Shelbee on the Edge Turns One and My Evolution of Style
August 24 marks the first blogiversary of Shelbee on the Edge! And I could not have made it this long without all of the wonderful support I have received from my friends and family as well as members of this fabulous blogging community!
A special thanks goes out to my sister as this whole blogging idea was her brainchild not mine. And it took much prompting on her part and some actual yelling at me to “Just do it!” So thank you, sis, your encouragement and continuous support means the world to me!
I must thank my husband and children who have been so patient and tolerant of the hours I spend glued to my laptop (well, not always so patient and tolerant, but we are making progress!). But even with a million and one interruptions on a daily basis, I still have managed to trudge on through, get dressed, take photos, write posts, and visit other amazing blogs.
My friend Amy deserves a very special thank you as well. She is always there to offer and discuss new ideas. She is my forever reliant photographer. And she is an amazing editor as well…right down to catching weird techie glitches that she sees on her end as a reader. So thank you so much. Your attention to detail is very much appreciated! And the endless hours we spend discussing blogging stuff have created wonderful memories for me that I will always cherish.
And through this process I have even managed to forge wonderful blogging friendships that I hold very dear and near to my heart. You are all such amazing and empowering women who offer so much creativity and inspiration to your readers. Without your support, I would never have kept with this so long! I have been so inspired by so many of you and I have been moved to tears of gratitude by others!
Here is where I give a huge heartfelt thank you to the amazing and talented Anne M. Bray of Spy Girl (and other blogs) who surprised me with a sketch of myself a few weeks ago (the featured image on this post). But here it is without the text…
Isn’t it magnificent?! Thank you so very much, Anne, for this very special surprise. I am so honored and flattered and I really have no words to express how moved I was by this gesture! I had planned to use the sketch for my 100th post but then decided to save it for my blogiversary. And I have been so excited to share it! (And just in case there are any snarky folks reading this post, Anne did give me permission to use this sketch in whatever way I choose.)
And I am so excited to say that this sketch is part of an art show that Anne will be displaying at the Over-40 Blogger Meetup in Los Angeles this December. You can read more about that here as well as view more of Anne’s masterpieces! I do recognize the images of some other amazing bloggers!
To celebrate this blogging milestone, I thought I would take you all for a little walk down memory lane and offer you some glimpses of the many styles of Shelbee/Michelle/Micki through the past 42 years. Brace yourself, for many of these photos include fashion and/or hair disasters. Laugh if you must as I did as I dug through old photos. I do not have many old photos so I came up with the best compilation that I could. So with no more stalling…welcome to Shelbee’s Evolution of Style.
1975
1976
I still have my grandmother’s shawl that she is wearing in the photo below. I have been planning to style it for a blog post one of these days. But I usually just throw it on over jammies when I catch a chill.
1978
This photo is clearly before hygiene was important to me.
1979
In Kindergarten, I was often mistaken for a boy…
That’s me in the too small argyle vest…the one who looks like a boy. The other is my dear friend Stacey.
However, when I wore my favorite dress ever, you knew I was a girl. Or maybe a boy who liked to dress like a girl. I’m not sure.
1981
I loved plaids very early on…and still do.
1982
And graphic tees…
(That’s my sis sitting in the wagon.)
And I still love distressed jeans…look at what a pioneer I was in trendsetting!
1983
1984
A Made With Love By Mom Original
1986
Why did no one help me?!
1987
My love/hate affair with very short hair has begun…
[This photo has appeared on my blog before in my post Old Friends are the Best Friends about my lifelong friendship with Beth (the other girl in the photo! I’m in pink. She is in blue.)]1992
This is the prom dress that my mom and I designed and she created for me…and I wore it to two proms. First to my friend Rachel’s prom at her school…
Then to my own prom.
1994
Sporty Shelbee (my hair is just growing back from completely shaving it). This is my favorite picture of me and my dad!
1995
My fascination with menswear inspired looks has begun…
(That’s my mom with her back to the camera.)
1996
I started going really preppy at this point.
And then there is a gigantic gap where there are simply no photos to be found of me over the next 12 years! I only started enjoying having photos taken and taking photos after I met my husband in 2008. So here are is a compilation of photos from the past 8 years.
