I’m not sure how popular this is or not, but I think the “country chic” look that seems to be so popular with middle aged white women around these parts is fugly. Apparently a friend of the friend started a boutique selling this stuff, and I was added to the group. I left because I felt like my eyes were being assaulted.
Example:
I have so many questions. Why is the baseball a leopard print? Why pair that with a floral? Who would actually look at this and want to wear it and buy it?
@lalala2004 - are those earrings on top of the shirt? I like the earrings, not so much the rest of it. I've never really gotten into the whole country chic / shabby chic / whatever chic stuff though. Apparently I'm not very chic lol!
Which brings me to my UO! Why do I need to know how to use mason jars for everyfuckingthing? Like I don't need to know how to make salt and pepper shakers out of mason jar, or how to turn a mason jar into a speaker. This contraption costs $50. Just go buy a decent bluetooth speaker and call it a day. It'll probably sound better too.
@mrsbubbles-2 Agreed about the mason jars, and really just those kind of DIY projects in general. If a DIY project costs more than it would to just buy it at the store, than I just wasted both time and money.
I am soooooo sick of being invited to online or in person "buy my stuff" parties. Color street, lu la roe, Usborne. Look, I like the stuff, and I might buy some things in my own time, but let me seek you out. I'm not interested in schlepping myself to a different town to attend a party where I don't want to buy overpriced goods. And don't even try to get me to host something.
@lalala2004; oh my god YES people in my area keep adding me to these god awful Facebook groups like 'southern baby charm' and all the outfits are burlap and lace; OR worse the onesies that say anything about having chunky thighs or 'my daddy says I can't date til I'm 35'. YUCK no thanks.
That baseball shirt confuses me on so many levels. First of all, it has to say baseball because it's not even apparent that's what's actually above that word. Second of all, the baseball is leopard print and floral? WTAF. I'm not necessarily against some of that chic boutique crap but some of it is ridiculous. My friend just bought monogrammed duck boots and a monogrammed pyrex baking dish. WHY?
I guess that's my UO, I do not understand the monogram trend. It's like when I went to summer camp and had to write my name on everything I owned. I just used sharpie, though.
I think the treads on this particular UO's tires are a little worn, but I really don't like being asked to attend MLM parties in the way I am commonly asked. This week I was asked to attend a Norwex and an Usborne party in the span of two days. Both promised me GIRL TIME!! and WINE!! and it just bugs me so much. If you want girl time (and truly value me as someone you want to do girl time with) then invite me for a legit girl-time outing. This is just so fake. The invites are all about getting together "with the girls" and "drinking wine" and basically avoid the fact that these parties are designed in hopes that the invitees will buy things from the host.
I completely understand people starting their own business, but in a perfect world, I would like a bit more transparency and less phony in the invites. Just be straight up with what's happening. This is how I would like to be asked:
Hey there! I wanted to let you know I am starting a new business with Luluroe/usborne/scentsy/Norwex, etc. etc. I am hosting a product party next week and I am just getting started, so I'm emailing people I trust to see if you would like to come check out what I'm up to. I'll be talking about the shirts/books/candles/cleaning pads, but I'll definitely have some wine and yummy munchies on-hand so it won't be all business. Would you be interested in helping me out?
I had some women who sell stuff for some of those companies call themselves small business owners. Ummm no you are not. You technically work for a multimillion dollar company in most cases. You sell Luluroe not your own leggings you designed nor do you own a store and sell things made by others out of that store. It just bothers me for some reason. I'm not knocking anyone who sells any of that stuff but, come on you are not a small business owner. Technically your are not even a business owner at all.
@vinerie YES, that would be so much better. I do tend to wonder, though, if there are "rules" about how they have to invite people. I've been told there are tons of rules about all these things. I don't know though. I've lost friends over their abuse of MLM BS. Lol.
