Work it Wednesday - Statement Necklaces

necklace: Belk

necklace: The Icing

necklace: handmade from Africa

I have a serious love affair with statement necklaces these days. They are just add so much presence and fabulousness to my otherwise minimal outfits. Here are a few of my favorites. A note on figure flattery: if you are busty (like me) a weighty necklace the length shown above works great. It doesn't get lost in the girls and helps balance and draw attention toward your face.

Do you enjoy a good statement necklace?

Pinterest Tuesday

Things I have pinned this week:

via Deck the Halls

A beautiful Christmas centerpiece/arrangement. Love it. If I decorate this year, this will definitely be on my to do list. Although I might try a more colorful version - more fun, less fancy. ;) I have a three year old. We don't really get to do fancy around here. Fun? yes. Fancy? not so much. ;)

via: Pennies on a Platter

Oh. My. Gosh. These look divine - Dion Ham and Asparagus rolls. Yum. I cannot wait to try these. And they look crazy easy.

via: Pinterest

Yes - This is so perfect. We have an insane number of books. Hello, nerd married nerd. Enough said. So, there can never be enough book shelves in our home. ;) Our dream room would be a library. ;) Not likely to happen, but this is genius. And.... toy storage? oh yes.

via: Chloe's Nails

 

I will definitely have to try this. Super cute and sparkly for the holidays. ;) Not that you need an excuse for sparkly nails.

So, what have you been pinning lately?

Manic Monday

jacket: cato, tee: target, pants & scarf: charlotte russe, shoes: thrifted

There is way too much to be accomplished in the next month and just not enough time to do it in.  We are cleaning and painting Grandma's house and moving. We have already accomplished most of the cleaning and a garage sale. Interrupted by a funeral and a holiday. This next week my sister in law is having surgery on her foot so I have no one to keep the Munchkin which means no painting till the week after. So we'll be packing up our house. Oh, and there will be another family visit this weekend. Not to mention a job hunt in the midst of all the fun. Yikes. Oh, yeah. Christmas shopping. When am I going to get the Christmas shopping done? 

Hope ya'll are ready for a peaceful holiday season.

Alter Egos - the many hats of me

Mommy

My primary role for right now is Mommy to my Munchkin. This is the perfect outfit for a day at home or running errands - leggings, a comfy tunic, and a huge cozy cardi.

Church Member

Another role I fill is as a church member. The perfect black dress and minty accessories make for one of my favorite church outfits ever. And of course the addition of an adorable pair of hands and feet make my day! ;)

Youth Worker

Another role as a church member - I work with youth on Wednesday nights and here is a typical outfit. Comfortable, modest, casual and just stylish enough. ;)

Wife!

 

And finally, I am wife to the best man in the world. So every once in a while I don high wedges and a mini skirt for date night with the hubby. ;)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Taking a break today to celebrate thanksgiving with family. Hope you all have a blessed holiday and plenty of turkey or ham!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Work it Wednesday - Midi Skirts (and cobalt blue!)

cobalt silk skirt: thrifted

grey flannel skirt: target

turquoise silk skirt: stein mart

I am petite. At just under 5'3", I am not truly tiny, but definitely petite. Unless I hem them, most skirts on me tend toward the midi length anyway. While I wouldn't advocate wearing them with flats, I do find them reasonable with some kind of heel. There is something so elegant feeling about a full skirt swishing around your calves. Lovely.

Stripes and Silk

sweater: target, pants & flats: thrifted

I love these pants. They are silk. With an elastic waist. Oh, and they were free. Yep. I love these pants. My dear friend, Peggy (who has a super cute blog Pork Chop Tuesday) gave me sack fulls of clothes. There were two pairs of these pants. They were the bottom half of those silk sweat suits from the nineties. Needless to say, I didn't keep the jackets - just the pants. ;) Add stripes and my favorite flats and you have the perfect casual outfit. Ahhhh.

Gratitude (and a little Whining)

cardi & tee: walmart, skirt: thrifted, shoes: stein mart

Happy Monday, y'all! Hope all is well with you. Life has been pretty difficult lately, but there is still so much to be thankful for. We have had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with family right now, which is wonderful. Munchkin is enjoying spending time with his grandparents. It is such a blessing to be close to them. There is always the chance that my husband's next job will take us out of range. Although our preference is to be here in Arkansas, we go where God calls. So we will enjoy the time we have with them.

