Century Traveling, Dream Cars, and Tap Dance

Century Traveling, Dream Cars, and Tap Dance

Monday, April 20, 2015

How are all you lovely readers! This week you will be getting an extra post just like last week because this weekend was wonderful:) 

For those of you who follow me on Instagram you would have probably seen a few posts over the last couple of weeks talking about learning a tap dance. This Friday was the performance and boy was it such a wonderful experience and fun evening! 

Dress: Minnie's Menagerie (1940's sailor dress)
Shoes: Hand Me Downs (Grandma)

Pardon my stage makeup :)

I was contacted over a month ago and asked if I would be interested in performing a dance to the Andrews Sisters hit song "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" during a style show for a vintage car club at their 62nd Annual Texas Tour. Of course I had to say yes, how could I not!!! The organization is a vintage car club (for people who have vintage cars of course) and each year they travel all over the state (in their fabulous cars) on "Texas Tours".... visiting country homes, antique shopping, and getting exclusive axcess to some pretty amazing car collections. I seriously want to own an old car right now just so I can travel with them:) However, while I do not own a vintage car (yet..hehe) I did find some dream cars!!

Um, a pink Cadillac..."YES PLEASE!!!" (supposedly it was actually peach, but I cannot tell the difference) This has definitely always been my dream car!! 

Oh, and Elvise was in the back seat:)

This car was pretty great too. I especially loved the back tail lights and the dainty little fins so prominent on old cars from the 1950's:)

I was so honored to be a part of this event! To be surrounded by so many people seeking to keep history and the old days alive and running with their wonderful cars is definitely something to smile about. Like I stated above, my tap dance was part of the style show, which was pretty much a fashion show going from the early 1900's to 1980's. There were so many amazing dresses to inspire me, many of which were originals!! My two favorites were an original 1920's black lace and ruffle flapper dress and an original 1930's sunflower yellow cut on the bias evening gown (so spectacular). 

My tap dance came during the 1940's portion of the style show and boy did I feel like I had truly entered the 1940's, especially when I look at the picture above:) In the 1940's section of the show we also had a young many dressed in his grandfathers Navy uniform, a Peratruper, and wonderful 98 year old lady dressed as Rosie the Riviter (seriously the cutes Rosie EVER). 

I am so glad I was able to participate in this event and hopefully I will be a part of more in the future:)

Do you have a dream vintage car?

Have you ever tap danced?

//Confessions of a Fashion Blogger// A Pajama Problem & Complementary Colors

//Confessions of a Fashion Blogger// A Pajama Problem & Complementary Colors

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Hello to all of you lovely readers, I hope your week has been going wonderfully so far :) Today is the day for my next installment post of my new series...YAY!!! Last week I talked about Motivation and I loved hearing what you all had to say about what motivates you (thanks for your comments). This week I will be tackling a new topic which I chose to call "The Pajama Problem" (don't ask me why, hehe). 

Do you ever have those days where you wake up, hop out of bed (or drowsily swing your feet to the floor), walk to your closet and then confidently decided....."I am wearing Pajamas today :) " (I mentioned that last week). Okay, so for clarification, I do not wear pajamas on a daily basis (honestly). I would never drrreeeaaammm of wearing pajamas in public, but I must say that on days where I have nothing much to do, or do not have to go anywhere, pajamas (well, mostly a tshirt and yoga pants) are my getup for around the house (or dorm). 

However, my post today is not really talking about my habit of wearing comfy clothes on lazy days, rather, I want to discuss the problem of WHY I dress up or more so, why I put in the effort every day to pick out and ensemble, do my hair, makeup, etc.  Why do I choose to dress the way I do?

Skirt: MADE; Shirt: hand me down; Belt: Thrifted (80's)

First things first, honest blogger to blogger confessional, some days I honestly do not feel like dressing "cute" or nice....."Really? What a shocker!!" :) Maybe you have those days too? Now, this is not to say that I hate dressing up or picking out what I am going to wear, but some days I know there is an easier option of throwing on a somewhat nice shirt, grabbing a pair of jeans or a skirt, lacing up my sneakers and heading out the door to class like all of the other college students. But I guess that is just it....I am not like all the "other" college students or other people for that matter! I have always seemed to base the way I live on being "different", not being just another person on the street. Truly, choosing to live or dress this way may take more effort, but it is effort I am willing to exert because I know that when I walk out the door I will be the best version of myself (not fakes, no hiding) !!!

