Back Blogging

So I decided to take a break. Ok a LONG break. It was longer than I anticipated. Once Halloween hit it was all downhill...It was Sale time (in the Etsy shop), I had finals, 2 Birthdays, a newly walking Son, and then there was vacation... and vacation... aaaannnd more vacation. Over the next few days or maybe I should say weeks, I am going to attempt to get caught up. We’ll just pretend this little break never happened, and I’ll just start Back blogging ok?! (because “ back blogging” IS a term right?) ... so ummmmm... ya.

 I’m Sorry!

No really.................. I am.

-          Heather Parker

I was raised on the 75% off Rack

Last night I was talking with my older sister Erin about the Halloweens we had as children. We laughed as we thought about all of the crazy costumes we once had.  I remember one year my younger sister Tara was the Statue of Liberty. My Dad basically draped a white sheet over her body, rolled up some news paper for her to hold, stuck a burger King Crown on her head, and called it a wrap! We sure had some interesting (to say the least) costumes...  

You see, the family I grew up in wasn't one of those families that could afford to go out and buy costumes. Don’t get me wrong, we wunt out on the streets or anythang... but we didn’t exactly “have it like that” either. Certain things weren’t a priority..., (Halloween costumes being one of them) and to be honest... I’m pretty thankful they never were, because one of the greatest skills I learned as child was to be

CREATIVE.

  My Dad would always get us soooo excited to go shopping as a family. When we walked in to the store (which seemed to always be JC PENNYs) he would say to us...

" Ok girls I'll get each of you ONE thing, and it can be anything you want from that rack over there....”

                  ... (And of course it would be the 75 percent off rack...) 

... in our young non-money making, immature- child minds, we would be thinkin 

     "YES!!!!" .............

"JACKPOT!!"

                               We thought it was the like the funnest thing EVER

to GET 

to pick 

that ONE 

thing.

 I can remember my sisters, and I grabbing as many clothes as we could carry in our little arms. We would look at every piece of clothing and see if we could make it work somehow... and then of course we would try them on.

... That was the best part...

My sisters and I would do our own little fashion shows up and down the fitting room                                                                    isles 

and just laugh 

our little hearts away.

Looking back, 

                       those moments are some of the best childhood                                             memories I have.

  I can’t tell you how much growing up on the 75% off clearance rack has benefitted my life. I learned early on that “life” was all about perspective, and in many cases that meant

 MIND over Money.

                                                              You see...

It’s not really about WHAT we have. 

It’s was about 

what we can

 MAKE 

with what we have.

THANK YOU DAD FOR NOT GIVING ME EVERYTHING I WANTED WHEN I WAS CHILD. 

I will be forever thankful for that.

Which brings me to now..! Many people have asked how in the world I came up with this year’s Halloween costumes? And well, I can’t really explain how?? All I can say is that

           

CREATIVITY HAS BEEN ENGRAVED IN ME.

                                                   So here you have it.

                                      Ranger Antioni .......

Looking through the Trees ....

To find...

                                                   

Mr. TREDdy Bear! 

Happy Halloween!

Love,

The Parker Fam. 

Tacky is the New Cool. Duh.

For whatever reason I just love homemade sweaters!!!! People may poke fun, but I actually love them, and I don't care!!!! I mean seriously-somebodies Heart and Soul went into making those tacky sweaters out there...  so finding them is like gold to me! I am all about making tacky things cool... #whichisawholenuthapost...  Anywhoo I thought I would do a few looks with this years Halloween sweater.. Hope you like what I came up with!  (  oh ..and PS if you have any homemade sweaters that you don't want anymore... you can send em right on down to me! ... consider me the sweater rescuer!!!)

Skirt is from TARGET! 

Shoes: Platoes Closet

Necklace: Vintage exchange

Leggings: Burlington

Shoes: Target

Wedged Boots are great for Moms that dont want to fall! lol. 

Hair in a High Bun Creates a More Casual look.