On the list of things I am not thrilled about - I have gained back a ridiculous amount of weight. Ick. I worked so hard to lose it and then just didn't keep it up. Because our lives have been completely out of whack we've been eating a ridiculous amount of fast food and I haven't had any opportunities to exercise. We are still completely in limbo right now and I don't see things getting easier for at least another month. Eh. I am grateful that I have the tools and knowledge to do it all over again when things settle down. Until then, I'll just be grateful that I'm not starving.

Linking up with Real Momma, Real Style today!

Thrifty Thursday - Jewelry

cobalt earrings - $1

teal necklace made from bracelet - $1

gold necklace - $5

bracelets: pink - $1, turquoise - ?, cobalt - $1

bracelets: pink - $2, black - $1

I love jewelry! Necklaces, earrings, bracelets, rings - love them all. I do not however have a fortune to spend on them, so I have gotten pretty good at finding what I love at a lower price point or making my own. The dollar jewelry boutiques are great for inexpensive, low quality trendy pieces. However they are also a good source for beads. The teal necklace was actually a bracelet that I re-worked. It is dyed wood and genuine shell pieces - worth more than $1. The cobalt blue bracelet was also only $1, but it is genuine lapis chips. The gold necklace is from Forever21 - an excellent source for trendy jewelry. Most of it won't last long, but considering the price it doesn't matter much.

What are your favorite sources for inexpensive jewelry?

Work it Wednesday - Scarves

white scarf with stripes and jeans

vintage silk scarf with a blazer and maxi dress

vintage silk scarf with a tee and khakis

I love a good scarf. I have a modest collection of vintage silk scarves from my beloved Grammy. When she passed away over 10 years ago, scarves were not in style, but I kept them anyway because they remind me of her. I always love wearing them for that reason. The silver and teal paisley one in the middle is my favorite. Oddly enough, I've only worn it once on the blog. Hmmm. I'll have to do something about that.

Have you inherited something that you love to wear because it reminds you of a loved one?

Photobombed by Adorableness holding an apple

cardi: target, blouse: thrifted, jeans & boots: walmart

'I'll get it, mommy!"

Not much to say about the outfit today. It was comfy, cozy and featured my cobalt shirt. A win in my book. My facial expressions, on the other hand? Not so much. Sorry about the crazy face, so just ignore it and focus on the clothes and the cute kid in the last picture. He jumped in to grab the camera for me at the last minute. So helpful.

Eh, things are nuts right now. Hope y'all are having a great week.

Rest in Peace beloved Mother, Grandmother, and Friend

cardi, belt, bag: thrifted, tunic: target, leggings: walmart, loafers: ???

leopard earrings and ring

20 year old loafers - dexters from junior high!

A super comfy outfit from a couple of weeks ago. A bunch of neutrals (chambray, black and tan) with a splash of leopard in the jewelry. Easy and comfy. And those shoes? Yes, I have had them for 20 years. They were frequently paired with neon socks, high-waisted, stone-washed jeans, and matching neon t-shirt layered over white tee with the sleeves rolled. Yep, those were the days. They were also very occasionally paired with leggings and an oversize (like size XL) tee shirt, although that look was usually worn with my reeboks. ;) I think I like this look a lot better.

On a more serious note, my husband's grandmother went home to be with the Lord last Monday night. She had been suffering from Alzheimer's for the last three years, but she was an amazing woman. While we are relieved that her suffering is over, she will be missed. I hope you will take time today to hug your mom or grandmother if they are around. If you still have them alive and nearby, you are blessed.

What is your favorite memory of your grandmother?

