OOTD - New Year, Who Dis?

 Oh, hai!  It's just little ol' me, throwing together another outfit post for this chilly January day.  I'm about to head back into the warmth and maybe some hot cocoa.  Is it just me, or does that little cup of steaming chocolate just warm you to your soul?  It's much needed after braving these actual winter temps for the sake of a few pics, that's for sure!

Outfit Details:

Denim top: recloseted

Black top: thrifted, $3

Leggings: Lularoe, free for hosting party

Necklace: recloseted

Scarf: mall kiosk, OLD, $5

Boots: recloseted

Grand Total: $8

OOTD - Warm Fuzzies

I really don't know why I don't wear this jacket every day.  Yes, it looks like I repurposed a muppet.  Yes, it's very in your face.  And, yes, it's one of my favorite thrift finds ever.  I guess I'll just have to put my money where my mouth is and put it into the rotation for the rest of this winter, right?

OOTD - ReCloseted

So here's the thing about being known as the 'clothes person' among your friends and family.  You get asked a LOT if you want things from their closets when they're doing their regular purges.  And, you know, I almost always say yes!  I mean, free clothes, and even more options to expand my wardrobe?  Plus, I might get the warm fuzzies of knowing they thought of me as cleaning out their closets.

So, I figured, since this happens a lot in my life for some reason, I'd come up with a term to describe these little goodies.  They're not really gifts, and not really from a clothing swap, but they are being ReCloseted.  So, expect to see that term with a lot of outfit posts from now on.  I even have two examples for today!

Outfit 1:

 

So maybe I'm wierd,  but I would much rather have recloseted or secondhand jeans over new ones.  There's something about denim that's already been worn in that makes them so much more comfy and versatile to me.  That's where these jeans came from, and they've been worn an embarassing amount since I've gotten them. No lie.

Outfit Details:

Top: Lularoe Amy, $38

Jeans: recloseted

Sweater: thrifted, $4

Boots: thrifted, $8

Earrings: recloseted

Ring: DIY

Grand Total: $50

Outfit 2:

These are not pleather pants.  Let that be known now, I'm way more into comfort than that! They're faux faux leather leggings (aka shiny spandex) that I happened across in the workout section. I swear, the more into my 30's I get, the more athlesiure makes it into my daily wardrobe.  At least I've got this recloseted sweater and spiffy accessories to make me look a bit more dressed up!

Outfit Details:

Sweater: recloseted

Leggings: Wal-Mart, $10

Earrings: Wal-Mart, $3

Boots: thrifted (these are an UO brand!), $6

Grand Total: $20

Re-Centered

You know when you get a moment that's a confirmation that you should continue a hobby?  Sometimes, you continue something because you love it.  Sometimes, it's out of stubbornness.  Sometimes, it's out of necessity.  BUT SOMETIMES, even if all of the above is true, you still need that outside influence to keep going.

That's what I needed to continue blogging.

And then, I got an opportunity that was the push I needed to jump right on in where I had left off.

A few weeks ago, I got a message from the lovely local fashion designer, Rosie Rose.  I've stalked her designs for literal years, ya'll, ever since a friend suggested checking her out.  And she needed a model.  Any funk I'd been in about "do I continue with the fashion thing or set it aside was gone.  So, I arranged childcare, got 'gussied up' as the hubs would say, and got ready to meet and shoot.

While impatiently waiting for all this to go down, a friend posted this picture on the Facebook, with the question, "what are you passionate about lately?"

Testimony

It's been a long couple months, ya'll.

I've been going back and forth on starting up blogging again, and after my last post, a mental health hiatus seemed especially necessary.  I had to give myself permission to take a break, from a ton of areas of my life that used to take priority.  I didn't write, I didn't take photos, and most days, any outfit beyond a 'nice' top and jeans was a little too much effort.

And, yet, it's been a time of growth, and rebuilding some habits, both old and new.  It's been hard, and good, and sometimes fulfilling and often exhausting.  But that break made room in my life for some really great things as well.  I've gotten to refocus my energy on new creative endeavors, found time on the weekends to pour into my kids, and had a literal ton of soul-searching to strengthen my faith.

Genuine

It's been a while since I've written anything.  I have recently picked up my journal and sporadically filled out some pages with answers to some journal prompts I've discovered on Pinterest, but most of my writing, blogging, and posting in general has seemed to diminish in recent months.

To be honest, my mind needed a break.  I needed time to take stock of some adjustments in my attitude towards myself, and take much better care of my mental health.  'Mental Health' has been a buzzword recently in the online forums, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it does seem to make my own post about my mental health journey seem a bit bandwagon-y.  But doesn't the fact that it's such a popular topic lately also show how needed the conversation is, and how universal the struggles of anxiety disorders and depression really are?  Doesn't it also highlight how silly and ignorant the stigma still surrounding mental health really is?

Because I've been dealing with depression in the last few months, and haven't had the slightest idea of where to start asking for help.  I've prayed, asked for prayer from some friends, taken anti-anxiety medications, started eating better and exercising, cried, changed my birth control, prayed even more... while still dealing with a mental imbalance that affects my hormonal levels and steals the joy from my day to day.  And I don't say this for all you readers to feel guilty, and say "oh, Grace, we didn't know!" and wring your hands and feel awful about not spotting the signs.

