Outfits, shopping finds and time with friends

Or this post could simply be entitled, Busy Days. 

So, two weeks ago, I was away from home all week, then last week I was practically not home because of my rush to edit my friend's photos, and now this week I've been gone a lot again. This is actually the first afternoon I've been home all week. Not that that's a bad thing. I enjoy being busy with a full schedule, but I also enjoy when my life slows down, and I have more time to reflect, or in this case, blog. ;) 

Monday and Tuesday I got to spend a lot of time with my biological father, Jonathan. He lives about 4 hours away, but he came down here for vacation. We went bowling, sightseeing at places called Acadian Village and Jean LaFitte Park (both tell of the Cajun history, and I'd never been to either), and finished Tuesday at the Kart Ranch, riding go karts in the pouring rain, then playing putt-putt golf. 

Here's a few pictures I took with my iPhone (sadly, my camera hasn't been fixed yet.)

I love this little village so much. It gave so much information on the Acadian's (or now referred to as Cajuns) past, which is something I always enjoy learning about. The little church especially took my heart, along with the uniquely built Acadian houses all around it. 

(Ford tee- Walmart (men's section), jean skirt- really old, black lace converse- Walmart, jewelry- made by me) 

I knew we'd be doing a lot of walking and possible go kart riding, so I tried to go with cute, sporty, and practical. I'm always nervous about the go karts, the seat belt buckles between your legs, and with zooming around I'm always afraid of my skirt flying up, so I wore tights under my skirt. I didn't want to wear a more straight down skirt, because I would've had to pull it up a little to buckle. Not so ladylike. Plus the worker, usually a young guy, has to check and make sure you're strapped in safely, which can sometimes be very awkward. Thankfully, this outfit proved to be the least awkward of any I've tried. Experimenting works, folks! ;) 

(Aztec top and white bubble necklace- Cato, skirt- Goodwill, flipflops and leaf earrings- Walmart)  

I had this outfit planned since I got the shirt a few weeks ago. I knew I wanted to go with a more boho feel, and I think I achieved that. Putting the necklace with the top was actually an accident. I got them both at the same time, and when I was putting my stuff up I realized how good they looked together! I wore this for me and my bestie's shopping trip on Wednesday. We went to Goodwill first, and ended up not going anywhere else! Normally, I can't stand to spend 2 hours in a store, but every time I turned around, I found more stuff! It took us a while to try on, and narrow down what we were going to get. That store had a wealth of hidden treasures, but I only had so much money. ;) 

First up, a New Orleans Saints pillow pet! They had them in the store for $30 (which I was NOT gonna spend on a pillow pet), but I found this one in really great condition for $5! I was like, "Oh yeah, you are so mine." ;) 

shoes 2 for $6

$4.50

$4.50

3 pairs for $2

I usually have a hard time finding shoes that fit perfectly due to having wide feet. But this Goodwill had tons of shoes that fit me! Sadly, I couldn't get them all, but these two I can see getting plenty of use. The navy pumps stay on my feet without pinching (a miracle for me), and have a cushiony bottom.  The black flats are already broken in while still looking good, and also have a cushiony sole.

I got the grey skirt as a challenge for myself, to style it in non frumpy ways, and dressed up or down for different occasions. I already have a lot of ideas for casual, dressy, winter, and summer. 

The grey sweater is soft and comfortable without being baggy, tight, or lumpy, and the perfect palette for a wide variety of styling.  Perfect qualifications for a sweater. I also got a jean skirt, but it's in the dryer. :) 

Sometimes, you just need fun socks, you know? They can be the bright side of a rainy or severely cold day. 

As sad as it is, Megan and I did not take a selfie during our day out. Sad right? I think we're kinda stuck between the older generation and the teen generation that takes a selfie every hour of the day. However she did make this sweet card for me that is now on my wall. She's a red head, and I'm a brunette. The picture and caption perfectly describes us. :) 

When we got back to her house we ate dinner, then watched the Christmas Card (my movie contribution), then God's not Dead. I'll say that I was pleasantly surprised by that movie. I really hadn't had high expectations for it, but I was gladly proved wrong. 

Oh, and God's not dead. :) 

My favorite music group is the Piano Guys, and they now have a tee on their website! I'd love to have one. :) 

And lastly, a selfie I took while waiting for Megan to get to my house. Still learning how to edit my iPhone pics the way I want. 

Have a great week! 

Has it really been two months?

First off, Happy Fourth of July! 

To say life has been crazy would be an understatement. I don't even know how I would begin to cover just the events of the last two months, but I'll try. ;) 

First off, we finished helping the church in Abbeville, and began to help a church in Houma, which is about 2 and a half hours away. Before in Abbeville, we were able to stay home and drive there for services, but since Houma is much farther away, we stay the whole weekend there. Which, honestly, is awesome for our family. We enjoy camping out in churches in our sleeping bags, working with the pastor and his family and hanging out together. It's so fun. Since we've been there, Bro. Barry has kept us busy with music and helping around the church. It has been such an experience to get the little tidbits of knowledge from him, especially in the area of piano. My piano skills have escalated in just the past couple of weeks. He's given me ideas and techniques to try which have led to some of my own discoveries. And now he's letting me learn how to play his auto harp! I never saw one before we went over there, but he said anyone can play an auto harp. I practiced and played with it so much last week that I got blisters on my thumb. 

This is what they look like.

Besides all that, I've been helping my little sister with her school, which has turned into a full morning job. I enjoy working with her, and the experience I'm getting. :) 

Then, two weeks ago, I went to Camp Liberty.

Me and Meg on the way to camp. 

Camp name tags and mementos.

