Outfit 51: Gold Bracelet

Today's been a long day... I took multiple naps yesterday and it totally threw off my schedule. I took a nap from 8-10pm last night, and then stayed up til 2am... got up at 7:30 and then spent the day at work. I was fine until my lack of sleep caught up with me later in the day... and I'm going to bed soon now, instead of going to the gym... whoops. So this outfit is what happens after work, when I still have places to be and things to do but I don't want to still be dressed up. I wore the pants I wore yesterday in Outfit 50 to work, but I put on jeans tonight. Much more comfortable.

$5 - Target

The cardigan you see in the top picture was featured in Outfit 16 - going WAY back now, hang on :) This green shirt I'm wearing with a green cami underneath it, which was in Outfit 42. I like this shirt mostly because of the color- I've always loved green and this darker green is easy to wear with anything- jeans, brown, khaki, black... and it pairs nicely with almost any cardigan. It's subtle. And comfy. Oh, and I got it on sale at Target last summer :)

Boots - Gift

Oh, my love of boots. These were a Christmas present this past year, and I am so thrilled to have them. You can't really tell from the picture, but they are brown leather boots. And they go with everything. They are a little on the pricey end - these were about $85 on clearance - but definitely worth it. They're what's "in" right now, and I can definitely tell why. My favorite. Oh, and the jeans are skinny jeans from American Eagle - in Outfit 4.

$3 - in a set

My earrings came in a set with about 8 other pairs of small studs- and I got them for about $3 at Claires last summer. I really like them because I think they're very simple and understated. I've grown to really like small earrings, especially small studs like this because of that. Yay little gold studs (I'm getting tired...) My ring and watch are featured in Outfit 50.

Gift

This bracelet is the inspiration for my post today. Back in October, I found out that my great aunt was very sick with cancer, and only had a little bit of time left. I was devastated- we'd never been close, but she was family, and I'd been telling myself for a long time that I wanted to get back down to Florida to visit her before I ran out of time. The rest of my family made it down there to see her back in June, but I was busy working and couldn't go with them. My mom texted me the news on a Friday afternoon in October, and I remember very clearly how little work I accomplished when I was there the rest of the day. My mom said that she probably didn't have enough time for me to make it down there, and that she wouldn't want me to rush down there anyway. As her health stabilized for a few days, I decided that I'd write her a letter. So I did. And I sent it down to her, in the hopes that it would get there in time and that she would either read it or someone would read it to her. She passed away that Saturday night, and I could only pray that my letter had reached her in time.

In late January, my mom called me to tell me I'd gotten a package in the mail from my cousin, my great-aunt's niece (I think, I'm really quite awful with family relationships and what not, but you get the picture). She said it was addressed to me and she asked if she could open it! I said of course, and she read me the letter that was in it- which thanked me for my letter, shared how it had helped her and had helped my great-aunt (someone did read it to her!), and how she didn't want to miss the opportunity to tell us she loved us. How awesome is that. I would also like to add that we've had a lot of problems communicating and staying in touch with this part of our family, and now we're working on repairing things! 

In addition to her letter, my cousin sent me this bracelet, which belonged to my great aunt. She said "I know Bernie would like for you to keep it, and maybe even wear it, sometimes." It's gorgeous. And  I love it. I feel like she's with me when I wear it, and I smile thinking of her. What a blessing. 

I'll leave you with my song, "Second Chance," that I wrote as a reflection. Oh, and today's total cost is on the high side, because of quality pieces: $140

Outfit 50: Brown Dress Pants and More Boots!

This is actually the outfit I wore to church today, so I'm catching up to real time with my outfits and posts! Yay! Now let's see if I can accomplish this for tomorrow... So I've been going to church at Liberty Baptist Church since August, and I've really enjoyed it. It's so different from Welborne, but in a refreshing good way that makes me appreciate both Welborne and Liberty. I'm not sure how they feel about my involvement in both churches, but since I travel home frequently but live in Hampton, I guess it's best for me to be involved in both rather than just one or the other? At the end of the day, to me church is church and I'm just glad I have the freedom to go at all.

