30 Day Challenges,  Fashion

30×30 Day Six: You animal!

This is a skirt that I’ve had for a few years, and the last time I wore it I wore basically the same outfit as I’m wearing now. (See?) I decided to add it to my 30×30 because I want to try to style it more, and I’m trying to decide if I actually want to keep it or get rid of it. I like animal print, and I’m not afraid of the body-conscious silhouette,  but the rise is kind of awkward (it cuts right below my belly button, which is a weird place for a skirt), and I’ve never felt very inspired to style it.

We shall see.

On the subject of challenges, I read a post the other day about how a lot of fashion bloggers tend to talk about just their outfit (which is okay), but that this particular fashion blogger liked to write more about her life because writing about outfits all the time could get boring.

And it made me realize how little I tend to share of my life other than the pictures and the occasional comment in a post. Most of my blog posts have become solely about the outfit, and less about where I wore it, or what I was doing that day, or just random tidbits of life. Of course, part of this is that I write my blog posts early in the morning before work, and part of it is that most days I think my life is kind of boring. But as a challenge, I am going to try to share more of my life with you and not just talk about the outfit.

Besides my life isn’t as boring as I think it is: I could always tell you about the time I gave dating advice to a nine-year-old (and how she broke up with her “boyfriend” because she made a face and he said it was ugly), or about the little girl who bursts through the door at work on her way to school singing various twisted renditions of popular songs such as “My little pony, all skinny and bony, stepped on a wire, caught on fire, came back to life and ATE EVERYBODY!”

And my time with Mr. Owl every day is never boring to me but there are so many inside jokes that wouldn’t make sense to anyone else, it’s hard to share. But I also know that sometimes I don’t share simply because I have bad days and I tend to want you all to only see the happy me, and not the emotional me. Not that I’m constantly emotional or always hiding my pain (whoa, that sounds so… theatrical), because I’m generally a happy person… but I want to work on opening up more and sharing more (and, in turn, becoming a better writer, since I’ve never been good at writing about real life) on the blog.

Besides, I can also share about my dreams and hopes for the future as things in life progress and change.

But not only do I want to share more about myself, I want to know more about you girls (and guys…?) as my lovely readers.

Let’s start it off: here is one personal thing that I’ve never said on the blog –for the reasons that it’s, y’know, personal, and because I know there are people that read this blog that I know in real life… which is sort of intimidating and makes me shy– I am pretty sure that I am going to spend the rest of my life with Mr. Owl. He’s my best friend, the man of my dreams, and he’s the only person I’ve ever met that I could spend 24 hours a day with and never tire of. (I mean, let’s face it: in the six months we’ve been together, we’ve only not seen each other for seven days out of those six months. And I still like him.)

And I knew this for certain three weeks after we started dating.

{Target} Skirt: old {Thrifted} Cardigan: $5 | Shoes: $5.99 | Belt: $0.99

What about you? I’d love to get to know you better, so tell me something about yourself whether it’s funny or personal or an unusual talent you have, or just something from your day.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday!

21 Comments

  • mariecarolk

    That boardwalk is so pretty! I like when the surrounding scenery complements the outfit.

    That’s so great 🙂 I honestly believe that God made everyone a soul mate and we simply have to keep our hearts open and find him/her.

    Getting personal here: I have 11 brothers and one sister. To say that we have a large family is an overstatement…:P

    Marie

    • Mara

      Isn’t it? I think the boardwalk (it’s a dock) is one of my favorite places to take pictures. 😀

      I have always believed that, although I also thought I might just be a hopeless romantic till I met Mr. Owl, since I was 23 and had never been approached by a man I liked. But then, that’s what I had prayed for since I was sixteen– to only ever be approached and pursued by the man I was going to marry. So y’know. I think I got what I prayed for.

      Oh, wow! That’s actually not too shocking to me– my uncle has nine kids, and Mr. Owl comes from a family of eight kids, so I’m used to being around big families. I think they’re fantastic! 😀

      • mariecarolk

        I’m not extremely romantic and I still think so 😛 Tehe. Yeah, I heard a really sweet story about a man who prayed everyday for his future wife’s purity/safety/general welfare, and when they met (and eventually married) turns out she had prayed for her future husband everyday as well…

        so adorable 😀

        Hey thanks! I think so too 😛

  • Comy

    Hi!
    I’m not a fan of animal print, but it does look good on you. And those shoes are to die for! Figuratively speaking, of course (would anyone actually die for a pair of shoes? I guess it would depend on the shoes, and the person… but I’m digressing).

    I am very happy for you! I hope you two crazy kids get married and have 2 or 3 children, and live till you’re 120 each!

    Ok, something personal. I cry when a dog dies in a movie. I couldn’t pull myself together for twenty minutes after watching ”Marley and me”.

    Have an awesome Friday!

    • Mara

      Hahaha! I would never die for a pair of shoes… but I would fight really hard for them. And get dramatic and whine about it. 😀 Thank you! I waver on animal print– it really, really depends on the print whether I’ll like it or not. 

      Thank you! I think we will. Although we’ll probably have more than three kids (we both want around five.)

      I never saw Marley and Me, but I get emotional over sad animal movies, too. Like Where the Red Fern Grows? Ah, that movie gets me every time. 

