Happy Birthday All About Appearances!
By Meg | May 15, 2008
This week I get to celebrate two birthdays. Last Sunday I celebrated my own. Today, I celebrate the 1st birthday of this blog, and with it, my first year blogging. Just as I took time to think about my path on the occasion of my birthday, I’ve been thinking a lot about the path of this blog and my other online adventures.
As you may have noticed, my posting here has been a bit sparse lately. However, it’s for the best of reasons, which is that I’ve been busy working on an exciting new project. It’s not quite ready for the full reveal, but yes, it does have to do with this post at The Bargain Queens. I will also say that it will definitely take things to another level — so I’m super ecstatic. (If you’re still curious, you may want to follow me on Twitter.)
Looking back, though, really puts it in perspective. A year ago I decided to create a blog because I was tired of seeing how so many people just give up on personal appearance in the name of “comfort”, with seemingly no regard for how their actions really do affect how others treat them (whether it’s fair or not). I had been going through a major style makeover of my own, so I had seen for myself how just being conscious about appearances and making the right impression can make a huge difference. So, with the help of my tech-savvy husband Charles, All About Appearances was born.
While it started as a hobby, blogging has become a full time job for me, thanks much to the support of my husband. It’s amazing how much time it can take, but it’s been very worthwhile.
Since the birth of this blog, I’ve written on a variety of topics. From the beginning I decided that I didn’t want to focus entirely on fashion or beauty, though those have been major themes. Other forms of social interaction have interested me as well, especially in terms of etiquette, language, body language, and other ways that we signal who we are and who we want to be.
Along the way, I’ve also focused a lot on doing more with less money — which quickly led to me joining The Bargain Queens. But while my original interest in frugality was largely sparked by debt, I’ve learned from Amy Dacyczyn’s The Complete Tightwad Gazette
What lies ahead for me and this blog? Well, for one thing, don’t worry; this isn’t a good-bye. Yes, a year is a long time in the blogosphere. In the time I’ve been writing, many of the bloggers that first inspired me have retired their blogs. While that day will no doubt come for this blog, too, I feel that the best days are ahead. I really look forward to sharing my thoughts and getting yours in return — and do please let me know if there are any topics that particularly interest you. There is still much to be said about appearances.
Thanks again for reading, for commenting, and for coming back again and again. You’ve made this past year a great one for me and I’m truly honored to know that so many people spend their time reading what I’ve written here. Here’s to another year!
Tags: FruWiki, Site News, The Bargain Queens
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A year older and wiser
By Meg | May 11, 2008
It’s my birthday. Last night we had a great party here at the house and I felt really lucky to have so many great friends who could make it. We even had two out of town guests who are visiting, Sara from The Bargain Queens and Gala from iCiNG.
But now, it’s the actual morning of my birthday and I’m sitting here alone just thinking. Normally I’d be really excited for it to be my birthday, but I feel more reserved, more introspective this time around. I’m still not old by any means, but I’m past the age when I thought it was cool that people thought that I looked older than I really was. Fortunately, the ratio of my actual age to the age I look has gotten a little closer. When I was 12 people thought I was in my 20s because I developed early and to a pronounced degree. Now that I’m in my mid 20s, people guess my age only a year or two older, and mostly I think because of how I act and where I am in life. After all, not many people my age have a house and have been married for over six years.
It’s not that I even fear being a few years older — or that I want to relive the past. If anything, I’m quite sure that my best years are ahead, and I wouldn’t relive the past for anything. Yes, I start thinking more about skincare, part of me is a little jealous of certain friends of mine who so effortlessly look so much younger than they are. And I wonder how things will change in the years far off but steadily approaching when I’ll start to find gray hairs then white, and the lines get etched deeper across my face.
But more than that, more than worrying about appearances, I simply don’t want to miss out on things. I don’t want to feel like any moment is wasted. If I had to sum up my attitude this year it would be simply “waste not.” I realize now that that’s the driving force between much of what I write nowadays: don’t waste money, don’t waste a first impression, don’t waste time, don’t waste opportunities, don’t even waste what you have in your wardrobe. There is a common thread to it all despite the seemingly contradictory image of a gal who loves having dozens of pairs of shoes, but who switched to the cheapest toilet paper in Sam’s Club to save a few cents.
Sure, “waste” means different things to different people. For some people, more than one or two pairs of shoes is a waste of money. For some people, not multitasking is waste of time. Meanwhile, I make no apologies for my extensive shoe collection, and simply doing nothing for a moment, while difficult for me, is well worth the time. For me, waste is about not appreciating what you have and not using things well according to your priorities. Waste could be money spent on something you don’t really care about or it could be cute shoes that never get worn because it’s easier to play it safe with the same ol’ pair day after day. It could be a meal that is not savored or friends not visited. It could be not getting the most out of a chance meeting or an interest that isn’t explored.
So today if you wish to give me a birthday present, take time to not waste what you have — and if you can’t appreciate something, give it to someone who will. And most of all, don’t waste the people around you.
Tags: Age Matters, Beauty, Body, Priorities, Special Occasions
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The Fabulous! Festival for May ‘08
By Meg | May 5, 2008
The May edition of The Fabulous! Festival is up over at General Housewifery. Anastasia did a maaaahvelous job hosting. I’ve enjoyed reading all the featured posts, which are as interesting as ever. The quality and scope of submissions never ceases to amaze me. There are posts on everything from skirtinis to green fashion and skincare to pin up gals in Vespa ads. You really should check it out.
Attention Bloggers!
