Fashion: Grading on a Curve

Hello everyone,

As you can see I am still working from home but getting fully dressed nonetheless. Obviously most of you also know that this green is my favorite color so not surprising I am wearing it yet again.

I am trying to always see the positive side in things this year so that it can be a little easier to live on. However, there are still bad things happening. Last week, in the midst of all that was going on in the country I received an email that reminded me once again that I am a Latina immigrant to this country and that some white Americans will always make sure to remind me of that and I just have to get used to living with prejudice since I chose to live here. I am not writing all this because I want pity from anyone. I am saying this to make people aware of what goes on because it is easy to think that these things only happen on TV.

Here comes my positive takes on the last few days… Yesterday we were without power for 24 hours, my positive take was that I was happy it was a sunny day so that the house was illuminated and not dark. Another positive from the last few days is that something I was expecting arrived a few days early which made me happy. The positive I could take from the situation I mentioned above is that it is always good to know where the people around you stand as far as those issues go, so now I know better and will protect myself. That is a positive thing too.

I think if we look for the positive side of things, we can always find something that makes us smile. I know it is hard to do this on those dark days in our lives but it is my New Year’s resolution. So far so good!!!

Thank you for reading,

Hello everyone,

Today was my first day back to work after the Christmas Break. I got this sweater as a Christmas gift from my parents and it has quickly become my favorite sweater. It is #FreePeople so it was a no brainer… Also, this is my favorite color, so no wonder I have glasses that match it.

Of course, I could only wear these pants because I am still working from home. This first day was really quiet and slow since I only had the advisory in the morning and a faculty meeting in the afternoon.

What I would like to try to do this year is write about one positive thing each week. This way, I can hold myself accountable to being more positive. Even though it is only Monday, I already had a few positive things happen. Remember, they can be small things. So, here it goes… My kids woke up on time for class without me nagging on them, all of my students came to advisory and they all participated. I am feeling better today than I have been for the past few days (my anxiety has been getting the best of me). Considering this is Monday and I already have these many positive things to reflect on, this is going to be a good year…

Thank you for reading,

Hello everyone,

Happy New Year!!! Happy 2021!!!

Even though we could not go to any elaborate parties or be with friends we decided to have a small family party where we all dressed up so that it was more special. During the pandemic my parents, my brother’s family and us stayed as a cohort so that we could still get together so we were able to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s Eve together. It was so much fun! We danced and toasted the New Year in the best way possible.

I did love having a reason to dress up. It had been so long…

For this new year, I want to change somethings about myself. I have already been working on these things so it should be easy.

1. I plan on devoting a little more time to my faith.
2. I plan on being more positive and focusing on the positive things that happen.
3. I plan on having more patience with my kids, take a few deep breaths before tackling some issues.
4. I plan on taking more time for my mental well-being, meditations, prayers, relaxing time, reading, working on crafts.
5. I plan on trying some new things (These are still a work in progress so I can’t share more now, hopefully in the future).

2021 will be a great year and amazing things will happen!

Again, thank you for reading and being a part of my story,

Mt. Hood

Hello everyone,

Last weekend we went to Mt. Hood to get some pictures in the snow. I have to say that these new rain/snow boots I got from #Maurices worked perfectly for the weather. My feet stayed dry and warm the entire time.

Also, You might have noticed by now, but I really enjoy taking pictures in the cold because I feel like I look better. It could be that I am hiding my problem areas. I do love the winter accessories, scarves, hats, boots, etc.

Well, here we are at the end of this very interesting and tumultuous year. 2020 was not the best year for most people. For me it started out with Concordia closing announcement on February 10th. Then the pandemic, lockdown, online teaching and so on… However, I have decided to look at 2020 from a positive lens. I got to go to Ghana and see one of my best friends again. A person I consider to be like a big sister, I got to spend a week with her and I even got to visit the Slave Castles on the coast of Ghana. I went to a nice birthday party and did some other fun things. It was truly a wonderful trip.

Another great thing from 2020 is that even though I lost my job at Concordia, I got this wonderful job at Nativity. I get to teach amazing kids and I work with an amazing group of people. I honestly feel like God has a plan for me and this is part of it. I am teaching Religion and that is teaching me a lot too. I get to pray several times a day and that has been a huge blessing too.

One more blessing of 2020 was that my brother and his family moved to Portland too. Now we are all together again. (Unfortunately for them, they came a month before the pandemic started.) It has been fun for my kids to spend more time with their uncle and aunt and for me to have a ‘sister’ nearby to go shopping together.