I had some women who sell stuff for some of those companies call themselves small business owners. Ummm no you are not. You technically work for a multimillion dollar company in most cases. You sell Luluroe not your own leggings you designed nor do you own a store and sell things made by others out of that store. It just bothers me for some reason. I'm not knocking anyone who sells any of that stuff but, come on you are not a small business owner. Technically your are not even a business owner at all.
Yeah this bothers me too. I sold Lipsense for a minute and I never once even hosted a party because I hate subjecting my friends to stuff like that and I NEVER claimed to be a business owner of any kind. Hell, it wasn't even a "business" it was me buying a large company's products for a lower price then selling them to people at a higher price to make a profit. /rant
@calimom2524 Yeah I can't get behind that monogramming business either. I mean, I can KIND of see the pyrex thing if you go to a bunch of pot lucks and are worried about people taking your dishes - but hell. Just take a sharpie and write your name on the lid.
The only exception I could see is if your initials were super awesome and spelled something like 'WTF' or 'GTFO' or something. Then I would probably monogram everything because I have the sense of humor of a 12 year old.
I can get behind some tasteful monogramming. Like my sons first pair of Christmas PJs are monogrammed...but I’m regretting that now because this baby can’t wear them.
1. I've never heard of this country chic look or seen anything like that.....so glad it isn't a thing here 2. I don't mind if people mention once that they are selling something so that if people are interested they can reach out to them. But I have a FB friend I've known since I was a child that is selling R&F now and she always uses my son to start a conversation which will then turn into, "want to buy some R&F" and I want to punch her in the face... Don't use my child. 3. Monogramming can be cute if it's just like one hat for the kid with their name on it. On everything is too much.
I had some women who sell stuff for some of those companies call themselves small business owners. Ummm no you are not. You technically work for a multimillion dollar company in most cases. You sell Luluroe not your own leggings you designed nor do you own a store and sell things made by others out of that store. It just bothers me for some reason. I'm not knocking anyone who sells any of that stuff but, come on you are not a small business owner. Technically your are not even a business owner at all.
SO MUCH THIS. Omg my biggest pet peeve. No, you are not a small business owner. You are also not a ‘local business’ and you are DEFINITELY NOT an entrepreneur, all of which Ive heard. My dad is a small business owner, and an entrepreneur who started a real business in 1992, which is legally a small business.
The risks and cost and time involved cannot be compared and it borderline offends me, as someone who lived the real thing.
I hate that the sales businesses have tarnished some of the friendships I had. Like pp said, I have a friend who two that I've known for years and years and they'll email me every couple of months asking something pertinent to my life and I engage back because I genuinely cared about them, then the "Well, momma, you're working so hard and doing such a good job. You should treat yourself to this face mask that will peel away and blah blah blah". No! I finally responded to one of the girls with something along the lines of "I'm disappointed our friendship is only viewed as an avenie for you to make money off of me. I've always turned down your pitches, if you pitch me again I'll complain to XXX".
Also, I have a friend from highschool who recently shared on Facebook that she's trying to ship back all of her LLR merchandise, can someone help her find the cheapest way. She had like, 10k of merchandise and was going to end up losing thousands of dollars returning the merchandise plus the costs of shipping. I'm like "Holy sh*+!" Why do you have 10k of LLR????????
Also, I have a friend from highschool who recently shared on Facebook that she's trying to ship back all of her LLR merchandise, can someone help her find the cheapest way. She had like, 10k of merchandise and was going to end up losing thousands of dollars returning the merchandise plus the costs of shipping. I'm like "Holy sh*+!" Why do you have 10k of LLR????????
Because they make you spend a shit ton of money just to place one order. I have lots of friends that used to sell it and it's really sad the way they went into debt to try and be successful. In order just to place an order you had to order $xxx amount of this or a certain amount of pieces. Most of which are hideous patterns that nobody wants but just in the hopes they would get one or two that would be popular. It was such a shitty business model, I feel so bad for people that are stuck with all that inventory they can't unload.
Also, I have a friend from highschool who recently shared on Facebook that she's trying to ship back all of her LLR merchandise, can someone help her find the cheapest way. She had like, 10k of merchandise and was going to end up losing thousands of dollars returning the merchandise plus the costs of shipping. I'm like "Holy sh*+!" Why do you have 10k of LLR????????
