A Texan Odyssey

- Top & Earrings: Gift - Shorts: Ross - Sandals: Express - Bracelets: Self made I apologize for the poor quality of pictures. We went to my sister's house to watch a movie (Lincoln Lawyer - so good!) pretty late in the evening on Friday, and by the time we left it was after midnight and these were the only pictures I was able to get. I kind of liked my outfit though, so I wanted to share these anyway. Since we got invited over at the last minute I needed to throw something on fast and this is what I came up with. I liked the look of a button down shirt tied over shorts paired with my favorite sandals, so I just may repeat this! 

- Pork with mango and light whipped cream cheese sauce - Santa Fe style brown rice -  Sauteed asparagus New weight: 140 I didn't get around to doing last week's weigh-in post because I just got busy with stuff over the weekend and didn't make time to sit down and blog on Saturday. I've been kind of stuck at 140! Back when I was 150 it seemed so hard to get into the 140's and now it feels really hard to get into the 130's. I briefly saw 139 a few weeks back but was 140 again by my official weigh-in day. It's kind of frustrating and I wish I could say that my body is trying to tell me I'm fine at 140, but I know I should still lose more fat from my stomach. For me it's definitely the hardest spot to lose it from after having a baby! It's been exactly three months since I started this blog. Weight: 155 --> 140 Body Fat:  22.3 --> 18.3 Muscle Mass: 39.6 --> 42.1 BMI: 22.1 --> 20.1 Insanity update: I'm finishing u...

Here's a modern take on polka dots that is SO easy to put together -- it only has five components! Start with a top with smaller sized polka dots (to avoid looking like Minnie Mouse) and tuck it into white shorts with a cute rope tie. Next add some whimsical yellow accents with a pair of ballerina flats and feather earrings. Finally, for a little unexpected fun wear a pair of funky olive sunglasses!  Here are the links to where you can find these items: Top , Shorts , Shoes , Earrings , Sunglasses If you think this is a cute outfit, please click on the image below and vote for me!

Essie Nail Polish , Tennis Bracelet Before & After I saw this post over at  Penny Pincher Fashionista and immediately asked myself "why didn't I think of that?!" I really wanted to try it out for myself so I grabbed an old rhinestone tennis bracelet that I never wear, picked out my favorite nail polish and painted it a few times, added a clear top coat and voila, done! I like how it came out and can't wait to wear it layered with a few more bracelets.

<a border="0" href="http://atexanodyssey.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r86/valerie2213/Blog%20Stuff/NewestSmallestButton.jpg" /></a> Hello everyone! Ashlyn over at my unrehearsed life is doing a button swap starting on August 1st. (You can see her post here ) I decided to participate and just finished making a new grab button for my blog. I had no idea how to do it at first, so I turned to my trusty Google and found an awesome tutorial! I thought I'd share the link with you guys in case you were in the dark like I was concerning grab button making! (Although I'm sure everyone else already knows how to do it!) Tutorial: How to Get Your Own Grab Button If you would like to swap buttons with me just leave a comment letting me know! -Val

God is so good to give us days like today! We... -Snuggled on the sofa watching Project Runway reruns while Sean played in front of us. -Napped in the middle of the afternoon, all three of us at the same time! - Had a glorious time at the pool and took a trillion pictures. (As you can see!) - Picked up a pepperoni pizza from Little Caesars and frosty parfaits from Wendy's for dinner. - Drove with the windows down and the wind in our hair. - Got the mail and found a giveaway prize and some pretty catalogs to look through. Ryan really needed a day like today because he's been having a tough time at work and it's been getting him down. I pray that his bosses will look at him with favor and that things will improve drastically tomorrow! We're trusting in God to look out for him.    And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to  His  pu...

- Shirt & Tank: Target - Shorts & Shoes & Bracelet: Kohl's - Watch: Fossil I ran to Hobby Lobby yesterday to buy a few more things for Sean's first birthday party (cupcake toppers, sprinkles, glue, card-stock) and to the grocery store for some snacks and this is what I wore. I got the seal of approval from the hubby and all in all I liked this outfit despite its simplicity. Our little photo session outside our door quickly ended once I saw some dude watching us from downstairs though! I still feel weird when people see me taking outfit pics! P.S. Here's one of the things I've done for Sean's birthday so far. A plain tee + an iron-on. Cute, huh?

