Payday Pretty: Cognac Leather Jacket

jacket: cato, blouse: old navy, skirt: thrifted, wedges: payless

Happy Tuesday, lovelies! I am sort of officially done with my shopping ban. ;) For the remainder of the year (with the exception of birthday or christmas money) I will be limiting myself to a $20 a week clothing budget (inspired by Alison's Payday Pretties). For this week my $20 went to this adorable ruffled faux leather jacket from Catos. On clearance for $17.49. It is the perfect shade of tan/cognac and it has ruffles. I know that I said last week that my leather jacket wasn't appropriate for church and honestly my black one is much more casual, but this baby. It. has. ruffles. Obviously the ruffles make it church appropriate. ;)

Don't forget to check out my Firmoo glasses giveaway! You can win $20 to buy glasses or sunglasses from Firmoo.com.

Linking up to Watch What I'm Wearing, Thrifter's Annonymous, and Real Girl Glam.

Glasses Giveaway!

Hi, lovely ladies! I have a special surprise for y'all today! Remember these glasses and sunglasses from Firmoo? Well the lovely folks over at Firmoo have given me twenty-five $20 vouchers to give away. You can also get any of their glasses as sunglasses (just do 80% grey tint). Don't wear glasses? That's fine you can get sunglasses or just frames or you can give your voucher code as a gift.

These are cool!

And These!

And I love these!

So, how do you enter? Easy peasy.
1. Be a follower of CC's Cheap Chic.
2. Leave me a comment with your email address (I have to have this to send you your voucher if you win - so entries with no email will be voided) letting me know that your follow and what you plan to do with your voucher.
That's it!
Giveaway will be open until Friday, December 7th! Good luck!

Linking up with Monday Mingle, Visible Monday and YOLO!

Light & Easy

Wow, we got all deep and serious this week, didn't we. ;) I guess that's not necessarily a bad thing. Now maybe you know a little bit more of the real me. In all honesty I am a pretty serious person in real life.

Back to the frivolous, though. Here is a super comfy outfit I wore for grocery shopping. I am wearing one of my hubby's shirts from his high school days and a cardi and jeans from walmart with my super comfy payless oxfords. Easy, peasy.

Hope y'all have a wonderful weekend!

Linking up with Casual Friday, All Things Chic and Blonde Episodes.

Shopping Ban Update

Happy Wednesday, lovelies! I hope you are having a wonderful week. ;) I totally loved this outfit. It is so basic and really minimal, but for some reason just felt really amazing on. While I love my colors, some days a bunch of neutrals with a splash of burgundy is all you need. ;)

So, I am nearing the end of my shopping ban and I thought I would just give y'all a little update. I have done really well. The only spending on me has been using an old navy gift card from GCOGH. To be honest keeping the ban hasn't been much of an issue for me for a couple of reasons. First, the only stores around are walmart and Cato. It was pretty easy to just stay out of Cato (I took the kiddo to the park or the library instead) and I know what walmart has and am waiting for it to go on clearance anyway. Secondly, our finances were really tight. We are getting down to our last couple of months before the bank account is empty. (Hubby is preaching at a really small church that pays a couple hundred a week and has been unable to find another job.) So, we were looking at not being able to give our kiddo the Christmas we wanted to. Don't get me wrong, he will get plenty from grandparents and other family members, but we didn't think we would be able to do much. And it broke my heart. So there was big motivation to save every penny I could. Now comes the happy ending. Over the past three weeks we have received three monetary gifts in varying amounts that will allow us to make this Christmas special. I have seen God provide for us in miraculous ways over and over again. (You don't make it through seminary with Him providing), but it continues to surprise and amaze me how He blesses us. I felt kind of silly praying and being upset about Christmas when I know that my child is not in need and will get plenty. But God knew my heart and blessed us with the ability to provide for him ourselves.While our future is still totally up in the air and I have no idea if hubby will have a job anytime soon, I know that I can trust that God will continue to provide for us and take care of us. And for now, that is enough.

Linking up with The Pleated Poppy, Transatlantic Blonde and Rae Gun Wear.

