Yay, my 15×15 remix challenge is finished! Click here for the first part, and here for the second part.

Oddly, getting dressed hasn’t become easier, but a little more challenging since this challenge has finished. Ha.

But now that I have an arsenal of worthwhile wardrobe lessons to take with me for the rest of this pregnancy, I’d love to share in coming posts my maternity additions as I slowly grow the wardrobe.

The main lessons being:

• Accessories, accessories, accessories need to be a new focus for me when I shop.
•  Makeup and hair can make or break an outfit. Especially the hair part. Looking through my 15 outfits, the ones that I cringe at are the ones where my hair was having a bad day.
• It has to be practical. If it’s not comfortable or toddler friendly, I’m not going to buy it. I have plenty of nice heels that I can use for date night, so there’s no real reason for me to focus on the fancy, and impractical right now.
• Less is more. Instead of buying an excess of new clothing, I’m going to pull purchase ideas from a couple of my polyvore boards I created instead; like this one, and this one. It simplifies my shopping list and should help me buy less.
• I came up with a much more focused list of things to buy/add to my wardrobe that I can follow through confidently on because going for 15 days with only 15 pieces makes it painfully obvious of what I actually need or could use.
• I think I want to do this once a season  to keep me on my toes with what I actually need and prevent (you guessed it) overspending.

That’s all for now lovelies,

Amanda.

Linking up with the Pleated Poppy for What I Wore.

I was sitting outside one morning, feeling overwhelmed with a pile of things that needed to get done, that just weren’t getting done. Chris (my husband) was away, and had been away on training for three weeks or so. I laid it all out before the Lord, and asked Him for help. I remember reading and praying that he’d help me out of the “mud and mire,” as inspired from the psalm I was reading that morning.

Well God pulled through, and I certainly felt like I was plucked from the “mud and mire” of life (which for me was feeling overwhelmed with tasks and the management of life when your husband is very far away). In the quiet, God laid this plan on my heart to execute for the day, and by the end of the day, I felt like he had truly helped me feel free from any burdens I was feeling that morning.

In the quiet this was the plan that helped kick start my “Mary way” approach to life:

Choose…

1. One thing I should do for the home (the thing that’s bothering me the most).
2. One fun thing for me.
3. One fun thing for Asher.
4. One easy thing on the procrastinated list.

“The procrastinated list” was something I was inspired to create and is borrowed from the Dave Ramsey model of getting out of debt, but instead of having a list of debt I created a list of “procrastinated items .” It is simply is a list of things that are mostly non-urgent, but important things, that should get done, but I’ve been putting off. Each day I’ve been trying to get one of those items done, starting with the easiest, and working my way down to the most difficult.

This plan helped me balance Asher time, personal time, and household management in a nice way. At least for me it was a “low-balling” way to feel accomplished at the end of the day without overloading my schedule. And really, a kick-start plan should be really doable and ease you into things, right?

Now that I’ve been in the rhythm of using this method, I use those four things as the priorities for the day. I write out several other things I’d like to get done, but as long as I get those four things done we’re good. It has been a nice method to help me focus on the “first things” for the day.

The other essential things in my life, like exercise, daily time with God, cooking and eating, taking a shower and getting ready get jotted into the day as well, but are fairly habitual at this point that I don’t need to scribble them in as the top four priorities, even though they are priorities in my life.

I’m not sure that this is ground breaking in the time-management world, but I do think the main lesson is going to God when you feel overwhelmed and watching Him come up with a plan to help you ease the burdens of life. It will be different for everyone, because he made us all unique.

Be blessed today :),

Amanda.

Linking up with: Wild & Precious for Life Lately.

(Click here fo my first post on my 15×15 remix challenge).

OH, have I been learning a lot from this challenge.

I’ve been learning that I don’t need as much clothing as I thought. Less is truly more. A theme I seem to keep on relearning in my life. It must be true then, that you don’t have to be the riches person on earth to dress lovely.

This challenge made getting dressed easier. I (mostly) love all 15 items so I was happy with 98 percent of the outfits. In some ways limiting the number of pieces to 15 helped make stronger outfits using pieces I love, and leaning more on creativity to make them work.

I’ve been learning that accessories, good hair, and nice makeup go a long way to putting an outfit together. Clothing is really the blander foundation, and not as important in making an outfit “work” as I was giving it credit.

This challenge has cut down on laundry, and made me value what I own more. Instead of avoiding ironing and stain removing, I take care of them right away because they are all I have. When I have mountains of clothing I can fall back on, half my laundry can go unironed, and unworn as a result.

Doing this challenge is really rather easy in the summer because rarely do I wear more than two layers anyways. This should motivate me to buy fewer pieces this summer and save more money. Hopefully.

