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9.25.2013

we got spirit how bout YOU!?

for this fall i got a new fabric supplier and about a million SICK NEW fabrics for my braided scarves. i wanted to expand to be able to accommodate all the different options that people tend to want when they buy scarves to wear to football games, which i had noticed was happening a lot!

TN titans and OU sooners? sure. let's call them that.

with many of my new fabrics just arrived and not even photographed yet, things are very much UNDER CONSTRUCTION still. i am going to reshoot some photos for my etsy shop soon with these new fabrics and some of my hottest friends as models. because i am tired of seeing cruddy photos of myself as my "model."

ay.

but alas, fall is already upon us and football is in full swing, and i gotta get moving .so i'm giving yall a sneaky peaky at some of the new fabrics and possible combos...AND a happy little discount!

*keep in mind: ANY of the fabrics listed in my shop can be combined! i've just put together some examples. arent sure what color combo would be right for your favorite team? just send me a convo and i'll come up with some options.*

i even have a few fabrics that arent even listed yet, so just ask! i'm pretty sure there isnt a pro or college team color combo that i CANT pull off with my stash.

the houndstooth i got almost exclusively for alabama fans. (of course it's also just chic when NOT paired with maroon too!).  and i had to lock down an old gold stripe for my alma mater, georgia tech!

i am offering 20% off all braided scarves in my etsy shop to the first 10 customers to use code TEAMSPIRIT at checkout (and dont forget to leave me your colors!). this is the biggest discount i have ever offered on these babies and they will not be on sale like this again for a while!

scarf 'em up while you can. (oh, my).

update: i have created a titan of a collage with all of the fabrics i will carry. zoom for detail.




dont forget to enter the GE Appliances $100 visa giftcard giveaway!

9.19.2013

worn, out (on the fire escape)

i have (re)discovered that if i take a leeetle bit of time putting together a solid outfit/hair/makeup situation in the morning, that i genuinely feel more confident and happier throughout the day. rather than fighting against this attitude shift on the grounds of possible superficiality or shallowness--and feeling blah about myself until i've come to a different moral conclusion (aint nobody got time for that!)-- i've just decided to roll with feeling good and making the most out of my closet.

here are three looks that i put together recently that i felt great in (even while photographing myself from a cellphone, pinched into a binder clip, taped to the rail of the fire escape, out back of my office). 


sweater top, $10, old navy
jeans, $18, old navy
sandals, $22, american eagle
necklace, $10, ruche (identical on etsysimilar, similar
messy side pony technique gal meets glam (look #5)



cardigan: $20, target 
jeans: old navy (similar, similar)
mini wedge shoes: $18, american eagle (similar, similar)
bracelet: $11, local (similar)
necklace, tog + porter (similar)



studded top: $49 dillards (inspired by stitchfix)
jeans, $13 (old navy)
navy wedges: $3, goodwill (similar)
earrings, $32 noonday collection (a great cause that helps women!)
purse, $28 target (similar, similar)
nail color, $6 essie in mint candy apple (obsessed!!)

for a long time i refused to dress myself "up" because i wasnt happy with my body. i said, "well, once i lose like 15 lbs, i will actually FEEL like dressing up more and buying clothes." this is a lie. i never felt like making the best of where i was, so i dressed blah. this made me feel blah, which did not engender a spirit of, " this body is awesome and WORKS and i will make the most of it," so i tended to treat it kind of blah with poor food and exercise choices (re: LOTS and none).

ironically, i started this recent little fashion blitzkreig at the same time that the 50 mile running challenge started, and i was SHOCKED to see that effort in one led to effort in the other (i had thought that running so much would make me never shower and only wear workout clothes). i was no longer ashamed of dressing my thighs in form-fitting pants because--even though they hadnt really changed sizes or anything--i was proud of them and the quads they contain for carrying me 6 miles in a day. and then after a day of feeling good in what i was wearing and in my own skin, i tended to feel really positive about going out and taking care of my body by running more. 

what a world, huh?

anyway, that's my little soapbox for today. IF i lose some poundage, i will enjoy getting new clothes in smaller sizes, but until then, i am going to invest effort in taking care of and making the most of the body i have now and the clothes that fit this fabulous, soft, healthy, strong, and spazzy bag of bones that i own.


