True Femininity

12 Days of Modest Fashion: Day 10

2011-12-10T15:59:00.000-08:00

My outfit for day 10 of the "12 Days of Modest Fashion" link up:

12 Days of Modest Fashion: Day 7

2011-12-07T18:06:00.000-08:00

Day 7 of the "12 Days of Modest Fashion" link up:

Once again, an outfit from the summer. But, there will be pictures of my actual outfit for tomorrow since our company Christmas party is tomorrow night. Only, they might be a little late, since I won't get home until 11 or 12 and have to work the next day...

Room Tour: Before and Afters

2011-12-07T01:00:00.000-08:00

Last Spring I began renovating my room in preparation for moving home. Along the way, I shared with my readers as I painted, refinished furniture, and transformed my room into a beautiful and practical space for sewing, sleeping, and everything else that I use it for.

The following is a recap of all of the changes that I made as I went along. To read more about how I made these changes on a small budget (think thrift stores and lots of DIY), visit my homemaking archives.

Before:

In Between:

After:

Before:

In Between:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

In Between:

After:

More "After" Pictures:

Furniture Before/Afters

Before:

In Between:

After:

Before:

It was actually a brown wood, but I never snapped a proper "Before" picture of this one...

Before:

In Between:

After:

12 Days of Modest Fashion: Day 6

2011-12-06T19:09:00.000-08:00

Day Six of the 12 Days of Modest Fashion link up:

As you've probably guessed, this is another picture from the summer! I'm still having to wear jeans to the office because of the project we're working on.

Domestic Tuesday: Christmas Decorating!

2011-12-06T01:00:00.000-08:00

Christmas decorations from around the house:

Our stairwell garland.
Don't mind the messy floors! I snapped the picture before we cleaned up.

The Christmas village. Some of the pieces were hand-painted by my brother and I in grade school. Great homeschooling memories!

The reason for the season. There is no better example of the Perfect Gift!

We give to follow His example.

Ornaments in a tiered basket by the entry way.

Gingerbread!

The little scene where most of our woodland ornaments ended up:

And, of course, the tree ~

12 Days of Modest Fashion: Day 5

2011-12-05T20:15:00.000-08:00

My outfit for day five:

My confession for this outfit is that I wasn't actually wearing this today! There's no way I would've gone outside without tights and a jacket.
The truth is, I had to wear jeans to the office today and I didn't want to take a picture of myself wearing them this morning. I rarely wear jeans and I personally don't consider them to be very feminine. However, they are useful in a lot of situations, and I had to wear them because of the project I was working on. So instead, I'm posting a picture of an outfit I wore this summer when it was much, much warmer.

12 Days of Modest Fashion: Day 4

2011-12-04T16:17:00.000-08:00

My outfit for day four of Natasha's 12 Days of Modest Fashion link up:

It was very cold this morning when I got up to go to church for worship team practice and I had to put on my warmest pair of tights, which I usually use for skiing or snowboarding. Unfortunately, they're a little baggy, but I don't mind too much as long as they keep me warm!

12 Days of Modest Fashion: Day 3

2011-12-03T10:49:00.000-08:00

Since I'm not working today, I thought I'd be a little bolder with my color choices. Here is my outfit for day three:

My mother discovered a bunch of her old colored tights from way back when in her closet last night and gave them to me. I've wanted to try out some bolder colors but I didn't actually want to spend money on that kind of experiment! It's nice to have more choices, and to have gotten them for free!
Today, I plan on writing Christmas cards and getting some of my Christmas shopping done. This year I am trying to buy a lot of handmade things and support crafters and home businesses. I've already found some wonderful presents on Etsy! If you have a shop, let me know in the comments. I would love to take a look, and I especially would like to support the work of bloggers I know.
And, speaking of crafting, I've added some lovely new cloth wipes to my Etsy store!

12 Days of Modest Fashion: Day 2

2011-12-02T17:53:00.000-08:00

Here is my entry for day 2 of Natasha's "12 Days of Modest Fashion" link up:

As you can probably see, I stick to a very similar style for most of the outfits I wear to the office. It works well when you're trying to decide what to wear at five in the morning, but it would be nice to be a little more creative sometimes. ;)

12 Days of Modest Fashion: Day 1

2011-12-01T17:00:00.000-08:00

Today I am linking up with Natasha's 12 Days of Modest Fashion. I hope to join in on more of the days, but we'll see how it goes. I don't always have enough time to snap a picture in the morning before work!
Here is my outfit for Day 1:

Little did I know that by the time I got to work I'd be faced with what looked like a disaster zone...branches and trees were everywhere--including more than three full size trees covering our parking lot! If any of my readers are from LA then you know that we experienced an extremely windy night last night. Because I live in an area that was largely unaffected, I didn't know what my other coworkers were facing on their drives to work.
Unfortunately, the damage was widespread and there are many without power. One of my coworkers said she saw car after car with trees toppled on top of them as she drove in to work. For many, their hour-commute became a two to three-hour commute as they tried to find streets and highways that were open! When I arrived home tonight, the wind was already picking up, so I'm wondering if our area is next.
Talk about crazy weather for LA!

Domestic Tuesday: Sharing A Sewing Success

2011-11-29T20:10:00.000-08:00

Sewing an All-In-One (AIO) cloth diaper has been something on my mental to-do list for a very long time. I've wanted to be able to offer them to customers on my Etsy store, so that mothers could have the option of buying a diaper that doesn't require a cover.

However, figuring out a pattern that works took a while, and working with a fabric like PUL was new to me. But finally, I have a pattern that works!

(You'll have to forgive the poor photo quality of these pictures, as I snapped them all really quickly as I was heading out to a friend's birthday party)

I used velcro for this first "experimental" one, but I plan on using snaps in the future--once I buy the snap applicator that is!

The inside of the diaper is a nice cozy flannel...

The outer layer is PUL and adds waterproofing as the "built in cover" for the diaper.

And as one of my favorite features, this AIO is also a pocket diaper, which allows the diaper to dry completely (I've had some moms tell me that their AIOs with sewn in soakers wouldn't dry all the way).

Now I just need to get busy and make some more!

"Happy Birfday"

2011-11-28T01:00:00.000-08:00

Kids have the cutest ways of saying things:

A birthday card to my mom from her nephews. "I have nothing to say but hello and happy birfday"

Outfit of the Day

2011-11-27T14:30:00.000-08:00

I wasn't sure that I liked this outfit, but it's slowly grown on me. It's cute in a strange eclectic sort of way...

Top: Floral print sundress with ruffled neckline, paired with white sweater

Bottom: Brown tights

Shoes: Light Brown boots

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T22:16:00.000-08:00

A Very Happy Thanksgiving to You All!

(Our teeny tiny little harvest mouse)

I don't know about you, but I have a lot to be thankful for this year. A caring and supportive family, a great new job at an office I love, my thoughtful friends who keep in touch even though they're far away, the wonderful and godly guy I'm blessed to be courting, a country where we still have religious freedom, and a God who loves me and has provided me with the free gift of salvation. Wow! And there is still so much more.

My God is faithful and I am so thankful that He is a God who keeps His promises and takes care of His children. More than anything this year, I am thankful for a God who is always there. I'm glad that we get to take this day to celebrate and give thanks for all He has done!

My mom's pretty table settings

The feast! My mother outdid herself this year. Everything was perfect.

The pumpkin pie...I'm sure it was delicious though I didn't have any (I'm not a fan of pumpkin).

My wonderful parents. They have sacrificed a lot for me over the years and I'm only beginning to see much they have done and continue to do for us...

My handsome brother. I can't believe he's 20 already, and going to be graduating college in a year and a half!

And, per family tradition, taking our family Christmas photo for our Christmas cards.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Outfit of the Day

2011-11-20T09:29:00.000-08:00

Top: Grey sweater-knit dress

Bottom: Grey lace tights

Shoes: Navy blue flats

A close-up of the collar:

Hmm. An Increase in Traffic....

2011-11-16T12:58:00.000-08:00

Last night, I was surprised to see that my blog traffic had been unusually high. Within a few minutes, I was able to trace the source, and I wasn't altogether surprised to find that my blog was the topic of discussion in a forum of people who hate "people like me."

From time to time this happens, and I was actually pleasantly surprised to find people weren't saying things like, "I wish I could kill her" or "I'd burn her house down with her in it" as has happened in the past. Instead they were upset by things like my bathroom counter and my love of lace doilies (you learn something new about yourself every day!)...and of course, by my views on Feminism (but this one isn't surprising).

I've always known that some people "followed" my blog just because they hated it, and last night I gained a few more followers from this forum. Of course it is sad that some people wish to spend their time reviling and mocking others, but at the same time I can't help but feel an overwhelming sense of thankfulness that we have the right to free speech. I can talk about the things I like and others can talk about the things they like--even if what they like is hating other people.

So to those of you that are here because you hate me: Welcome! I don't hate you. ;)

Domestic Tuesday: Labels!

2011-11-15T10:53:00.000-08:00

I love to label. And in my family, I am the labeling queen. I've joked with my family before that all I want in a husband is the ability to handle a labeling system. It's not true of course, but it is funny to think about, and it does drive home the point of how important labeling can be to me!

Yesterday I began a very small organizing project of our laundry room cupboards.

This is what they looked like before:

And here they are now:

It's not a huge difference, but things are now grouped in like order. And, of course, labeled.

To create my labels, I use this "Dymo" hand labeler:

It's not the most convenient labeler, but it works fine for small projects like this. One day, I wouldn't mind having a p-touch labeler. I used them at the last office I worked at and found that they are very easy and convenient. But I would only spend that much money if I knew I was going to have a lot of labeling to do!

To work this "Dymo" labeler, you have to hand select each letter by turning the little wheel around the top and then pulling the "trigger" to punch the letter you've selected onto the tape. It gives your hand quite the workout after a while! The only bad thing about it is that if you make a mistake there's no correcting it--you have to start over. However, it is affordable and, as I said before, works well for small projects.

The labels it creates look like this:

Bathroom Counter Mini Re-design

2011-11-14T01:00:00.000-08:00

I've been playing around with my bathroom counter design and came up with this...

I love this little blue and white plate. I was given it as a bridesmaid's gift from my friend's wedding and I like having it close-by so it can remind me of dear friend Emily!

Practicing close-ups (Have I mentioned that my new camera is a lot of fun?)

The dried flowers in the jar are also from the wedding--they were my bouquet. (Notice me in the corner...)

What do you think? Yes, no? Love it? Leave it?

Outfit of the Day: Red, White, and Blue

2011-11-13T01:00:00.000-08:00

These photos were taken three weeks ago when the weather was still warm. Now it's freezing (for California)!

Top: Red and white short-sleeved sweater, paired with a white knit belt with multi-colored flowers

Skirt: Ankle-length jean skirt

Shoes: Black boots

Close-up of the belt. I found it a little shop in a quaint out of the way town when my mom and I were antique shopping.

Close-up of the boots (which I ironically ended up returning when the soles started falling apart after wearing them three times--oh well!)

A better view of the skirt.

Canning Update

2011-11-12T01:00:00.000-08:00

I've been reading my copy of Putting Food By and am now several chapters in. However, so far all I've read has only further scared me. I assume they put all of the scary stories at the front of the book for a reason, and I try to remind myself that many people can food successfully and don't kill their loved ones....

Despite my fear, I remain undaunted about wanting to learn. Unfortunately, the great aunt whom I was hoping to learn from won't be able to make it out for Thanksgiving because of a surgery, and I still know no one in person to learn from. Though I don't usually mind learning things from books, I really would prefer to have someone to talk to about canning and watch their methods before doing it myself.

This in turn got me thinking about some DVDs I've seen advertised on many blogs, called "Homestead Blessings." They have a video on canning and I'm now thinking of asking for it for Christmas.

This being said, do any of you own these DVDs? Were they helpful? Please leave a comment and let me know! I am really hoping this could be another helpful resource!

A Little Life Update

2011-11-11T20:45:00.000-08:00

For those of you wondering what I have been up to on the job-front since my last temporary job ended, I can tell you that I am currently waiting to hear about another temporary job that I've committed to take if I get chosen as the candidate. I've already been approved to do the job by most of the people involved, but I still need approval from the HR manager.

I'm expecting to hear back next week whether or not I will start training for it soon. If I am chosen, this job will be an incredible blessing both financially and resume-wise. I am very honored to have even been considered for this job, so even if I don't get it, I will definitely be happy for the compliment!

