Seven (days) Of Skirts, Day 7!

And so, the Seven (days) Of Skirts project is completed, for me anyway, because today is my Day 7! (Yay, I did it!) :D This was a lot of fun and I'm so glad it encouraged you all to see my modest outfits. It encouraged me as well! :) 

Day 7:

Skirt: Ross! (brand: JKLA California) I only bought this a little while ago so if you hurry to a Ross near you, you might be able to find one! :D

Peach Blouse: Thrifted - the brand name is the one at Target I can't read... Mossimo, I think?

Sleeveless white shirt: Land's End

Shoes: Reef flip-flops

Hair: Butterfly Barrette (Wal-Mart)

 Today's outfit was photographed in the garden.

Aren't the pole beans a magnificent sight? It reminds me of Jack's Beanstalk! (And I think this is my favorite blouse. The peachy coral shade enhances my complexion like nothing else I own!) :D

 I. Love. This. Skirt.

I wish you could see it move, it has THE most delightful swishy twirl at the bottom... the overlayer is very light and chiffon-like and moves like a breath of wind, while the dark brown lining keeps everything undercover that should be! ;)  Plus I love the wild print. :D
And these are the flip-flops I've been slipping into all week long. I love how comfortable this pair is and how I can dress them up or down. My advice for flip-flops, by the way, is to buy a name-brand pair on sale. It will be less expensive than constantly replacing cheap ones in the long run. (I found this pair of Reef flip-flops 50% off so they were only $15 instead of $30.)
Closer view of the jewelry... This silver-and-clear jewelry set I made goes with simply everything I own! (Trivia: This necklace is in the book I wrote about how to make your own beaded necklaces... It's titled as the Basic necklace)

And here is a closer look at the bracelet I'm wearing. I'm charmed by these cute little crystal 'charms' dangling off the silver links...

My hair today was simply pulled back half-way with a silver barrette that's shaped like a butterfly.

Close-up of the earrings. This style helps to visually elongate your face, by the way. :)

On my way back down the hill to the house, I stopped to take a few pictures, myself.

 We got just a little sprinkle of rain today (Although the earsplitting thunder and lightning seemed to promise a lot more than that!) We also had a power outage for about an hour. Anywho, that's why the pebbles are wet in the above photo ^ and look so nice and glimmery. ;)

And then on the gravel drive right in front of the carport I spotted this leaf! It looked like an early little hint of Autumn to me!! :D

But then it hit me that it was a tulip poplar leaf and they always shed theirs waaay early anyway, especially if it's been hot and dry (which is has). Bummer. Still, it made a pretty picture once it was edited a little! :D

I hope you've enjoyed the SOS project!
Have a lovely evening. :)

Seven (days) Of Skirts, Day 6

I can't belive the SOS project is nearly done... only one outfit (after today) to go! :D It's certainly been a challenge to get pictures of my skirts every day and post them but it's also been lots of fun. Plus I'm getting lots of practice using my photo editing software. (I had to do something, as I'm not using my 'good' camera for these pictures as it's still being repaired.) But I'm learning to be ok even if things aren't completely perfect. :D

Today I rested a good deal as I wasn't feeling well last night and didn't get to sleep until after 2 a.m. Mark and Steven had fun hanging out with some friends of theirs who were able to drive themselves over now that one of them has his new drivers license. There was lots of lego creativity going on! ;)

I finished the book I mentioned yesterday and also the second one, which to my surprise was wildly different than the first and full of carriage chases and gunshots and action - somewhat unlike a Jane Austen story, if you ask me! :P But maybe the third in the series will be a little better and finish out the trilogy nicely... Mom put it on hold through the library system and I'm looking forward to getting my hands on it!


Before I continue I want to thank each and every one of you who has left me comments on this post series! It blesses me so much to hear from you and puts such a joyful smile on my face when I read your encouraging words. :) Thank you from the bottom of my heart! :D


Day 3:

Skirt: JKLA California - I found it at Ross! :D
T-shirt: Thrifted (Brand on the tag says "Fu-Du"-?)
Shoes: It's O.K. - Where did I get these again??? - I'm thinking Payless. (?)
Hair: Simple Ponytail Braid
Jewelry: Jewels by Julia

A-yup. I'm thinking these are my favorite shoes to wear with a skirt. Chic little modest brown heels. And this is definitely one of my favorite skirts. And yes - I'm wearing stripes with a swirled floral pattern and I think it looks cute, so there -  :P :D

I adore the little 'hoodie'-style pocket on the front of this t-shirt!

 This is also one of my favorite jewelry sets... the brown goes with, if not everything, a whole lot. :D

 There are faint stripes of aqua and peach in between the chocolate brown on this white shirt. (Which, by the way, is all one piece... the little 'inset' in the V is attached.) I do not care for the shirts you have to wear a cami under to stay modest, although this shirt looks a little similar to that style.

