Velvet Blazer

I remembered this velvet blazer just in the knick of time. I wanted to be sure to get a wear in before the weather turns warm again. And let me tell you, the day I wore this it was NOT warm. But I love the heavy velvet mixed with a spring-like color combination.
Style Secrets
Earrings: F21
Tee: J.Crew, thrifted
Blazer: Thrifted
Jeans: Tag sale
Scarf: Thrifted
Boots: Tag sale
Coat: Thrifted
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Brownies with Nutella

Just because it’s Monday afternoon and you’re probably sitting at your desk or school trying to stay awake…
My weekend treat weakness…fudge brownies with miniature chocolate chips, frosted with Nutella. 
Goodness, get in my mouth. 
These are super easy to make, and I’m sure you already have a favorite brownie recipe (GF or otherwise), so just bake up a batch, then let them almost-cool, and slather on that hazelnut-chocolate gooey delight. 
Eat, swoon, repeat. 
And you can thank me after you wipe that chocolate off your mouth 😉

Palm Sunday

{palm frond}

{blurry but i liked it}
We don’t always realize that Hosanna means, “Save us!” The townspeople were crying out to Jesus “Save us!” because they thought he would rescue them from the political oppression they were facing. Not necessarily because they knew he was the Messiah (though they probably thought he was, in some way) but because they wanted something from him. But you know what happened? They weren’t impressed. As soon as they found out he wasn’t who they WANTED him to be, they scorned him. They mocked him, and, a week later, they shouted, “Crucify him!” 
I don’t think that attitude is dead today. Do you? How many times do we, as believers, and those who are new to Christ, think, “Oh, this Jesus guy, he’s something! He’s going to give me exactly what I want, and then I’ll have a new, shiny, blessed, easy life. Piece of cake!” That is the same as the people of Jerusalem shouting, “Hosanna!” It is an empty cry when shouted with the intent of our own expectations being fulfilled. You see, God doesn’t come to give us what WE want, in the way we desire, when we want it; just like he didn’t come to save the world in the way the Jews wanted. And sometimes as soon as we don’t get what we want, when we want it, we scorn God, too. We can get disillusioned with Christianity, or with the prosperity gospel that is so rampant today. We say, “Alright, that’s it! God, you’re falling asleep on the job! I’d better take things from here, thankyouverymuch.” 
And I know where that leads. That leads to an empty life on a treadmill of “Fill this empty need inside my soul at any cost.” But it needn’t be that way. You see, we CAN shout Hosanna, and later, Hallelujah! We can shout “Save us!” because Jesus, in the face of so much scorn and pain and suffering STILL went to Golgatha. He DID save us. And if we accept that life-changing gift- though it will be on Jesus’ terms, not ours-we can have assurance that we are saved. Saved by a risen King, pardoned by his broken body that was beaten and bruised for our sins. 
Hallelujah what a Savior!
Wow, sorry, guys, just got a little carried away there. 
xo
PS. Entire outfit is thrifted/consignment, minus earrings, which are from a discount store 🙂
PPS. I did iron these pants this morning, seriously.
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Jean Suit

It’s all in the details. This outfit could go casual very quickly–trade the heels for flats, throw off the jacket and scarf, and you’ve got cute-summer-weekend in the bag. But some blue suede heels, a metallic blue scarf, a beautifully tailored denim blazer, and a blue bauble necklace (under the scarf; I forgot to take a picture!) really make the diffrence. As do painted fingernails, some rings, clean/shiny/straight/bangs-behaving-well hair and makeup. The details. These mirrored aviators make my life more fun. Dug ’em out of the $1 bin at the thrift store. They are missing one nose pad, but eh–how much does that matter, really? One less nose pad mark when I take them off! Ha! 
{suppose I could get one of those $3 eyeglass repair kits, huh?}

Style Secrets
Sunnies: Thrifted
Scarf: Gifted, from India
Necklace: Thrifted
Tank: ? Prob. Walmart
Jacket: Thrifted
Jeans: American Eagle
Shoes: Thrifted
Rings: Thrifted & Gifted

Almost the weekend! Yay!

