blessings and 30 for 30 update

I'm linking up via Natalie today! Thankfulness is in the air right now.  And I'm so thankful that Natalie gives us an opportunity each week to link-up our amazing blessings!

God's really been working on my heart lately.  (Isn't He always?!) However, I've just been so blessed the last couple months with how God has been drawing me more and more into an intimate relationship with Him.  We talked in Sunday School a few Sunday's back about if we feel that it is easier for us to have a relationship of reverence with God or an intimate relationship with God.  Of course He wants us to have both.  But lately especially I feel that I've struggled growing more and more intimate with God.  Through prayer and more intentional, devoted time with Him, I've found him wooing me.  It may be through the lyrics of a song, a bible verse, or even the way He has answered a prayer.  Isn't our God awesome?!

As far as the 30 for 30 update, I guess I can consider it a blessing too.  It really is teaching me to be content and helping me to take my focus off material possessions.  It's helping me to realize that I could be okay with a little a lot less!

{Day 4 of 30 Outfit}

 *My day:  Work and then Grad school at night.*

From 30:  Gray long sleeve sweater/shirt, white t-shirt, black leggings, black flats; Accessories:  black headband (not on in the pic...it had given me a headache at this point in my day);  i LOVE this outfit.  It feels like I'm wearing my pajamas!

{Day 5 of 30 Outfit}

*My day:  Work and then dinner out with Justin and my family.* 

From 30:  Dark casual jeans, green sweatshirt jacket, tan and gold t-shirt (you can't really see the design on it due to the lighting of the pic), tan flats; Accessories:  brown, beaded dangly earrings

Okay, 1/6 of the way through. I think I still have quite a few outfits up my sleeve.  My next goal is to add a belt as an accessory to add a little pizazz to some of my outfit ideas.  Look out...I'm branching out! ha!

And drum roll please....

For what I feel very blessed with at this moment...

I'm out of school for the next 3 days.  That's fabulous!

Happy Thanksgiving pretties!

p.s.  My little brother has a friend that has a 3 month old little sister.  Recently they have found numerous tumors in various parts of her body.  At this point, the doctors really don't see much hope.  However, we know our God is bigger than that outlook.  Please join me in lifting this precious little one and her family in your prayers.  The prayers would be greatly appreciated!

a couple things

First off, it's time to announce the winner of the second Thankfully Thrifty Baby Shower giveaway!  

The winner is......

Katie!

Congrats, Katie! You're the winner of the Boogie Wipes! I will email you shortly to get your contact information!

___________

Secondly, it's day 3 of my 30 for 30 challenge! That means I'm already 1/10 of the way through the challenge.  However, it was still very easy to find an outfit today from my 30 picks! Still loving this.  And today after a great discussion at Sunday School and a message of being more blessed by giving than receiving....I'm ready to get into my closet and find TONS of clothes to give away.  Can't wait!

{Day 3 of 30 Outfit}

*My day:  Sunday School, Church, Church Thanksgiving Lunch.* 

From 30:  Fuchsia dress, long sleeve brown shirt, brown leggings, brown boots; Accessories:  striped scarf from Old Navy and brown hoop earrings

Again, awful pic.  Sorry for that.  I was tempted to cut my head off the pic so you would just see the clothes.  But then I decided a headless pic might be weird.  So this is what I settled with.  Maybe by day 30 there will be a decent pic. :)

Happy Sunday ladies! Hope it's blessed!

30 for 30--Day 2

This was my second day of the 30 for 30 challenge.  So far, even though I'm only on day 2, I'm loving it! Seriously, it's weird...but so freeing...to know that I can only choose from 30 pieces of clothing that I have picked out.  I love how it narrows down my closet options tremendously...and it encourages me to be free and creative.  Now, as you can tell from my second day's choice...I'm really not a fancy dresser.  At all.  I'm very simple.  What you see on me at any given time is something I could wear to almost any given function in my life.  I love clothes, but I'm not fancy.