I actually got up at 6:30 this morning for our Bible Study class at 8. Don't worry, I'm equally as shocked I got up that early for something other than work. I think my body was so shocked it just didn't know how to stop me this morning. Though I will be napping after this. But, I figure my relationship with God is a lot more important than my job, and if I can get up early for work every day I better be able to get to church whenever I'm called to be there. So this outfit came together quite early this morning, and I must say I'm rather pleased with it. It took a while for me to figure out what to wear- I just couldn't pick out the right top. I'm currently sharing my bed with a pile of clothes and hangers, it's that bad. But anyway.

$15 - Ross

This picture is for the cardigan- I needed something else to throw over my outfit this morning and this was perfect. I got it at Ross about a year ago, and it's just one of those essential things I don't try to plan my outfits around but am so glad when I have it!

$10 - Ross/Marshall's

And this is the outfit without the cardigan. I like it because the pants are fitted and actually sit higher on my hips, so I was looking for a shirt that was either form fitting or loose that I could tug in. Of course, I tried on 10 trying to make this work. I think this looks nice and professional, so I'm pleased with the way it turned out! I can't remember where I got the shirt from, but I'm guessing it was about $10, and probably from Ross or Marshalls. That's my best guess!

$12 - Kohl's

I actually got these pants yesterday on my normal Saturday shopping excursion. This time I went to Kohl's, though, since it had been a while since I'd been there and I figured I might find some things! Very very rarely do I find decent pants on clearance, especially onces I can wear for work that are flattering, stylish, and I can wear either flats or heels with them! So this is definitely a win for me. Oh, and they were only $12 and included the belt! Talk about a deal!

$12 - Target

Alright, now for my boots! I love boots. I have about 8 pairs. That's after I cleaned out my closet. And half of them are brown. You can never have too many! So these I got a few weeks ago in Richmond. I was shopping with a good friend of mine at Target, and I found these boots without any tags on them or a box at all. I knew they were in the clearance section, and I went ahead and tried them on. They fit perfectly! So I told myself if they were $10 or less I would get them. So when I got to the register and she scanned them, they came up to $12 - and I decided that was close enough! So brown suede boots from Target for $12. I'm pretty happy with them!

$25 - Kohl's

I wear this watch literally every day. I was only $25 from Kohl's, and my mom got it for me when we were out shopping before I began working at NASA. I knew I'd need something other than my phone to keep the time, and I like how much this one is like a bracelet. I can't imagine not having it, I've gotten so used to it now!

Gift

These earrings were part of a set that my sister got, but she didn't want them. So she gave them to me! They're pretty big, as you can tell, especially for studs. But they have a pink hue to them, so they went great with my blouse today. I love the classy look of pearls, so these are an instant go to when I need something to go with just about anything.

Gift

This ring probably needs it's own post. And maybe on a different blog that would work. But for this post, I'll suffice to say that this ring was a gift from my parents when I turned 13. It says "I love you" on it, and they got it for me as a "true love waits" ring. Without getting into my testimony, I'll just say that it means a lot more to me now than it did when I first got it 10 years ago. I wear it every day, and I think it's gotten prettier each day!

Now I'm all caught up for the moment- time to pick out tomorrow's outfit!

Total Cost: $74

Outfit 49: Gray Jacket and Coral Bag

Just a normal Saturday for me!

 I know, I know. My pictures belong on myspace, not on a blog. I guess I could try to figure out how to set my camera on a timer and not get a mirror picture, but honestly, this is easier. So, what do you think? Cute mirror? Haha, it's been difficult to get pictures of my outfits without roommates or residents to solicit help from. Living alone has its pros and cons, I suppose.