My sweet Daddy took these pictures for me. I love him so much!

 (I'm sitting on one of the walls in our carport that are made with stonework. Our fireplace has stonework exactly like it... I love the look!) :D

Mama braided my hair for me. It's so long I have trouble braiding it myself (Plus I can't french braid - somebody post a tutorial for me!). :D

What about you - have you ever done something 'out of the box' fashion-wise (like wearing stripes with a floral embroidered fabric) ?

Seven (days) Of Skirts, Day 5

I am very happy that everyone seems to be enjoying the SOS project! I have loved doing it and am definitely planning on hosting another one this Autumn so that more of my friends can join along! :)

Today was quiet and peaceful (not boring in the least) and I got caught up on the laundry and made lunch for myself and my brothers, as my parents went up to a business appointment together and spent some time at the library and ate a packed lunch. Us kids stayed home by ourselves and "held down the fort"! :) We were all together again for dinner for a delicious meal of barbequed roast beef with curly zesty fries! Nummy. :)

Day 5:

Skirt: Thrifted! No idea where it originally came from.
Shirt: Yard Sale, years ago.
Shoes: Faded Glory (Wal-Mart)
Hair: Headband

Meet Jane, everybody! She's my favorite little hen, and named both after my favorite authoress Jane Austen and for the sweet-tempered Jane Bennet. For this little chicken is the sweetest of all, and golden, to boot! We liked her so much that next time we ordered chickens we got Buff Orphingtons just like her. Now we have about 26 of them (counting Jane). :)

And here's a picture of just the outfit so you won't be distracted by the cute little chicken. Never work with children or animals, they steal all the limelight. *wink* ;)

This is my favorite denim skirt, by the way! You can't really see in the picture but it has the most beauuuutiful flare at the bottom. Oh! I love it. :D

Jane is such a patient little dear.

 (This isn't the most flattering picture ever of me, but it was such a cute one of Jane that it had to go in the blog post!) I'm reading an EXCELLENT book, by the way! Mama found it today at the library. (not our local library, a different, more modern branch).

It's called "Before the Season Ends" (by Linore Rose Burkard) and it's set in Regency England and it's Inspirational Christian Romance! *swoon* ;)

I'm not even half through the book and I'm already singing it's praises - very rare for me!

(I do not recommend reading lots of romance books. But the occasional one is like the occasional candy bar for me. Especially if it's sweet and not too strong in the romance department... there has to be more to the story than just the romance, for me.)

So. Me. I didn't even wear a pair of the earrings I made today, just my plain ol' cubic zirconia earstuds that I always wear.

Can you see my (fading, because of much application of lotion) sunburn? How about the dark circles under my eyes from our tiring day yesterday?  :D I don't have a perfect face... but I'm happy with it! :D I like the way the Lord made me and I am (at last) perfectly happy with the skin I'm in! :)

And now, I must beg leave to return to my book.

Have a lovely evening and tune in tomorrow (Friday) For day 6 of the SOS project!

I've never been so scared by a trash can in my entire life

I should have been folding laundry, but I took a break in between two baskets to check my email. I was staring glumly at the "0 Unread Emails" statement when I heard a slight rustling sound, almost like a small insect moving about. I looked under my desk, from where the sound seemed to be proceeding from, but could see nothing out of the ordinary.

I clicked on my blog and amused myself by snooping on the Live Traffic Feed on the sidebar, seeing who was visiting (and not bothering to comment! Shame on ya'll!) and who had come from where (As an aside, will the person from Mankato, Minnesota who visits me every day introduce themselves? I would love to meet you!) ;)

WHEN SUDDENLY.....

I heard more rustling. And as ducked down from my position in the computer chair and looked underneath my desk, something MOVED in the little wastebasket and looked like it was crawling out of the can! As my heart ceased beating in my chest, the laptop cord fell out of the trashcan with a loud THUMP on the floor, startling me nearly out of my senses! I gasped in fright and shrieked at the same time. (If such an action is possible).

Yeah. I literally took a picture so you could see what I was talking about. ;)

(The laptop cord is connected to the laptop on top of the desk, and plugs into the wall. It happened to be resting on top of a plastic grocery bag that was smushed inside the trashcan)

I can hardly describe the totally crazy adrenaline rush and overpowering fright that washed over me even as I realized in that exact instant that there was nothing to be afraid of. (!!!!) What made everything worse was the fact that my brother Mark was reading his History in the soft armchair across the room and he instantly looked up to see what was the matter and witnessed the whole thing. I gasped "Oh my goodness!" and all at once I saw the humor in the situation and I started laughing so hard tears came to my eyes!

