jane by design challenge (via adored austin)

my first ever iMovie! taken with my iPhone with no outside help... :)

i went to savers on monday, thinking i had a SuperSavers Club Card... apparently, i did not. after shopping, and trying on dozens of things, and getting to the register, i had to leave my items in a shopping cart (& hope they didn't put it back in the meantime - they didn't) and run home & apply for one online, bring in my printout, and get a card! jason's car wouldn't start so he came with me and dropped me off on his way to where he needed to be. so i was stuck at savers for another hour and a half... so i shopped more! and then got 50% off everything! :) the items in the video are just my $50 "haul" because of the Adored Austin thing, but i actually got more than that, and jason, too :) i heart savers. it's gonna be a hard thing to give up if i do the twenty pieces thing in the new year...

when i knew

was it when i bought the pencil skirt you saw in my thanksgiving post? or the bright yellow blazer (that i actually took the time to take the shoulder pads out of, and you WILL see here soon)? or these high-waisted basically sweatpants and this collar necklace? 

no... it was when i was trying to put an outfit together out of them, and i went searching for a silk collared shirt, and maybe a short sweater... oh, and heels! that's when i realized... this wasn't what i had started as. this blog is supposed to be an expression of ME and the way I see the world and find and create beauty. not just my own take on kendi, jentine, indiana, or mara and what THEY'RE wearing. this has started an internal dialogue for me, about what is my personal style, and how does it matter (yes, this does seem more like something that should be done in high school, or college at the latest... i'm 10 years late, but i didn't allow myself before, so now it's time ;)? what do i believe about clothes and beauty and creativity?

 the twenty pieces project i mentioned before has been lingering in the back of my mind for months. i keep playing with the idea of trimming down to minimalism (the basic premise is that these bloggers are going to live ALL OF 2012 with only twenty items of clothing, and no shopping for the year. to give them the space to focus without all the chatter of advertisements or heart-energy spent on this area of life, while still looking good - they're big on starting with pieces that are classic, can be paired multiple ways, and especially, well-made - so they'll last a year! and they're inviting all their readers to join them, getting down to 10-50 articles of clothing to be a part of their initiative).
i've held it at arm's length because it has seemed like God has been doing something different with me...
i have never been a shopaholic kind of person (quite the opposite, as you read in my last post). but part of that was that i had lost heart somewhere along the way, lost desire, and was unable to even describe "my likes" to someone. just sort of floated along, getting by, being good, etc... but had no real sense of "me" - how God uniquely designed me and delights in me - that i need to embrace, not stifle! so the last year or two has been rediscovering what it is i really want. and part of that has been my wardrobe, and this blog! just getting the chance to experiment with different colors, textures, shapes - see what i enjoy and don't.
but as i scroll through my favorite style blogs (the ones linked above), i start to see a lot of "the trends". you know, the beginnings of trousers coming back "in", etc. at first, i often don't really like certain looks (like when i first saw grandma pants on kendi i wasn't so sure... now i have my own ;), but then they start to grow on me as i mentally play with them and my closet (and my extended closet known as Savers ;) i'm sure this must be how decades of fashion changes happen... i remember seeing aubrey in 2002 wearing neon spandex pants, and thinking NO NOT THE EIGHTIES!! bring back any other decade than the eighties!!! yet here i am, wearing high-waisted pants and bright blazers and legwarmers, and loving it! but, so what does this mean, as far as my personal style? for one thing, it's evolving! like how i am ever changing as a person, my soul being transformed and growing; this gets reflected in little things like my wardrobe. BUT i refuse to fall prey to "keeping up on the latest fashion trends" (especially at MY age - 31 - i'm basically a grandma! oh, wait, joey would have to be a little older than 2 for that to happen ;). i thought about scrapping this blog altogether, but i really feel like it has been good for my heart to have a space to put myself out there, and let people respond if they will, or just have a little word or bit of beauty speak truth into someone's heart. so i'm not quitting. i also thought about selling out monetizing (JUST KIDDING - that just happens to be what two of my favorite style bloggers just did, so i thought i'd join in the fun ;)...


so, what is next then? my outfit, and then the next post ;)

the outfit: top, thrifted; high-waisted pleated sweatpantsish things (i know - you can't really tell how high the waist is because of the belt and the shirt overhang... i'll try to get you another outfit where you can really tell. you also can't tell that they're maroon & black striped, huh? ;), thrifted; heels, thrifted; belt, thrifted; collar necklace, thrifted; long necklace: handmade by yours truly out of a photograph, and a little vintage tin

btw one of my favorite parts about this is finding awesome backdrops - LOVE this wall! :)

black friday

i refuse. 