So, a typical Saturday for me consists of sleeping in, going to PetCo to make sure things run smoothly for my volunteers, and take pictures of the cats to put on our facebook page. I'm a volunteer coordinator for the Peninsula Humane Foundation (PHF) in my spare (ha!) time, and Saturdays are usually my day to go up there and make sure we're doing okay. Then I usually go shopping - so this is just a basic outfit I can wear around almost anywhere!

$15 - Ross

I am so in love with this coral bag. This is definitely the color of the season! I think it's great, and since I can only wear a limited amount of this color without looking washed out, having a bag this color is a great way to look like I'm keeping up with the trends :) I will also say that this bag is great because I don't have to hold onto it while I'm out! Even with a one shoulder bag like all of my other purses, I feel like I'm constantly having to hold on to them just to keep them on my shoulder. With this one- I have my hands free to select more clothes to try on! I mean, that is what it's for, right? Haha, but really I saw this at Ross one day, picked it up and never put it back down. It was only $15, and I take it everywhere. LOVE.

Gift ($3 - Shipwreck)

My mom got this necklace for me a long time ago- actually, before I even started the blog. I have no idea why it was never featured (I just sifted through all my old posts!) because I love it. It was only $3 and we found it at a little souvenir shop in the Outer Banks, called the Shipwreck. It's my favorite little shop down there- we've gone for years and years and this was a little treasure to take back with me.

Hand-me-down (Express)

 I know, it's a bit awkward to take a picture of my butt. I don't care for it either, but the best way to show off jeans is to show the pocket design on the back, as that's usually the way to tell what brand they are! Not sure if you can even tell in this picture, but I'm not zooming in, lol! These jeans are Express, and they are actually a hand-me-down from my roommate last fall. She couldn't use them anymore so she gave them to me - it was AWESOME to live with someone who wore the same size as me! Love her! I probably wear these jeans the most out of any of my other ones- they're comfy and can easily be dressed up or down depending on what I want to do. Or in between, as this outfit called for.

$16 - Ross

And now for the other part of this outfit the title is for! I just LOVE this jacket. I actually bought it back in October when I went shopping with one of my best friends in Richmond. I credit her with my ability to shop all day and spend ridiculous amounts of money, but also always getting the most bang for my buck. I think every time we go shopping we each say "That's cute... but not for $xxx." So at least we keep each other in check! It was really funny when I got this jacket though, because we were in Ross and she pulled it out laughing, and said "I don't even know how you'd wear this!!" and I said, "Hold onto it, and I'll show you how you wear it." Lo and behold, I bought it. For $16 and being representative of me, as she said, it was kind of a no-brainer. And I love it. I have it paired with a basic black cami here.

I don't remember what earrings I wore that day, but they were probably little studs. I wore my butterfly converses ($22), which were first featured in Outfit 6. Surprisingly, that's the only outfit they're in! I actually wear them quite a lot now, so I'm really shocked they weren't in any other posts. 

Total Cost: $56

Outfit 48: In loving memory

The Hawaiian shirt is my dad's- I'll talk about the other
pieces of the outfit when they come up again in later
posts. You'll see I added my own flair with my belt
though :)

I could have sworn I was at least past outfit 50 when I stopped... nope! Well, today I plan to write 3 posts to catch up and hopefully jump start me for next week. Before I jump in to this outfit, I want to thank those of you who read this and encourage me to keep posting - to be honest, I forget things if they're not right in front of me so having other people remind me of what I'm supposed to be doing is great! Thank you!!!

I'm backtracking a couple weeks with this outfit, this time not for the thriftiness of it, but rather the story. I've been a member of Welborne United Methodist church since I was 3 or 4 (at least, that's what my parents tell me) and it wasn't long before I was singing frequently. My first solo was when I was 8, and I sang a song in front of the congregation that was composed by another church member. I still remember some of it. Fast forward a few years, and I was singing with the praise band alongside my dad to lead worship on Sunday mornings. When I was in high school, we would have band practices Saturday morning for a few hours, and we'd have anywhere from 3 to 10 musicians, depending on the week. It was so fun! I learned so much more about performing, rhythm, and music in general that I didn't get from my piano lessons or years of chorus. Since then though, most of the original band members moved on to other things, and the couple of other people my age left when they left for college, so it's become much smaller. While things have changed quite a bit since high school, and I don't live in Richmond anymore, whenever I come home for the weekend I still join my dad on Sunday mornings.

