Just got in the February 2012 issue of Harper’s Bazaar yesterday right before a photo shoot for my new Spring 2012 pieces.  One page just tickled me because it showcased one of the two main colors in my spring palette… more on this on another day…

They also showcase the spring trend they are calling “Nomad Chic.”  The looks are very tribal using wood, raffia, and woven prints mixing lots of black with earth tones and rich saturated hues like orange, purple, mustard yellow and turquoise.

I have several pieces in my shop that work in with this theme beautifully so I had to share! These are all almost gone, so snag them up quick for a one-of-a-kind look in this spring trend!

My “Cornerstone” collection uses earthy stones including stunning fossil coral and richly colored picture jasper mixed with swirls of sterling silver.

Cornerstone Fossil Necklace - $69

Cornerstone Jasper Sculpture Bracelet - $65

Cornerstone Bead Bracelet with Sterling Silver - $30

My “King’s Cross” Collection uses chunky wood pieces, mixed with brilliant gold.

Chunky Gold Chain & Wood Bracelet - $30

Dark Brown Wood Disc Earrings - $13

And “Provision” adds in the vibrance of richly colored turquoise stones!  These would be great mixed layered with other tribal accessories!

Turquoise and Sterling Silver Bird Ring - $20

Turquoise Nugget Layered Necklace - $199

Layered Turquoise Bracelet Set - $25

Have fun  putting together your own “Nomad Chic” looks!

Braids have been a popular hair accessory in the past year or so.  If you have not seen any of them, here at Glamour Beauty is a good place to start.  Now that my hair is longer, I have been playing around with different up-dos, and all of the beautiful braids fascinate me.  But my darn fingers have a hard time figuring them out.  I feel like such a klutz.  You’d think someone who did intricate wire wrapping and beading could get a handle on this!

Recently I came up with a simple braid look that was EASY so I thought I would share for the rest of the fumble fingers out there.  I have to apologize in advance for the poor pics.

1. Start with dry hair and take the hair in the front and sides of your head (everything in front of your ears) and pull it up and back to the crown of your head like you were going to put it in a clip or pony tail.
2. Instead of clipping it, separate it into three sections and make a simple braid, securing it at the very tip with a small band.
3. Pull the braid over to one side and let it run down the line in your hair where the hair that has been pulled back meets the loose tresses hanging down in the back.  Secure the braid in place with a couple of bobby pins.  The end of the braid should tuck in behind your ear.
4. Now take the remaining hair and pull it all the way over to the side of your head where the braid is secured and form a tight pony tail.  Include the loose end of your braid into the pony tail and secure it all just behind your ear about the level of your ear lobe.
5. Wrap a loose bun with the remaining braid and pony tail.  Since my hair is baby fine, I teased it a bit before forming the bun so that it would have some body.  Use bobby pins to secure.
6. Smooth out fly aways in the areas on your head where the hair has been pulled back and spray with finishing spray.  Let the bun be a bit messy and spray as well.  I like the contrast between the smooth braid and pulled back hair against the messy bun.

I’d love to hear your braid success stories, and maybe failures too! 

Wish I could claim this handsome stud as my date, but sadly he had quite a few ladies fawning over him.

No shoe dreams the last few nights, but I did fall asleep Friday thinking about what belt I should wear with one of my new blouses to a party the following night.  This is the only picture I have of myself at the party.  It does not really show off my outfit, but aren’t we cute!  My nephew and I are sporting our 4-H colors to celebrate my Uncle’s 35+ years serving as his county’s UC Cooperative Extension Advisor.  I’m wearing a white Inc. blouse, Charter Club denim leggings, black calf high Aldo boots, a silver belt, Go-Go pearl ring and earrings by myself, and the jade “Hosanna” necklace, also by myself.  It got a ton of compliments by the way!

So I did not find the boots, but I did get at least one blouse and a pair of jeans…  stay tuned until the last to see my final tally!

#9. Face the Racks.

When it is time to face the racks, you also need to face the facts and only pull out the good stuff.  I’ve had to face the fact that shopping in the petites section is my best, and often only bet, for finding clothes that fit, especially when it comes to jeans and slacks as I am 5′ tall with proportionately short legs.  Be realistic about what shapes and sizes fit your body.  You will save yourself a lot of heart aches and headaches if you don’t even pull that stuff off the racks.  Here are my criteria for taking something into the dressing rooms:

In your size RANGE. (Note the word “range.”  Designers are not consistent with sizing, so choose items in the size you think you are, plus some one up and one down.  I ended up with 1 pair of jeans a size smaller than I normally fit).

Quality Pieces. Sometimes items look good from afar off, but once you get up close and start to feel the fabric and study the construction you will find flaws.  Even if something is a screaming good deal, if it is poorly constructed or made of cheap materials, it is not worth the effort.

Complimentary Colors. Only let yourself try on clothes if they fit in your color palette.  This makes scanning the racks quick.  No need to even pull something out to look at it if the colors won’t suit you.

Suitable Shapes. As you learn your body type, you will start to know what clothing shapes and proportions work well on you.  Once you know these things, don’t torture yourself by continuing to try them on, even if they do look good on the manikins or are this season’s hottest trend.

#10.  Don’t be Skimpy.

