Stuff.

Today was that day.

Lots of little things that I could explain to you through my tears and you'd probably give me a blank stare. Truly, it was a bunch of nothings that ended with an $800 MRI bill (on top of the $200 bill to pay someone to read the dumb MRI) and I just couldn't handle it anymore, so I grabbed Kota and headed for a walk around the block so Cody wouldn't see me lose it.

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We bought Kota a new leash a while back before a vacation. I'm ashamed to admit that he has survived three years of life with a rather pathetic looking leash that I believe might have come from the dollar spot at Target. Knowing it's seen better days, we upgraded to one of those retractable leashes to give him a little more freedom. {Plus it was purple and pretty!}

Now that he has experienced 16 feet of leash walking freedom, there is no going back. He struts his stuff and gives you the most pathetic "why are you treating me so undignified?" any time I try and cut him off on the length. It's hilarious.

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As I was praying {whining? complaining? lamenting? fill in your own blank} about all of the "stuff" I was bothered by today, I couldn't help but see myself in Dakota. God has more than given me 16 feet of freedom. It's just enough leash to think that I can make my own plan and take the lead... and I probably act a little undignified when I realize that's not what God's plan is.

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Growing.
Waiting.
Hoping.

It's not always the easiest. But it will be worth it.

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{end metaphor. only slightly exaggerating when I say our walk ended with us running for our lives from another dog. a *big* boxer was roaming free on the streets and took an interest in dakota. I wasn't sure if he was friendly and I was more afraid of how dakota would treat him. so I had to carry dakota for a good ways to get away from him. I thought we made the home stretch, put kota down and had him start jogging back to the house. the boxer took off running after us. I wanted to cry and wet my pants all at the same time, but I ran the fastest my short legs will ever run. the dog did catch up to us, rolled over dakota and then somehow disappeared. I'm going with - thanks God!}

Those People {revisited}

Remember this post way back in April?



Just thought you might want to "meet" him {and his super cute girlfriend!}

Insta-Friday 9

1. some of my freshman recruits at homecoming.
2. my bff and I representing pledge class 16 at our sorority alumni breakfast.
3. my new hair!


4.  my hotel this week - isn't that a weird spot for a plug? handy though!
5. my favorite spot in fredericksburg, tx
6. high school lunch visit. we bribe!


7. tootsie pie co in fredersickburg. chicken salad sandwich and pecan pie. oh my.
8. sweet german pretzel later that day. must. find. recipe.


9. outfits like this ease my fear of no cute clothes for boys.
10. and wrapping the week up with a stuck credit card. fun!

check out insta friday with life rearranged for more sneak peeks! and if you have a camera phone, you should join in!

Tiny Prints Holiday Cards

Are you thinking about your Christmas cards yet?

Head over to my review blog to learn more about a great opportunity from Tiny Prints for bloggers!

While you're there, you may want to follow Life At It's Finest! Reviews so you don't miss out on anything!

It Happens.

sometimes, embarrassing things happen when you least expect it.

like when you're about to head out of town for a college fair but you have to gas up your car first. and then all of a sudden you're having to ask the attendant if she has a pair of pliers because your card is stuck.



of course, before you asked the attendant, you tried your own strength and asked the man next to you if he could help, plus took the time to pause for a picture.



the attendant didn't seem phased by it, so at least I probably wasn't the first. and cody made a really good point, "at least you look cute."

priorities people.

WIWW #32

Y'all, right now I am so tired I'm not sure I can form coherent sentences. It was a long day with a lot of walking and talking for college fairs, so be kind if this doesn't make any sense, ok?

I took a look back at some of my previous WIWW yesterday and thought, "dang, those were cute outfits! I need to wear that again," followed by "dang, I want to be tan again!" I am thankful for signs of fall, but tan skin sure is a perk of summer time. Which do you like more - the summer tan or fall boots?

Here are my outfits:

Work




shirt: loft
skirt and coat: f21
boots: dsw

I have to admit, I randomly paired this shirt with this skirt and only put the coat on because I was cold, but I ended up loving this outfit! The color blocking is very simple, yet felt dramatic. You better believe I will wear this outfit again, plus it makes me want to play around with color more!

I also saw that Kendi just got these boots, which makes me feel even cooler :)

Murder Mystery Party:



shirt: walmart
skirt: old navy
flames, blue blaze and head piece: handmade

We had a MMP on Friday night with our Sunday school class and I can't resist throwing this picture in. It was a blast to get all dressed up, plus we were the crazies who went to Starbucks like this :) Wouldn't you know we ran into several people that we knew? It was great!

Homecoming Weekend for my Alma Mater - Sorority Alumni Breakfast





cardigan, top and peacock pin: loft
jeans: gap
shoes: yellow box brand

This is easy to throw on and can be dressed up or down. Y'all will probably get tired of my peacock pin, but I'm not sure I know how to accessorize without it :)

Work




dress: the hen shack, a super cute boutique in abilene!
tank: old navy
necklace: gift from mom, from fredericksburg, tx
boots: dsw

I had a groupon for The Hen Shack that was about to expire, so I *had* to go shopping this weekend and picked up this dress for $6. (what you pay for the groupon doesn't count in the cost... right?)

