Calling all Women: Be You.

I haven't blogged in awhile, so forgive me if I'm a little rusty! The store is coming along fantastically and I truly cannot wait until we are able to open. If you are a local, I'm sure you are aware of the Broadway street renovations going on in the Downtown area. With all the dust from the renovations, we plan to just keep working on making our store perfect before our Grand Opening Celebration. Time goes by quickly, so we will be open before you know it! I'll share more details about my job in the upcoming weeks.

With Mother's day just a few days away, I've been thinking a lot about my role in family and in life. (I know, heavy stuff!) My new job and the amazing ladies I have met through this process have reminded me just how precious and powerful my contribution to this world actually is. I used to think that little o' me couldn't really do much to make this big world a better place. Then I met some smiling ladies who are literally bursting to share the love of our Savior with others---and I was reminded that seeds are planted every day through my actions and kind gestures to those around me.

This life is not about how many church functions you attend, how many small groups you're involved in or even how many Sunday mornings you choose to go to (or, to skip!). It's about being Genuine. Being you.

Get into the Word, fill your mouth and heart with love for every. single. person. you encounter and stop focusing on being this person you think people want you to be. We are never going to live up to the expectations of those around us. What we can do is strive daily to be the woman God has planned for us to be---that loving, supportive, woman washing the feet of a stranger.

In the midst of me writing this, John literally threw up the snack he was eating all over the dining room table and himself. I immediately stopped typing and rushed to his side to make sure he was alright. The kid was laughing. He pointed to his juice and said "oops." Toddler Translation: juice went down the wrong pipe. He was ok.

Isn't that how life should be? Full of puke and laughter?

Be yourself, ladies. It's ok to laugh and puke. No one will ever be perfect nor should we try to be. We just need to keep loving Christ and loving others.

This outfit is all me. Messy braid and hat, flowing tee, black skinny jeans and sandals = Leslie Carol Hazelwood.

When the store does open, I want you all to know that when you come in to get styled by either myself or one of the other talented ladies, we will style you in something that you feel confident, beautiful, and 100% yourself in. That's what getting dressed is all about. That's what living is all about. Being you.

A Case of the Monday's.

Monday morning was doozie.

The term "doozie" can mean something that is extraordinary, difficult, troublesome or problematic. In my case, I would say my Monday morning was more along the lines of problematic.

I first woke up and realized I had an eye doctor appointment that morning. To make an 8:30 appointment that means I need to leave my house around 7:45 in order to drop John off and make it on time. Everything was going smoothly and we were in the car on the way when I suddenly spilled extremely hot coffee down the front of my blouse. And when I say extremely hot, I mean I poured an entire cup of freshly microwaved coffee down my thin, lace shirt. I started screaming in pain and thus John started crying. I pulled over and took my shirt off as fast as I could but it was too late. The hot coffee had already started burning my "negligee."

We were just down the street so I turned around and headed back to the house to change clothes and asses the damage. John had calmed down by now and was reading a book. My good little man! We pulled into the driveway and I left John buckled in his carseat and I headed in to change. Note: we live in the country on a gravel road. I don't recommend ANYONE leaving their toddler in the car unattended in the city! Plus, I pulled up right into the garage and was only going to be inside for about 60 seconds.

I changed shirts and headed back outside. My skin was a bit red but nothing serious thank goodness! I went over to John's side of the car and opened his door to check on him and give him some love. That's when I noticed that John's carseat wasn't strapped into the backseat! John was strapped into the actual carseat, but the seat itself was not attached to the vehicle! My in-laws had used John's carseat Sunday afternoon when he went over to their house to play. I had completely forgotten to re-attach the seat after they left!

I really believe God was trying to "wake me up" with the coffee. It would have been horrible to drive any further than we did without John properly strapped to his carseat. Thank you Lord for your protecting hand!

I definitely need to be reminded to slow down every once in awhile. Obviously I didn't make my eye doctor appointment that morning, but that's alright. John and I went to Starbucks and relaxed for a few minutes before I went into work. That little guy is my whole world and God knew I needed to get that carseat buckled in order for him to be as safe as possible.

Here's my "throw on and go" outfit I wore on Monday. I always throw on a blazer in a pinch; it makes everything seem much more put together.

This will probably be the last chance for me to wear this velvet blazer before Spring sets in. See you next fall, blazer!

Monday Top 10 Lovely Things.

Hey ya'll! Hope everyone had a lazy and relaxing Thanksgiving weekend. Taking a break from the Internet and spending time with my family was just what the doctor ordered, aka my hubs :)

I'm at a place in life where I'm running low on advice to give--so I fee the Sanity Saving Monday Tips needs to be suspended for awhile. We're going to try something new, called Monday Top 10. These will be 10 things that I'm loving in life right now, or that I'm thankful for! What do you think? Sound good to you?!