Now, to tell you the truth, I ask myself this most every week..."Why do I dress this way or put in the effort to diligently picking what I wear (which is totally out of the ordinary)"......but then as soon as I ask myself this question a small quiet voice, deep within my head, whispers  "You dress this way because it is YOU"....sweet, simple, to the point! But really, as strange as this may sound, I feel like when I choose to wear jeans and a tshirt or just a comfy skirt and shirt that I am letting people down (yes, I know, so weird and strange and bizarre....I am weird). 

Strange, I know. I mean, its not like I live for peoples praise or for people to notice me, it is just that wherever I go I always want to be the best version of myself and I feel that when I just grab what is easy I am first, not being true to myself and second, not allowing myself to be confident as the "real me." Do you ever feel this way? 

I guess sometimes it is the risk you take in dressing the way we do. Sometimes the way we dress is bold and most often that causes us to get noticed (in a good way). 

I can't help but think of the quote by Harry Winston which says:

"People will stare. Make it worth their while."

 This is totally true, and maybe that is another reason I choose to take the time and put together a nice ensemble? By that I am meaning to say that choosing to dress the way I do is choosing to say "This is me, this is who I am and I am okay with it...I LOVE who I am." I have always wanted to be a person that at a glance people could tell who I was, what I stood for, what I loved. That is probably why I love to dress up...sometimes overdressing but better safe than sorry:)

So the truth of the matter is this....while some days I might not feel up to picking out an ensemble I choose to take the extra time to look nice because that is what makes me feel confident. Not that I struggle with confidence because I know my confidence and worth is found in Christ, but rather confidence to seize the day as ME and not some other girl! 

Maybe I am the only one to confess this....maybe it is because I am an artist....or old fashioned....or weird.....or over think my reasoning's.....or maybe that is just me??? Whatever the real reason for the matter, this is how I have chosen to live and why I love (usually) to get up every morning and fan through my closet choosing what I should wear for the day:)

Yes, choosing to wear a tshirt and jeans would be the easy choice and the popular fashion around campus, but that is just not me, so I keep wearing what I do because I love it!

Well, have you had enough of my Confessional?? 

Okay, so enough with my series post and on to a short bit about what I wore yesterday:) First, for one thing I forgot to lay my outfit out the night before so it was a matter of shuffling around in the dark with a flashlight, trying to grab my clothes (which thankfully I planned out in my head when I realized I hadn't lain them out). For some odd reason this spring has made me push the envelope in my combination choices (for me that is). I have been wearing a lot of print on print lately and yesterday I chose to wear Complementary Colors (pretty sure, but I should know that after making a color wheel for class). Honestly, I would probably never pair orange and purple together but this seemed to work! My ensemble was pretty 1950's, what with the polka dot skirt, thick white belt, loafers, and poof in my hair. Oh, while we are on the subject of hair, I have been watching a LOT of YouTube hair tutorials this week preparing for a spring formal this Friday which I volunteered to do two of my friends hair for:) On that note, I have been inspired to add a teased poof into my hairstyles and found that it is easier than I thought and a good addition. 

My experiments with poofs and updo's !

Well dear readers, that is all for this weeks installment of Confessions of a Fashion Blogger! I hope you enjoyed what I had to say. Leave me a comment with your thoughts on the subject, I so love to hear what you all think. I am actually thinking about making the last week of this series a "Tips" post using things I have learned and comments you have left so keep that in mind :)

Until next week!!

Carpe Diem 

(seize the day)

Do you ever struggle with just wanting to wear comfortable and easy clothes?

Why do you dress the way you do?

Do dress that way because it make you confident?

Easter Hoppinings

Easter Hoppinings

Monday, April 6, 2015

Well dear readers, I hope you all had a fabulous Easter and celebration of all that Christ has sacrificed for us!! As a special treat, you get to have an extra post from me this week! In honor of the Easter weekend, here are some pictures that I captured yesterday:)

Easter is about celebrating and remembering Christ's death on the cross and resurrection.....but it is also a time for enjoying family, playing the annual baseball game, hunting eggs (you are never to old to hunt eggs) and eating to much candy (well, for my family at least). Here's to bags of candy and sugar comas!! 

When Easter Sunday is wet....you wear old sneakers!!

Since it was Easter I had fun curling my hair quite 50's style. Unfortunately, due to the weather, by the time I took this picture it had fallen quite a bit, but it was fabulous while it lasted. Oh, and what is Easter without confetti in your hair!!:)

Furthermore, how could I forget my Easter dress!!! While I would have loved to take even more pictures in this dress, especially with the shoes, sweater, and jewelry I wore with it to church, a full post on the dress will have to wait for a later date. Due to the weather, I quickly changed this dress into a slightly more casual ensemble (shown in the pictures), but it was still Easterie/Eastery [just made it up] :)

Dress: eShakti

This was my first eShakti dress and it arrived just in time for Easter! I was so happy to wear this as the colors were perfect and I loved the style! 

