Holly Dolly Fashion

Forget Ghosts, Goblins and Witches, Real Life is Scary Enough

2016-10-14T21:21:00.002-07:00

Our 3 year old son Mason has Isovaleric Acidemia. Last night our 8 year old daughter Jaydalyn, who has Down Syndrome, offered her brother pieces of roast beef from her sandwich. Stephen quickly stopped her and I didn't think Mason actually ate any of it.

I thought wrong.

Help! My Blog Sucks!

2016-09-30T09:53:00.000-07:00

I have wanted ever so much to have a successful blog for years but I never put enough work into it and I've spent to much time trying way to hard. My writing doesn't come out naturally because I'm a shy person and I'm afraid to over-share and humiliate myself or my family. Like most writers, I think what I write is crap, it's never good enough to share. I don't want it critiqued, it's mine. I'm my own critic. How can I write a blog if I don't share? How can I become a better writer if I don't open myself up to criticism? How can I be relate-able if I put on a big fat front. The same big fat front that turns me away from other blogs?

Our Family is Complete! Milo is Here!

2016-08-27T21:18:00.001-07:00

Sweet little Milo Mackenzie Cupp arrived last week by cesarean section with a full head of hair at 2:13 pm on August 16th. I was 38 weeks and 4 days along. He had a birth-weight of 7 lbs 11 oz and birth length of 20 inches. He's a healthy, strong, beautiful boy and a great eater. I am so happy to be his mama.

#TBT Outfit Post: Girl's Day Downtown Tucson July 2012

2016-06-23T12:00:00.000-07:00

#TBT Outfit Post: Girls Day March 2012 Neon Yellow Platform Pumps

2016-06-16T12:00:00.000-07:00

#TBT Outfit Post: Fashion Faux Pas Fall Florals

2016-06-09T12:00:00.000-07:00

You ever look at a picture of yourself and feel like "Yikes. What was I thinking!?" This outfit needed something more or needed something less but I definitely did not pull this look off well at all. For your entertainment I've decided to go ahead and post it anyway. Are you ready?

#TBT Outfit Post: Country Girl Casual

2016-06-02T12:00:00.000-07:00

4-5 Months Pregnant with Mason
Copyright Holly Dolly Fashion

My husband bought that beautiful top from Motherhood Maternity for me while I was pregnant with the brodester aka Mitchell. I paired it with some shorts from what is now PinkBlush and a pair of crochet ankle booties for this country girl casual maternity outfit. The earrings are from Icing or Claire's.

Future Food Posts Format and Thursday's Dinner

2016-05-28T22:05:00.002-07:00

I've been craving rotini with four cheese spaghetti sauce, ground burger, and mushrooms topped with parmesan cheese for a couple of weeks now. I finally went ahead and made it on Thursday night with a mostly organic salad and pre-made frozen breadsticks served on the side.

I'm trying to figure out a good layout for my food posts. I throw most of my meals together without exact measurements. I eyeball it and just know how much of this or this or this I'm going to need to feed my family of 8 plus womb baby. I've been cooking for about a decade now and I grew up in an eat-at-home family so things just happen in the kitchen without much precise thought. I think that instead of directions I'll just list ingredients as my recipe format for meals I've put together on my own and if you have questions I'll answer them in the comments below. Sound good?

Can I Afford these Meals?

I'll be adding an approximate meal cost to food posts too. Cooking at home is so much more cost-effective than eating out and once you've had some practice it usually tastes better anyway. Plus maybe I can help you with your grocery shopping budget by showing you where you can cut costs on different items so that you can splurge on fancier shmancier menu items from time to time. (Goat cheese. Yum.) I think that focusing on how much less it costs to cook at home might motivate me to eat out even less as well. (We've definitely been spending to much on "convenience" food and it's my fault. This pregnant lady has a major sweet tooth!)

Our annual income is currently less than that of the average American family plus our family is double the average size. We purposefully live and spend below our means so I'm fairly certain most if not all of my readers will find these meal ideas to be affordable.

So What Kind of Cuisine Can I Expect to See on Your Blog?

I eat what I want and what I want is a little bit of everything. My kids will eat whatever I put in front of them because that's how I've raised them. You can't not like something you haven't tried. If we decide we don't like something we just don't buy it. There really isn't much we don't like though. You'll find a variety of meal ideas and recipes in these posts. Be sure to bookmark my blog so you can come back for inspiration when you get stuck in a food rut. (those are the worst!)

p.s. I'll be throwing in some ideas on how to adjust a meal for a low-protein diet from time to time. My son Mason has Isovaleric Acidemia. He couldn't have the pasta or bread stick. I served his salad before I added cheese to the bowl and he had some mashed potatoes and watermelon on the side.

What would you like to see from future food posts on Holly Dolly Fashion? Leave your comments below, I'd love to ~~hear~~ read your ideas! Thanks for stopping by!

