Fairy Rapunzel

Lallie received this Rapunzel wig as a Christmas gift last year. She's only recently become interested in it however, it ended up extremely tangled (huh.... Tangled... Who knew?)

This evening is our church's Trunk or Treat. So, to ensure that Lallie doesn't look like Strung-Out Princess Fairy Rapunzel (yes, she insists on wearing her fairy wings), Rapunzel received a haircut.

Here is the after picture (she's throwing away her cutting work, thus the trash can.). I don't have a before picture, but if you can imagine a big matted ball on the top her head, that would be accurate!

Body Back & Wine Tasting

Body Back is going really well!  Unfortunately, I had to stop attending Lisa's class (my good friend and trainer) for another one.  Lisa is still the owner of our local Body Back, but she hired another trainer to complete a course closer to my home.  It works great for me and my schedule, but I do miss all the girls I've been working out with since April.  

The class is great!  I have gained more strength, feel great and energized and I've lost four pounds!!  Skinny jeans, I will be fitting back into you by Christmas!  Yahoo! 

Anyways, Lisa recently accomplished something very big in her life.  She participated in a local charity's Dancing with the Stars competition.  She spent HOURS learning the Argentinian Tango with local dance instructors.  As part of the fundraiser, each dance competitor was to not only dance, but raise as much money as possible for the charity.  So the winner was the person with a combination of the highest dance scores and highest fundraising dollars. 

Lisa raised over $8,000 herself and over $50,000 was raised for the charity. 

Lisa (blond) with her dance instructors and dance partner, Bob.



Well, the dance shoes have been put away and the money is going to a very good use, but Lisa, being the generous person she is, wanted to give back to all the people that supported her over the past few months.  She held a wine tasting at our local Total Wine store.  It was a lot of fun being with Lisa to celebrate her accomplishment and being with friends for a Girls Night Out (and yes, since it was a wine tasting, we only tasted  the wine.....sure, sure).

Bob took each of us on an Argentinian Tango tour of the dance floor (aka wine tasting kitchen).  I LOVE this Elizabeth McKay dress and I'm thrilled it's finally fall-ish enough to wear it!

My friends, Joanna and Sandy.

The wines were fabulous!  We tasted four whites (none were pinot, my favorite) and four reds (my favorite being the $59.99 bottle which means, that's all I'll ever taste of that one!)
I am not a wine connoisseur, but Husband and I do enjoy the occasional glass.

And,just because I know how many of my blog followers love designer hand bags (like me)....
this is just for you!  Haha!

Happy Friday Y'all!

Time is Marchin' Across my Under Eyes - HELP!

"Honey, time marches on and eventually you realize it's marchin' across your face."

Truvy - Steel Magnolias

And marchin' it is!  Across my particular face!  Ick!

The past couple of weeks, I've noticed these lovely little age spots and discolorations under my eyes.

I've written multiple posts in the past about my makeup and skincare regime and I have to admit that I'm not always as ontop of it as I should be.  I need to be better and more consistent.

But I've always been consistent with my makeup.  I don't change products much because I like what works and I generally don't wear much makeup.

• Mineral Powder
• Blush
• Powder (general use)
• Mascara

And that's it folks!  I don't wear eye makeup and I use the green tinted concealer if I have a break out, but other than that, I'm au naturale (well, as much as one can be).

But with the recent development of these age spots, I need something different.  A time turn-around cream maybe?  A concealer or coverup for underneath the eyes.  Not only are there age spots but that icky blue-tinted discoloration as well.

But I don't want to look made up nor do I like the feel of makeup.  When I have too much on, I feel uncomfortable and yes....I must say it....I feel dirty.  Too much makeup makes me feel

like my skin can't breathe.

So my questions to you is.....

What do you use for your under eyes.  Creams?  Makeup?  And how do you apply?

I'm looking forward to hearing your suggestions!

Happy Thursday Y'all!

Addicted to Pintrest

I had no idea how addicting Pintrest could become.  I've heard about the hype, I even tried it out for a little while a few months back but just wasn't interested.  Low and behold, I wasn't even using it correctly. 

Or maybe that wasn't Pintrest, maybe I'm confusing it with Tumblr.

