小红书 Is Literally My Favorite App At This Point. Sorry Not Sorry. It Probably Helps That The Vast

Went to church today on a very wet, snowy Sunday morning, took care of one of my comfort care patients with some antinausea meds and SQ fluids, then ran to the grocery store, now I'm cuddled in with my Critters for the Eagles game. Go Birds!

Outfit is:

- Ralph Lauren Cotton Cardigan circa 2019, similar to This cotton blend Cardigan they currently offer.

- Tommy Hilfiger Imina boots in Saddle Brown thrifted you can find them on poshmark Here

- Wool & Cotton Skirt by Ann Taylor, Circa 2016, unfortunately they don't have anything similar anymore and have largely switched to synthetic blends in their knits

- Thrifted, tagless top of some sort of synthetic stretch blend, bought at my local goodwill for $7

- 100% cotton leggings from fair indigo size XS find them Here

- Scarf head covering for church is a flax bandana I bought from an Amish vendor at my local farmers market, you can find a similar one here on etsy.

Buy This, Buy That, "Less than a coffee now!" It seems like every time we're on social media, we're bombarded with products, fashion trends, advertisements, and new "aesthetics" that, conveniently for drop shippers and fast fashion empires, require us to buy a whole new wardrobe and interior design scheme. So, here are my top 10 tips for breaking the cycle.

Figure out who you are. Rather than the you the advertising algorithms tell you that you are.

Go through your current closet, jewelry box, vanity, and decor. Keep what makes you happy, and toss, sell, or donate what doesn't anymore. Yes, this includes those impulse dopamine-seeking purchases and the "little treats."

Make a list of things you realistically do in your day-to-day life that may need closet supplementation from what a standard "capsule" wardrobe would offer you. Church clothes? Sport-specific clothing? Officewear? Do you do a lot of formal events that require attire for certain dress codes? Do you do date night and girl's night outfits? For example: I need dependable workwear for after-hours farm calls so I keep about 5 items in my wardrobe that fit that function. I also keep a bit more workout clothing than some would since I work out 6 days a week.

In the same vein as number 3, are there places where you can increase cross-over between categories in your wardrobe? For example, choosing well-fitted tees that can be worn as under-scrubs and as casual tops around town?

Figure out if there are colors and shades that you look best in/feel the most confident in. There isn't a need to do the one-size-fits-all color analysis that TikTok and Instagram are constantly trying to sell you on reels based on the seasons. Figure out which colors you are complimented the most in, that you feel the best in, and that inspire the most positivity for you. Narrow it down to 4 or 5 colors for both colors and neutrals (blacks, grays, whites, nudes). I did 2-3 colors per season, plus my standard neutrals.

Figure out your style. Personally, I tend to have a fashion that draws inspiration from American traditional, southern prep, English country attire, and the fashions of foxhunting. Think Orvis, LL Bean, Cordings, Dubarry, Talbots, Tory Burch, Ted Baker, and Lily Pulitzer. In decor, I tend to be drawn toward colonial era antiques, leather upholstery, campaign furniture, heavy fabric drapes, ox tongue wood finishes over cherry, oil paintings, black marble, gray field stone, and polished brass. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but I found it by perusing fashions, furniture, decor, even TV and movies for things I adored.

Quality over Quantity: This is a big one. Rather than buying a new outfit every time I wanted to do something, or buying each cute accessory I saw and wanted to buy on impulse, I started getting really picky about the materials and workmanship in the things I purchased. Cheap may look good for a brief time, but it fades quickly. The things I buy now need to fit well, be of good material, be tailorable, have finished seams and edges, and be of substantial enough material that I trust that it will last me 2-10 years depending on the item, with some items being things I intend to only buy once in the cases of jewelry and scarves.

Cool off: This product looks like it would solve XYZ problem for me! Will it? Put it on a wish list and save it for later. If you still think it's going to revolutionize your life a month later, work it into the budget.