Lobsters hold claws.  That's what Ryan and I always tell each other when we walk into Red Lobster through those cool doors they have with the lobster door handles. After which we always have to grab each other's hands with our fingers together to mimic a lobster claw. Yeah, we're weird.  After church on Sunday we got seafood for lunch with the familia. Here's my Mom with Sean. Aren't they sweet?  Here's some more sweetness for your viewing pleasure, Sean giving his daddy a great big hug! Baby Eva looking up at her Nana with those lovely blue eyes.  Mother and daughter, don't we look alike?  

- Top & Belt: Ross - Jeans & Earrings: Kohl's - Sandals: Steve Madden via Marshalls - Watch: Fossil - Bracelets: ??? (really old) This outfit is from yesterday. Blue top, blue belt (that blends in so well you can barely see it) and blue jeans makes for a very monochromatic look.  Trusty ol'  Wikipedia  tells us that "monochromatic color schemes may be considered boring unless there is diversity within the design," so I'm hoping the tiered and studded top packs enough of a punch to keep this look from being boring!

- Top and Pants: Kohl's - Shoes: Express - Purse: Kathy Van Zeeland (gift) - Earrings and Bracelet: Gift - Ring: ShopSosie (giveaway) - Watch: Fossil On Saturday I went to the movies with my sister and brother-in-law, visited with family and then ran some errands. I didn't get a chance to take real outfit pics, but I did snap these quick ones in the dressing room at T.J.Maxx. I ran in just to see what they had and to try some dresses on for fun, but I didn't buy anything because I've given myself a shopping ban for the next month or so. We're going to the beach in September and I will need to get a few things for the trip (like a new bathing suit and swim shorts), but until then I'm not going to spend a cent on clothes for myself. Partly to save money, partly to utilize what I already have in my closet, and partly to not give in to the consumerism mindset that is so easy to get sucked into. I mean REALLY EASY !! For example: ( Link ) My sis and I wen...

- Dress: Goodwill - Scarf as belt: Ross - Shoes: Ross - Bracelets & Ring: ShopSosie (Giveaway prize) - Earrings: Kohl's  Today I went to our local Goodwill store to try to find something for Everybody, Everywear: The Thrift Edition. I've been meaning to go for a while, and this challenge just gave me an incentive to get myself over there to do some browsing! I stumbled across this dress (surrounded by shapeless muumuus and gaudy bridesmaid dresses) with its tags from Target for only 6.99. I was with my mom, and afterwards she let Sean and I hang out at her house for the afternoon because the A/C at my apartment had frozen over (for the third time in as many weeks) and the maintenance guy was over there trying to fix it (again). Before pulling out the kiddie pool and letting Sean swim I borrowed my mom's scarf, shoes, and jewelry to create this outfit for our mini photo shoot. My mom is such an artist and I'm always very happy with the pictures...

Twist and Bead bangle set (Buy here ) Moonlight ring (buy here ) Wearing the Moonlight ring I realized I never let you all know what I did with that 25 dollar gift card to  ShopSosie  that I won from Sydney at  Petite Little Girl ! I decided to purchase the bangle set seen above for my mom, and the ring for myself. I did think several of their dresses were lovely but I wasn't sure how things would fit so I went with the safer bet of jewelry! I highly recommend doing business with ShopSosie! I placed my order on Sunday last week, they shipped it out on Monday, and I received it on Wednesday! Very prompt shipping! The jewelry was really beautiful in person and my mom and I love what we got!  

Today I wanted to share with you another wonderful opportunity to give back. World Vision is an international aid Christian humanitarian organization that helps impoverished people in almost 100 countries all around the world and also provides support to them after natural disasters. In Haiti last year when the earthquake struck World Vision was able to respond within hours because they already had disaster relief supplies ready to go in the region. We can be a part of their amazing work by sponsoring a child for 35 dollars a month!  "For about a dollar a day, you'll help provide children in need with access to life-saving basics like: clean water, nutritious food, healthcare, education, and more!"  You can visit their website, here , to start your sponsorship. God bless, Val

- Top and Jeans: Kohl's - Belt: Ross - Flip Flops: Gift - Earrings: Target - Bracelets: Gift This is what happens when I don't take time to fix my hair - a messy bun! I was just going out to run errands, but I ended up going out to dinner with my mom and she was very sweet to take these pictures for me. We got Chinese food and took advantage of the nice setting in front of the restaurant to snap some photos as the sun was setting. I'm wearing the belt from here , the top from here, and the jeans from here. (I like this top much better worn this way than with the shorts I wore it with last time!) Sean was home with his daddy so we had no distractions and were able to just relax. We had so much fun eating together, the food was delicious, and I hope to do it again soon!