....(which incidentally, Tumblr lasted a whole week before I said "I don't get it, I just don't get it."  Maybe I didn't stick with it long enough or follow the right people. Who knows.)



Flip flop holders, yes!!  Perfect for a FL girl!



By the way, I'll be posting some of the cool "pins" I've found.

Anyways, I like to READ blogs and get the story behind something....not just look at a picture.  I want to know your story, your inspiration, your reasoning.  Maybe I don't have an imagination (which my parents and Husband would attest that is just simply NOT the case!)  I don't know, blogs with only pictures (like Tumblr) do absolutely nothing for me. 

That's just me.

Yep, making these for my next BBQ!  Why didn't I think of this?

Anyways, I never thought Pintrest would interest me either because it's just me following a bunch of people's pictures and I'm supposed to repin them if I like them.  Right? 

Wrong. 

Hand soap, not with legos, but I'm thinking Christmas and holidays, party gifts.  Yes!

Well, my friend invited me to Pintrest so I thought I'd try it out again.  This time I downloaded the "Pin It" button and when I found a website with a really cool sewing pattern, I pushed that cool little button and pinned it to my "Sewing" board.  And voila, I can forget about it until I'm ready.

AHA!  (Yep, the Aha moment). 

I don't have to print all these things out and put them in my ever expanding and disorganized folder that remains at the office and I never remember to bring it home when I want to look at the folder and so I forget again until the next time when I say "why do I even bother" yet start the whole vicious circle again the next day of printing, filing and forgetting.....

Whew!  Did you get all that?

And so now, I'm addicted to Pintrest.  I'm pinning like crazy from blogs with great ideas and pinning from the one person I'm following.  I don't care if anyone ever follows me or if I follow other people.  I just like having a place to file my blog inspirations when I want them.  I can get rid of that folder and file them in Pintrest and they'll be there when I'm home and craving a new craft idea. 



What kid would not LOVE to paint with marbles?

 Now....onto that pesky file folder.  I guess I'll start the search for the great ideas I've filed in the folders and then pin them too.

Wanna follow?  Be my guest!  What about y'all, do you Pintrest?

Happy Wednesday Y'all!

My Etsy Shop

Good morning y'all!

I've come to a decision about my Etsy shop and I've decide not to re-open. 

(Keep reading though).

Reasoning?   

Well, most of the things I make are too darn cute for Lallie not to wear!  :-)  I'm working on Christmas and Thanksgiving dresses, skirts and shirts and I just don't want to give them up! 

But the other reason is I just don't have time to build up an inventory.  What am I going to do?  Put one dress and skirt on the site and hope someone buys?  Not great marketing.  In addition, I'm not one to buy a whole bolt of fabric.  I choose what I like in just enough fabric to give me variety for Lallie's closet and that's it.  I don't have enough customers (or money!) to buy a full bolt and just hope someone wants me to make something in that fabric.

So what does that mean for y'all?  I will customize design and make whatever you want.  We can just go over it via email and pick out designs and patterns etc. etc. etc.  It's super easy and that way I can make items for the few of you that have bought from me before and not worry about dealing with the masses. 

After all I do really enjoy sewing but it's not my full time job.

Sew....(pun intended)....what do I have in the pipelines for Lallie?  I recently completed her Christmas dress and she'll wear it in her Christmas pictures this coming Friday.

It's a reversible A-Line dress with a white frock to go underneath.  Monogrammed on one side with rick rack trim....the other side simple with a cute little pocket (and Lallie LOVES pockets!)

If interested in this style, email me at SLPreppy@gmail.com!

Happy Tuesday Y'all!

Goodness Gracious!

 So long, no see blogger friends!  Work has been absolutely insane, so it's been too much to blog lately.  And at home, well you know the drill!  Cook, clean, child-caring (and playing!) and of course, a lot of my extra time has been on sewing.  I can't wait to show you all the cute little outfits I've made Lallie for Thanksgiving and Christmas!

In the meantime, Husband has hired a housekeeper to come in every couple of weeks to clean for me.  This will be a HUGE help!  It seemed that all of our free time was being spent on cleaning, mostly on the weekends, which obviously detracts from Lallie.  We also weren't having much time to ourselves either.  So this weekend, no cleaning (well, okay, a little), but we spent our time gardening with Lallie, going to the park, Husband went flying with a neighbor, we did the grocery shopping, we played outside, we sewed and all kinds of other things, rather than spending hours on cleaning!  It was nice for a change.  

