new purchases, a wardrobe refresh, & some tricks that I've learned

Happy Tuesday, friends! (Bill, you may want to skip this post.) It's no secret that I've been updating my wardrobe lately; I thought I'd share the things I've learned in ordering through a company like Shein, I'll share who I follow who inspires me on Instagram, and I'll explain how I found my own personal style and how I stick with that look by know what I love and what looks best on me. 

First up is this t-shirt that I recently bought from the company LOVELLX. It sounds risqué, but I promise it's legit. It took two weeks to get here, but I love it and what it says: Weeping may stay for the night, but joy comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5). I could definitely wear this out and probably will, but mostly I bought it to use as some of my lounging clothes on days that I'm home. I don't really wear pajamas at home, but I sleep in a nightgown that's short each night. When I'm at home on Mondays, I love to be comfy and yet also decent if someone were to drop by. And on that note of being decent, here are the bras that I love to wear all the time. I decided that life was too short to wear bras that I hate and made the change one year ago in June. It was life changing, and I couldn't be happier! Mom, I'm talking to you! Click on those links if you want to see them on Amazon.

Here is the first favorite dress that I ordered from Shein. Here is my trick to Shein: if you have any curve whatsoever to your body, meaning that if you are above a size ten or twelve, then you need to looking at the Shein "curve". The regular sizes are tiny, and even a small person would probably need to size up. I've learned that when I order from the curve part of Shein, I can size up one just in case, and it fits perfectly. My goal is for it to NOT fit like a glove 🤣 and for it to fit comfortably and in a flowy way. I'm normally an XL or 1X, and I got the 2X in these dresses, and they were perfect. 

This is another Shein dress! 

I love this one too; it's white with a blue stripe. I have this in two other patterns: one is white with black stripes and the other is black white white stripes. After these arrived last week, I ordered four more: one is denim blue with buttons down the front, another one like the first picture that's a wedgewood blue color, one that's white with pink and orange, and a white button down dress. 

Here's the white one with pink and orange. 

This black dress is an Amazon dress that I bought in both the black and a beautiful royal blue.  I paid attention to the measurements and because I wanted it to flow and not fit tightly, I ordered both in the 2x size. Mrs. Kari Clark has been influencing me on both Instagram and Facebook; if you follow her on FB, she posts the clickable link in the comments section. She is about my age and size, except that she's taller. 

These dresses in black, hot pink, and turquoise are from Walmart! These are what I used to replace the dresses like the one you see pictured below. I ordered these in 2x as well. Also, when I saw how much I loved the black one that I received first, I promptly ordered the other two colors. I love them both! It dawned on me that my favorite color is blue, and I didn't have any of it in my closet! I do now with this turquoise dress and the royal blue one from Amazon.

Another tip that I have is to add another piece to give your outfit some color or dimension. I love this old kimono that I bought from Amazon a few years ago; I'm sure you can find something similar. 

This is the same Walmart dress from Walmart that you see pictured above. 

This is the Amazon shirt that I bought and that's a cover-up! I bought it as an actual cover-up in hot pink, but this one I bought to wear as a shirt. I love it with the white pants that are fitted!

I recently bought myself some new pants to replace the ones that were older. These are from J. Jill, and while I don't always spend this amount on a pair of pants, I do believe that quality counts. These wash and wear like a dream, down to the satin lined pockets that I fell in love with! I wish I'd sized down in these, because they're a little too baggy, but they are very comfortable. I bought these in white and gray. 

These are this pair of jeans that I love from Dillard's; the brand is Westbound. These are on my wish

list! I love this top, but it was purchased at a boutique a few weeks ago; it's the Umgee brand that I love so much. 

And here is my closet that I cleaned out last week and that inspired this post. Here are a few things that I would recommend to someone wanting to update their look:

• take an honest assessment of yourself and decide what you love about your body and play that up, meaning that if you have great legs, wear some shorter dresses with strappy heeled sandals
• have a source for inspiration, whether someone you know in real life, someone you follow on Instagram, or if it's Pinterest
• decide what you want your style to be by choosing only the things that you love

For instance, I love for things to fit loosely, so I love flowy tops or dresses, and I have to be comfortable 100% of the time. You'll never hear me sacrificing comfort for style, so I never even wear shoes that hurt! There are great shoes out there for people who have problems with their ankles or feet that are stylish and comfortable. 

My example of this are these black strappy sandals with a wooden heal by Dansko.

