Spring Fashion Wednesday

Wow, what a busy day today has been! I went to the job fair at JCJC (which was a bust), went to Lee's for some hangout/work time and then headed home to take some pics for Spring Fashion Week.

I am lucky enough to have a friend who enjoys photography but doesn't have a nice camera, so I persuaded him to take some fun outdoor pictures for today's post. I was getting really tired of using the 10-second timer in my bedroom. So limiting!

Today was a beautiful Mississippi spring day and we had a LOT of fun taking pictures. My little friend Samuel even jumped in for one of the pictures!

Today's outfit had to be interview appropriate because of the job fair, but I also wanted to incorporate some fun colors and enjoy the nice weather.



I chose to pair a safari jacket with a graphic print dress, blue iridescent earrings, and the fun shoes that I wore on Monday.



I love accessorizing, and these earrings were just perfect! They picked up the sunlight and added some pop to the outfit. I got them for only $3.99! Can you believe it!?



The jacket opens so that you can see the detail of the dress; I love the empire waistline and gathering at the bust. So cute!



Here is my friend Samuel, who zipped over on his scooter and asked to be part of the shoot. Of course, I had to oblige! How could you resist that face?



Another feature of this outfit I love is the fun detail in the jacket: oversized buttons, a little oomph in the sleeves, and the belt that ties in front.



And because I love the earrings so much, I just had to include this one!

Safari Jacket - Gitano
Dress - Ross
Shoes - Madden Girl
Earrings - Cato

Thanks, Ben, for humoring me and taking such great pics! You rock!

Spring Fashion Week: Day 2

Last night I drove to New Orleans, only to watch the Lakers LOSE to the Hornets. Sad. However, Spring Fashion Week is still going strong. Happy!

What would spring be without flowy shirts, colorful ballet flats, and prints and hairstyles that pay homage to times gone past? It would be awfully sad, that's for sure. So today I have attempted to pay fashion tribute to all of these things, that I so dearly love.



I got this shirt at Lane Bryant last summer. It quickly became a favorite because (1) I love the colors, (2) it's very forgiving, and (3) it's uber comfortable. It also makes me feel a little like a hippie, which is always fun.





These super-amazing shoes I found at Target, and they are possibly my favorite shoes EVER. I love the braided looking detail and the bright, cheery color.



Also, I heard that braids were making a comeback, so I decided to engage in some experimentation. It's been awhile since my hair was long enough to braid like this. Yay!

In summary:
Top - Lane Bryant
Cami - Lane Bryant
Jeans - Kohl's
Shoes - Target
Earrings - ???
Hair - Jesus

Spring fashion week take 1

I've never tried something like this before, but I love clothes and I love
spring, so I'm joining Emery's spring fashion week!
It works like this: post a pic of your spring fashion wear each day this week and post a link to Emery's blog. I think there may be a drawing where a winner gets a prize.
Yay, prizes!

Here is my first attempt:



Things I love: the shoes (Madden Girl), the necklace (forever 21) and the forgiving nature of leggings (also forever 21). I got this skirt forever ago, I think at Gottschalks, and I love the print. I usually dress it up for church or such, but decided it would be even more fun to wear dressed down with a denim jacket.





In other news: I'm going to watch the Lakers play in New Orleans tonight. Woohoo!!!!

I've always hated conflict. Confrontation scares me. So the idea of approaching someone who is confrontational in order to manage a conflict straight up freaks me out. But that is what I have to do tomorrow: I have to confront a fellow manager in order to successfully manage a particularly difficult conflict. Oy.

It would be so much easier to "get it off of my chest" by complaining to fellow employees, managers, etc. But the Bible clearly states that if we have grievances against each other, we must approach each other in love to try and resolve the issue. The only problem is that this is SUCH a scary thing for me. I think that this is because growing up, confrontation and conflict resolution always happened in a very heated, defensive manner.

Now I'm not saying that it's not good to seek counsel, because wise counsel can be a good, good thing! The line gets crossed, though, when we move from truly seeking counsel to gossiping about an issue. The line there is so thin, the shift is so subtle, but the change in heart is so obvious. It is when we move from desiring to solve an issue in love to condemning out of self-righteousness. And self-righteousness, condemnation, and gossip are three dark, twisty things that I have been DESPERATELY trying to root out of my life.