2008
This is very early in 2008 (maybe even 2007) when I was still overloaded on a crazy concoction of psych meds. Can you see the bloat? How can you miss it?!
6 months med-free and 70 pounds shed. I would love to get back to that, but alas, children and middle age have entered my life!
That’s my BFF Jane on the left, the one with the gorgeous red locks! I am on the far right.
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
And there you have it. I hope you all enjoyed that little photo essay of the evolution of my style. And I hope you got some good, great belly laughs as well!
Who knows what my next year of blogging will bring. But I’m sure it will be a roller coaster of some sort! Thank you all so very much!
Celebrating on the edge,
Shelbee
Linking up with These Fabulous Link Ups Where I Link Up
50 Comments
Edye
I really enjoyed this mini “photo album” you shared! Happy 1st blog birthday, my friend <3
Blessings,
Edye | http://gracefulcoffee.wordpress.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you so much, Edye! I had some pretty good laughs at myself searching through old photos!
xoxo
Shelbee
Tina von Tinaspinkfriday
Happy first blogbirthday dear Shelbee. Very nice post and pictures. You are a wonderfull women.Looking forward of maaany amazing posts 🙂
xoxo Tina
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
That is so sweet, Tina! Thank you so much!
xoxo
Shelbee
Aimee
Love love, love love love. Said it that order!!!! Such an awesome trip down Memory Lane 🙂 Great post and great pics. 100 posts, booyah!!!!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks, Aimee! Love you, girl!
xoxo
Shelbee
Jaymie Ashcraft
Love the photos!!!!! Congrats girl!! 🙂
Jaymie
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Jaymie!
xoxo
Shelbee
Rachel
Great post! Cute photos!
http://chicglamstyle.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you so much, Rachel!
xoxo
Shelbee
Nancy
This was a lovely story to read a d to look at! And that illustration is fantastic! Wow! I love your breads! It is so much fun looking at older pictures isn t it!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Old photos really are so much fun! Thanks so much for reading, Nancy!
xoxo
Shelbee
Настя
Wonderful blog! I love and i follow your blog, please follow me too
http://alamodenatine.blogspot.com/
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you, Nastya! I just followed along on your page!
xoxo
Shelbee
Tiina L
Congratulations on your blogversary! And what a cute collection of photos!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you, Tiina! It was fun to write this post and compile the photos!
xoxo
Shelbee
Lorena
What a lovely sketch and happy one year !
I loved to see your evolution – you’ve carried a beautiful smile all along Shelby 🙂
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you so much, Lorena! That is such a lovely compliment!
xoxo
Shelbee
Brooke
Happy blog anniversary!! I loved seeing your style evolution.
Brooke
pumps and push-ups
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you, Brooke! I had fun putting it together!
xoxo
Shelbee
Anna Shirley
This sketch is beautiful. Really nice gift. Thank you to sharing your family pictures. It was so nice to “see” you grow up and change to great and beautiful woman.
Anna xoxo
http://www.glamadventure.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you so much, Anna Shirley! Those are such kind and sweet words!
xoxo
Shelbee
Laurie
Congratulations Shelbee xx
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you, Laurie!
xoxo
Shelbee
Jordan
Shelbee!
I totally love this style evolution post! People need to realize it’s never to late to become who you want to be. Whether it’s finally working towards that dream job or improving your style. I have to do my spin on this post. I really love this!
Best,
Jordan
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you so much, Jordan! I have something even bigger in the works right now. I am tired of sitting around waiting for my dreams to come true. So I am very proactive in going after them. Finally, at 42, I have learned to be a little more aggressive! Ha.
