Hi I'm Cindy!!
Fashion has been my passion for as long as I can remember. From the time I started earning an income, I would spend most of it on my wardrobe. I loved to pour over magazines and catalogs and the latest fashions to figure out the trends and styles and what I wanted to wear. But instead of choosing a career in Fashion, I became a Registered Nurse. It just seemed like a more practical career for me. Helping people get better was very fulfilling and I happily continued until my son (sun!) Christopher, and 3 years later, my daughter Elle were born.
After becoming a mom I spent all of my energy taking care of my children and making sure they were dressed in their cutest. But what happened to me? I totally lost any style I had and barely got a shower and clean (boring) clothes on my body. Sometimes I even got a little bit of eye shadow and mascara on, but not most days. Have you been there too?
Later I became a single mom and started to think about how I looked again. I hired someone to do my colors and help me with my style. I started wearing sexy lingerie, not for anyone else, just for me. It helped me feel more confident and beautiful. I went shopping for a new wardrobe and had so much fun buying pieces that mixed and matched.
I married again and not only did I promise to “love and to cherish”, I also promised to become Tony’s secretary. Don’t tell him but I quickly realized that that was not the career that made me want to jump out of bed every morning and start my day. I needed something I could be passionate about. I loved my 40’s! Marrying Tony, moving back to the Chicago area where all of my family is, having our daughter Tessa when I turned 41, spending time with my 3 children, building our dream home, everything was wonderful!
But in 2010 cancer attacked my loved ones. My best friend lost her battle with breast cancer on September 11. Two months later my Mom lost her battle with lung and brain cancer on Black Friday, and 3 months later my Dad lost his battle with kidney cancer. Earlier that same year my husband had prostate cancer. Thankfully, his cancer was encapsulated and the Doctor was able to remove all of it!
That was also the year I was introduced to cabi clothing by my friend Ronnie. I agreed to host a trunk show with her for October, right before my birthday. She mailed me a catalog and I drooled over it for weeks! I picked 15 items that I just HAD to have. I realized that I might not be able to afford to purchase 15 items even if I was able to earn half off on most of them. So I decided to make outfits with those 15 items and see which ones would be used the most times. I got out some paper and made a grid and started making outfits… this top with that jacket and those pants, etc. I had a full page of outfits I created. Then I decided to find out how many more outfits I could create if I took those 15 items and paired them with the items I already had in my closet. Well, by the time Ronnie came to my house, I had 3 pages of outfits front and back. You can imagine what she said when she saw my pages; she said, “You should be a stylist too!” Obviously, it wasn’t he right time for me because Lisa had just passed and my Mom was in the hospital. But cabi was the pretty in the middle of all the ugly, and I really needed that “pretty!!”
The following year Ronnie came back again and talked me into joining the company. I finally had my career in fashion and was doing something that I was really passionate about! I was with cabi for over 6 years and loved every minute of it! We had weekend long trainings twice a year teaching us things about style and growing our businesses. I learned a lot! I really enjoyed creating capsules and mixing prints and helping my clients create their unique style!
I also started helping my hostesses to mix and match the new cabi pieces with the pieces they already had in their closet and helping them to release some things that didn’t work for them. And that is where my Wardrobe Makeover business was born. After 6 plus years with cabi, I decided to start my new business called Closets Life and Style. (And even though I no longer sell cabi, I still love their clothes and buy their clothes.)
Maybe you’re wondering why I picked that name for my company? Well, CLS are my initials and I help women get rid of the things in their closet that aren’t a “10”. I wanted it to be more than just closets for my blog because I am also passionate about nutrition and exercise. Because of my background in nursing and my family history of cancer, heart disease and diabetes, I choose to eat a diet heavy on plants. I am always looking for healthy recipes that are easy and taste good. And I love chocolate and red wine! But they’re healthy, right? Yes they are! I have been teaching exercise classes since 1982 and know that cycling, yoga, Pilates, Barre, and muscle conditioning are so good for you (and me)!
So that’s my story and I’m sticking with it! P.S.: I am the Secretary and Vice-President of my husband’s Commercial Painting Business. AND I get to do what I’m passionate about – helping women feel beautiful and confident and teach exercise classes and cycling.
Have a Beautiful Day!
Xoxo
Cindy