So I have to face my fear. I have to confront the conflict, head-on. In love. Being as wise as a serpent and as gentle as a dove. It's a delicate dance between kindness and cunning that's terribly tricky, but I'm going to try. Because I know that if I don't, I'll wish I had. And I know that if I do, my efforts will be blessed.

I feel as though each time I revisit this page, it's with a word of apology because I have spent so long away from it. But I can't apologize this time, because there is SO MUCH I have been accomplishing lately that I can't even begin to feel bad about not blogging. I think perhaps I'm beginning to feel really, truly comfortable in my own skin, which helps me feel as though my contributions to the blogosphere, few and far between though they may be, are enough.

Right now I'm sitting in Mojo Coffee in Goleta, taking a short break from my thesis. Working on my thesis this past week and a half, while living with my aunt, uncle, and cousins, has given me some real insight into what it takes to accomplish a big goal. At first it felt insurmountable. But now, as I've been working on my thesis, chipping away at it bit by bit, it feels completely under control. And I've come to realize the deep truth of that timeless question and its accompanying answer: "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time."

Truly, each time I have made the choice to sit down and work, I've felt like I'm taking a bite of my elephantine thesis. And each time I walk away, I feel as though I can see it getting smaller, more manageable, and I can see the end in sight. It strikes me how this is so true of every goal we try to accomplish in life: the only way to manage a dream or goal the size of an elephant is to take one bite, one step, at a time.

I think this is true of relationships, too, and especially my relationship with God. I can't expect to "feel" like I know God all at once. It comes from little choices along the way, little steps taken in an attempt to get closer to Him. Each small step taken is one step closer than we were before, and nothing can take that progress away. The beautiful thing about God is that He honors each step we have taken toward Him. We never have to try to "get back to where we were before." We just have to make the choice to continue our journey toward Him, take a few more steps, and we suddenly realize that we already are right where we were before.

So just like the work I've done on my thesis, I'm going to keep on picking up where I left off before, trusting that Jesus will honor me as I keep tottering toward Him like a baby learning how to walk. And eventually, as I keep on keeping on, those steps will get stronger until I find that I'm walking with God, not toward Him, with the sure steps of a seasoned traveler. And the God that I wanted so badly to know? I'll find that He is no longer an abstraction, but closest friend, walking step by step with me down life's winding road.

I've lost a friend...and I don't know why.

There are a lot of things I can handle.  There are a lot of things I probably put up with that I shouldn't.  But one thing that absolutely KILLS me is being spoken to in a disrespectful manner, and for me, that includes having curse words directed at me.  

Now, I don't mean to say that I can't handle the odd expletive tossed in a conversation in the heat of the moment.  I can, and a lot of my friends do.  But when someone systematically curses about me, my thoughts, my actions, or at me, I just shut down.  At that point, I can't even HEAR the person because the cursing is so painful for me to hear.

I have a friend who chooses to curse.  I have handled it just fine over the past two years that I've known this person.  But he never cursed regarding ME until just recently, and when I asked him not to, he blew a gasket.  

"I will not be censored," he said, as if I were trying to strip him of his right to free expression.  That's fine.  Express yourself all you want, but don't expect me to listen when the object of your curse words are me, my thoughts, and my actions.

Why is cursing so important to some people?  Have I seriously just lost a friend because the right to curse is more important than a friendship of two years?  And more disturbing to me is this: Have I been so blind as to not see this person's true colors these past two years?  Have I really not seen the part of him that finds it acceptable to repeatedly hurt a friend by using language that is offensive and cutting?  What does that say about ME?

I will say one thing: I'm going to be much more careful now about the people I share with, the people I let into the deep parts of my life.  Because finding out that the person who you thought was your friend is actually capable of scrapping an entire friendship because he values cursing over you is almost too much to handle.

Tagged

My friend, Katie just tagged me in her blog to photograph myself, just as I am right now. No primping, no lip glossing, and as Emery says, no bump-it.

This is what I look like first thing in the morning.  Amazingly, I don't look like a terrifying, sleepy beast even though I have yet to drink my coffee.  

In return, I tag the following people:

Nicki

Hannah

Cameron

Shiran

Megan

Happy picture taking!