Next month’s edition will be hosted here on June 2nd. The deadline to submit posts for that edition is May 30th. If you have a post you’d like to have featured and it’s on the topic of fashion, beauty, shopping or personal style, please submit it using this carnival submission form.
If you’re interested in hosting the Fabulous! Festival, please don’t hesitate to contact me. It’s an easy way to bring more people to your blog.
You can find out more about the Fabulous! Festival on the festival home page.
Past posts and future hosts can be seen on the Fabulous! Festival blog carnival index page.
Tags: Beauty, Blog Carnivals, Fabulous! Festival, Fashion, Green Living, Links, Style
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Yard sale money leads to shopping — but some good buys
By Meg | May 4, 2008
There’s something about yard sale money… all that cash seems to disappear so quickly.
Yesterday we had a very successful yard sale with a friend. My husband Charles and I raked in just over $400 and still have so much stuff that it looks like we’re going to have another one next weekend — though I may let my husband and friend do most of the work next time since I hope to be entertaining some special guests and prepping for an early birthday party.
But selling all that stuff did make me want to get out and buy. It didn’t help that I got a 20% off any single item “birthday” coupon from Steinmart, a.k.a. land of the oh-so-cute-if-not-mostly-matronly hats. Hat shopping, yay!
Since I’ve been looking for more casual summer hats anyway, I decided to go. And yes, I brought home a cute straw hat (which I’ll début some other time). That was the only thing I bought there, and part of me was actually sort of disappointed that I didn’t spend my coupon on something more expensive. I was prepared $50 on the hat, but alas, it was only $16. I know the math was in my favor, but part of me is still silly that way.
And just for the record, I also survived a short stop at the mall — two stores — without buying anything. Charles was just replacing a Craftsman tool that bit the dust. (How we love their replacement policy!)
After that, we headed to one of the local health food stores. Since we’re running low on toothpaste, I decided that it would be a good time to experiment with some more natural varieties. We found.. well.. almost too many varieties. Black currant and apricot flavored toothpaste? Sounds great, but we’re sticking to spearmint for now. Unfortunately, everything else seemed rather pricey, so we then headed to another grocery store.
The other grocery store is locally-owned, rather small, but known locally for great prices and a good selection of health food, fresh produce, and meat. While my husband and I have typically shopped at Publix (which is right down the road and also has great prices), I think we’re heading to the locally-owned store more often now because #1 my husband has discovered that the meat there is better and cheaper, #2 I love their fresh produce, #3 they have a great selection of health foods and alternative products which appeals to me (though I seem to keep overlooking toothpaste), #4 they have lots of plants for sale which I’ve been buying up as we grow our garden, and #5 they have the best selection of Dagoba chocolate I know of in town.
So, despite bragging about our $15 weekly grocery bills, we’ve been cheating. This week’s might have been, had I not loaded up on stuff like:
- four bars of Dagoba chocolate (two plain milk chocolate for Charles and two chai bars for me since I’m already stocked up on the roseberry flavor)
- four different bottles of wine (honey, honey and cherry, pomegranate, and blackberry)
- a slab of precooked ribs (not as good as home-cooked but de-lish still the same and done a lot sooner)
- two kinds of grapes
- blueberries
- a bunch of bananas
- lots of sweet Vidalia onions
- a new tub of yeast for the breadmaker
- about two dozen seedlings (watermelon, pumpkin, banana pepper, lettuce, bok choy)
- some cinnamon raisin bagels
- one bite-size snickers bar at checkout for Charles
I could still swear that I’m leaving out something… but I think that was about it. But despite our splurging on the wine and chocolate and a precooked dinner (actually five meals now by the looks of it) and fresh produce and additions to the garden, the bill came out to less than $100 — and still much less than we used to spend. Meanwhile, I feel like we’re eating like royalty. We got to be careful, though, because that store is way too easy to splurge in. They have all sorts of jam flavors I didn’t even know existed and we’re still eating down the block of honey comb we bought last week there. Yummmmmy. There are still quite a few Dagoba flavors I haven’t tried. Plus, I haven’t even hit the cheese section.
Fortunately, the prices are good for the area, meaning that we can have our locally-made, locally-sold cake and eat it to, washing it down with Florida wine. And now that we’ve freed up some money elsewhere in our budget, it’s nice to spend it on something we enjoy and that meshes well with our values.
Along those lines, we’re thinking of trying more natural products. I managed to yard sale some of my unopened toiletries yesterday, but I still have a lot left, so it may be a while before I get to trying more than toothpaste. However, if you have any good brands in mind, let me know and I’ll keep an eye out for them.
Tags: Food, Green Living, Hats, Health, Home & Garden, Spending Money
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My low expectations weren’t low enough
By Meg | May 3, 2008
I recently attended an awards ceremony at the community college here. The invite said that “cocktail attire” was suggested, so I dressed accordingly in my little black dress, eggplant heels, and sparkly clutch. Despite the wording of the invite, I was fully prepared to be the only one there dressed up.
Fortunately, I wasn’t, but most people were dressed as I expected, in t-shirts and jeans. O.k., I’ll give them that. It’s a community college, it’s a weekday evening, people are coming from classes, it’s a super casual city — I get it. Personally, I don’t think it would have killed anyone to wear a blouse and nice pair of slacks (or *gasp!* a skirt), but eh, sometimes I’m just beyond caring.
But just when I thought that I had set my expectations low enough to be accurate, out comes a girl on stage with a top so short or jeans so low-rise that several inches of midriff were exposed.
What the heck?!
How does someone — presumedly an adult — think that is appropriate attire for class, let alone an academic awards ceremony where the invitation even says to dress up?
Tags: Impressions, Modesty, School, Style
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