Julie's Inappropriate Gingerbreadman Party

Last night I went to Julie-de-Vivir's (aka Honestly Jules) "Innapropriate Gingerbreadman Party."  She invited the women from our professional organization.

I loved it that she rearranged her house to optimize it for the party.  The gingerbread men were all baked and she had a long table with plenty of icing and decorating items so that people could make their creations.

There were garishly dressed ginger people, several "stripper" gingerbread girls and anatomically correct boys. I took the "zombie" route. The women invited are all marketers and creatives. NONE were traditional and I found myself amazed at what could be communicated with a few lines of icing.

The theme of the party was perfect for Julies irreverent sense of humor.  In fact, wherever Julie goes unexpected fun follows.

Besides getting to hang out with some incredibly cool people, I also enjoyed seeing Julie's house for the first time.  A minimalist, Julies decor has a beautiful simplicity and is VERY welcoming.  It was fun to see her style and I particularly  liked her painting of the dandelion going to seed with the wispy white seeds blowing across the canvas. (Because as every little girl knows, you can make a wish on those!)

Sara-the-Hip-Chick brought me vegan cupcakes from the gluten-free bakery where she works. (Sara, if you happen to read this I know you are going to say, "whaaaaaaaaaat?" to your blog nickname.  HOWEVER, I just want to point out that you work at a gluten-free bakery near the hipster thrift shop so I stand by it.)  I couldn't wait until I got home to eat one.  So you know that moment where you fumble the cupcake and wind up shoving too much of the last part of it in your mouth so it doesn't fall and you look over to see the lady stopped next to you at the red light next to you watching and you both laugh? That may have allegedly happened.

Dressing Your Truth...a Review...

So I mentioned last week, that I stumbled onto Dressing Your Truth.  The concept behind the program is "energy profiling."  Like the four temperaments, seasonal color analysis or Meyers-Briggs, the program looks at people based on types, but this program teaches you the skills to align your wardrobe based on that type.  Here is what makes it different from other systems:

1) You type yourself since you know yourself best. They do not push you into a box.
2) It is based on energy movement rather than behavior, coloring or body type—the way your personal energy naturally moves.  It also acknowledges that you may have been adapting yourself to some other movement for a very long time based on environment, job, family, etc.
3) The difference in the women who "makeover themselves" is phenomenal. (Check them out on TheCarolBlog.)
4) I am having SO much fun with this (and feel like someone gave me permission to dress like myself!)

They have a program for women and one for men and it covers clothing (design line, texture, fabrication, pattern, color/chroma) hair, accessories, and makeup. You can sign up for a free video course to get started, then decide if you want to purchase the course for your type which also gives you access to the members area that is full of resources. (I made the purchase and feel like it was worth it.)

Probably one of the best gifts this has given me is the ability to walk into a department store, thrift store or drugstore makeup wall and very quickly eliminate all the options that aren't right for me, so that I don't get overwhelmed with the possibilities or feel discouraged trying on a bunch of things that make me feel ugly.

One of my favorite experiences after taking the course was purchasing lipstick.  I usually have terrible luck choosing something new.  I get it home and it never is right. (At which point I've blown 10 dollars). This time, I was able to look through the possibilities using what I learned about colors for me and when I took it home I found it was perfect.

Want to check out Dressing Your Truth? There is no cost to test drive...

P.S.  Remember when I did a makeover with a stylist?  I like the results of this SO much better.

A beautiful capture of life in the Spirit...

I love these words from Fr. Richard Rohr. Rohr—a Franciscan priest of the New Mexico Province.

On a first level I see mystical moments as moments of enlargement. Suddenly we’re bigger. We don’t feel a need to condemn, exclude, divide or separate. 

Secondarily, mysticism is a deep experience of connectedness or union. 

Maybe that is why we feel larger? Unfortunately, most of us were sent on private paths of perfection which none of us could ever achieve. The path of union is different than the path of perfection. Perfection gives the impression that by effort or more knowing I can achieve wholeness separate from God, from anyone else, or from connection to the Whole. It appeals to our individualism and our ego. It’s amazing how much of Christian history sent us on a self-defeating course toward private perfection. On the day of my first vows in 1962, the preacher glared at us little novices and quoted the line “Thou shalt be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect!” Most of the honest guys left within the first few years when they could not achieve it. They were told they could achieve heaven in a most hellish way.

Many people gave up on the spiritual life or religion when they saw they could not be “perfect.” They ended up practical agnostics or practical atheists, and they refused to be hypocrites. Many of us kept up the forms and the words, we kept going to church, but there was no longer the inner desire, joy or expectation that is possible on the path of union. Mysticism does not defeat the soul; moralism always does. Mysticism invites humanity forward; moralism (read “perfectionism”) excludes and condemns itself and most others.

