Getting dressed around here is quite an event. In fact, some days you would swear that these girls of mine were prepping themselves for the Academy Awards. There are wardrobe changes, spritzes of perfume, lip gloss application, and lots of twirling in front of their full length mirror.

I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a struggle to get to this point where I just let them be. In fact, it was really, really hard to let go of my control freak tendencies and my desire to have my girls look like they came skipping from the pages of an expensive catalog.

Sometimes things shoot off into popular territory and I sit back and am all, “What the whaaaaat?” And sometimes instead of living by the age old rule of If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all, I have to let loose and spew some steam. Today’s What the What?!: furry fashion.

I’ve talked about it before when I just didn’t get the whole Céline furry shoe thing. We decided that maybe, maaaaaybe they were OK for Halloween (if Big Bird is your thing)–only if they were on super discount from the thrift store down the street. I figured it was just a weird, out there thing to grab attention at fashion week.

But then I was flipping through fashion magazines while the girls were in the bath the other night (the only time I get such a luxury, by the way) and saw I spread in Elle (probably last month’s issue since I’m so woefully behind on my magazine stack). It was an accessories trends piece entitled “Plush Life” that included the most brightly colored furs ever. I almost fell into the tub.

It seems that in some circles these obnoxiously colored (not to mention obnoxiously priced!) accessories are all the rage. I. Just. Don’t. Get. It.

Do you?

Lately I’ve been finding myself erupting into the I’ve got nothing to weeeeear whine. When I stop and think about it, that’s a flat out lie. I have a full closet and overflowing dresser drawers. I just happen to be so stinking bored of it all.

I know you know what I mean. We’ve all been there.

It all seems even more grotesque when I’m reminded that I don’t have the money to go around spending frivolously (or, um, at all) on pieces that I don’t technically need. It’s just no fun to wear the same outfits over and over and over again. Especially when you’re not particularly thrilled with said outfits the first time you throw them on.

So what’s a (penniless) girl to do?

I’ve decided that I need to learn to shop my own closet. Yes, I’m bored. But it’s not empty. There are plenty of pieces in there that I haven’t worn in a long time. There are probably also plenty of pieces that can be donated, consigned to a place like the thredUP Women’s Shop (which will actually give me money for my gently used castaways. Hollerrrrr!) or just flat out trashed. Once I go through it all and clear some space, I’m going to turn to some of my favorite fashion bloggers for inspiration.

I started a Fashion Blogger Style board on Pinterest and my thought is to fill it up with as much awesome as I can. I might not have the same designer pieces that these lovely ladies have, but I’m hoping to create looks inspired by what they wear.

Here are a few of my favorite stylish blogger ladies…

In my little world, summer and style sometimes seem like an impossible combination. I mean, how exactly do you expect me to look remotely pulled together when my hair has become reminiscent of a Brillo pad, my makeup won’t stay on because of all of the sweat, and I’m continually covered in child residue (food, snot, Play Doh, you name it)?

Well, my friends, I’ve stumbled across a combo that’s been working for me through the first steamy bits of summer. I’m not sweating any less and the mysterious stains are still popping up, but at least I feel more together. And let’s be real. That’s the part that really counts, right?

I have slowly but surely developed a strong attraction to the color yellow. Just a few years ago I would’ve told you I hated it. I’ve always been drawn to more watery hues, but yellow has nudged its way into my heart.

The problem? It’s not a color that I can wear. I’ve talked about it more than once, but yellow makes me look like I’m on my deathbed. It completely washes me out and leaves me looking seriously ill. Not a cute look.

But I’ve recently discovered a way around that dilemma: accessories. In small doses, yellow and my skin tone play nice. That’s why when Favery, a fun new designer jewelry community that hosts weekly sales on curated collections, offered to send me a couple of bracelets to style, I knew I had to go for the yellow!