Because they make you spend a shit ton of money just to place one order. I have lots of friends that used to sell it and it's really sad the way they went into debt to try and be successful. In order just to place an order you had to order $xxx amount of this or a certain amount of pieces. Most of which are hideous patterns that nobody wants but just in the hopes they would get one or two that would be popular. It was such a shitty business model, I feel so bad for people that are stuck with all that inventory they can't unload.
Um.......AND (maybe this is my UO), for the most part ladies, it's not flattering!!! Those patterned leggings and baggy shirts are not helping your figure out.
I'll make an exception for a few of the dress styles that actually do sometimes on some people give them a nice shape.
Also, I have a friend from highschool who recently shared on Facebook that she's trying to ship back all of her LLR merchandise, can someone help her find the cheapest way. She had like, 10k of merchandise and was going to end up losing thousands of dollars returning the merchandise plus the costs of shipping. I'm like "Holy sh*+!" Why do you have 10k of LLR????????
Because they make you spend a shit ton of money just to place one order. I have lots of friends that used to sell it and it's really sad the way they went into debt to try and be successful. In order just to place an order you had to order $xxx amount of this or a certain amount of pieces. Most of which are hideous patterns that nobody wants but just in the hopes they would get one or two that would be popular. It was such a shitty business model, I feel so bad for people that are stuck with all that inventory they can't unload.
I have to admit...I had NO IDEA what these things were until I joined some moms groups and I started to get bombarded with requests. Awhile ago I developed an interest in understanding them and read everything I could get my hands on about them. My conclusion: These companies exploit women -- especially SAHMs -- by selling them financial hope, liberation and an identity ("You can bring in money to your household while STILL prioritizing being a mom!) but saddling them with debt and putting them in a situation where they ultimately alienate people in their social network.
My new rule is I will only accept an invite if we have socialized before and you have invited me to your house for something fun. I haven't said "yes" to one of these parties since instituting that rule. But I definitely don't hold ill will toward the people that send me the invites. It just makes me hate these companies because they situate themselves as women-centered, and I think they undermine women in the long run.
I would definitely like to hear alternative perspectives from sellers, though. Like I said--no ill will toward people that sell this stuff. I just am a bit skeptical of the companies' motives and business models.
@vinerie I have signed up with Jamberry and Senegence (LipSense) both in the past and no longer sell either anymore. I signed up for the discount for both and only partially sold it on the side. LipSense I was actually really successful, I got in right when it started to get popular so I ended up with over 40 women on my team. It was great for a while but then they couldn't keep up with the demands, the quality of the product went down, and it was hard to even get your hands on the product. You basically only made money if you had people under you, there wasn't much profit from just selling the product. Once you couldn't really buy product you had frustrated people underneath you that wanted answers and you weren't able to provide answers and it made a lot of previous friendships very awkward. I don't know how it is now as when I left my abusive husband last year I also left my LipSense inventory in Texas and had other priorities in life so I kind of just walked away from that.
I don't think all MLMs are bad, I know several people who have been and remain successful, but I do believe their model is unfair in some of them.
I especially dislike the FB MLM harrassment and would appreciate it more if the person actually invited people to their house for a ‘party’ over getting the endless FB online parties. I get that it’s an easier, faster way to gauge interest with limited effort, but so often I get invited for products I never use in normal life, that it’s obvious the person just invites all their FB friends indiscriminately.
I also dislike MLMs. I am a terrible sales person anyway, so it would never work for me personally (I sold for a company once and spent most of my time talking people out of purchasing my product bc it was high end and I knew they had no money and I was just planning to get paid for the pitch, not actually selling anything...I didn't last long there, haha). Anyway, I cringe everytime I'm invited to one and I absolutely hate being asked to host one - I basically just turn down all invites now. If I want something from a company, I know who sells and just approach them on my own terms.
