#HARAJUKU

Yokito Top, Gucci glasses, Tiffany bracelet, layered gold

gold jewelry, gold bling, layered necklaces

I learned a lot when deciding what to title this little post. It’s not really a specific look with an official style name. However, it is an Asian inspired Yokito blouse from Johnny Was… so for some reason, Harajuku Girl came to mind. From that I learned the following;

1. Harajuku is a district in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Harajuku is the common name given to a geographic area spreading from Harajuku Station to Omotesando….
2. Harajuku has gained a reputation for being the center of alternative fashion such as decorer, gothic lolita, and punk. But in reality, it’s much less strange than you’d think!

Basically, the Harajuku girl alternative fashion is a rebellion against the expected status quo and I can get behind that. 🙂

Meanwhile, here I am back in Texas…constantly being told that I don’t fit in or look like regular people do. I guess that I’ve always had a weird, fun, I don’t give a shit type of streak that has never gone away. My brother claims I still have a Cyndi Lauper look ever since she popped on the scene back in the day.  I guess she was the original Harajuku girl if we were ever to trace it back.

When I get dressed quickly, the wildest things get worn together.  Another person might throw on a white t-shirt with gray sweat pants to run out the door, but I do not own those things. I guess that’s how fun and quirky looks get created.  I want to be cute, but I want to be comfortable, but I want to…never wear cotton…it’s just super common to me…yet I’m rushing, yet I then grab a nice pair of glasses and then it is all ok because they are a force field between me and the world.

Then there’s the gold thing.  My cross never comes off.  The pendant was a gift from my husband.  It was his father’s and if I lose it, I should just run away from home.  In an effort to not have to run away from home…I just wear it most every day. Plus, it has Jesus on it so there is that. The mini krugerrand coin was a find at a Pawn Shop last year. I believe in gold. I believe the dollar will fall and it’s amazing that it hasn’t done so already.  Whatever the new currency will be… it will be backed by gold. Period.  So gold is my thing for a lot of reasons.  I feel like the value of gold is clearly being held back, and once it can’t be held down anymore, gold will be better than cash.  Cash in the bank will take a huge haircut so gold is a hedge.

Basically, what I am saying is that gold is fashion but it’s so much more. I try not to be attached to things but I enjoy them while I have them.

During the visit from Hurricane Harvey a few weeks back, I heard that you only get to take one bag with you if you are rescued by boat. One night, in the middle of the night, it rained so hard nonstop…so I decided that we needed a plan.  I have two hands…there would be a dog in each one and everything else could go to hell for all I cared. Possessions are not everything and once you’re dead – they are nothing, so we can’t get too wrapped up.

We ended up fine with no flooding and we are very thankful.  Others were not so lucky.  The whole thing really makes you think about possessions and things and how much we spend as well as how it could all be gone tomorrow so we can’t invest everything in any one area.

That being said…nothing shown here is new! The really cool silk top is from Johnny Was last year, and I have only worn her a few times. the Calvin Klein blazer is previously shown, as are the shoes from Gianni Bini and the Tory Burch bag.

I’m super behind on posts and have a closet full of super cool things to share that I’ve gotten over the past year!

My Bosscat Beauty eyelash line is set to finally launch in October so I really want to continue with the blog, but also adding in videos and posts for Bosscat so stay tuned!

-SDS

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FALL RUSH

Johnny Was Bomber Jacket, Michael Kors bag and Watch, Old Stud leather strap bracelet, Colleen Cordero bracelet

David Yurman Couture Lavender Amethyst Ring, Michael Kors watch, Alex and Ani charm bracelets, Old Stud bracelet and Colleen Cordero bracelet from Johnny Was, Bomber Jacket from Johnny Was

Jessica Simpson booties, Forever 21 pants

 

YOU MAY HAVE MISSED….

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SIX SHOTS for JULY 2017

sunflower

1. SUMMER

Summer is here. It’s really hot. My yard is hanging on but who will live and who will die is a crapshoot. There are some fabulous surprises here and there that pop up, though. I mean…a sunflower? Wow. I’ve never had one before but there’s something old school and groovy about them.  I feel like flowers are such a gift. Each one has something to say. This one is saying, “Hi, it’s me!  Look how cute I am!  Happy summer! Enjoy life, it’s a gift!”