to go out shopping in all that madness. 

it was less than a year ago, i think, that i still said "I HATE SHOPPING" - just in general. and then this year, as jason put it, 

i became someone other than the person he married ;) I WANTED TO GO TO THE MALL FOR MY BIRTHDAY. (forgive the yelling - that really needed some volume for emphasis) i got excited wandering around the outlets last week, and thought "i should do this with some girlfriends sometime this christmas season" (WHAT??!) so, although i have recently become friendly acquaintances with shopping, it did not translate over into wanting to set up tents and wait in line for hours (days?) and risk being trampled to death on this most extreme shopping day of the year. however... when i passed this sign for Anna's Attic & saw the 50% off sign, i had to go :)

     found some awesome high-waisted pleated stretchy pants (i know - you're thinking, can all those adjectives really describe the same item of clothing? oh, you'll see ;), some jewelry (including these 2 bangles), and other vintage-amazing goodness ;)

this was all after a SUPER-relaxing morning, where i sat at starbucks, alone, reading and drinking hot drinks and eating sweet treats... 

this was when it happened. i found myself drinking an eggnog latte and a peppermint cake pop, in honor of kicking off the christmas season, and i looked out the window. within my view, there were at least 20 trees with changing red-and-orange-and-yellow fiery leaves. my heart swelled with delight in my favorite season, fall. and then this TENSION: do i start celebrating christmas now? or continue to revel in the incredible fall colors and textures and tastes around me? my soul was pulled back and forth for a while... and then i decided: BOTH! 

that fall has to end once it's "christmas season" is a totally arbitrary construct.

  i can still delight in God's beauty around me in all its autumn color, AND begin to anticipate celebrating his advent and all the lights and loveliness that come with that. good thing, too, 'cause last night was the craziest windy night EVER - it woke up everyone i talked to today at 2 o'clock in the morning... and i felt invited to go out and be with God for a few minutes in the midst of the majesty. 

wind is something i totally associate with fall. our california autumn tends to come late and not spend much time around (think, leaves start changing mid-to-late november), so i love those moments when i get an extra helping of the beauty (like when i get to go to colorado in september and see the changing aspens in all their glory, or get to take a trip to northern california the last week of november and see thousands of trees everywhere still waiting to let go of their vibrance... such gifts to my fall-heart)

 the outfit: yes, these are the same thrifted boots & vintage blazer from yesterday... they're just that classic ;) when the outfits turned out so completely different despite their coat & shoes in common, it made me start thinking about the twenty pieces project. more thoughts on that to come...
dress: thrifted; tights: anthropologie (got holes in them the first day i wore them! i thought i was "being better than the GAP, Cal"... guess not - more on that later, too); necklace: InPink; bangles, thrifted; glasses, prescription (and don't give me any credit for what they look like - or blame me - my eyes were already dilated when they made me pick my frames, and i could totally NOT see - made the lady describe them to me - ha! but i like them... and might even start wearing them as much as i should ;)

 action shot! (and if you actually read all of that, i'm proud of you ;)

this week i thrifted...

jentine asked...

Saturday, goodwill: blue denim dress (what i unfortunately DIDN'T thrift this week was this amazing pair of cowboy boots i saw at the same time as this dress, which would have paired perfectly for a little fun, but i was having a hard time shelling out $12.99 for them... what was i thinking??? i regretted it the rest of the week, and even went back on monday to see if they were still there... they weren't.)

Monday, goodwill: black pants, polka dot shoes, short sleeved blue sweater

Tuesday, savers: two vintage (military?) coats – green & cream; blue jacket; jean jacket

all for a grand total of $60! 

more than i'd normally spend in such a short amount of time, and on so few pieces, and way too much for our budget right now, but these were things i could not resist. especially the vintage coats! aren’t they amazing?? three-quarter length sleeves, wool (i think… i didn’t think the green one was until i washed and dried it today. 60+ years of being well taken care of, and i have it for less than a day and shrink it! hence the orange lining showing below the hem…). 

the checker at savers was like “wow! do you think these are real??” um, yes… real, what? “ military! you can tell by the lining!” ok, if you say so… so do i look like a world war II officer? maybe someone with a better eye/more experience can tell me what decade they’re from? i just know it’s somewhere in the 30s-60s based on the union tag inside.

on another note, does anyone agree with me that a) i have the cutest kid in the world, and b) i need to cut his hair…?