 {Day 2 of 30 outfit}

*My Day:  Birthday shopping with my little brother for my mom and dinner out to celebrate Mom's bday*

(pardon the bad photo...hubby was not at home so I had to take it myself...and my hair is still a tad wet.  That combination makes for a bad pic.) 

From 30:  Casual dark jeans, tan flats, brown long sleeve shirt; From Accessories:  yellow and brown floral scarf and brown round earrings

Memorable moments:

-Justin told me that he's always thought I was a "hip-dressed" person.  I thought that was sweet.  It's always fun to go back to those days where you were in full-on flirt mode with your love.  So sweet that he still thinks of the days where he just admired me from afar.  I'm blessed to have a hubby that still admires me and let's me know he finds me "hip" and beautiful.  I find him pretty handsome himself.

-I went birthday shopping with my little bro for my mom today and we went into many clothing stores.  Ugh.  A $6 clearance dress and a 15% off coupon....but I put it back.  Adorable sweaters.  Put them back.  Cute winter boots.  Grrr....just looked from afar.

-Carving out a section of my closet devoted to my 30 pieces of clothing.  I'm visual.  This way, when I see that I don't have much left in this section, I know to DO LAUNDRY.  Yes, it has to get to that point sometimes.  I'm an awesome procrastinator....and laundry is no exception.

-Considering cutting the items of clothing in my closet at least in half.  Still just considering at this point.  But heavily considering!

My advise to you?! Take this challenge! Really, you'll love it.  (And don't worry, you can blame me if you don't.)

30 for 30....cold turkey

After reading about 30 for 30 on Natalie's blog yesterday I started pondering if I could really take the challenge.  For those of you that haven't heard of this, it's a challenge to create 30 different outfits out of 30 different articles of clothing (not including accessories).  To read about all the details, visit here.  It's a challenge to simplify, shop your closet, and get creative with what you have.  (Oh, and you can't shop for new clothes for the 30 days.  That was the detail that almost made me say, "absolutely not!", but then I realized I needed to be bold.  Just give it a try! I honestly don't shop for clothes that often...but I knew I may be tempted as I Christmas shop for others....so all the more reason to practice a little self control!) Love it! I'm excited to join my blog friend, Natalie, on this fun adventure! Here are the details...

When? I am starting today, November 19th and will be finished on December 18th.
Why? To simplify, appreciate what I have, learn more about contentment, be creative, and challenge myself.
What? I will choose from the 30 items below each day for my outfits.  I will take a picture of my outfit each day (some days more than one due to possible changing clothes for something else I am doing that day) and share them with you.  I will also let you know where I wore the outfit.  Keep in mind accessories are not included.  I am also not including work-out clothes I might wear like sweats...those aren't really outfits that I wear for the day.
How? I first chose my "staple items"...those I knew I could not go 30 days without wearing...they are my "go to" items.  I also chose quite a few neutrals that I can layer and accessorize with scarves and jewelry.  I considered casual days and dress-up days.  (Usually I have to dress up every day of the week except for Fridays.  However, at school earlier in the year, if you donated to a specific organization that benefits our district's kiddos, you can wear jeans all of December! That made the pant choice pretty simple.)

the 30

casual light jeans, casual dark jeans, wide leg denims, trouser denims, brown leggings, black leggings (Total pants: 6)

UK long sleeve shirt, white long sleeve shirt, decorative cream and brown t-shirt, black long sleeve shirt, brown long sleeve shirt, white t-shirt, ruffled long sleeve shirt (Total shirts:  7)

Green sweatshirt jacket, tan sweater, grey shirt/sweater, jean jacket, long brown, belted sweater, black sweatshirt jacket, brown khaki jacket, hooded school sweatshirt (Total sweaters/jackets: 8)

Fuchsia knee-length dress, long floral dress, LBD--my little "brown" dress (Total dresses: 3)

Grey New Balance, brown boots, tan flats, brown flats, black "dressy" tennis shoes, black flats (Total shoes: 6)


{Day 1 outfit}
*My Day:  Dress-down Friday at work and Mom's bday dinner at my grandparents'*

From 30:  New Balance, denim wide legs, UK long sleeve (gotta support my Wildcats!); Accessories:  cream scarf, black earrings

 

 So here we go! Come back to see my pick from the 30 for the other 29 days! Now head over here to see Natalie's picks!


