My Super Cute Tee from Dress United

I was thrilled when the fine folks at Dress United invited me to try out their customized t-shirts!  With Dress United, you can make your own personalized t-shirt - for your team, business, special event or just to express your creativity.  The Dress United easy to use design tool makes creating your custom t-shirt a breeze! 

Select your t-shirt from a variety of styles (ladies, they have girl cut tees for a more stylish, feminine fit!).  Choose your color (pretty pink for me!). 

Add a graphic - upload your own or select from the various image categories on the site.  Add text and that's it! 

For my tee, I went with a simple monogram.  And when it arrived, I could have not been more pleased with the quality of the shirt and the finished product! 

With Mother's Day right around the corner,  Dress United would be perfect for creating one of a kind, personalized t-shirts for the special Moms in your life!  Or maybe t-shirts for little league teams, your small business, or family reunion.  The possibilities are endless!        



Now, something for my great readers -  Go to http://www.dressunited.com/redeem and type in the code

BLOG30OFF4U 

to receive 30% off your order and free shipping within the US.

Mary Ellen

Disclosure:  I received a free shirt in exchange for my review.  All opinions expressed are mine.

  



My Favorite Red Lipstick...For Valentine's Day & Everyday!

For a long time, I shied away from red lipstick.  As a dark-skinned woman, I worried red would look  too clownish with my skin tone.  So, I stuck with safe colors - burgundy and corals.  But, I finally found a red that would add to my retro/vintage look and compliment my skin tone!  And, in a most unexpected place - Wal-Mart!



#5016 Eldorado Red 

I was prepared to venture to the mall and spend big bucks finding the perfect red for darker skin. But, while browsing the makeup aisles at Wal-Mart, came across Black Radiance cosmetics. At only $1.72 each, I bought several tubes of lipstick to test out.  I found the red lipstick of my dreams with "Eldorado Red".  It has great coverage - I don't even use liner with this lipstick.  And, you can't beat the price!

Smooches! xoxo

Mary Ellen

Attention Target Shoppers...Winter Hats On Clearance!

Attention Target shoppers!  The markdown on winter accessories has begun!  On a recent shopping trip to one of our local Target stores, I found some winter items marked down.  I picked up this cute Merona felt cloche hat for just $5.08 :)  The gloves were 50% in our store, but I'm going to wait for those to go 75% off or more.  That's when I typically replenish my supply of gloves, mittens and hats for the kids.  In our house, gloves seem to get lost or lose their mate, so I stock up when they're cheap!

Merona Pink Oversized Flower Felt Cloche

Mary Ellen

Disclosure

My New {Old} Hat! Vintage Straw Hat with Veil

Please excuse the fuzziness of some of the photos.  My photographer is only 9!  This is the vintage blue straw hat with veil I bought a few weeks ago at SuzAnna's Antiques.  I LOVE my "new" vintage hat and can't wait to add more!  Hats, gloves and accessories seem to be an affordable way to add a little vintage to one's wardrobe.

Side view of the hat and veil

The bow on the back of the hat

I love putting on my hat and gloves and going out to do my grocery shopping or running errands with Dave and the children.  I've received a lot of compliments about the hat, particularly from older gentlemen.  Most men enjoy seeing a woman dressed in a feminine manner.  But for the older gentlemen, there seems to be a bit of nostalgia in seeing the hat, gloves and pearls.  A reminder of sweeter days gone by!

Mary Ellen

Thrifty Find - Two Tone Charlotte Russe Heels

 

Shoes - Charlotte Russe - Goodwill

My latest retro Goodwill find - these cute black & white two-tone Charlotte Russe heels!  I've been looking for shoes just like this for quite some time.  So, I was overjoyed to finally find a pair during one of my thrifty outings

.

Stepping out in my yellow sundress and new (to me!) shoes!

Mary Ellen

My Only Pair of Pants!

Last week in my "What I Wore to Work" post, I mentioned my wardrobe for home was the same as my wardrobe for work - dresses and heels.  A question was asked in the comments inquiring if I ever wear slacks or sweatpants for cleaning or gardening.  I do have one pair of pants on hand for those particularly messy jobs!  An old pair of stretchy exercise pants.  This weekend, I put them on along with a tank top and my faux Keds from Target to tackle some deep cleaning around the house.  I usually bring them out if I'm scrubbing the showers, cleaning the base of the toilets, scrubbing floors by hand, cleaning the litterboxes, painting or digging around in the garden.  They're paint stained and not really appropriate to wear outside of the house.  

But for my regular everyday cleaning and cooking, I'm quite comfortable in my dresses and aprons.  I have a growing collection of aprons in various colors and patterns that I wear to protect my dresses from spills and stains.  Plus, I think aprons are so pretty and feminine!  And if company pops up unexpectedly, I don't have to worry about trying to make myself look presentable.  But more importantly, it makes me feel good!  And when I feel good, I'm better able to serve my family at home.  And my employer and clients when I'm at work.

Mary Ellen

  

40% off everything on site with code Mother40

(Note:  This post contains affiliate links.  Read my disclosure policy here).

