my spring accessory.

I've been trying to infuse my wardrobe with vibrant colors lately. When organizing my closet many weeks ago I discovered that not only do I really love navy blue and kelly green as well as black and brown but that I'm way too fixated on blending in when I get dressed rather than standing out.  That's not to say that I don't own a few brightly color outfits - I did purchase two super cute tops last summer one was bright yellow and the other was bright kelly green (again). I do have a few tanks that fall into the bright color category, but for the most party I sport them under cardigans or jackets. I'm not sure where this lack of color comes from - my guess is in the matter of me gaining weight in the past few years. I've tried to hide myself in darker clothing - I don't care WHAT fashion people say, it IS slimming. Lately people keep saying on shows that bright colors will flatter any shape - I don't buy it. That being said, I do want to break out of that rut. Not just the rut of wearing dark clothing but also the rut of feeling horrible about my style, my self and my body - it's a vicious, vicious cycle. (Note: I've purchased the 30 Day Shred, and I've been kicking my elliptical trainer's ass - or it's been kicking mine, for the past week, and I've been trying to make a serious effort to eat better, baby steps people). If all this works out well - I give you my vow to not bitch about this again and if not I'm totally buying P90X!

While I work on my inside transformation to help my outside transformation, I realized I need to get a grip on my wardrobe. I can't live in my favorite black cardigan once the weather gets warmer. We have about a week of Spring and then Summer hits and it's a hot, sticky, horrible thing - cardigans are pointless and will cause heat stroke if worn in the Alabama heat.

I kept trying to think of a way to infuse more color into my wardrobe without breaking the bank. I figured a few bright signature things would help. Shoes are always my first thought - but shoes are expensive. Purses are another fun accessory - one I have a TON of and yet again... expensive. I was running out of options, until yesterday.

In true "Wanna Be Irish" tradition I got decked out in my favorite green things. I sported my worn and faded Smoky and the Bandit T-Shirt (it's kelly green, see a trend? and I don't have to dress up for work), and my favorite black cardigan, some jeans and I decided to really go for it yesterday and put on my silky, different shades of green headband. Truth be told I purchased it last year the day before St. Patty's Day and didn't wear it - some how it went perfectly with the outfit I had on so I was pleased. Sporting the headband also helped me make my rumbled hair style look polished and pulled together. Two things of which I rarely look like when I got to work each day.

You should know that I have a drawer full of hair accessories. Yes, I said drawer. Most I've never worn. Again, yes, I said most I have NEVER worn. I always tend to go with the same tried and true, simple black hair tie, or simple clip to pull my hair up, anything else always seems over kill to me. I'm not a girlie girl by any means, but I'm trying to change that - and I also don't like to look like I've tried TOO hard. That whole, less is more thing is truly how I feel most of the time. How sad is that right? I also tend to be strange about attention. I love to be told I look good, especially when I try to look good, but I also don't like to get too much attention if that makes sense. I usually worry about this more when I'm at work, vs. a night out on the town. I just don't want to be too fussy when surrounded by guys at a print shop. That being said I was a big nervous about wearing my new-ish headband yesterday. Upon getting the work day started, I got three compliments on looking cute yesterday. It made me feel good. I had truly just thrown the outfit together but I think it was the headband that gave me the extra zing to my gear.

At the end of the day I returned home, took off my cardigan and started to cook dinner. While making BBQ Chicken stuffed Baked Potatoes (ok so maybe my meals aren't THAT healthy)... M looked at me and said.. "I really like you in a headband - you should wear them more often."  Really? Me? A headband girl? I really had never thought I could pull it off. Usually I just use my sunglasses for a headband - truth be told I can't leave the house without a pair of sunglasses in my bag and a hair tie on my wrist if my hair is down. I'm THAT girl. Creature of habit and one that has odd needs to feel complete. Often times while out for a night my good friend A tends to bitch at me when she sees my hair clip attached to my purse - she gives me the "OH HELLL NO" face, rips it off my bag and shoves it inside. She doesn't get that it will be CRUSHED in there with all my other times. But she doesn't care, apparently it's a fashion foo-pah to do that. By the way yes I know its faux pas, but I like saying FOO-PAH just as it's spelled. Anyfoo, she also likes to snap the hair ties on my wrist to inflict pain for this same reason, fashion foo-pah. Did I mention she's a really great friend? You can totally tell that from the abuse right? Most of the time when she does this she also is forcing vodka shots down my throat so she probably DOES love me, she just has a strange way of showing it.

After M's compliment, his always mean so much, I started to think about all the headbands I own. I've purchased them for special occasions, to go with certain shirts, or shoes and just. never. wore them. Upon looking at my collection I realized they were about as exciting as my closet. Only a few bands had a bright color, orange here, yellow there, baby yellow, and the rest were black, brown and white. Only the green one I wore yesterday was even remotely exciting.

Then it hit me - the perfect Spring accessory that won't cost me an arm and a leg that will brighten up my look as well as my face and hair would be HEADBANDS!!! Sure I'm slow and they are probably on the way out but for now, they are in and I want to see where this takes me.

Before I forget, I have to ask, how many of you wear what I call the "bra strap" headbands? You know what I mean, the rubber band like headbands most athletic girls  and sometimes guys wear. Often you see stars sporting them with big poofy hair. I love the LOOK but I can never get those damn things to stay on my head they always pull back and fall into my bun/ponytail and leave a huge dent where they were previously sitting. I've purchased plain ones, ones with rubber on the bottom - none will stay put. It's like the back of my head is too flat and it won't grip the back side of my head. In order to have them remotely work my hair has to be A) Dirty B) nappy or C) I have to wear the damn thing so close to my forehead I might as well not wear it at all - any tips/suggestions are very much appreciated.

But for now... here are some seriously inspiring headband finds I found while searching on etsy!

via jlyman01 on etsy

Seriously how cute is this crocheted headband? Almost as cute as that kiddo!
I have a big ass head, hopefully they make these in different sizes!

via ryeleighrose on etsy

I really love these flowers that are popping up all over the place in fashion.

via talltree on etsy

Feathers and Buttons - Yes Please!

And last but never least - I've been swooning over Taza's creations available at her Love, Taza store, almost as much as I've been drooling over her fur baby bulldog,  Kingsley for the past many weeks!!! (Miss M aka Banana - girl you MUST check this website out if you haven't, your babies and her baby need to have a face off for most adorable bullies ever!) If you haven't read Taza's blog you should check her out at The Rockstar Diaries - She currently lives in D.C. and every time I read I feel inspired by her words and images but it also makes me miss home, but in a good way. 

The following is my favorite of all her items for sale - which was hard to choose because they are all amazing!!! Note: She models all her creations - how cute is she? Best. Bangs. EVER!

via Love, Taza - Item is currently SOLD OUT

If you're a headband girl - where do you find your favorites? If you're not - tell me what's your must have bright colored "make me feel like Spring" accessory this year?