Our praise band in 2007, Owen, David, my dad, Buck in the back, and Wayne, Wesley, me, Tom and Tom in the front. (L-R)

So, why is this relevant? Well, a few weeks ago one of our original band members, David, passed away. I knew that he hadn't been healthy, but to get a voicemail that says someone you knew died is never an easy thing, no matter what preparation you have. And it was more sudden than not, so it hit me pretty hard. David had played in the praise band for years- and he always had a smile on his face and just loved the music! He brought such a positive energy to the band, though sometimes he would try to insert rock guitar riffs into the worship music, and our band practices would take a different turn. I will never forget that. It had been a few years since he'd been playing with the band, but to me he was still just as much a part of it as everyone else. So, when I heard that David had passed away and my dad was working on assembling some of the old band members, I immediately planned to come home. 

The band back together for David's funeral, with a couple additions. David's guitar and picture were at the front of the sanctuary throughout the ceremony. 

On Thursday, March 8, David's funeral was held at our church, in the same sanctuary we would practice in on Saturdays and lead worship in on Sundays. In loving memory of David, the band wore Hawaiian shirts and jeans, and a black Welborne T-shirt. It was a typical outfit for him, so as we played and sang some of his favorite songs, we also dressed to match. I can picture him smiling to see us like that- and I can just as easily picture him playing along on his guitar from heaven.  

I dedicate this post to David. I know you're up there in heaven, and I hope we can have the full band reunited one day!

Life After Graduation

You know, it's crazy how quickly life goes by. It was a year and a half ago that I started this blog (at least) and it truly feels like yesterday. Yesterday in some senses, but a lifetime ago in others. So, the last time I posted wasn't supposed to be my last post for a year. But google merged my account with my other google account, meaning I lost access to blogger until it informed me that I was using some crazy email address I didn't even know I had attached to my name. So I wrestled with that for a bit (I am not a friend of technology- I like it just fine but it feels differently about me), and finally have access! Of course I couldn't merge my blogger-associated google account with my personal google account I already use, so I had to create a new account. Jeez, google, if only you'd realize that you'd use a fraction of the cyberspace by allowing people to merge accounts then my life would be so much easier!

Oh well, I guess there are worse things than having multiple google accounts.

Point is, the blog is back, and I am intent on finishing it! But I suppose I should preface this with what I've been up to. Man is that a lot.

Okay. So.

The short version is that I've now graduated college and work at NASA DEVELOP as a manager for our Langley location. So I play scientist and manager, though more manager. I still don't know what I want to do with my life, and was looking for jobs recently online and wanted to cry. Anyway, I live on my own, I still don't have a cat, and I bought a guitar and have been taking an ASL class at church. I like to read... watch Burn Notice (I'm TOTALLY addicted)... and I want to experience life to the fullest. I don't know how. We'll see what happens.

Me and Astronaut Anna Fischer

This is a picture from a business trip I went on- to Richmond for Aerospace Days. NASA employees and contractors working at NASA meet up with other aerospace leaders to convey to delegates and senators of VA how important our work is and to thank them for their support. This year I was given the opportunity to attend, and got to talk with Anna Fischer, a NASA astronaut who has done some remarkable things! She was really cool and down to earth (no pun intended). Anyway, this is just one example of what I've been up to.

Back to the blog: my style has changed a bit. I've traded out some old things for some new things (okay, some might be an understatement), I've spent a considerable amount of time in the professional workforce so I'm finally learning how to look professional and still be me. So I'm hoping that once I make the time I can get this project completed! I hate leaving things unfinished, so I'm looking forward to putting this behind me. Don't get me wrong, it's been fun, but I'm ready to add something else to my repertoire!

:)