Mission: Overalls

To set out on a new adventure requires the proper perspective and motivation, for me, that starts with the right outfit!  It may sound silly, but clothing is our armor, our mask, the outward expression of our personality...

Each day, you wake up, and stand before your closet to pick an outfit for tomorrow’s goals, challenges, and tasks.  When you do so, you are choosing your Superhero Cape for that day!

You stand before your options deciding if you will be happy, whimsical, determined, creative, no-nonsense, lazy, sick of it, ready to conquer, etc. (This is why I felt like I was serving a greater purpose when I dreamed of growing my women's clothing boutique, but I digress).

Allow me to illustrate how important your outfit, can truly be, one more time: When I set out on a health journey, I needed an activewear outfit that was functional for the job at hand, but also made me feel ready to work hard, confident, determined, and cute!  Putting on that outfit became a routine before dinner every single night, so while I digested dinner, I didn't slip into a lazy slumber and switch my brain into excuse making mode!  The simple act of picking out and slipping on that outfit, helped ensure that I would be ready to work hard to achieve the goals I had set for myself! The power of THAT OUTFIT was nothing short of MAGICAL!

The same is true for any new adventure I choose to set out on, whether it be, a fun vacation requiring flirty dresses & confidence boosting bathing suits OR entering the professional workforce as a brand-new intern, requiring "Boss Lady" suits OR entering uncharted territory as a Stay-At-Home/Work-At-Home-Mom/Owner of a Small Boutique, Excitedly filling my closet with an entirely new wardrobe of my boutique brand...

Here, I am on the precipice of another new beginning, and that means, I need to pick the proper cape!  Today that cape is crafted out of denim, and buckles!  As we prepare to fully launch this blog, our YouTube Channel, and Sunshine & Happinest Adventure, I decided that my uniform (or cape) for the task will be, OVERALLS!

When I decided that I needed a functional and cute pair of overalls for all the DIYing, Gardening, Dream Home Building, and Chicken Tending, I was excited, flashing back to my “boyfriend-style” overalls of the 90s.  I had seen many overalls in the stores over the last year and a half, so I figured I would have variety to choose from. 

However, the reality was a little different.  Out of all the potential stores to check, and all the potential different styles, I truly thought that my biggest problem would be choosing which denim wash I liked the best.  6 stores later, (some visited TWICE), and I was coming up empty handed!  Some stores didn’t even have overalls, and others had some crazy redesigned version of what I had in my memory!  I can not even count how many pairs I had tried on over the course of two weeks, but it seemed like every pair was designed to look TERRIBLE!  The buttons flared at the hips, making my nonexistent hips look VERY WIDE, the legs or bibs were so tight it would be impossible to do any actual work in them, they were too big, too baggy, fitted for some non-existent body type… I was about to give up on my search, when I took one more spin around a popular name brand store…

Bleary-eyed, I stumbled past multiple clearance racks.  Just as I was about to give up and leave empty handed, one more time, I spotted a buckle on the other side of the rack.  I hurried over, hoping that they were my size, and that they fit into the perfectly 90s design, etched in my mind’s eye! 🤞 

It turned out that the one pair I spotted was an XS, NOT MY SIZE, BUT, that one sighting opened the flood gates, because suddenly, I had uncovered the hidden promise lands of overall pastures! Half excited with the potential, half dejected from the exhaustion of endless disappointment, I returned to the dressing room with an armful of overalls, ranging in size from XL – Small, desperate for any one of them to work, regardless of what the size tag read! 

I know, I will be preaching to the choir here, BUT, I am currently a size 6, and almost all of those overalls fit on some level, some Mediums seemed too big, and some Larges too small, and some Smalls fit perfectly… Can we all just acknowledge how crazy that is!!! If you need a reminder, ladies, don’t pay one iota of attention to the size label on your clothes:  1. They do not determine your worth or beauty; 2. They are made up, and have very little logic informing their symbolic letters! 

ANNNNYWAY, after trying on a few duds that I redesigned in my mind, hoping that my dream pair, a Frankenstein version of several pairs combined, would, somehow, appear before me, I FINALLY discovered my wish!!!  After what felt like an epic search that was doomed to failure, I had too many pairs and denim washes to choose from!  I loved two modern designs with zippers where side buttons should be, slim fit legs, and stretchy denim, one light wash, distressed and one medium wash, non-distress, and one old-school 90s wide leg, traditional button design in a faded black wash.  I could see myself wearing each for different tasks and adventures, but the cherry on top… I was able to score ALL THREE PAIRS!  Instead of paying $50 for one pair at a popular lower-end big box store, I was able to score last year’s designs from the clearance rack of a mid-priced store for less than one pair!  I never felt more like these, farmer chic beauties, were my new Garden Cape!    

Not only, do these overalls signal a new beginning, but they will also remind me of these early days when Sunshine and Happinest was a just a twinkle in our family’s eye.  Every time I slip them on, I will think of the struggle to find the right pair.  I will be reminded of my vision for our dream home, and our efforts to make our financial freedom a reality.  Just like my first activewear outfit, these overalls represent the commitment that I have made to myself to grow, to work hard, and to achieve a goal!  Every time I slip them on, I will be ready to tackle the task in front of me, with the vision of the future in my front overall pocket, close to my heart!  So now, I am dressed in my Super Overalls, and I just need my heroine tag line… Taking suggestions! 💜