Extraordinary Faith for Everyday Life
It’s Wednesday! I share my outfits from the week with The Pleated Poppy’s What I Wore Wednesday.
I pair my outfits with inspirational photos. Read more about that here.
Source: inlaidgrace.tumblr.com via Amy on Pinterest
I don’t know why I looked so confused here..it was a lovely Valentine’s Day!
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Today’s the day I share my outfits from the week with The Pleated Poppy’s What I Wore Wednesday. I pair my outfits with inspirational photos. Read more about that here.
Source: luculliandelights.com via Amy on Pinterest
Work outfit. Every time I see a picture of this sweater I’m so disappointed. I love the color so much but I just don’t think the fit is right. *sigh*
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Today’s the day I share my outfits from the week with The Pleated Poppy’s What I Wore Wednesday. I pair my outfits with inspirational photos. Read more about that here.
Source: coastalliving.com via Amy on Pinterest
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If you haven’t heard of all of these monthly beauty and style boxes circling the Internets, let me introduce you to one of them: StitchFix.
In a phrase, StitchFix is an online personal shopper.
What happens is you pay $20 to order a “fix” from StitchFix. You fill out a style guide and then you wait.
In a few weeks, a stylist will mail you 5 hand-picked items based on your style guide . You get to try on all the pieces, keep what you want or send it all back. You pay only for what you keep AND your $20 styling fee you paid up front goes towards the purchase if you choose to keep something.
Y’all, it’s like Christmas.
Within just a few minutes the box looked like Christmas morning, indeed.
So. Before I show you pictures you have to know I was sick all day, didn’t fix my hair or makeup and didn’t try to put these pieces in outfits. This is like legitimate girlfriends-in-a-dressing-room-trying-on-clothes pictures. Except I ran outside because the lighting is so much better.
Onward.
Um, does my face give it away? While I normally love cardigans, love maroon and love knitted things, something about this combination didn’t work for me. The sleeves were tight. The length seemed too long. I felt old.
I liked the idea of this shirt. Clearly it would be cuter with leggings and boots. I believe this was a size too big though.
Again, it’s hard to imagine with these cords on. The dress would be way cute with tights or leggings but I don’t know. I just can’t seem to get with the pattern. I usually love the chevron pattern but this just didn’t work for me. The dress made me look boxy and dated me. Perhaps another size too large..
This dress? This dress was all kinds of awesome. It fit like a glove, has gorgeous stripes in all the right places and I love the color. I want to wear it every single day this summer.
The final piece is a cuff. Unfortunately, the cuffs and I don’t get along too well. Normally, I’d be open-minded but the cuff stayed more like this:
Oh my, isn’t that so much FUN?!
And yes, as you go, you give feedback about size and styling and it gets better as time goes on. As someone said last night, it’s like Pandora!
I’m totally ignoring price tags right now and just having fun with the arrival, dressing up and sharing!! Prices aside, what should I keep?? Is it just me or is the maxi dress the winner, winner, chicken dinner?
If you want to sign up, be sure to use my referral link—for everyone that uses your link you get $25 to spend. FUN, right?!
OK so I missed The Nester’s Favorite Things 2012 Link-Up but I’m still going for it! Maybe you’ll find something for that last-minute gift or you’ll know what to spend all those gift cards on next week!
Please, please, please dump those metal travel mugs and pick up one of these. Tastes so much better!
I went on the hunt for the perfect neutral lipstick from Mary Kay and Whisper won hands down. It’s my go-to color for everyday.
I fell in love with the folks of Bluebell this year. Hart of Dixie Season 2 has been a little sketchy but Season 1 is DVD repeat-worthy.
I started using this during the summer when I didn’t want thick makeup on and I loved it so much I just keep using it.
Unfortunately the exact blue suede shoes I bought from Nine West are no longer available but they do have similar ones available. I thought I’d only have one or two outfits to wear with these but it turns out they’re extremely versatile. Who knew?
And on that note, my leopard print shoes have gotten more wear than almost any shoe I own this fall. They work as a neutral and give just about any outfit some extra interest.
Love Does just might be my favorite book not just this year, but of all time. Totally inspiring, worthy of multiple reads, applicable to anyone, this is a must-read book. (My detailed review)
Alrighty, that’s a few of my new favorites from this year. Would love to hear one of your favorite finds from 2012!
During Summer of 7, I cleaned a lot of my clothes. I suppose in some ways I didn’t think through that because I didn’t leave myself too many items for the cold days. I suppose when it’s 102 out you just convince yourself you just don’t need too many sweaters. Well, it seems I do actually need a few extra items. So I’ve been adding some clothes to my Christmas wish lists and doing a tiny bit of shopping.
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Over the last few years after reading Crazy Love and Radical and starting Blood:water belt, I’d just stopped shopping. Sure, a few times a year I’d visit Old Navy for the girls and pick myself up a few things but I avoided Target like the plague and didn’t seek out The Loft. I was just so done with spending my money and regretting it. (P.S. You MUST read the latest post about the blood:water belt)
I knew when I started WIWW posts that I’d want to buy more things. I was right, I do. Especially now that I need some winter clothes. And since I’ve been letting myself shop a bit for winter clothes and Christmas shopping, I’ve been kind of a train wreck.
I gave in and bought two shirts and two sweaters at Target last week. All of it was on sale and one was even a maternity shirt on clearance (did you read how I buy maternity even thought I am NOT pregnant?). I got home and saw there was a gap in the stitching of one of the sweaters. I thought to go exchange it but when I took it back I just couldn’t. I let them put the money back on the card and left Target empty-handed.
