Paisley Prints

Hi Everyone, I wore an outfit from the "Oldies" part of my closet to church today. "Oldies" are those outfits that I have had for years and only get to wear once in a while and do not want to donate. The reason I do not donate an oldies outfit is because it is old first of all and also, I do not want to go and spend money getting a replacement; kind of like donating the only "Animal Prints Dress" or shoes that you own. I would give it away though if I really have to.

This paisley dress still has a space in my closet for the reason stated above. The prints is so bold and busy that it's kind of difficult to pull off. The material/fabric is also very clingy and unforgiving and I got a reminder today that I need to hit the gym very soon…:-). It's time to get rid of the baby weight. The dress is a halter neck dress and not appropriate for church so I had to throw on a black jacket over it. I accessorized the dress with green accessories which includes my old pair of Jessica Simpson Pumps and a scarf. These green pointed toe suede pumps are the first pair of green shoes I ever purchased and I do love green colored shoes…:-)

I had an awesome time in church today and enjoyed some spanish cuisine afterwards curtsey of my Spanish friends who were having an early Cinco de Mayo celebration. I hope you had a great weekend too.

                                                                      Dress: T.J. Maxx
                                                                      Jacket & Scarf: Target
                                                                      Shoes: Jessica Simpson

                                                        Thanks so much for stopping by…


                                                                       Beauty Ojo

Do you do blue???

 

 

 

 

I had enough time on my hands and decided to organize my closet a little bit; organization involved putting on a couple of shoes and strutting around a bit. At the end of the day, the work got done and things got organized a little bit in my mini walk-in closet and then I made a discovery. I had so many pairs of shoes in the same color and several of them had not been worn at all or worn only once. How did this happen?...:)

 

Having a lot of shoes in neutral colors like brown, tan or black is okay as an adult because these colors (brown, tan, black) are worn a lot and it's not too cool for an adult to wear the same pair of shoes continuously (no matter how expensive or how trendy that pair of shoes is). Anyway, I spent some time trying to justify why each pair of shoes was purchased. Since cobalt blue is one of the colors I am loving right now (and have been loving for a while too) I decided to do a blog post on it.

 

 

The first time I saw this cobalt blue waleo pumps by Jessica Simpson, I loved it so much and it didn't hurt that they were pretty affordable too. Also, the color is bold and the suede fabric is of good quality. I have not worn it a lot since I purchased them almost two years ago but I know it was a good buy.

 

I bought this pair of pointed toe cobalt blue pumps about a year ago from Victoria Secret and while I was aware that I already owned a pair of cobalt blue pumps, I went ahead and got them anyway. The justification for getting them was that;

 

1. They were on sale and it was such a good deal

2. Pointed toe pumps were trending and I felt I needed to add a couple of new pointed toe pumps to my small collection. 

3. It was not okay to have only one pair of shoes in any color; two pairs is my minimum..:)

 

Then there is this third pair! A pair of blue patent Steve Madden shoes which was actually my first pair of blue shoes. I have only worn this pair just one time and I totally forgot about them until I stumbled on the box while I was cleaning out my closet.

 

Now do I have just this three pairs of blue shoes??? No!! I have since added two more pairs of blue color shoes to my collection. However the new addition are navy blues so they are not the subject of this "Cobalt blue shoes" blog discussion...:)

 

So, what is the resolution to the blue shoes craving?

 

 I made a conscious decision to stop buying shoes and not just "blue-shoes" but shoes in general and I have kept this for months without making any slip. I never go to the mall to do window shopping anymore and I have stopped the habit of routinely browsing web sites to see if there are shoe deals and discounts. Whenever I get those tempting coupons in the mail, I dump them in the trash without even taking a second look. Also, I try to spend my spare time doing more valuable things. Yeah, it's a sin to be a shopaholic...quote me! 

 

However, yes however...there might be need to indulge once in a while and it would be a conscious decision not a slip and it would be pre-planned with budget and motive in mind. I have been eyeing this cobalt blue sandals below for a while now; The contrast between the blue and the brown is beautiful and since I do not have any blue sandals for the summer season, it's on my list plus it's super cheap.

 

 

 

 

I saw this sandal for the first time on Polyvore when I entered into one of the design contests and you can find the collage and the link to the blog post here.

 

 

This blog post is definitely an inspiration to myself first of all and whenever there is that craze to buy that gorgeous pair of shoes that is not really needed because it is going to be collecting dust in the closet, then I would remember that I have made a public declaration on my blog not to do so.


                                Do you do blue and if you do; how much blue do you do?


                                                                        Beauty Ojo

Narrowed Down Choices

Dress: Express
Jacket: Old
Shoes: Louboutin pigalles
Purse: T. J. Maxx

So, I finally picked out my outfits for the weekend with comfort taking priority over anything else. I wanted to wear a dark colored outfit with some sparkle to the birthday night party that I'm attending with hubby tonight and something yellow and colorful for the barbecue. My first choice for the night is the sequin body con dress that hubby bought me for my birthday last October which has been in the closet all these months and since it's starting to get cold at nights, I thought of pairing it with a black blazer. Black pointed toe heels and red/gold sparkly purse completes the first look.

