/Elliott jeans; Forever 21 belt; vintage thrifted Coach bag; vintage thrifted Bruno Magli heels; Forever 21 and vintage bracelets

This morning I'm off to meet with the PR rep, co-founder, and senior marketing manager of Poshmark in preparation for tonight's Posh Party here in Dallas. I'll be co-hosting the event, representing the Texas Style Council Conference, and am super excited to meet and mingle with other Dallas blogger.

It's going to be warm and sunny today, and I wanted to be both comfortable and stylish. Reaching for a new pair of heels and broken-in jeans was kind of a no-brainer. The pop of neon in my belt was a fun way to add come color!

You might be wondering... What is Poshmark? Well, have you ever wished you could post an item for sale right from your iPhone, without the hassle and risk of eBay? With the Poshmark app, you snap a few photos with your iPhone, and enter a title, description, price, and product category. Once finished, voila! Your item is ready to list for sale.

I'm going to list several things for sale tonight, so you might want to follow me in the app -- my user name is elissastern -- if you love designer handbags (*hint* Marc Jacobs *hint*.) Here are a few more tidbits about this revolutionary way to shop your closet:

• The Poshmark app offers several Instagram-like photo filters for enhancing your listing's appearance.
• Listing is free on Poshmark, and fees are straight-forward. When you make a sale, Poshmark deducts a 20% commission fee from your earnings. In return, they handle the financial transaction, provide you with a pre-paid pre-addressed shipping label, and serve as your customer support team for the sale.
• Download Poshmark for the iPhone for free from the App Store: bitly.com/poshmark. According to the FAQs, an android app is on the horizon!
• The Poshmark app is currently only available in the US.
• Love someone’s style? Follow them in the app to have easy access to their items for sale. It’s easy to like, post comments and share each others items in the app!

Tonight's party theme is designer shoes and handbags, and I’m planning to list a few items during the party. However, you don’t have to wait for the party to post items or start shopping! Start uploading your own items and join me virtually during tonight's event!

Tweet me at @dresscourage or post a comment below if you are going to join us for the party tonight! If you will be at the Dallas event, please come say hi. :)

Almost daily outfit of the day: When in doubt, wear sequins 12.26.11

Thrifted vintage sequined jacket; thrifted Citizen of Humanity jeans; thrifted vintage 1940's Victorian blouse; Bruno Magli peep-toe wedges (TJ Maxx)

When I thrifted this 1960's red and gold sequined jacket back in the spring, I had no idea what occasion would call for it. One does not exactly wear red and gold sequins in normal, everyday life, unless you're someone theatrical and grandiose like Rachel Zoe and have a penchant for dramatic dressing during everyday occasions. Despite a lack of celebrity-infused fashion events and affected Californian accent, I too lean towards the dramatic, so I wore this jacket during my Christmas festivities yesterday, which included glamorous things like watching Elf and eating pie and sweeping errant shards of wrapping paper off the floor. Because if you're going to do Christmas right, it should include sequins. That's just a rule. 

Gwyneth Paltrow, motherhood, and Brenton stripes

There is absolutely nothing glamorous about being a full-time mom. Unless, of course, you are Gwyneth Paltrow, the world's most perfect person.

Gwyneth is one of those celebrities you either love or loathe. I have no idea why she gets under my skin so deeply. She can seem a little holier-than-thou, educating us about the benefits of kelp, eastern medicine and sugar-free coconut water.She's featured in Vogue in practically a monthly basis, where they rave about her cutting-edge style, all-white marble kitchen, organic garden and perfect perfect blondeness.

Perhaps it should not have surprised me when I came across her insightful account of life as a mom, gleamed from her newsletter, Goop. Behold this description Gwyneth's oh-so-stressful day of going to the gym, singing a country song, and doing a phone interview.

I went up to arouse the little man from slumber and he quite happily got up and crawled into my arms. We got downstairs and I made him a quick breakfast of eggs and toast followed by a spoonful of lemon flavored flax oil that I try to remember to give them both every morning.

