2013: A Year in Review

I've so enjoyed reading everyone's year in review posts lately. It's a great way to summarize a year in little, digestable nuggets.

Wait, that sounded gross. Digestable nuggets. Yuck.

Moving on...this year has been a wild one. There were some amazing events and some not-so-awesome events. Below is my year in review.

January:

• I turned 28!
• I shared with y'all my online dating experiences (one, two, three, four)
• I went on my first date with M

February:

• I introduced M to the blogosphere

March:

• I had a root canal (and posted an after-pic for y'all to see!)
• I went to the zoo (aka, one of my most favorite places on Earth!)

OOTD: Lace & Neutrals

cardigan | lace tank (similar) | jeans | necklace: gift (similar) | shoes (similar, similar)

I know, I know, it's been a LOOONNNNGGGG time since I've done an outfit post. And quite frankly, I've missed it. I took advantage of a day of PTO I had over the Christmas holiday and got a couple done in one day, so, we're covered for a few weeks at least. ;) 

Click "Read More" to continue reading this post.

Christmas 2013

First off, I'm slapping my own hand for just now getting around to blogging about Christmas...which was 2 days ago.

But this Christmas was an interesting one. M and I set a new tradition (that we hope to continue into our marriage) and we also had a few gift "snafoos" that we are dealing with. Hey, I never said it was a BORING Christmas. :) Some key events, photos and comments are below:

1. I love that M indulges my obsession with My Little Pony (Rainbow Dash, specifically) and gives me MLP gifts! I got 2 Rainbow Dash gifts this Christmas, the first came the the Monday before Christmas and it was a Rainbow Dash plush from Build-a-Bear.

Yes, I am 28 years old and I stood in line with all of the little kids and their grandparents getting precious little teddy bears and rabbits and Christmas reindeer at the Build-a-Bear store. Don't hate. I proudly stood in line to get my Rainbow Dash stuffed, sewed and loved on. Ain't no shame in this game! This is the first time I've ever been inside a Build-a-Bear store so it was quite the experience. A little while later, I emerged with my very own adorable plush version of Rainbow Dash.

The other MLP gift came on Christmas Eve, when M and I exchanged gifts. We must have the "ESPN" because we both got each other shoes. (!!!) However, I'll comment on the shoes that I got for him a little later...

Click "Read More" to continue reading this post.

Merry Christmas!

Luke 2

New International Version (NIV)

2 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.

4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah,the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Merry Christmas, friends!

On Phil Robertson and Duck Dynasty

 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
Ephesians 4:29

 

 

Yesterday, Phil Robertson, the patriarch of the Robertson clan and star of the A&E television show Duck Dynasty, was suspended from production by A&E and criticized heavily for his comments during an interview with GQ. See the news article here.

Below are my thoughts on the matter. Click "Read More" to view entire post.

Wedding Wednesday: The Invitations

Deciding on the invitations was surprisingly harder than I thought it would be. M and I had a hard time finding something that went with our wedding theme but also was...well, us.

First of all, I decided not to send out Save the Dates. Personally, I just didn't really want to spend the money on it when I'd turn around 2-3 months later and send an invitation. So, I opted out of them and will send my invites a little earlier than what is "customary" for sending them. (Nothing wrong with Save the Dates, they just weren't on my radar or budget.)

Click "Read More" to view entire post.

Top 5 Tuesday: Cookie and Candy Kryptonite

Something that may not be as apparent on my blog as it is in real life is my sweet tooth.

Actually, it's probably more appropriate to call it my raging, humongous mouth of sweet teeth. I say this with no shame...because I am addicted to sweets.

I can usually count on my self-control and intestinal fortitude to keep me from over-indulging most of the time but there are a few delicious sweets that cause me to lose all self-control and consume as many as I possibly can. These are the things that I do not bake (or buy) because I would probably eat all of them. With it being the Christmas season, my exposure to these delectable delights is higher and thus the danger lurks at every corner.

If you ever wanted to ruin my diet, you might buy me some of the following sweets that seriously cause me to lose my cotton-headed ninny muggin mind.