I look forward to reading your spin on this post!
xoxo
Shelbee
Getyourprettyon
Thanks for the walk down memory lane. I love that you still have your grandmother’s shawl.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you, Alison! Isn’t that old shawl fabulous? I really need to style it for a blog post.
xoxo
Shelbee
Elise
Happy Blogiversary!! I loved looking at these photos! You have always had fantastic personal style. LOVE IT!
xx, Elise
http://www.sparkleandslippers.blogspot.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you so much, Elise! I was always a little outside the box on the fashion front!
xoxo
Shelbee
LauriePOP2
This artwork tribute is beautiful! And I love how easily you express yourself through fashion and your hair style.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you so much, Laurie! When I was young, I was super bashful, so this was really my only way of self-expression. I guess I just carried with me all these years!
xoxo
Shelbee
Terri Gardner
Congratulations on turning 1! My blog has been around so long and with so many detours, round-a-bouts and forks in the road, I don’t even know when to celebrate anything with it. I love the illustration done by Spy Girl and I just found a new link up that I really like-so thank you for leading me there. Happy Anniversary!!!!!!!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you so much, Terri! I hope I have the same staying power as you to be around for so long that I can’t remember! You could take Debbie‘s idea of the new New Year as September 1 and celebrate your blog anniversary on that date! I am so glad that I led to a new link up! And thank you for your continued support!
xoxo
Shelbee
Andrea@WellnessNotes
Happy, happy Birthday to your blog! I love the sketch! And I love all the photos that you shared! What a nice look back!
Andrea’s Wellness Notes
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you, Andrea! I am so loving my sketch! I think I need to get a print of it and frame it!
xoxo
Shelbee
Audrey
What a fun post! I love your smile in all of them. I have a hate hate affair with short hair thanks to a pixie cut gone bad in third grade (yup, I had the “boy” comment and continue to see myself through that lens whenever I try short hair for awhile). Thanks for sharing on #FridayFrivolity
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you, Audrey! I remember someone thinking I was a male when I was in my 20’s and wearing a skirt! Yikes. I actually hadn’t had short hair for many years until this recent pixie cut because of that. But now in my 40’s, I figured I have much more confidence to rock the short hair! And I really loved it for the past year, but as fickle as I am with my hair, I’m so over the short hair…for now.
xoxo
Shelbee
Dawn Lucy
Wow, what a fun trip down memory lane! Makes me want to dig out more old pics! And congrats on one year! It’s been fun watching your blog and your style grow! Somehow I missed the blogger meet up in December so I signed up for the emails. After taking off for NYFW in September, I’m not sure about going away in December too, but … maybe!!
Anyway …Thanks for sharing with Fun Fashion Friday and have a fab weekend!
OXOX
Dawn Lucy
https://fashionshouldbefun.blogspot.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you so much, Dawn Lucy! I appreciate all of your support in reaching this milestone! And thanks for always inspiring me as well!
xoxo
Shelbee
Claire
Such a lovely post Shelbee, loved seeing your style photos 🙂
Thanks for sharing at the weekend blog hop
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you so much, Claire!
xoxo
Shelbee
Sammy H
What a great post Shelbee, you’ve kinda inspired me to do a thrifting version of this on the blog 😉 hmmmmm. PS: cute kids 🙂 X
Sammy | Bargainbaglady.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Sammy! Ooh, a thrifting post would be so fun! P.S. Don’t let the cuteness of my kids fool you…they are beasts! Ha!
xoxo
Shelbee
Mallory L Welch
Hi Shelbee! It was so much fun to see your life through pictures; what a great idea! I think it’s sweet that you still have your grandmother’s shawl, that must be such a comfort. Congrats on a year of blogging! I’ve been at it for about 4 months now. It’s a lot of fun, but definitely challenging. I’m currently typing this one-handed with a toddler in my lap — ha!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Mallory! I can’t even tell you how often I type one handed while wiping boogers with the other! haha! Blogging is a challenge but I so love it. I remember taking a long four month break from it after about four months of it, but now I really feel like I’m rolling with it and getting on a schedule. Thanks so much for reading and have a wonderful weekend!
xoxo
Shelbee
Rena
Congratulations on the milestone and your history in photos was fabulous. Are you planning to attend
Anne’s December event?
Rena
http://www.finewhateverblog.com
oops, almost forgot to thank you for sharing your post on my Fine-Whatever link up.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Rena! I would love to attend Anne’s event in December. However, I think it may not be a possibility for me financially and logistically. Bummer!
xoxo
Shelbee
Happiness at Mid Life
Happy Blogiversary! I love this post and you sharing more about yourself.
Thank you for being a part of TBT Fashion link up and hope to see you soon!
Alice
http://www.happinessatmidlife.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you so much, Alice! It was a fun post to write, for sure. Have a wonderful day!
xoxo
Shelbee