How I Figured Out My Style

Recently I decided I wanted to really nail down my style and figure out the things I love to wear and hate to wear. That way I can rid my closet of things I don't love and add to it things I feel great in! 

When it comes to clothes, I've always had a creative style. I wore some crazy things in high school and college, and now that I'm older I sometimes call my style "boring" even though it's definitely not! It's just not as crazy as it used to be, so I guess I feel like it got "boring" sometimes. 

I love to dress cute though! I know some people prefer to just wear comfy clothes out and about (I totally feel you) but I truly enjoy putting together an outfit before I leave the house. Even if it's something I've worn a thousand times but love, it just makes me feel better and gives me confidence to start my day! And now that I've figured out what I love to wear, I truly enjoy getting dressed every day.

One of the tools that helped me figure out my style was Jayde's free wardrobe workbook and e-course. (If you don't follow @jayde_archives on Instagram, you really must. Her feed is PINK!) She curates a capsule wardrobe each season and shares it on her blog. It's so inspiring! Since she does a capsule wardrobe, she makes sure to have a color palate so all her clothes can mix and match. She has a lot of pink in her wardrobe, so I love it!

Here are some things I learned about my style thanks to the exercises in the workbook!

Things I Love to Wear

• Comfy A-line dresses that require no layering
• High waisted A-line skirts (with a top tucked in)
• Boots 
• Hats (usually a beret) and hair feathers
• Small vintage cross-body purses

Things I Don't Like to Wear

• Pencil Skirts
• Tunics (I love them, but I prefer the look of them with pencil skirts... which I don't like)
• Blazers

Colors/Patterns

My Favorite Neutrals:

• white/cream
• cognac
• denim
• black
• (not a big fan of brown, gray, or navy)

My Favorite Colors:

• blush
• burgundy
• emerald
• yellow and mustard yellow
• olive

My Favorite Patterns:

• stripes
• plaid
• floral

My Modesty Standards

I love to dress modest as a way to worship God. I also believe it is a way to honor both my husband and myself! So here are my personal standards:

• skirts and dresses that come to the knee
• nothing super tight (I love the quote: "Your clothing should be tight enough to show you're a woman and loose enough to show you're a lady.")
• I like sleeves to be several inches long (I have a scar on my arm--if it's covered, my sleeves are the right length)
• higher neckline (no further than maybe an inch and a half below my collarbone. I just know when the neckline is good for me.)
• nothing see-through
• cover neck to knee (i.e. no cut-outs)
• no jewelry except rings or watches

My Look Book

I used Jayde's suggestion to make a Pinterest Look Book. These are outfits that I would completely, totally wear that fit my style. (It is also separate from my "Style" board, which is more like inspiration rather than specific outfits I would wear. However, many of the pins on this board are similar to outfits I would wear.)

How Has This Changed My Wardrobe?

Once I realized these things, I went into my closet and took out all the things I didn't really like. Blazers are so cute... on other people. Bye bye blazers! Bye bye tunics! (Okay I kept a few lol.) I even said goodbye to a few pairs of shoes. (None of my boots, of course.)

I have since been on the hunt for more high-waisted a-line skirts. I've decided to try to thrift them, and found three new (to me) skirts in the last two weeks (one maroon, one yellow, one multicolored patterned)! I also got a cute maroon dress. It's so much easier to shop knowing what colors and styles I like wearing! I've already worn all my new things--some a few times! (Except the yellow skirt, as it is more fitting for warm weather.)

Having a closet with items I love makes it easy to create outfits since most of the colors work well together. It also convinced me to go ahead and buy some pink boots! I wear them all the time!

I was also able to create a list of items that I'm searching for to add to my closet.

To Add to my Closet:

• Perfect denim skirt (I had one, but it got stolen when I stayed in a public dorm. I'm still bitter about it!)
• New black and white t-shirts
• Tops that are comfy but look nice that I can tuck into my skirts
• A cute LSU game day outfit
• long sleeved cream colored top
• skirts in my "colors" (I scored a maroon one at Goodwill!)