In the meantime, I am very thankful to have time off to spend at home keeping busy with sewing and a host of other things. Today especially was a happy day in the sewing and cooking departments! Right now I have two exciting sewing projects going on: one is to sew AIO diapers for my Etsy store and another is a surprise for my store, which I hope to announce later. ;)

Today, I was working with these fabrics that I bought yesterday at Jo-Anns. The best part was that I got them on sale! Flannels that are usually 6.99/yard were marked down to 2.99/yard and I had a 10% off coupon as well. I love saving money on my sewing supplies!

As for the cooking department, I made a Sandra Lee recipe tonight that turned out beautifully: Mustard Crusted Chicken. It called for ginger, garlic, lime juice, mustard, and an interesting Japanese bread crumb called "Panko." To be quite honest, reading those ingredients together didn't sound like a good mix, but when it all came together it was amazing!

Additionally, I went ahead and did something I usually don't do: I baked without a recipe. I made apple turnovers using my knowledge of apple pies as a guide and was incredibly surprised by the results. My last two apple pies have been less than amazing, but I couldn't stop eating these!

And neither could the other happy eaters around the table!

I don't think there was a crumb left! I'm going to need to keep this recipe tucked away in my mind for later...

Mother would've been included in this group, except that she declined to have her picture taken, and though I did get a funny one of her with her hands over her face, I thought best not to include it ;) (You can thank me later mom!)

Yum!

Now if only I could master the art of pie crusts and not have to buy store bought ones...

We Now Interupt This Program....

2011-11-11T01:00:00.000-08:00

...To bring you some incredible Christmas cuteness!

"Bunny in a basket "

Yes, I realize it's November and Thanksgiving isn't even over yet, but every year we end up having to have a Christmas party for an organization on the Monday after Thanksgiving here at our house, which means we do all our Christmas decorating in November before Thanksgiving.

These little woodland creatures are just about the cutest ornaments I've ever seen!

If you're a fan of this look, you can usually find similar items at Crate and Barrel or World Market. Too cute!

Keeping Long Hair Healthy

2011-11-10T01:00:00.000-08:00

Years ago, when I decided to grow my hair out, I promised myself that I would only grow my hair to a length where it could still be healthy.

As I've been growing my hair out, I've been learning what it takes for my hair to be healthy at a longer length through a lot of trial and error. It's been almost three years now since I cut my hair to this length (see below) in college, and promised I'd never go back!

Today it has grown well beyond my shoulders, and while I think this isn't very much for three years, I'm still very happy with it.

Here is a list of some of the things I've learned as I've grown my hair out:

(Before I go any further, let me first make the disclaimer that there are many types of hair, and I only have experience with my own. My hair strands are fine and stick straight, and my overall hair amount (the quantity of strands) is medium thickness. In other words, I have a lot of fine stick-straight hair! Though these work on my hair, they might not for others!)

1. My long hair creates different "zones" of hair that have different "needs"

One of the things I've learned as my hair gets longer is that the hair at the scalp is different from the hair at the very end of the strand. The hair towards the end of the stand is older, more frayed, and usually much drier than the new hair at the beginning of the strand is. Because the newer hair is near the scalp, it tends to get oily faster, whereas, the hair at the bottom of the strand tends to dry out and become more fragile. I had to learn that my hair can't be treated as one entity with the same needs!

Instead, I treat each zone differently. Because shampoo strips hair of oils, I only apply shampoo to the oily part of my hair, which works out to only be the scalp area. Likewise, I only apply conditioner to the area of my hair that is dry, which works out to be everything but the hair on top of my head. This way, I am equalizing the different needs of my hair and returning everything to a happy balance.

2. When spending money on hair products, I spend it on my conditioner.

A year ago when I was living on a very tight budget (read: $400-$600 a month for all living expenses), I started buying my shampoo at the dollar store. Amazingly, I realized that it worked just as well as any other shampoo I'd used. Most shampoos do exactly what the were created for: stripping the oil out of your hair. Whether I bought a fancy shampoo or a cheap shampoo, as long as it stripped the oil out of my hair I was good to go! So why not buy a cheaper one?

Conditioners, however, are not all created equal. Keeping your hair soft and moisturized seems to be much harder than just stripping the oil out of it! With this in mind, I didn't buy my conditioner at the dollar store. Though I have tried dollar store conditioner, it just wasn't enough for how dry my hair gets at the ends. Instead, I spent a little more to buy a regular store brand, like Garnier Fructis because it worked much better. Today, I use a Pantene Pro-V conditioner and have found that it is the best I've tried so far for my hair.

3. I've embraced my natural hair color and hair type

There is no better way to damage your long hair quickly then by repeatedly dying/highlighting it and using heated styling tools. I dyed my hair twice in college, and quickly learned that if I continued down that path my hair was not going to have a nice texture! Maybe there are some of you out there who can make dyeing your hair work, but, personally, I just found that it made me have to double my conditioning efforts and took up more time (and money) for the dyeing process itself. Too much work! Not to mention that natural hair tends to have a better sheen and look better on people, in my opinion.

Repeated use of heated styling tools like straighteners and curling irons also damage your hair. I had one friend who couldn't grow her hair past her shoulders until she got rid of her straightener. Instead of always using a heated styling tool on my hair, I try to only use them for special occasions. I would love to always curl my hair, but instead I try to wear my hair naturally most of the time. This is a routine I have trained myself in, since I would rather put less time than more time towards my appearance.

Curlers and straightener aren't the only culprits of damaged hair though. Just blow-drying your hair can take a lot away from it. Not all people can let their hair dry naturally (because of the weather, or showering before work, etc), but if you can do it your hair will be better off! Because I do find that blow drying my hair tends to give it more volume and a cleaner look, if I do blow-dry it, I wait until it is almost completely dry before using the dryer for only a few minutes.

4. Getting a haircut is a help not a hindrance to my long hair

Maybe nobody else thinks like this, but I used to see haircuts as a hindrance to growing my hair out. This kept me clinging to the straggly ends because they added "length." Somewhere along the way I realized that straggly ends do not encourage me to keep my long hair; instead they just made me want to cut it all off and be done with the mess! For me, the key was finding the right schedule for haircuts. Obviously, you don't want to cut your hair every month if you're trying to grow it out. For me, the right balance has been getting a haircut about every four months.

5. Extras

Extra little things I do for my hair are rather simple. First, I take prenatal vitamins, which are very good for your skin, hair, and nails. I don't specifically do this for my hair--I actually take them for the extra iron they provide as I have a tendency to become anemic. Second, I use a smoothing serum or hair oil once my hair is dry to smooth out the split ends and give everything a healthy sheen. This works well for me because I have dry hair, so it doesn't make my hair oily. Of course, I only use it on the lower portion of my hair!

These five things alone have made a huge difference in the quality of my long hair. Having long hair now takes me less time than having shorter hair ever did and I couldn't be happier with it!

What tricks and tips have you found that work for your long hair? Let me know in the comments!

"Dr. Pepper Ten Isn't For Women"

2011-11-09T01:00:00.001-08:00

Ranting facebook statuses first clued me into the fact that some women were upset over a new Dr. Pepper commercial. I had to do a few google searches to find what the huff was all about. Eventually, I found the commercial itself on youtube, which you can see here.

The video itself is so cheesy that I can't believe it would be taken seriously. I also have doubts as to whether this really appeals to men. Either way it seems like a huge risk for a company to take in our feminist-dominated culture. Not to mention that marketing a soda by excluding customers doesn't seem like the brightest idea...

I'll admit, I'm not a soda person in the first place. I have a soda maybe twice a year--if that--so Dr. Pepper's new soda isn't a product I'd be interested in anyways. I tried thinking if I would be offended if another product I was interested in was labeled "not for women," but I have a hard time thinking of anything similiar that would offend me.

First of all, as a woman, I am not looking to take offense for the way that my gender is treated in the media. To be perfectly honest, there is rarely anything in the media today that could be insulting to me as a woman. If anything, I take more offense from seeing how men are treated in advertising today.

I realize that women were treated in a truly ridiculous way in the past, as many 1950s era ads attest (see below), but today, we haven't accomplished much other than flipping the coin and making men appear to be ridiculous doofs who have trouble doing anything right--unless their wife helps them, of course. To me, that's not much of an accomplishment.

In looking around on the web for what others had to say about the Dr. Pepper ad, I came across the NOW's (National Organization for Women) "Media Hall of Shame" article for this Dr. Pepper ad.

I can't take much issue with their article other than the fact that 1.) I don't like their organization in the first place and 2.) All of the offenses they list are similarly perpetrated against men but done in much more overt ways and in more substantial quantities in advertising today.

I can't tell you how many times I shake my head at commercials as time and time again, men are shown being submissive to women or being imbeciles incapable of doing anything right. This is strange to me because the men in my life are exactly the opposite. They are capable and perfectly intelligent.

Yes, I realize that advertising needs to add humor and this means that somebody is going to be the butt of the jokes, but how about a little gender equality here? As advertising stands today, I just don't see it.

The bottom line on this Dr. Pepper ad is: I'm not offended and I think women should try not to be either. Yes, it is utterly ridiculous, but why let such a ridiculous thing offend you? Anyone can become angry and upset, but it takes a stronger person to let something go and move on. As Proverbs 19:11 says, "it is to one's glory to overlook an offense."

And, really, at the end of the day, even if Dr. Pepper can stop women from accessing the facebook page, they can't stop women from buying their soda and consuming it. Not that they'll want to...

Domestic Tuesdays: My Sewing System

2011-11-08T01:00:00.000-08:00

On days like today when I am working on a sewing project, my room usually looks something like this:

When I was redesigning my room, I wanted it to function well for sewing. One thing I love about my room is that I have hardwood floors, which are perfect for cutting out and working with large pieces of fabric.

Of course, hardwood floors aren't always kind on feet in winter, which is why I also have a rug. It's the perfect balance. I can have cozy comfort of a rug on one side of my room, and a large open area for doing all my fabric cutting on the other side. Today, as you can see, I was working on cutting out cloth wipes.

My storage for sewing is scattered throughout my room, but the majority of it rests in containers on my little IKEA storage unit:

I store all of my fabric waiting to be turned into something in one bin:

Once I complete something from the bin, like the cloth wipes I cut out today (33 of them!)...

...I move them into another little bin in my closet, where I keep all my fabric that has been cut out and is now waiting to be sewn. This way, whenever I have some free time I can just grab something out and start sewing.

Once the item is finished, I move it to the blue bin next to it in the closet (where you can see all my cute little diapers waiting to be bought on Etsy!):

Any good size scraps that are leftover get moved into my other my "scrap bin":

And, yes, I realize there are not just scraps in it....I was running out of room in the fabric bin!

Smaller size scraps get kept in this green bin:

Most of these are too small to be very useable...

Any of the smaller size scraps that are big enough are cut into quilt squares and kept handy in this similiar, but smaller bin (And, yes, I already have my Christmas mouse out!):

I love making quilts out of my sewing scraps and I like having squares handy any time I feel like starting one.

And there you have it, that's my sewing system! For me, keeping everything in stages like this works very well. It is nice having things ready whenever I feel like sewing, and keeping everything squared away in organizational bins gives me peace of mind and allows a clean freak like me to function!

A Car Accident Story

2011-11-07T10:45:00.000-08:00

Yesterday on the way to church my family was in a car accident. Thankfully, it wasn't a bad one. There were no injuries and everyone walked away okay, though the same can't be said for the cars, unfortunately.

As we were on our way to church, the car in front us turned on its blinker indicating it would be turning into the parking lot on the right. It slowed down and even began turning, only to turn back into the lane and completely stop.

My dad, who was driving, slammed on his brakes and swerved to the left to avoid hitting the car (and luckily the lane was big enough to accommodate doing so without going into the other lane of traffic). However, the car behind us couldn't stop and slammed into us.

The car that hit us was totaled, as the entire front end was crunched up. It was a Toyota Corolla and didn't fare well plowing into our SUV. We felt very sorry for the guy behind us, as he had little time to react in the rainy conditions. Our car had to be towed away because the muffler was knocked loose, fell down, and was dragging.

The only humorous thing about the whole situation was that when the accident occurred, I was eating yogurt and upon impact the container flung into my face and then all over the car. When I stepped out, I was covered in yogurt. There was yogurt in my hair, on my face, all over my scarf, down my skirt....you get the picture! I was quite the sight as we chatted with police and the others involved in the accident! The police who arrived at the scene were very friendly and they had a good time cracking jokes about it, and I have to say that it was nice to have something to laugh about in the midst of a bad situation.

