Having It All

Why do we get so down on ourselves when we can't meet all the expectations we put on ourselves? Or better yet, why do we give ourselves expectations that are not attainable? Every woman I know expects more from herself. We want EVERYTHING to be perfect. Perfectly clean house, perfectly behaved children, perfect volunteer at church, school and in the community, perfect wife, perfect clothes, perfect hair, perfect body, perfect, perfect, perfect. How can we attain this? We can't. But here's the thing, it's OK that we can't. If we were all perfect at everything, then, we would all be the same. How boring.

But what about having it all....being a mom, finishing school, having a career, being a wife, developing talents, fulfilling dreams. I think we can have it all.....just not all at the same time. This is the philosophy I am learning to live by. I believe our lives have seasons. Just as you don't go snow skiing in the summer, in our lives we can't always do everything all at once.

After surveying my life I've realized that some things are going to have to wait until their proper season. This is the reason I have temporarily closed Tailored Lilly's online store. I plan to re-open it when the season is right. It is a project that I believe in, and want to continue someday.

I will still have clothing available for sale in the Redding area, and may do home shows now and again. At times I'll probably have giveaways and sell individual items through the blog.

So, please stick with me. Until then, I'm going to continue to blog about all things style oriented...and other things as they come into mind.

Lowry Letter 2009

Here is our family Christmas Letter for 2009.
I didn't get it in the mail this year, so I thought I'd post it here.

Lowry Letter 2009

I started to write a traditional Christmas letter with details about each of our children, and how we are so busy and how we are loving life. But this year, it just seemed so….unnecessary. Just like your kids, our children (Corbin 6, Eliza 4, & Solomon 1) are the most wonderful, the smartest, the cutest, and are the joy of our lives. We love our family dearly, and feel that our journey in this life would not be complete without them. But through awesome technology of email, Facebook, blogs, texting and cell phones, I feel like most of you probably already have heard all about my children’s accomplishments throughout the year.

So where does that leave us? I think the only thing left is to express the feelings of the heart. To tell the truths that perhaps forums like Facebook don’t adequately allow.

This is my favorite time of year. It is a time when hearts are turned to Christ and feelings of kindness and charity are abundant. As we put out our crèches and ornament the tree, the story of the baby Jesus becomes the center of our holiday. As we celebrate His birth, not just because he was born, and not just because he died, but because of the true miracle of his resurrection, somewhere deep inside us we become closer to Him.

Even Santa Clause reminds me of the true spirit of Christmas. St. Nicholas and his gift giving spirit help me to give gifts from the heart. It reminds me to share with

those that are less fortunate. Santa never receives a gift, he only gives. What an incredible example of love and kindness.

Quinn and I often reflect on the wonderful blessing in our lives. And when the pressures of the world creep in and tell us we don’t have enough or earn enough, all we need do is count our blessings. We suddenly remember that we have more than enough. More than most.

Whether you and I have the same beliefs or differ in our holiday traditions, I encourage you to find the spirit of charity and love that this season offers. May we all show our love to our families more, enjoy the sweetness of dear friendships, and live our lives more fully.

Merry Christmas!

With love,

Whitney, Quinn, Corbin, Eliza and Solomon Lowry

Trinidad Beach (Trinidad, CA) August 2009

Breaking Rules

So I have had the stomach flu twice in the last month....which in and of itself is not something I would normally blog about. However, as an unexpected side effect I have dropped a clothing size from the weight loss. And while I am not advocating going out and finding someone to catch the flu from just so you can lose 5 lbs (because it was indeed quite horrible), I'll take it.

Consequently, I am enjoying my new jean size and decided now was the time to break my own rule and try the skinny jean. Now some of you lovely thin people, especially those of you under 30, probably are thinking, "it's about time" or "really, what's the big deal". But, I have a hard time repeating trends that I've already participated in, ie. skinny jeans and leggings of the 80's. I heard once, that "If you were old enough to wear it the first time, then you're too old the second time." For instance I am really glad my mom, who wore the bell-bottoms in the late 60's, didn't try and pull off that trend again when it came back briefly in the mid 90's. And for the most part, I have stuck to that rule. I know I am a little late picking up the skinny jean trend, but for good reason (baby Solomon). So, I thought I would share with you the the jean of choice.

The GAP's skinny jean

Now I actually bought The Premium Skinny Jean from The GAP's Outlet ($49.99), because it's the only GAP we have in my rinky-dink town. But GAP doesn't have their outlet clothes online...so these are the closest I could find a picture of.