FBFF: Make-up

Makeup free

Full Make-up

So, this week's Visual FBFF was to post a picture of ourselves without makeup. I have a confession to make. Until fairly recently all of my picture except for Sunday church outfits have been of me without makeup. Yikes. Here's the thing - I had perfect skin, until I hit my mid twenties. Then I had a baby. Let me tell you, my skin did not agree with the whole being pregnant thing and it rebelled like you wouldn't believe. Even since it has been incredible finicky and difficult. I have finally found a routine that seems to keep it in line and even found some make-up that doesn't make my skin want to murder me. If you are at all interested in what works for me, keep reading. If not, that's okay. You can be done now. ;)

Alright. So, at night I wash my face with my L'Oreal scrublet and a gentle cleanser, then an alcohol free toner (Hydrafresh by L'Oreal). I have been using L'Oreal's eye defense cream since I was 13 and I love it. I also have no lines around my eyes which is very cool. I recently started using L'Oreal's retinol night cream and it works really well. If you have acne prone, aging skin, retinol is a must. This one is thick and creamy and doesn't irritate my skin like some of the other brands. (If you use retinol, you must exfoliate and use sunscreen and do not wax.) That is it for night-time. In the morning, I just wipe my face with a treated pad (Neutrogena's Stress control acne one's work well) and use my eye cream. Then if I am planning to go out, I use clinique moisture surge tinted moisturizer with a little blush, mascara and eye make-up. If I have no outside plans, I use clinique moisture surge moisturizer and call it a day. The clinique products are a bit of a splurge if you are on a budget, but if it works it is worth the money. I have tried so many lotions and creams and treatments that I am thrilled to find something that works for me. I discovered the moisture surge a while back and have been using it for a while, so I was tickled to death when they released the tinted moisturizer with spf. Perfect. Thankfully, it works for me. (Did I mention that I am also allergic to most sunscreens? and benzoyl peroxide? oh and just about everything with salicylic acid? Yeah, makes fighting acne a bit of a pain.) That's it. Once I found what worked, it is pretty simple and not too time consuming. Even thought most of the products aren't particularly cheap, I know they work and when I buy them that I will use them rather than try it a couple of times then have to deal with reactions and throw the stuff away.

Do you have any fool proof tips for perfect skin?

Thrifty Thursday - Boots

cardi & blouse: target, leggings & boots: walmart

the coziest chenille cardi

black suede boots from walmart - $20

and giant cobalt earrings for ........ $1.

So this week's thirfty Thursday is actually from several years ago. I love knee high boots. However it is very rare that I can afford a genuine leather pair and unfortunately they aren't always easily thrifted. I've tried on more than one pair of beautiful leather boots in the thrift store that were perfect. Except for one teeny tiny problem. The inside of the shoe was flaking and falling apart. Ick. I mean that is seriously disgusting, y'all. So, while I still try and have occasionally run across a few cute pairs, my luck isn't all that great when it comes to thrifting boots. (It probably doesn't help that I wear a size 6 and most of the boots are like 8s.) Anyway, my other issue is that I am pretty picky. I cannot stand the cheap fake looking stretch pleather knee boots. In my opinion they are hideous and just look cheap. I hate them. On the other hand I have found that suede can be a little more easily faked without looking quite so cheap. I got these boots at Walmart for the giant price of $20 about four years ago. They are super comfy and slouchy and I usually wear them all winter long. Moral of the story? You can find decent cheap boots if you look. Just stay away from the stretchy pleather ones. Just because you didn't spend a fortune on your clothes doesn't mean that you should look cheap.

Work it Wednesday - Pencil Skirts

khaki pencil skirt - thrifted

cream pencil skirt - Cato

black pencil skirt - thrifted

black pencil skirt - thrifted

As you can see, I love a good pencil skirt. They are easily thrifted and a super classic style that can be updated with your shoes and accessories. These are my three classics and just for fun here is a pic of my new red one. How much fun is a red pencil skirt? Love!

Red pencil skirt - thrifted

Stripes and Holes

sweater: old navy, blouse, skirt & bag: thrifted, heels: payless

sorry for the mess!

red lipstick and teal necklace (by me)

Not much to say today. I loved the teal and lime with the stripes. I felt classy for church and yet still a little quirky and colorful. I rolled my hair and put on red lipstick. The Munchkin informed me a while back that he likes my hair with holes in it. (translation: curly) I do too, but my hair doesn't hold the curl very well. Eh. One tries. ;)

Hope y'all have a lovely week.