{In my own defense, we get lots of scorpions and other critters in our log home in the woods, so it's not uncommon to see unusual bugs in unusual places now and then, so my high alert was completely understandable.}

I was so freaked out by the cord falling out of the trashcan that when I started to stand up my legs buckled underneath me and I sat down on the floor. Lol! I couldn't believe how scared I was. I think most of it had to do that I was leaning down in an awkward, undefensible position and the can was only a few inches from my nose when it happened.

I'm not sure why I decided to share this story with you - it was certainly hilarious but you sort of 'had to have been there', if you know what I mean. ;)

Anyway, I hope it tickled your funnybone in some way (laughter doeth good like a medicine!).

The SOS outfit for day 5 will be posted sometime this evening, so come on back for that! :)

Seven (days) Of Skirts, Day 4

Day 4 is here! I can hardly believe I'm half-way through this project already! :) I have some exciting news... two friends have joined me in this challenge to wear skirts for seven days. My dear friend McKenzie is the first... here is what she said to me about the project: (shared with permission!) :D

Julia, I absolutely love your SOS project!! :) You looked so lovely and feminine in your outfits! I was very blessed by your purpose in doing the project. It is so encouraging to know that I have a kindred spirit striving to be modest but also beautifully feminine! I often feel alone in that area at times. Like you, I do wear pants, shorts, etc. but I also love wearing skirts. I have a lot of old friends and even family that "look down their nose" at me because they think I am just trying to "fit a mold" or that I am legalistic. I have always hated for people not to accept me and so I strove to try to please everyone. Of course it was ridiculous to think that I could please everyone and I did not succeed. The only thing I succeeded in was making myself completely miserable. I realized the only person I needed to please was my Savior. When I quit worrying about what others thought and concentrated on what HE thought, I found true joy and acceptance!
-McKenzie 

You should hop on over to Pecan Pastures and see the cute outfits McKenzie is putting together. Her first one includes some of my jewelry, actually, which was neat to see! :D It thrills me to no end when people like my stuff. ;)

And... my dear mother is also joining the SOS project on her blog, Gloria in Excelsis Deo! She has written a dynamic post on modesty and being 'ok with the skin you're in'. Here's a little excerpt to tempt your literary tastebuds:

Our culture today is obsessed with skinny. Before the days of Twiggy and Barbie, women were considered normal if they had a little body fat. Strong, robust women worked hard for their families on farms and in the home. Paintings of past eras show women with volumptuous curves and feminine figures. Not to mention my ancestry. I am 100% Dutch. Dutch people are big boned, tall and robust. It is not healthy to be as skinny as your bone structure will allow. 
I know a few people who are just naturally thin or small, but they are not as numerous as my friends who have a 'normal' figure, or are even what used to be called 'pleasingly plump'. Not everybody is built tall and thin, and that is okay! When we are discontent with our shape and size it's like we are telling God "You messed up when you made me. You should have made me thinner!" What?!?! That's no way to talk to our creator! He knew what he was doing when he created us.

Bear with me here and read this passage of scripture:

Psalm 139:13b - 16

...Thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.
I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.
We are beautiful to him, and I am sure it hearts his heart when we denounce and disparage the way he made us.
This is no excuse for misusing our bodies and overeating, of course, and we should not look to food to satisfy our emotional needs for comfort or just eat too much because we like the pleasure of eating tasty food. (Both of which I have been guilty in the past.) Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit and as such should be taken care of... everything in moderation.

I would strongly encourage you to read my mom's post and tell her what you think! (Come back and tell me too, I'd love to hear your thoughts!)

Allrightythen, without further ado, here's today's outfit!

Day 4:

Skirt: 'Choices' - found it at Belk
Lime green top: Yard Sale! :D
Flip-Flops: ? - found at The Sock Shoppe
Hair: Side Ponytail
Jewelry: Jewels by Julia

We went down to the river today and as soon as I saw this tree I knew it had to be part of today's photo shoot! :D

This is another one of my absolute favorite skirts... the aqua and lime green and swirls are so fun and splashy! :)

My dear mom took these pictures for me. {That's the river going downstream behind me}

I took this self-portrait so you could see my side ponytail and chandelier earrings a little better. There was actually a delightful wisp of a breeze when we first got there. It died down after a while but could still be felt out on the water.  

Speaking of water.... (and while we're on the topic of modest femininity & such)....

 Here's my swimsuit!

Mama sewed it for me out of swimsuit fabric! I've worn it for a couple years now and we're getting ready to make a new one, but it still works for the present. I always get compliments when I wear it and the knowledge that I'm modest as well as comfortable in the suit is wonderful! :)

Today's post was a little late because we just got back from the river! We had a fun day out in the sun and in the water. We swam, waded, threw the frisbee around, and met some friends who had also come for a day at the river. It was a blast! (I think I even worked on my tan a little bit, too! :D) Lol. :)

Have a delightful day!

