What IS in my closet (do I even know)...

This post is dedicated to someone who told me I needed to donate some of my 150 dresses because I was spoiled. (NOTE: I work damn hard for my wardrobe)

I recently have begun "going through" my closet(s). I say "closet(s)" because there are three. Yes, three. My condo consists of a kitchen, dining room, office, living room, master bedroom and master bathroom....and three closets. When I was looking for condos, a large closet or multiple ones were at the top of my Must Have In My Condo list (right next to big kitchen). The older gentleman who owned the condo had recently remodeled and was SO PROUD of his closet work. Honestly, I must read "girl who needs a large closet" or just carry that look because John took an extra 15 minutes to show my the closet systems he had created. I love this man's ability to know a clothing-obsessed young woman when he sees one.

Back to the story....

I did a massive pull (removing things I do not need) and donated to a great cause.

[My mother is the principal of an inner city Transition Program. She created a "Community Closet" where her students are able to shop (without money but with points earned for doing good things), as most of the students in her program (over 1,000) are at or below the poverty level...some without parents, parents themselves and without a place to call home.]

I found that not only do I have a lot of clothing but that my taste in designers has grown to exceptional levels (we are talking WWD status). This past week in Las Vegas for M.A.G.I.C. I was able to meet with a lot of these brands and discuss at a higher level what fashion is to me and to Peppermint Park.

As women we use fashion to define ourselves. We dress to our character. Our individual style is the accessory to our personality. Our accessory to who we are as individuals.

After meeting with many of the labels I carry in my closet, this comment stuck with me the most: "Your energy is amazing. Addicting. Your style portrays who you are as a woman. Confident. Classy. Beautiful. You are a woman who knows what she wants and exactly how she is going to get it. The man that ends up with you as his wife is one hell of a lucky man."

Moral of the story:

• No matter what your individual style is you are beautiful to someone.
  

Laughing so hard it hurts.

Last night, after returning from a week in Las Vegas (for work...I know it sounds boring), my two younger sisters, mother and myself had a "girls night". Normally, these trips involve shopping and eating at a new restaurant. We did "normal" last night.

My youngest sister is off to the University of Wisconsin-Madison next week and busy preparing for rush week (which begins next weekend - so proud she is following in the family Sorority footsteps) thus the evening began with a trip to IKEA (her rush week attire has been provided, of course, by myself and Peppermint Park). Following my sisters and myself around a store is at minimum entertaining. One might find themselves in shock at our mother's ability to manage us all - even after 26 years. We argue, laugh, hug and chat nonstop. After our mother decided she had "had enough" and after 30 minutes of "where do you want to eat"...we decide on Tex-Mex.

Somewhere in between ordering drinks and waiting for our food, a discussion about memories begins. Mom fills my sisters in on how bossy I was and my sisters giggle as they discuss "no wonder she doesn't have a boyfriend". We swap stories about growing up and how much we love each other. Literally, the entire time, I was laughing so hard it hurt. I apologize to anyone in the restaurant who experienced this...maybe next time the hostess will not stick us in the middle of everyone.

Moral of the story:

• Laughter is the best medicine and family makes life worth living.
  

Yes, I want to talk about me...

With this being my 2nd blog (a much more mother-approved blog), my hope is to blog my way through 26....hopefully finding inspiration and inspiring other classy young ladies along the way.

I grew up on a grain farm in eastern North Dakota. The daughter of a farm boy turned accountant and teacher, my upbringing was storybook. Family dinners each night at 6:00, holiday feasts with presents galore all in a house which my mother made into a warm, loving home. As the oldest of three girls I was destine to be a wife and mother from the start. From an early age I loved cooking with my grandmother, helping my mother with laundry, bossing my sisters around and playing "house". I graduated from high school and went off to Florida State University. My love for all things southern grew in my four years down south. I spent countless weekends on my best friend's farm in southern Georgia and the coast. After graduation, I moved "home" to watch my sisters grow. After absolutely not a thing about my future which I had planned actually rang true, I decided to step out of my political law comfort zone and jump into the unforeseen future of a start up company.

In June 2010, along with my CEO and fabulous mentor, Peppermint Park launched. It amazes me how much I have grown and how fast the last four years have passed. It seems like just yesterday that I was a blue-eyed ND freshman on the FSU campus. Now, at 26, I run a company.

Nevertheless, some things have not changed. I am still as bossy as I was at 6. I have found a fabulous "medium" between my entire 26 years as a "Midwest girl" and the four years I spent in the south. I am still searching for Prince Charming, reading cookbooks, finding time to write my own, decorating my life with passion, travel and love. I hope you enjoy.

All my best,
DLT