Though we were mildly shaken up after the accident, everything went quickly and we were back home within an hour and a half. When we finally made it to church later on to pick up some people who were coming to our house for a Bible study, there was a chili fundraiser going on for the kids program.

Just when we had hoped that there would be no more accidents for the day, a lady at church accidentally dumped a whole pot of chili into my mom's purse as she was in the parking lot! My poor mom! Needless to say it was an interesting day of accidents with food...

The Excellent Wife

2011-10-31T10:52:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I talked a little bit about The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace. I finished reading this book today and I am even more impressed than when I first began. "Wow!" is all I can say!

This book is not just an excellent resource for wives, but for all women who want to know how to respond to life's circumstances in a godly and Biblical fashion. I found myself incredibly convicted while reading this book--there were quite a few things I had to work through as I realized how wrong my thinking was in certain areas involving submission and loving others.

Even though I am not a wife, I found that this book is relevant because it has been challenging me to love my family and friends in a more proper and fitting way. Instead of thinking things are hopeless or that people will never change, this book urged me to go back to the Scriptures and see how God has always provided a way of hope.

Most of the time, when we are facing what we consider to be a hopeless situation, we haven't really tried God's way of loving others. We may try for a day or two, but we don't persevere. How often do we forget that we are not to return evil for evil, but to fight back only with good?

Unlike many books I've read, The Excellent Wife doesn't just stop with convicting its readers and showing them the ideal picture for a godly wife, it actually breaks down how to become that woman so that the readers don't feel they've been presented with a standard that is out of their reach.

The author continually reminds readers that becoming an excellent wife does not come in a day or in a week. Reading the book and longing for those things to be true in her life, doesn't make them happen. Putting on righteousness and love is a process, and that is why the Scripture commends us so frequently to have endurance and self-control.

There is a reason our walk is compared to running a race, or fighting a war. We must train and exercise ourselves to do right. It is hard at first (just like exercise) but as we go on we are strengthened (just as our muscles and cardiovascular systems are as we exercise) and it becomes not only something that is easier to do, but something that we want to do .

Another thing I loved about this book is that it has very helpful comparisons of right vs. wrong thought patterns throughout the book in almost every chapter. Reading these helped me realize that when I am offended, hurt, or disappointed by someone very dear to me, my thoughts often go to the wrong thought first.

Having read all these thought comparisons, it is now easier for me to identify these wrong thoughts as soon as they pop into mind. Once identified, I quickly try to replace them with the right thought. This is an excellent thing to study and train yourself to do!

Finally, to close, I'll leave you with an example of one of the tough topics Martha Peace addresses in this book: a wife's idolatrous desire for intimacy within marriage. Though desiring a sense of "oneness" and closeness with one's husband is certainly a good thing in itself, it crosses the line when the desire is so strong that a wife will sin when she doesn't get it.

This was a breakthrough thought for me. If my husband doesn't fulfill my need for closeness in marriage, I can imagine how disappointed I could be. It could be easy to lash out to get attention or to selfishly withdraw. But responding in anger and sinning against another person is not just a sin against them--it is a sin against God. And at this point, I would have made it an idol in my life because I cared more about pleasing myself than pleasing God by obeying His righteous way of treating others.

If you are a wife, or just a woman, who is wondering how to Biblically deal with issues of loneliness, anger, disappointment, submission, fear, sorrow, conflict, or communication, please consider reading this book. I feel strongly about its ability to help others, not because the author is an amazing writer, but because it continually takes the reader back to God's Word--and I know that His Word has the power to change our lives.

If you are interested, check it out on Amazon. I got my copy for a few cents and the best price on a used copy the last time I checked was only $0.09!

Outfit of the Day: Bring on Fall!

2011-10-30T05:00:00.000-07:00

I am so ready for Fall and sweaters!

Top: Blue cable-knit sweater (a free hand-me-down)

Bottom: Country print black and white sundress, used as a skirt

Shoes: Black boots

Outfit of the Day: Casual Edition

2011-10-19T16:07:00.000-07:00

I usually do my outfit of the day posts on Sunday, and give examples of dressier outfits that I would wear for church. But what about on the weekdays and casual wear? Below is what I'm wearing today and it is an example of how I make skirts work for me for everyday wear when I'm at home:

The skirt is breezy, flowing, and comfortable to move around-in and the colors make it harder to see the dirt that one can pick up when cleaning, baking, etc. The top is lacy and adds a feminine touch.

Fresh Eggs and Country Living

2011-10-19T10:40:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to spend the day with some family friends that live in the country, and take home some farm fresh eggs on Sunday. My mother and I have been making delicious meals with them all week. It's very rare that we ever have eggs this fresh to enjoy, and it's always such a surprise to me how you can taste the difference between these eggs and the ones you buy in the supermarket.

Besides enjoying the eggs we took home, I really enjoyed being out in the country. I've said before how much I long to live there one day myself, so it was very nice to visit. Living in the country has been my dream ever since I was a little child. As a kid, I used to tell people I was going to live on a farm and have seven kids, much to their amusement. As a young teen I moved away from wishing for that lifestyle for a couple of years when I was influenced heavily by the world, and it's funny that I've come around to it again.

I love the solitary feel of being out in nature almost completely alone. I love looking around at open spaces and vegetation--not concrete walls and your neighbor's house.

I enjoy all the animals out in the country as well, though I'm not always sure how to act around livestock...

On Sunday, I enjoyed playing with some kittens that one of my friends was taking care of for her neighbors. There were about six or seven of the little balls of fluff and they couldn't get enough attention or love! I wish I had gotten a picture of it. At one point, I was sitting in the dirt in my skirt and five were piled into my lap on top of each other and one was climbing up my back! I love, love cats and needless to say I was in kitty heaven. :)

Another fun thing that we got to do was go to the rodeo. It's my second rodeo this year, so it's quite the record breaker! Take a look at some of the neat costumes and horses:

I look forward to spending some more time out in the country, and learning more! As it is now I feel like such the city-girl who knows very little and is liable to ask silly questions. Like, "Do you pluck chickens after, or before they're dead?" *sigh*

The Hard Choice of Staying Home

2011-10-18T13:12:00.000-07:00

Little A. and I before one of our daily walks

Choosing to stay home with your kids is a hard choice. The fact that this is true is made all the more clear by the increasingly smaller number of mothers choosing to do so.

More and more it is assumed that children will stay with grandma, relatives, be put in daycare, or go to after-school programs. For many women, there isn't even a choice involved. This is simply what people do today.

But being in the workforce has shown me the other side of the coin. How do mothers usually feel about it? Frazzled. Rushed. Sometimes guilty, but mostly that the work never stops and there is never enough time in the day.

Even if I did not feel Biblically convicted that staying home with my children was the best possible use of my time, I think that observing the lives of working mothers would cause me to retreat from it out of the sheer lack of peace.

The fact that a working mother's life is not easy and that she often feels pulled in every direction by the different spheres of her life is very real phenomenon for many, many mothers today. The extent to which this is a part of our culture, is made clear in movies like Sarah Jessica Parker's recent film, "I Don't Know How She Does It."

Consider Parker's own testimony, as per the LA Times:

"When I was leaving for work this morning I was thinking about my kids, and how it felt like a real act of betrayal," Parker said last February on the New York set of the film. "That helps me appreciate the conflict that exists for this particular character and countless women across the globe. I can understand the purgatory we put ourselves in." (Emphasis mine)

Truly, in my own opinion, Parker's words are true. As a single woman looking in on the rushed schedule of a working mother, it looks like purgatory.

Consider the schedule of many working moms...up early to get herself ready before the kids get up. Get the kids dressed and fed. Collect all of the possible things they will need for the day and load them into the car. Drive them to school, grandma's, or the sitter's. Drive to work. Work an eight hour day. Deal with coworkers, the boss, and work demands. Drive to pick the children up from school, grandma's, or the sitter's. Drive home. Make dinner. Do laundry, chores, clean. Try to squeeze in time for husband and children. Put children to bed....Repeat.

It is no wonder that many women feel burdened by this lifestyle. It is a burdensome lifestyle.

My question is: has Feminism put so much pressure on women to work, that this pressure continues to be felt by them even when it is counterproductive and economically unwise?

Consider for example that most working mothers in the workforce are not making large salaries. While there are exceptions, most mothers are usually younger and less advanced in their careers, not to mention the fact that most people (men or women) out there aren’t pulling in large salaries in the first place. Many people work in factories, retail, and other lower-paying jobs.

For a woman that makes minimum wage, there is no debating that paying someone to watch her children while she is at work makes little sense. If she has even more than one child, it is likely that she could not find someone to watch her kids for as much as she makes.

For mothers making above minimum wage, in the range anywhere from $9.00 to 20.00 an hour, it still seems like an unwise economic choice. Childcare is expensive, and good childcare is even more expensive. When you add this to the money a mother could spend on gas, professional attire, eating out, and other expenses, my guess is that most mothers would see just how little their paycheck is earning them each week.

In some cases, women are really working for less than minimum wage when you deduct the cost of working from what they make. We wouldn't take a job for $4.00 an hour, and yet somehow it makes sense in the case of a working mother. Huh?

So why do mothers who fall into this category continue to work? It could be that they look down on staying at home or feel others would look down on them. It could be that they’ve just never sat down and calculated the cost. Or it could be that they don’t want to spend all day with their children—which is a very, very sad possibility to consider.

I recognize that staying home today is culturally a hard choice for a working mother to make. But when you really look at the cost, both financially and in losing out on being there with your children, as well as the lack of peace that comes with busing children around and getting yourself to work, is it really that hard? To me the choice seems loud and clear.

It makes much more sense to give the best of your time and hard work to your children and your husband—not your boss or coworkers. Mothers have so much to offer, and it seems a pity their energy should be used up working on a career for a company that at the end of the day cares very little about them. Even having worked in an office with a good environment and people that I really liked, I knew that it was nothing to be compared to the atmosphere and the support I have at home.

How often do such women wish they had more time? A little more control of their own work schedule? Why not stay home and enjoy the peace that comes with setting up your own day and spending time with your little ones? If you have talents and expertise, don't think it will be wasted. Why not put it to use for your family? Are you a good manager? Why not manage your home? Do you excel at cutting costs or rooting out areas of un-productivity? Why not put it to use for your family?

It is a pity that culture tells us that it makes sense for us to give the best hours of our day submitting to and serving either a boss or coworkers or a company or a corporation, but that it makes no sense to serve and work for our own husbands and children in our homes.

At the end of my life, I know what will have been more important and more worthwhile of an investment. Do you?

It's Here!

2011-10-14T18:17:00.000-07:00

My canning book has finally arrived! I love getting packages in the mail, especially books. Too bad I need to finish the other book I'm reading before starting anything new...

More Wedding Photos

2011-10-13T12:30:00.000-07:00

After putting up a few pictures from the wedding I was in this summer, I neglected to post any more as promised. Though there are hundreds of photos from the wedding (both my own and the photographer's), I'm going to post a few of my favorite of their professional photos, and hopefully get around to posting some more of my own later!

Photo credits: Sarah Grunder Photography

The Bride and I

The groomsmen

The bride's beautiful bouquet

All the ladies!

And.....the happy couple!

New Additions to the Store!

2011-10-12T10:14:00.000-07:00

My latest additions to the Etsy store:

A new cloth pocket diaper. I love this new print!

Patchwork flannel baby quilt

Cloth wipes!

Adventures in Canning...

2011-10-11T20:28:00.000-07:00

...are what I hope to be having soon!

I've been interested in learning to preserve food through canning for a long time, and being a long-time fan of Patrice Lewis's blog Rural Revolution and seeing all of her canning endeavors has only made me more and more interested over time. Last week, I purchased the book she recommends, Putting Food By, and it has yet to arrive.

I wish desperately that my own great-grandmother were alive and could teach me her techniques in person, as this is the sort of thing I'd rather learn one-on-one rather than by teaching myself out of a book. I vividly remember our discussions of botulism in biology class and my fear of killing someone with a canning mishap is just about right up there with public speaking...

Last Saturday, I called my great aunt and uncle, who live in Oregon, keep a rather large vegetable garden, and can some of their own produce. My great aunt was surprised to hear that I was interested in learning to can ("My! You really are a home person, aren't you?" she said), but she offered some advice and I discovered that they will probably be spending Thanksgiving with us, which should give me some time to learn more from them.

