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….
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
How often does one have life events which call for a very sheer, white fringed dress? Hardly never. There’s no good way to wear a bra with such a dress, so I opted for a scarf so I wouldn’t be too exposed. Then there’s the shoes. I have worn them once. But my husband loves them so I threw them on as well. Then there’s the bag, which already had everything in it…so I grabbed it and ran out the door.
We were only going mattress shopping so there was no one else to impress. It turned out to be a whimsical and fun outfit so I thought I’d post it.
-SDS
YOU MAY HAVE MISSED…
PARIS.
Ever since I met my husband, he has always expressed desire to take me to Paris. It was never anything that was on my personal bucket list. He suddenly decided at Christmas that we were actually going to go within a few months.
As for me, I decided to let his dream become a reality and after all…if a man is dying to take me to Paris who am I to snuff out his dream? It seems like we could just hop on a plane with little planning since we do not have sucklings (as my brother calls them) but actually it’s a hassle when you have jobs, business, pets coming out of your ears and a home you don’t want to worry about when gone. My brother come to babysit the girls when we’re gone and house sit as well. (Be ware and don’t show up unannounced when we’re gone because he’s like me in that he will shoot and ask questions afterward.) As it should be. But back to the joy of travel…
Paris was not what I’d expected. The French were kind. The art was amazing and the Palace at Versailles was sad to me. Every indulgence was magnificent in it’s beauty, yet disturbing at the same time because of where the money came from origianlly to fund it. Just sayin. My heart is for the people of France, yes…even the ones who lived hundreds of years ago and were suppressed by a greedy governmental system with a hand in the pockets of the people who work. Oh wait…that sounds familiar.
Of course the Eiffel Tower is the beautiful symbol of Paris and France. The romantic, cultural city and country. While I was very glad to go and share time with my husband while he showed me around…I realized in many ways they are just like America. Tittering on the edge of financial health and worrying and wondering what the future hold for the globe.
LOVE.
He took me to Paris. He wanted a romantic time. I was that girl for once. I was the girl who never had a Valentine or a boyfriend. It was as if there was no one else on the planet except us. I had decided before we left that this was a once in a lifetime trip, so I’d wanted to be that couple in front of the Eiffel Tower, all dressed up and living the life. It sounds stupid, but as a person who dabbles in photography…I just had to get him all dressed up and ready for a mini Paris photo shoot. I figure pictures are the best souvenir.
The really funny part, is that we chose a day in which the wind was crazy and the air was bitter cold so truthfully, we could barely hold our eyes open due to the wind and icy cold tear drops flying out of our eyes. This is sort of why he has squinty, tight looking, Kenny Rogers type of eyes but that we got a halfway decent photo in at all is a miracle.
The red dress I was planning on wearing, was see thru red lace and it was so insanely cold and windy, I threw on a black feather dress that I’ve used for clients before in photo shoots, so the whole thing went pretty sadly. It’s so funny though, because in this photo, it seems as if all is perfect. My canon camera fell in the mud, because the wind knocked down the tripod, and I was just ready to go home with no great Eiffel Tower photo of us together…but a nice woman who was picnicking alone in the park decided to help us out and snap a photo or two.
The best thing about this photo is that he dealt with me on this terribly cold, and windy day and tried to help me get the shot I wanted. Is the picture perfect? Nope. We were too close to the Eiffel Tower. I’d wanted to be further away so that the entire thing would be off in the distant background. I didn’t want to be a whiny bitch because he had the taxi drop us off too close. I had the man put on a suit and tie and unless he’s getting married or buried he acts as if a tie is a straight jacket. Since he wore one for me, I figured I’d better shut up and hope he doesn’t begin to rip it off like the incredible hulk. We had to walk another quarter of a block in the wind just to get further away. My new red satin shoes got messed up in the mud as I ran to catch the camera that was falling to the ground. But we made a memory to last a lifetime and we have something to laugh about forever.
PRADA RED
The red dress I’d had created for Paris…didn’t end up in a glammy Paris blog session. We did, however use it immediately upon returning to U.S. soil. This is his favorite picture that he took and he’s very proud of his blog shoot.
You must understand my situation. You know how you can have a very impatient puppy that has the desire to please you, however…he’s just a hyper puppy so he can only control his rambunctiousness to a certain degree? Well, that’s who takes my blog photos. He’s a super hyper, well meaning, happy, athletic, high energy type. He’s the hare to my tortoise. So, since he did so well and enjoyed himself on the Prada Red blog session… he keeps asking when we can do more. That’s great! Finding time is rough. He was not jazzed about the red dress until he figured out that it was basically transparent. Well, and that it matched my new Paris Prada bag perfectly. And my red shoes. We went on to Sunday brunch afterward and I was the reddest woman in the room. I am glad he accepts me.