And of course....with all of the candy you are prone to being a little silly:):)

"Hoppy" somewhat late Easter!!

How was your Easter?

Do you have any Easter traditions?

//Confessions of a Fashion Blogger// Motivation & Pops of Patriotism

//Confessions of a Fashion Blogger// Motivation & Pops of Patriotism

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Well dear readers, here I am with another week almost gone and the Easter weekend fast approaching! I have had a revelation about a series of posts that will be hitting the blog throughout April (I am so excited about sharing them with you all!! yay!!). Upon reading some of the recent posts by fellow bloggers, I realized how much I love to read post with raw transparency. You know, those posts where the blogger just lays it all out on the table and is totally honest about life, blogging, fashion, etc. So many times people might look at us and the way we dress thinking "Wow, she really has it all together!" and then throw being a fashion blogger into the mix and boy are we raised even higher on the pedestal! 

However, the truth is that there is no differentiation between fashion bloggers and everyone else, we are still just ordinary people. Just because we might always look nice wherever we go; have our hair fixed, makeup done, and wear a smashing ensemble, does not mean that we are "Perfect." We still wake up some days to have our minds draw blanks on what to wear as we stair at our closet blindly and decide that, "you know what, today I am wearing pajamas" (not really, but you get the point). Nonetheless, while I would love to address this issue today, it will have to wait another week or so, for today I will be addressing MOTIVATION!

What do I mean by Motivation? Well, have you ever had those days where you pick out a great ensemble, have a plan for taking pictures of it later and writing up a post on it, and then by the end of the day you have no motivation whatsoever for refreshing your look to go out and snap a few pics (just a few)? Yeah, you know what I mean! 

Monday was like that for me! I wore a comfortable outfit (since I had a cooking lab that day) and was planning on taking pictures later that day, but towards the end of the day I was almost to the point of  postponing the pictures....but of course two people in the span of two minutes just had to tell me how much they loved my outfit, so.... what was I to do? I kinda had to go and take pictures of it, you know??!!:):):) 

Then to top it off, there is the whole issue of the fact that I take my own pictures, using a trypod, so out with the gear, lug it to the picture spot, set it up, put the camera on self timer, press the button, run to the front of the camera, pose, check the pictures, ugh...they are blurry...try again, and repeat the process over till I get a wide range of decent shots (side note: I realized I cannot take self portraits in Manual, I have to use Auto to get them clear).

The thing is (and I am being fully transparent here), just because I am a fashion blogger does not mean that my whole life and mindset revolves around my blog (not totally, but mostly, :) ). To be honest, most days I schedule out to take pictures I end up being completely unmotivated for whatever reason; either I am tired, I really wasn't in love with my outfit, or I just plum do not want to go and take pictures! 

Of course taking pictures means that I will write up a post.....thus begins the process of brainstorming ahead of time or holding off on processing what I will write about because I am completely uninspired (and in those instances stare at a blank screen for ten minutes). While there are some days that the words do not come, most days I don't mind writing my posts, because it gives me an excuse to write (which I love), but if I have not planned in advance what the topic of discussion will be, I might draw blanks?

Shirt: Vintage (Minnie Muse); Sweater: Thrifted;
Jeans: Levi's (Thrifted); Shoes: Keds (almost dead ones)

Nevertheless, though there are days that I feel unmotivated to take pictures or write posts, I know that I can never let the fact of being unmotivated stop me. I have to keep on going even when I don't want to, because when it is finished I am always happy to have stayed with it:) Plus, it always brings a smile to my face when I see the finished project and read all of the sweet comments from you lovely readers! You keep me inspired and motivated, THANK YOU!!

In the end, being a fashion blogger is not always about appearing put together. It is about being transparent for your readers, letting them in, and sharing who you are, your struggles, and what inspires you. 

Before I wrap up this post however, I must write a short exerpt about what I wore on Monday. As I previously mentioned, I went pretty comfortable and casual (in my since) because I had a big lab project in my food prep class (which probably caused me to smell like Indian food most of the day). I chose to wear my trusty Levi high waisted jean capri pants, a blue and white stripped top, and a red sweater. All in all I ended up looking like a true patriot on the 4th of July, but I quite liked how everything went together :)

Necklace: James Avery (gift from my dance girls at church for graduation)

Never let the fact of not being motivated get you down....keep going!!

Hoppy Easter to all of you dear readers!!!

Do you every struggle with motivation when it comes to your blog?

What keeps you motivated?

Do you have any exciting Easter Plans?