Monday Top 10: Lovely Things.

10. Christmas Decorating----even in the garage house!


And the stockings were hung, on the garage door with care.




Add a little Christmas Cheer to the bedroom with classic white lights on the bed frame.



9. Discovering a new, (and wildly affordable!) universally loved wine; Venta Morales Tempranillo. This Spanish red table wine is fruity and bold, perfect for Holiday guests! My favorite wine shop Primo Vino sells this wine by the case, and bottle price is only $6.99!! Wowza!!

8. Minnetonka moccasins are back in style! I've had my pair of "house slippers" for about five years, but now I'm busting them out in public. What do you think of the moccasin style?

Moccasins in the office....yes please!

7/6. Saving money on manicures by painting my nails myself, and my sparkly "coffee coozie" to make my spirits bright.




Nails in Essie's "Lady Like" and coffee coozie from Starbucks, $3.99.


5. My new bangs! Pics to come!

4. Cyber Monday deals: Gap/Banana are offering 30% off today, and J.Crew is offering 25% off! Know of any other great deals out there?

3. Our wood burning stove = eco-friendly heat and super cozy!

2. This song by Mumford and Sons.

1. Being reminded to "consider it joy whenever you face trials and tribulations, because the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing." James 1:2-4

This week, if you're going through a rough time, know that God uses all things for His good--no matter what the outcome. xoxo

Sanity Saving Monday Tip: Stress Relief 101

I have a problem with stress. I don't usually notice that I'm stressed until it's to an extremely severe level, like last week. I was feeling so stressed that I was starting to get snippy with everyone around me--including John! Poor guy. Yes he's two and obviously knows how to cause a few grey hairs, but that doesn't mean I can lose my cool with him. Discipline should NEVER come from an anger, but from love and a desire to correct behavior in a Christ-like way. I could talk about discipline all day but let's get back on subject --stress relief.

What's causes stress? My stress comes from having too much "stuff" going on. Projects that build up over time from either procrastination on my part or from several deadlines being thrown at me all at once. I like order in my life and when things get hectic, it's hard for me to know how to deal with that sometimes.

This week I had deadlines with my day job, deadlines with my side job, school work to do, and for some reason my house seemed to get in extreme disarray over the course of two days. When I'm busy and not at home as much as I'd like, my house goes to sh....well, you know.

So what's the solution? Quit my job? Hire a cleaning lady? Yeah, right. As much as I'd like to, that's not feasible for my family. Here's how to, as we like to say in my house, "slow your roll" when things get kinda crazy. P.S.....urban dictionary rocks.

1. Draw out a time line to accomplish your goal. I had a story due on Saturday for the newspaper, and I knew I wanted to spend at least some of Saturday doing fun things with family. So when I got my story assignment Thursday, I wrote out a little time line that looked sorta like this:


Thursday evening after dinner and when John's in bed: Research online for story
Friday afternoon after work: Make at least two contact phone calls for story
Saturday morning when John's playing at Mom's house: make rest of contact calls, sit down and write story, submit story by 12:30 so I can go to lunch with family.

So I simply broke up all the work that needed to go into that certain deadline so that everything wouldn't all be left for Saturday right before the story was due to my editor. That made Saturday morning run smoothly so I could reach my personal goal: Spending lunch with  my family. Basically once you get set time lines for your work stuff you can then do the things you REALLY want to do. Does that make sense? By accomplishing your "need to" deadlines in a timely manner you can then do the fun stuff.

2. Ask for help. You need a support system. Someone who is there for you when you need help getting things done. Don't ALWAYS try to do everything yourself. I don't care how strong you are, you'll eventually get way too stressed. My husband and my mom are two of my best supporters. They know my dreams and goals and know that everything I do is for a better life for me and my family.

At the beginning of the week, I didn't utilize my support system. I knew I had all these deadlines coming up and didn't share with anyone that I needed help. I wanted to have a perfect house and dinner on the table every night and all my homework and studying finished...all done through my own power. First off, pray for God to help you get things done. Tell Him your schedule, and give Him your anxieties. You'll instantly feel refreshed and focused. Next, tell someone in your support system that you're stressing. Towards the end of the week, I knew I needed to ask for help so I could get everything finished. I called my Mom and asked if she could watch John Saturday morning for a couple hours so I could do some housework and finish my story. I also apologized to Daniel for being so stressed and not coming to him for help. He stepped in and helped with some of the housework so I would have more time for my story. He also sent me flowers, which was so sweet and much appreciated :) Sometimes husbands know just how to make your day better!




Pretty fall colors!


