maxi dress – Page 2

The Best Kind of Love

February 14, 2017 No Comments

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Whether you’re excited about Valentine’s Day or not, you’ll appreciate this story…

Over the weekend I got to witness the beautiful way God works. In this case, it was in my brother’s life.

In 2009 he married a girl from South Carolina. She was an answer to his long-standing prayer for a wife. About a year or so after they were married, she found out she had cancer. This began a long battle, that they strongly fought together. Her faith grew, as did his and even mine as I watched them stand strong on the Word and overcome huge hurtles.

At this point, people usually say someone “lost” their battle with cancer. But I strongly disagree with that. The bible says faith pleases God, so I know Mishelle pleased God big time with her faith. Also, she won. Because, hello, she’s in heaven!

That was two and a half years ago. Throughout the past two years I know every moment wasn’t easy. But I’ve seen my brother stand strong in his relationship with God. In turn, God has blessed him richly.

Over the weekend, I got to see him marry a wonderful girl. The girl God has placed in his life is a direct result of him never wavering in his faith.

On Saturday night, they threw an engagement party that turned out to be their surprise wedding! It was so beautiful. I mean it, it was the most beautiful event I have ever been to ever, ever.

I wanted to share all of that with you on this Valentine’s Day because it’s a wonderful reminder, that we have someone who loves us so unconditionally. God has great plans for us. Even in the middle of trials, He’s telling us to just hold on because He sees what’s on the other side. He knows the good He has in store for us, we just need to trust His timing and not our own.

Just hold on.

After all of that, it seems silly to talk about my outfit. But I can’t end this post without mentioning it!

This skirt was from New York and Co. online. I ordered it (during a meeting – don’t tell anyone) on a Wednesday and was holding it by Thursday night. That’s FAST.

It was on sale – less than $30! And was exactly what I needed to wear because it turns out my child loves a good party under a tent and will run around all night long if he’s allowed to. A long dress that covers 1. My bum and 2. Comfortable shoes – was the absolute best option! Not to mention it’s gorgeous.

My brother took a picture from over the event with this drone, and you can pin point me and my skirt. So technically this thing can be seen from space!!

Here’s the skirt & similar top

Fashion

Get the Most from Your Maxi Dress

July 1, 2016 2 Comments

When summer comes I literally LIVE in maxi dresses. I mean it. I set up a tent made entirely of maxi dresses and I live there. (Stay in school, kids, learn the proper use of literally).

They are beautiful, inexpensive (if you camp outside of Ross), and don’t have a waist band to judge you when you’ve eaten too many hot dogs. They also help you get away with not shaving your legs or having an all over tan. Girls, I’m just not seeing any downsides.

The post below is from two years ago but it’s one I return to every year. Once you’ve found the perfect maxi, style it differently! You used your shopping cart to edge out two women eyeing the same dress, so why not wear it as many times as possible, looking fresh every time!?

The one piece I end up missing the most when summer is over, is a maxi dress.

Thus while I’ve got summer on my side, I’m going to figure out as many ways to wear them as possible. This not only helps me when packing, but it also helps to stretch my dollars -and you can’t say that’s not fun!

Here are three examples of how I’ve taken a plain maxi dress and jazzed them up a bit…

There are so many great simple tank maxi’s out there, don’t shy away from them! Look at them as a blank (and wildly comfortable) canvas. Add your personality all over it by way of a belt, a long swingy necklace, a jean jacket…the list goes on and on.

I hate having to work around my bra straps this time of year. That’s why I stock up on printed tank tops that aren’t razor backs so that I can wear them underneath a strappy dress like this one and still be comfortable in my regular bra. If you have a dress that doesn’t work with a tank top underneath, click here to read about a great strapless bra.

This striped dress has been with me all over the country. Because it’s so easy to pack and can be worn 10 different ways. Look for a maxi in a simple pattern like this one so you can wear it with a sweater, a shirt, a jacket, a sweatshirt…you get the idea. It’s freakishly versatile.

Ross has one of the best collections of maxi dresses I’ve ever seen. That’s where I bought the flower print one pictured. The other two came from Forever21 (JC Penney also has a great collection). Get out there and find one you love, then wear it ten different ways from Sunday!

I’ll be taking Monday off, so enjoy your Fourth of July weekend! We’ll see you back here with a fresh blog on Wednesday. :)

Fashion, Spiffy

Maxi Dress + Leather Jacket

May 9, 2016 No Comments

dress for a girls night out, green dress, leather jacket, ootd, spring dress, knoxville fashion blogger, knoxville beauty blogger, night out dress

Of all the pieces in my closet, this green dress elicits the most compliments. When I wear it, strangers go out of their way to tell me how much they like it.

My husband, on the other hand, can’t stand it.

I bought it 9 years ago to wear to my bridal shower and have worn it every year since then. I think it’s safe to say I’ve gotten my money’s worth.