Conclusion

I feel like I'm writing a paper, ending it with a conclusion. haha. Anyhoo, ultimately it's been a fun adventure working on my closet. It's so nice to have a closet with pieces I really love that make me feel amazing. And I've been having so much fun putting together outfits! 

I think it's also been nice because I recently moved and I don't feel pressured to dress like the people around me. I used to often be around people who were very stylish, but I felt like the weirdo amongst them, so it was sometimes difficult to dress the way I wanted to with confidence. Being in a new town where people don't know me... I don't even mind sticking out! In fact it's kind of fun and I often get compliments on the way I'm dressed. 

At this point I just feel like I'm rambling, so I'll quit. But I definitely recommend using Jayde's workbook and checking out her blog if you'd like inspiration to figure out your style!

Baking with E

Ethan is my nephew, and also the cutest kid on earth. (Although I might be a little bias.) He lives in west Texas so I don't get to see him all that often anymore. I used to live with him and his mommy so I definitely miss him a lot! (Look how cute and little he was last year when we had our snow day!)

He's grown so much in the last year. He used to come into my room and play with the stuffed animals I'd bought from my travels. Or we'd color. Or we'd go through all the photos on my laptop and he would tell me everyone's names. And now here he is talking in full sentences, telling me, "Be quiet," when I start humming along to YouTube playing "Baby Shark." The other day in church our pastor jokingly said, "Do you want to go to Chick-Fil-A?" and Ethan answered, "No! I want to go to McDonalds!"

I visited my family this weekend in northwest Louisiana and brought a lot of Valentine's Day cookies to sell. (I have a side hustle making cookies. You should check out my Instagram! @JohnHenrysSweets) Ethan and his mommy were visiting too (we all stayed at my grandparents'), so I asked Ethan if he would help me make dog cookies. Well, actually I told him we were making cookies for Oxford, and since Oxford is his favorite and was one of the first names he learned to say, I figured he'd be excited to help me. He was a little upset that Oxford didn't come with me, though.

My mom and her husband came to visit everyone, they told Ethan and me hello and Ethan told them, "We're busy." So we scooped and poured and mixed and rolled out and cut dough. He was such a good helper! Although I did have to stop him from putting his feet in the cookie dough. ("I squish it!")

These are memories that I will cherish forever.

1 Black Skirt 5 Ways

This was going to be called something along the lines of "iPhone Outfits" or something like that until I realized that all the mirror selfies I've taken recently feature the same black pleather skirt. Oops. Can't help what I like though!

One thing I'd really like to do again is outfit photos. I always loved doing them! I got out of the habit though and haven't done them in a really long time. I guess I need to see if I can convince Casey to play outfit photographer! :) Every once in a while I really like my outfit and I'll take a quick mirror snap.

This winter I've fallen in love with this skirt! I bought it several years ago at Forever21 but haven't worn it much until now! And now I wear it multiple times a week...

I've also been wearing the beret (in the first photo) a ton! I saw it in a local business on Small Business Saturday and couldn't get it out of my mind. A week later we were downtown for a parade and walked past the store. I glanced in the window. It was still there. So I popped in before the parade started and bought it!

I'm working on a post about figuring out my style, so I hope to share that soon! And hopefully I'll get some real outfit pics taken soon as well!

How to Fight For Your Friends

*I'm currently doing a study of David and want to share with you what I learn along the way! Today we're in 1 Samuel 20. See the first post here!*

The reason I first fell in love with the story of David was because of his friendship with Jonathan. I think there is something so beautiful about true friendship. Surely, the friendship between Jonathan and David is true.

Let’s backtrack. Who is Jonathan? Jonathan is the prince. The son of King Saul. Yeah, that king. The one who wants to kill David.