Doing this challenge has made a much more accurate idea of what my wardrobe could really use, instead of what I think it could use. My shopping list has nearly split in half!

That’s all for now…

Next wednesday I’ll post my final post on this challenge.

Have a lovely day :),

Amanda.

linking up with : The Pleated Poppy.

I think I’m starting to get this. You know the whole “Mary” thing. Isn’t that such a dangerous thing to admit? “Getting it.”

If you’re Christian like me, you probably know what I’m talking about, but if you’re not (or are) and still don’t know what I’m talking about, I’ll give the quick blurb:

When Jesus was over at Martha and Mary’s house, Martha was busy prepping the meal, and getting things ready, while Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus, just hanging out with him and listening. This peeved Martha, and she made a fuss about it to Jesus and everyone else who was in the room. Jesus promptly corrected her, and said Mary chose the better option (Luke 10:40-41).

From this story, comes the Mary and Martha archetype. Mary is the listener, the relational one, while Martha is the practical, “doer” type.

I have often found myself relating to both, but more often than not I feel like a “Martha.”

I love a clean home,  I love to organize (even if it doesn’t always come naturally), and I love “doing” things. At the same time, just being still, and hanging out with friends and family is cool too. I don’t have to be moving around busily when I’m on the phone with a friend. I can totally just chill, talk and listen.

Being a Martha isn’t all bad, but a breaking point or turning point occurred in my life very recently.

I had  returned from a trip visiting family in Canada and in a swirl of enthusiasm I cleaned the whole house, and did all my laundry that same day I arrived back in the North Carolina. I was pretty content, and felt that elation you feel after cleaning (at least I feel that way!).

The next day, within minutes of Asher and I waking, all the order and neatness very quickly become “undone”. All I could think was “yeah, I guess there really will always be a mess to clean.” This pattern had occurred several times before, but for some reason this was a “a ha” moment for me. I guess that was when God chose to give me a revelation.

Just like Jesus was only on the earth for a short time, our children will only be in our home for a short time. Mary chose what was better when she chose Jesus because he was only going to be there for so long.

Asher, my son, is the better option. Playing with him outside, and making his fun a priority is the better option. Not worrying about a little mess because I chose him over having a perfect house is what being Mary is all about to me. There’s been a song in my heart since living this out!

Now, I think it would be misleading of me to say that I think I should entirely neglect my home and chores for the sake of Asher. That can become unsanitary fast. But attitude is everything. Do I let the little mess and clutter bother me, and take away from enjoying Asher, or do I let go a little and accept this brief, albeit messy toddler stage?

Letting go of the perfect home, and perfect upkeep in exchange for more memories and fun with Asher has been a blast! This is what I mean by how I think I’m finally getting the “Mary” thing, or the expression that so many older women say, “the laundry will always be there, but your children won’t.”

I’ve turned in my rebuttal  that use to say, “well if I let go of the laundry I make more work for myself in the end, and therefore take more time away from the ones I love.” I have found just the opposite to be true since following the “Mary way.” I‘ve been finding as I’ve placed things in the proper perspective, and put first things first (like Asher, the husband and God…but in the opposite order), the little things, like laundry do get done, and if they don’t one day, I don’t worry about it because I can rest easy knowing I chose the better option: relationships.

In Part II, I want to share a practical “to do” list I came up with that has really helped me kick start my Mary life without neglecting my home.

Be blessed today,

Amanda.

Scarf: Gap / Tank: Target / Belt: Target / Maxi Dress: Victoria Secret / Sneakers: Keds

I’m pregnant with baby number two, and my wardrobe is slowly but surely thinning out. 15 days is about what I can eek out right now, so 15×15 remix it is! In the mean time, this challenge should help me shop my wardrobe and stretch my pieces using accessories, and lots of creative mix and matching.

I figure this will be a great way to really show myself what my wardrobe could use before I run out and go mindlessly crazy buying maternity clothing.

Already from this challenge I feel like I could use some more statement earrings and necklaces. Accessories seem to be the trick to this mix and match game.

Tunic: TJ Maxx / Belt: Target / Leggings: Old Navy Maternity / Flats: Reef

Tank: Old Navy Maternity / Jeans: Old Navy Maternity / Sandal: USMC Exchange

Dress: Old Navy Maternity / Necklace: American Eagle / Shoes: Toms

Sunglasses: Ralph Lauren / Chambray: Landsend Canvas / Tank: Old Navy Maternity / Belt: Landsend Canvas / Shorts: JC Penny / Shoes: Keds / Necklace: American Eagle

I’ve been taking one day at time to avoid “worrying about what I’m going to wear.” I haven’t been painfully coordinating all the 15 pieces together, instead I’ve been picking out what I really want to wear for that day, and I’m more than confident God will take care of the rest!

Total pieces worn so far? 10. Ten days to go.