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Snack Time

I’ve discovered the quintessential snack: a cinnamon roll and tea/coffee. The best part about this? It works for ANY time of day: breakfast, second breakfast, elevenses, luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner, supper, bedtime snack, midnight snack….yep. Any time of day.

Oh, oh, oh, and a song, too, since I’m majorly on this 50s/60s kick:

“One fine day, you’re gonna want me for your girl…”

+++++++
I’ve been struck by this verse lately:
 “God sets the lonely in families.” ~Psalm 68:6

Isn’t that such a beautiful thought? Incredibly beautiful. I, for one, know that in my own life, God has brought this to pass. I have been in valleys of darkness, feeling very lonely and far away from family. And He has been faithful, and shown me the love of the family of God in an incredibly powerful way. It is such a deep blessing to experience the fellowship of family. God cares so deeply and desperately for us. He is crazy-in-love with us. He wants us, and He takes care of our every need. Indeed…He sets the lonely in families. I’m not sure it gets much better or more beautiful than that. 


Robin’s Egg Blue

{Goodness gracious I love this color!!!}
{and at first I thought I’d never find an outfit to wear that little cardigan. Ha!}
{I’ll just consider myself Zooey Deschanel’s sister, mmmkay?}
{nail polish that matches nature}

{baubles that match each other}

{vintage-y flats}

{those delicious colors again}
This darling little robin’s egg dress is one of my new favorite things. I have it hanging up in the living room just because it’s so pretty. I get that from my mother, who always used to hang pretty things up for me to look at when I was sick. Color is good for the soul, don’t you think? Especially in early spring, when the weather is still just teasing us. I can hardly wait to wear this nice rayon/linen dress in summer.
Style Secrets
Sunnies: TJ Maxx
Scarf: VS gift with purchase
Earrings: F21
Dress: Vintage
Cardigan: F21, thrifted
Bangles: Thrifted and Walmart
Leggings: Thrifted
Flats: Dress Barn, thrifted
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Weekend Mornings

I’ve found it. At long, long, long last: I’ve found it. A gluten-free breakfast sandwich. Yes, yes, it’s true. So deliciously true.
You’ll need these–they are the key. They don’t look like anything much, certainly not like a standard english muffin. But watch it toast. Watch it toast a beautiful golden brown. Butter the insides, if you are feeling like throwing caution to the wind. And then put the egg, cheese, bacon, sausage, ham, avocado, whatever you got on top, and squish it all. The squish is the most important part. 
I’ve got a mind to assembly-line these, wrap them in foil, and freeze them. Then in the mornings I could just throw them in the oven! Yes, yes!

xo,
Natalie

Friday Morning

{my Bible and books in a new little arrangement for Easter on my bedside table…}

An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.
~Psalm 12:25

I’m thinking this morning about how important affirmation is to the human spirit. How deeply we crave kind words or an extra bit of encouragement. Encouraging words for a friend are truly sunlight to a heart. 
When my friends tell me, “You are sunshine,” my heart lights up. Something within me feels deeply understood, appreciated, fulfilled and sometimes, on mornings like this, it makes me a little misty-eyed. It also encourages me to continue being happy-Natalie, to continue sharing sunshine in all the many little ways I love. Isn’t that a beautiful thing?

A wise man’s heart guides his mouth…pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.
 ~Psalm 16:23a-24

Obviously, I am not saying that we should seek attention or approval from others. That must come from God alone. We must always go to HIM first. 
I am saying, though, that it is so important that we take time to respect, love, encourage, and support the endeavors of our friends. What a delightful occupation to cheer on our friends! I absolutely adore it! Not only does it give the recipient joy, it gives the giver joy, too.