9.17.2013

EwLOL



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i cleaned out my closet this week and was pleased to find a few pairs of used, but really nice, nike running shorts at the bottom of one of my perma-piles. i decided to give them a wash (and, let's keep it real, a crotch-bleaching for curb appeal and general sanitation), and list them on eBay. i figured any profit would be a suitable reward for tidying up a neglected area of the house AND for gaining all the weight that rendered these shorts too small for me.

i listed them last night after the sanitation process was complete, proud to feature sparkly white inner-linings. 

this morning i awoke to this lovely message from a prospective buyer!



so that's fun! stay classy, universe!

i am torn between thinking this is the funniest thing ever and the creepiest thing ever (i think i've landed on: BOTH). i am also wondering if the bleach was a mistake...did i unknowingly disintegrate many dollars of profit when i rid the linings of all trace organic material?! 

maybe "women's workout clothing" wasnt the right category to list them in at all. but then, i never saw an option for "sweaty grundle essence" to list under to really cash in. where is eBay's suggestion box!?

for such a brief (pun) message, he really goes the distance. i cant decide if my favorite part is the "for me"--as if i would do this little favor for such a close buddy--or the "(uncleaned)" parenthetical that conjures up some levitical connotations. 

i posted the screen grab to my personal facebook page and had some awesome suggestions from friends. from letting jesse put them on and take them for a jog before sending them (with a pic!), to putting some kimchi or dog poop in them and then shipping.

another friend jumped right to the logical* conclusion that i had perhaps nabbed a serial rapist (all in a days work...). 

i particularly liked the one where i tell the guy "sure!" and then have a friend get into a bidding war with him to drive the price up. 

however i am pretty sure that answering in the affirmative in ANY way (for funny OR for profit)  somehow constitutes a form of prostitution (even if it's just in my own head), so i will obviously be ignoring this (and any future weirdo requests...in case yall are feeling panksy).

what would yall do? are you fully creeped out or laughing? why can this guy not get ahold of FREE dirty workout lady gear in his home country (austria)?



*opposite.

9.04.2013

caught in adultery


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i was reading the bible this morning--you know, because that's totally what i do now--and dang if i didnt get full-blown convicted.

this rarely happens. i am a baby at the bible and my immaturity here probably keeps me from hearing from jesus as much as i [say i] want to. but even when i am truly seeking--not just reading or praying because i'm "posed tuh," (as judah would say)--it's not like i always get the magic verse that my heart needs.

i'm totally and embarrassingly guilty of being 30 years old and still doing the whole, "ok god, i am going to flip open the bible and i'll assume that whatever page i land on and read is going to be exactly what you need me to hear. deal?" i am expecting like my LIFE VERSE to come pouring forth and instead it ends up like one of my favorite 30 Rock scenes where Liz is reading 1 corinthians at a wedding and has to stall for time:

Liz: And now, an unscheduled reading that I think is appropriate for this lovely, romantic occasion. “But Onan knew the offspring would not be his; so whenever he lay with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground…” Sorry [flipping pages]. “Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin”. Oh, come on, Bible! Help a lady out!

so yeah, i cant say i recommend this method of bible study. 

my plodding along in one chapter, little-by-little, and day-by-day, however,  is less exciting, but so far has borne more fruit for me.

so this morning my plodding brought me to a story that i have heard and read and listened to sermons on a butt-ton of times: the woman caught in adultery.

oh, you know the one; here it is in my own words: 

jesus is teaching and those tricksy, scheming pharisees  (religious bigwigs of the time with mad political power) are trying to punk him out and get him to say something that will damn him as a breaker of the law. 

they bring out this lady whom they have caught in adultery and they put her in front of the crowd that jesus was teaching to. they say, "this chick was adulterating...the law of moses says we should throw rocks at her head until she dies...what do YOU think we should do?"

and jesus kind of just ignores them and he sits down and he just starts doodling in the dust with his finger. (actually it says he WRITES in the dust which is cool because it means jesus was literate which wasnt super common back then).

and the pharisees are all. "um, rude. HELLO?!? answer us!"

so jesus stands up and says the famous, "whoever hasnt sinned gets to throw the first stone at her." and then he goes back to dust-writing.

all of the accusers hear this and drift away one by one (boo-ya!) and it's just jesus and the woman (who was pretty much just there/ignored all along as a prop for the pharisees to use in their scheme) are alone in the middle of the crowd of listeners.