Because most people are really good at hiding it, myself included.  I'm guilty of the same trap so many people seem to fall in, the trap of "not wanting to be the needy friend."  Alongside that, there's the carefully curated "living your best life" newsfeeds that gloss over the messy, boring, and mundane sides of daily life, in favor of pretty pictures and saccharine captions.  I'm at the head of the 'happy smiley' instagram secret club, by the way, with posts that look like this:

 "so glad me and my girl "Lucille" get to match in red today! #jeeplife #wingsfordayz"

OOTD - Matchy Matchy

Ya'll, I'm a sucker for matchy matchy stuff.  I make it a point to coordinate stuff like earrings and shoes, and I'm even so picky, I can't stand when the hardware on my shoes doesn't match my earrings.  Like, silver studs and gold hardware?  I. Can't. Do. It.

Which is why it's SO surprising to me that I've never paired these shoes with this dress before!

OOTD - Some Kind of Summer

This was the year.  I didn't know it when I first walked into Beautiful Lives Boutique recently, but this was the year that the search was over.  Every summer in recent memory, I've scoured the secondhand racks looking for a versatile, comfortable, and still stylish white dress to carry me through the summer's heat.  Every year, I'd come up short (sometimes literally with some of the hemlines I found!).  Until that day, so this is the year I get to rock this dress every chance I get.  If only I had remembered that date that will now go down in my sartorial history! (Is that too sarcastic and over the top? Who cares, this dress is CUTE!)

OOTD - Summer Prep

Decided to go through some photos that never made it here to the interwebs, and ran across a few that I wanted to share.  They really DON'T go along with the hot hot heat we've been experiencing in our pre-Summer summer weather (I mean, really, did we even get a Spring?), but do hearken back to the days of sweater weather.  Oh well, bring on the A/C and the sandals, and let's do this Summer thing!

#ThriftedChicStyleChallenge

Hi friends!  The blog might go a bit quiet this week, but be sure to stop by my Instagram this week for a whole slew of secondhand outfits!  I'm participating in a group challenge highlighting secondhand style (which is, of course, right up my alley!), so there will be a whole week of outfits posted through that platform this week.  Be sure to check it out, and all the other ladies that are also participating in the #thriftedchicstylechallenge !

OOTD - {obligatory post title}

I don't know what it is about today, you guys.  I've been trying to come up with a title for this outfit, and I keep drawing a blank.  I could go with "Civil War" to reference the blue and grey tones, or there's "Matched Up" because everything coordinates, or even "Meh" since that seems to be what my brain is doing today.  Oh well, I'll just leave those up there and leave it up to reader's choice.  Deal?

OOTD - Friday, I'm in Love....

...with this skirt!  I've had it stashed in my closet for a while now, and may have even posted it, but then it's been languishing in the back of my closet.  Waiting for the perfect fancy moment to be worn.  But then, I figured, life is short. Wear the skirt!  So, here it is, finally relishing the light of day again.

OOTD - Chopped

My hair has changed!  Again!  This time it was more necessity, since I FRIED it with all the past bleaching and color changes.  But, I love a good pixie cut, and am so glad I decided to make a long overdue change.  Vive la haircuts!

OOTD - Hump Day

Hey. Guess what day it is???  If I were a crazy camel working in an office setting, I'd be screaming "Hump dayyyyyyy!"  But, seeing as I am a human, I'll just grab an extra cup of coffee to get past this middle of the week hump, and post outfit photos instead.

OOTD - Groovy Tuesday

Is there really anything better than a good swing dress?  Possibly, if we're talking about a good swing dress with awesome bell sleeves and lace details!  It's the best blank canvas for accessorizing, with just enough groovy flair to keep it interesting!  There's a reason I couldn't say no when I found it on the rack.

OOTD - One Week

I'm baaaaaack!  After an unplanned hiatus (that may involve some family changes that I'll be sharing later on), I'm back to blogging some of the outfit photos I'd saved up for rainy days.  Or post-rainy days. Or just today.  So, to make sure these outfits all see the light of day, I'll be posting outfits all week, starting today!

OOTD - I Got Chills (They're Multiplyin')

So I don't love the cold snap we're having.  I was really hoping the groundhog would be wrong this year; but as tradition would have it, he was correct yet again.  At the very least, it gives me just a few more opportunities to rock this coat with DIY embellishments a few more times before it gets packed away and we're all lamenting how hot it's gotten.

OOTD - Playing Dress-Up

Since last week was apparently an outfit showing my alter ego, I figure we might as well keep that trend going this week too!  This dress on the rack at Goodwill was kind of sad.  It was floor length, long sleeved, and so, so outdated.  But, with a couple quick edits to the hem and adding some bell sleeves, it brings out my inner flower child!  Now if only we could get the global peace and love to go along with it.

OOTD - Buttoned Up

I love the librarian vibes this outfit gives off!  I'm an unabashed book nerd, and love adding a bit of that side into my outfit choices.  All the little details in the jewelry and other accessories just help to make up the details of my alter ego persona as well.  Now bring on the book recommendations!  (for reals, I love them, fill my comment section UP!!)

OOTD - Stay Sunny

Anyone else feeling the excitement of the change in seasons?   The breezes and sun are helping to clear out some of the winter cobwebs, so it was high time for me to update my goal board at work in the same spirit: