Spiffy – Page 6 – the Spiff

The Importance of a Good Handbag

November 13, 2018 No Comments

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I was seconds away from including “nice” in the title but I didn’t want anyone to think I meant for them to put down the grocery list and go buy an expensive handbag.

Really, nice can mean all kinds of things. What I’m intending it to mean is sturdy, clean, attractive (all words that have once been used to describe me, ironically ;)

Whether we realize it or not, handbags are part of our style language to the world. Make sure you are saying what you want to say with yours.

Sometimes we can get snow blind with the things we use everyday and not really give it a good looking at. Is your current bag clean looking? Is it sturdy and not ripped? Is it attractive to you? I say “to you” because you are the one who is going to be carrying it around the most so you need to be happy with it.

Now to make a quick case for budgeting a little more for a name-brand bag…

Much like beauty products that cost more than what you can get at Target, a higher end handbag is going to last you longer. So if you consider cost-per-wear when you find one you like, you’re making a good investment and will get you your money’s worth.

The thing I love about carrying a great handbag is it doesn’t matter what I’m wearing, if I’ve got a beautiful one on my arm people know the sweats beneath it are just my cleaning clothes. But if I’ve got a ratty handbag over my sweat shirt-ed arm, people will wonder if I’m living in a van down by the river.

The good news is between sales, consignment shops, TJ Maxx, ebay and Facebook Marketplace, it’s easy to find something that is both quality and pretty. So don’t settle for something you’re only okay with – hunt down something you absolutely love.

Regardless of how much you drop on a purse, take good care of it. Send the message to the world that you’ve got it all together, even when you don’t feel like you do.

I try my hardest to keep my receipts in one pocket or in a smaller bag so it doesn’t sound like a trash can when I go rifling through my purse. And wipe away any stains you see quickly so they don’t linger past the point where you don’t even notice them anymore. Even get a good protect-ant spray if it’s a high quality material. I know it’s THE most boring thing to buy – but if you really love your bag, it will help it look better longer.

Coming up this week I’ll post the purse options I’ve fallen in love with from Vera Bradley and Coach in West Town Mall, so stay tuned for inspiration!

Fashion, Spiffy, style

How to Style Your Fall Family Pictures

November 6, 2018 No Comments

fall family pics, styling family pics, knoxville in the fall, how to dress your family for pictures

If you think that I’m exaggerating when I say, I squeal and dance a little bit every time I see a pumpkin or hear a fall reference, you are wrong.

In fact, “squeal” and “a little bit” are under exaggerations.

In the long list of delicious autumn-related things we get to breathe in, eat up, see, wear and do in the coming months, taking family fall pictures is one of them.

I want to help you style your fall family photo shoot my letting you in on my thought process as I put our look together.

Start with one piece.

Minimize the daunting feeling of making multiple people look good, by starting with just one thing. Sometimes it’s what I want Jackson to wear, or it’s something I want to wear.

Either way, having that one piece to build off of really helps lay the ground work for all of the looks.

For our Christmas card picture from last year, I wanted Jackson in that red jacket. So I built out from there – adding texture and pattern with mine and Dayton’s looks.

Build so that your looks are like Lego’s – they interlock.

Notice in all of these pictures each of our outfits share an element the other one has.

Above – Jackson, Dayton and I all have an element of black and white (mine in the bracelet). Jackson also has a pop of color (which you can’t see on the tongue of his shoes) but it’s one that corresponds with my orange.

Below – Dayton has a chambray shirt that goes with the stripe in Jackson’s shirt. Jackson has on white which goes with my white. Dayton’s black shorts corresponds with my black stripes and Jackson’s khakis are a nice neutral addition that still flows while adding variation. (Bonus – his shoes are stripes to echo the pattern).

Throw in patterns.

This is my biggest tip of all. Looking back on our family pictures, my favorite thing about our looks are the patterns and how good they look on camera.

Anyone else ever notice that game show contestants are always wearing solid colors? Unless you’re immediately leaving your family portrait to appear on Family Feud, leave the solids at home.

Patterns look great on camera and give your look more depth and visual interest.

Also, a photographer friend once told me that white is a no no, and all black gets lost in the shadows.

Go for patterns.

I hope this helps take the stress out of your family pictures! Feel free to email me if you have any questions! elizabeth@thespiff.com

Need a good family photographer? Check out this girl! She’s talented and fun and will do a great job of capturing your family in photos you’ll love forever – I mean it!

Beauty, Spiffy

Why I Brag About Myself (and not just because it’s my birthday)

October 30, 2018 No Comments

Let’s chat about loving ourselves.

