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 !