- Sunglasses: Fossil - Top and Pants: Ross - Shoes: Gift - Watch: Fossil - Ring: ShopSosie (giveaway) So this is my real life version of my Casual Chic post for Friday's Fancies the other day (see below). It was definitely casual and comfortable... chic I don't know about. I think it needed to be worn with a belt and maybe the shirt knotted in front or something. It just didn't hang right I thought. I think the pants should have been rolled up a bit more too. I did wear my white Fossil watch, stud earrings and my new white cocktail ring, but I forgot to get a good closeup of the jewelry. On our way back to our car this morning we paused in front of a side door of the church above to snap a few shots. We enjoyed the farmer's market, and I'll post some pics later!

New Weight: 140 That's a total of 15 pounds for me since I got back to being serious about losing the remainder of the baby weight, and 10 pounds since starting Insanity. Ryan lost 5 pounds this week for a total of 20 pounds lost! Yay!  On to Bethenny Frankel's second rule in her book Naturally Thin : "You can have it all, just not all at once." This is probably the rule that helped me the most as I've been losing this weight. Here's a little history. Growing up I was always slender and could pretty much eat as much as I wanted. I always had (and still have) a major sweet tooth. I would sit down with a bag of candy and finish it in one sitting as I watched TV or  read a book. Back then I could get away with it, now I can't. Before I got pregnant, I had actually just read Bethenny's book and lost 15 pounds by following her rules. Then I got pregnant and went back to eating whatever I wanted and gained almost 50 pounds! The first 35 po...

Casual Chic, Silver and Pink by ValFox   - Shirt   -  Pants   - Flip Flops   - Belt -  Purse  - Watch - Sunglasses - Earrings  -  Ring I'll be going to a Farmer's Market tomorrow so I wanted to create an outfit that would keep me cool and comfy as I wander around under the warm sun. These pants are a nice alternative to plain old jeans, and I'm loving the soft pink color to them. Pair it with a simple grey tee and some cute flip flops and you instantly have a great casual outfit. To add some pizzazz to an otherwise unembellished outfit you can pick out some cool jewelry, like the cocktail ring , boyfriend watch and edgy stud earrings that I've included here. And how cool is this bag?? It's an Eco tote made from recycled water bottles, and it's only 21.95 at the Nordstrom website! I'm in love! Hope you all are equally in love with my outfit for today's Friday's Fancies! If you are, go like it through the link belo...

New Weight: 141. Still. I hate plateaus! Honestly though I'm surprised it wasn't a higher number after the week I've had. I went into holiday mode and kept snacking and splurging on and off throughout the week. Hubby stayed the same as well. Now let's talk about what I should have been doing. Bethenny Frankel's first rule in her book Naturally Thin is: "Your diet is your bank account." Basically you need to balance your food intake like you do your savings and spending. If you have a starch for breakfast, have protein and veggies at lunch. If you know you're going to have a dessert after dinner, have your afternoon snack be fruit or veggies instead of a sugary choice. Another thing she talks about when expounding on this rule is that if you generally make smart investments in your food choices, i.e. healthy fresh stuff, then when you really want a bowl of ice cream or a slice of cake you can eat it without feeling guilty...

Hey ya'll (had to throw that in there, I am Texan remember?) I'm over at Jessica Marie's blog Splendiferous Inclinations today for a guest post! Check out my description of this ideal summer vacation outfit I assembled! Click HERE  for the full post.

I recently found out I won another giveaway, this time for a 25 dollar gift card to ShopSosie from Sydney at Petite Little Girl . I haven't used it yet because I'm not sure what I should pick out! I could either get a dress and pay a little over, or pick some jewelry and stick to the gift card amount. Here are the items I'm considering. Coral Me Pretty Dress I thought this dress was quite lovely! I'm just worried that it's a little too low in front and won't look as good with a tank underneath. It would look great worn as a skirt though, with a simple tee shirt layered on top. Coral Twist Bangle Set More coral! This set of bangles is 9 dollars. Green With Envy Dress  I love the kelly green of this 39 dollar dress, but it might just be too short on me. (I'm 5'10") Maybe worn with flats it would be ok? I'm not sure.  Swallow Dress I love this green color too! This dress is 43 dollars and would look really cute at the beach or just out...