Stay at Home Style Book

Let me get this out of the way- I am not a stylish or fashionable person. Most of my clothes are from Target, Wal-Mart or so old I don't remember. But I do enjoy putting together outfits. It's just that since I've been staying home, I really have no excuse to, especially since some days I don't even leave the house.

That's why, last weekend, I made a commitment to get actual-dressed every day this week. It's Friday afternoon & I can honestly say that I did it! Even on the days I didn't leave the house, I got out of my pajamas and into something other than other pajamas or yoga pants. Here's what I wore:

Monday I started strong: I put JEANS ON. I legitimately don't even know the last time I wore these jeans, and they also kind of don't fit, but it was nothing a belt couldn't fix. I paired them with a tank top and a... I don't even know what to call it- it's not a cardigan? Either way, I've had it since my student teaching days, so 2011, and I'm pretty sure it was from Kohl's. I was uncomfortable all day because there's no need to wear jeans when you spend 90% of your time on the floor with kids, but I did it.

Tuesday I wore jean leggings & a tunic both from Wal-Mart. I love that shirt and I wear it all the time. This is how I pretty much dressed all the time when I was a preschool teacher: leggings and a tunic and it's how I'm most comfortable. 

Wednesday was another interesting day. I'm trying to weed out my closet and I'm doing this by forcing myself to wear clothes I rarely/never wear, and if I don't love it by the end of the day, it goes into a donate box. I love the leggings (Lularoe) but I have only worn the shirt (Target Maternity, lol) once and I wasn't thrilled with it when I was pregnant with CJ. But, I put it on and actually kind of like it. I ended up wearing the belt a little lower than in the picture and it was cute and comfortable all day. I think I'm gonna keep it. 

Thursday was the first day all week I knew I wasn't leaving the house, so I did comfortable again. Lula and a Wal-mart raglan. Honestly, I think this was one of the cuter outfits this week, so, there we go. 

 Friday I decided to again, dig into the closet I haven't worn in a while. I used to be obsessed with maxi skirts, I probably have somewhere in the range of 15, but I kind of stopped wearing them when I got more into leggings. However I have so many of them and I can't bring myself to get rid of them, so today is another love it or lose it day. So far, I feel like I'm just chillin' in a little blanket, so I think I'm going to bring these back and start wearing them more regularly.

So there we go: I got actually dressed in (what I think are) cute outfits every day this week. I think I'm going to try to keep this going. I feel better and more productive when I have real clothes on, and I have so many pieces I really love to wear. I don't think I'll keep blogging my outfits, but if I fall off the wagon and need accountability, I might.

What do you wear on a normal day? Especially if you're a stay at home person like I am, do you have a "uniform" you tend to stick to?

How To Dress Up Your Denim With Fancy Pockets

 Hey guys! I have a no sew project today to dress up an old, worn out pair of jeans or shorts. This is a great way to turn last year’s jeans into something fresh and new for the upcoming school year, or a fun way to add a bit of life to a pair that has seen better days.

There’s absolutely no sewing involved, all you need is a pair of pants, some fabric, fabric glue, scissors and a seam ripper. I think overall this project took under 15 minutes, including all of the seam ripping. The only time consuming part is letting the glue dry. 

To begin this project, take your seam ripper, and remove one of the back pockets. Be careful as to not rip the shorts while you’re doing this! If you want, you could remove both pockets, but I really like the look of one plain pocket and one fancy one.

Using the ripped off pocket as a guide, trace the pocket (including the folded under hem onto the fabric you’re using. You really only need a small scrap of fabric for this project. I dug into my scrap bin for this one. Make sure you add a seam allowance to the top of the pocket since you probably won’t be able to unfold that edge.

Carefully cut out the pocket you’ve just traced.

Using your fabric glue, fold down all of the edges so that you have a finished pocket without any fraying or unraveling. Just add a line of glue, fold down and press securely. Once it’s finished, you’ll want to let the pocket dry for about 5-10 minutes before you put it onto the shorts. It doesn’t need to be completely dry to move on, but you don’t want it to be runny anymore.

After you’ve waited about 5-10 minutes, go ahead and put it on the shorts. There will probably be a color difference from where the pocket was, due to fading from light , so just use that as guide to line up the pocket. Using your fabric glue, go around both sides and the bottom and press firmly. Don’t forget to leave the top open so you can actually use your pocket!

This definitely needs to sit for at least a couple of hours, or preferably overnight before you wear these out, and I’d suggest a full 24 hours before washing them. However once they’re completely dry, feel free to throw them in the wash and wear them as you would any other pants. Except, you know, cuter.

If you dress up a pair of your shorts, I DEFINITELY want to see them! Send me a picture on either twitter or instagram; I’m @techni_moments on both.

And as always, there’s a video here if you’re more into that kind of tutorial :)

Good luck!

January 2013 Favorites

Man, I can not believe that it is already time for me to do this post. I really feel like doing these posts may be making the time go faster than it already has been.

I don’t have much in the way of beauty this month- actually pretty much all of my favorites are sort of “Random” favorites this month. But regardless, without further ado, here are my January Favorites.