My Wardrobe, Myself

Photography Interlude – Beach Birds

Debbie Roes

March 7, 2016

NOTE: This post was originally published on my previous blog, Recovering Shopaholic.

It’s been a while since I have posted a “photography interlude,” but I haven’t stopped taking photos. I just got busy on the blog with closing out 2015 and getting 2016 under way with a lot of posts for each of these topics. But now that we’re into March, I thought it was high time to share some more of my photographs with you.

Some Background on These Posts…

For those who are new to the blog, let me give a bit of background on these “photography interlude” posts. For years, shopping was my default hobby. Whenever I had any free time, I couldn’t wait to hit the mall or local shops. That not only led to a depleted bank account and an overly stuffed closet, but I also became somewhat one-dimensional as a person. I didn’t have a whole lot going on in my life beyond clothes, shoes, and accessories. Since the tagline for this blog is “trade your full closet for a full life,” I knew that had to change. I fell into photography fairly effortlessly, as I endeavored to share Southern California with a sick friend who had always wanted to visit but may never be able to do so.

Off to a Good Start with My 2016 Balance Theme

Debbie Roes

22 comments

February 19, 2016

NOTE: This post was originally published on my previous blog, Recovering Shopaholic.

As the year began, I felt extremely unbalanced. I wasn’t sleeping much, I felt “behind the 8-ball” with my tasks and goals, I was spending far too much time on Facebook, and I was drowning in information overload. It was very clear to me that something needed to change; thus, I selected “balance” as my theme for 2016. In one of my early January posts, I wrote about what balance means to me and highlighted the specific changes I need to make in my life during 2016 to further this objective.

life balance update

In my regular accountability updates, I will let you know how I’m doing in terms of creating better life balance. However, when I have more than a paragraph or two to say on the topic, I’ll also periodically dedicate a standalone post to updating you on my theme for the year. This is one of those times… In today’s post, I’ll share the balance wins and challenges I have experienced thus far and what I plan to do to address my ongoing difficulties.

Finding Balance in the Closet and All Areas of Life

Debbie Roes

38 comments

January 8, 2016

NOTE: This post was originally published on my previous blog, Recovering Shopaholic.

For the past two years and at various points in the past, I have chosen a word or theme to guide my focus over the course of the year. For 2014, I actually selected two words, simplicity and joy, but I felt that diluted my focus a bit, so I returned to one single word, deliberate, to guide me during 2015. I’ve opted to continue the practice of choosing a word for the year for 2016. This post will be centered around sharing that word, why I have selected it, and how I see my theme unfolding in the coming months.

Have you selected a word or theme for 2016?

My Love / Hate Relationship with Caffeine

Debbie Roes

28 comments

December 18, 2015

NOTE: This post was originally published on my previous blog, Recovering Shopaholic.

The essay below was written in April 2013, shortly after I had made a commitment to conquer my addiction to caffeine (and just a few months after I started this blog). I decided to document how caffeine was negatively impacting my life so I would never forget why I decided to break the hold that it had over me. I decided to re-read what I had written today, as I have been backsliding into using caffeine as a prophylactic for my migraine headaches on a regular basis. I wanted to remind myself of why it’s not a good idea for me to bring caffeine back into my life.

I had no idea how much my coffee habit was impacting my life.

Now I know that most of you probably don’t have a problem with caffeine like I did. However, I think you can read what I wrote and see other addictions or compulsions you may have in my words, including shopping. I actually wrote about my compulsive shopping problem toward the end of this essay and share that conquering my caffeine addiction was giving me strength to better face my shopping demons.

Being Deliberate in the Home Stretch of 2015

Debbie Roes

17 comments

December 12, 2015

NOTE: This post was originally published on my previous blog, Recovering Shopaholic.

This is a post I’ve been hesitant to write, but I’m still going to do it. Sometimes we learn the most by doing things we don’t really want to do. As many of you know, I have a practice of selecting a theme for myself each year to help guide my focus and actions for those twelve months. This year, the theme that I selected was “deliberate” and my aim was to become a lot more intentional with my shopping, wardrobe, and life.

There’s just 3 weeks left in 2015 – how will you finish the year?

First – The Good News…

Let’s start with the good news. As I wrote about in my last update (which sadly was my only update until this one), I made significant improvements with both my shopping and wardrobe this year. Yes, I did some backsliding into overshopping during August and September, but overall I have shopped more intentionally and made better choices this year. Likewise, I also made great strides with my wardrobe over the course of 2015. I now rate the majority of my outfits as “9”s or “10”s and my LIWI Challenge helped me to pare down my wardrobe to primarily those pieces that I love and wear. My at-home wardrobe still needs some work, but I know what I need to do and will make it a priority for 2016.