                                                              Leggings: Burlington
                                                                     Boots: Target

Jeans: American Eagle

Shoes: Vintage BCBG

The Overly Festive Mom

Holidays are so much funner ( <---yes I know that's grammatically incorrect) with kids! Kids allow you to feel fine about being as "corny" as you want to be (... and us Moms sure do like to be Corny). We have a million crafts, and decorations, and our husbands think we are "on one" when we stress out about coordinating every detail of each costume. At the end of the day us Moms know its worth it, and that all that time and effort ain't for nuthin! We know that years and years down the road when our kids grow up and move out that they (and we) will be so glad we forced them to take pictures, and that we made them do all of those overly festive crafts.

 I am beginning to learn that a great portion of taking on the role of "Mom" is CREATING a fun and memorable childhood... because these moments are more than costumes... they are more than candy, they are memories..

 ..and well, when I really think about it.. maybe part of why we Moms do all of this overly festive stuff  we do, is  because our Moms once made us do it too.. and we are able to re -live a portion of our fondest childhood memories through our children... 

( just some food for thought!)

At any rate I am super excited  this year, because I finally have a child  to decorate!!!! 

..which means: 

1. I have a great excuse to try and get all of the Reeses Pieces candy I can,

 and

 2. I can be as "Over the top" as I want to be! YIPEEE! 

I hope y'all are as excited as me. Here are a few pre- halloween pix!

 We wore this to the trunk or treat this weekend! 

Can you guess what Tred was?! LOL

Yes Maam! Ugly Sweater and all! I LOVE these home made sweaters!!!

( I am going to do a style post on this sweater as well!)

The Parker FAM BAM  Halloween 2013

#pumpkinorama !

A little family shot before we went to the trunk or treat! Antioni for sure had the coolest Shirt of the night! That pumpkin actually lights up!!!!!! #thriftingbenifits!

HAIR

And now that I have preached to you all about why you shouldn't cut your hair, I have gone and cut mine. I cant lie, I am pretty excited about it! lol. So much for my own advice. Here's a few pix of the new look! :) ( I think Tred is still trying to figure out if I am his Mom lol)

           Ive been wanting to do a look like this for a while now. Something Bohemian and " URTHY."

I was super inspired by HellhoundVintage (an Etsy store) O gurl def. has it goin on! WE on the same style page yo.

.. And I always love a good bell bottom! I scored these FREE PEOPLE bell bottoms recently at a vintage exchange place. Here's a *tip Anything FREE PEOPLE  ( Click on link to go to store) is high quality, (they are one of my favorite brands!) ***So if you ever see something FREE PEOPLE at a thrift store- GRAB IT! ( the jeans probably retail at 200.00! - I scored them for 8.50) The blouse is an African DISHIKI, ( you can easily find these online, and on etsy..I provided the link) and the shoes are Guess Boots. They are wedges, which are perfect, because I CAN NOT walk in heals while holding  my son to save my life! 

Here are a few pics from my style Inspiration. Hellhoundvintage SHE HAS AMAZING STUFF! 

 Hell Hound Vintage 

( Click on link to see her shop)

And Here is My Version of what she inspired! 

DONT CUT YOUR HAIR, BUY NEW MAKE UP

Us women... we always gotta be reinventin ourselves... and Why?,.. Who knows? We just get sick of what we look like I guess?...

Which isn’t ALWAYS a bad thing...I mean... Mom- seriously, I can’t lie your hair was kinda CRAZY in the 80s!  

So I guess for some “Change” is good...

.................................................but for some it’s not.

 And if there is one thing I know...

 it is that: If you’re not ready to be in a long term...  committed relationship, then don’t do it! 

Don’t cut your hair.

I know what you need. 

You need a change.

So let me SAVE you....

I’ve learned this lesson over and over in my life... and I have found a solution to the never ending hair crises that every women experiences

.. And so here’s the Solution:

 .......................... you ready.........................?

DONT CUT YOUR HAIR, BUY NEW MAKEUP!!!