he asks her where all of her accusers have gone; didnt even one of them condemn her? and she says, no, lord.

and jesus says "neither do i. go and sin no more."

so every time i have heard this i cast myself in one of two roles. A: the woman: before i loved jesus i was guilty of, and totally busted in, so many situations turning away from god, sexual impurity (though not adultery) included. but then i was redeemed--NOT CONDEMNED--by him. 

or B: i cast myself as jesus, as the protector and lover of sinners who doesnt condemn them, and even defends them from those who would try to shame and kill them with accusations. since i have become a christian my whole life should be spent acting more and more like jesus...so naturally this is the role i should gravitate toward in the story and the one my life should most reflect.

oh, but wait. 

it turns out i'm playing role C, the pharisees, a lot more than would like to admit. this was what jesus gently showed me this morning as i was reading the story, and trying to cast myself as him.

------------------------------------------------

the miley cyrus thing is dead to death of being talked about, but this was the specific thing he used today. not how i blogged about her, or the over-the-top jokes i took too far, but the heart issue IN ME (not her) of why i reacted to her performance in that way.

like he always does, jesus threw a curveball (never a stone) at me. he reminded me of when i dragged miley in front of him and the crowd, and said, "look at this little slut! isnt this shameful how she is acting! let's get her...oh, but in the name of love and upholding the standards of christ... blah, blah, blah, sure, sure, yeah, like that. now, where is my rock?"

and there he is, sitting quietly in the dust, letting me spew all of my condemnation until i have nothing left to say, and i'm just waiting for him to agree with me (i even picked out a nice rock for him because i'm helpful like that).

and like every scholar and reader (and annoyed pharisee probably , i am DYING to know what he's writing in the dust. the bible doesnt say (and my aramaic is rusty anyhow).

he gets up and instead of talking about HER, he looks at me and asks about my story. about my mistakes, my wounded heart and redeemed sins. 

and i fiddle with my rock and am all like, "hold up, this isnt about me! i havent been caught being adulterous! i've never even worn a mouse-head leotard and a foam finger! i twerketh not!  I AM GOOD!"


and with that pathetic, pharisaical cry, my eyes are opened, and i can finally read his dust-writing :


"precious daughter, remember those times you gave your body away?"

"remember when you tried to find your value in a man's lust?"

"do you remember the brokenness of realizing what you had given up?"



and the rock slips from my fingers and the condemnation vanishes from my lips. it has been years, and yet i am still the the used and broken woman. broken not by adultery or lust anymore, but by judgement and pride and so much more. used by satan to bring destruction instead of life because i believed his lies instead of remembering how lost i was too before He rescued me.

i think of all my sin; of how much He knows, of how short i fall. 

i look back to the dust, doomed by the knowledge that all my new transgressions will right there alongside the old, surely he will have recorded my hypocrisy, my cruelty. is there even enough dust on the ground to spell it all out?

but it's gone. 

every bit. 

there is nothing written against me.

it was written in dust and carried away on the wind in an instant. if i am east, my sins are west. the accusations against me have melted away. 

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the pharisees sure looked good that day, especially compared to the woman. 

they were all smart about the law of moses and sparkly in their special temple underpants and color-coded hats, standing there holding their rocks. 

and that poor woman, she was disheveled and red-faced; ashamed at being caught by the religious leaders in adultery and thrown down in the dust before the crowd, before the rabbi. 

it's not too hard to see why the role of pharisee is such a tempting, sneaky lie that we drift back to. it does look like "more fun."

but i am never going to reach my heart desire and soul's duty of being like jesus by trying to act like a pharisee. satan ever tries to trick me into thinking that if i pile enough sparkles on me and enough accusations on others, i'll somehow accomplish something for myself, but boy, what a lie. 

the way to jesus is straight through the dirt and dust. it's through seeing just how covered by it and choking on it i really am. and through letting him blow every speck of it away, and never forgetting that i am a child of dust ransomed to spotless life by "he who is without sin," the only one with a right to throw stones, condemn and shame me but who never, ever will. 

so i can hold on to my pathetic little rock, hoping to catch other people falling short, hurling my empty righteousness at them and bringing them low. OR i can stand on the solid rock of jesus. the christ the solid, perfect rock that no sin could ever etch, but that he chose to engrave with my name. 

like so much sin in my life, i tend to try to make it someone else's problem. it was never about miley. it was always about me, and that's never fun. but it is convenient since i'm the only one i have any control over anyway. i'm going to take that control and, in true VMA style, "hold up, hold up, imma let jesus finish" the work in me that he wants to do.


i'm not saying it's exactly the same as this...but it's close enough to depict the similarities of what i bet was going on in the hearts of these two different 20 year olds, 10 years apart. (also: she didnt have her tongue pierced)




*call me, miley! i think i'm finally mature enough to talk to you. 