If you have followed any of my content for any amount of time, you know that I’m not afraid to brag about myself. It’s done in a joking manner and the thought behind that is you don’t find many people who brag about themselves. Most often people are putting themselves down (especially women) – something I noticed a long time ago and wanted to change about myself.

You may think it’s funny, you may think it’s annoying, but I want to share the main reason behind why I do it…

I love getting to be who God created me to be. When I look in the mirror, I’m happy with what I see and thankful for the way God made me.

My first thought in writing that is how cocky it makes me sound (at first I wasn’t comfortable putting it in bold letters but I want it to grab your attention). Trust me, I can list off my flaws faster than you can say shoe sale. I didn’t get to being thankful for who I am overnight. It’s something I’ve worked at, studied scriptures on and pressed into for a good chunk of my life. And it pays off!

No the journey is not over. There are still days where I have to work at changing my thoughts about myself. But because the foundation of God’s word has been sewn into my spirit with verses such as, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14) or “God is the health of my countenance” (Psalm 42:5), it’s easier to shoot down those darts of self depreciation.

So I’m sharing this because I want to encourage you.

A birthday doesn’t have to be a dreaded thing – “He renews your youth like the eagles” (Psalm 103:5). It’s another year that you get to be you. The person that God uniquely created to reflect an aspect of His Being. Someone with particular attributes He wanted to show off in the form of YOU. Since we’re all created in His image and we’re all so different it only makes sense that He uses people to show off different aspects of Himself. So celebrate what He put together in you!

Don’t fear or dread growing older, but look forward to the wisdom and experience of another year that you bring to the table.

And if for no other reason – enjoy being you because of this verse. This particular verse The Spiff is founded on because helping women love who God created them to be is the passion that drives my efforts…

Luke 14:11, “…if you are content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself,”

I want to be more than myself because that means I’m tapping into the supernatural “me” God had in mind all along. Let’s do it together!

Beauty, Spiffy, west town mall

Fun Makeup Looks for an Easy Costume

October 26, 2018 No Comments

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Dress up your face.

It’s ironic that every year I provide these ideas, but I rarely dress up myself. Once I ran out of brunette TV characters I enjoyed watching, EO out!

But that doesn’t mean I won’t still provide YOU with some fun easy costume ideas.

I love these makeup looks because they’re easy and cost effective – in fact you can spend as much as you want on them! So here’s the deal..

Go to Dillard’s at West Town Mall and find The Edge, which is the beauty counter next to Clinique where they have a bunch of different brands. Ask for Marissa and schedule an appointment with her. When she does your makeup all you have to do is buy 2 or 3 products. And the great thing is they have a wide range of price options AND a wide range of things you need. I mean come on, what woman has a hard time finding something to buy at a makeup/skincare counter? Not this one I can tell you that.

I think having your face done up for a costume is a great way to go because you can keep the rest of your look pretty simple. You already look elaborate, so why stress over your clothes?

Here are the looks she gave me…

And these are one’s I showed her from pictures on the internet so your options are endless!

She is so talented and super nice, not to mention knows how to do regular makeup as well – so schedule an appointment with her today!

What are you waiting for?!

Spiffy

How to Generate Creative Costume Ideas

October 23, 2018 No Comments

live at five at four, halloween costume ideas, christmas vacation costumes, baby boy costume idea

Crapper’s full, so copper boom ya withchay woman since you have the need, the need for speed.

Also a part of that group, but not pictured is my 2013 costume of Jessica Day!

I love getting to be creative with these things and think outside the box. Obviously I didn’t go too far out of the box for myself, as all my characters are my favorite brunettes from TV and movies (Julia Louise Dreyfus has to be my all time favorite actress).

But for Jackson, I enjoyed thinking outside the baby box.

His cousin Eddie costume was decided super last minute and was really easy to create thanks to Amazon. I just hope every year I get to have some kind of say in what he wears. There may have to be lots and lots of candy involved.

My biggest pieces of advice are this…

Don’t over complicate it. Sometimes you can get inside your own head and talk yourself out of ideas that would actually be really cute. Especially if you’re dressing your kids – they’re going to look cute in whatever, so just have fun!

If you’re super stuck, base the outfit around something they love. Jackson currently loves carrying things around. So this year’s costume has something he can carry and he’s wearing something he’s comfortable in and won’t fuss with.

For yourself? Dress up in something you’re comfortable in! Last year when I dressed up as the neighbor from Christmas Vacation (in a literal sweat suit) I was mostly comfortable and also I probably lost 10 pounds in sweat after standing outside in it. So another note: think about your surroundings so you don’t pass out.

Have fun! And if you’re in/around Knoxville on the 31st, come to the Redemption Church fall festival!

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