I've mentioned before that I want to experiment with growing vegetables in our backyard next growing season, and canning is just another part of that. Should I ever realize my dream of growing some of my own food, I would like to be able to possess the skill to properly preserve it as well! Hopefully, things will go well and I will have some canning adventures to share with you all in the future!

Book Recomendations

2011-10-08T18:45:00.000-07:00

Calvin's Institutes

Every morning I look forward to waking up, making a cup of tea, and grabbing my Bible and Calvin's Institutes.

I look forward to it so much that for the last two weeks, I've been going to bed at nine so I can wake up at five in the morning to read before work! If any of you out there are like me, you will agree that a book has to be good to wake up at five in the morning to read it...

I know that Calvin's Institutes is not a common book on most people's bookshelves, and that's why I wanted to take a minute to testify that for some of you, it may be a good read.

First and foremost, I have to say that it is not for the weak of heart, nor for those who don't make a common practice of reading the Bible for themselves. Before delving into deep theology or theological writings about the Bible by any human source, it is very important to have a good grasp on what the whole Bible says for yourself. Without a personal and thorough knowledge of the Bible, we cannot weigh the words of writers (or pastors for that matter) as we ought.

That being said, however, for those of you who do read the Bible regularly in its entirety, classic books on theology are a whole new window of experience. Reading Calvin's Institutes is just like taking time to listen to a really, really good sermon. It isn't meant to replace our own time reading the word, nor is it to be taken as a source of ultimate truth. But it is a way to help our minds dwell on our amazing God and His awe-inspiring works.

How often do we really take time to learn about God? To put together the whole message of the Bible and dwell on His character? Do we really spend time trying to "figure Him out" or get to know Him?

For most of us caught up in the busyness of life, the answer is no. It is hard to sit down and think about a deep theological concept after a hard day at work. I know.

The thing is that we all too often write off deep works of theology as "for scholars" only, when books like the Institutes often deal with questions that are on the lips of most believers. Questions like, "Why do bad things happen to good people?" How many of you have had someone ask you this while witnessing? Or have even wondered this for yourself?

If you are serious about getting to know the "how" and "why" of your Creator, and dig into some of the hardest questions of life, this book is a great way to get your mind going in that direction.

The Excellent Wife

While I believe there is much importance in books like Calvin's Institutes, I know that The Excellent Wife probably has a wider appeal to my readers! I've had several people recommend it to me here on my blog, and I finally bought it and started reading it last week.

What I love about this book is that it is firmly centered on Biblical teachings about what it means to be a wife. It doesn't try to explain away any of the hard passages. Instead it takes Scripture at face value and dares to go against the me-centered theology that permeates so many other "Christian" teachings.

While this book would be helpful for those who are already married, I would absolutely recommend it (and other books like it) to unmarried women. Too often I have been told to avoid books on marriage until I am engaged because it will only make me long to be married now and destroy the contentment I have achieved in being single. I hear this advice given to other young ladies as well, and it is extremely discouraging to me that other women who mean well do this disservice to the unmarried.

Let me tell you, by the time a girl is fifteen she has imbibed enough about marriage from culture, fairy tales, television, movies, and even "Christian" romance novels to have plenty of wrong thinking about what it means to be in love and get married.

Christian women, like the rest of the world, fall into thinking that prince charming will heal their hurts and bring them happiness. Books like The Excellent Wife, however, remind us that marriage is about God, not our personal fulfillment, and I wholeheartedly believe that it is good for single women to learn and believe that now, not later.

Rather than doing anything to destroy the contentment that a single woman has, I believe that this book actually reminds women that marriage isn't a "Solve-all solution." Instead it deals with the hard parts of marriage, which hopefully gives any woman reading it a dose of reality.

That being said, culture is a force that is not easily resisted, and that's why it is important to counter-balance its lies with sources that remind us to think Biblically about marriage.

Though some may advise us to stay away from reading books about marriage before being married or engaged, we all know that we will think about marriage in some way or another. How we think about marriage is the key. If we are only letting culture's view in, while not balancing it out with a Biblical view, we are setting ourselves up for a marriage that looks more like the world's version and less like God's perfect plan.

I've heard some women say that they reread The Excellent Wife again and again, and I can see why. All of us battle selfishness and it is not something we will fully conquer in this lifetime. We need to be reminded and drill it into our heads that marriage is not about being happy or being fulfilled. It is about serving God!

What books do you recommend? Let me know in the comments! I am always in search of another good read. :)

40 Napkins

2011-10-08T16:43:00.000-07:00

Finally finished! *Whew*

Took a little longer than I'd anticipated, but it's better late than never, right? I used a couple of them the other night at dinner and the stains came out beautifully, only confirming my decision to cut up these curtains and turn them into napkins instead!

I have the best coworkers....

2011-10-07T20:56:00.000-07:00

Today was my last day at work. Even though I had only been working for 2 1/2 months to cover for the receptionist who had broken her wrist, my coworkers still sent me off in a way that made me feel like I'd be missed. Despite the ups and downs of working full-time, I know one thing: I was incredibly blessed to be working in a safe environment surrounded by kind people!

First, I arrived this morning to find my cubicle decorated. There were some streamers and cutouts of Victorian flowers (they know me so well already!). Then, they took me out for lunch at my favorite sushi restaurant and had a little party with dessert in the afternoon besides!

And there were cards and presents! I was surprised, but very thankful for their generosity.

After working in other places, I know just how good I have had it for the last two months. Even though it wasn't always easy, I can see why God planned for me to be able to work there at this time. I expanded my skills and learned a whole host of new ones, including a lot about accounting (which I never thought I would do as an English major, to be honest!).

Of all that I am most thankful for, their kind words as they sent me off were at the top of my list. I'm going to miss them!

In the meantime however, I will have a little more freetime again (maybe). Some of you may have noticed my absence here lately, which was very necessary with how busy everything was for the past two weeks, but I hope to have the time to answer some more time to blog and answer emails...

But as for tonight--just as today I was thanked for my work over the past months--I am now thanking God that He gave me the opportunity in the first place.

From Sprout to Tree

2011-10-03T18:29:00.000-07:00

Remember this little guy?

The avocado sprout I grew from an avocado pit?

Here he is today, two years later:

I am positive it would've been even bigger had it not had its growth inhibited by the relatively small pot I kept it in throughout college and my apartment-dwelling days. Nevertheless this new pot has spurred it on to new levels of growth and it is finally starting to branch off and look a little more like a tree!

I can't wait for next summer to experiment more with gardening and hopefully learn to grow some vegetables in our urban space. Our backyard doesn't have any grass, let alone beds for planting vegetables...

The Winner of the Giveaway!

2011-09-19T21:32:00.000-07:00

So sorry for keeping you in suspense for so long, ladies! I hope you will all forgive me for being so late in posting the results, but without further ado, the winner is.....

Miss Grace! Please email me at truefemininity@gmail.com to receive your prize! If I don't get an email within 7 days of this announcement, I will have to choose another winner and notify the new winner via my blog.

Thanks again to Bambi for hosting this Lila Rose giveaway!

Last Chance to Enter the Giveaway!

2011-09-15T21:22:00.000-07:00

Hurry and enter the giveaway for a chance to win a Lila Rose flexi clip! The giveaway ends tonight, so don't miss out!

Getting Used to It

2011-09-10T11:21:00.000-07:00

Just as many of my readers had suggested, working full-time and commuting has been getting considerably easier as each week passes.

My body seems to have finally adjusted to the new routine and I'm no longer completely exhausted by the time I get home from work each night. Though I am still tired, I at least have enough energy to want to do something other than to go straight to bed.

It has been hard to accept that I can accomplish relatively little compared to when I used to work part-time, but I have been getting better. As a maker of rather ambitious "To-Do" lists, I have been forcing myself to come to terms with the fact that I am lucky if I can cross even one thing off my list per night. The other day, a friend offered me the piece of advice that this is good training for when I have children, and really he couldn't be more right.

Someday, if the Lord blesses me with children, I will surely be tempted to despair when comparing my motherly productivity to that of my single days. As I've stated here before, as a mother, there are days when all you accomplish is keeping your children alive. And that has to be enough. But knowing my natural inclinations, it's not easy to accept. That's why I'm glad to be getting a little glimpse into it now.

With all that being said, this temporary job might be coming to an end in a few weeks. Just as I'm beginning to get used to it, it's about to be over! At the least, I'll be working there for two more weeks, and at the most, maybe four. But I'm ready to look for a new job and move onto a new opportunity.

I never guessed at the start of the year that I would have so many different jobs in one year--but it is a testimony of God's blessing that He has allowed me to find employment and not left me without a job for very long!

All in all, I am excited as to what the future holds. For the past two years now, I have been learning a new rhythm of trusting God to provide for every step of the way, and it hasn't been easy, but I think I'm starting to catch on. It is funny how God sometimes has to take something away from us for us to come to realize that we can only lean on Him. It it is the most indescribable blessing to know that my God is powerful, that He is leading me, and that He will even step in to rescue me. ~

Flexi Clip Giveaway!

2011-09-07T22:08:00.000-07:00

If you're anything like me, the art of doing hair is a complete mystery. I can do a ponytail, and maybe if I'm lucky a messy updo every now and then. But anything beyond that--even a braid--is bound to turn out with results less than desirable.

I've tried many products that promised to make doing a certain hairstyle easy, but always with disappointing results. It had come to the point where I had given up on my behind-the-head-hand-coordination...

So you can understand how I was legitimately surprised when I was able to correctly use this beautiful flexi clip from Bambi and Shelbi's Lila Rose Store on the first try.

I was delighted to find it was so easy and immediately began to explore the other hair styling options. Lila Rose makes it easy to learn how to use the clips with their simple hairstyling videos, but of all the different styles that the flexi clip can help you achieve, my favorite is by far the half-up:

Lovely!

I've been wearing and enjoying my clip all week, and the great news is that you can also get a chance to try one! One lucky winner of the giveaway will receive $15 dollars of store credit to put towards their own beautiful clip at Lila Rose!

To Enter the Giveaway:

1. Visit Bambi's Lila Rose site and leave a comment telling me which clip you'd choose

(Mandatory Entry)

2. Blog about the giveaway

3. Tweet about the giveaway

4. Become a follower of True Femininity

5. Become a follower of True Femininity on Twitter

*Remember to leave a separate comment for each entry*

For more ways to save on Lila Rose products, visit Bambi's website and check out her September deals!

Giveaway ends Thursday, September 15th 2011 and the winner will be chosen via random number generator the following day. Results of the giveaway will be posted on my blog and the winner will be have 7 days to respond to my email. In the case of no response, another winner will be chosen.

Domestic Tuesday: Who Gets To Decorate?

2011-09-06T01:00:00.000-07:00

When it comes to decorating your home as a married couple, who should take the lead? Should the project be split down the middle, with all decisions based on compromise? Or should the woman rule the roost and let her man do as he pleases in his "man room" or garage?

No doubt if you're married you've dealt with issues pertaining to this--unless of course, your spouse is carefree when it comes to decorating and is happy to let you take the reigns.

I recently listened to my married friends humorously discuss the issues that arise from merging furnishings and starting new households together, and ultimately the issue seemed to come down to beauty vs. function. The guys were baffled by their wives tendency to forsake function for the sake of appearance, and the ladies were puzzled by their husband's disregard of style.

When one new bride suggested that they place their wardrobe at a slant in the corner, her new husband couldn't understand why she we do so at the cost of all that space in the corner! To her, it was "breaking up the boxiness of the room." To him, it was "wasting space."

When he suggested they display his CDs on their bedroom dresser--all one hundred of them--her jaw dropped. To her, it was unthinkable to have them all in plain sight. To him, it was common sense to have his favorite items close at hand.

Perhaps this is a common conversation at your home and you can feel yourself identifying with one of the parties in the above story. If so, how have you dealt with it? If a woman is a homemaker and is at home all day, should she have more say in the look and feel of the home?

In practice, it would seem that this is the most common way it works out. Women take the lead in furnishing and decorating their homes in most households. Is this because men are often uninterested in decorating? Or because woman have stronger feelings towards it that end up winning out?

