We have been on vacation this past week and we ate breakfast and lunch in our condo, then enjoyed eating our main meal out each day. I love trying new food options – things I don’t normally make at home. New food and flavor combinations stretch my taste buds and my culinary skills, so I’m always looking out for something a little different on the menu.
Because we were on the coast, we had seafood every day! We also had some other fare that was just delicious! I”ll share a few of the new flavor combinations I loved.
I just finished reading a biography of an author I loved as a child – Beverly Cleary. She wrote the books telling the hilarious tales of Henry and his dog, Ribsy. I was happy to be able to read how she became an author and what led up to the publishing of her books. Beverly remembered with much clarity and detail the events of her life. I’m not sure if she recorded them, but I can’t see how she could have remembered the stories she shared unless they had been written down somewhere. The book was engaging as I read about her memories, each one making up the story she told.
Life is full and fast. The days and years are so full of precious memories, but it’s easy to let each day follow the last and forget those treasures of our lives. When we allow events to slip away unrecorded, we lose those memories like the sun that slips behind the ocean at sunset. We forget the day-to-day events that got us to where we are. We forget the funny quips our children utter. We draw blanks on the details we wish we could recall – all because we weren’t intentional to record them.
Maybe you’re thinking, “I hate to journal!” No worries! Here are a couple simple ways to record happenings and events in just a few sentences that don’t require writing a journal page. These will only take a few minutes, at the most!
Lesson 5 in our review of A Woman After God’s Own Heart, by Elizabeth George.
I remember as a young girl, looking at myself in the mirror and thinking, “Why am I here? What is my purpose?” I think most of us have pondered that question at some time or other. But as a follower of Christ, it’s narrowed that question to, “What does God want from me as a Christian?” God doesn’t snatch us up out of this world and take us to heaven (as wonderful as that would be!) the moment we get saved. Why not? What purpose does He have for leaving us here?
What is your favorite season? Winter? Spring?Summer?, Fall? Or is it Strawberry season?! Strawberries are my favorite fruit! My husband happily sent a text to me last weekend –
“Scott Berries are in and I got two quarts! Happy days are here again!”
This is an exciting day! At the end of this post I’m going to be telling you the four winners of the $25 gift certificates to Elizabeth Dean Boutique! But first let’s talk about how easy and how fun it is to put an outfit together!
How many times have you looked in your closet and declared, I don’t know what to wear?! We have all been there! I want to share a few tips with you today that will help you to make an outfit choice much easier!
This is the first in a series which I’m calling,
Dress with Grace
In each of these posts, I will use my model form, whom I have named Grace, to show outfits that I have put together to give you some inspiration for daily dressing and also selection in wardrobe purchases.
First, it’s important to start with some basics. I would strongly encourage you to make sure you have pants or skirts in colors like black, navy blue, and white. This is like the canvas or the building block for your outfit. Let me show you some examples of this.
Here’s an outfit I purchased at Elizabeth Dean Consignment Boutique – navy pants and a silky blouse. I love consignment shops because I don’t like to spend a lot of money on clothing, but I want good quality. I wait and keep looking until I find the pieces I need. These navy pants can be dressed up or down. They’re light weight and don’t wrinkle.
J Crew Pants and Talbots top purchased at Elizabeth Dean consignment for under $25 total. .
My second tip is, know what you need, then keep looking until you find just that and at the price point you can afford! This spring I was looking for a neutral colored jacket. I found a cream colored Talbots jacket for $1 at the Dollar Days at Elizabeth Dean! It’s worth the wait and also fun to hunt for it!
If Grace wanted to make a more casual outfit with the navy pants,she could simply change the top and accessories. She will be ready for a beach vacation now!
Pants and top purchased at Elizabeth Dean Boutique. The top is Anne Klein and I only paid one dollar for it at the dollar day sale!
It gives it a whole new look, doesn’t it? Now Grace will dress up a little by changing the accessories. Heels, a dressier necklace and orange purse change the whole look.
If Grace was going to a casual event, she could use that same top, but change to white jeans, a cross body purse and tennis shoes.
I guess I need to remove the size sticker from my sneakers!
The pants in this next picture are so comfy! I knew they would be great to either dress up or dress down. First, let’s dress Grace up a bit.
I purchased the White House Black Market blouse and Banana Repu7blic pants at Elizabeth Dean Boutique for under $25
With a black T-shirt, sandals and orange bag, Grace now has a casual look.
Bear trap sandals purchase for $3 at Elizabeth Dean Boutique!.
Here’s one more way to style these pants, using a white blouse and pearls. What a versatile pair of pants for only $10.99!
Here’s yet another way to style these pants with a black blouse.
My last tip is to take a picture of your outfit after you’veput it together. I make an album on my phone of outfits, then when I need to get dressed and I can’t think of what to wear, I can pull up the album and know I have a complete outfit all ready thought through!
Dressing with Grace is more than the clothes. It’s how we present ourselves to the world. Being put together and looking your best is a lovely testimony. Christians don’t have to be drab and stuck in a time warp. If you’re married, dressing with grace is t’s also a blessing to your husband, who was made to be visual. Give him your best to look at! “Mommy clothes” are okay for the gym or your morning walk, but put yourself together for the man you married. I just bet he’ll appreciate it! Lastly, remember that the hidden man of the heart must be beautiful. To walk in fellowship with God, love Him and serve Him gives a radiance no outfit will ever give. I hope the recent series has strengthened you!
It’s been fun to host this little give away, featuring Elizabeth Dean Boutique. Thank you to the store owner, Tricia Mosier, for generously sponsoring it, and also to each of you who entered!
The winners were chosen by RaffleCopter at random.
The winners are:
Tosha Hatley
Lindsay McAuliffe
Tammy Tyms
Jennifer Collins
Congratulations to each of you! You will each receive an email announcing that your name has been drawn. You need to respond within 24 hours to the email so I can mail the gift certificate to you, otherwise you will forfeit your certificate to another winner. I’m excited for each of you!
Who struggles with choosing an outfit to wear? What other info would you like me to address in future “Dressing with Grace” posts?
RefreshHer 