Target - offering a few inappropriate clothing choices for little girls.

And they really think these are appropriate for 4 & 5 year olds? Really? Who, exactly, is approving these clothes? Per-verts? Pedo-philes? This is 100% unacceptable, plain & simple. I'm not sure what's worse - that these are available or that there are almost no other options for little girl shorts. ‪#‎disgusting‬ ‪#‎truth‬ ‪#‎clothes‬ ‪#‎fashion‬ ‪#‎unacceptable‬

*I broke the icky words above so no one can find my blog by searching those particular words. Ew!

The above photo & statement is what I posted to Instagram (& my Facebook page) after stumbling across these doozies while shopping at Target. The pair in the photo is an XS, which means, they typically fit a 4-5 year old little girl. What. The. Heck. Gotta love the cheetah print next to them - s-exy kitten, anyone? Yuck! These articles of clothing for little girls is so wrong on so many levels. Why is Target even carrying such nonsense? And I'm kind of afraid to ask, but do parents actually purchase these trashy things for their little girls?

When I posted this photo to my Facebook page, it ended up being my most popular post yet. This Facebook post was seen by over 800 people. Which is a lot for my tiny page. And let me tell you, not one person had anything nice to say about these shorts!

If we desire to raise strong, successful, confident, young ladies who possess high standards & self-respect, then it starts with the adults. It starts when they are very little & it is an ongoing lesson. It starts at home, with responsible, caring parents & should be supported & encouraged by society. Selling inappropriate, suggestive clothing for such little girls is not the way to do it. Very disappointing, indeed.

Shame on you, Target. Shame on you for supporting, advertising & making inappropriate clothing available to such young, innocent, impressionable girls. Shame on you for sending the message that these are acceptable & that dressing in little to no clothing is ok. It is not ok. In all honesty, you provide some really cute clothing. Step up & stop offering unnecessary & inexcusable apparel. Keep your reputation for being one of the good guys & hopefully you won't take on the title of being one of the bad.

Kudos to all the stores that do not offer & do not support such derogatory and/or provocative clothing for little girls.

(I assume Target isn't the only store selling clothing like this for this age group, but Target is where I saw them, so it's Target I'm addressing.)

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Shaklee's FREE, LIFETIME membership is almost over!

I have been MIA lately! Goodness, it has been busy over here! Working my amazing Shaklee which has kept me hoppin' (yay!), preparing for another garage sale from hell & then having said garage sale yesterday (our garage sales are HUGE & a lot of work!), preparing left over garage sale items to post on Facebook garage sale groups, focusing on finding our little Alpha female Yorkie a home (success! I found her the most perfect home!!), gathering toys to donate to a new playroom that is in need, planning for our upcoming vacation - whew! I'm a little pooped! :)

I wanted to pop in quickly & remind everyone that Shaklee's free membership special is almost over! Special ends July 31, 2013. I do not know if this special will be offered again, so I want everyone to take advantage! It's a $20 savings!! As of August 1, 2013, everyone will have to pay the $19.95 membership fee, in order to join & receive the 15% discount on all products. But for 3 more days - it's FREE!



You can join for FREE with ANY purchase! ANY! No minimum required! This is an awesome, awesome special!!

All you do is place the products you want in your shopping cart, & at check out, it will then ask if you want to join as a member, for free! Click YES, of course! That's it - done!

Click here to shop!

If you have any questions, please holler at me anytime! I'd love to help! adoringthesimple@gmail.com

Click here to see exactly how I work from home, doing what I do, LOVING what I do & who I do it with. I adore these girls!! So much fun! :)

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**As always, as a Shaklee member, there is NO monthly order required! You can order what you want, when you want it! Easy peasy & NO pressure!!

Decorating - from browns to blacks!

Oh I am loving this! I've finally made the decision to change my decorating colors from brown to black, I am ready to start painting & getting this gorgeous color scheme implemented, when it begins to rain. And rain. And rain. For days. Hasn't rained in months until now. Ha! Welcome to my world. Here are some colors I've gotten so far:



So pretty! Too bad I couldn't use them until today. But today, we have sunshine! We went to the park this morning, had lunch & then I repainted my Goodwill lamp! (Yes, again. This is going to end up being one expensive lamp!) Hello beautiful Metallic Black!



(I just noticed those two dark spots kind of on the right side, but they're in the photo only. I don't know why those are there. There are no dark spots on my lamp! :)

Kind of hard to tell the brown from the black, but it's black! This very well could be one of my favorite shades of black! It's just beautiful with a pretty shimmer. I like shimmer!

Here it is, side by side. Here you can tell the difference:



Tada! I know. The line in between the two photos is crooked. Don't ask.

Now, it's time to choose paint for the girls' room & then start spraying my blacks/silver/gray/white on candlesticks, a clock (or two) & whatever else isn't nailed down. Hope I don't spray the kids! :)

Bringing the Kardashian colors into my home!

I don't know what the technical term is, so that's what I'll call it. :)

This will be fun! I've finally made a decorating decision I've been contemplating now for over a year! This is an idea I have shared with my husband & family for over a year. They've always been on board. Now, I decided to put that idea into action!

