Black Boots And So Much More

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s taken me forever to write and re-write this post because I wanted to make sure it said everything I wanted it to say. Truthfully this should have been my very first blog post but I didn’t want it to get lost in a sea of posts. When I decided to start a blog it wasn’t something I ever thought I would be serious about. I just thought I’d post some thoughts, experiences and outfit ideas that my friends and family might like. I’m not really an expert on much of anything other than a source of advice for family and friends for various experiences in my life but is that really enough to base an entire blog on? I didn’t think so. But after a career as an event planner and stylist I had quite a few social media followers who kept asking for more outfit ideas and style tips.

While my daughter was home from college – who for authenticity’s sake is actually my step daughter, but I really hate that word “step” – what does that mean anyway? And I really hate referring to her that way because then I just feel like I’m saying to the world she’s my daughter but not really. That’s just so negative and requires a long explanation that I just don’t feel is necessary to have to explain to anyone. To me she’s always been my daughter from the day I met her and thru the years as we’ve grown into a family – she’s my daughter – no “step” required, period. It hasn’t been a bed of roses but then again loosing a parent thru divorce and gaining a new one who is basically a total stranger has to be one of the most difficult and confusing experiences for a child. And because of that I have always tread very lightly in the parental role understanding that my love was the best gift I could give versus trying to “be a parent”. (That is a topic for another blog post entirely!) But we became a family and defined that word for ourselves.

But back to the blogging idea…while she was home from college this summer, I was telling her about my idea and she was very excited and said “I think you should go for it!” Everyday she would come down for breakfast and the first thing she’d ask is have you launched your blog yet “Nope” was my usual response. I told her I was feeling pretty vulnerable about the whole thing and really who was going to read it anyway and who was going to care about anything I had to say anyway but she kept asking everyday, “Have you launched your blog yet?” Every morning for about a month…”Have you launched your blog yet?”

So since she was my motivator I figured she deserved a little recognition and a feature post and we did this little photo shoot! I’m dedicating this post to her for being my inspiration, cheerleader, motivator, kicker-in-the-pants, etc. Because if it wasn’t for her I really don’t think this blog would be live yet. It would still be in the “I don’t think it’s a good idea” phase (see my very first post here to understand what I’m talking about!) And it’s not just for pushing me to step outside my comfort zone and do this, it’s for every time she’s been there for me – unconditionally.

We took these pictures right before she went back to school this Fall. We didn’t really have an exact concept of what we wanted the post to be about, but we both had a pair of matching black boots and we decided to wear similar outfits that would show how the boots could be styled with similar outfits for a young, beautiful 20 year old and a “wanna be 20 year” old like me!

But these pictures actually capture so much more than just our outfits. To me they capture the true essence of her personality and inner soul. She is a strong, beautiful, funny, carefree, compassionate, person who some days I think I know better than she knows herself. For example, she loves popcorn and pasta but her absolute favorite food is tacos. She will fight to the death for a friend she feels is being wronged. She is competitive to a fault – if she can’t win, she won’t play! She loves criminal justice shows and horror movies. She loves to laugh and doesn’t take life too seriously. I could go on and on. She probably doesn’t think she’s all that and a bag of chips but to me she is. To me she’s so much more than she thinks she is and has so much potential, talent, ability and grit to do whatever she wants in life! I think when she sees my blog posts she may think that I’m the one who has all of that but what she doesn’t know is that I wouldn’t be half the person I am without her in my life. She’s taught me many things even without knowing it.

She will probably not be happy with me for embarrassing her like this since she thought this post would be about the clothes but when I went to write about the outfits and saw the pictures from our shoot all I could see was her inner beauty shining through…I just hope she sees it too and I hope that I can be as much of a motivator for her to do whatever she dreams as she’s been for me.