#TBT Outfit Post: Bohemian Maternity Wrap Top and Boots

2016-05-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

7 Months Pregnant with Mason
Copyright Holly Dolly Fashion

Tuesday's Lunch: Polska Kielbasa Macaroni and Cheese

2016-05-24T12:31:00.002-07:00

notice how my pot is missing handles...my dishes get a lot of use

Stowaway on Board aka I Feel Like a Whale

2016-05-23T00:58:00.001-07:00

So you know how there are all of those "cute" little comparison charts week by week of pregnancy that declare how big fetus child baby kid is with a visual of a fruit or veggie? I think I'd be much more entertained by a chart comparing the mother-ship to the size of a different whale each month.

"Congratulations! You're on week 26 and 3 days carrying kiddo number 7 and you're roughly the size of an Orca!"

#TBT Outfit Post: Fall Fashion Animal Print Maternity Top

2016-05-19T12:00:00.000-07:00

7 Months Pregnant with Mason Oct 2012
Copyright Holly Dolly Fashion

Cheap D-I-Y Vertical Window Blind Repair

2016-05-17T00:11:00.001-07:00

We rent a two-story townhouse that came with vertical window blinds. My kids have of course managed to pull down every single blind in every single window not just once but twice. Buying them brand new is not cheap, window treatments that end up pulled down within a week, rods and all, are not cheap either. I've been there done that and I needed an affordable solution that made sense for this household of insanity.

I did some research a few weeks ago and I came across an idea of using paperclips and clear packing tape to repair the "tab" at the top of my vertical blinds. Thankfully I saved as many of the second set of purchased and then yanked vertical blinds as I could. I put them in my garage as they were pulled just in case they could be fixed. I'm no hoarder but desperate measures people...

#TBT Outfit Post: Almost Oxblood aka Maroon Cable Knit Sweater

2016-05-12T12:00:00.000-07:00

Today's #tbt outfit post is my maroon cable knit sweater from H&M that I still wear, a rose necklace from H&M as well and some black maternity pants with flats. This picture was taken around Halloween of 2012 while I was pregnant with Mason.

#TBT Outfit Post: 104 Degrees of Hot, Edgy Colorblocking

2016-05-05T12:00:00.000-07:00

So the day these pictures were taken I'd gotten all dressed up to surprise my husband only to lock myself out of the house with the babies when the utility company showed up and needed help finding the meter. They had already left by the time I realized the door was locked. It was 104 degrees out. We hid out in the shade of the orange tree by our porch, ate oranges and sang made-up songs about baby while waiting for Stephen to get home and rescue us.

#TBT Outfit Post: 35 Weeks Pregnant with Mason

2016-04-28T12:00:00.000-07:00

35 Wks 2 Days Pregnant
Copyright Holly Dolly Fashion

This dress was my all time favorite while I was pregnant with Mason. I bought it from PinkBlush before they were PinkBlush. They have the cutest maternity clothes ever. A bit pricey but not as pricey as some other online competitors plus they have a whole lot more to offer variety-wise. The clothes really grew with me which was amazing because I was a blimp, especially by delivery. Mason was a 9lb 15oz baby!

Come back next week for another outfit blast from the not so distant past!

Subscribe to ♥ Holly Dolly Fashion ♥

Fun Family Recipes: Pizza Fries!

2016-04-26T20:58:00.002-07:00

This recipe is fairly easy and a lot of fun for the littles. My kids love it and it just so happened to be their idea one night when we were running late and trying to figure out what we were going to make for dinner. We swung by the grocery store and grabbed the fixins and voila! Pizza fries.

(We just make plain fries with sauce on the side to accommodate Mason's protein-restricted diet.)

What you'll need:

1 pkg of frozen crinkle cut fries
1 pre-shred bag or block of mozzarella cheese
1 large can of tomato sauce (add your oregano, marjoram, garlic powder and whatnot to it)
1 pkg of pepperoni

My Hands are Full but my Heart is Full too

2016-04-23T12:00:00.000-07:00

"if you're happy and you know it clap your hands"

Since writing this post in January we were successfully able to place Morgan directly into a home with a great family. The difference in our lives has been great and his new family likes him a lot. We've gotten to know quite a few of our neighbor's on a first-name basis. We're not those people with the annoying, barking dog anymore so people actually want to talk to us. Minion's behavior has improved and everyone in the house is a whole lot less tense and irritable. I've learned that not all pets are going to be good matches with our family and that's okay. I do feel terrible that Morgan was bounced around but I'm glad we took the responsibility to try and re-home him and I am relieved that we were able to do so before we would have been left with no other choice but to take him to the shelter.