I live in the heart of monogram country, but most of my friends and family keep it to a minimum so I wasn't even aware it was a thing until well into adulthood. I've never monogrammed anything though, partially because I don't really like it for myself and partially because my traditional monogram would read "APE", ha!
Along the same lines as the monogramming the crap out of everything, one of my UOs is hating on the Cricut machine, specifically the "hey we're going to Disney World, so I'm going to use my Cricut to make matching shirts for every member of my family with our names on them!" So. Many. Matchy. Matchy. Families.
Also, as a former English major, the word "Cricut" bothers me to no end. <fin>
My UO is that the latest Khloe Kardashian scandal is giving me the feels. I do not watch their show but do read articles about the family since there are so many of them (family members). News feeds are flooded that Khloe's man cheated on her in a public and humiliating way and she just "reportedly" went into labor and had his baby right after this story broke.
I know this is probably all part of a money making publicity thing so that's why I consider it a UO but I can't help but think how awful of a situation that would be to be in.
I don't follow anything in the tabloids but my local mom group is up in arms about this Khloe thing. A lot of the women are saying she shouldn't be surprised because apparently their relationship started with him cheating on his ex with Khloe or something. I don't know, I can't keep up (see what I did there?) nor do I want to but I don't think cheating should be excused no matter what the circumstances. If there is any truth to any of it, it's still sad for her no matter who she is or what she has done.
@sarcasticowl I didn't know that was a thing until our trip to Disney World a couple of weeks ago, but you're right! Matching family shirts is totally a "thing." I had no idea.
Me:32 DH:45 DSD: 20 DSS: 18 Team green baby due: Aug 6th, 2018
@brzvice Ugh I'm with you, what a horrible dark shadow over the birth of your first child, I feel for her. I guess it *could* be all for publicity but who would want THAT publicity? It's not like she is desperate for publicity or money at this point, and she had the baby in Cleveland and not LA so I kind of doubt it.
*TTC History*
Me: 37, MH: 38; Married August 2017
TTC #1 October 2017: BFP on 12/1/2017, DD born 7/24/2018 @ 37+1 after induction due to preeclampsia
TTC #2 January 2020: AMA, dx with DOR in May 2020
IVF July 2020: 16 eggs retrieved, 14 mature, 12 fertilized, 3 blasts, 2 PGT-A normal
FET 10/7/20: BFP on 10/12/20!!! (EDD 6/25/21); First beta 10/16/20 (9dpt): 148; Second beta 10/19/20 (12dpt): 621; Third beta 10/26/20 (19dpt): 4732; Fourth (and final!) beta 11/2/20 (26 dpt): 22,000+
I can never remember which is Khloe and which is Kourtney. I can never tell the younger two apart, either. Clearly I have not been "keeping up" with them.
Me:32 DH:45 DSD: 20 DSS: 18 Team green baby due: Aug 6th, 2018
Re: UO Thursday
Example:
Which brings me to my UO! Why do I need to know how to use mason jars for everyfuckingthing? Like I don't need to know how to make salt and pepper shakers out of mason jar, or how to turn a mason jar into a speaker.
This contraption costs $50. Just go buy a decent bluetooth speaker and call it a day. It'll probably sound better too.
Me: 37 Him: 38
Married 11.07.2015
Agreed about the mason jars, and really just those kind of DIY projects in general. If a DIY project costs more than it would to just buy it at the store, than I just wasted both time and money.
August '18 March Siggy Challenge - You had ONE JOB
I guess that's my UO, I do not understand the monogram trend. It's like when I went to summer camp and had to write my name on everything I owned. I just used sharpie, though.
August 18 Siggy Challenge: April Showers
I completely understand people starting their own business, but in a perfect world, I would like a bit more transparency and less phony in the invites. Just be straight up with what's happening. This is how I would like to be asked:
Hey there! I wanted to let you know I am starting a new business with Luluroe/usborne/scentsy/Norwex, etc. etc. I am hosting a product party next week and I am just getting started, so I'm emailing people I trust to see if you would like to come check out what I'm up to. I'll be talking about the shirts/books/candles/cleaning pads, but I'll definitely have some wine and yummy munchies on-hand so it won't be all business. Would you be interested in helping me out?