I am going to decorate my home using the Kardashian colors! Yip!

I'm particularly fond of Kris Jenner's home. Images (& shots from their reality show) I've seen of it, anyway. I love the way it looks - the clean, crisp, sophisticated look. Her entire home's color palette is black, silver/gray & white = gorgeousness!







But wait! What's this? Brown? They have a brown den? And bathroom. And probably more. I noticed they still have black in those rooms, though.



Obviously, I am completely incorrect assuming Kris' entire house is done in the black/silver/gray/white palette. Personally, I don't like the mixture. The rooms are beautiful, of course, but I think I'm going to stick with her kitchen/bedroom colors. I have a lot of dark brown, because that was my base color. So this will be tricky! But I really don't want to flip flop back & forth.

One reason I love the black & silver palette is because silvers & grays are so versatile. There are so many amazing shades that can be incorporated into design & that fact alone has always intrigued me. Not to mention, I think this palette is so rich & expensive looking (remember my "Desiring: Beautiful" post?) without having to cost tons.

I will be making changes on a budget, of course! And slowly but surely. I'm in the process of planning/decorating my daughters' new room, too, so I'll just do what I can when I can do it.

I love decorating!

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Goodwill lamp makeover!

Remember my 'new' lamp I bought last week? Well now it's really new! I just love the end results!

Here it is after thrifting, nice & boring:



If you follow me on Facebook, I kinda mentioned last night that I'm contemplating decorating my house in Kardashian colors. Yes, I'm totally serious. It has been a thought I've had for over a year & it has been a discussion in our home numerous times. Anyway, I purchased both black & brown spray paint, not knowing which one I was going to use on my new lamp. Due to my 'Kardashian' decision not being final, I decided to use the brown - Rust-oleum's Flat Chestnut.



(Yep, that's my Maxi girl on my couch cushion in the background. She thinks she's entitled. :)

And here's my lamp, finished! It's so pretty! This isn't the shade style I want, but it was too hot to keep searching. :)



I love the brown. Although, I'm pretty certain it'll be painted a pretty shade of metallic black in the near future. :)

I'm not sure this ended up being such a good deal because the price(s) added up:

Lamp - $11.00 (remember, I thought it was $5 but that was the wrong sticker!)
Shade - $15.00
Paint - $7.00

Total: $33!

Could I have bought this lamp cheaper? I don't know. It's a solid, well-made lamp & probably would have cost relatively about the same. But this way, I did get the color I want. Winning! :)



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Shaklee FREE MEMBERSHIP special!

Shaklee is offering FREE membership, with ANY order, for the month of July! Yip! Click here to shop!! Special ends 7.31.13.

How to lubricate a wooden cutting board!

I love wooden cutting boards. I've used them for the last 25 years. My brother owns his own cabinet business & made my cutting boards for me for many years. Now I just buy them at store. I do not like butcher block, Bamboo or plastic. Just the simple, wooden boards.

Wooden cutting boards must be lubricated to prevent splitting, cracking, drying & breaking. Kind of like our feet. :)

I use Mineral Oil to treat my board, because it's safe to ingest & doesn't develop an odor over time. I recommend not using vegetable, canola or like oils because they are apt to become rancid & stain. I used to use vegetable oil before switching to mineral. I have used mineral oil for several years now & I love it. I think it keeps the board lubricated longer. I also love how my board sheens after treated! Pretty is so important, you know. :)



Application can vary & really, you can use any technique you want. I use use paper towels. The mineral oil really saturates the paper towels, making application coat really well.

(The above photo was taken right before I lubricated my board. It was on my island, under the light. My board looks really dry in the two photos below because when I moved my board to the sink, I forgot to turn the sink light on. I turned the light on as soon as I noticed. It actually looked like the photo above - I keep my board lubricated at all times.)



The first thing I do is pour a very generous amount of mineral oil onto my board. I like it good & thick for good coverage.



Then, I take my paper towel & just start rubbing & coating the board. (This task can get messy! Wear gloves if you deem necessary. After so long, the paper towel begins to disintegrate but it's ok, application still works & I wash off any paper towel residue when done.)



I make sure all areas are covered & because mineral oil is nice & shiny, I can see any areas that I missed. I even do the edges & sides of the board. When the front is done, I flip to the back & repeat.



After I'm done, I let it sit & absorb, for about 10 minutes or so. Then, I wash it with hot water & soap.



I am a hot water & soap kind of girl & almost everything I have & own gets washed that way, including my cutting board. By doing so, I know it's nice & clean. I do not put it in the dishwasher - I hand wash it. If over time the board begins to wear, I buy a new one. Easy peasy. I always stand my cutting board up to dry. After I wash it, I stand it up & lean it against my faucet in the sink. This board is on the large size, so it's a booger to wash, but I can still stand it up to dry. Forgot to take that photo - oops.

Here's my board, after completing all above steps! I treat my board about every 6 weeks, sooner if need be. My cutting board looks like this all the time! Nice & moisturized & pretty!





Happy lubing! Heehee. :)

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Linking up with: Uncommon Designs, Huckleberry Love, Home stories A to Z, Between Naps on the Porch, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Not Just a Housewife