BOATING
Paris has amazing dinner boats. This was a last minute Paris boat ride in the cold and rain. It was our first night there. It was surreal. All you have to do is Google Paris photos and you can see tons of shots…many much better than mine. The shots I share are just ones that mean something to me…and they take me back.
THE ARTISTS AT MONTMARTRE
There were a few things on my bucket list once I realized that we were really going to Paris. One of them was to get an original artwork from Paris. As we looked around at the different art that the street artists were offering… my husband decides he wants me to sit for a portrait artist. I am terribly shy. Ugh. I wasn’t emotionally prepared. He’s very demanding, so the next thing I know, he’s discussing price with an artist and there I am. Alone. Sitting. For two hours. My husband leaves me to go have lunch and do more sightseeing in Montmartre. I was sitting trying to not let my lazy eye droop, because I wasn’t really wanting it documented in my art. I was trying to smile, yet not over smile.
I have to say…this village was my favorite part of the trip. It is an adorable village located at the base of the Sacre Coeur Basilica, shown below.
About the artwork above? Well, Ken thinks it’s beautiful and that it looks just like me. It’s framed and it’s in a corner of our living room. I say, she is beautiful and I only wish I looked like her. It seems the artist forgot to add wrinkles and lines. Either way, I got my Paris art and the memory is priceless.
CHURCH
Sacre Coeur Basilica is a Paris landmark. It’s a church dedicated to Jesus Christ. It’s an amazing sight from an architectural perspective. All of that, and it just feels like a good place to go have a conversation with God. While I am not Catholic, from a historical perspective…the building was amazing to see and experience. Must you be in a beautiful, luxurious place for God to hear and Jesus to come? No. Jesus can come to you when you’re in your modest garden in East Texas tending to your flowers. I support my church but I don’t believe it has to be decorated with fine art and gold to be sacred to God. But gosh this place sure was beautiful and majestic and I’m glad I got to experience it with Ken.
-SDS
YOU MAY HAVE MISSED…
Prada Saffiano Vernice Tote, Kendra Scott Necklace, Badgely Mischka earrings, Urban Decay Gwen Stafani lip color in Wonderland
Prada Sunglasses, Prada Venice Bag, Tiffany & Co bracelet
I look like I take myself so seriously. I really don’t. I have to explain how this post came about and you will see the humor.
I was going to Paris this month. I decided it would be a perfect time to get pictures done with my husband, in front of the Eiffel Tower. After researching, it became evident that I would need a red dress for the supposed photo opportunity, so I set out to have my own dress created. The dress is a wee bit different from my original design idea but I learned a lot! Grace Abbott was the seamstress I worked with to create the gown. I think next time, I will try to have an ultimate black dress made. That dress that makes anyone look good. One can dream.
I wasn’t counting on extreme wind and cold on the day we took time to actually do the photo session. It was so cold and windy that you literally could barely hold your eyes open and when you did, freezing cold tears would fall out of them. A see-thru red lace dress flapping in the wind was not going to work. Fortunately, I brought a back up. It was a 20 year old black dress that I keep around and let clients use for photo sessions. But that’s another story and I’ll post the photos from that later….here we have the dress that I didn’t wear in Paris. Instead, I wore her to our anniversary dinner here in Houston.
I wanted to share it on the blog, so here we are! I am not sure what my new obsession is with red…I’ve always been a pink person. I guess I’ve decided that red is a classic, fun, forever color pop. I recently invested in red shoes…which is hard to do! It’s very hard to find a red shoe that is acceptable. Red sneaker wedges, red stiletto nails, 5 million tubes of red lip stick and of course…this red Prada bag which I will use until I’m dead to justify the cost! I was lucky enough to purchase her in Paris as a souvenir. At least this is what I tell myself to help rationalize.
The red Gianni Bini heels are adorable! The name is Valentina, and I’m really hoping to wear them here and there, they are super comfortable.
All of my home revamps are finally finished so a lot of my spare time will be used for MUA jobs on the side of my Day Job working for Johnny Was, but I will still make time for my blog! Why? I have worked in fashion and makeup for years. I still do freelance work here and there. I love photography. Art. I have opinions. Strong ones from what I’m told. Blogging is a creative outlet so that I don’t feel compressed by having to blend in with society and grind. My blog is a platform for what I am doing in life and what I aspire to do more of.
-SDS
You May Have Missed…