Quit buying from TikTok Shop, the majority of the stuff on there is drop-shipped junk made to capitalize on a quick trend, which is also part of why there's always pressure added to the pitch "before it sells out" "For less than the price of a coffee" "While the sale is on" if a product can be sold for $9 when it's usually $100, the deal is too good to be true, and the product won't last. Same goes for Shien and Forever 21 if I'm honest.

Focus on 1-2 items per season, an accessory, a cute top or a fun dress. Reducing my consumption to replacement levels plus 1 or 2 items has drastically cut my spending on fashion and decor. I also check second-hand stores first.

I went ahead and included some inspiration boards for you, one with pretty typical accessories for me, one to help better visualize my fashion sense, and then 2 palettes, my colors and my neutrals. I hope you all liked this, I'll also be doing a breakdown of my jewelry, vanity, and closet here soon.

Love,

workouts & stretches for posture

🤍 5 minute everyday pilates back routine by lidia mera

🤍 8 minute fix for neck hump by yuuka sagwa

🤍 8 minute upper body stretch by mizi

🤍 10 minute fix forward head & neck posture by mizi

🤍 10 minute fix your posture pilates style stretch by eleni fit

🤍 10 minute workout & stretch for round back by pamela reif

🤍 10 minute slim back & better posture by emi wong

🤍 10 minute fix posture & reduce back pain by mady morrison

🤍 20 minute posture correction by akshaya agnes

🤍 25 minute workout for better posture by growingannanas

🤍 25 minute pilates for better posture by move with nicole

🤍 30 minute pilates for upper body & posture by move with nicole

The mammals crave their original home.

“How’s life?”

Me:

Spar with men.

Please pray for our brothers and sisters in California.

Our Heavenly Father,

May You send heavy rainclouds to California to pour out and extinguish the fires, and stop the winds.

May You save all the people, trees and animals in the area from danger and loss.

May God's mightiest angels protect every brother and sister in Christ from harm.

May You show Your unending love and mercy to those who love You and spare this city.

In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

Not only was I at the club... I was a regular and my bartenders knew my name and special ordered a 0 proof gin for me when I stopped drinking for a year.

No nuance

I have acquired my pets through 4 means, ranked by how often they happen:

1. Porch Finds: my late ferret I got from being dumped on my porch, and my eldest cat was a kitten that just kinda showed up on my porch

2. Foster Fails/Rescue Work: Pet came in through our Kitten Program or through the dog Rescue we provide care for at the clinic and they end up just coming home, my terrier and my youngest cat were acquired through this method

3. Reputable hobby breeders: 1-3 year wait list, 1 to 2 litters every year or two, I typically look for dogs that are coming from proven working lines with performance titles and solid conformation, I want to see the temperaments and sociability of the lines, and I want to see examples of the dogs produced and what they're doing in their work. I pretty much stick to this option with my PPD and Service prospects.

4. Wash Dogs and Private Rehoming: This is how I got my mal, he's a very nice imported, Netherlands bred Malinois with a Dutch Navy sire and a former police dam. He was imported for a DOD/Homeland security partnered bomb training program along with 4 of his littermates, however, he proved to be too handler focused bordering on Handler dependant for bomb and searching work. I worked with one of their trainers, and he knew I had to retire my prior cardiac alert dog and offered him to me for $1000. He's now a lovely dual purpose protection sports and cardiac alert dog, and yes, he is very handler focused, but that was matter of finding the right job for being handler focused rather than destroying a dog and wasting resources by forcing him into a role he wasn't suited for.

4.5 Importing dogs: Importing a proven dog or a prospect from a proven line is a better option for some breeds when you're looking to fill a specific job for a dog, and the breed has low availability or poor breeding in the United States, balanced working mals and GSDs are incredibly hard to find in the US, and most reputable working line breeders here are also importing dogs to supplement their lines and lower their inbreeding coefficient. If I hadn't come across my Mal as a wash dog, I was looking at taking a trip to Europe to source a quality Malinois. It is a mid 4 to low 5 figure investment for a young, untrained dog and higher for finished dogs. Typically, this route is pursued by organizations and serious sport and working handlers or preservation breeders it is not typical for pet owner sourcing.

Big on this

Sacred image