Old Fashioned House Dresses

Comfortable, old fashioned house dresses.

I have become my grandma. Maybe even my great grandma! Why? Well, it's in many more ways than just one, but for one, as I've hit the 50+ plus mark in my life, I'm more apt to speak my mind. I'm certainly way less polite about taking crap off of people anymore. For another, I am trying to stop letting other people's issues about me, bother me, and troubling my mind so much over such things. I guess you could say I've become very Crabby Road. And, I like it.

If you are out there in the public eye - especially across the interwebs - you will make many acquaintances (some will be authentic friends, some will be users disguised as friends), but you will also find that some people are just gonna dislike you, talk about you, gossip about you, gang up with their friends against you, and frankly, there are just some things that you have to accept in life, give them to God and let them go. And that includes those 'Takers and Haters' we have all encountered in this world today.

Yep, as crazy as it seems, even running an innocuous recipe website is gonna earn you some 'Takers and Haters.' I know! Crazy, huh?  It happens in day to day life, and it really happens in the online world. There are a few food bloggers out there in my genre who do not seem to like me very much. And they have gathered some friends together to dislike me equally. Why? They did something wrong, I called them out for it, they did not like being called out. Refer to that first paragraph above. There are those who are simply takers and just never content enough to be happy with their own successes, that not only do they take from others to boost themselves, but then have to target and tear down those they perceive as "competitors."

Dr. Phil wrote a whole book about the topic of these kinds of people, what he calls "BAITERS - folks who are Backstabbers, Abusers, Imposters, Takers, Exploiters and Reckless," and the "Evil Eight" identifiers to help you spot them in your life. We just live in a different world these days and wow, was that an enlightening read. If today's world and the behavior of people astounds you, read this book.

But... all of that is a topic for a whole 'nother post, now isn't it? ☺

My Grandma Mac, who lived to be nearly 100, once told me that was how she was happy and how she had lived so long. "I just don't let things bother me," she once told me. I am still trying to learn to do that Grandma!

Wow, was that a roundabout way to get to today's topic! Clearly I had a few things to get off my chest. Anywhoooo.... today, I am talking about house dresses, or if you'd rather, adult sundresses. Grandma dresses. I have taken to wearing, and loving wearing, simple house dresses.

Now, my husband and I are not fashionistas. We clean up pretty good, don't get me wrong, but we are most at home in our t-shirts and sleep pants or sweats 99% of the time when we are, well, at home. Pretty funny coming from somebody who actually second majored in fashion design in college and once upon a time put a lot of value into that. As I got a little older spending two hours to get ready in the morning gave way to just looking clean, well groomed and decent. With a one hour commute, each way, every single day with my last corporate job, trust me. I treasured that extra sleep much more than feeling like I had to look like I stepped out of a magazine all the time. Ain't nobody got time for that!

My Hurricane Katrina imposed retirement, pretty much limited my public appearances and truth is, I love being at home now and working from home with my blogs. I love it so much that I have declined a number of ideal blogging opportunities - being a judge for a cable network food show competition, being a contestant for another to be on a major network, and several gigs working with professional chefs to help promote national brands, just to name a few!

Once I weighed the pros and cons, I liked being at home, with my family, much more than traveling to Hollywood or L.A., just to boost my ego and attempt to gain me popularity. Maybe if I were truly 30-something, but at 50-something, nah. Not interested. In turn, my dress moved solely into being comfortable. Period. Comfortable, and a little too big for me t-shirts and sweats or sleep pants are the fashion style my husband and I sport more these days, but in the summer those sweats can be a little too much.

I once worked a case up in Minneapolis that kept me there over a week and I discovered that most of the women I was around in the courtroom and the law office, did not have on a stitch of makeup. That really intrigued me because I know some Southern gals who will not even go out to Walmart without being dressed to the nines, all jeweled up, hair all poofed and perfect and sprayed with enough hairspray to set their head on fire if a spark shot by them. And, yes, full out, going-out, all dressed-up, makeup from primer to foundation to finishing powder and everything in between. Well... ain't nobody got time for that either! I guess you could say that I'm not all that many more steps above those "Walmart People" you've all heard about. Okay... maybe I'm not quite that bad.

Pair of blue jeans or shorts with a modest cut t-shirt ... meaning boobs and cleavage contained and covered - a true rarity these days ... sandals, flip flops or even (gasp!) classic Crocs, hair brushed and pulled back, a little CoverGirl Olay foundation or powder (LOVE!), eyebrow pencil and quick swipe of lipstick and I'm good. Sometimes I even put on a little mascara! 5 minute routine, max.

Can you tell how much I love CoverGirl? Been using it since I was a teen!

Some of my further north Southern belle sisters must surely be on the edge of a fainting spell about all of that right now. Well... hold onto your petticoats Betty Jo and Billie Jo, because now I've moved into house dresses and I LOVE them!

I'm guessing that I'm not alone either. Doing a search for house dresses on Google showed me there are an awful lot of women who are also looking for them. I found these house dresses right on (where else) none other than my favorite shopping source, Amazon! And, they are a bargain.

They are comfortable to wear while you cook or do chores, they have handy and roomy front pockets for tucking away things as you pick up around the house, they are long enough to hold onto your modesty while you stroll the yard to pick up stray pine cones and cool enough that you can even wear them while you do your Walk Away the Pounds tapes to get in your daily exercise.

They launder beautifully, stay soft and don't shrink, and I could not possibly be more pleased. I bought the National Print Sun Dress version in the Grape, Floral Fruit and Turquoise Butterfly patterns (left to right above), and I am ordering more of them, although there are a number of different dresses available. Click here to browse them all!

Now, I won't go so far as wearing my house dresses to Walmart ladies, so I haven't gone off the deep end - at least not yet - but if you're around the house more these days than you are out in the corporate world, and you just want something to wear around the house that makes you feel like you've dressed, but is still comfortable, check out the house dresses from National!



-----
Full Post Content ©My New 30. Pinning and sharing links is welcomed and encouraged, but please do not repost or republish elsewhere such as other blogs, websites, Facebook pages, or forums without explicit prior permission. All rights reserved.

Material Disclosure: Unless otherwise noted, you should assume that post links to the providers of goods and services mentioned, establish an affiliate relationship and/or other material connection and that I may be compensated when you purchase from a provider. You are never under any obligation to purchase anything when using my recipes and you should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline.

.