When I am trying on slacks and jeans, my area that is most difficult to fit, I grab arm loads full of them before heading to the changing room.  You will waste a lot of time if you keep going back and forth a couple pieces here and there, to try pieces on.  When it was time to pick out jeans I think I literally had about 20 pairs before heading into the changing room.

#11.  Sort as You Go.

As I try on my big pile of clothes, I try on each piece once and then sort the pieces into 2-3 piles.  I have the immediate “no’s,” those things that don’t fit or I don’t like.  Then I have my “maybe” pile, and occasionally a “yes!” pile.  After I have tried on and sorted everything, I go back through the “maybe’s” and try them on once more to compare them to each other.  I personally had about 5 out of the 20 in my “maybe” pile and 1 in the “yes” pile.  This is when I can get back to looking at my budget to help make the final purchase decisions.

#12.  Stay Focused.

If I have more than one type of clothing to try on at a time, I try them on in shifts.  All the slacks first, then all of the blouses or dresses or whatever.  This makes choosing, sorting and trying things on easier.  If you are shooting for an “outfit,” find the piece that is most difficult for you to find normally (because of fit) first, and then go out to find the rest of the pieces to go with it.

#13.  The Reward.

Survey your choices, review your budget and make your purchases!   Yay!

What I got to cross off my List:

Gold leather handbag (not enough time!)

Dark wash skinny jeans

Dark wash boot cut jeans (straight leg actually)

Pair of fun, decorated jeans (plus a second pair of pants)

Long sleeved, fitted, button down, collared shirts (white,black & white and red and black plaid)

Black, comfortable bra (plus some new panties!)

(Brick)Red Leather Snakeskin Boots with low heel (looked at Nordstrom, Macy’s, Aldo, and every shoe store I walked by.  Black everywhere! Have a little imagination people!)

2 watch batteries

Pair of Ecco golf/street shoes for Hubby

2 Pairs of jeans for Hubby

I hope you enjoyed my “Power Buying” series.  I’d love to hear if any of this was helpful info to you!

Happy Buying!

"1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? 2 My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth." Psalm 121

We don’t always like it, but sometimes things need to change.  This year, I have resolved to make the line 100x more fabulous.  In order to do that I need to change.  Lots of things need to change.

This morning, in the shower, I had a “God” idea.  I often get “God” ideas in the shower, I think because that is one of the only times I allow my brain to really shut off and be quiet.  Anyhow, the words “Face Lift” came into my head and I knew almost instantaneously, like a massive and high speed download, that I needed to start a new blog documenting my journey this year as I re-vamp my brand.

Change is not always fun.  Sometimes it is LOTS of fun.  But lots of times it is not.  Join me on my new blog as I take this new journey.  And don’t worry, I will still be here too!

{Face Lift} by Lori Delisle

Last night I dreamed I was in a field filled with shoe racks.  They were in a bit of disarray, but nothing close to the clearance section at Nordstrom the other day.  We could hardly see the floor through the mounds of shoes!  In my dream there were at least 3 different styles of red leather boots that I was oh so anxious to try on.  Oh, to dream!!!

More Keys to Buying Success

Can you tell I did not check the red snakeskin boots off my list on Monday???  I have had those boots on my list for years now.  I had to dump my beloved first pair because I wore them till their death.  That is OK.  Incomplete success is not failure.    That is one of my Power Buying principles;

#5.  Keep a Running Shopping List.

Actually keep several of them.  You can have lists by specific stores, specific categories of things (kids clothes, groceries, beauty products, etc), or however it suits you.  I keep my lists in my phone’s “Reminders” section so it is always on me to update and reference as needed.

#6.  Eyes on the Budget.

There is nothing like the guilt of buyers remorse to ruin the satisfaction of a great day of shopping.  Before you open those doors into the shiny land of temptation, have a very clear idea of what your budget is and don’t cross the lines with your purchases.  Budgets are tricky things and they are something you should be very realistic about.

If you need a great quality pair of stylish and comfortable pumps to wear 3 days a week at the office, you are going to be hard pressed to find what you need at Payless Shoes.  Those shoes are an investment and require a bump up in the budget.  You may need to consider cutting something else off of the list to make room for the power pumps.  At the same time, just because you think you NEED a Coach handbag, does not mean you really do.  There are lots of great quality bags out there at lower price points.  Wisdom is knowing that putting yourself in consumer debt, or a compromised position, over a handbag, is complete nonsense.

#7.  Map Your Plan of Attack.

When you combine your shopping list with your budget, you can work on a map of stores you plan to visit that day.  Plan your route around your key store.  We knew we wanted to go to a mall because I needed to go to Macy’s and Victoria’s Secret.  We chose one of our two favorite malls because it also had the Ecco store my husband needed to go to to find his golf shoes.  Your list may not include a mall, but map a route based on your highest priority purchases for the day.

Once we got into the mall, we headed straight for a directory, located all of the different places we wanted to go to and then mapped the most efficient way to get to each one with out zig-zagging all over the place.  We went to a mall out of town after Christmas that was small enough that this did not really matter, but in big malls, you will save your feet and your strength if you do this ahead of time.

#8.  Reward Yourself.

Remember the pretzel?  Again I say, Wetzel’s are the best!  Give yourself a break and take a quick breather in the day middle of your excursion.

And Finally, in my third installment, I we will get to finding and trying on those clothes!