Comfy, Cozy & Content

Happy Tuesday, y'all! Let me first take this opportunity to let you know that I am aware that this ginormous cozy sweater is not the most flattering item of clothing. That said, it is one of the most comfy. It is soooo warm and soft and it covers my rear. I'm going to be real here. I realize that the entire fashion world believes that everything we wear should make us look taller and slimmer and more fabulous. Here's the thing. I am not tall. I am not slim. And I am very ordinary (not fabulous). And while I am always happy to look my best, my appearance is just not the most important thing in my life. (I realize how contradictory this is considering I have a style blog.) I spent most of my twenties believing the lie that my worth as a woman was tied up in the way that I looked. In spite of the fact that I had a husband who loved me for the woman I am and not the way I look, I felt ugly. I just didn't live up to the image. You know the one. The sexy, perfect, airbrushed model in the magazine. I will never be that. After I had my kiddo I probably looked worse than I ever have in my life. (Having babies does really bad things to bodies, especially petite bodies that don't have room.) But, I was born to be a mother. And for the first time in years I felt good about myself. I  began to realize how unimportant my appearance is in the grand scheme of things. And how absurd it is to be so worried about being 'sexy' when I already have the best man in the world love me. And that my worth as person, as woman is so much deeper than my skin. I am a child of God, created in His image. He has given me a purpose on this earth and a family to love and be loved by. And so, while I still struggle with feeling chubby, hating my hair, bemoaning my acne (in my 30s for pete's sake!) and sometimes wishing I looked better, the truth is, I have mostly come to a point of contentment with me. In all my imperfections.  What was the point of all that? Just that sometimes I want to wear comfy clothes that feel good. And this sweater makes me feel good, whether it makes me look good or not. ;)

(I realize this makes my dieting and exercising sound hypocritical, but I am petite and my body doesn't deal well with extra weight. It makes my joints hurt and I end up exhausted and miserable and unable to keep up with my very active preschooler.)

Do you ever wear unflattering clothing because it is comfy or makes you feel good?

Linking up with Watch What I'm Wearing and Real Girl Style.

Lace, Poundage and Christmas Prep

Whew! I think I gained ten pounds last week. Holy cow, did we eat a lot of really yummy food. ;) I am immensely grateful for stretchy clothes right now because I have indeed gained a few pounds. Yikes. And while I would usually just start my diet, the truth is there is an entire month of treats and yumminess ahead. And I can't just abstain because the kiddo is having a ball cooking right now. So. I think I am going to start my Jillian Michaels 30 day shred today just to see if I can keep on top of the caloric consumption. I am not looking forward to it. I will be very sore tomorrow. Very sore.

In other news, I totally stole this outfit from Molly. Of course, since I wore it for church I didn't feel my leather jacket was entirely appropriate. (Our congregation is primarily older retired folks.) So I substituted my black blazer and felt quite fab today. ;) So, thank you, Molly for the outfit inspiration.

Hope y'all have a wonderful week. I will be prepping for Christmas this week. I am making an advent calendar to start on Saturday with the kiddo and of course finishing up decorating the house and maybe watching a holiday movie or two. ;) My little dude is old enough to really enjoy all the festivities this year and I am so looking forward to enjoying Christmas with him.

Linking up with Visible Monday, Monday Mingle and YOLO!

Monochromatic Grey

So, perhaps this isn't the most exciting outfit ever. Grey tee, grey skirt, grey flats, grey necklace. But. It was comfy. And my necklace was sparkly, so there is that, right? I will be spending today decorating my house for Christmas. I will not be spending today shopping. I have to admit I have never been big on Black Friday. The deals are just not worth the crowds to me. I prefer to have my shopping done before Thanksgiving so I can just enjoy the holiday season. This year we are making a lot of our gifts, so there will be more work involved, but the supplies have already been purchased. Truthfully I will be avoided any shopping destination until after Christmas (with the possible exception of my birthday!).

Are you a hardcore Black Friday shopper? Or would you rather be doing anything other than fighting the crowds?