Happy Friday!!

what I'm loving...

I'm linking up with Jamie today!

one.

my mom with my brother this summer at the Smithsonian in DC

I'm loving this lady! (As always!) My lovely mom is celebrating her birthday today.  The great thing is we get to celebrate her all weekend long with two special birthday dinners! I'm beyond blessed by my mom.  She is so loving, so compassionate, and has always gone above and beyond to be there for her family and reach out to others around her.  She is my number one fan and my biggest encourager.  (She even is a follower and reader of my blog.)  I love you mom! I'm so blessed by you daily.  Enjoy your special day!

two.

I'm loving that we finally got some rain today! We have needed it so badly.  And even more...I'm loving that the news forecast shows possible snow showers in a couple weeks.  My students are already crazy enough at this point....might as well bring on those snow days!

three.

via

 

 

Leggings.  Yes, I'm loving leggings! I will say with my petite, bottom-heavy curvy figure, I was reluctant.  However, as soon as I wore leggings for the first time (in adulthood), I was hooked.  Under big sweaters, under too-short dresses, under shirt dresses, under skirts, worn with tall boots, worn with flip-flops, worn with flats....brown, black, jeggings....you name them, I love them.  I sort of see them as my way to get around my "dress up" days at work.  Love them.  Period.

four.

via

I'm also loving these Steve Madden boots from Macy's.  I have them in dark brown and they have become my flip flops of fall and winter.  I'm looking forward to spending some gift card money on a black pair soon!

five.

I'm loving that this is my last full week of school before Thanksgiving break.  Next is Christmas break! Love the time off with family and friends this time of the year celebrating the many blessings in our lives and the gift of Christ in our lives.

 Happy Wednesday!

caramel

With Fall on the horizon, I am loving all things caramel right now.  Caramel is my second favorite sweet next to chocolate.  Mix the two together and that's pure heaven.  Here are some caramel or caramel-inspired things that I'm lovin' right now:

Caramel Apples--Don't these look amazing?! I love the idea of trying out different types of toppings.  The possibilities are endless.

image source

Toasted Caramel Sugar--I won a Scentsy from the sweet Natalie at Extraordinary Love.  The first scent that we have tried is Toasted Caramel Sugar.  Yum, yum!! It makes the house smell like a bag of caramel candies...almost as if you could eat a piece of the air.  I love how the light adds a soft glow to the corner of our living room too.

image source

Land's End's Leather Ballet Slippers--The color of these flats look like the inside of a Rolo or a caramel-filled Dove chocolate.  Plus comfy flats are a teacher's staple.  These would look so cute with tights and a skirt, dress pants, or even capris and a light sweater.  The sole makes these look super comfy too...cute and comfy.  That gets the grade in this teacher's book!

image source

 So have any caramel loves yourself? What is making you crave Fall?

romper talk

I rarely go for a "trendy" item that I know will be old news by next year.  However, the romper idea that has come back around has caught my eye.  I so love the idea of the one piece item....so easy to wear and so comfy! Well when I was at Target this weekend, I did something I hardly ever do...and I boldly picked up this piece of clothing that intimidated me.  One because, like I said, I usually don't go for a "new idea" in my closet and two, because I just knew that my body wouldn't look okay in this (you know how those insecurities creep in and take over).  Well let me just say, I was so excited when I tried this on.  (And that's saying a lot due to the fact that I've decided Target's dressing room mirrors are pretty unforgiving.)  My petite, hip/thigh-happy body embraced the romper. 

Love the pockets, love the belted bow, love the material.  I can't wait to piece this with flip flops in the heat of the summer!

So my challenge to you...embrace an article of clothing you just know you won't like the way you look in it.  Because just maybe you'll be proven wrong like I was.  Seek out the confident gal within you and go for it!