So David’s bestie’s dad wants to kill him. And since David is married to King Saul’s daughter, that means that King Saul is also his father-in-law. Can you say family drama???

Jonathan and David became friends right after David killed Goliath. You know how there are some people you immediately click with? That’s how it was with these two. They were instantly best friends and even made a covenant to prove it, which in Bible times was a very serious thing!

And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt. 1 Samuel 18:3-4

I find this part so interesting. The prince--the one who should be the future king--removes his princely garments and weapons and hands them to the one who will one day take the throne. Wow.

Jonathan is very unlike his father. He makes a covenant with David. He keeps it. Even when he realizes that David will be the next king instead of him. He doesn’t become jealous of David like Saul does, but rather supports David as the future King of Israel. Jonathan is a true friend and gives us an example to follow in our own friendships.

Jonathan stood up for David when the king tried to kill David. He fought David’s case against King Saul, trying to convince the king to let David be. King Saul threw his javelin at Jonathan. (1 Samuel 20:33) Jonathan believed David was worth fighting for. Worth dying for. (Don’t worry, Saul has bad aim and Jonathan was fine.)

We can learn so much about friendship from Jonathan, but one thing that stands out to me is his bravery.

Think of your friend. Maybe your best friend. I have three and I’m very protective of them. If someone hurts me, I’m like, “I’m tough. I can handle it.” But someone does my friend wrong and I’m like, “Excuse you! What are you doing to my beautiful cinnamon roll?!”

Honestly, feeling like that about your friend is a good thing. (To a point. Starting fights is no bueno.) It means that you care for your friend enough to stand up for them.

Just like Jonathan’s bestie David was attacked, your friend will be attacked too at some point. Probably not with a javelin, but very likely with words. Mean words, things that aren’t true, things that ARE true but should be left alone, things from the past, untrue lies. Sometimes these are lies that others are spreading, but sometimes (probably most times) these are thoughts inside your friend’s head.

Today I read a quote by Ney Bailey that says, “The only power that Satan has is in his lies and getting us to believe them.”

Wow. That hit me hard. Because I’ve been there. I’ve believed the lies about myself. “You’re worthless.” “God can’t use you because of your past.” “Nobody loves you.” “No one will ever love you.”

Do you know what helped me overcome those lies? My friends.

When I felt unloved, Rachel told me that I was surrounded by love.

When I felt insignificant, Julianne told me that I am more than enough.

When I felt worthless, Sis. Pam told me my worth was in Christ, not in myself.

When I felt like God couldn’t use me because of my past, Sarah told me that God was going to take me on an adventure beyond my wildest dreams.

I believed the things that my friends told me and found myself no longer believing the lies. My friends reminded me of truth.

The Bible says that truth will set us free. (John 8:32)

Truth has allowed me to overcome worthlessness. It’s taught me how to trust again. It’s shown me that I have purpose.

Speak truth over your friends. Speak truth over yourself. Watch how the lives around you change as you speak TRUTH and fight those nasty lies. You and your friends will no longer be susceptible to the devil’s only “power”.

Fight lies with truth. This is how we will overcome.

Clark Creek

Casey and I recently decided to take a day trip to Clark Creek in Mississippi. It was about a two hour drive, so we woke up early and hit the road. Casey has an amazing knack for finding awesome restaurants, so before we left he picked a new breakfast place for us, Birdman Coffee and Books. We had the sweet potato pancakes and they were delicious! 

After breakfast we headed to Clark Creek! I was expecting it to be simple walking trails in the woods. I had no idea there would be large hills and rocks to climb! Thankfully, Casey held Oxford during the difficult parts and I just did my best to not fall and bust it. As it turned out, my favorite part of the day was climbing across all the huge rocks to get to the waterfall. 

We only spent a few hours there because Casey wanted to check out a nearby golf course that afternoon. I'm always down for chilling in the golf cart with a book!

We're already planning another trip to Clark Creek with some friends! Can't wait to go back!