For me personally, the conversation sparked my thinking and made me realize that I had embraced the unchallenged assumption that a woman should control the decoration and furnishing of one's home, especially if the woman is a homemaker. Surroundings are important to me not just because of my strong ideas of taste, but because of how it tends to influence my mood and levels of motivation. Like the young bride in the story above, I know that there are many things common to male decorating practices that seem unthinkable to me! I don't know about you, but I know I would feel discouraged having video game posters on my walls...

What do you think? Should a man give way in an area that is likely to mean more to his wife than him? Or should a woman adjust her ideas about this before marriage in order to make compromise the order of the day? Or is compromise just the best way to ensure that no one is happy with the way their home?

Outfit of the Day: Simple and Comfortable

2011-09-04T01:00:00.000-07:00

Dress: Pinkish/Red Stretch dress ($7.99 at Ross)

Jewelry: Silver Cascade earrings

Shoes: Cork high-heeled sandals

A better view of the earrings

The thing I love about this dress is how comfortable it is! It doesn't cling to the body so it is great for dealing with the heat in summer. It's the perfect length to do just about anything, so it's my go-to dress when I'm thinking about cleaning. And it's both something casual and something I can dress up.

Afternoon Tea

2011-09-03T16:12:00.000-07:00

I took my mom out for tea this afternoon, because I wanted to have some special alone time with her. We don't get much time to talk with me working full-time, and this three-day weekend was the perfect time to do something a little out of the ordinary.

We journeyed to our favorite tea house and enjoyed all these delectable delights!

It was nice to catch up on things in each other's lives and enjoy some "girl time."

I'm so thankful for a mother who will go places and do things with me!

She is a great companion and a wonderful listener.

I am counting my blessings today.~

One of those days...

2011-08-31T20:52:00.000-07:00

Ever have a day where you put together an outfit that you think looks good only to look back at a picture and think, "ugh?" Today was one of those days. This vintage outfit looked so lovely on the sewing mannequin in my room, that I couldn't wait to try it on myself:

Even after putting it on, I was quite satisfied with how it looked in the mirror. But somehow, all that I love about it isn't done justice in a photo. Hmm...

Obviously I wore the outfit minus the jacket. It's been too hot for jackets here!

Is it the outfit? Is it the photo? Was I wrong for thinking it was lovely in the first place? Either way I'm saddened that this vintage outfit doesn't look as good as I thought it did!

Domestic Tuesday: A Yummy (And Cheap) Recipe

2011-08-30T06:17:00.000-07:00

Italian Sausage Soup

I made this delicious soup for my birthday dinner this year, and--goodness--am I glad I did! I am not a soup person, but this hearty and flavorful soup was good enough to become a favorite meal. The recipe serves four and cost me a grand total of $10.09. That's just $2.52 per person. For a meal with meat, that's not bad.

Ingredients

8 oz. Italian sausage

1 can of white beans

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup shell pasta

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, oregano

2 cups baby spinach

1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce

Parmesan cheese to taste

Directions

Heat large saucepan; remove casings from sausage and add to pan. Cook until browned stirring to crumble. Drain, and return to pan.

Add broth, tomatoes, tomato sauce, beans, and pasta. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until pasta is done. Remove from heat, stir in spinach until wilted. Sprinkle each serving with cheese and serve.

A Modest Swimsuit

2011-08-29T18:54:00.000-07:00

Recently, a reader emailed me inquiring about how I deal with swimwear and modesty. She wanted to know how I handle it because she like many others has trouble with wearing a "normal" swimsuit, even a one-piece.

First of all, I want to say that I do not mean to condemn in my following discussion of swimwear. To condemn anyone would be to condemn myself right along with them, because I have not always upheld great standards in this area. I completely understand not wanting to stand out and look weird. I understand the looks you get from your peers for covering up. I understand because I have been there, and still experience such feelings.

I understand that if you are young and in good shape, you may even just want to show off--and not just for guys but also to other women. In our body focused culture, a trim figure is a mark of distinction and something to relish in if you are not careful to block out prideful thoughts. Even if it is hard for many of us to admit, it can be very hard not to get caught up in relishing the way it feels when men, and even other women, give us looks of envy or desire.

The problem is that basing how much skin you show on the input you'll get from others should not supersede other issues--at least not in the life of a woman trying to follow God.

Take for instance the issue of how exposing more of your body affects the men around you. Though many women will claim ignorance in this area, I would guess that there are truly very few who don't know when they are turning heads and causing men to look at them in that "certain way". Though this may give women the high of being desirable, it is at the same time causing men to lust after them. Jesus equated these lustful thoughts with adultery:

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart." ~ Matthew 5:27

This issue is far less unimportant than we ladies seem to make it out to be.

Though it is true that a man can lust after you even if you're dressed from head to toe in modest attire, in such cases you have done your part to protect your brother and he has sinned anyways. However, when we wear strips of cloth and articles of clothing that are no different than our everyday underwear, we can hardly say we've protected our brothers from sinning.

"But why should I be the one to have to protect him?"

This is an unfair question on our parts. How many of us have wished that men would be more careful of protecting our emotional needs and feelings? That they wouldn't flirt freely and lead us on? That they wouldn't be callous and out of touch?

The reason we are to protect our brothers is the same reason that we are all to protect each other in Christ. We are now all members of ONE body, bonded together in unity and in love. It is not right for one of us to think that we should continue to do something because we like the way it makes us feel or because it allows us to fit in, when our actions are simultaneously hurting others and causing others in the body to sin.

If we are thinking only of ourselves or our culture's expectations and standards when we don a bikini and head to the beach, we are forgetting that the men around us belong to others. They are husbands. Sons. Husbands-to-be.

How many of us want our husbands to have eyes only for us? And yet how right is it if we persist in allowing other men to see us in a way that our husband should only see in the bedroom? It is neither fair nor consistent to want to display our bodies in this way to other men, yet hope that our man will have somehow been spared these same temptations by other women, having pure minds ready to desire only us.

I want to be able to present my body to my husband as his only, and for his eyes only. I haven't always done so, but I try to remember this any time I feel discouraged for drawing attention to myself for looking different.

So what should we actually wear? Instead of giving guidelines or specific suggestions, which will no doubt be disagreed upon by many, I simply suggest that we bring our standards for swimwear in mixed company and public places more in line with our everyday standards for modesty. Would you normally wear shorts that short in public? Would you usually wear a top that low? A lot of times the answer is "no," and that is very telling.

Personally, when in public places or swimming in mixed company, I wear board shorts and a rash guard. Since both are for surfing, I feel that it looks more normal and draws the least attention to me while covering up. I would love to have something feminine and modest, but I haven't found anything yet, and may end up putting my sewing skills to the test one of these days.

At the end of the day, going swimming should be approached like any other activity for those who are seeking to please God. We must consider others first, and think of ourselves only after that. The New Testament instructs us to protect the weak among us, and as Christian ladies we ought to be compassionate to our brother's struggle in this area, and think of their benefit first, before our desires to fit in or "look good."

Modern meets Old Fashioned

2011-08-28T20:59:00.000-07:00

A new piece of wall art in my room. Made from paper doilies from my friend's wedding. I love the mix of modern and old-fashioned as well as the whimsical colors. But most of all, I love that every time I look at it I am reminded of my beautiful friend and her wonderful wedding.~

A Day at the Fair

2011-08-22T20:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I was invited by some friends to spend the day at the fair with them. Despite having what I would call, an "above average" interest in livestock for a city girl, spending time in this environment reminded me how far I have to go should I ever intend on leaving the city life behind in favor of more rural living...

We began the day by watching the pig show...

And later watched the goat show.

I've dreamed of having goats one day, but we'll see if that dream ever becomes a reality. ;)

We also got to spend some time in the rabbit barn with these "cuddly" little cuties. :)

And speaking of cuddly little cuties, I got to spend time with our friend's four-month old little girl. It was so nice to have a baby in my arms again! :)

A Birthday Party

2011-08-22T19:23:00.000-07:00

I turned 22 this weekend and had some friends over to celebrate on Saturday...

We played 12 to 1 with eleven people and three decks. Lots of fun!

Jake and Luke (who blogs over at Definite Possibilities), helping to set the table for dinner.

My dad made some amazing enchiladas!

My brother, trying to taste the cupcakes before it's time for dessert. ;)

After dinner, we took a break so Emily and Jake (the newlyweds) could open our wedding gifts for them. I specifically asked that my friends not bring me any birthday gifts, so it only seemed right to have someone opening gifts after dinner. ;)

Finally enjoying dessert!

Mmmm!

Domestic Tuesday: A Sewing List

2011-08-16T01:00:00.000-07:00

I don't have much time to dedicate to sewing anymore, but to keep the ideas from endlessly swirling aruond in my mind, I keep a list of ideas in the top drawer of my sewing desk, ready to be referred to whenever a chunk of time presents itself.

Practicing my handwriting with the quill pen I bought in Williamsburg, Virginia

Currently, my list reads as thus:

Finish Cloth Napkins--In my spare time after work I've finished twenty-one of the forty I set out to make. Only nineteen more to go!

Vintage Drawstring Pajama Bag--I came across a pattern in a book at a thrift store for these and I am dying to try it out! It will look something like this:

Image credit: http://www.lulliloo.co.uk/2011/05/handmade-homewares-drawstring-bag.html

I already know right where I'll hang them:

Block Quilt--Having only ever made patch-work quilts before, I'm feeling it's time to move on and stretch my quilting skills. I recently watched a program on PBS that explained how to make quilting blocks with ease, and having just discovered boxes of quilting scraps in my parent's garage, it couldn't be more perfect timing!

Vintage Style Aprons--Ever since sewing one of these for a friend's bridal shower gift, I've wanted to make a few more in different patterns--and perhaps even one for myself!

Cloth Diapers and Wipes--I picked up some new fabrics on sale a while ago, but have yet to sew them into cute little diapers and add them to my store:

Of course, I realize that at the pace I'm currently moving this could all take me well over a year--but a girl can dream, right?

New Pets

2011-08-13T15:00:00.000-07:00

Today, I purchased two African dwarf frogs, bringing my total pets to three. Along with Alejandro my Beta fish, they are a nice addition to my room, and I enjoy watching their antics...

It's nice to have something to look after, even if it's as tiny as an aquatic frog. ;)

I was a very enthusiastic animal lover as a child (my first word was "cat") and I think I miss having pets in our home. For now, these little guys are just about all I can have to fill the void.

You'll have to forgive the poor photo quality. Besides having no editing software because of my broken laptop, it was also hard to get one where they were still. That, and it's still a struggle to use my new camera... ;)

Chocolate and Random Musings

2011-08-12T20:48:00.000-07:00

Last night, I made one of my favorite recipes, and brought in these Oreo Chocolate Truffles to work to share with my coworkers. If you haven't made these before, you really should. With only three ingredients, they are incredibly simple for such an amazingly delicious treat.

In other news, my laptop still is out of commission and uploading photos on my parent's computer is a rather trying process, so pictures of the wedding will still have to wait. The part needed to fix my laptop is backordered, and Toshiba has given me no indication of when it might be arriving. I'm bracing myself for a few weeks.

Meanwhile, I must apologize that my ability to respond to emails is being delayed even more than usual. There are quite a few emails in my inbox that I've been meaning to get to, but haven't had time to sit down and write a reply to yet. It is amazing how working full-time keeps one busy.

When I get home, there is hardly enough time to do chores and spend time with family before having to prepare for the next day and go to bed. My weekends end up being incredibly full of errands and cleaning, and everything else I couldn't do during the weekend. And lately there's been even more than usual. It's hard to get time to blog, let alone to think about topics other than work and living everyday life.

I'm already thinking about what next job I will find. There are so many different options, and I feel I get pickier as time moves on and I've experienced so many different kinds of jobs and work environments. It's probably not that I'm pickier, it's just that I know where I work well and what works well for me. At the end of the day, I'd still take any job if I had to pay the bills.

But living at home now, my bills are fairly minimal (since the largest expense--rent--has been removed), and my savings are just being added to as I work. Though you would think that living at home would give me less incentive to work full-time, I feel it's actually done the opposite.

When I lived on my own, I knew I only had to make enough to get by and I know how to get by on quite little. I worked just so I could live. But now that I'm home it feels like it's my duty to work longer and harder, maybe because there's no way to measure when I've done enough? I'm not claiming it's rational, only that that's where my feelings have been headed lately.

Anyways, I am thankful that it is the weekend, that I get to sleep past 6:30 tomorrow, cross things off my to-do list, and even get to spend some time with friends!