 

lemon tree, Texas lemon tree

2. WHEN LIFE GIVES LEMONS

I planted a lemon tree at our old house, and literally a month later we found this one and decided to move. Imagine my joy when I had seen that we had two lemon trees that had been established for a quite a few years and produced zillions of lemons! I love nature and i feel guilty when I plant ornamental plants or shrubs because fruit bearing trees make more sense. I was thrilled to see the first sightings of lemons this summer.

angels, garden, coffee garden

3. COFFEE SPOT

Every day, after I get home from work, I change and run outside to suck out the last drops of sunlight. I sit with the dogs, listen to the birds chirp have a cup of coffee so that I can stay awake until bedtime, and I breathe in my life. I have stress. I have a million things I need to be doing. I put a lot of stress onto myself to meet timelines and achieve goals. The hour to sit, relax and enjoy some quiet time is my treat to myself. If my husband is with me, it isn’t quiet time anymore. We’re really working on spending time together doing nothing. He can’t sit still for very long so it’s a challenge. Typically, he starts piddling around, pulling a weed, trimming a shrub, watering a plant… while I relax. when I am alone though, there will be coffee and quiet with the Angels!

dog lover, chihuahua, adopt dont shop,

4. SUMMER SMILES

Bella is a serious lady. Pool time has become our thing together. The minute I drag a float out, both dogs are wanting to jump on. Bella prefers to sit in my lap, but they will also float alone together. We literally hang out and have a peaceful time. i think it’s weird that such a nervous little dog has decided she wants to be included in pool time but the more loving and inclusive I am with her… the more she’s come out of her hard little shell. These kooky dogs are my people. I spend more time with them than anyone else. I just wanted to share this funny shot of her on the float!

Texas fig tree

5. FIG ORCHARD

I have lemon trees, pear trees and I added a fig tree earlier this year which is already producing a small amount of figs! So by “fig orchard” what I really mean is that I planted a fig tree! I guess I take cell phone pictures to share with my dad so I end up with garden shots all over my phone. I have always wanted a huge fig tree so my hope is that I do not kill it and it flourishes. I dream big.

6. THE ILLUSION OF TIME

I wish I had more time. Time is everything. We literally force ourselves to sit and enjoy 20 minutes here and there. This was a Sunday morning after church time together. Hummingbirds and cardinals were around us. I am glad he loves nature and birds as much as I do.

 

In closing, I would hate to give the impression that I think my life is perfect. It’s a lot of hard work and planning to get to a place where things work out nicely. I try to find the joy in little things. I especially try very hard to not dwell within my inner thoughts.  There is a whole world out there, in turmoil actually. To sit and spend time trying to develop an interior sanctum of peace, wellness and joy within the walls of one’s mind is not the most intellectual path…I find it more beneficial to know what is going on in the world, and be damn glad and thankful that the world’s horrors have not yet touched my own existence.  While I feel it’s important to take a certain amount of time every day to think and plan and breathe… I find myself in a centered, well state because I am thankful. If you think about the mentally “off center” people you know, there is always a common theme.  I. Me. I feel… I  think. I. I. I.

In the past, and current, I always find myself trying to council people to wellness by begging them to crawl out of their own mental sinkhole. They always tend to remain hyper focused on their own problems, past hurts and disappointments. It’s because of this that I do not believe in focusing on your own mental state repeatedly as a path to wellness. While some introspection is certainly good, mental aerobics will not get any of us to true psychological perfection. With the life quote that most not centered people often recite, “I have to love myself before I can love others”  being a prevalent mindset in society…is it any wonder there are so many broken relationships and unhappy people? How about this…“I need to love and respect others in order to feel love and respect for myself.”

I state all of  this to highlight the point that I am happy.  I love my life.  I am fortunate to have my job, a husband that I can stand on most days, and I’m not broke. I am not the prettiest woman on the planet, but I can get by. I have emotional intelligence so I am able to make correct life decisions even when it’s things that I do not want to do. We share the same perspective on every level. we love birds and animals because we know where they come from.  I have a new business in development, although no one has faith in it, I am still hopeful.  I try to operate with integrity and treat people with dignity.

It is never my intent to leave people feeling bad.  It is my hope that everyone can find happiness within the confines of imperfection. I certainly have!