What I Wore to Work - Vintage Jerrie Lurie Dress & Outtakes

Dress - Trends by Jerrie Lurie (Goodwill)

Shoes - Madden Girl (Goodwill)

After finding a tremendous amount of retro and vintage inspired modern dresses at Goodwill, I finally stumbled upon an ACTUAL VINTAGE DRESS!

This Jerrie Lurie dress is red with white polka dots with white detailing around the collar.  I'm guessing it's probably from the 70's.  Which in turn makes me vintage as well LOL!

Close up of the collar with small buttons down the front

As I was taking pictures of the dress, a little visitor quietly entered the room!

She's wondering what Momma is doing.

Instead of taking pictures of some old dress, she should be taking pictures of me!

Hi, Oreo!

Mary Ellen

Linked at Transatlantic Blonde

How I Became A Dress Every Day Kind of Girl

Ashleigh has taken to wearing more dresses and skirts on her own since I made the change to wearing dresses every day

From my "What I Wore to Work" posts, you know I wear dresses and skirts every day to work.  However, you may be surprised to learn that I'm usually in dresses and heels on my off days as well.  But it wasn't always that way.  My wardrobe used to consist of khakis, cords and few dress pants for work and jeans for the weekends.  Last Spring, my company began the process of changing database and web providers.  The initial phase began with three days of meetings for key users.  Typically I'm not involved in such meetings, but my manager thought it best I sit in (oh joy!).  Since we were meeting with outside vendors, I decided to pull out the only three dresses I owned.  And that's when the change happened!

Wearing my dresses, I felt more feminine.  Dave noticed too!  He started telling me how beautiful I looked in the mornings before work.  And I started to feel more positive about my appearance as well.  While I don't seek the attentions of any man other than my husband, I couldn't help but notice more doors were opened for me and that more kind smiles and compliments were offered.  Even a woman executive in our office told me it was nice to see someone wearing a dress as so few women in our office did anymore.   

Well, the meetings ended but the dresses stayed!  I slowly started rebuilding my wardrobe inexpensively by buying dresses and skirts from Goodwill.  I sought out A-line dresses and skirts at first since the style is flattering on most body types.  More recently I've taken to buying modern dresses with a more retro/vintage feel.  Most of my jeans and dress pants were donated to Goodwill or given away to friends.  I've only got a few pairs of jeans in my closet now (which probably don't fit anymore!) that I haven't worn in over a year.  

There are so many messages today which try to deny the differences between men and women.  Or blur the lines between what is feminine and what is masculine.  I enjoy expressing my femininity by wearing only dresses.  After all, God fearfully and wonderfully made me a woman!

Mary Ellen  

What I Wore to Work - My "Uniform"

Forever 21 shirt dress - Goodwill

Shoes - Target (clearance)

I don't really have a work uniform, but this navy blue Forever 21 shirt dress reminds me of a uniform!  Simply put, this is probably my favorite dress.  It's stretchy and unbelievably comfortable.  And very versatile.  I can easily wear this around the house while cleaning (and it looks great with my aprons too!)  Or out shopping for groceries.  But it also looks great in the office.  If I could, I would wear this dress everyday :)   

Close up of the bodice - point collar, button down front with cargo chest pockets

Mary Ellen

What I Wore to Work - Making Waves

A different hairstyle for the Summer - finger waves.  By no means done the right way!  But I found I could achieve the wavy look I wanted by parting my hair in the center, adding gel to the sides, then forming S curves using a fine tooth comb.  I placed large alligator clips in the bends overnight to help hold the waves in place.  I used flexi-rods in the back of my hair for tight curls.  When getting ready for work the next day, I just remove the alligator clips and flexi-rods for a vintage-inspired wavy look. 

Merona dress & necklace from Goodwill

Shoes (not shown due to my poor photo skills!) - Anne Klein from Goodwill

Floral hair clip - Dana Buchman from Kohl's

***

I started playing around with the photo effects in Photobucket while uploading the pictures for this post. 

Painting effect

Ink Stamp effect

Film Grain effect

Pop Art effect

And my favorite

the Fresco effect

Mary Ellen

What I Wore to Work - Polka Dots

In this installment of What I Wore to Work, I'm seeing spots!  Well polka dots on this cute litte dress I picked up from Goodwill.  Since the dress is strapless and sleeveless, I paired it with my black sweater for the office.

A peek at the red crinoline built-in slip

Looks like I'm walking along the yellow brick road in these red shoes (also a Goodwill buy)!  Not the most practical of shoes, but I adore their curves and heels.

What I Wore to Work - Something New

99.9% of my work clothing purchases are made at Goodwill.  But occasionally, I will buy something NEW (gasp!).  And by new, I mean on sale (or clearance) with coupon from Kohl's. 

  That's where I found this black, wrapper shirtdress and felt cloche hat.  Not easily seen in the above photo, are the cute bows cascading down the shoulder. 

A better look at the bows!

Don't you just love Kohl's!?!