9.03.2013

military chic geek


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approximately one nano-fortnight after i discovered her blog i linked yall to J's Everyday Fashion (i have since found out that she is IRL friends with a reader and one of my highschool friends...so we're basically BFF). 

i am taking a page from J's book today (i actually take pages from her pretty much every time i try to get dressed and look fashionable functional. she is a thrifty, beautiful genius and i follow her blindly) by posting a composed outfit that i wore recently (recently as in, i am wearing it right now) and felt amazing in. this is also helpful for me so that i can recall winning combos when i feel like i have nothing to wear. 

i love that military stuff is still on-trend for fall because this peplum military jacket and a black flak-style jacket i already own are two of my favorites ,so i can sort of just grandfather myself into stylish with them. i nerded it up a tad with my real glasses, my glasses pendant and some cuffed red skinnies. the striped shirt is sleeveless so when i leave the pleasant confines of air-conditioning i wont immediately drop dead of heat stroke.

taken on the fire escape at work...like you do (tripod = a massive binder clip taped to the bannister. like a boss)


striped top $16 (100% lifted from a J post...this top is crazy flattering and versatile!): forever 21
skinny jeans $25: LOFT last year (similar, similar)
glasses charm necklace $3: forever 21
snakeskin gladiator sandals $24: american eagle
military peplum jacket $29: LOFT via eBay (similar, similar)
bracelets $4 : forever 21
hexagon earrings (FAVES) $5: american eagle (similarsimilar)

so yall probably know that i HATE having my picture taken and am certifiably the most awful model (that's not self-hate on my appearance, its a truth bomb re: my awkwardity).

you might conclude that taking my own pictures (rather than a photographer/friend/soulmate doing so) might be more successful. you'd be violently wrong about that. 

it took me at least 20 tries to get that first photo. 20 tries where i am terrified that my coworker is going to come out for a smoke break and knock my phone off the railing and onto the rocks 15 feet below (um, not to mention catching me taking selfies on the fire escape at work!?!?!). 20 tries where i am trying to remember to flip my pony, not have a double chin, make sure my necklace is showing, keep my shirt lying flat, push up my jacket sleeves, not close my eyes and try to get my feet in the frame. um yes, i am sweating. (deodorant: secret).

my method: i had my phone clipped into the huge binder clip and would set it down on things that seemed like a good height and then set my camera timer (i used the camera+ app) for 15 seconds.

well, i was trying to get these shots indoors before i opted to move to the more elegant veranda. i was setting the my "bipod" on the back of a rolling office chair (because that's what my photograph and modelling need: MORE WHEELS!). on one take i hit the button and ran to get in place. as soon as i did, the phone falls down. i figured the ten remaining seconds was enough time to set it back up and get back in place. just to be safe, i held my smile the whole time (because of smart). 

this is what i was gifted with when i retrieved the phone:

that's a BACKWARD smiling leap with jazz hands as i try to hurl myself into position. be impressed.

a quick skinny pants PSA: i recently tried to convert several friends to skinny jeans who were convinced that they "couldnt" pull them off.  i completely understand this feeling as i had made an inner vow when they first started appearing that i would NEVER wear this cut of pant. if, like me,  you have ample thighs and/or hips that are significantly wide than your waist, the natural inclination is that a boot cut or flared leg pant will "balance out" the top of your legs and make everything look more proportional.

 i was terrified that wearing skinny jeans would just amplify my thigh/hip situation. there would be nowhere to hide!  but since the trend refused to die, and i had a personal fashion renaissance, i forced myself into some skinnies 1.5 years ago and was blown away with how wrong i was. 

granted, i need to be strategic about my tops (longer lengths or flowy-hemmed are best  to help blend that horizontal KA-POW action a little more smoothly), but i think that skinnies actually have a slimming effect on practically any body types. they dont just make them in sizes 0-6, so you know that the fashion people (official term) believe we non-tiny ladies can rock these too!