 

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WELCOME TO MY HOME REVAMP: VOLUME 5

art, charcoal bedroom, gold lamp, charcoal and gold bedroom, charcoal bedroom, gold and charcoal, master bedroom, Luxor Living and Style, Houston blog
dresser, master bedroom, ideas for bedrooms, wood flooring, charcoal walls, Luxor Living and Style, Houston blog,

I am finally sharing the Master Bedroom portion of the remodel for the blog! I think I killed myself to get remodeled and moved within record time, so that now I just sort of drag around and have smaller goals set for myself. Goals such as revamping our tennis business web presence (especially since the main site was hacked, disabled and all the years of links were broken which caused Google to drop our page ranking which means it’s harder to find.) Too much detail, I am sure, but that is the business which pays our mortgage so it is important, but I just do not get where people have time to hang out every week in their spare time and do nothing but eat and drink and scour Facebook profiles of their frenemies. I have my empire to tend to.  And by empire I mean my meager little existence in the universe.

Our kitchen cabinets just got lined because my husband took the day to get that done. I thought for sure that was a task I would be assigned so I was thrilled he did it alone while I was tending to that little side gig I call my full time job.

We are working together on a mini beauty product project, so a lot of time has gone to that for months now. More will come on that later! It’s very exciting.

As for the master bedroom portion of the remodel, I love the distressed wood laminate we used. The care is very easy and it is scratch resistant being that it’s a commercial grade.

For the walls, I really wanted a professional vibe so the easiest way to achieve that is to use a universal color theme throughout a smaller sized home. Because of this mindset – whether right or wrong, the same Behr paint in Graphic Charcoal was used.

I really spent very little money in this room…probably about $500 in total, on a new white Ralph Lauren comforter (that you can’t see because I have about 6 layers of sheet or blanket for that really fluffy look.) I also bought curtains, new lamp shades, sheets and that’s about it! The sheets are a satin silver animal print shown below! Love!
silver animal print satin sheets, satin sheets
The photo above of the french door is from the outside leading into the bedroom. At first I thought it was completely unneeded to have these french doors added by the previous owner, but it’s really nice and convenient!

Most people end up focusing on their bedroom last instead of first. I feel like the bedroom is super important. It’s the place that you recharge your batteries. I feel it should be romantic. My husband was very happy with the finished product. I still have 3 rooms that do not make me super happy at this point but eventually I will execute my plans for them! I look at it as a hobby at this point and not an obsession! I will get to it when I can! The media room is the next in line for some fine tuning!

As far as the “before” shot of the room…it is below and was taken from the listing when the home was for sale. I loved the blue accent wall but it wasn’t going to work with the rest of the house. Our room is dark and cozy for TV and reading before bed. There is plenty of light through the windows during the day but the charcoal adds to the glam effect during the evening! You can check out some of the other remodel posts and pictures here for the dining room, kitchen, living room and guest bathroom!

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TOP TWELVE SHOTS of 2016

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This year was the best year of my entire life. We all go through those times where it seems as if absolutely nothing we do works out.  This year wasn’t that.  This year was fabulous! I mean…I quit working out every week and therefore gained 10 pounds…but other than that…evil was thwarted on every level so it ended up being an amazing year!

There was a trip to Paris with a sweet, kind-hearted man who is in love with me, a job that I enjoy, a precious new little fur baby who needed a loving home, and a purchase of a dream home which we are now in the middle of remodeling before we move in the first week of January!

Life is hard. It’s a mine field at times. One wrong move and you can blow yourself up. I can’t imagine what having two fabulous years in a row would be like…but I’m poised and ready for 2017. Despite what a bitter Michelle Obama said about America not having hope anymore because Hillary didn’t win, I’ve never heard of a First Lady saying such a petty, shitty thing about the future President and First Lady…but I do have hope.

For 2017, I will plow ahead, and try to be happy and do better in all aspects of my life.  I will eat less, save more, love better, learn new things, take more time for gardening, cooking and resting. I will not eat candy after my morning health shake. I will post more frequently on my site.  I will start a small business I’ve been working on all year. Oh gosh, I feel busy already, but life is a business and should be run as such if you want to succeed in things big and small.  There can’t be 3 hours a day wasted in front of the T.V.  I have realized that spare time is so hard to come by, that you almost have to plan out your free time…which defeats the purpose of free time.

There is a Saturday Night Live spoof on Ivanka Trump, in which Margot Robbie says, “Every day I schedule 20 minutes of fun.”  It was so funny because it seemed so true! You have to schedule your fun because time is so hard to come by.