Wedding Pictures Preview

2011-08-08T22:12:00.000-07:00

I returned home from my friend's wedding last night after an eight hour drive. Though it was full weekend, I was incredibly thankful to be able to spend it celebrating the marriage of two people whom I love so very dearly. The wedding itself was beautiful and perfectly crafted to the kind of people I know my friends to be.

I was overwhelmingly impressed as to the overall quality of what they had planned. Not in terms of decorations or accomodations for guests--though these were exquisite as well--but in terms of how they honored the Lord, each other, and even their parents. The love of their friends as well as the quality of the people they surround themselves with reminded me how blessed I am to be able to call each of them "friend."

So without further ado, here is a visual sneak peak of Jake and Emily's wedding. There will be more to come as soon as I get my laptop up and working again...

Her darling accessories and the rings

The dress. Originally worn by Emily's mother on her parent's wedding day. My mother and I were able to alter it to fit Emily, making for quite the frugal dress find.

My bridesmaid dress (bought at Marshall's for around twenty dollars!)

Keeping in line with Emily's vintage style dress, the

bridesmaids wore pastel colored dresses in a similar style.

The simple yet elegant table decorations. Emily collected glass jars and interesting little treasures from friends and filled them with flowers throughout the tables at the reception. Underneath, simple paper doilies stained in pastel colors with kool aid added to her vintage inspired pastel theme.

And last but not least, the bride and groom busily greeting guests. ~

First Wave Feminism?

2011-08-01T21:57:00.000-07:00

People often say it is hypocritical to be against the Feminist movement while at the same time benefitting from the changes it brought about in the past. After all, I have a college degree, work outside the home, vote, and even wear pants occasionally--all of which I couldn't have done unless the suffragettes and feminists had paved the way for me.

How could I be against Feminism and still do all these things? Couldn't I at least stand in support of First Wave Feminism? The answer, however, remains an unwavering, "No." Just because I vote, attend university, or work outside the home, doesn't mean that I agree with the motivation and attitudes in which Feminists acquired these rights.

Though the rights women now have--working outside the home, going to school, and voting--are not necessarily sinful in and of themselves (though they certainly can be misused or misappropriated), there is an issue, however, in the way that feminists went about taking their rights.

The Feminist movement was rebellious and shockingly indecent to the society of its time. Women were stepping outside their traditional roles, defaming the value in their children and homes, proclaiming that they needed more. That they were discontent, ill-used, and unhappy to be in submission to their husbands.

While it would be one thing to lend approval to this as an unbeliever, it is quite another thing to do so as a Christian.

To find Scriptural support for going along with the Feminist doctrine of self-fulfillment, rebellion, and the abandonment of children and husbands in sake of careers and personal glory, one would be hard-pressed (which explains why feminist "theologians" have to explain away many Biblical passages). The Bible as written simply does not support Feminism or the modern liberal ideology of seeking self in order to be a better you before you can help others or change the world.

Instead the Bible puts forth the radical notion that the less of you there is in you, the better off you will be in order to impact the world and other people.

The more I read the Bible, the more I am convinced that we are to be concerned with humility, submission, patience, hard-work, daily walking in quietness and contentment in our personal lives.

"Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure...
Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world." ~ Philippians 2:12-15

"We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself." ~Romans 15:1

Contrary to popular opinion, this does not mean that Christians are to be doormats. We have an equally strong calling to be bold, but in a realm that is different than how many of us apply it. Our strength and boldness ought to be in our witness and in our defense of the Gospel and our God. It is He who lives in us now. Just as we once lived to defend our own opinions, pleasures, and rights, we now live to defend His laws, His will, and His right to have all the Glory. It is His honor that we must long for, rather than our own career advancements, freedom, or equality.

Philosophers as well as all humanity, have longed for the answer to the "good life." Feminists thought a slice of it could be achieved through equality and the betterment of the status of women. But decades later, women are still unhappy, frustrated, exploited, abused, and unfulfilled.

Modern day Feminists will tell you that the answer to this problem is more. More rights, more freedoms, more abortion, more women in corporate positions, more birth control, more sexual freedom, more women in universities and male-dominated professions, more, more, more.

But since when has more ever been enough? It never has and never will be, because Feminism like any other man-made ideology will never satisfy our hungry egos and lusts.

Contentment, joy, and peace are gifts from God given to those who follow His way of living. If we want to change our lives, our homes, our families, our personal relationships, and even our levels of fulfillment--all of it must be achieved in accordance with His laws and commands. Else we will find that all we have achieved--all we've built and acquired--has done so little to truly satisfy us, and in reality achieved very little.

The ideology of Feminism is built on principles antithetical to God's principles. Feminism pushes rights, entitlement, freedom from restraint, and personal fulfillment. Christ teaches humility, servanthood, self-control, and love for others that supersedes our own desires.

So when people ask me if I have a problem with First Wave Feminism and the suffragette foremothers, the answer is, yes. The underlying principles upon which they built their movement are everything that I seek to put off as I follow Christ. I could not have agreed with the spirit in which they undertook their work, nor would I have joined them in their labor.

A New Camera

2011-08-01T18:05:00.000-07:00

I'd been wanting to buy a better camera for months, but it was just too hard for me to spend the money. I started a special savings account and had saved enough by last February, but I still didn't want to spend it!

I would keep putting it off until a future date, and when I returned home from vacation this summer, I told myself I'd buy it if/when I got a new job. I got a job much sooner then I had expected and last weekend, I finally bought my new camera, a Canon Rebel.

It just arrived today! It's going to be a while before I learn how to use it, but I'm really looking forward to learning. :)

Outfit of the Day: Country Flowers

2011-07-31T17:54:00.000-07:00

Dress: Flower print country dress with ruffled collar and brown canvas belt

Shoes: Gold "gladiator" sandals

Close-up of my hairstyle, a one-sided braid

*Please share your outfit with us! Link-up below to share your modestly feminine outfit, and feel free to share pictures of your hairstyle and other accessories too. Link-up will remain open until Friday.*

Guest Post: A Reversal Testimony

2011-07-27T19:18:00.000-07:00

The following is a guest post by my new blogging friend Bambi, who blogs at In the Nursery of the Nation:

Once we had our third child, we felt the next thing to do was to end our fertility. We didn't give it too much thought. This is what responsible people did.

Just a few months later we were challenged that many of the standards we embraced as a couple were not what the Lord would have us practicing. We heard a sermon by Doug Phillips in which he asked, "Does a fish know he's wet?" In other words, would we recognize if we were in error if error was all we'd ever known?

We went to the Bible and we saw that God is enthusiastically pro-child. What little it does say about birth-control is negative.

We began to realize we had never truly had a Biblical view of children and weren’t really even pro-life. We had surrendered almost all to Jesus. But not all.

But did He not make them one,
Having a remnant of the Spirit?
And why one?
He seeks godly offspring.
Malachi 2:15

I asked God to give me a love for children and an understanding of the eternal value of bearing them. And then I was filled with remorse. Conviction and regret swept over both of us because we had already ended our fertility.

For three years I prayed, wept and begged God to work a miracle and allow us to conceive in spite of the vasectomy. He grew me tremendously during this time as I leaned on Him more and more. I began to understand just how crucial my assignment as mother was, and that there was nothing I could do that was more important than raising up children that served Him. Yet, I had tossed that gift aside as if it was nothing. My arms physically ached to hold a baby again.

Time went on and there was no miracle. I then prayed that God would take away my desire for another child, and if He didn't intend for me to have another baby, that He would give me peace and contentment. I poured myself out empty for my husband and the three children I already cherished so deeply. But the contentment—it didn't come. My husband and I desperately wanted the opportunity to raise more children. Both of us. But as a woman I longed for it on a different level. I wanted my role as life-giver back.

We prayed long about the possibility of adoption. We were particularly burdened for the orphans of Liberia and researched several months on financing an adoption from this country. We prayed, but no financial doors opened up for us. Then through an act of providence, I met another Christian woman who encouraged me to get involved in a ministry for couples like us, who were grieving over their past vasectomy or tubal ligation. I had no idea such a ministry existed! I began to research and for the first time, toyed with the possibility that a reversal would be possible for us.

Time passed and before long we strongly felt the Lord leading us to have the vasectomy reversed, regardless of whether the procedure resulted in another child for us or not. We knew that statistics were not on our side. We were baffled at the financial implications. But we also knew God was not limited by these things, if it was His will for us to have another child. He alone is Creator.

We settled in for years of saving for the cost of the reversal, but through a miracle (that deserves a post all its own), the entire dollar amount was given to us as a gift. We had begun our saving’s fund toward the reversal and had a whopping $40 saved so far. The Lord miraculously provided the remaining cost shortly after we began saving.

We were so broke we had to borrow a vehicle to make the 6 hour drive to see the doctor! Yet God had just laid several thousand dollars in our lap for us to go have a reversal.

The rest is history. We realized the Lord had created life within six weeks of the procedure. The doctor asked me to document our testimony on his website because of the miraculous nature of our baby’s conception. I did and for years I received calls from women all over the country. I testified of the Lord’s goodness to us.

We have had four reversal babies in the last six years, and just discovered that we are expecting our fifth, due in March 2012!

Playing in the pool tonight--reversal babies number 1 & 2--Sarah Grace and Stephen

Silas--Reversal Baby number 3

Reversal Baby number 4--Shiloh Knox... and his thighs ;)

Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable. ~Psalm 145:3

Bambi has been married to her middle school crush for sixteen years. She and her husband have seven blessings, with one now being knitted in the womb. Bambi blogs about marriage, motherhood and family discipleship at her blog: In the Nursery of the Nation.

Why is it So Hard to Read the Bible and Pray?

2011-07-25T21:49:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered why regularly reading the Bible and spending time in prayer always seems so difficult? Why is a Bible study one of the hardest things to stick to? Is it because you really just are "too busy"? Is it because the Bible really is just too hard to understand? It it because it's boring? Or because you just don't get anything out of it?

Although these are some of the most common things we tell ourselves (myself included) I don't buy into any of them.

Because, you see, I believe that at its core, our not reading or praying has nothing to do with a of a lack of time or the ability to understand. Though we may want to believe otherwise, it is essentially and thoroughly an issue of spiritual warfare. The Bible is clear that we have an Enemy who does not want to see us prosper as believers:

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." ~ Ephesians 6:2

What better area is there to oppose than the foundation of our walk with God and our main communication with Him? Is it no wonder that we face so much resistance in this area?

Christians are soldiers daily fighting a battle, and without our field manual and battle plans (The Word) and without communication with our Commander-in-chief (Prayer), what can we really accomplish? If a real battle would be disorganized and messy without these things, is it no wonder that our lives sometimes look that way too?

I know that the times I've spent reading the Word, I do get something out of it. When I have set aside an hour to pray to God, I do see circumstances changed and prayers answered. Some of my most awesome times have been spent in the Word and in prayer.

So why is it still so hard to make myself do it? Why do I take care of everything first, and then try to squeeze in time to read or pray? Simply this: the Enemy does not want to see us taking hold of the most powerful forces in our Christian walk. He does not want believers to know the Word. He does not want us to hear from God.

He wants us to be confused, powerless, and unable to mature. And he knows exactly what it takes to do that.

Hosea 4:6 testifies: "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge."

Sadly, today, so many of us are lacking knowledge. We may know the Sunday school answers and Christian cliches, but we don't really know what the Word says, because we don't make any serious study of it.

And we don't know what we are missing out on.

If there is any bit of you that wants more--that wants to taste what God is really about--read. And pray. And never stop.

For it is a brash and foolhardy move to stand in the middle of a battle and not use your weapon.

Outfit of the Day: A Longer Length Dress for Summer

2011-07-24T05:00:00.000-07:00

Sometimes longer length dresses can be incredibly cool in summer, especially when it's of the non-clingy, free flowing variety.

Dress: Brown with white polka-dotted calf-length dress, paired with a brown belt (bought at Ross)

Shoes: Black Anne Klein heels (also bought at Ross)

Thoughts on Working Full-Time

2011-07-23T15:10:00.000-07:00

As I sit here on this perfect Saturday afternoon, with the house quiet, and my mind at peace, nothing seems further away than the workweek. But don't get me wrong: though I am thankful for peaceful weekends, I am also immensely thankful for the blessing of returning to a full-time job this week.

I was so very happy to be offered this temporary position, where I am working as a receptionist and being trained with some accounting duties. I never guessed as an English major that I'd be dealing with accounting, but it's all relatively easy type stuff that I actually enjoy because of my odd love of repetitive tasks.