3. Don't bite off more than you can chew. JUST SAY NO THANK YOU! I know we all have this Wonder Woman mentality that we can be all that everyone needs. Well, you just can't, ok? So get that out of your head right now. That voice in the back of your mind that says "oh man, I don't really want to do this but I guess I'll say yes because I'll look like a jerk if I don't" AHEM.....just say no thank you. Listen to that voice. Actually, if you say no to people every once in awhile, they'll respect you more in the end. Don't believe me? Read this book.

There's three little tips that work for me when I'm stressed, but might not necessarily work for everyone. Sometimes a nice hot bubble bath and a glass of wine can calm even the most stressed of ladies. Just slow your roll, woman!

What are some things that you do when you know you have a stressful week coming up? Please share! Have a good Monday, friends!

You might be having a bad week if....

It's Monday. At an attempt to bring some humor and relief to my otherwise bad week I had....here are some "You might be a Redneck having a bad week if" jokes that are actually true. You know how they say, behind every joke is a hint of truth? Well, these are all true. No hinting around here, folks. These things actually happened to me.

You might be having a bad week if...

Your spill your coffee not once, but twice in one sitting.


You make a vow to eat healthier this week and then have Pretzel M&M's for breakfast.

You try to give your two year old son a kiss and he replies "No!" and smacks you in the face with a very larger and rock-hard cowboy hat.


You find out that your husband secretly hates the one fashion trend you've been dying to try out.....Leopard Print Heels. Sigh. Back to the drawing board.

You realize that tuition is due at school TODAY and that you forgot your wallet AT HOME. Nice one, Les.

You spill about 2 gallons of water.....INSIDE your refrigerator. Don't ask, for the love of pete, please don't ask.

And last but not least; You might be having a bad week if your puppy gets run over. Geez. That just plain sucks, huh?

Don't worry, everyone. I've gotten all my tears out and have just chalked it up to be "a part of life."

If we didn't go through crappy stuff, we wouldn't be the adapting, growing, wiser individual we need to be. Correct?

If you're having "One of those weeks" and you start to freak out because it's only Monday.....just take a second and relax. Don't freak out over things you have no control over.

Be happy, my friends. Tuesday is a new day.

New Home.

Today our Winnie pup passed away. Although she was with us just a short time, we loved her very much and will miss her sweet disposition.

Winnie is at her new home now. Love you sweet puppy!

Sanity Saving Monday Tip: Is it really all about the Benjamins??

I hate money. I really do.

I don't like how it makes you take for granted what you already have.

I don't like how it competes for affection.

I don't like how it's used in poor ways.

I don't like how it makes me feel.

Money makes people feel snobby.  It can make you feel inadequate, unworthy, or sub-par. Money seems to do more harm than good, I'd say. But we need money, right?

I need money to pay bills.

I need money to feed my coffee addiction.

I need money to give gifts.

I need money to conduct business.

Wouldn't it be great if we didn't need money to do all those things? If we could just pay for goods and services with other goods or services?

I actually heard someone say recently "When I have a car I like, then I'll feel like I'm on the right track. When I have a job that pays what I want it to pay, then I'll have it made." Do you see something wrong with this? Me too.

I hate how money makes people feel like they aren't as good as everyone else, or that they haven't "made it" to where they want to be.

I've been thinking a lot about money lately. It takes money to get into the real estate business like my husband and I are currently trying to do. We have to have a down payment to buy a rental house, then we have to have a loan from the bank to make improvements on the property, then we have to find the best interest rate, and so on and so forth. Money money money. Can I just vent a little here and say that I don't like all this? I mean, does growing up really have to be about moving "up" as well? 

What if all the money we made, actually went to someone else, instead of to "move up" in our business? Who says we can't be satisfied with what we have? Why do we need more and more and more?

My Sanity Saving Tip: Don't let having money or the lack thereof make you forget what your purpose is. Share Jesus. Give to those who need. If you have more, give more. Do your part in sharing Christ's love.

Pray that you can conduct your business in a manner that is wholesome and humble. Don't get too far ahead of yourself.

Stop, smell the flowers, and think about the best way to utilize your money.

Have a good Monday, friends.

Getting away...

I'm ready for a me-cation. I'm not talking about a family get-a-way here either people. Just me and the wagon. Heading out. Maybe take a little road trip to Gulf Shores. It's not that far and I kind of remember how to get there. I could leave tonight and be back by Monday.....

I'm not really going, but sometimes I like to imagine going on a vacation by myself. Is that really wrong?

I snapped this yesterday on my way to work. This guy knows what it's all about. Just him and his mini truck with a ginormous canoe.

If you were to go away for the weekend alone, where would you go?

I always think it sounds so nice to go away on my own, but in reality I'd probably have more fun with my family.

I mean, look at this guy! Who wouldn't want to take him on vacation??