{Monday Morsels} Sarah's Epic Quest for Fashion

Hey. It's me. Sarah. (I won't indict poor Courtney in this post because she will be mortified I am sure) (she's probably doing something awesome or productive).

SO my post is a bit of rambling gambit of nonsense because I am just tired and overwhelmed but we haven't posted in a month of Sundays (whatever that means).

Hello! We're alive. 

And recently both Courtney and I have been talking about revamping our wardrobes and developing a personal style. While we might do a serious post on this in the future, this post is mostly just a rant. 

Because what is with clothes these days!? Or is it just me? 

I've been on a quest to look cute. If you're bored and have nothing better to do on a Monday night, please, join me for what my typical Epic Journey to Fashion looks like. 

Warning: It will probably make you feel better about yourself. 

I see an adorable outfit somewhere (Probably on Pinterest. Stupid Pinterest). 

This makes me look down at the stains on the boobular region of some campaign T-shirt I've had since I was 16 (or a cute shirt someone bought for me that lasted like 37 hours with no stains) and the fat jeans I'm stuck in since my body randomly decided to change shapes post-baby. Also, note food stains from the baby ok, from me AND the baby. 

A decision falls into my lap: I need an update. Inspiration blossoms. At this point, I giddily tango to my closet, riding on the winds of my inspiration to be cute. 

But first, I fortify myself with some kind of substance. Normally coffee. Or tea. Or if I'm feeling the need to be skinny, water. 

And then I turn to my nemesis: my current wardrobe. 

My clothes hang limp and dull in the dark. They mock me from the drawers and the box labeled "Clothes That Don't Fit" (i.e., maternity and pre-pregnancy, angrily stuffed into the same box). 

I fly through my options, noting what works, what I need to just let go already, and write down what I need to bridge the gap to Beautiful & Cute University in Sophistication Towne.  (The 'e' makes it fancy, y'all)

Before I head out, I survey the bones of my savage rampage and squelch panic. It's not time to panic yet. I'm going to go out and get some staples to freshen up my options. 

So then I head to the discount store because I just can't justify spending too much on clothes. They're just clothes. Right?

But then I see all the options and I long for a paper bag to breathe into rapidly and also a personal shopper and a tree that grows money. A woman can dream. 

So then I whirl through the clothes, eliminating options with a practiced eye (no to that color, what does that even cover?, heck no to the fabric, sequins are out, lace is itchy, etc), and gather the few options that remain into my arms like a sheaf of wheat. 

Then I face the dressing room. The lady kinda hands me the number of my options (thank GOD there are no bathing suits. That's a fight for another day). 

I'm pretty sure dressing rooms are designed to make women look so horrifying that we're so desperate to cover up that we'll buy everything we try on. It's something about the lighting and the angle of the mirror (and some other kind of wizardry) that accentuates everything that's wrong. A little cellulite? In the dressing room, you're basically a lump of adipose. A few freckles and moles? The dressing room mirror makes you look like some deformed witch. Wider thighs? Whoah nelly! You're gonna need a demolition team just to get out of here.

I do my best to ignore the monster in the mirror and try on clothes, muttering that I will look cute, I will find something. 

The dressing room is also some kind of time and space vortex. 

You can go in on a Tuesday and leave on a Friday. Between eliminating what you like and trying a thousand variations of "Hm. Maybe another size/color/cut/price/designer," you emerge blinking like Rip Van Winkle. 

If I make it through the rigors of the actual dressing room and actually emerge with a conquest, I cling to that sucker like it's the Holy Grail. 

And usually stain it by the time I get home. Or the baby pukes on it. Or it looks worse in the Real Mirrors I have at home. 

And do you know what? This all gets infinitely harder once you have kids. Since the baby, it's been even harder. 

Heck. If I'm a mom, I might as well embrace the mom jeans a la Saturday Night Live.**

From http://www.babble.com/celebrity/watch-snl-mom-jeans-commercial-parody-video-women-of-snl-special/
I mean, I'm a mom, right?
Watch the video in the link.
Hilarious.

**Life Partner: Do not fear, I won't actually succumb to mom jeans!! I'll still look hawt for you - I just might only wear muumuus but that's at least all flowy right? Mystery is the new sexy. xoxo

The Journey Into Adulthood

Photo Copyright Sarah Fusaro 2014

Some days I have to remind myself that I am an adult. Sometimes when I’m writing a rent check, looking at investments, and picking out a dentist I feel like I’m “playing house”.  As birthdays have come and gone and life experiences have occurred, I find myself an adult. But what makes a person an adult? Is there a switch that turns on one day and all of a sudden a person is able to function independently?

Part of the Merriam-Webster definition of an adult is the following,
": fully grown and developed

: mature and sensible : not childish:" 

This definition comes with a big call. I believe that growth and development should progress over one's lifetime. But even viewing the "criteria" of being "mature and sensible" are large goals to strive for.

We live in a society that gives us the title of adult at 18 years old. I remember turning 18-and being surprised that it didn’t feel a lot different than 16. I was technically an “adult” by the United States standards. I could vote-but I had been active in politics for a while and saw voting as just another piece of being involved in the political process. I was still living at home, going to college, working, and pursuing further educational goals. I was seeking to understand what love really looks like and trying to embrace personal responsibility. However, I still found myself heavily pressured and seeking outside advice and help for a lot of important decisions.

I remember turning 20. At the time I was bombarded with the task of nursing school and felt a twinge of sadness as I realized my teen years were over and I had now lived 2 decades. I had experienced solid relationships, had traveled to different places in the United States and the world, had reached some educational goals, and knew how to save money, but I still think that at this time I was transitioning to adulthood. 

 So after these experiences and a few more birthdays-I am here to tell you there was no magic switch of teen to adult. Rather I’ve found that this “transition” of becoming adult is more than just paying bills and accomplishing goals. Perhaps, what makes a person an “adult” is the realization of personal priorities in life and thus ordering thoughts, time, and resources around those things.  

The concreteness and reality of this for me lies in what I spend most of my thoughts, money, and time on. This is where the “defining process” of adulthood comes in. Having been given this life and these circumstances-what am I doing? Looking at what I dwell on and what I spend my time and resources on-what are my priorities?

The moment I remember feeling like an adult was when I made a decision that I believed was right, though it hurt and I didn’t have a person presently standing behind me in that choice. However, I find the vastness of upholding priorities rolls over into the decisions that seem both small and big in life. What is done with money that is left over at the end of the month? In relationships, are pursuits for self-happiness or the good of others?   

The heart of this pursuit is fueled by love and supported by peace; as I seek to live an ordered life, this encourages me,

“38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39

"31 Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ 32 For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." Matthew 6:31-33

This love, this truth inspires me to try and order my life around putting God first, others second, and everything else in life third. 

The decisions we make in life show what is important to us. Adults-as you pen checks, plan your Saturday night, contemplate educational and career decisions-think about what the priorities you desire to order your life around and see if your decisions support those priorities.

For those still making the transition to adulthood or preparing others for that switch-consider encouraging the development of strong principles and clear priorities.

Your life decisions say something about what is important to you.--