On a less manic day, this would be my couple of hours in the office to work on GOOP, come up with ideas, write/edit and go over scheduling, travel, whatever else I have going but I have no time so I just pop the old cabeza in to see if there are any deadlines or fires that need putting out. When I am given the all clear I rush out the door, headed to rehearse with a band to prepare for the Country Music Awards which are just a week away. I've never performed live before so I'm preparing for this as if it were the Superbowl, which, in it's own way, it is. I've been having voice lessons with my teacher, Carrie Grant, every day and rehearsing with an amazing London-based band. This will be my fourth and shortest rehearsal of the week, as the day is so full, but I am excited to get in there and see everyone. Had to do my vocal exercises/warm-ups in the car, sooo not a good look. Fellow drivers looked on a bit bewildered. Rehearsed with the band from 11:30 to 12:30 and then scooted back out to the car and had kind of a big interview on the phone while trying to subtly check/reply to well-overdue email. Got home and had a fitting with super stylist Elizabeth Saltzman for the upcoming Nashville trip (what to wear, what to wear?) from 1-2. This is my 4th out of 5 fittings for this trip. We tried on a myriad of dresses and outfits, and I had b.o. by the end of it from wrestling with all of those dresses. I have six looks I need to choose for the trip; there's the radio press conference upon arrival, the red carpet for the Country Strong premier, press interviews, a Sony Music VIP dinner, the red carpet for the CMA's and the outfit for my performance! We manage to finalize all of the looks for the (very nerve wracking) trip. At 2 pm I head into my office with a nice cup of tea for two hours of phone interviews. I am doing lots of these this week, but today's session is only two hours. I call country radio station after country radio station speaking to some of the nicest and friendliest DJ's on the planet. Thursday is the one day of the week that I do not pick my kids up after school. They go straight to an activity and I am able to really maximize work stuff. I always feel a bit guilty (obviously) about it, but it means I can focus fully on them when they get home instead of trying to do two things at once.

The kids indulge in a super sugary cupcake before bed but I don't feel too bad because they had a brown rice stir fry for dinner with baked sweet potato on the side. It's all about balance! My night to lay with Mosey so I tuck Apple in, say a prayer and go into Mosey's room for a story, foot massage and quiet time. As soon as all was quiet, I rushed downstairs to grab a blazer and some blush and flung myself in the car for girls night. Lovely dinner and great conversation. 11:29 pm now, exhausted and ready to do it all again tomorrow!

So, lots of insight into the glamorous world of motherhood. Let's contrast this with my average day as a mom. Notice the similarities:

Awoke at 6 am with my makeup still on. Dragged myself into the shower, washed up with the sliver of Dove soap my husband so kindly left me. Applied my Cover-Girl foundation and picked out an outfit constructed of pieces dug up from the sale section at the Gap and Goodwill. Chiseled my kids out of bed and fed them a nutritious breakfast of chocolate and frosted Cheerios while Spongebob blared in the background. Got into an argument with my twins regarding why they could not wear their underwear to school and have three breakfasts, and with my daughter concerning the need to drag a brush through her hair because it resembles a rat's nest. Prepared bologna-and cheese sandwiches for their lunch. After driving them to school, I returned home for a cup of non-organic, non fair-trade coffee prepared with full-fat half-and-half. The I wrestled with chores: sweeping the floors, searching for errant Legos that hide under furniture; made the bed; ran and emptied the dishwasher; and folded a load of laundry that was eating my bed.

In the afternoon I ran chores, including grocery shopping at the Wal-Mart. I  grab coffee or lunch with one of my non-celebrity mom friends, where we gripe about how to deal with toddler tantrums, the lack of a sex drive, and the latest Oprah-recommended novel. Then I picked up the kids from school where I learned that Jake got in trouble for dancing in class and Josh had a breakdown because some kid ripped the pom-pom off the top of his winter hat. We got home and I tried to catch up on blogging while attempting to shut out the bleep-bleep-bleep of Super Mario Brothers blaring on the Wii. I paid some bills, writing checks for the electric bill, our credit cards, and the late payment to the landscape guy who ripped us off. Then came dinner. I whipped up nuclear-orange boxed mac and cheese for the kids, and chicken enchiladas constructed from canned sauce, store-brand cheese and a pre-cooked, pre-seasoned, antibiotic-plumped chicken. The kids struggled through their homework - no private tutors for us! I always feel a bit guilty, obviously, but that's how we roll. Then I tried not to fall asleep while catching up on episodes of The Real Housewives of Whatever City They're Filming In. I'm busy, is what I'm saying. I'm no movie star. I'm just me.

So you can understand the need for me to forgo couture evening gowns and designer pieces gifted from Stella McCartney for Brenton stripes and thrifted cords.

Ann Taylor Loft denim shirt; American eagle striped shirt; thrifted J Crew cords; Bruno Magli booties; Forever 21 coat; Forever 21 studded belt, Forever 21 rhinestone earrings.