• when you buy something, make sure it's only something you love
• when you bring in a new item, consider taking an older item out and giving it away
• use jewelry as accessories, whether earrings, rings, necklaces to layer or a stack of bracelets
• embrace whatever you love or don't love about yourself and don't fight it (I'm thinking of my own naturally curly hair that I used to fight to tame)...this could be related to hair, body shape, or rosy cheeks (again, I'm thinking of myself on that last one) 
• know your colors that are best on your skin tone, and consider your eyes and hair
• sometimes the bigger the earrings, the better

Do you have any tips that you'd like to add for us in the comments? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog today, friends. I'm linking up with Joanne for today's post; I'll see you back here tomorrow. Love to all! 

Jenn 🖤

Hello Monday -- a mini road trip with my 93 year old dad

 

Happy Monday, friends! I'm linking up with Holly and Sarah for today's post. I hope you had a good weekend! I thought I'd share about what I did with my dad on Friday. If you're my friend on social media, then you've already seen these, but I wanted to put them here for my friends who read and aren't on socials. 

I had an appointment in Jackson, Tennessee on Friday morning at eleven; when I realized the time I'd been given, I decided it would make for a perfect outing with my dad! He loves to travel, and they really just don't do much of that these days because of his age and how hard it is on him. This was the perfect solution to getting away, even if only for the day. I picked him up at 9:30, then we were on the road ten minutes later. Jackson is one hour away from Memphis, and is also where I attended college. Back then it was called Lambuth University, but now it's University of Memphis at Lambuth. I was excited to see this again with my dad, and to walk down memory lane, so to speak. For the rest of this post, I'll let the pictures do most of the talking.

It's funny how when 29 years go by, you forget lots of things, like how beautiful the campus is. The flowers and trees are meticulously kept, and I was impressed. 

This building pictured above is the student union, where I ate most of my meals. I also remember doing a lot of eating late at night at Perkin's for a midnight study session.

This was our chapel where we had our weekly meetings. I have always had a thing for church steeples!

I loved doing this with my dad! It was such a sweet time, and a day I'll always remember. 

I love the huge trees all over campus!

This was a little amphitheater type place right outside the chapel.

This is a U of M Tiger (their mascot) similar to the ones that we have all over the city of Memphis. 

I was in front of my old dorm, Carney Johnston Hall. I spent many an hour out on those steps talking with friends late into the night!

I lived on the third floor of this dorm. My roommate was my high school friend Angel, and our suitemates were Maryann and Angela. 

As much as I loved seeing the campus this past weekend, and meeting the few friends that I made while I was there, college was not for me, and I came home before I finished. Being away from home wasn't anything that I liked; I went home every single weekend, except for the few that Mom made me stay on campus so that I could bond with my friends there. She was smart to do that, by the way! I should have stayed there every weekend, truth be told; if I had, maybe things would have been different. 

But then again, they probably wouldn't have been any different at all. I told Dad that I felt peer pressure to go to college while I was still in high school. I remember being in a class and us having to go around the room telling where we wanted to go to college and what we wanted to do afterward. I was embarrassed to answer this question, because all I ever wanted to be was a wife and mom. My mom was (still is) the best mom, and I wanted to follow in her footsteps! But because I was ashamed to admit that, I told everyone that I would be attending Lambuth and pursuing a degree in elementary education. While that's a great career, it was never meant to be for me. I left for school in the fall of 1995, Todd proposed to me in October of the same year, and one year after that we were married on October 4, 1996. I came home and worked full time when I decided to quit school, and I've never once regretted my decision!

Because of that, I've always felt self conscious about telling people that I was "just" a wife and stay at home mom, because our society made us feel like that wasn't enough. Shame on them, though! While working outside of the home is great for some families, it was best for my family that I was able to be at home with them. I always did some type of part-time work, like giving kids rides to and from school everyday that I was compensated for, but I was mostly at home with them all the time. I started working part-time at their elementary school when Jonah and Noah entered Kindergarten, and Graham and Drew were in fourth and fifth grades; I was their lunch lady and was in charge of about 600 students as they ate lunch each day in three shifts. I loved that job! I loved getting to know all their friends and being such a big part of their day. Once I started homeschooling, I stopped working completely, only going back part-time in the fall of 2022 after Jonah and Noah graduated. 

While I'm thankful that I had the experience of this beautiful campus, I am most grateful that the Lord allowed me to have my dream job of being a wife and mom. I have loved taking care of our sons and I also love the phase of life that we're in now, as they're all grown up and living their best adult lives. I'm  very thankful that I got to see this place again with my dad. It was wonderful being able to show him the places where a lot of my memories happened. I will always, always, always cherish the day that this was in my heart. I consider myself extremely blessed to have what will now be a core memory for myself in later years. 

Thanks for reading my blog, friends, and traveling back to my college with me. I hope you enjoyed the visit! Love to all.

