As January shifts into February and this Ultimate Blog Challenge comes to an end, this blog will make a few shifts, too. I am happy to announce that I will be taking weekends off!




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"Typically, people turn to talk therapy as an alternative to drugs, but a growing number of women are embracing a new trend in the treatment of depression: spiritual practice. It's an approach that sidesteps analyzing problems in favor of seeking inner peace through relaxation and deep-breathing techniques."--LHJ.com

"Depression is a sign that who you are as a human being on this earth is not being fulfilled in some way," says James S. Gordon, a Harvard-trained psychiatrist who founded the Center for Mind-Body Medicine in Washington, D.C. . "On one level that's a psychological problem that can be dealt with in talk therapy, but it's often a spiritual issue. 'What am I here for? What's my purpose?' Those are spiritual questions."

To try spiritual practice as a way of avoiding winter blues, experiment with the following...

Dedicate time each day (even if brief) to sitting quietly. To try a 5-minute meditation exercise, go to 5 Minute Meditation .



Spending time outside in nature, taking in the environment, will help you connect with your spirit. Go to Connecting with your Spirit for more information on deepening spirituality by connecting with nature.

During your quiet, reflective time, allow yourself to contemplate questions that are important to you.

When your spiritual self speaks, listen and trust. Once we are quiet, we begin to recognize the deeper part of ourselves. That inner voice becomes more familiar. Pay attention to the messages your spirit sends you.

See you next time!

Jeanine
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Today, I am excited to present a guest post from my friend, Ronda Stroud. Check out her blog for more great, really practical tips that will make you love your closet more. And hey, that's what we're about here!


In today’s economy, we are always looking for another way to cut costs and save money.

Trying to stay fashionable and save money at the same time can be rather challenging. As tempting as it is to only shop low end stores and clearance racks to build a wardrobe, it’s not always the most cost effective method of shopping. We all have a wish list of high end pieces that we just cannot justify purchasing.

The "Cost Per Wear" Formula

By utilizing the Cost Per Wear formula, we can determine if purchasing that high end piece a true "splurge" or are we actually saving money in the long run.

The Cost Per Wear formula is a simple shopping strategy that breaks down the true value of an item by dividing the price of the item by the number of times you are probably going to wear it. True Bargainistas know that using this formula is a foundation in building an amazing wardrobe that is built to last through seasons and trends. Here is an example of how the formula works:

Let's say you purchase a trendy and inexpensive pair of jeans for 30.00 and wear them three times before they go out of style or lose their shape. Those jeans cost you 10.00 per wear.

If you invest in a pair of high end jeans that are figure flattering and wear them twice a week for a year the formula would look like this $150/104 times worn= 1.44 per wear! See the difference?

Using this formula not only helps you save money when shopping, but it also gives you a better idea on things you should invest in when building your wardrobe. Take a good look at your lifestyle when you make your purchases.

If you know that you are only going to wear that trendy top once or twice, don’t spend too much on it. Now that you know how to use the CPW formula, go out there and start building that wardrobe!

Thanks, Ronda! I'm ready now...

See you guys next time!

Jeanine
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This is the last week of my first month participating in the 3 in 30 goal-setting challenge and today it's time to check-in on my progress again and share my thoughts about how it went this month, in general. Have you joined us? I'd love to know how it's going for you.

My goals for the month... 

Get up in time to be working by 10am
Connect with ten bloggers every day
Meditate 10 minutes a day or more

How did the month go?

Well, I think I would have to say that I made progress toward each goal but by no means was able to honor those intentions as much I would have liked.

Part of what distracted me was my focus on the Six Items or Less Challenge, which ends next month on the 9th.

Still, I did better than I would have if I hadn't picked these goals, I'm sure!

There were good days of getting up earlier than usual, lots of days when I connected with ten bloggers or more and quite a few days of meditating, and sometimes for ten minutes or more. Though I will be choosing different goals for next month, I hope to (and need to) continue working on these.

What are my goals for next month?

(1) Spruce up my blog! I am giving it a makeover and trying to get rid of any dead weight. I also want to get more clear about its purpose & develop a fairly permanent posting plan.

(2) Continue making connections with and supporting other bloggers. I'm not sure exactly what that will look like yet. Probably continuing to visit blogs every day, retweet & share posts, etc.

(3) Get more rest ~ and by that, I mean more sleep and more quality time away from work. Weekends off, family time, time alone & sleep.

What are your goals for February?

See you next time!

Jeanine
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Discovering your style will mean being true to who you really are inside and being willing to let that show in the way you express yourself. What you wear is a big part of that self-expression. But it is about far more than what you wear. And it starts inside with who you are at the core. I invite you to begin the journey of discovering your style by identifying your unique beauty type.

Meet Sadie, a loyal reader of Thrifty and Chic Mom, who recently went through the process of learning her beauty profile type, and having a makeover of her style. Here are her words describing her experience...