A few weeks ago I realized the brown boots I wear constantly had completely lost their form. I’d be walking and realize the left one was sagging. My boots would be uneven and I’d look silly. I’d have to tug on the boots and wear 2 and 3 pairs of socks to try to keep them up. I finally broke down and bought a new pair when Nine West had a sale on top of a sale.
The boots arrived and I let them sit behind my desk on the floor in the box for 2 days before I would wear them. It killed me to spend that much money on one pair of shoes.
This morning I got a sale email from The Loft. Shirts were only $10. They had a pretty white one with black stripes and I knew it would be so cute with a scarf. I put that and another white tee in my bag. I went to check out and then I closed the tab. I couldn’t pull the trigger.
I feel like a maniac. There is this constant tension between what I want, what the world says I need and deserve and where I really want my money to go.
Believe me, I sure am enjoying my boots and new shirts and already am thinking about where to buy a red scarf before this weekend’s holiday parties (while simultaneously trying to convince myself I don’t need it).
I don’t always manage the tension well but I do believe at least some tension is good to keep spending in check.
I just wonder if anyone else is feeling this tension especially this holiday season as we’re shopping more? If so, how do you manage it? When do you decide to give in and when do you decide to hold off?
Today’s the day I share my outfits from the week with The Pleated Poppy’s What I Wore Wednesday. I pair my outfits with inspirational photos. Read more about that here.
We’re cleared to wear jeans at work the rest of the year but I just can’t seem to wear them without heels and a blazer. Why this animal print reminded me of a horse, I don’t know. I think it was the brown and black combination.
Source: highwallpapers.com via Amy on Pinterest
After looking for pictures of horses, I felt like wearing leggings and boots. Even though animal print rain boots wouldn’t do for horseback riding, they’re brownish and it *was* raining that day. Why do I not wear leggings more often? That outfit was the most comfortable one of the week. I went zero places so it was perfect for my day at home.
I rarely mix animal prints like this but I’m ok with this one. I think. And yes, this still reminded me of horses.
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And yes, another horse.
OK, up to this point of the post, I wasn’t understanding why I kept picking horses, but I realized there was a reason. Jump to the bottom and I’ll tie it together for you.
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OK if you want, hang with me on a little story and I’ll explain all the horses this week.
Yesterday I wrote about my daughter turning 10 and how she’s made me brave. I realized as I was picking these inspirational pictures through the week (and before I even thought about what to write) that I was constantly drawn to horses. Which, if you know me, is surprising because I’ve always hated horses. OK, not hated horses. I loved horses. Cried when they got hurt in movies. But ride them? NO THANK YOU. I wrote a little about it in this Weekend Recap.
Then Monday, when I was writing that post, I realized that not only had I been wearing a lot of black/grey in a sort mourning, I realized that I had been picking out these horse-related pictures and there was a definite connection to Emma and my post. I don’t think I ever wrote about it here (maybe?) but I finally rode a horse this summer in an attempt to get Emma to ride it. See? She makes me brave.
The horses were a sort of metaphor for the courage I’ve found as her mother.
But wait, there’s more.
Monday night after I’d written that post, I realized Emma had her birthday pin she was going to wear to school on my nightstand. I knew if I didn’t put it with her stuff that we’d forget Tuesday morning. So I slid out of bed and went in her room and decided to pin it right on her shirt she had picked out for her birthday. Guess which shirt she had picked out? The only one she owns with a horse on the front.
I’ve been looking for God in these inspirational pictures and this week, I found Him in spades.
I don’t know why, but part of my tears at the Allume conference were over the types of posts I post here. I want to impart my love for God but I also really like to talk fashion and TV. But then I post about something surface-y and I feel so entirely superficial. Sometimes I feel like I’m trying to represent the whole me with each post and when pushed to choose, Jesus always wins.
But that’s not being true to me either.
After Summer of 7, I’ve looked at my clothes and makeup differently. On the outside, I might dress the same but on the inside, I see now that I truly do it because I believe it’s an expression of the creativity that God gave me, not a vie for attention.
Ann Voskamp said it best this weekend that “creativity is good theology”. Sarah Markley said we separate the secular and spiritual too much.
I agree.
All good and beautiful things come from God.
When I see pretty fashion, I’m inspired to beauty and that reminds me of God’s beautiful creations, NOT the cover of Vogue.
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Jen, who I met at the airport on the way to Allume, had a wonderful post yesterday on (in)courage about Christian women sharing their beauty tips and it was so timely for me. She says “We are fearfully and wonderfully made just exactly as we are, but do we convey that? Do we carry ourselves in such a way that others would believe that about us?”
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My friend Dani and I have gone in circles talking about this and I’m more convinced than ever that we are free to express our creativity in our clothes.
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HOWEVER, I still desire to be responsible with my money.
Dani was amazing and offered pieces of her wardrobe for me to borrow and wear for the conference. Dani and her very creative self helped me put these outfits together using many of her clothes so I didn’t spend hundreds of dollars on new clothes just for the conference. Isn’t she awesome? Thank you, friend!
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So with all that in mind, I share these outfits from Allume WITH the inspiration it evokes in me. I really do come to appreciate God’s creations when I see fashion expressed with color and pattern in the same way.
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I can’t think of a better way than to end the 31 Days of Wisdom with these verses from our final chapter in Proverbs.
When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
Her husband is respected at the city gate,
where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
She makes linen garments and sells them,
and supplies the merchants with sashes.
She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
Be sure to check out the SmileBooth photos over on the Facebook page. Kicking myself for not taking more!
This post is part of The Nester’s 31 Days Series
This post is linked to WIWW