1. Oreo Truffles

recipe: just to be mean... :)

 

I could probably literally eat my weight in these things. And then I'd get sick and throw them up...and then I'd just eat more.

 

Click "Read More" to read entire post.

Weekend Recap

This weekend was a BUSY one, y'all.

It included both wedding stuff AND holiday stuff, so there was much merriment going around in my neck of the woods.

Saturday morning, I had a nail appointment, then I had my first bridal shower. It was a Pampered Chef shower and it was so cool. I love their kitchen stuff and there was great food! Win-WIN!

After the shower I had to hustle back home to get ready for M's company Christmas party. His company is fairly large so it was held at a very, VERY nice hotel in my city. (Actually, the nicest hotel I've ever been in...to date.) In true form, I wore the same dress I wore to my company Christmas party the week before.

Ain't no shame in my game, y'all.

But I DID get a full body shot of the dress/shoes this time. Sweet!

Click "Read More" to read entire post.

The Good, the Bad and the Fugly

Often I find myself randomly musing over things currently going on in my life. Often I decide to blog about these things. Today is one of those days.

The GOOD

I've been on a diet lately...which I've affectionately referred to as Sweating for the Wedding. So far, I've lost about 5 pounds. Five down, a billion (seemingly) to go. No, but as much as I want to be fit and more in shape for the wedding it makes me nervous that I might lose so much weight that I won't be able to fit in my wedding dress. I think I'm either being paranoid or trying to talk myself out of really being gung-ho about it. Perhaps this should go into the bad section? HA!

My first wedding shower is this weekend and it's a Pampered Chef shower. I'm so excited! I LOVE PC stuff!

My wedding dress is now in my possession. I wasn't sure if I'd mentioned that yet. I picked it up last weekend. Interestingly enough, when I was walking out of the bridal store WITH my dress through the parking lot, I ran into M's parents. Of all people to run into...HAHA! But it was in a garment bag, so no peeks were had.

I'm almost completely finished with Christmas shopping. I still have to get a few stocking stuffers, but that's it. The lone person I've still not finished shopping for is seriously the hardest person ever to find gifts for. (I'm looking at you, sister.) So, she'll probably get gift cards, which aren't as fun to give as gifts, but at least you know the other person is happy, right?

I'm loving all the Christmas movies on tv. I watched the Jim Carrey version of the Grinch last night and while I don't love it as much as the original (despite my deep love for Jim Carrey) I do love when they do flashbacks to the Grinch as a kid. Oh man. He's so CUTE and mean. Kind of like Hewitt. :)

Click "Read More" to read entire post.

Wedding Wednesday: Paring Down the Colors

I'm a huge fan of COLOR! So when I initially started coming up with wedding color schemes, I decided on lots of colors. Why not have a wedding full of fun and color, right? I did have a direction to go in and one request from the future husband to be.

M initially said he wanted to pay tribute to his hunting hobby by incorporating safety orange...a color often worn while hunting. (he initially said camo...and...well....yeah)

My thoughts were, okay, orange. I don't particularly love orange but I can make it work. So I decided a color palette that incorporated lots of the colors I love and M's safety orange (which was actually dulled down a bit). I decided on a palette that looked a little like this.

I loved all the bright colors and felt like it was very me. It incorporates the orange but doesn't allow it to stand out too much from the other colors. This was to be my color palette for the wedding, until I started looking at decor and had a chat with a good friend of mine who does a lot of entertaining/party planning/decorating.

Click "Read More" to read entire post.

Reviving a Cardigan: Yes or No?

Two of my favorite cardigans of all time have both developed a number of ailments that may or may not be curable.

The first one, seen in the image below, has holes on the elbows. I can sew the holes up but I would imagine it might make the fabric pucker weirdly. I don't really know another option for it besides that. Other than the holes, the cardi is pretty good shape...and I'm not really ready to throw it out yet.
[gasp! a cardigan funeral!?!?!]



Click "Read More" to read entire post.