Fr. Richard's teaching is grounded in the Franciscan alternative orthodoxy--practices of contemplation and lived kenosis (self-emptying). I've read many of his books and am continually amazed an grateful at the way he seems to capture my spiritual experience with shocking regularity in his writings. 

Soulmates

I love this quote by Criss Jami.  "To say that one waits a lifetime for his soulmate to come around is a paradox.  People eventually get sick of waiting, take a chance on someone, and by the art of commitment become soulmates, which takes a lifetime to perfect.

I highly recommend having a "place"...

The Cheers theme song famously captured the feeling of having a place "where everybody knows your name, and they're always glad you came."

John and I have a "place."  You can find us there many Friday nights hanging out with the yogis.  Over time we've gotten to know the staff, other people who hang out there in the same timeslot, etc. It's fun just to show up and see who's there.  Or to sometimes text everyone beforehand to bug the person who gets there first to get a table in our favorite section.

One of the things about having a "place" that you frequent is that as relationships develop, anything can happen. Last Friday we celebrated John's birthday.  And while we were doing that, our friend Debby and her friend (who I've only ever met at "our place") came to our table with a round of lemon drops for all and a harpist who led us in a round of "Happy Birthday."

As we tried to "read" the party favors I brought that night, we all found ourselves sharing my reading glasses which resulted in a game of "who wore it best?"

But maybe one of my favorite things about having "a place" is the sheer serendipity and friendliness of it.  You belong.  Just by showing up.  You wave at the familiar faces at other tables. You have impromptu conversations while waiting at the bar.  It becomes a thing. 

And here's the deal. You can create it. All you have to do is select the timeslot.  Grab some friends.  Pick "a place" and start the routine. It can be anywhere.  A restaurant, a coffee house, a bar, a park, a friend's house...it's the frequency, proximity and people who make the place..."the place".  In any case, I highly recommend it. 

Why cleaning the excess from our closets matters

Clothes influence the way we feel about ourselves.  They can communicate identity, and while we've all seen many cases where this is misused, it can also be a powerful positive impact.

Donating our "excess" to ministries such as Dress for Success, Attitudes and Attire, Goodwill and others has real-time positive impact.  (As a young, pregnant wife, I furnished a whole home with less than $200 via Goodwill. When I found good stuff, it felt amazing.)

This video communicates the story way better than I ever could with words.

 

Project 333 | Choosing a New Color Palette

I've written before about my Project333 experiment.  I love it that their tagline is "experiments in living with less." The idea is that for three months, you live with only 33 items in your wardrobe.  I found after three months of doing this that I really like the minimalist approach and want to continue.  (Though I've learned my comfortable count is closer to 50 with shoes and accessories).

Personalizing with Color

As I crafted my "capsule wardrobe" for winter, it occurred to me to do a bit of research.  Ever since I worked with a stylist I've wanted to repeat the experience, but the consulting fees have been out of reach--especially since you have to refresh periodically.  What I REALLY wanted was someone to teach me the skills I needed to "makeover myself" and I ran across DressingYourTruth.com.  The course is based on dressing according to your energy type, and I was surprised in taking the course at how many of my own personal fashion myths were busted and how much better aligned the color pallet and fabrications assigned to me are to things I truly love.

So my next iteration of Project333 is going to embrace a different approach.  The first is that I've edited my wardrobe based on my "Type 1" color palette, AND I've eliminated black pieces in favor of chocolate and navy. (There are other neutrals based on your predominant type...gray, navy, tan, etc.  Chocolate happens to work for me.)

As I went through my wardrobe with an eye for color I was shocked by how much black I owned. In fact, the tone of the whole wardrobe was a stark, dark contrast from the colors I favor in my home or even on this blog.  Which meant, I needed some new clothes.

Budget-Friendly Wardrobe Crafting

To make this a not-so-expensive endeavor, I took some of my light gray and tan items and dyed them with two packets of cocoa brown RIT dye in a washing machine.

I also took my color swatches to a thrift store to replace many of the black items.

There was a light blue sweater purchased on sale at Old Navy, a few items pulled from my under-the-bed box of kept from the start of the project and a jacket given to me courtesy of a friend's closet purge.

One of the "bummer" parts of learning my colors is that silver—which I've favored over the years—is not as flattering on me as warmer metals like gold. THAT is going to take some getting used to. <grin>

Hey, it's Just an Experiment

One of my favorite things about Project333 is that it really is an experiment.  I have NO idea how this will work out.  What I do know is that my initial over-filled closet was not working.  It took me forever to get dressed in the mornings because there were too many options, and worse, there were items that could have been in use by others that were just taking up space for me. By trying something different, I've learned to live leaner and travel lighter. (In fact, I just spent a week in Ireland with only carry-on luggage.)

Want to try Project333 too?  Check it out: http://theproject333.com/
Want to try Dressing Your Truth? Check out: randomcathy.dressingyourtruth.com (that's my referral link!)