So we hired a housekeeper and I have to admit, I was kind of surprised to see that it's not nearly as expensive as I thought it would be.  Always a plus!

In other news, like I said, Husband went flying this weekend.  Our neighbor has had several planes over the years and this particular one, he built.  I have to admit, while Lallie and I were at the park, I did check the news app on my iphone three or four times for local plane crashes.  Yes, I was slightly uneasy.  But he arrived safe and sound back on the ground with some pretty cute pictures to show for it!

It was gorgeous outside this weekend.  Lows in the 60's with highs in the upper 70s.  So, we planted all our winter flowers.  Impatiens, lots of impatiens.  They grow like crazy down here in the winter, so in about a month, our front yard will be filled with pink and white!  Lallie loves to help plant and water flowers. 

Later, we got our artist skills on and painted dozens of pictures, most specifically, the horizon line.  I have at least five paintings of the horizon line with the blue sky above and green grass below....and that's it. Note to self, pick up more blue and green paint.  She had fun and that's all that matters!  Husband even made her potato stamps with her initial and a heart.

Last but not least, things that make my heart aflutter.  Lallie is writing her numbers and letters all by herself now, without having to have guides to show her.  She's been able to write for a while, but either in tracing or with worksheet direction.  And she's been able to write her first and last names without help for quite some time (the first thing they teach).  But this is the first I've seen her make efforts on other letters and numbers and it makes me (and Husband) so happy.  She's also starting to read the "at" words like cat, hat, bat, rat etc.  It just amazes me that my four year old can read and write, she just seems so little and young.

So, these are the things happening at the SLPS household!  I'm looking forward to catching up on a week's worth of blog posts from y'all!  

Happy Monday Y'all! 

Style Blueprint on White

For a blogger so interested in fashion, I'm probably behind the times, but I recently discovered through my Body Back trainer the website, Style Blueprint.

I am in LOVE with this website and have been perusing it in my free time when able, catching up on all the latest and greatest from some of my favorite southern cities.   Maybe that's why I've missed out?  Because Florida isn't yet on their radar.

The site features just about everything from food to fashion, glitz and glamour, health and well-being....it's completely well rounded.

So.....I was shopping yesterday .....
(long story and yes, I was technically working but even my boss knows why I was shopping so....no comments from the peanut gallery).

Anyways, I ran into the Polo Ralph Lauren Factory Outlet to return some shorts that just didn't fit Husband correctly when to what before my wandering eye did appear?

A $9.99 sale rack!  Shoparoonee!

And exactly what did I find on said sale rack?  White jeans.  I have white cotton capris, white capri jeans, white capri cuffed jeans, white leggings....I have everything white in my wardrobe except traditional long, non-boot cut, just plain old normal white jeans.  So I snatched them up (with my budget money dear).

And then I started thinking back to that age old controversy about wearing white after Labor Day.  Darn it, even in South Florida 90 degree October, I just can't bring myself to wear white below the waist (I was able to squeeze it in late HERE September but that was my absolute cutoff).

But I have these pretty new gorgeous white jeans!  Do I really have to wait for 7 months before

wearing them? 

Not according to Style Blueprint!

They did an article on wearing white after Labor Day HERE.  They highlighted the Fall 2011 Paris Fashion show where whites were in great abounds both on and off the runway.

They then took some everyday fashions (for normal non-model people with busty hips and mommy bellies a/k/a ME) and put together some adorable outfits surrounding below-the-waist-whites.

Wear White after Labor Day! by lizagraves featuring high heel shoes

Black and White with Color Pop by lizagraves featuring mid heel shoes

Style Blueprint also interviewed several boutique shop owners about their below-the-waist winter white wardrobes HERE.  And of course, these shop owners pull from my favorites....Lilly Pulitzer,
J. McLaughlin, Kate Spade.

Check out these articles.  And I guarantee you'll be seeing me this winter wearing white jeans and I won't be the least bit ashamed. 
(However, I will be leaving the Lilly Pulitzer Hotty Pink halter top safely tucked away until next May!)

Happy Wednesday Y'all!