Overall, I am filled with a sense of thankfulness to God that he has provided me with a paying job in these tough economic times. Not a day goes by that I don't think of that with a little bit of awe mixed in.

If there's one thing I ought to be grateful for, it's that I work with great people and that the office environment is full of positivity. I've worked at this office before, a few times after graduating from high school, during the summers on break from college, and even a little last Winter. It's nice to know people and not have to deal with overwhelming feelings of being an outsider without a clue to what's going on or what's expected in the particular environment.

At the same time, I know that it's going to take a little getting used to having most of my day spent at work or on the road. Honestly, I think if the office was just down the street it'd be easier to get used to working full-time. But since it's 30 miles away and since the commute generally eats up 1 1/2 hours of my day (or 2 hours like yesterday), it's not always so pleasant.

I'm lucky to have gotten used to driving for long periods of time during the last few months on my long commutes home every weekend. But that still doesn't mean that I like it or that I don't think that we're crazy for living so close together in LA and causing all the crowding. I know there are some people who are in love with the city, but I'll take the country and open spaces any day, thank you very much!

When I get home at night, I am tired. So tired. Most of the times I want to head straight for bed, but I know I have to make the most of my few hours before bed to do everything that I usually do. I can't imagine what it would be like to be a mother working full-time with that same commute, yet I also know that there are many with LONGER commutes.

I know that many women are able to do it, but I still have to ask myself if it really would be worth it as a mother at the end of the day. Would not a little bit of despair creep in? Waking up early to get the kids to school or the babysitter, driving hours through traffic, working eight hours, driving another hour through traffic, picking the kids up, finally getting home, only to have to make dinner, do most of the chores (since statistically this job falls mostly to women, even in homes with two incomes), get them to bed and then fit in all the other little things in life?

I know that when I come home from work I don't feel like cooking. It takes me about two hours to truly get out of "work mode" and relax. If I worked full-time and was also a mother, I can only imagine that I would feel frazzled and like I could never accomplish all the things that I wanted to. How could I really take time to be a part of my children's lives?

I would want to talk to each one about their day, all that they learned, and how they felt about it, but it would be hard to find the time to catch up on everything they were doing every day if we spent the bigger portion of our days away from each other.

And that is where the beauty of homeschooling comes in. When you homeschool, you are together and you don't need to catch up. Each day you're walking beside your kids, participating in what they are doing and learning. The family isn't being spread out in as many directions as there are people in it--mom going to one place, dad another, and each kid to yet another.

I want to give my children more than that. Not just the hours scraped over from work when I'm tired, uptight, and unmotivated. Giving the best of her time, energy, and love was what my mother did for me, and one day I hope to follow in her footsteps.

So, though I am very thankful for the ability to work now, I would never want to work full-time outside the home later, when little eyes are looking to me.

Visiting the Country

2011-07-20T21:45:00.000-07:00

I was blessed to be able to take a vacation with my family earlier this month for ten days. We traveled to Wisconsin to visit relatives and greatly enjoyed our time there, as well as the beautiful Wisconsin scenery at this time of year! Almost from the moment I stepped off the plane, I was mesmerized by the greenery and the quaint country homes, farms, and wide-open spaces.

Being used to a world of concrete and grey as I am, it was quite the contrast. I was in love with all the green!

Of course we have wide-open spaces in California, but they are rarely lush and green...

I enjoyed seeing veggie gardens in the backyard of many homes in the country (and many in the cities too!), as well as the lovely flower gardens blooming in the front yards.

I loved the old-fashioned style of architecture that is prevalent there as well!

We got to watch a few sunsets over Lake Michigan that were breathtakingly gorgeous.

My brother and I, watching the sunset with our family

I have a lot more to say about my visit to the country, but that is material for another post on another day. There were so many interesting differences between the LA mentality and there that I would love to comment on, but for now, I'm posting these pretty pictures instead. ;)

Domestic Tuesday: Frugal Fabric Repurposing

2011-07-19T22:08:00.000-07:00

This week marked the start of a new temporary full-time job for me, and although most of my hours are now being spent at work, I still managed to squeeze in a little time for a "domestic" project.

I had two of these old blue curtains lying around. They used to hang in my room when I was younger, but they hadn't been used in years, and I wanted to put them to good use.

A while ago I mentioned reducing waste and saving money by eliminating paper products from the kitchen. One of the ways I planned on doing that in my future household was by using cloth napkins instead of paper. Lucky for me, these curtains just so happened to be made of the perfect fabric for napkins! Even luckier, the square pattern made cutting them into napkin-sized squares incredibly easy.

The finished napkin

Believe it or not, my two curtains yielded 40 napkins! It's a nice little project to work on when I get home from work, and by the time I finish, I'll have 40 cloth napkins to add to my "hope chest."

These smaller sized napkins fold twice and are perfect for casual meals around the family dinner table. ~

**Link up below and join me for Domestic Tuesdays! You can share a craft tutorial, sewing project, new recipe, or pictures of your latest cleaning spree--it's up to you to be creative! Simply copy and paste the "Domestic Tuesday" button onto your post and link-up. Link-up will remain open until Saturday.**

Outfit of the Day: A Pretty Pattern

2011-07-17T05:52:00.000-07:00

I love the cut of this dress! And I love the higher neckline!

Dress: Patterned dress with brown belt

Shoes: Black 2-inch heels (Anne Klein)

Sew Now, Sew Later

2011-07-16T15:03:00.000-07:00

While sewing this apron for a friend over the last few days, I realized that I take forever to sew. An apron should be a simple and fast sewing project, even though I'd never made one before and didn't have a pattern. Nevertheless, it took a good deal of time over the course of the last few days. If I had to guess how long it took me--minus the distractions and interruptions--my guess would be somewhere in the neighborhood of four or five hours.

To me this is not acceptable, but it made me realize something about all the time I spend learning to sew now. Every thing I learn now will be one thing I don't have to learn later. I can only imagine trying to learn to sew if I were already a mother and had even less time to dedicate to learning something new! As a mother, the distractions and interruptions will only increase, while the usefulness of sewing skills will have meanwhile increased. If I can master sewing now, I will be so grateful down the road that it is not out of my reach.

How many moms would love to sew cute clothes for their kids, re-purpose old clothing, and even save money? One of my friends who recently became a mother has found motivation and inspiration in sewing clothes for her little girl, and has just started to use the sewing machine, but I am sure she wishes she knew more!

Besides being able to sew things for your children, your skills can be put to use outfitting your home for less and making the style of clothing that you have always wanted but could never find. And what a joy it is to give someone something you made by hand!

A close-up of the pocket

For me, there are just so many reason to continue to persevere with sewing, even though it is something I have to force myself to do. When my impatience takes a hold of me and I despair that I will never make beautiful intricate creations, I remind myself that it takes time--and a lot of it--to sew now, so that I can sew later. Though my projects are often brought to a halt as I scramble to learn a new stitch or practice a new technique, it will one day be worth it when I can sew with ease. ~

It's a Parent's Job to Disciple Their Children!

2011-07-14T17:29:00.000-07:00

I just got done watching "Divided," a documentary style movie that takes an in depth-look at why Christianity is losing its youth at alarming rates. I found it while browsing through a kindred spirit's blog today, and I have to say I was very impressed by the quality and message of the film. I hope that all parents and future parents will take time to watch it and think about what it means to have home-based discipleship of children. You can watch it by following this link, as it will be free to view until September.

Having been a part of many youth groups myself, I stand in full agreement with the conclusion that this film makes. Youth groups and youth leaders will not save your children. It is a father's job to disciple his children. Going against the plan that God lays out in Scripture will yield minimum results at best. It really comes down to believing the Word and understanding that God's ways are always better than man's ways, even if American tradition tells us things should be done otherwise.

I thought it was very interesting that someone being interviewed in the film made the comment that parents don't feel equipped to do this, "because they've never been to seminary." I know that this is the way that many parents feel, because I have heard them make similar comments myself, but I feel so sorry that so many believe this!

Parents don't need to go to seminary and they don't necessarily need formal Bible training. Can it help?

Absolutely. I know that I've greatly benefited from my Bible minor and the many theology classes I took in college.

But a person doesn't need it in order to be equipped to train their children and draw them close to Christ! What parents really need to do is become students of the Word themselves, and then they can teach their children in the way they should go.

I think most of the problems that have arisen in modern Christianity have come from people simply abandoning the Word. We don't read it and we don't preach it. Instead we have formulas, programs, statistics, research groups, psychology, self-help philosophies, and a lot of other man-made wisdom telling us the right way to do things. And we let them tell us, because we don't actually know what God has told us to do.

If individual Christians would just go back to reading the Word--regularly and in its entirety--I think we would see huge changes in Christian culture. It may be hard to understand, but time spent reading the Scriptures can be the most important thing you do all day.

Two more quotes from the movie that I loved:

"You say the youth has an unstable environment and needs a stable one? Well, there's nothing more unstable than a group of his peers. Don't put him there."

"God didn't ordain youth ministry. God didn't create Sunday school. But he did ordain the church and he did create the family."

Domestic Tuesday: Vacation Treasures

2011-07-12T18:59:00.000-07:00

I returned from a ten day vacation to Wisconsin last night, and with me I brought back a little trove of treasures:

I received the beautiful peasant shirt as a gift from my great aunt, and I bought all the cards on sale.$2.75 for a box of ten cards and $0.50 for each of the others. I bought the little glass jar and the key at an antique store. The glass jar will be part of a wedding present I'm giving my former roommate and the key was just for me.

I had been hoping to find one in the many antique stores we browsed, because I had the perfect place for it.

With a bit of ribbon, it now hangs beautifully over my sewing desk.

This pretty platter was the last of my finds, but probably the greatest bargain I got the whole trip. It was originally sold for $30.00, was marked down to $5.00 and I arrived just in time when they slashed all their sale items, giving an additional 50% off! I got it for $2.50 and was pretty pleased! :)

I'll be giving it as a bridal shower gift!

Outfit of the Day: 1950s Throwback

2011-07-10T05:00:00.000-07:00

Dress: White and black polka-dotted 1950s style dress

Shoes: Blue flats with flower "pom poms'

Dress detailing and shoes

Vacation Time

2011-07-01T22:06:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow morning I'll be heading out on a ten-day family vacation, and I'm not sure if I'll have much computer/internet access on our trip since I'm not bringing my laptop.

I don't anticipate having much time to blog on this trip anyways, since we'll be spending a lot of time with family we haven't seen in a while. I have an Outfit of the Day post pre-scheduled for Sunday, but after that things will probably be pretty quiet around here (Obviously, I won't have much time for emails either, so I apologize in advance for slow response times!). I'm looking forward to sharing pictures when I return!

Domestic Tuesday: Furniture Renovation

2011-06-28T05:00:00.000-07:00

This $6.00 fleemarket find has finally been completely made-over

Before:

A fresh coat of paint and some new fabric was all it took to spruce up the exterior...

After:

And a lovely printed paper lining was all it took to finish off the interior

This $6.00 footstool is now the perfect place to store my embroidery projects...

And it fits perfectly in it's little corner of the room ~

Lying Down in Labor and Other Birth Practices That Don't Make Sense

2011-06-27T15:01:00.000-07:00

A long time ago, I remember watching a documentary on an African tribe that just so happened to include a birth scene. As the woman giving birth advanced into labor, the midwife helping her tied a rope from the beams of their house so that the laboring woman could hang onto it for support as she squatted while giving birth. At the time I noted this as interesting and chalked it up to being a unique cultural tradition and nothing more.

Years later, when I began reading about pregnancy and natural birth, one of the first things I remember reading was that the "American tradition" of lying down in labor was just about the most nonsensical position for giving birth. Traditionally, most cultures have had women standing or squatting as they labored and gave birth, and only when births moved to hospitals where they needed to be managed and kept under control, did lying down become the norm.

I had never given this much thought, but as soon as I did, common sense only confirmed it. It only makes rational sense to use gravity to your advantage as you are trying to push a baby out of your body. Lying down does not help to open up the pelvic area like squatting does, and you don't have to be pregnant to feel the difference.

Now, this is not to say that there is never a reason to lie down, or that women who lie down cannot have seamless natural deliveries. But I think it is good to be aware of the history of how women labored in the past before medical intervention became the norm even for healthy women with low-risk pregnancies. I have never been one to believe that we have to accept and conform to what our culture tells us is the only way to do things. I have always wanted to know "Why?" and "Is there a better way?"

