bobbi+mike

a husband+wife photo team

Monthly Archives: February 2011

grateful.

02.18.11

First and foremost I just want to say… I love you guys. Really, I do. You make me want to be a better person. You motivate me to keep giving my 1000%. Your support means more to me than I could ever express.

I’ve been feeling so incredibly loved. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

You know, I canNOT believe that we’re leaving for Las Vegas TOMORROW! Feeling excited, anxious and a wee bit overwhelmed. That’s expected I suppose.

As for my lack of updates this week… it’s been ten times busier than I ever expected it to be. I’ve gotten more accomplished in the last week or so than I have in months. So much going on… and I can’t WAIT to share it all with you!

Oh, and the “dress, me” contest…

I can’t TELL you how much you guys helped. Not only did you send incredible suggestions… but the tips that you sent?! I’m so thankful for each and every single one of you. I know I say this all of the time… but… I really do have THE best blog readers around. Thank you for caring about me. Really. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.Bottom line, I’ve never had more fun shopping/felt better about myself than I did that day… ALLLL thanks to you! I went out armed with so many more ideas and concepts and for the first time in a VEERRRRRYYY long time… I went outfit shopping and actually ENJOYED it. You guys really have no idea… thank you so so so SO much! Wow, how many times can I say thank you in one post?! sheesh!

I’ll share more about my shopping experience after we get back from Vegas… because I have LOTS to share! So many of you out there emailed and said that they could have written every word that I did that day and struggle in the same departments as I do. SO… I’ll share much of what I discovered!

All of that being said, It’s hard to pick a winner… I didn’t pick out one particular outfit… but had all of my favorite styble boards with me… and kept all of your tips and suggestions in mind while shopping. I wish that I could afford to give every single one of you a gift card… because really, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU HELPED!!!!!

There were a few of them that really stood out to me.

So, instead of picking one winner… I picked nine.

MaryAnn Naegle

Andrea Boettcher

Erica Grant

Kymberli Quackenbush

Cassie Beer

Ashley Gillett

Amy Norris

Mae Stier

Gwyneth Colleen (who sent photos of herself in outfits because we’re body twins… yeah, ABOVE AND BEYOND!)

Okay… as a quick reminder… we are speaking at a platform class the morning, 8am on Monday, February 21st. I know it’s early but, we’ll try our hardest to make it worth your while, interesting and fun… We promise!

If you haven’t already, preboard to come see us speak (or to see my outfit :D). I didn’t practice what I preach and forgot to pre-board many of my favorite speakers and now all of the pre-board tickets are gone.JUST DO IT!

Oh, and if you happen to see us out and about… say hello and throw some high fives. Though, just an FYI… our schedule is a little jam packed… so if we’re running away in the midst of the high five… please don’t take it personally!

I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!! THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!

See you there!

Your grateful, somewhat frazzled redheaded friend,

~bobbi.

Vegas, 2007

Vegas, 2008 – photo by Amanda ReynoldsVegas, 2009 (me on the left, Heather on the right) photo by Kelli NicoleVegas, 2010 – photo by Nate Kaiser. Oh, and Nate… we’re retaking this photo, thought you should know. :)

PS. I just cut 8 inches off of the back of my hair. Uhm… WHAT?!

posted in personal, photography stuff

dress me, update.

02.11.11

HOLY AMAZINGNESS BLOG READERS!!!!!! FIFTY FOUR of you sent in outfit suggestions… FIFTY FOUR!!!!!!

…really excited about many of them

However, I’m not sure that I can pick a winner until I go try them on. I’m going on Saturday.I’ll announce the winner either on Sunday or Monday.

I’d also like to say thank you so much for your encouraging words. We really do have the best readers out there… and I’m willing to throw down with anyone who thinks otherwise.

Thanks to ALLLL of you who submitted… you’re each BEYOND appreciated!

Love love love!

~bobbi

…and because a blog post is boring without a photo, here’s a photo totally unrelated… me, as a toddler.Who doesn’t like looking at baby photos?! Especially when you can tell 100000% that it’s me. I haven’t changed much…

posted in personal

dress me, please!