Seriously... New Eye shadow or lipstick can really give you that change you are looking for! It’s something subtle and non permanent... and it gives that liiiiitttttllle bit of punch you may be craving 

....................................HOWEVER....................................

If that’s not enough...

 And if you have tried every eye shadow and lipstick color you could ever think of.................... Ever

And you still can’t stop thinking about that cut...here are a few of my "Heather" Check list items to be sure It’s a good decision:

1.       Can you maintain it ...................................................................DAILY?

2.       How many of your outfits will your new hair match... or make look better?!

3.       How long will it take to grow back if you hate it?

4.       Have you seen someone that looks similar to you with the same cut?

5.       Are you confident in your Stylist?

Bottom line...  Try not to cut your hair! ....

But if you have good answers to all these questions, have tried all the makeup in the world... and just plain can’t resist anymore... well then... do whatcha gotta do.............

But don’t say I didn’t warn you! :)

Girls need Girlfriends

I can get along with just about anyone, I honestly I really like lots of people... but there have only been a few people here in Atlanta that I have reeeeaaaallly connected with. As lame as this sounds it’s way hard to make girlfriends when you’re a Mom! You have kids that take up your WHOLE LIFE, a home to run, and well... I guess different priorities than the young single girls you use to hang out with. #Iainttrienagototheclub.

 And.. Ya.. ya.. There are always the ladies at church to hang out with... but if you don’t connect with them, then what? How are we supposed to make friends? Instagram can’t be the only answer?!!! #guilty

Anywhoo...Making girlfriends can seriously be so HARD. It’s almost like looking for a boyfriend or something? I swear it’s the weirdest thing?!? Its like- you think to yourself... Does she work out, does she shop, does she have kids, does she like the things I like, will her husband get along with my husband??.. Blah. Blah. Blah. You know what I’m saying right? Bottom line Girls need Girlfriends... and well I guess you could say I’ve been lookin around! Lol.

Long story short I found a girlfriend!

Yaaaaaaaye! Her name is Pomai! We started school together a few weeks ago. We are both doing the BYU Idaho Pathway program. We ended up meeting in class and we have since figured out that we have a TON in common! She is a Mom of 3, strong in the Gospel, is married to an Accountant, and is Polynesian!!! How crazy?! For those of you that don’t know... My husband is Polynesian, and is also an accountant... and I happen to be really into health and fitness! ...And Both of us are living in the most Random Places of all Places

#GEORGIA

So to sum it all up, she is  like the perfect girlfriend for me! Loll!

Well, since I am always triena scout a model...I couldn’t resist but to ask her to model for my little store! You will definitely be able to see why. She is just absolutely beautiful, and I’ve decided she seriously needs to be the official model and face of

URTHY CHURCHY PEOPLE. lol.

Well I won’t keep you reading...here are some of the shots from the shoot. It was crazy having all the kids running around while we were shooting, but it was so much fun! I am so grateful she was willing to help a sista out, and better yet

 I am just thankful to have found a GIRLFRIEND!

Hope you enjoy!

Most of these pieces are currently available at the shop!

( link and general sizes provided below each pic!)

URTHY CHURCHY PEOPLE

Will fit sizes S-M

URTHY CHURCHY PEOPLE

Will fit Sizes M-XL

URTHY CHURCHY PEOPLE

Will fit sizes S-M

URTHY CHURCHY PEOPLE

Will fit sizes S-L

URTHY CHURCHY PEOPLE

Will fit sizes S-M

URTHY CHURCHY PEOPLE

Will Fit Size M

Here are a few more items that are not yet listed! (They will be soon!) You can email ( On Etsy) if you are interested in one .. or some ..of them! :)

Will Fit Size S-M

Will Fit Sizes M- L

Will Fit S-M

Will Fit M- XL

Pomais Sweet little kids! They wanted to shoot too!!! 

#TOOCUTE 

#mayjustneedsomekidmodelssoon .....