My plan is to post again for the next two wednesdays until I’ve completed this challenge. Come on back if you like, and have an enjoyable day!

Amanda.

liking up with: The Pleated Poppy, My Style (a link party), and Style Elixir.

There’s a song in my heart everytime I put aside the chores so we can have fun and play.

There’s a song in my heart when my life is balanced, and see what truly matters:

The laughter, the play, the memories we share together matter more than folded laundry, and shinning floors.

I love a clean home, and who doesn’t? But your joy, and fun we have together is so much more important to me.

A little cleaning here and there, but once it’s done it will be there tomorrow. You are my temporary assignment, a true treasure and a joy.

A little load skipped here and there, a day of cleaning skipped everyday is okay, because I get more fond memories with you.

Oh, it gets done. The less important things, like laundry, and housework, they do get done, but never to the point of perfection, and I’m okay with that.

I’m okay looking past the dirt, the dog hair, and messy mess in his play room if that means more time enjoying life and less time worrying and perfecting.

Maybe in another day I can indulge in my inner martha, clean bug, clean freak, but even then I think I might choose living more often.

Oh, it’s a balancing act, a conumdrum of sorts.

————————————————-

Linking up with Lisa Jo, for Five minute Friday.

I love fresh herbs! I really feel like they make most meals taste a million times better. I’ve decided to opt out of planting a vegetable garden this year, but decided I’d at least start a herb garden this spring.

It can be expensive to buy the wilted kind you can get prepackaged at the grocery store, so for me it’s worth going through the effort of making and nurturing a herb garden.I would have saved even more money if I planted them in the ground, but I wanted easy, and didn’t feel up to making a garden from scratch. Not this pregnant chica.

Anyways, the downside is I have to water them more frequently, and they probably won’t grow as big, BUT the upside is I never had to till a garden from scratch, and they sit conveniently right outside my back porch so watering is super easy. I just do it whenever I have to take the dog out, and only if they happen to need it (dry soil = watering time).

Garden Plans

(The arrangement is what I came up with after researching what herbs pot well together. Opinions range from “pair whatever you want together” to very methodical pairings. I went for a mildly methodical approach. As if mildly can even go with methodical! ).

I started with the herbs I most frequently use in cooking: basil (my personal favorite!), parsley, cilantro, rosemary, sage and mint. I recently picked up some thyme and oregano that I want to add in. I use them sometimes, but not as much, so I wasn’t in a rush to buy them, but after repotting the basil, and rosemary, I have some extra room for those extra herbs (plus, I bought four of those massive green tubs).

I originally had all the herbs I bought in the 12″ terra-cotta pots, except for basil, which prefers plastic. I read terra-cotta is the best pot you can grow herbs in (except for basil). They are wonderful little pots, but also very pricey.

The 12″ is fairly affordable (around $7-$12), but once I had to repot the herbs, paying for a 11 gal terra-cotta pot would  be more like $30- $50. I’m a little too cheap for now, so I went for my homemade version: $4.58 plastic tubs from walmart, drilled underneath for drainage. Which is also much cheaper than the plastic garden pots (which ranged from $10-$20). 

A little drilly-drilly on the bottom of the tubs is all it took to make the tubs into pots. I flipped over an already bought plastic pot, and copied the arrangement of holes onto my homemade kind.

I prayed a little blessing over these herbs. I don’t think I’ve ever asked for my garden to be blessed before, but already they are looking better than my herbs from previous years. Honestly, mine usually look great in the spring…but suffer from the humid summers of North Carolina, but I’m feeling optimistic about this batch, and looking forward to using them! I know my basil looks so ready to be used already!

Are you growing any herbs this year? Do you have any experience with what really grows well together? Any tips and techniques on keeping them alive through the hot summer months? haha…but seriously.

Amanda.

Hahaha, and this is how my baby is utilizing my leftover tubs:

Maybe you have this issue with your vacuum and maybe you don’t, but after awhile, ours starts to smell like our dog. That is, after using it several times, the “leftover” smell is kind of stinky. So, this is a super easy, no-fail trick. All you need are some cotton balls and a smell-good scent you don’t mind using.

I’ve used vanilla extract, peppermint extract, and lavendar essential oil. Our favorite is peppermint extract, and is the best choice for me because vanilla extract gets used a lot in our house and isn’t cheap, whereas I only ever used the peppermint extract once around Christmas. Not quite as precious.

Plus, my husband and I LOVE the smell. The lavendar worked out well, but I put WAY too many drops into the cotton balls, so the smell was way too overpowering and headache inducing. 3-4 drops should do it, not 7! I guess I was being overzealous because I wanted to kill the dog hair smell.

The steps:

I usually grab a few cotton balls (4 or 5), put them in a small bowl, and soak them with some of the smell-good scent. I then put them into the vacuum bag, and use the vacuum as needed.