2020 also provided me with lots of time to work on crafts and even creating new things, I have learned to use resin, and have made lots of fun things, I got to sell things on Etsy and have discovered other fun things I enjoy doing.

So, you might want to think about the positives this year provided, it is so easy to dwell on the negative and forget the good things that happened, so make an effort to think about the positive.

Thank you for following me and my adventures this year and I will see you in 2021,

Blue for Christmas Eve

Hello everyone,

I decided to go with blue for Christmas this year. My tree is blue so why not my outfit too. I also decided that this year all my gifts would look the same and I actually made most of the gifts too. It was fun to make gifts to everyone, during this pandemic what is better than making crafts?!

So, this was not on purpose. I bought this pajamas for Lulu because it was the only one there and when I got home I realized I had the same color shirt so now we match. I have to say, she steals the show when she is out and about in her pajamas though.

We were running a few last minute errands and took advantage to train Lulu since she is in her final weeks before she takes her test. She is doing really well, just has a few things she still needs to work on.

Buffalo Plaid

Thank you and Merry Christmas,

Hello everyone,

During this crazy time we don’t have a lot of opportunities to get away, but this last weekend Ben and I made an impromptu trip to Leavenworth, WA. I have to say, it did take me back in time to my childhood since this is a German town and I grew up in São Bento do Sul which is very similar.

It was nice to be able to see different things and still feel a bit safe since it was mainly outside. Most people were wearing masks but there were still a few that were not. We had some different food and some much needed quality time together.

The outfits I am wearing are a combination of #Buckle and #Maurices. Recently I started buying all my pants at Buckle, different brands but they are very comfortable. Shirts, however, need to be plus size so I don’t always find them at Buckle (although, sometimes I do) so I still go to Maurices for my tops and here I am using two different plaid shirts I got this year. I like wearing them with graphic t-shirts underneath and most of the time a scarf works too. Of course it was a little colder in Leavenworth so I was able to wear my stocking caps too.

Hope you enjoy the pictures,

Hello everyone,

I am back… I know I have been gone for a few weeks, so here is my update… As many of you know I love making crafts and since I have not been selling much I decided to give them out as presents to my co-workers. My husband drove me and my son (dressed as Santa below) all over town to drop off the gifts and bring some Christmas cheer to my coworkers and their families.

I have to admit this was one of the most fun things I have done in a long time. It is funny how everyone smiles when they see Santa, you could see their smiles even under their masks.

On Sunday we went to the coast to see the high tide and it was a fun day with Lulu who loves running around the beach. I don’t know if you can see it but I am wearing a ponytail stocking cap and I high recommend it for those who have long hair.

Well, I will try to stay more up to date during the Holiday Season!

Thanks for reading,

Hello everyone,

Since we are all trying to make a little extra money here and there, I decided I would post here some of the stuff I have been working on, you can contact me if you are interested in buying anything for gifts or for yourself. I work on all custom orders. Let me know what color, what style and whatever you want and we can agree on a price depending on your order.

Thank you for your support,

Juliana

Even though it says Etsy, you can order through here. I do have the Etsy shop too.

I accept payments via Paypal and Venmo.

Thank you!!!

Hello everyone,

Here is another Fall outfit that I fell in love with once I made the combination, you can’t see my top under the white one. It had some sparkles…. I just liked that I was able to put so many pieces together and feel so good about it.

This fall has been definitely different so anytime I get to dress up and show off I am excited. I also feel like the weather has been different but maybe it is just that we are home more now and pay more attention to the weather, not sure…

I have been enjoying this fall, I make an effort to dress up everyday for work, I think that helps with my self-esteem and make my days more structured. Teaching online is going well, of course I would like to meet the kids in person and get to know more about their unique personalities but it has been an interesting experience so far.

I do find time to hang out with my family and we do wear our masks we just took them out quickly for the picture… I have so many masks and I actually enjoy showing them off.

Thank you for reading and stay tuned for more Holiday looks…

Hello everyone,

Here I am again, I have to say I really liked this outfit. I liked that my pants happened to have the same colors as my top and personally I am really liking the vests this year. It could be because I am feeling colder since I am sitting at home and teaching instead of moving around as much as I have always done.

I got all of these clothes last year so nothing really new here, what is new is how I put it all together. Let’s just say I was feeling pretty good about myself in this outfit and had to share it here.

Thank you for reading,