Hope you are having a great week. Let me know if you stop by so I can check out your outfits!

visit lindsey at the pleated poppy for more wiww
last week's wiww

Dear Abby - 7

Dear Abby,
What can I do with my maxi dresses when it gets to cold for sandals here? Won't be till after Christmas but need to figure it out!

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Changing a maxi dress to fall and winter is super easy. Add a cardigan or top for warmth, a cute belt for waist definition and ballet flats and you're out the door!

Here's an outfit I wore this summer:



While it is a little bright for wintertime, I wanted to use it to show you how to build the outfit. Now I know Tiffany, who asked the question, lives in a warm enough climate that ballet flats would last for most of the winter time. Where I live, it will get cold enough that I would change the ballet flats out for knee high boots.

Here's an outfit I would love to wear:

Maxi Dress by abbynein featuring h&m cardigan

Norma Kamali sleeveless dress, £55
H m cardigan, £25
Barbour knee high leather boots, £270
FOSSIL vintage bag, $248
Michael Kors Watches gold jewelry, $328
Amrita Singh antique gold jewelry, $250
Arena CPH 18k jewelry, $286

You don't have to limit yourself to layering with cardigans either.  Try a denim shirt,  a long sleeve shirt, even a button up!  While your swimsuit is probably limited to summertime use, most clothing these days can easily flow between seasons, so don't hesitate to try new layers!

Got any other suggestions for how to transition your maxi dress to winter time?

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Remember last week's Dear Abby? I thought you might like an update.

Here's my new hair color:

Thanks for your help - I LOVE it!

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have a dear abby question? email me at abbyneinast{at}gmail dot com or tweet me @abbynein

Super Heroes Unite.

{more to come from our murder mystery party!}

Insta-Friday 8

1. my new coat I got this week. i'm in love.

2. breakfast at inn of the mountain gods. I believe in a well rounded meal of carbs.

3. my dear, taking a picture of deer.

4. breakfast at the log cabin. pumpkin pancakes, green chili omelet and biscuits and gravy. oh sweet mercy, it was so good.

5. out putt-putting. {I married Cody for his putt-putt skills, as I am usually guaranteed a win!}

6. kota, aptly summing up how we felt about our vacation being over.

7. pumpkin spice cake. so easy. so delicious.

8. trying out props for our photo booth.

9. a sneak peek of my costume for our murder mystery party tonight. the murder takes place at a superhero convention. I. am. so. excited! Can't wait to show my full costume!

that's my week... how was yours?

check out insta-friday with life rearranged for more!

Title.

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to be traveling in the panhandle of Texas and had the chance to stay with my brother and sister-in-law. My brother was actually one of the people in charge of setting up and running the college fair I was working, so we both got to see each other in action that night.

After the fair was over, he had a few things to wrap up before leaving for the night, so I stopped by a fast food place and picked up dinner for all of us and planned to meet up at the house.

Most of the time, I try to be a patient person when it comes to fast food places. I don't always succeed, but at least on this night, I was laughing about the things that were going wrong. The worker typed in the wrong meal and the machine froze up and wouldn't let them clear it out. They ran out of fries right before I got there. Chicken nuggets that were taking a while to cook... err, fry, I guess. Needless to say, I had quite a few minutes that I was standing there waiting on my food. No one else was in the restaurant at the late hour, so it lead to a little chit chat between me and two of the employees.

One happened to walk up and start staring at my shirt and finally said, "What does your name tag say?" I looked down, having forgotten that I even had it on, and quickly brushed over it: "Oh this thing. It says Admissions Consultant. It's a really weird, confusing title. I'm a college recruiter but they make it sound a lot fancier this way."

I really can't remember everything else they said after that about my name tag, but there's one line that stands out:

"At least you have a title."

Yeesh. Such a simple statement, but it really took my breath away.

Sometimes I forget just how privileged I am.

In my circle of friends, we're all educated. We have good jobs that provide for us. Even if we tease about being poor, we're not going without. I'm 27 and own a home and have nice cars. I am a privileged person, yet I probably complain more often than I recognize my blessings.

I have a title.

I'm not sure what your title is right now or what exactly you're going through, but I would encourage you to stop and look around... you never know where you'll be when you end up seeing your blessings!

WIWW #31

guess what? I actually took some WIWW pics this week! I remember one week writing that WIWW is the easiest form of discipline, because it doesn't involve working out or cleaning. Wouldn't you know I fell off the picture bandwagon after that? Slowly but surely I'm building up my discipline again :)

Here's what I have!



vacation mode!

sweater: express
jeans and peacock pin: loft
shoes: target






still on vacation
shirt: walmart
skirt: kohl's
belt: express
boots: dsw


and if those two outfits had a baby, it might look like this:





work
cardi: target

you want to know something totally ridiculous? I wore my hair tucked behind my ears and I was seriously so self conscious all day long! Why did such a tiny little thing make such a difference? Who knows, but it certainly did!





work
coat and tights: forever 21
dress: target
belt: old navy
boots: dsw
necklace: hodgepodge all clipped together

So there you have a few of my outfits! Am I the only crazy person who makes a small hair change and gets self conscious?

Check out more at The Pleated Poppy!