Weekend Recap: Holiday Party

The first of 2 holiday parties was this weekend. My company Christmas party. And, oh, how eventful it was, people. Let's just say some people are going to be pretty embarrassed to walk into work on Monday. 

Not me! But, some coworkers of mine. Geez...

Anywho, you must forgive my scary and slightly demonic eyes. The flash made my eyes red and I tried to correct it in a photo editor. I think it just ended up making me look like I have crazy eyes. For real.

Also, if you follow me on Instragram, you'll see this dress again next weekend at M's company Christmas party. I'm getting my money's worth out of this dress. 

Oh and the dress. It came from...Dress Barn! Of all places! They've really stepped up their game in terms of stylish pieces and I was surprised at the number of really cute holiday dresses they had. While they tend to be a bit pricey (this dress was $70)...I figure that wearing it to multiple Christmas parties sort of helps to soften the financial blow. Right? 

I'm hoping I'll get a full-length shot next weekend to show y'all. HAHA. Fingers crossed!

I don't really have any pics of the party itself. Honestly, a lot of my time was consumed watching the aforementioned drunk coworkers make fools of themselves. So, I'm also hoping to take better pics this weekend. Fingers crossed! ;)

Hope your weekend was fun, but not quite as crazy as my coworker's was. HAHA!

Red Lipstick: The Right Shade for Your Skintone

'Tis the season for holiday parties.

As a matter of fact, my work party is tonight. One of my favorite ways to look "holidayish" is to wear red lipstick. It gives it that extra pretty punch of fancy. :)

I've tried many, MANY different shades of red lipstick in my 28 years and it took a surprisingly long time to realize that if you wear the right shade of red it can make you look like a million bucks. Conversely, the wrong shade of red can make you look washed out or make your teeth look yellow.

Most red lipsticks are either "cool", "warm" or "neutral"...though, in my opinion, there are very few true neutrals. Cool reds flatter those with cool skintones. These have blue or purple undertones to them. Warm red flatter those with warmer skintones. These shades have more gold undertones. Neutrals have an equal mix of both cool and warm undertones.

So, which shade works best for your skintone? Well, first you need to determine what skintone you fall under, if you don't already know. The easiest way to tell is to look at the inside of your wrist. If your veins look blue or purple and the skin has a pink tinge, you're a cool. If your veins look green or olive colored and your skin has yellow, gold or peach tinge, you're a warm. This article does a great job of explaining AND has photos. :)

Warm reds might have coral or orange-y hints to them. Cool reds can often look deeper or more like a blood or brick red. This might sound completely confusing, but I promise, there is a shade of red for you! It's just a matter of knowing what flatters your skintone.

I hope this helps or gives you something to ruminate on next time you go looking for red lipstick. Have a fabulous weekend!

Wedding Wednesday: The Hair

Well, friends. Here we are. Another Wednesday and another edition of Wedding Wednesday.

First off, I've got some great news...are you ready?

I found the dress! Yes ma'ams and sirs, it has been found and purchased. And get this, it just came in on Monday. They said it might take 3-4 months but they had one somewhere?? IDK...I just know that it's HERE and it will be in my possession very soon. So exciting and a HUGE relief that it's done.

Only, I'm not going to show y'all my dress here on the blog. M reads my blog and he wants to be surprised. Eh, who am I kidding? I want to surprise him too.

So, pictures of the dress I will not show, sadly.

However, I can talk about another of the most important parts of a bride's ensemble...THE HAIR!

I'll be wearing a headpiece/comb thing (not like it sounds, y'all) with a detachable veil for the reception so I've got to have some killer hair. Below are some pins of wedding hair that I like and in true Southern fashion...most of them are big hair and a few of them are the beloved Carrie's hairstyles. What can I say? Girl's got a great head of hair!

via

via

via

via

via

So, we're going to have to take into account a few things: 

1) The good Lord did not bless me with luxuriously thick hair so I'll need some artificial hair help on the big day. It's a good thing my sister is not only a hairdresser, but has first-hand experience with human hair extensions. Dang...did I just call her out? Sorry, sister. This will probably end up being either some clip in extensions or some of the bead extensions the sister uses. They won't damage my hair but will give it a little extra thickness and length on the big day.

