that whole chevron argyle thing

Since beginning to post outfits on my blog I've become really excited about making outfits from my closet.  I'm inspired by so many of my friends fashion blogs like Sarah and Bethany and they motivate me to see the possibilities of more outfits in my wardrobe!

Also since posting outfits I've tried my hand at a little thrift shopping. I recently discovered this little gem of a thrift shop not too far from my house, The Assistance League.

The Assistance League is a national non-profit that gives back to the local community with the money they raise; clothing many homeless kids in the community every year. The store has everything from clothes (for men and women) to shoes, jewelry, purses and some home goods.  Check them out!  The longer an item has been in the store, the cheaper it gets. I walked aways with a few great finds for just $1.00 each!

All of the workers are volunteers who are actually member of The Assistance League, giving back to their local community and are very committed to the cause. When I visited the store, they were all so sweet and helpful.

Take your own gently used clothes to The Assistance League to help support the local community as well. They will also welcome your shopping bags from Trader Joes, Nordstrom, etc to use for customer purchases!

Sweater: Thrifted (the assistance league) | Skirt: Urban | Tights: Fred Meyer | Boots: Macy's | Bangles: Thrifted (the assistance league)

winter wear pink

Well that weekend whizzed right by! Of course, with the super bowl festivities taking up most of the weekend, it can do that! What did you all do for the super bowl? Ryan and I went down to Albany to visit my cousins and watch the game with them. It was a great time!

Top: Nordstrom | Jacket: Nordstrom | Scarf: Nordstrom | Jeans: Paige | Shoes: Ross | Bracelets: Target

mirror monday: do i really believe

I just finished reading The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. What an inspiring story! The Ten Boom family lived in Holland during World War II, and became part of the underground movement hiding Jews from the Nazi and orchestrating the safe passage of so many Jews into hiding all over the country.

Eventually Corrie and her sister Betsie were discovered for their work in the underground movement and arrested. They were thrown in prison and eventually transferred to two different concentration camps. Throughout it all their faith in God remained unwavering.

Upon arriving at one of the concentration camps each women was ordered to strip naked and leave all their clothes and possessions behind. In addition to a sweater, and a small bottle of vitamin drops, Corrie and Betsie had a small precious Bible they had been carrying with them.

Each woman was given a thin prison dress to wear, nothing else. Although they were told to leave everything behind, Corrie and her sister refused to let go of the precious Word of God that they clung to so dearly. Although she risked being beaten or shot, Corrie smuggled the Bible, along with the sweater and vitamins underneath her prison dress. When inspection time came each women was thoroughly patted down one by one in a long line of women. Corrie who held the Word of God under her dress was miraculously skipped each time. No other explanation but a miracle of God can be given for how this happened.

I can tell you that when I look in the mirror, I do not see a person with the faith that Corrie and Bestie had. In a way, I'm jealous. Their faith in God was all they had. The truth is, the same God that saved Corrie and Betsie from being brutally beaten or killed by the guards is the same powerful God that wants to work in my life. Do I really believe that? I don't act like I believe that. I have 1000 different things distracting me at any given moment from iphone Apps to Nordstrom catalogues to the comforts of my own home, my favorite TV shows and my daily routine that I'm flat out missing out on experiencing the power of God in my life.

Stuff.

How pathetic.

How cunning of the evil one.

My goal: to be less consumed with stuff and more consumed with what God is doing and how He wants me to join with Him in the miraculous things He is doing!




top: garage sale | vest: Nike | leggings: Favuer | necklace: Favuer 

mirror monday: what do you see when you look in the mirror

Let's face it, we don't always like what we see when we look in the mirror. What meets our eyes as we glance at the mirror on the wall may only be the things that we dislike about ourselves. Sometimes we tend to focus on the things that we don't like, at least I do. The problem is, by focusing on the things we don't like we we miss seeing the whole picture and therefore have an inaccurate view of ourselves.

This past week my husband and I vacationed in Bend, Oregon. We love it there! While there we like to walk around downtown, do some window shopping and I always love to go into the little boutiques to do some clothing and home goods shopping as well.

One day we stepped into a particular boutique we visited in the summer. I grabbed a few items I thought I would try on and asked the sales women a few questions about the pieces I had picked out. The women, who I would say was about 20 years older then I and had a very motherly way about her, was very helpful and offered her assistance with any of the items once I had tried them on.

Behind the curtain of the dressing room I began to try the pieces on. By the time I got the second piece over my head, I was so frustrated. Nothing fit. Nothing looked good. It was all wrong. A million bad thoughts were running around in my head as I look at myself in the mirror - I felt defeated.

Somehow the sales women convinced me to let her help me with the items. I stepped hesitantly out from behind the curtain, into the store and over to a full length mirror. Mumbling words of disappointment about myself the sales women stopped me in an admonishing sort of way that I wasn't expecting. I'll never forget what happened next.

Standing in front of me she said, "Look at my eyes". I felt like I was in trouble and really just wanted to avoid her eyes. She said it again, "look at my eyes". I could tell I wasn't going to get away easy. I tried hard to look into her eyes, feeling uncomfortable and thinking to myself, "I just wanted to come in and try some clothes on!"

Standing in the middle of the boutique wearing nothing of my own, this total stranger, eyes locked on mine own said "Now I want to tell you something, this is important and you need to hear me. Your view of yourself affects how others respond to you". I didn't even know what to say. I hadn't asked for this, but somehow I knew this was something I needed to hear.

Nodding my head and trying hard not to sweat through the clothes on my body that weren't my own, I uttered the words, "I know". I knew, but rarely acted like I did. She repeated the words to me again and then as if that wasn't enough, she made me look into the mirror and said "now I want you to tell me what you like about yourself". I couldn't do it. Whether it was because I believed I would be conceited if I did, or I didn't like anything about myself, or both, I couldn't say anything.

This women wanted me to see the truth about myself as I looked in the mirror. I admit though, it was hard. I am a work in progress. Having a good self image is important and something that I need to work on. So, when I look in the mirror I am going to try to see the good things about myself, not the bad.

Sweater: Forever 21 | Skirt: Urban | Scarf: Gifted | Hat: Fabulous Finds | Clock Necklace: Faveur Boutique | Earrings, tights and boots : don't remember

one little, two little, three little...

"One little, two little, three little Indians..."

Remember that nursery rhyme?

Well, this morning I walked into work and guess what? I wasn't the only little Indian at work today! My co-worker, Karen and I dressed like twins and we didn't even plan on it. Great minds think alike right!

Here are picture of the costume my mom and I made as promised here. I'm already thinking of what I'm going to be next year!