My favorite thing about this dress is the top is hemmed with a belt. That detail is what instantly drew me to it. And while I hate that it gets covered up by the leather jacket, I also love a great billowy dress with a form-fitting leather jacket.

And really you can recreate this look with so many different short jacket/billowy maxi dress combinations. It’s so seasonally perfect for cooler spring days, yet totally maintenance free since you don’t have to shave your legs ! :-D

In my case it’s best suited for a girls night out and definitely not date night or I’d never hear the end of it *rolls eyes.

Here’s a close rendition to the dress but in blue* | Here’s a version of the jacket

*Remember, I said I bought it NINE years ago. Which doesn’t seem real because both myself and the dress still look fantastic ;) I got it at VictoriaSecret when they used to see fancy dresses online.

I wasn’t lying last week when I said I wear these earrings often.

Fashion, forever21, jcpenney, maxi dress, summer, summertime

Get the Most from Your Maxi Dress

June 22, 2015 No Comments

The following is a post from last summer. I wanted to bring it to you again because now that the temperatures have heated up, it’s nice to know how to get really good use out of the most comfortable pieces in your closet – your maxi dresses! Enjoy and check back Wednesday for the white hot trendy item you’ll really appreciate having this season!

The one piece I end up missing the most when summer is over, is a maxi dress.

Thus while I’ve got summer on my side, I’m going to figure out as many ways to wear them as possible. This not only helps me when packing, but it also helps to stretch my dollars -and you can’t say that’s not fun!

Here are three examples of how I’ve taken a plain maxi dress and jazzed them up a bit…

There are so many great simple tank maxi’s out there, don’t shy away from them! Look at them as a blank (and wildly comfortable) canvas. Add your personality all over it by way of a belt, a long swingy necklace, a jean jacket…the list goes on and on.

I hate having to work around my bra straps this time of year. That’s why I stock up on printed tank tops that aren’t razor backs so that I can wear them underneath a strappy dress like this one and still be comfortable in my regular bra. If you have a dress that doesn’t work with a tank top underneath, click here to read about a great strapless bra.

This striped dress has been with me all over the country. Because it’s so easy to pack and can be worn 10 different ways. Look for a maxi in a simple pattern like this one so you can wear it with a sweater, a shirt, a jacket, a sweatshirt…you get the idea. It’s freakishly versatile.

Ross has one of the best collections of maxi dresses I’ve ever seen. That’s where I bought the flower print one pictured. The other two came from Forever21 (JC Penney also has a great collection). Get out there and find one you love, then wear it ten different ways from Sunday!

Fashion, maxi dress

An Easy Blue Dress

June 15, 2015 No Comments

Pregnancy brain is a real thing. I once drove to work in the wrong direction for almost two miles before realizing what I had done.

And now I’m asking myself if I’ve written this already because it feels like I have…(see what I mean!?)

I can’t give you a scientific explanation for it, but I do know that the minute you look at that little positive stick a whole new world of thought opens up in your brain and sticks with you (I’m assuming) for the rest of your life. It’s not just about you anymore, it’s about a whole lot more.

Knowing the mental load that pregnancy carries with it, I determined early on that I didn’t want maternity clothes to be a point of frustration for me. So I did a lot of planning, looked at a lot of pictures and started formulating how I was going to translate my style while pregnant. I did something else that I believe was the greatest help of all, but you’ll have to wait to read about that on Friday :)

Shopping for shower dresses started way early and I went at it hard. Dresses are a very tricky thing to shop for when you have very specific taste. Then add to that a baby bump and you have me for the past month – scouring every dress website known to the wide world.

If I found one with a pattern I liked, it had two slits up the sides that my husband pointed out would only get higher when worn with a baby bump. Ha. True. Pass.

If I found one with a perfect bump-accommodating shape, it would have some kind of print that definitely didn’t translate “Elizabeth” (more like boho hippy child, on an Indian reservation).

I even ventured into the world of maternity dress shopping, which I’ve purposely treated like the plague so that if I can wear as much as I can now and later.

This dress gorgeous non-maternity-yet-bump-accommodating dress was found on Amazon (Lord help us all when you can get free 2-day shipping through Prime) but I originally found the same dress much more expensively on a big department store’s website. I copied the name of the dress and searched for it on Amazon, and sure enough there was a cheaper version (over $20 cheaper). Score!

It’s so comfortable and it’s got pockets!

I wore it to a beautiful baby shower thrown by my sister-in-law, and I’ll be able to wear it to Jackson’s kindergarten graduation if I so choose (and that’s no joke, I plan to re-wear one of the dresses I bought for my bridal shower).

A draping maxi dresses like this one flatters all kinds of body shapes, because the draping masks a lot. And if you want to balance out fuller hips and disguise the tops of your arms, pair it with a structured and hip grazing jacket.

I also really loved pairing it with a gold chain right at the neckline to give the top of the dress some interest.