I love my blog because it is everything that I love…and I am sticking with it another year! I am excited to share the new home remodel because I am doing exactly what I want. No beige tile for me! My soul craves marble, crystal , mirrors and gold, and so it shall be.  My dad said, “Only fancy people put in flooring like that.”  Exactly, I thought. Paris and Versailles are a decor influence on this latest project so it’s going to be fun sharing with everyone.

I still am a cosmetics mini-guru and I’m working on some things this year that will be fun. I hope to make more videos this year, that is super fun!

Here are some highlights from 2016 and I hope you come back for 2017! Thank you for coming!

-SDS

December 31, 2016

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Cafe de Flore, Paris, travel spot in France,

reddress104

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Easy Date

Johnny Was Tunic, Johnny Was Scarf, Johnny Was Houston, Uggs, Gucci Glasses, Stephane Sjoberg, Luxor, Top Houston Bloggers

                                                          Gucci Glasses, Johnny Was Tunic, Uggs Booties, Johnny Was Scarf, David Yurman Couture Ring

Johnny Was Tunic, Johnny Was Scarf, Johnny Was Houston, Uggs, Gucci Glasses, Stephane Sjoberg, Luxor, Top Houston Bloggers

Michael Kors bag, Johnny Was Tunic, Johnny Was Scarf, Johnny Was Houston, Uggs, Gucci Glasses, Stephane Sjoberg, Luxor, Top Houston Bloggers Johnny Was Tunic, Johnny Was Scarf, Johnny Was Houston, Uggs, Gucci Glasses, Stephane Sjoberg, Luxor, Top Houston Bloggers

I am an easy date.  I had been off all day running errands, but we had scheduled time together for a quick dinner out and a movie. We have a new favorite theater close to home, which has those reclining seats so we are super jazzed to go to the movies now more than ever.

There is a salad I love, at a restaurant he never wants to go to, so I offered to pay for dinner to make the prospect more attractive.  (Just a life lesson here…men absolutely love it when a woman offers to pay for something here or there. They melt.)

Which brings me to the big event near the end of our movie date. No, not that big event.   Throughout the movie, there was a girl next to my husband, who was clearly not that into the guy who brought her.  She was literally texting some other dude on her phone the entire time.

Ten minutes before the film is over, her date curses her loudly, threw her purse and phone down as he ran out of the theater calling her terrible names.  All of which were probably accurate.  My husband helped her pick up her MAC makeup that was all on the ground at our feet, before she left.  She had a sheepish look on her face as if…oh crap, he caught me, this is super embarrassing.  

As we left the theater a few minutes later, I’d looked around to offer her a ride, but then decided that the guy she was texting throughout the movie needed to come pick her up.

Back to me.  I’m an easy date for my husband.  Females do not really think enough about how much a simple movie and dinner night out costs these days.  My husband and I are so glad to not be part of the single universe. I know men hate it. My male friends…yes, even the rich ones constantly bitch about how expensive it is to date these days.  And they really hate it when the woman doesn’t think twice about the cost.

I literally got ready for my date in 25 minutes.  In and out of the tub, throw on a black Johnny Was Tunic and pretend it’s a dress, a scarf to look like effort was applied, and the coolest new Uggs  that will be a staple this winter because they are so comfortable.  My mean work peeps are like, “…but there’s maroon fur stuff on them” and I’m like “I will deal with it for the comfort factor.” I’d come across them at Nordstrom Rack and decided they were wonderful.

I love my life right now. I love my husband right now. We both are so happy which is kind of scary because you don’t want anything to happen to mess it up.  I tell young people all the time, that you do not know what love is. You can’t. You think a crumb of cake is exciting until you have an entire cake. Until you have an entire cake, you don’t know that a crumb is just a crumb.

A female friend of mine that’s almost 60, and about to get married again, after divorce and grown children recently said, “I have literally never been so in love and happy.”  This confirms my belief that we don’t know as much when we’re young. Generally speaking.

We left our movie date telling each other how much easier life is to not have to deal with dating people and hoping to come across a decent person. He then calls me an Easy Date which I can assume has a lot of different meanings.

-SDS

YOU MAY HAVE MISSED….

workflow16-3811 johnnygirltg8-3693 IMG_20160511_224448

 

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