  • Jess

    Re: My Little Pony, have you ever read I Was Told There’d Be Cake by Sloane Crosley? There is a hilarious short story in it regarding My Little Ponies and death. It’s my favourite book, and it is riotous.

    Let’s see, my something personal…opposite of Marie’s comment below, I’m an only child. And I LOVE it, always have–never, ever wanted a sibling. One time when I was like 12 my mom and I were at a pharmacy store and I wanted a bucket and shovel since we were going to the beach later, and at the checkout my mom said “isn’t your little brother going to love this?” I was HORRIFIED at the prospect of having a brother! Fortunately she was j/king but even now I shudder at the thought. She’s tried to apologize to me multiple times for never “giving” me a sibling, and I tell her how much I’d hate life if I had one! Thanks but no thanks.

    • Mara

      I haven’t, but I will now! Just the title makes me want to read it. 😀

      Hahaha! That’s kind of hilarious! And I can kind of relate– I’m the only girl, and I never, EVER wanted a sister. Although I do love my older brothers. I just never wanted a sister. 

  • Salazar

    Zombie Little Ponies!!! Oh man, now I want to teach my niece that song. My sister wouldn’t approve, but that’s what you have crazy aunts for 😀

    I struggle the same way about what to write in my posts. I have even fewer stories to share because I work from home. I just hope people won’t think I’m some sort of hermit, when all I talk about is my family, our cats and dog, and things I find in the garden.

    • Mara

      Isn’t it great? That little girl is my favorite of all the kids that come by work for candy. She has the most hilarious songs ever. And just over all, she’s always saying really funny things! (Like how she knows my co-worker’s dog isn’t a boy, because “it doesn’t have a THINGamajigger!”

      I don’t think of you as a hermit! I always find your posts interesting. 😀

  • Jamie Rose

    I love this skirt on you! The leopard print is great and it looks so nice with your bright blue cardigan. 
    I totally understand the writing about only the outfit blogging thing. I need to figure out how to weave a bit more of life into my blog, but I’m never sure about being too personal or whatever even though I enjoy that in other peoples’ blogs. 
    I very much enjoyed your little personal tidbit about Mr. Owl. You two are so cute together! I can’t wait to see how your relationship evolves. 

    • Mara

      Thank you!

      It’s hard to weave more of life into blogging, I think. I never know whether the things I say will be interesting or weird. Even though, like you said, I always love reading about other peoples’ lives on their blogs. Hehe. So I know what you mean!

  • Demy

    Hi! You know, I don’t think that you don’t share your life with us. Well, I mean, apparently you can’t just get it all out on the internet, right? There are some things that just have to be private. You always tell us about Mr. Owl, you share pictures of your adventures together, you talk about your work. I think that if you only talked about your outfits, I would not read your blog. Yes, your outfits are gorgeous, but they’re not everything. So yep, all this was because I wanted to say that I really like your idea of opening up more on your blog and I am excited to read about you. It’s actually sort of fascinating, because you have…a good life. Probably not perfect, because we all have problems and stuff, but still…your life is pretty good! 
    Also, as I’ve told you before, I too think that you and Mr. Owl will be together forever. You just seem to complete each other! He is SO lucky to have you <3 <3 😀
    Hmm…personal things? Let's see… There are so many things, like…I don't know…
    I have a brother who is the best person on the world and for who I'd die for, no exaggerating, but this is pretty simple as well. Also, I want to be a translator and I'm going to college come September to study Translation and Interpretation. I speak four languages and I'm going to learn two more in the university… Oh and also I want to live in New York. Yeah I know, this is such a cliche, but I really really want to do this. Not just visit, but stay there and work. 
    Oh my God, I'm so sorry for this super long comment :O I'm too talkative (like you hadn't already noticed :P). By the way, I totally love the outfit, this skirt looks awesome on you! I prefer it with the red shoes, color blocking for the win 😛 Kissees!

    • Mara

      Well, maybe it’s just me that thinks so. 😀 I guess I just want to share MORE of my life, because I’ve noticed lately I tend to say more about my outfits than I do about my life. 😀 

      And I’m lucky to have him! He’s the best. 
      Aww! I’ve seen pictures of you and your brother (facebook stalking, hehe!) and you two look like you have the best relationship! What languages are you going to learn? I’m so impressed that you already speak four. I only know a few phrases in Gaelic and one or two things in Russian (thanks to Mr. Owl). 

      I LOVE your long comments! 

      • Demy

        Mr. Owl speaks Russian?? Awesome! I want to learn Russian and Chinese, but for now I speak English, French, Germany, and Greek of course and in university I’m going to learn Italian and Turkish 😀 

        • Mara

          He speaks a few phrases here and there– his brother is a missionary in the Ukraine, so he’s picked up some phrases from visiting them. 😀 
          That’s so cool! I should try to learn a language besides my own. 

  • glitterstick97

    Mara you are too funny. I couldn’t stop laughing at the My Little Pony rendition. I could hear the theme music and everything. I laughed myself to tears. My husband just thought I was strange as I sang the song to him. 

  • Avra-Sha Faohla

    I don’t think it’s strange at all that you knew that after three weeks of dating. In the background I grew up in, we date solely for marriage and usually get engaged within three to five weeks! 😉