                            Friendships multiply joys and divide griefs.
                                                ~H. G. Bohn 

You, dear reader, look lovely today! You are beautiful, and I hope you find many joys in your day today that remind you of how loved you are. 





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Weeknight Project: Jar Cozy

This is my Cuppow. Cuppow is an awesome new(ish) product designed and produced in New England by two cool guys. Cuppow turns a canning jar into a travel mug. Now, I had been drinking from my canning jar {thanks, Leigh!} as a travel mug for many months before I came across Cuppow. But Cuppow makes the experience much more fulfilling…you feel like a human drinking from a normal cup instead of trying to slosh the liquid into your mouth minus spills, hippie-style. So it’s kinda a great invention (and cheap, too. and beautifully packaged

 Cuppow solved one of my canning-jar-awesomeness problems. But one more remained–the jar lost heat quickly. My tea was cold before 10am! This was a major no-no for me, since I drink my tea all. day. long. On a whim, I decided to make a cozy for my jar. I started (late at night, as these pictures show) with some fabric, felt, and a favorite old tee shirt from high school, along with a paper pattern I made quickly based on the jar. There’s no real particular pattern for this, I just cut a piece of paper and fitted it around my jar the way I wanted, then added room for a seam allowance. 

A zig-zag stitch around the edge of my clever slogan tee secured it to the main fabric and mimicked the background design. Then I cut a piece of felt and fit that inside the layers for added warmth.

And sewed all the layers together. Then I made two tabs from ribbon, and sewed velcro on the tabs and other end of the fabric. This way my cozy comes off and is easily washable in the event of spills.

Since the glass jar is slippery, and I didn’t want the cozy to potentially slip and cause me to drop the jar, I cut a piece of pink shelf-liner that I just  put on with my cozy. This makes it totally secure, and I never feel that the cozy is slipping. I thought about attaching the shelf-gripper to the cozy itself, but then it wouldn’t be washable. The two generally peel off together, and I just roll them up for next time! Perf! 
Also, of course, when I’m travelling, I use the metal canning jar insert lid, and then just switch it out for my Cuppow when I’m actually drinking. This makes it so easy to throw the jar in my bag without worrying about spills.
And CUPPOW!
 It’s done! 
Your jar is now super eco-friendly, super-awesome, super-easily-drinkable, and super-awesomely labelled with the quirky “MissPerfect” sleeve. 
Happy sewing, and happy coffee/tea drinking!

Elle Woods/Jackie Dress

{lemonade}

{I super heart this color}

{I feel like Elle Woods, but in blue.}
Elle Woods found here.
Or Jackie Kennedy, found here
{I interrupt this post to tell you I JUST SAW A MOUSE IN MY HOUSE!!!!}
{orange fingernails from the spring Essie collection}

{fancy shoes}

{look at that beautiful seaming! gorgeous! that is one reason why I love vintage clothing so much–beautiful craftsmanship and detail}

{blingy-bling}
This is my new 60s-Barbie-doll-clothes dress, as I’m calling it. That, or the Elle Woods/Jackie dress. I saw this dress and pined over it for a whole week before I decided to buy it. When I went back to purchase it, to my utter dismay, it was nowhere to be found! Nowhere! I searched all of the racks, high and low, and even had the sales lady helping me. She didn’t remember selling it, so it HAD to be somewhere! Turns out, it was discarded in the dressing room on the floor, trampled under the feet of a burly man who was trying on some construction pants and hacking up a lung. I picked it up, dusted it off, and decided with even more resolution than before, that it was coming home to be loved and worn by me. I simply adore all of it’s beautiful sky blue happiness. What do you think?
{The mouse in my house must approve, since he’s living in my closet. Gah!}
Style Secrets
Sunnies: Local store
Necklace: Local store (sadly, broken now, needs fixing)
Dress: Vintage
Purse: Vintage
Ring: Vintage
Heels: Payless (don’t they look more expensive than that? Gotta love it!)



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