Thanks!
DS: Born 5-17-16
August 18 Siggy Challenge: April Showers
Girl I said the same a few weeks ago. Monogramming trend needs to die. I cannot see CFS wearing this
Just...no. SO MUCH NO.
August 18 Siggy Challenge: April Showers
The only exception I could see is if your initials were super awesome and spelled something like 'WTF' or 'GTFO' or something. Then I would probably monogram everything because I have the sense of humor of a 12 year old.
August 18 Siggy Challenge: April Showers
@lalala2004 I hate that trend too!
2. I don't mind if people mention once that they are selling something so that if people are interested they can reach out to them. But I have a FB friend I've known since I was a child that is selling R&F now and she always uses my son to start a conversation which will then turn into, "want to buy some R&F" and I want to punch her in the face... Don't use my child.
3. Monogramming can be cute if it's just like one hat for the kid with their name on it. On everything is too much.
DH:45
DSD: 20
DSS: 18
Team green baby due: Aug 6th, 2018
The risks and cost and time involved cannot be compared and it borderline offends me, as someone who lived the real thing.
11/18/16 missed m/c 9w1
08/03/17 no hb 8w
August 18 Siggy Challenge: April Showers
I'll make an exception for a few of the dress styles that actually do sometimes on some people give them a nice shape.
My new rule is I will only accept an invite if we have socialized before and you have invited me to your house for something fun. I haven't said "yes" to one of these parties since instituting that rule. But I definitely don't hold ill will toward the people that send me the invites. It just makes me hate these companies because they situate themselves as women-centered, and I think they undermine women in the long run.
I would definitely like to hear alternative perspectives from sellers, though. Like I said--no ill will toward people that sell this stuff. I just am a bit skeptical of the companies' motives and business models.
DS: Born 5-17-16
I don't think all MLMs are bad, I know several people who have been and remain successful, but I do believe their model is unfair in some of them.
August 18 Siggy Challenge: April Showers
I live in the heart of monogram country, but most of my friends and family keep it to a minimum so I wasn't even aware it was a thing until well into adulthood. I've never monogrammed anything though, partially because I don't really like it for myself and partially because my traditional monogram would read "APE", ha!
Formerly known as Kate08young
August '18 Siggy April Showers:
Married: 7/22/14
Baby L: 8/4/2015 August 2015 Moms
Baby E: 11/18/2016 December 2016 Moms
TTC #3 08/2017 BFP 11/27/2017.
Twin B lost 11/22/2017, Twin A doing well.
Also, as a former English major, the word "Cricut" bothers me to no end. <fin>
I know this is probably all part of a money making publicity thing so that's why I consider it a UO but I can't help but think how awful of a situation that would be to be in.
August 18 Siggy Challenge: April Showers
I didn't know that was a thing until our trip to Disney World a couple of weeks ago, but you're right! Matching family shirts is totally a "thing." I had no idea.
DH:45
DSD: 20
DSS: 18
Team green baby due: Aug 6th, 2018
Me: 37, MH: 38; Married August 2017
TTC #1 October 2017: BFP on 12/1/2017, DD born 7/24/2018 @ 37+1 after induction due to preeclampsia
TTC #2 January 2020: AMA, dx with DOR in May 2020
IVF July 2020: 16 eggs retrieved, 14 mature, 12 fertilized, 3 blasts, 2 PGT-A normal
FET 10/7/20: BFP on 10/12/20!!! (EDD 6/25/21); First beta 10/16/20 (9dpt): 148; Second beta 10/19/20 (12dpt): 621; Third beta 10/26/20 (19dpt): 4732; Fourth (and final!) beta 11/2/20 (26 dpt): 22,000+
DH:45
DSD: 20
DSS: 18
Team green baby due: Aug 6th, 2018