"When I read the book, I saw myself as a Type 3 – Athletic and always busy. But based upon physical features, Carol said I fit into the Type 4 group. It is her system, so I reread and agreed that I fit the Type 4 physical description...

Once I finished the Type Four course, Carol sent a 'Style Guide' that was very useful while shopping. It identifies the basic elements for my Type – from flattering colors to textures and patterns that fit my Type’s style. I used it at Kohl’s last week. I loved shopping because I sped through racks that didn’t fit the guidelines..." ~read her entire description here.

And here is Sadie, after the makeover, in her Type Four outfit...



See you next time!

Jeanine
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One of the things about The Art of Non-Conformity: Set Your Own Rules, Live the Life You Want, and Change the World that fascinates me is the idea of gaining expertise without going to college or getting a graduate degree. He talks at length about his experiences with higher education and suggests that they did not have much to offer him.

He explores, in great detail, the possibility of identifying what it is you want to learn and then designing your own graduate school program, so to speak…

"If you value learning but aren’t a fan of debt or busywork, why not create a way to learn what you need on your own? The One-Year, Self-Directed, Alternative Graduate School Experience offers a customizable plan to fit the needs of almost any aspiring student." –Chris Guillebeau

He suggests a program for a general graduate school experience that will cost far less than an enrolled education at a prestigious university.

As a lifelong learner, I think it’s a great idea! What do you think?

See you next time!

Jeanine
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Today's guest post is brought to you by Maggie Macauley, from WholeHearted Parenting...




See you next time!

Jeanine
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This guest post is brought to you by my blog friend, Sherrie Koretke, Spiritual Life Path Coach. I wanted you to hear about Dressing Your Truth from a type-four perspective and am thrilled that she was willing to share about her experience...

I took the Dressing Your Truth and Energy Profiling course a couple of years ago. To say they changed my life would be an understatement. What I learned was more than what I should wear or what was my energy type. I also felt a positive shift in my self-esteem knowing that I was great the way I was!

I first took the energy profiling course and learned I was a Type 4. Type 4’s are the bold, striking type and known for being the people who perfect the world around them. Then I took the Dressing Your Truth course, which was amazing. The ability to know which clothes best reflect who you really are (energy type) is priceless. Your clothes start to reflect your type of beauty.

My confidence level increased dramatically.

But, the most fun part for me was when I learned which gifts the Type 4 brings to the world. It connected a lot of pieces together about my life and what I do at home and at work. I realized I was the big picture person. The one who loves perfecting systems, processes, people, and how things appear. It explained my love of decorating, cleaning, organizing, and yes, nitpicking to get things to be better. Career-wise it explained why I was good at seeing the bigger picture of someone’s life and why I can see how he or she can make his or her life even better. I’ve applied that gift to my new career as a life path coach.

So, dressing my truth and knowing my innate gift has helped launched me towards a new career and now I know how to dress for that career. It has solidified myself into someone I could package and helped me understand how I could sell myself. Yes, it’s worth learning this information. Learning who you are in all sorts of ways helps complete the picture of your life and is one of the ways you know why you are here on earth.

Visit Sherrie at http://www.sherriekoretke.com/.

See you next time!

Jeanine
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As you know, if you have been following along this month, I am participating in a 3 in 30 goal-setting challenge and this is my first month. It's not too late to join us because we plan to continue the challenge all year long.

Each week, I am checking in and blogging about my progress...

Here are my goals for this month...

Get up in time to be working by 10am
Connect with ten bloggers every day
Meditate 10 minutes a day or more

This week's question...

The primary question for this week is what quotes, Scripture or encouraging words helped get me through the week...

The quote I found encouraging...

"Passion wants to be the driving force in service of your vision, mission, purpose. This energy is delicate and can easily lose power with the impositions of the shoulds, musts and can'ts, all of which strangle life force." ~Marjory Meija

As to how I did this week, here's my comment: MEH!!! Sigh. Though nothing outstandingly bad happened, it was a blah week in many ways, including those three mentioned above. Not that I did nothing toward those goals. Just not enough to get excited about, if you know what I mean.

How did you do this week?

Jeanine
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In this book, Nina Garcia writes in response to the economic recession we are experiencing and offers a guide to creating the best wardrobe you can with what you have to spend.

"Step-by-step, Nina helps readers honestly answer three key questions—What do I have? What do I need? What do I want?—before making purchases, so they can effectively eliminate any unnecessary spending." –Amazon review

I completely agree with her three questions and with her intent to help readers do more with less. My caution is that if you are buying anything that does not match your energy and beauty type, you are not likely to love it and keep it the way you would something that does match.

For more information or to purchase her book, click here.

See you next time!

Jeanine
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What part of your personal style have you struggled w/ most thru the years?

"Whether born stylish, or a late bloomer, each of us has had at least one style bugaboo – a challenge, a struggle. For some, it is learning to love their bodies. For others, it is coloring, height, straight or curly hair…" –Heather Claus, 365 Days of Style

What has been your area of struggle?