2) I like hair to be soft and a little messy, but not unkempt. I don't want to look back at photos and wonder why no one told me to run a brush through my hair. It needs to look intentionally messy instead of accidentally messy. Does that even make sense?

3) With that, I don't love severe, complex or very elaborate hairstyles. Beautiful on many people but just not me. I also am not really a huge fan of pin curls. Again, just not for me...

4) I'm leaning towards a side bun/side pony/side updo (obviously) for a number of reasons. The main one being that I look like a boy when my hair is completely up and I don't want to wear it down because I'll have to mess with it. A messy side pony or bun is a nice compromise, in my opinion. 

What are you thoughts on wedding hair? Do you think people (cough...me...cough) care way too much about it or is a legitimate item of concern and contemplation for a bride? 

Holiday Happenings

Hello friends!

I'm writing to you from my warm, comfortable bed. I took the day off work to get errands done and I don't regret it one bit.

I hope all of you had wonderful holiday weekends. I sure did! Below are some snapshots from the weekend:

The turkey hat made an appearance on Thanksgiving. However, I'm not sure that M approved of my wearing it. :)

Sisters on Thanksgiving. 

The best news photobomb ever! The commentator was at a local outlet mall for early Black Friday coverage and this guy just walked up, turned around and stood there behind him for a long time. He didn't move at all. It was awesome and hilarious! 

My niece, Lucy. She's such a love bug!

The tree is now up! Having the pretty lights makes an evening by the fire even better!

The sister and I showed off our Gamecock pride by busting out scarves for gameday. And what a game it was, no? GO GAMECOCKS! Palmetto Bowl winners FIVE TIMES IN A ROW!

How was your holiday weekend?

Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving, friends.

Today's post (and subsequently the last one for the week) is all about the things I'm thankful for. So, in random order...

1. My family
2. My fiance, M
3. My friends
4. Hewitt
5. My job
6. My church and church small group
7. My talents and skills
8. My car, Patty Riot
9. Good health
10. That I live in America
11. Jesus's saving grace and forgiveness
12. The good health of family and friends
13. Laughter
14. My cardigan collection (see, this isn't ALL serious)
15. Chapstick and tissues with lotion (especially this week)
16. A working cell phone
17. My ability to make others laugh
18. Times of joy
19. Times of sadness that make you treasure times of joy
20. Favor

What are you thankful for this week?

Top 5 Tuesday: Thanksgiving Table Ideas

Though I will not be hosting Thanksgiving this year, I do enjoy a chance to help with decorating the table or the "tablescape" as one of my fave tv chefs Sandra Lee says. Below are five of my favorite Thanksgiving table ideas.

Non-Traditional Colors

via

Incoporating a non-traditional Thanksgiving color (or two) like the rich royal purple in the photo above is a great way to add a modern/fresh hint to your table AND incorporate your own serveware/dishes that may not be traditional Thanksgiving colors.

Gilded

via

 

The addition of gilded or metallic items like pumpkins, pinecones or votive candleholders really class up a Thanksgiving table, in my opinion.

 

Natural, Unexpected Elements

 

via

 

I love the idea of this tree/branch with the candle holes drilled in. It does seem large on the table, but it's really quirky and interesting.

 

Painted Pumpkins

 

via

 

I do realize that pumpkins occur in white, right? Either way, I like the idea of unifying an element (in this case multicolored pumpkins) with a color. The white is repeated in the candles and plates as well.

 

Unique Color Schemes

 

via

 

Perhaps you'd like to go with a color scheme that is completely unique and non-Thanksgivingy. I love this white, yellow, tan and orange theme in the picture above.

 

Engagement Photo Shoot Sneak Peek

M and I had our engagement photo shoot this past weekend. I'm incredibly lucky to have a cousin who is not only awesome and funny but is an amazing photographer. She came up from Columbia, SC on Friday afternoon with her husband and we headed to my aunt and uncle's property for the shoot. 

