I remember in January one night in the last year of Tony’s death. It was cold outside. I had my hair pulled up, no makeup, oversized sweats on. Positive there were stains on my sweat shirt. Tony was going to stay up but I was tired and going to bed, so I walked over to him, gave a kiss goodnight, and he said “when did you give up.”
I was like, “what?” He asked what happened to the woman who used to wear pretty nightgowns to bed, or put make up on before work, and really cared about how I looked. I was shocked to say the least. But you know how it is when you’ve been married for years and years, you get comfortable, and, well, it’s just easier not to do anything.
But my friend Tia (hey girl – enjoy your day off!) always has these beauty rituals before going to bed and shows her makeup tips going to work. People I follow on their stories talk about their face masks, and beauty tips and tricks and well, I’ve just never been that girly of a girl if you know what I mean.
Seriously, in high school my twin sister would be up for over an hour, changing outfits, fixing her hair and makeup. Me? As soon as her boyfriend honked the horn to pick us up was when I would roll out of bed. I’d change my underwear, 9/10 wear the same shirt I slept in to bed and just washed my face and brushed my teeth and I was ready to go. She’d get so pissed if people got us confused!
But here’s the thing. Tomorrow will be one month since I’ve done my laundry. I know – I am not like Courtney and do a load a day (someday = goals!) (and go check out her chopped Italian salad – yum!)
So I’ve been forced to wear the things that I wasn’t comfortable wearing. Like shiny tank tops and shirts that are form fitting like the one below. But here’s the thing – it was like the domino effect. If I wore a nice shirt, that meant I had to fix my hair, makeup and wear jewelry.
The reaction at work was instantaneous, which made me realize it doesn’t take all that much effort to make an effort. Ya know?!
So I am going to make more of an effort. But promise, I’ll do my laundry this weekend!
I was so busy at work yesterday, my eats were off – banana at 9:30, ricotta toast at 2:30 and a leftover roast beef sandwich in my panini maker at home at 8:00.
I’ll be going to Weight Watchers tomorrow – I was going to go to a WW event in Lincoln Park tomorrow, but the heat index is supposed to be near 115, so we’ll see. Maybe that’s God’s way of making me stay inside and doing my laundry! 😛
Happy Friday my friends – make it a great day!
Girl….I mean to say something last week, but I TOTALLY loved all your new (old?) outfits! I thought you looked stunning! I am not really a girlie girl either, but it is nice to put in a bit of effort each day. I completely understand the no-laundry thing. I’m lucky if I do a load a week!! Thank you for such a wonderful compliment as well….I try to make my routines as simple as possible since, like you, I’m just not THAT into it! Make it a good one, Beth!
Good for you!!! For me–color changed my life. I’ve never been fond of the color purple; but someone bought me a purple shirt for my birthday–so one day I wore it and got a ton of compliments. So, I looked in the mirror and couldn’t believe how well the color brought out my eyes and features … so, hey, TRY some new colors on, look in the mirror and see how the different colors make you look, determine the best one and then buy a shit-load of it!!! (even without make-up, some colors are way more flattering for your skin tone) But you ALWAYS look adorable–even in those sweats! 🙂
You look beautiful Biz and more importantly I think you actually feel pretty. I know if I look in the mirror and feel put together and my hair is on point my whole mood improves. Maybe when you get ready to do all that laundry you should have Hannah help you clean out the closet just like you do the freezer. Have a great weekend. We all know you are beautiful inside and out so wrap that package in some pretty party paper and let the world see too!
You look so pretty
You look sooooo swert Biz.
I’ve noticed in the past couple of weeks that you have been wearing makeup and doing your hair – you look really pretty! With me not working, it would be so easy to fall into the no makeup, why bother with my hair trap, but I make an effort to look presentable just about every day. I also feel better about myself when I do that, and I seem to be more likely to do things than just slob around. Have a great weekend!
I don’t wear makeup or dress nice at work either. About 2x a year I get a haircut, so I go from the “engineer mom bun” to a layered cut. I get amazing reactions. Still, only cut my hair 2x a year.
I call this the trickle up affect (effect?). One little change for me, leads to another little change, and then another little change… I had the same mentality in high school as you. And am finding myself on a similar journey now.
I signed up for Stitch fix.. and got a box of new clothes… with PINK PANTS. PINK! (Talk about getting attention). I’m a blue jeans girl every day all the days all year around. But I kept the pink pants! I still have to hem them (which also slows things down and makes this feel ‘hard’). But, I’m excited and annoyed to wear them—excited because they’re actually comfy, and different but also annoyed because I know people are going to say stuff… but I need to learn to hear it, and accept it.. (I’m assuming the stuff people will say will be “Wow! Awesome pants Jeana! You look great.” and even that is hard to hear… and my inclination is to want them to just be quiet).
But in the end… it feels good. Maybe the laundry could wait one more day. It is supposed to storm on Sunday. 😉
I can so relate to this post, there was a time when I worked from home often and my go to was yoga pants and t-shirt, no make-up. I knew I had slacked too much when I did do my makeup and put a nice outfit people were so complementary, like trying to reinforce things. This week I had to dress up for a work event and I felt so much better about myself.
It’s important for you to make an effort because if you look better, you will actually feel better. That means buying and wearing clothing that fits properly – no matter the size! It means styling your hair and putting on a little makeup sometimes.
Don’t get me wrong – we all have our slop around days – I look forward to having at least one day on the weekend where I pull my hair into a pony tail, no makeup, and throw on some shorts and a tank. But that’s not how I want to present myself most of the time and sort of think of it as my relaxed “home” look.
It doesn’t mean that you have to be a girly girl and do face masks or extravagant makeup and jewelry. It just means taking care. That blouse and jewelry you have on are beautiful – and honestly you look better!