Jenn 💚

how to be a woman of God who walks with integrity (according to Psalm 26)

 

Happy Saturday and bonus blog post day, friends! I was inspired to write this as a result of my quiet time on Friday morning. Psalm 26 was one of the chapters that I read that day, and it was so good and full of practical advice that I couldn't help but share it with you. I titled this post for women, because that's mostly who reads my blog (except for you, Bill), but this can be for anyone who wants to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord. Here's how we can all do that:

• Trust in the Lord (Psalm 26:1-2)
• Seek the Lord (Psalm 26:3)
• Guard our hearts (Psalm 26:4-5)
• Have "clean hands": be diligent in every word we speak, every thought we think, and every move we make (Psalm 26:6-7)
• Love to dwell in His presence (Psalm 26:8-10)
• Live with integrity, stand on level ground (or the solid foundation of His word), and bless the Lord be telling of His wondrous ways (Psalm 26:11-12)

Here's the whole chapter of Psalm 26:

Vindicate me, LORD, because I have lived with integrity and have trusted in the LORD without wavering. Test me, LORD, and try me; examine my heart and mind. For your faithful love guides me, and I live by your truth. I do not sit with the worthless or associate with hypocrites. I hate a crowd of evildoers, and I do not sit with the wicked. I wash my hands in innocence and go around your altar, LORD, raising my voice in thanksgiving and telling about your wondrous works. LORD, I love the house where you dwell, the place where your glory resides. Do not destroy me along with sinners, or my life along with men of  bloodshed in whose hands are evil schemes and whose right hands are filled with bribes. But I live with integrity; redeem me and be gracious to me. My foot stands on level ground; I will bless the LORD in the assemblies. 

Thanks for reading my blog today, friends. Love to all! 

p.s. The pens that I use in the pages of my Bible are these Flair pens that are my favorite. And if anyone else wants to know, my Bible is the She Reads Truth rose gold leather touch Bible. Additionally and lastly, I use these Bible tabs in mine to help me quickly get to the book I want to find.

Friday Favorites, 5.17.2024.

 

Happy Friday, friends! I'm linking up with Andrea and Erika for today's favorite blog post of the week. How has your week been? I hope you can say that it's been a great one! I have some favorites from this week, and I am sure you do as well. Here are a few of mine:

Antique stores and quirky home decor items are a couple of my favorite things...

... and so are fresh flowers!

Time with family was fun this week! My sister Lisa was here from Denver, and we ate lunch with them at Mom's and Bill's after church on Mother's day.

Graham was coming home from Nashville as we took this picture, but these guys and Graham are my faves!

Having our Denver family members here are always a favorite...

... and so is having fresh flowers by my bedside!

I love it when my boys know all my favorites; Drew knows my love of candles and he picked this one for me as a gift.

The bouquet of flowers from Graham was so big that I split it into two vases; one is here in the living room, and the other is the one by my bedside.

These new pink slides are a favorite...

... and so is reading and studying the Bible and writing out prayers for my family on the pages.

Having a clean, organized closet is a favorite...

... and so is this new dress from my recent Shein order! (I love bright colors in the summer!)

Someone asked me on an IG message what my favorite pens were, and these Flair pens will always be number one in my heart.

This picture of Graham going to his friend Abigail's junior prom with her was a favorite to see this week...it's hard to believe that was eight years ago!

This is another favorite dress from my recent order!

This t-shirt is my new favorite thing to bum around in! It says, "Joy comes in the morning", and it's from Psalm 30:5. I ordered it from the company LoveLLX. 

Handmade things that my sons gave me will always be my favorite! We painted these sticks one day as part of our history lesson while we homeschooled.

A baseball game as a staff field trip from work was a favorite this week...

... and so is this neon phone cover and royal blue dress. I'll be sharing about some recent wardrobe updates on my blog one day next week, so stay tuned! I've been having all kinds of shopping success, thanks to some social media people that I follow. 

And lastly, celebrating my mom-in-love's birthday yesterday after work was a favorite! We went to get pedicures, then we went next door to eat at a place called Cheffie's and dined al fresco. I got my newest favorite OPI color this time, Suzi Chases Portu-geese. It's mainly white with a hint of mint. I love it and think it will look great with the tan that I'll get started on this weekend. (Hopefully that'll be the case! We'll be using our neighbors' pool while we watch their dogs again._

Did you read all of my blog posts this week? I'll link them below, going back to last Saturday.

The Cozy Chronicles: the practice of being content (this will be a continuing series, so keep coming back!)

Dear Mom

Hello Monday

Things I'm Excited About & One Thing I'm Dreading

Closet Organization & How I Set Up Mine to Work Best for Me

Thankful Thursday

What were some of your favorites this week? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog, friends. Love to all! 

Jenn 💙💚