02.09.11

It’s no secret that I’m not a fashionable person. I’ll ALWAYS choose comfort over fashion. Most of you know that I live in a hoodie…

I’ve always wanted to be fashionable. I don’t think I’m incapable of it. I’ve just had body insecurities my entire life. Well, strike that… I’ve had body insecurities since I was 9 years old. You see, I was the first girl in my grade that had to wear a bra because I was growing boobs. Yes, BOOBS in the THIRD GRADE! Yeah, maybe this is TMI for some of you but come ON… I’m a girl… and girls have BOOBS!

Soon after that, my Mom married a country guy. You know… home-cookin’ country guy. We lived in what felt like the middle of nowhere where we ate fried chicken and drank whole milk. That was during my pre-teen years… The years you start to turn into a woman. Well, it was then that my battle with weight started.

Well, now I’ve lost weight. Strike that… I’ve lost a LOT of weight!

Now, I’m not where I want to be. I still have about 20 lbs to go. But the stink of it is that I still see allllll of those problem areas I had 50 lbs-ish ago when I look in a mirror. Insecurities aren’t something that just go away. I SO wish they would. I’m sick of not feeling great about myself! I feel like I’ve earned confidence. But, as many of you know… it’s just not that easy… it’s not a light switch that you can just turn off and on.

I was hoping to lose an extra 10 lbs before the photo convention in Las Vegas that’s in 1.5 weeks (AHHHHH!) and have been putting off buying clothes until that happened. Well, my stress levels leading up to it haven’t helped in that arena. Again, not gaining was enough to make me feel victorious!

This is where you come in… IT’S A CONTEST!!!!!!

I, sadly, am not good at dressing for my body type… and was hoping that some of you out there would be much better at it than me. I essentially need four outfits for Vegas. You send me what you think will work… if I pick yours, you’ll receive a $10 iTunes gift card! I’ll pick between one and four winners.

I warn you now… I’m TOUGH to buy for!

Things you’ll need to keep in mind:

I’m quite frugal. But, will spend on staple wardrobe items (jeans, jackets, etc).
My bust and hips are the exact same measurement. My waist is about 6.5″ smaller.
Problem areas: belly, breasts and arms (I’ve always carried a lot of weight in my arms. That’s why I don’t wear tank tops)
I’m convinced that the size of my chest adds the appearance of 20 extra lbs. I VERY much struggle with finding clothes that flatter me because of this.
Also, I have cleavage in everything… and not on purpose! It’s just the way it is. In high school I wore a turtle neck with everything.
Speaking of that… I’m pretty modest. I suppose that comes with the territory!
I like quirky stuff. I don’t like looking like everyone else.
I have very strong calves. Strangely strong. Taller boots don’t fit me.That makes me jealous of those that can.
I still have 15+ lbs to lose before I feel great about myself.
clothes from stores like Anthropologie, J.Crew, ModCloth, etc. don’t usually fit me because of my aforementioned large chest.
I have very short legs… even for a short person. Petites still have to be altered to fit.
I struggle in uncomfortable shoes. I SO wish that weren’t the case! I think that to wear uncomfortable shoes, you have to have been wearing them since you were very young. Your muscles and feet form to fit them. I went from waiting tables in Shoes for Crews to combat boots in the Army… Now all of my shoes look like they were made for old nurses. Not that there is anything wrong with being an old nurse!

Here’s a recent photo of my body.A confession… because of bullet point 4 (that my chest adds the appearance of 20 extra lbs), for my healthy train photos, I use a chip clip to pull my shirt back so that I can see the changes in my waist betterDon’t judge me!

See, told you it’d be a challenge!

If you’re up to it… send me an inspiration board with what you think will be an amazing outfit. Also include where I can buy it and how much it costs. I’ll pick a winner (or four!) on Friday morning. Email me at style(at)bobbiandmike.com

Oh, and… a quick disclaimer: Because I’m doing this with online shopping, that doesn’t guarantee that I’ll love the outfit once it gets here or I go try it on. So, if you see me in Vegas and I’m not wearing the winning outfit… you’ll understand.

Thank you all SO much for being such a big part of my life. I would be absolutely honored to wear an outfit that our incredible blog readers picked out for me.

~bobbi

PS. I won’t be surprised if I get zero contest entries… my list of “things to keep in mind” is a bit intimidating!