To be honest, as I drifted into middle age, my biggest concern has been hiding the ravages of time and gravity (not to mention breastfeeding). Nothing is where it started out, if you get my drift, and I have begun to develop a startling resemblance to the Buddha.

Dressing around all of that became so important that using style to express who I am got pushed to the back burner. And for a while there, I just gave up on actually looking good, and focused on damage control.

Learning to dress my truth brought me back to a consideration of what I liked and didn't like, what feels good to wear, what feels like me, and what doesn't. That picture, by the way, is me around Christmastime.

How has it been for you? What has your own style evolution been like?

See you next time!

Jeanine
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What would you experience during your ideal day?

One of the exercises Chris (Guillebeau) suggests early in the book is to take a few minutes to design and imagine an ideal day…

Would you gulp down coffee before heading out for an early morning run? Or would you get up just before noon and sip a cup of tea as you slowly come to life?

Grab your journal and give some thought to what you would include if you planned an ideal day for yourself. When would you get up? What time would you go to bed?

What would you eat? Would you stay at home? Would someone else do your chores or run your errands?

What would work be like that day? Maybe you would work a much shorter day. Or not work at all.

Once you have mentally planned and fully imagined experiencing your ideal day, identify any changes you could make now so that your usual day would be more like the ideal one. And don’t be afraid to think way outside the box!

One change I am going to make as a result of this exercise is to plan homeschool for the afternoons instead of struggling through the mornings. Why not, if that’s easier?

What changes are you considering?

See you next time!

Jeanine
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I have had a great first week with this challenge. But there were a few surprises. And an unexpected change.

Dressing Myself Up

One thing I am noticing is that getting dressed, and not just dressed, but picture-ready, every day has been good, already, for my self-esteem. When you work from home, you can spend days in loungewear, just not looking very attractive at all. KWIM? But wanting to take a pic of each new outfit, and also, having the fun of putting them together, has been great!

The Final Six

Though I had assumed that once the challenge began, I would not make a change to my six, that turned out not to be the case. As I read what other sixers had to say about only having five and loeaving the choice of sixth open, or wanting to make sure they had enough variety, I began to consider a change.

My first thought was to swap out the Maplewood pants for my grey cowlneck pullover, which buttons down and could be used as a jacket. This would add many more potential outfits than a pair of pants!



Problems

But there were a couple of unanticipated snafus. The minor one is that the “collar”, as it were, is uneven and I would probably spend a fair amount of time trying to hide that if I wore it as a jacket. The major problem, for me, is that I discovered a little rip along the shoulder seam.

And may I confess that I am not exactly the type to darn or mend?

So, Now What?

But I really wanted to choose some type of jacket or cardigan now that I realized how valuable it would be for new outfits. Though I was aware of that before, it wasn’t until I had had a couple of days of choosing outfits for this challenge that it really sunk in that I was going to want as much variety as I could create.

But I had already rejected a few cardigan possibilities and wasn’t sure what to do. Then, all of a sudden, I remembered my brown jacket. As a Dressing Your Truth type two, I knew it would not yet be perfect because it still needs a bit of fading. But what better way to fade it quickly than to wear it again and again for this challenge?

I tried it with several of the other pieces and knew it would work. Plus, it is big enough that I can wear it as a shirt!



New Six

I decided to wear the jacket today as part of my outfit (sorry that both pics are a little blurry), which officially christens it as part of my six. And here’s another picture of my six hanging out together in my closet...



See you next time!

Jeanine
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What a surprising video this is! If you are familiar with this blog, you know that I write a lot about Carol Tuttle’s Dressing Your Truth system, which is a way to identify your unique energy profile type and your beauty type and live (and dress) more true to your nature. It’s based on the four elements of nature (air, water, fire, earth) and though we all have them all, we lead with one more than the others.



Well, I would have thought that people who looked a lot alike would be more likely to be the same type. You can determine a person’s type by looking at their facial features, their body language, their personality style, their movement. But if all you have is a picture, you can look at their faces and tell which type they are.

So surely if you are the parent of identical twins, they would be the same type, right? Not so much! Watch as Carol gives these twins a makeover…



See you next time!

Jeanine
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"Style is not skin deep. It is soul deep. It is our most significant form of expression. It is how we communicate who we are to the world around us. It is our voice. Style is a reflection of who we are, where we come from and what we have experienced. It is what makes us into the unique beings that we are." –Rebecca Moses

Does your current style express who you are inside?


The theme I uncovered for this year for me, and maybe for some of my readers, too, is remembering who you are. Given that that is the theme, how can we use style to remind ourselves?

See you next time!

Jeanine
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Can you wear white after Labor Day?

Carol shares what she thinks about this fashion rule and others. Like, the one that tells you that your shoes have to match your purse.

In this video, she gives tips for type fours and others who are ready to let go of some of the old rules…



Which ones are you going to let go of this year?

See you next time!

Jeanine
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