Enjoy your sweet smelling vacuum! It even kind of lingers for the day.

Amanda.

My husband will be returning from his shorty-short deployment  pretty soon (aka he was gone for a month and some change to upgrade his flying skills).

I tried this homemade facial for the first time, and I think it’s my new fav!

Honey-cinnamon-nutmeg facial

• 2 tbs of honey (the recipe recommended raw honey but I used creamed honey and it came out just fine).
• 2 tsp of nutmeg
• 2 tsp of cinnamon
• Mix into a paste. Leave on your face for 30 minutes, and remove with some warm water using soft, circular motions.

I scoured the net for some new natural recipes, and this one made sense for my skin-type, and was convenient to make (who doesn’t have those ingredients at home?). This particular facial calms redness, moisturizes, and is full of antioxidants from the cinnamon and nutmeg. My favorite part was how nicely the cinnamon and nutmeg worked to exfoliate and make my skin feel so soft and smooth.

Doing “pampering” things like this is relaxing at the end of a long day (and deployment days can be long). You know, it’s great to do a facial once a month if you have fairly normal skin…it sets the skin up nicely to fully absorb any moisturizering lotions you apply and helps keep your skin looking soft and smooth. Good enough motivation for me!

So just for the record, when I did apply this recipe to my face, I think I put way too much on! It totally slopped down my face and got on my clothing. I will plan on using only as much as I need next time. Somehow I thought I needed to apply all of it, but it’s not like honey mixed with nutmeg and cinnamon is going to go bad anytime soon. I feel like that’s probably a no-brainer for most people, but  I didn’t catch that, so FYI, just in case you wonder when trying this recipe.

I hope you enjoy!

Amanda.

My top 6 favorite joy experiences.

1) Play outside. 2) Blessings. 3) Freedom from high standards. 4) Resting when I need to. 5) Knowing that being a Mom is a big deal, and 6) The God Pocket in real life.  

My 40 days of finding Joy in the everyday officially ended on April.2. It is now April.20^th, so I’m a little late in writing a reflection piece on the whole process, so I apologize.

My main point around starting this series came from that inner struggle of fighting the Mom funk, and finding Joy as a stay at home mom. You can read about this in my first post here. I was thinking it would be a fun, light series, and “happy, happy, happy” (for duck dynasty viewers, as Phil would say it).

In the end it became something much different then I ever planned on. Sure I wanted to blog more then I did. I only posted nine posts for the whole 40 days, but I also imagined the topics I chosed to be much more about balancing time between myself and being a mom and wife. Instead, it ended up being a massive spiritual journey, where I more or less disconnected from the blogging sphere, unless I posted, and really focused on living the series.

It also wasn’t an easy journey. I found that more than ever my Joy was being attacked as soon as I started the series. But after thinking about why I chose 40 days, and how I even prayed for the 40 days, and dedicated it to God, it all makes much more sense. The 40 day excursions that Jesus took, and the Israelites took (insert 40 years) wasn’t a cake walk, but a desert-like experience. Jesus went for 40 days without water or food for crying loud!

Granted, I had food and water, and wasn’t completly isolated, but it did feel comparable to a “desert” season. The fact that I spent more time living the series instead of writing it, made it more authentic because it gave me more time to disconnect online and really focus in on Jesus, the source of my joy.

So did I experience a huge transformation?  I mean, that was sort of my point in this 40 day adventure, to be transformed by it. People, such as friends from Church, have commented on the growth they’ve seen in my life. Maybe it’s related to this 40 day event, maybe not. I mean, how can we really see our own growth that happens on the inside? It’s so much easier for an outside friend to tell you then for yourself to see it.

But I’ve still done some hard thinking to probe whether transformation has taken place, and I’ve concluded that it’s my perspective that’s been transformed. My joy is an everyday gift that comes from no other source but Jesus himself.

You see, even though I’m a Christian I think I’ve believed in the past that if I focus on improving my outside self, my inside self will feel better, but it’s all empty and fruitless. “If I spend more time working out, or being pretty then I’ll feel better.” And while they might help some, they don’t give you that lasting joy.

All the things in my life that give me joy only do so because Jesus is in those everyday moments. When I play outside with my son I can see His glory all around me; I can see His work in the clouds, in the ocean, and in the air. When I count my blessings I know they’re from Him. I’ve experienced amazing freedom from my own shackles of high standards I’ve placed on myself, and it was all from Him.

My walk with Christ is a daily walk. Therefore my joy needs daily renewing. I can still lose it if I lose my focus, but when I live for Him; where I seek my purpose, worth and approval from Him every day I start to experience joy in the everyday, because my eyes are opened to the Jesus that’s in the everyday.  

May you be blessed by this same joy!

Amanda.