You still won't find me on social media in 2016. I've had only a positive experience since leaving. I will re-visit the idea in 2017 but only to join the networks that will help me promote my freelance writing services and reach the audience that this blog is intended for. Closing my personal social media accounts has left me far less distracted and much more productive in real life with less stress as a positive outcome of using my time more intentionally.

#TBT Outfit Post: Valentine's Day 2012

2016-04-21T12:00:00.000-07:00

So remember how I lost all of my old content when I accidentally deleted my blog photos with that google plus mishap? I've decided to bring back some of it on Thursdays in throwback posts. Today's tbt post features what I wore on Valentine's Day 2012. Come back next week for another outfit blast from the not so distant past.

20 facts about me

2016-04-19T12:00:00.000-07:00

As mentioned previously in my 2016 Blogging Goals for Holly Dolly Fashion post I'm working on establishing a consistent blogging schedule with inspiration from 30 day challenges such as Live Love Simple's. Here are some facts about me.

20 facts about me

How to Buy Stylish Bedding Sets for California Kings

2016-04-16T22:58:00.001-07:00

It is so hard to find a stylish bed set in California king size in general but it's even more difficult to find a stylish set of good quality, at an affordable price. I've struggled with this problem for years, one of my favorite sets was of such poor quality it fell apart in less than a week. With others, I've had to go down a size on part of my design look in order to have a matching set.

My current mattress set consists of Cali king size 100% cotton Threshold brand sheets and pillowcases from Target. They're a grey-scale floral design. I couldn't find a comforter I liked to pair with them so I ended up buying a fluffy plush, 100% polyester, grey, king size blanket on clearance. I love the sheets but my blanket needs replaced asap. It's a pain to wash and dry. It retains water and the "fur" is matted from the dryer where it takes HOURS to actually dry and that cannot be good for my electric bill. Would I have saved more in the long run by purchasing a blanket of better material? Probably.

I was inspired to write this post in hopes of helping anyone else without the patience for sewing to be able to dress your oversize beds the way you want to at a price you can afford.

It's Our 8 Year Anniversary

2016-04-10T23:00:00.000-07:00

Then

2016 Blogging Goals for Holly Dolly Fashion Blog: An Open Letter to My Readers

2016-03-30T21:57:00.000-07:00

"I've got wings now! Where should I go first?"
Preying Mantis
Copyright Holly Mackenzie Cupp

I'm a writer by default and blogging is my creative outlet but I've come to realize that it can also serve as a platform where I can hold myself accountable to being better at me in all areas of my life. This personal accountability can expand upon my creativity through self-improvement and exploration and hopefully motivate others to pursue their interests as well.

Where My Blog Was

Holly Dolly Fashion has been a part of my life for 7 years now. In the early years I posted rather often but as I've grown I realized my older content lacked depth. I mentioned the struggle I was having a couple of times between a picture here, a wishlist there...I couldn't figure out how to convey any particular message through my personal style posts alone. I didn't have any direct goals to work toward. I was a Myspace-obsessed, trend-lusting, teenage mother with a blog. I grew up and that is why it became a chore to post consistently.

Where My Blog Is Now

Awhile back I accidentally deleted all of my pictures from off of my blog while cleaning up my Google + profile. I didn't see a way to move forward but I didn't want to give up on years of devotion either! I was semi-devastated, semi-defeated and wholly oblivious to the blank slate of opportunity before me...

We're Moving to Oregon!

2016-02-29T13:06:00.002-07:00

So everyone knows we've been wanting to move, no secret, we're totally bored and ready for a new adventure...It all started a couple weeks ago... I had credits to use up with Southwest Airlines and I was able to use them for a weekend trip to visit one of my best friends in Oregon. The flight there and back cost me $38! Score! I pretty much fell in love with the area I visited immediately and when I got back my husband and I decided the very next day (after hours of research) that it was the place. We're moving to Oregon! The kids get out of school in May and sometime after that we will be saying goodbye to Southern Arizona and hello to a whole new lifestyle, in a whole new state. Crazy right? Here's the crazier part...we're only taking what we can fit with all of us (including the Minion and Joey) inside of our new to us Toyota Sequoia (affectionately named "GG" which is short for gas guzzler)

Hey look! I have a closet floor!

2016-01-25T18:10:00.002-07:00

Since my last post we've eliminated at least half a UHaul's worth of stuff from our home. I didn't even realize we had that much random stuff to part with but apparently there is even more we could easily get rid of and not miss.

It's been awesome!

I donated over 20 notebooks to my son's language arts class. We put random pieces of furniture out front with FREE signs on them and they're already gone. We've donated baby gear and boxes up on boxes of things that were just sitting around taking up space. My million and a half shoes for example...

At this rate I'll have all of my spring cleaning done before spring and we won't even need to use a moving truck to move when it's time to move.

"The exquisite lightness of being..."

I don't remember where that quote comes from but I'm feeling it,

Free.