Below are some of my favorite shots! :)

 

My cousin Mary is awesome! If you're in the Columbia Metro area, you should definitely look her up! 

Help Me Pick My Engagement Photo Shoot Outfit

Will you help me?

I don't know which to wear for my engagement photo shoot tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be nice...around 65 degrees and sunny, so any of them will work.

Thoughts?



I'm leaning towards one or two...and I might be able to do two outfits. I just love the idea of red. I've been told I look good in red so that's why I threw that option in there.

I'd love to hear your opinions!

Wedding Wednesday: On budgeting and calling in favors

As promised, I'm limiting myself to only posting about my upcoming wedding on Wednesdays. :) However hard it may be... :)

Today I want to write about something that is kind of hard for me to actually write about. Go figure!

I want to talk about the budgeting part of my wedding and about calling in favors.

Important back story: I hate, HATE asking people for favors. I want to be completely self-sufficient and hate asking people do things for me so much! Another important note is that I know a LOT of people in various areas that would benefit me and my wedding. I even hate writing that. Sigh.

So when it came time to start finalizing plans for my wedding, I decided it was now or never in terms of calling in favors. This is only time in my life that people will want to do things for me with very-little or no strings attached. So, emails and FB messages went out to my friends who own bakeries, are photographers, work for online invitation companies and work in the hotel/hospitality industry. I made my request/contact with them as "April" as possible and included humor and of course, the option for them to say "no". Y'all I FREAKED OUT about asking people for stuff...it's just hard for me to do. I thought they would think differently of me and peg me for some sort of moocher. (I'm not trying to insult anyone by saying this...it's just part of my nature.)

And wouldn't you know that everyone was willing to help out or at least try for me!?!? I really freaked out over nothing. I'd say that with the right attitude and right approach, people are willing to do something for you.

Which brings me to the other part of my post today: the budgeting part. I'll be completely transparent and say that I'm trying to do this wedding as cheaply as possible. Well, within reason. I want to include all the things that I love but still stick to a fairly strict budget.

With that, I'm about to blow y'alls minds. I'm going to do whatever I can to make this wedding happen for less than $2,500.00. That includes ceremony (to include paying personnel, photographer, av person, building fees, etc.), dress, flowers and reception (which is more like a gathering than a real reception).

I know this seems crazy, but I really think I can do it. I've done some preliminary budgeting and I think it could work. The honeymoon is NOT included in that estimate. Part of the reason I think I'll be able to achieve this is because I am calling in some favors. But know that doesn't mean I'm getting things for free...I'm just getting discounts.

Do I think I can do it for $2k? I think so. I may go a bit over, but I think I can do it.

Now, y'alls thoughts. Am I crazy?

Below is a pin I saw on Pinterest that gave me some ideas for my reception theme. I'm not going to do all of the patterns but I love the brightness and the colors.

source

This is How We Do It

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I mean, it IS a holiday centered around food and family...and fall...so it's already on my short list of favorites anyway.

But Thanksgiving in the South is probably even more unique than traditional Thanksgivings elsewhere in the country. And in typical form, we do things a little differently in my Southern household than most.

1. Thanksgiving ain't just about the turkey, y'all.
Often, depending on which side of the family I'm with, Thanksgiving might not include turkey at all. Or, we have turkey and a ham. Didn't y'all know that ham is one of the 7 Southern food groups?

2. We don't dress up.
Now, this might just be more my family than the South-in general, but my family doesn't dress up for Thanksgiving. Okay, so we don't wear pajamas, but we definitely don't put on dresses and suits like you see in movie portrayals of Thanksgiving. How am I supposed to have room to gorge myself on delicious foods if I'm wearing control-top pantyhose? Leggings and boots or stretchy pants are much more accomodating. Or pajama jeans. Just saying...

3. Cranberry Sauce is sliced.
And if it don't have the can marks on it (y'all know what I'm talking about) then it ain't REAL cranberry sauce. Amiright? Amiright?