This was my 8th year at this camp, and my fourth year as camp photographer. As always it was an awesome experience, but it came with a few hard challenges for me. Worst of all, my camera stopped working the Wednesday morning, right in the middle of camp. I used other people's cameras for the rest of the week, but I was heartsick for my poor camera. I believe that God knows what's best, and I have confidence that He will provide a way, hopefully to either provide the money to get my camera fixed, or for a new one. It's been such a huge part of my life over the past four years that it was almost like losing a friend. I ask that ya'll keep me in your prayers about this. Not only do I catch little bits of my life and my family's life, it's the main piece of my livelihood as a photographer, and a tool I've used for our ministry and to be a help to others. I know that God will handle it, and probably in ways I never would've thought of. :)

So there is other stuff going on, but they're going to be so detailed that it's going to take two more posts, one for each subject. And considering I can't seem to trust myself to have the time to write another post later, I guess they'll just be back to back. I have really missed you guys, and I hope to not be gone so long again.

Love ya'll! 

transitional fall outfits

Friday I had a really good shopping trip. I found 2 shirts, a skirt, and a book at Goodwill, and 2 skirts and a shirt at Cato. Then yesterday I went back for two pairs of shoes at Payless that I had liked on Friday. 

They were both on sale for $10 each, but with the bogo sale I got both pairs for a total of $15! 

The shoes are cute enough for Wednesday nights and comfortable enough for running errands in. I don't have pictures of all the clothes, so I'll give you a description of each thing.

Goodwill

hot pink button up shirt with 3 quarter sleeves: $4

mint and white pinstriped button up shirt with ruffles on front:$4 

tangerine layered ankle length skirt: $4 

Cato 

bright orange dressy skirt (got a white one just like it): $10

bright dark blue dressy skirt: $10

orange sleeveless shirt: $4 

I love everything I found. Definitely noticing my obsession with orange lately. More and more orange things keep turning up in my closet. 

Here's Sunday evening's outfit. I don't normally wear something different on Sunday evening from the morning, but this was an exception. 

orange skirt & belt~Cato/leopard shirt~hand me down/shoes~Payless/jewelry~Walmart

I was trying to find a top to go with this skirt, which proved harder then I had thought. Finally, I put this leopard sweater with it, but it's so old that it's ridiculously faded and beading up. The blue jean shirt helped cover that, and I think the belt brought the outfit together. 

How would you have styled this skirt? 

Monday's outfit included the skirt I got from Goodwill. 

I really liked the skirt even before I saw the cute flower. 

I wore the outfit without the blue jean shirt around the house, but put it on before we left. I like to wear over shirts a lot.

Oh and last but not least! I got a piano last night! 

It's a wonderful little piano that is nicely tuned, although rather loud in our little trailer. My sweet Dad went straight from work for an hour one way to get it. It was given to us for free, and I'm so thankful for it. 

I won a giveaway!

I can't believe it!

This is the second giveaway I win, which is extremely rare. 

The giveaway was by Emily Ruth at Borrowing Photographs, a sweet blog you should check out. The giveaway was sponsored by My Lemonade Dreams . Her etsy store is lovely, you should check that out too. ;)

But without further ado, let me show you the lovely item I won.

Aren't they gorgeous? 

Now I just have to find something to go with them..hmmm....

So what do ya'll think of the new music on my music player? Is the music relaxing?

Have a lovely Wednesday!

Moments in time.

Eww!!!

Why does my new candle stink so badly?

It's supposed to smell like pine.

*Sighs*

Oh well. 

That was kind of a weird way to start a post wasn't it? 

*giggles*

I'm sitting at my desk, trying to air my room because of that stinky candle, wrapped in my black shawl, listening to my new Celtic Woman Christmas cd, and thinking about going into the kitchen to make some coffee. With marshmallows. And risk waking two young ones sleeping in the living room and never finishing this post.

Naa.

I think I'll wait. ;) 

I have a problem.

I've been trying to get some bokeh pics, and some good Christmas decoration pics. And so far, none of them have really come out good. Any suggestions? I'd really appreciate it. I go to so many blogs that have amazing Christmas pictures, and I don't know how they do it. I figured it out last year, but I had a point and shoot camera then, and now I have an SLR. It's a bit different. Maybe I should just bite the bullet and read the instructions. Ugh, I hate instructions. ;) 

This is the best Christmas decor pics I've been able to get so far. 

 love the deep blue on this ornament.

I also love poinsettias. I was able to catch some faint bokeh in this one.

 love the colors of the lights in the background of this pic, as well as the rich red ornament.

This one came out clear enough to satisfy me. ;) We've had this cute little mouse for as long as I can remember.

The finished product.

The two main tree decorators. Our parents were busy with Matthew, and getting decorations out, so I put the hooks on the ornaments, and Mark and Rachel put them on the tree. Wow! When did my little brother get so big?! 

Well, that's what I have so far. It's actually 46 degrees outside! To us Cajuns, that's past the freezing point, and to the hibernating point. ;) I've only once or twice actually seen the temperature in the teens. High teens. Yeah, my friends up north think I'm fortunate. But a little fact about me. I have never seen snow. Well, I've seen about half an inch of sleet/snow, that melted within a few minutes. One day I'd like to visit up north and make a snowman. :) 

But for now, I'm going to enjoy our warm house, coffee, and fun activities that I have planned with my siblings for the afternoon. We're going to make cupcakes, and Christmas countdown chains. 

So, until the next time.....

.......keep a smile on your face. :)

Celtic Woman

It came in!

My Celtic Woman Christmas cd came in today!

I'm so excited!

I'm listening to it now, and it's beautiful. I don't think I've ever been this satisfied with a cd.

The violinist is amazing. 

But I like all their voices.

This is my favorite Christmas song that they sing. They really did an amazing job.

So, just wanted to share my latest excitement. ;)