My second look for the night is a black asymmetrical piece with sequins I purchased from Wet seal years ago which can be worn either as a skirt or a tube dress. The accessories include a sheer sparkly black/teal poncho with a sequined black clutch and teal pointed toe shoes. This is a very comfortable choice and I'm leaning more towards this.

Dress: Wet Seal (old)
Poncho: Dress Barn (Old)
Shoes: Jessica Simpson
Clutch: T. J. Maxx

I decided to go with something yellow for the back yard BBQ and I narrowed my outfits to two choices. For the first choice,  I chose a flowered Ralph Lauren dress I bought at T. J. Maxx a while ago and because the straps are really tiny, I chose a light yellow linen long-sleeve top to wear over it. Accessories include an over sized gold clutch and red knot-tie Kelsey Dagger sandals for a pop of color.

 

Dress: Ralph Lauren (via T. J. Maxx)

Long-sleeve top: Old

Gold color clutch: J. C. Penny (old)

Shoes: Kelsey Dagger via DSW

 

 

My second choice is a yellow sleeve-less knit dress with lace shoulder insert from Chadwicks accessorized with a brown cardigan and leopard print sandals and over sized gold color clutch. Now that was easy!! I'm glad I did not have to run off to the store looking for new items like I would have done months ago. Now, I've learnt to shop my closet restyling old forgotten pieces.

 

 

Dress: Chadwicks
Shoes: Colin Stuart via Victoriassecret
Clutch: J. C. Penny (Old)
Cardigan: Express

It's always fun to dress up and make choices about outfits on a daily basis. Sometimes, it is easy to put something together in seconds and at other times when you have to consider factors like weather, the event and body issues like a growing baby bump, it takes a little bit of consideration...:) Making choices is all part of life but the greatest choice ever that can be made by anyone is that which has to do with the quality of life spent here on earth and that of where to spend eternity. Those days back in school, I used to come across a lot of pens and pencils with the inscription; "What would Jesus Do?" I haven't seen them in a while but the inscription I would like to engrave anywhere right now is; "What would you do with Jesus?"

 

With these, I leave you with a famous quote from Joshua in the bible.

 

Joshua 24: 14-16

 

 

"14Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15"If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." 16The people answered and said, "Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods;…Make the decision today.

 

 Right now, I' still in bed with my lap-top but would be up in a few minutes to go about my busy weekend. I hope you all are having a nice weekend so far. See you again soon and stay blessed.

 

**Kisses**

 

Beauty Ojo

 

 

Hot, hot, Sunny Day

                                                                                            Hi everyone,

I'm glad that the weather is going to be a little more bearable from now on according to the meteorologists. It seems this weekend is going to be the "last heat wave" weekend for the summer. I was home for the most part of today and spent some time catching up on my favorite wedding shows on TLC. It was quite interesting a couple of weeks back when a bride of Nigerian descent from Canada featured her wedding on "Four Weddings." Although she did not win but she did showcase the African culture beautifully. I just love weddings and hope to attend a couple more before the year runs out..

On a hot sunny day like today, bright, light, colored clothes are the best for the steamy weather. My neon sleeveless top was therefore a good choice to run errands in. Sunglasses are also a "must have." I did not have mine on for this shoot and the sun really hurt my eyes. "Sunglasses everyone!" And we all know that the ones with good UV protection are the best regardless of what brands they are..:)

I need a "Glam Squad" to Photoshop my arms please..:)

Top: Metrostyle
Wrap Skirt: Loft
Shoes: Victoria secret
Bag: Jessica Simpson
Necklace: Avon

                          




                                Thanks so much for reading and have a wonderful and blessed weekend.




                                                                      Beauty Ojo

Snowed In...

It is April 19th and it's officially Spring but we just just got done cleaning up after another snow storm. It started yesterday afternoon and led to a lot of school closures and went on all through the night and ended in the early hours of this morning. I had a torturous drive from work yesterday as my usual forty minutes drive turned to one hour and forty-five minutes. There were lots of crashes related to the storm too and I just pray for all those that were involved. At this time everyone is just tired and some people are a little frustrated; snow lovers that we are! You have to love snow to live in Minnesota...:) We were just recovering from the storm that we had last week when we got hit by this one. Although the snow is over but it is very windy and the wind is blowing snow flakes all around. Also, thankfully, the temperature is in the upper thirties and relatively bearable.

Stepping out of the house; the poster behind me on the glass is the one we used for a church convention a while back. Do you see one of my kids peeping at me from behind the glass panel in the door?..:) Hubby got up early to clean the sidewalk and the driveway and this constant plowing of snow is what everyone in my neck of the woods has been dealing with for months. We are supposed to be enjoying the spring weather by now but it seems we are just going to go from the winter season into summer. I remember a couple of years ago

Sweater Dress Chic

Sweater Dress Chic by ojomrs featuring lalique perfume

So, I just joined polyvore not too long ago and if you have been following my creations, you will have known by now that I'm always styling date outfits...:) Well, there are so many date outfits that have been created but have not been brought to life yet. This sweater dress and trench coat is the one I'm currently thinking about now for a cool Spring evening. If it is too cold for the pumps I'll slip into my knee high boots. I totally love sweater dresses for Spring!