4. At least one thing is fried...and it's sometimes the turkey itself.
This doesn't count now because the rest of the country has caught on to the deliciousness of a fried turkey.

5. We have dressing, not stuffing.
And it is served in a casserole dish alongside the turkey and not IN the turkey. That's some weird mess y'all. A turkey filled with stuffing...BAH!

6. We don't experiment.
Thanksgiving is not the time to experiment with new recipes. The results could be mutinous.

7. We usually eat Thanksgiving lunch, linner and dinner.
We just eat all day. The food never really leaves the kitchen counters or tables.

8. Macaroni and cheese is considered a vegetable.
Duh. And so are sweet potatoes (with the brown sugar, cinnamon and marshmallows on top)!

9. Football is guaranteed.
Even if your teams aren't playing, a football game is on TV. And in my house, the Macy's Thankgiving Day parade is always on before.

10. Beige food reigns supreme.
Thanksgiving is the beginning of the beige food season. This is when foods that happen to be about the same color all find their way onto your plate. Squash casserole, mac and cheese, green bean casserole, corn casserole, dressing, mashed potatoes, potato salad, bread, turkey, etc. It's all beige.

And it's all delicious.

 

via
 

What sort of traditions do you and your family have for Thanksgiving? Are our Southern ways weird to you? HA!

 

Linking up here and here!

In the Shadow of the Sinus

I've pretty much been out of commission for the last week with a cold...that developed into a sinus infection and a double ear infection. Lucky me.

I worked probably a total of 25 hours last week and spent the other 20 or so in bed. For me to spend that much time in bed and NOT working is very unusual. I started feeling ill last Friday night, so, 10 days later I am finally on the mend. Hallelujah!

During the last 10 days affectionately called my time In the Shadow of the Sinus, I went through 1 bottle of antibiotics, 4 boxes of tissues, 1 box of Mucinex D, 1 bag of Vitamin D drops and various nasal sprays and antihistamines along with Seasons 1-5 and 7 of The Office.

I do not have a lot of blog content today, just a quick check in. Tomorrow, I promise an actual post.

But since I want to end this post on a picture, how about this one?



We booked our honeymoon this weekend. HELLO JAMAICA!!!!

How to: Wear Tights

Well, unless you live in Australia...or maybe southern California, it's probably tights season where you live.

Allow me to do a brief public service announcement on wearing tights. I think tights are a great way to give more flexibility to your spring/summer wardrobe by allowing them to be worn more. They help bring that clothing more into the fall/winter seasons. However...

PEOPLE - stop wearing suntan colored panythose. Unless you specifically have to wear that color (had to when I did competition dancing) there is no reason you should be buying them. Seriously, just say NO.

Not only are these colored hose very dated, but they are completely un-natural looking. I'm not a huge proponent of flesh colored pantyhose anyway, unless you can match them to your skin tone and it doesn't look like you are wearing any. If I were to match my skin tone I usually buy the "almond" or "ivory" colored tights and they work. :)

A much better solution for wearing skirts/dresses in the fall and winter are tights, and specifically dark or opaque tights. In my office, I wear black opaque (not sheer or see-through) tights, patterened tights or black pantyhose with dresses and skirts. I think black is definitely the go-to color for tights now but I also think navy and dark gray will work too for a more professional environment.

If you have a casual work atmosphere, you can be adventurous with mustard yellow, hunter green, cobalt blue or even something with multiple colors. Target has a great selection of tights and I also love We Love Colors.

how to wear tights by aprilanne147 featuring a black pantyhose

So, to recap: Suntan or blatantly non-flesh colored pantyhose are a no. Stick with black, navy or a sheer/patterened version of either for work wear. Stop making your legs look orange, people!

Also - the words "tights" and "pantyhose" are often interchangeable but I differentiate the two by using tights for those that are more opaque or thicker. You can't really see your leg through them. Hose allow the leg to be seen through them. Does that help?

Do you wear tights? How do you change up your summer looks with them?