Seven (days) Of Skirts, Day 3

I'm so excited about the great response I've gotten from friends about this project so far! It's been wonderful to hear how it's inspiring them and being an encouragement. I've heard from two people that told me they are participating as well, and I'll add an update at the bottom of this post when I find the ones they've done. :)

It's not too late to join the project yourself! I don't mind at all if you want to join in even if I'm on day 3. The more the merrier! :D Just remember if you use the SOS header to link back to me. :)



I would like to pause for a moment to ask for your prayers. My parents told us yesterday evening that they had received some sad news. A friend of ours, Mr. Bob Johnson, who is a missionary to Europe with his wife, has been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and the doctors can't do anything. This means that if the Lord does not work a miracle in this man's life and heal him, he will be going home to heaven soon. Please pray that Mr. Johnson is healed so that his ministry will keep going strong.

Now I'll return to posting about the SOS project.

Day 3:

Skirt: Kim Rogers
T-Shirt: Thrifted, originally Ann Taylor Loft
Shoes: Marshall's
Hair: Flipped Ponytail
Necklace and Earring set: Jewels by Julia (I made them!)

This is one of my absolute FAVORITE skirts, but it's such an unusual shade of hot pink that I haven't been able to find anything to wear with it except white. Which is fine, of course. :D

 My hair is in a Flipped Ponytail, which, if you don't know how to do, is very easy to learn.

You pull your hair back into a regular ponytail, then part the hair above it, going down through until you have a hollow space behind the hairband. Pull the whole ponytail back through the space and out the bottom. Voila! A flipped ponytail.

 The photoshoot for today was taken on our back porch (which is technically the front porch, but our house is set on the hill in such a way that it seems more like the back).

There's something so homey about rocking chairs...

 Here's a closeup of the jewelry I made.

I love the glass lampwork beads in this set, they have little glass swirls on them.

A better view of the hairstyle.

Hmm... what could Julia be thinking about?

*wink*

O_O!

Lol.

 Sometimes the fact that so many people I know in real life read my blog is so intimidating that I'm afraid to be the real me, or post things that might make people think 'less' of me somehow. But I'm done with that! :D (I was inspired by this post my mom wrote) :)

Ahhh... once in a while, it's good to kick up your heels and relax.

There's a funny story behind these shoes. I bought them for the first Father-Daughter retreat my dad took me to, and I only brought these, a pair of sneakers, and one other pair of leather sandal-type shoes to wear. Well, I was wearing the sandals in the garden when we got to the retreat on the first day, and when I got back to the car I realized that the inside of the sandals were flaking apart from age and unwearable! So it was either the sneakers (which don't look so great with father-daughter retreat attire... :P) or these high heels for the whole weekend.

I sort of grew to hate them, especially when I developed blisters on my heels... ;) But they sure are cute, and when you're not forced to wear them for hours at a time they aren't bad. :D

In case you're wondering, no, I am not wearing the shoes that go with these outfits for the entire day. :D I usually switch to a pair of flip-flops or go barefoot around the house. :D

Have a lovely day!

Seven (days) Of Skirts, Day 2

 I'm really enjoying the SOS project so far! It's been quite fun thinking up different outfits for each day. I particularly like today's outfit... the pink and black is very chic. :) I decided to photograph today's outfit in my room to go with the color scheme. :D

Day 2:

Skirt: Christopher & Banks
Pink Polo Shirt: Liz Claiborne
Shoes: It's O.K. - Walmart (purchased back when they had good shoes)
Hair: black velvet bow barrette - hand-me-down
Jewelry: Jewels by Julia :)

 Please excuse the lighting! :D My bedroom is oh-so-cozy but not so great for photoshoots. Especially with my old point-and-shoot camera. (still waiting for my Olympus E-PL1 to get back from the repair shop).

I just LOVE this black velvet bow hair barrette that I *cough* 'borrowed' from Mama (hey, she never wore it!) ;) And of course she's always welcome to borrow it back! :) I think it looks really cute clipped to the side like this:

 And I noticed in the full-length shot you can't see much of my hair except for how long it is, so I snapped a quick self-portrait in the mirror across the room... (don't bother clicking it for a closer view, it's really blurry.) You get the general idea, though. :D

And here's a closer look at the bracelet I'm wearing that I made... (blurry again, ack! I want my good camera back so badly.) Patience is certainly a virtue...

 I love pink and black together, they make a very cute color combination that reminds me of Paris, or perhaps those cute vintage Poodle Skirts! :D And when you throw pearls and black velvet bows into the mix... *sigh* Lovely. :)

As always, your comments are very much appreciated! How did you like today's outfit compared with yesterday's? Do you have a favorite hairbow that you love to wear?

'Til tomorrow, then!