When it comes to giving birth in hospitals and putting our trust in doctors, I think our culture generally tends to overdo their trust. Yes, doctors save lives and can perform amazing surgeries. But they are still human beings. They still have a bottom-line to meet. They have peers pressuring them to do the "accepted" thing. They have biases and they are not used to having their protocol challenged. They are trained to work with you on a primarily physical level, not emotional or spiritual--even though your emotional experiences may be the greatest thing you take away after your labor and delivery.

And even though research has shown that many common, routine practices that hospitals employ on behalf of laboring women are neither safe nor effective, they continue to be used because changing the established order would mean a huge shift in their philosophy of seeing birth as an emergency, rather than a normal life event.

Doctors, of course, fail to admit (or even realize) that in many cases the emergency C-section or other interventions they performed were often caused by their own unwise practices and needless interventions in a natural process. And of course, many mothers wrongly end up renewing their trust in doctors because they felt that their child was miraculously saved by these interventions, when in fact they had been put into the state of emergency by the doctors in the first place.

Though there is a place for doctors and their medical knowledge, and though they certainly are life-savers in real medical emergencies, that does not mean that their profession or their protocol should be beyond challenging. Every woman whether she is pregnant or plans on being pregnant would do well to know more about the process of giving birth and what the actual research says.

I've mentioned before that I am currently reading, The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth, and one of the things I appreciate the book is how the author examines a routine hospital practice in each chapter and matches it up with the real medical research.

Though it is scary how little research has been done on practices and medicines before they are routinely performed on and given to laboring women, it is certainly an eye-opener. Lying down in labor and having movement restricted is just one of the routine protocols doctors employ in most hospitals that doesn't match up with common sense, let alone the medical research. Reading this book has given me a lot to think about, and I plan on writing more about the medical practices challenged within it as time allows.

Outfit of the Day

2011-06-26T16:01:00.000-07:00

Top: Tailored black jacket over white ruffled lace shirt

Bottom: Grey pencil skirt

Shoes: Gold gladiator style sandals

(Please forgive the poor photo quality!)

Preparing for Marriage, Right Now

2011-06-25T11:51:00.000-07:00

It's always been funny to me when people tell me to not worry about improving myself now for the future role I may one day fill as a wife and mother. In one sense, I understand the concerns that may go along with their recommendations. I may never get married. I might never have children. But even so, is that a good excuse for not being prepared if I do?

Today, I think far too many young people don't spend any time preparing for their future responsibilities. It has become the norm to put off marriage and family until that elusive date when you're "mature" and "ready"--as if partying, living for self, and avoiding responsibility will one day magically lead you to a place of wholeness after a set number of years.

The truth of the matter is that age is just a number. Hard work, selflessness, and preparing for the future can make you more ready to have a family at twenty than the person who has been avoiding all of that is at thirty. While it is true in one sense that wisdom comes with age and experience, it is only true if you have been actively pursuing it, gaining more experience, and becoming wiser. I have met some people in nursing homes who have less of a grip on maturity and what really matters than some college students I know.

Though I can partially understand the spirit in which others have urged me to let the future take care of itself (since it will), I still believe that there is much to gain in learning skills that I may one day need as a wife and mother now. I think it is edifying for girls and women in their youth to lend themselves to learning skills and qualities that would benefit their future homes. Even if they never marry, these skills can only benefit them, their family, church, and friends.

Perhaps when people caution me, they are worried that I will set my expectations too high, believing that marriage will fulfill me and make me completely happy. I understand that this is a common problem today, and not just for Christians. No doubt people are getting divorced by the thousands because their spouse didn't live up to their expectations.

Believing that marriage is the end all and be all of life is setting yourself up for disaster, and too often women think that marriage will do the exact opposite of what they have dreamed it will do all along. We imagine our lives improving as we magically become a better person--suddenly we will have the motivation to cook dinner every night, keep a clean house, be more patient, act more loving, and extend more forgiveness! It will only get better from here on out! When the reality is that marriage usually opens your eyes to show you that you are less patient, less loving, and less forgiving than you thought you were!

For the girl that has dreamed of prince charming coming along, sweeping her off her feet, and easing away her every care as the live together in eternal bliss (and more of us think this way than we'd like to admit), this is quite the letdown. And that is understatement.

The way I see it, life isn't going to get easier when I get married. It will only get harder, and it will require stretching and lots of growth. There will be two people to worry about, decisions will take longer, and I won't even have authority over my own body any more, according to 1 Cor. 7:4! Talk about changes!

Marriage will be one of the hardest things we do in life, but without a doubt, it can also be one of the most worthwhile. And as with most hard things that are worth having, it is most certainly worth preparing for. It is worth the hard work of becoming more loving and forgiving to the people already around us, practicing servanthood and submission, and learning to be content right where we are, right now.

Quilt Squares

2011-06-23T20:33:00.000-07:00

As of today, a new quilting project is in the works!

Don't you just love cute quilt squares?

The Battle of Beauty

2011-06-22T15:28:00.000-07:00

A lot of times I forget what it was like to be a teenage girl, full of insecurities, spending hours in front of the mirror before going anywhere, avoiding cameras, and hating every picture taken of her. But sometimes I'll see a group of young girls at the shops or at church and something in their eyes will pull me back to those days and make me remember all those thoughts and feelings that went along with being fifteen.

Now in my twenties, I have not felt those same thoughts or been insecure about my looks for quite a few years, but when I think back to those days, it makes me remember the battle that young girls face in our culture today. The sad part of this is that girls are facing these issues at even younger and younger ages than I ever had to.

For me, the battle had its beginnings when I was eleven years old. At eleven, I was a 70 lb. gangly kind of kid with a bad taste in clothes, and though that's no doubt normal for a lot of middle schoolers, many people from church began making comments to my mom about my appearance, saying I looked sickly, and even going so far as to ask if I was anorexic. For an eleven year old kid, it was a lot to handle. It was the beginning of feeling like I didn't measure up, like there was something wrong with me, and that if I only looked a certain way, I would have more friends and be accepted.

Me, at eleven, when we were living in Australia

With this foundation laid, it's easy to understand what I went through in my early teens when we moved to Los Angeles, a city that focuses on everything about one's appearance. Though it is so sad to look back and admit it now, my life revolved around what I looked like during these years. From the outside looking in, I would've seemed fairly normal to most people, but deep down inside was a girl who was just wishing and hoping that one day, someone would think she was beautiful.

I tried to become better at doing my makeup and hair; I wanted to wear the right clothes. I was paralyzed at social gatherings and youth group, thinking I didn't look good, fit in, or wouldn't say the right thing. I saw so many other pretty girls around me, and wholeheartedly wished I could be one of those girls, who looked amazing no matter what they were wearing.

Today, I know that there are countless other young girls going through exactly the same thing. I know it for a fact, because it's amazing how often I'll see a facebook status show up in my news feed from a young friend, saying something along the lines of "I wish I could be one of those pretty girls that all the boys like." My heart hurts when I read something like this, because I would never wish upon anyone the kind of insecurity and torment I once experienced.

But it reminds me that when we are dealing with young girls--whether it's a mother with her daughter or someone involved in ministry--that we must realize that the battle of beauty is one of the biggest battles they are facing. I know that in many churches where the children are homeschooled, this battle is minimized and delayed, and perhaps in some cases it is even nonexistent. But even so, it is the rare exception to find a girl that does not long to be beautiful. Maybe she hides it. Maybe she would even deny it. But 99.9% of the time it is there somewhere within her.

This I believe, is a very natural, and God-given desire. God is the creator of beauty and while culture shapes our perception of what is beautiful, ultimately God is the one that has given females a desire for beauty that is meant to be one of the things that helps draw a man and a woman together in marriage. While girls are becoming more aware of their looks in their early teens, boys similarly start to notice and long to partake in that beauty as well. While teen girls find it all too easy to fall into the sin of vanity and get caught up in their insecurities, it is during this time that boys usually find it all too easy to fall into sins of pornography and other ways of seeking to experience a woman's beauty.

And this is why it is so important that those of us who are discipling young girls realize what they are up against. When a girl longs for nothing more than to be thought of as beautiful, imagine just how much she will give to the one who fulfills that desire. This is where having a strong and loving father figure can save a girl from so much, but even this is not a fool-proof formula. I give a lot of credit to both my parents for building me up in this area and trying to promote a healthy view of beauty to me while growing up. But in spite of their best efforts, as you have just heard, I still struggled with it.

Obviously, I don't have all the answers or a perfect solution that will keep young girls from struggling in this area. It is hard to escape when we live in a sick culture that promotes pole-dancing for toddlers and padded swimsuits for nine-year-olds. More than anything, I think we need to be aware of what our young girls are going through, and need to take it seriously, because if you don't struggle with it anymore, it can be all too easy to forget about the battles your young girls are facing.

The Weekend My Wardrobe Fell Apart

2011-06-22T11:02:00.000-07:00

It was my mother's birthday weekend, and we were enjoying a walk on a beach in Santa Barbara when I looked down and saw a sight something like this:

Yep, that's right, the toe was completely ripped out of my stockings, and I was sporting just a little bit of the hobo look. My mother immediately noticed as well, and because she knows my penchant for frugality, immediately began the laborious task of trying to sway my mind towards buying a new pair.

But little did she know that there were more "horrors" to come from her daughter's ailing (and aging) wardrobe, not the least of which were the soles of my favorite flats...

Yes, they are really that bad...and, no, I hadn't noticed until mom pointed out the extent of the damage...

I got these for free from my roommate, and it will be hard to let them go...

As if discovering one pair of my favorite shoes were destroyed wasn't bad enough, the heel fell off of one of my favorite gold sandals, and I have no chance at repairing them since I don't know where it is!

And...get this....my vintage velvet red skirt, mysteriously showed up with burn marks!

There were a few other discoveries of snags, rips, and stains along the way in other items in my closet, but you get the point. ;) I have a feeling there might be some shoe shopping in my near future...

Domestic Tuesday: Enchiladas!

2011-06-21T23:44:00.000-07:00

As I've said many times here on my blog, I am hoping to become a better cook and broaden my culinary horizons. I'm not always the most creative person when it comes to meal ideas, and lets face it, there are a lot of basic recipes I've never even attempted! But now that I'm home, I've made a goal to cook at least one meal for my family per week, and today they got to try out my first attempt at making enchiladas.

To make the shredded chicken the recipe called for, I cooked a whole chicken in the crock pot with 2 cups of water, on high for three hours.

This made for incredibly moist chicken, which is exactly what I was hoping for...

Once the chicken was shredded, I added 3/4 cup of sauce and 1 cup of cheese

I prepared my baking dish by greasing it first and then adding another 3/4 cup of sauce to line the bottom

I filled the corn tortillas after warming them up on our cast iron skillet..

Set them in the prepared dish...

Topped with remaining sauce and cheese...

And baked for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Next time I make them, I think I'll experiment making my own sauce so as to add some more dimensions to the flavor. However, the store bought sauce I used still was a winner! I had to run out right after making them to go play volleyball, so I didn't get to see my family enjoy them, but when I got to the park, I saw my dad had texted me to tell me how good they were. ;)

Making the enchiladas was also incredibly fast and simple! It took about five minutes to prepare the chicken for the crockpot, and once it was cooked it took about twenty minutes of prep time before baking the enchiladas for 15-20 minutes--just enough time to clean everything up! A great meal in under an hour.

Dinner with Friends

2011-06-17T14:41:00.000-07:00

Because I'm moving back home tomorrow, I've had even more reason to be appreciative of the time I get to spend with my friends. Last night, I enjoyed the company of a few of my good friends from college while also enjoying a fantastic meal, dessert, tea, and board games.

We made shrimp and beef tacos, instead of calzones as I had originally planned--and I'm glad we did! I will have to post the recipe for these shrimp tacos because it was an amazing blend of flavors.

I'll have to check with my friend to verify this, but I think she marinated the shrimp in lemon and a chunky mango salsa.

Cooking the rice, and beans with diced tomatoes, green chiles, and jalapenos.

The beans were an incredibly frugal part of this meal! We combined one can of black beans ($0.66) with one can of diced tomatoes ($0.66), which also had jalapenos and green chiles in it. It was an amazing combination and a wonderful addition to the meal!

The marinated shrimp cooking...

Finally digging in!

The final product!

Yum!

And a delightful dinner only gets better when topped off with dessert!

Blueberry muffins...and tea!