Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Homespun Mama Fashion


I am quite unqualified to write this post as I am certainly no fashionista, but I know what I like and I am willing to be *me* in what I wear. Sweet Leanne, who has read her for a long time mentioned recently that I should do a post on SAHM fashion - bless your heart, Leanne! Though feeling unqualified, I do think it is a fun topic to chat about - so here goes!

First of all, I set sort of an unwritten rule for myself this year to see if I could make it an entire year without buying any new clothes. I've already broken the rule. However, I've only added a couple of small things and have not spent more than $35 total this year on clothing.

The very first thing I purchased was a new top for Easter. I already had the cardigan and skirt to go with - so it was a simple decision and it was fun to all be minty green for Easter!


See that necklace? I got the grey flowers when out by myself one evening recently and wasn't completely sure what I was going to use them for. When I laid this outfit out, I realized I needed some kind of jewelery to go with and I didn't even take the twisties off the flowers but twisted them onto a piece of chain I already had! I did hot glue them for reinforcement, but how easy can you get. I used the fourth flower to make a bobby pin for my hair.

When pulling this together on Easter morning, I wished I had a little belt to wear with my sweater and just rummaged around for a piece of lace and tied that around my waist. David thought it was a little strange and I'm sure I got some looks at church - but you know what? I just went with it - I felt cute and liked my outfit so isn't that all that really matters?!

I've been pleasantly surprised at how much I've worn this necklace already! It goes with everything since grey is the foundation of my wardrobe and is fun to put on and feel a little more dressed up.

The only other items I've purchased so far this year are two $1 pair of socks and a striped tank top for layering on clearance for $6.


I like to dress up but also love to wear jeans. So, that translates into lots of outfits in line with the above. I bought this jacket to wear to my aunt's wedding just after Christmas and love it just as much with jeans. Similarly, the top I bought for Easter - great with jeans too!


I like to mix unexpected things together - two different stripes or stripes with another print. Rachel is the queen of mixing unexpected things and I think I'm beginning to understand why it is fun to dress like that! I may not choose such outlandish pairings as she but when we have separates we like, it just kind of works.

For example, Rachel loves bright colors and polka dots and stripes. A lot of times even though she puts crazy stuff together, it actually looks really cute on her. One reason is how well it fits her personality, she can totally pull it off. Another is she has things she likes, so when she pairs them, they work. Since I have lots of gray, black and jewel tones - it has been working for me too. Above, you can see I had on a striped gray tank under a smaller strip long sleeve top - I put on a 3/4 sleeve hoodie over that - it was unexpected but I ended up loving it.



So far, I think I've said absolutely nothing profound about fashion other than possibly to just be you and be comfortable with that. Some of my guidelines are:

* modest - setting a good example for my girls {and Samuel too in a different way obviously!}
* comfortable
* makes me feel good about myself
* layers are my favorite
* mixing the unexpected is actually really fun
* I like to buy one piece here and one there that I really like and see what I can make of it
* I love basics like jeans, a couple of cardigans and black/white/grey tshirts and/or tanks to layer underneath, then I can just put one thing with it and make a new outfit easily
* fits well: for me this can be tricky. I'm a very petite petite, translated: many petites are still not petite enough for my vertically challenged self, so I have a couple of places I like to go for a few good pieces to mix in that fit really well.
* I like to be as thrifty as I can on most of my wardrobe so I can splurge on a few pieces that will really pull it all together. When I say splurge, it is a far cry from most retail fashion - but I think you know what I mean.


Stay tuned because I am awaiting my first box from Stitch Fix {referral link} so I'll be all eager to share that too. I scheduled it to arrive on my birthday which should just be fun all the way around.

Well, I feel like I just successfully said nothing much about fashion in general and described my taste and style in detail. :) It was fun! If you're interested, here is my Pinterest fashion board!

Monday, April 29, 2013

Strawberry Pickin'


Our first date to pick berries was rained out - so it was fun to be spontaneous on Saturday and go pick! Samuel did not want to go - so it turned out to be a girls only outing and we weren't making jam this time around since we still have some from last year so were picking less anyway.

I love seeing families out in the fields picking together. And, seeing mamas with babies wrapped on or in a carrier brings back memories of doing the very same myself. This year, I was able to just be a photographer and be present in the moment without having to wrangle a bunch of energy - and it was nice.











I loved seeing God's creative hand in the beauty of plants and food. The sky was gray - my fave! I love the aqua cardboard berry boxes holding red jewels of fruit and the handled cardboard berry boxes full of berries too!  It is fun supporting local treasures like this and we also had fun stopping at a favorite little shop on the way home that my Mom and I have frequented in the past. I spotted this lovely bench out front:

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Open Tabs

Perhaps I should have titled this post, Books I've Read as that is what it mostly is! However, here are a few links ~ do you have any to share?


Books I read in March: {starred was my favorite read this month}
Echo in Celebration by Leigh Bortins
Bygones by Kim Vogel Sawyer
Where Willows Grow by Kim Vogel Sawyer
Lilly's Wedding Quilt by Kelly Long
My Stubborn Heart by Becky Wade*
Tidewater Inn by Colleen Coble

April books: {starred was my favorite read this month}
The Tutor's Daughter by Julie Klassen*
Lady of Milkweed Manor by Julie Klassen
The Icecutter's Daughter by Tracie Peterson
The Bridge by Karen Kingsbury

This quote from Ann Voskamp:
"She decided for art, to make her life art. She would make it all art — it all would be art, worship, a gift back."

This video is worth every moment of watching -




Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Slow Day

Slow Day was spent mostly in bed last week - here are some slow photos I've taken recently.









Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Roots & Reason Art

As I mentioned, I've been in bed recovering from strep, resting and watching the entire Christy series :) When I started feeling better I was itching to make something! I have also had a list of things to do in getting ready for our upcoming CC Practicum. Technically this is not on my list but as Hospitality Coordinator - you know I can hardly resist some crafty touches. I'll slide these into 3 ring binder covers and offer them as door prizes.

The Math theme for this year is entitled Roots & Reason - so that is what inspired my art. I especially love the Roots page - the other one sort of evolved several times, but I'm still happy with it.










Monday, April 22, 2013

Family Night: Recycled Art

A fun school project for us has been working on a flower to "plant" in the gardens in a nearby neighborhood. We were to use only recycled items in creating this flower and the girls really did a great job with this!

We used a container from four tomatoes for the center of our sunflower. Coke cans were cut apart and painted for the petals and leaves and a tomato stake in our shed was the stem! The cost was absolutely zero and we had fun doing it - I was amazed at how easy it was to cut the aluminum cans with regular scissors!









All of this reminded me of when I was a child and my Great-Grandpa whom we called "Pa" used to make some kind of twirly thing out of soda cans that they always had hanging on their balcony when we went to visit. I'm not sure it was exactly like this as that was a loooong time ago! But, here is something I did make in honor of the memory! {After consulting my Mom, it is not the same, but it was still fun to make some little thing in his memory.}



I had hoped we could go to the Art Show on Friday night and see all the projects - but alas, I had strep the last half of the week and was recovering. Still glad we could participate!

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Monogrammed Notebooks



Here is a really fun, super easy and inexpensive gift idea! Customize your monogram here!

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Slow Day: Black & White Version