Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Back To School Clothes...

Look who's being productive! I went shopping today with my friend and I got so much awesome sauce stuff! I am definitely going to wear all this stuff to school and it would all work with the back brace. But you're like, "Ann Marie, you don't even wear a back brace anymore, how would you know?" And you're right. I don't. But after a while you can just look at a shirt or a pair of pants or an outfit and know if it would work with the brace. It's like this weird sixth sense...

So pretty much you can assume these would work with the back brace because of Ann Marie's probably non-existent sixth sense...

...

Right, so anyway.

Here we go!

This is a pretty dress I got today. It was on sale for like 30 bucks and so of course I got it! But anyways, the dress is fairly loose except for the belt in the middle so it would hide the brace SO well. The shoes are my shoes that I've had for a while now. They're like that pair of shoes that if I'm in a hurry or I don't have any other pair to go with my outfit, I just slip 'em on.

Dress: JC Penny- $29.99
Shoes: Old Navy- ??? (It was a while ago, okay?)

I absolutely LOVE this! BTW, all these outfits definitely look better in real life. I can assure you I look 10 times hotter in person that I do in photos. Did that sound conceited? I think it sounded conceited... Anyways, the striped top and the navy skirt are both flowy and long enough to cover the brace but it might not hurt to put a tank top on over the brace. You know that under-over method I always talk about?

Top: Charlotte Russe- $10.99
Skirt: Charlotte Russe- $18.99
Shoes: Rue 21- ??? (Again, long time ago)

Okee this one is definitely my second favorite. Why my second favorite? Because my first favorite is yet to come... Anyways I absolutely love this outfit too. I got so many skirts today (like 2 whole skirts) and I love them. I've needed more skirts for like a year now, but I only go shopping like twice a year so... The design of the shirt and skirt are the same as the one above it so it would keep you completely covered.

Top: Charlotte Russe- $10.99
Skirt: Charlotte Russe- $18.99
Shoes: Charlotte Russe- $25.99

Fashion Tips With Ann Marie: Get solid color bottoms so you can mix and match pretty tops to make like 6 different outfits for each pair of pants or skirt! :)

See what I told you about mixing tops with bottoms? This is the same black skirt as in the photo above you, except this time I've matched it with a pretty lace top that I tucked in. The top is loose, if not a little low cut in the front, but it would be fine. This is a nicer outfit that you could wear for special events. I might wear this for my next band concert. (Don't mind the tag sticking out of the skirt in the photo.)

Top: American Eagle- $29.95
Skirt: Charlotte Russe- $18.99
Shoes: Mine

Lace top untucked with some jean mids feat. my dog derping or something. The shoes have studs on them in case you can't see (which I know for a fact that you can't).

Top: American Eagle- $29.95
Shorts: American Eagle- $19.99
Shoes: Charlotte Russe- $25.99

MY FAVE OUTFIT EVER OHMYGOSH I LOVE IT SO MUCH. Yeah I usually don't rock the khakis but for some reason I was KILLIN' IT. So I got them. So yeah, same shirt as before with a pair of shorts and shoes of course.

Top: Charlotte Russe- $10.99
Shorts: American Eagle- $24.99
Shoes: Charlotte Russe- $25.99

Three side notes:

1) I am not rich I've just been working a lot and saving up my money for six months or else there's no possible way I could have afforded this all.
2) I know most of the stuff this time was from Charlotte Russe and American Eagle, but that doesn't mean I just shop at those two stores. I go to the mall and go in practically ever store I can looking for things I like. The two places that just happened to have stuff I like were those two stores this time.
3) Yes, I know the quality of the pictures is crappy. I'm working on getting something to take better photos with.

Yeah so I hope this helps you! I had a lot of fun making this and I would really like to see your guys' creations if you would be willing to share. You can email me, and the email to contact me at is in my profile on the right hand side of the screen. I love you guys and I hope you have a fun time going back to school (haha nooooooooooo).

Ann Marie *>*

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

The End...

I'm done.

I'm actually done and I can't really believe it.

I went in for my appointment yesterday and they took an x-ray of my hand as well as my back. My curves stayed exactly the same as they were six months ago. Then my doctor said I was done growing and that meant I was done with my brace. And then he just kind of let me go.

I don't know. I guess I was expecting it to be different. More dramatic or something. I don't know. Maybe I'm just a dramatic person. He just said I could stop wearing it and I haven't seen Pablo since yesterday.

It's still really weird. I think I'm kind of in shock a little bit. My life doesn't feel that different right now, but I'm sure that as soon as I go back to school next Tuesday that I'll feel a lot different.

Now this does not mean the end of this blog or the end of my association with scoliosis or anything like that. It just means I won't wear the brace anymore. I'm actually going to try to post more now. I'm going back-to-school shopping tomorrow so I'll have some cute outfits to show! I know I always say that, but I'll make plans to go shopping, and then they don't work out. And don't worry about my outfits not fitting with the brace. The brace has changed my fashion sense a lot these past few years.

I can't believe how time has flied. I got Pablo two and a half years ago and I have changed so much since then. God works in mysterious ways, but he has blessed me beyond belief.

I started this blog two years ago and I didn't think that anyone would really look at it. But what I found here was a whole community of people with something in common and I think that's kind of beautiful. I've met new people and learned so much. And even if I've only helped someone in the slightest way, I think it kind of helped me too. So I guess this is also a big thank you to everyone reading this too. You're the reason why I didn't delete this blog after two months and just fought this battle on my own. I shared this with you and I will continue to share with you for the foreseeable future.

So in a way, this is an ending for me, but also a beginning. And maybe it's only your beginning, or maybe you're halfway there, so I've decided that I'll keep sharing and helping you guys because that's what I love doing.

Thanks for everything,

Ann Marie *>*