Midweek Confessions

1.  Sometimes I think that I am just not cut out for this minister's wife business, as shown by this conversation I had with a youth kid last week at dinner.

{background: I am now cooking the wednesday night meal. cody has repeatedly said he tells the jr. high students this is a snack and NOT their dinner. I mean they eat at 4:40 for crying out loud!}

so the students have been served their 5 mini corn dogs, mac and cheese and 2 oreos. a few asked for more while going through line, but most accepted that there were still a lot more people to feed. one girl came up though asking for more. I told her she would need to wait until after church and her mom could make her dinner when they got home and she replied "but she's picking me up soon so that I can go to Calvary {another church in town.}

I gave her a look and replied, "Do you hear what you're saying to me?" She gave me a questioning look and I continued on... "Because I'm hearing you say, 'do you have any more free food to give me while you babysit me before my mom comes to pick me up and take me to my real church?'"  She gave me a quick smile and took her plate back to her seat.

Oops.

2.  Other times I feel like I am the greatest minister's wife out there. At Monday Lunch one of our mom's caught me on her way out and said, "Abby, I just want you to know that I really appreciate how active you are with our youth. It's been 35 years since I was in the youth group, but I still remember that our youth minister's wife was a lot like you and it really makes a difference for the kids. Thank you for what you do!"

I was walking on cloud nine.

Until I rounded the corner and another mom asked, "Abby, do y'all do much for the high school girls?" "Well, we're in the process of trying to start a high school girl's Bible study but I'm not quite sure what day it's going to be on." "Oh, ok, well because {daughter's name} said you really spend most of your time with the junior high students and I mean I guess that's fine. You'll grow up with them and that's good. She just really needs a good role model in her life." 


wah wah wah. minister's wife fail.

3. Why is it that I am almost 30 years old and yet I have a mountain on my face like I am a 15 year old going through puberty???????????

totally not cool. and how come I haven't figured out a way to actually conceal breakouts like this? got any tips before I have to face the public again?

4. Yesterday I managed to burn my pointer finger on the hot glue gun, grate some skin off of my middle finger and somehow caught the grater on my thumbnail  so it broke it back into the nail bed, all on the same hand. I then proceeded to forget to put enough sugar in my zucchini bread mix, which means it tastes ok but not awesome like my mom's. Maybe I should take a break from cooking & crafting for a while.


5. This is my mom and I after a long day at the Living Proof Live Simulcast.

I have my sister in law to thank for my super cute outfit. She got me THIS top from  Forever 21 and adorable scarf from Aerie for my birthday. {technically it came from my brother too, but I think we all know he's not stepping foot in those stores!}  This is your friendly PSA to tell you HOW AWESOME THIS SHIRT IS!!!!! It is like a sweater material, yet is comfortable like your favorite worn in t-shirt.  My mom has already picked up her one and my sister in law is hoping to get her one too. Trust me, you will want this shirt in your fall wardrobe!


Head over to E, Myself and I for more midweek confessions!


linking up with the pleated poppy too! 

WIWW: Someone Get Me A Professional Photographer

This week's photo's have made it embarrassingly clear that it is time for me dig out the old tripod, replace the battery in my remote and start taking some real pictures.  Here's your proof:

Wednesday: 

Cooking for Church & Youth Group

shirt: forever 21

necklace: accessories auction, facebook

apron: vera bradley

not pictured: loft jeans

I actually just snapped this picture to send my mom as a joke because my necklace ended up matching my apron and it turns out this was the only picture I had, so you get to enjoy it too!

total honesty: thursday was spent picking up the house in shorts and a tee, friday was spent party prepping in shorts and a tee,  saturday was spent being lazy with our family in pj's, so there's no photographic evidence of those days :)

Sunday:

Church

top: loft

sweater: target

jeans: loft 

here's how sundays normally go in our house: go to church. come home, eat lunch as quickly as possible before griffin crashes, lay him down for a nap and then go nap myself. well, we had a special round up sunday at church this week which included dressing up in western wear {that I don't own} and an all church brisket lunch. Poor Griff had a rough morning in nursery... he was moved up to the toddler room, which has a tv in it. he saw me making morning announcements and had a big melt down because he couldn't get to me. That melt down led to a melt down during lunch and finally giving up to come home for naps while Cody stayed at the luncheon. Which is how I ended up propping this mirror next to my front door to get some natural light and taking an awful picture. but at least you know what I wore! :)

Monday:

Monday Lunch & Grocery Shopping

shirt: youth group

shorts: loft

shoes: tevas

I mean... if it worked on Sunday, why not do the same picture on Monday?? Our church hosts a Monday Lunch for all high school students to come to, which is why I wore the shirt. It was only after I took this picture that I realized... I match my door! 

What can I say? I know what colors I like and I stick with them! 

and finally,

Tuesday:

aka the most ridiculous outfit ever

dress: loft

belt: old navy

boots: dsw

Ok, this outfit isn't so ridiculous. It's the fact that I seriously put it on for all of three hours, basically to make Griffin lunch, then sit on the couch to work on some projects, only to snap a quick pic, then change back into work out clothes to go to my class. since I wore it less than half a day, I can totally re-wear it tomorrow, right? :)

check out the pleated poppy for more wiww {most of which have more photography skillz than me!}

WIWW: Bad Selfie Edition

Welcome back for WIWW! I at least did a little bit better at actually documenting my outfits this week, though I had to resort to a bad selfie or two to make it happen. Here's what this week included:

Wednesday: Happy Birthday To Me!

dress: Loft

shoes: j. roberts in ruidoso, nm

I didn't really have big plans for our birthday since it was a normal Wednesday, but I believe birthdays are just better when you feel cute! This is a new dress I picked up at Loft this summer and I think it is going to be my new go to. Plus, it will look great with layers and boots to carry into the fall!

Thursday: Zoo Trip & Family Day

maxi dress: target

I didn't get to take a full length shot of my outfit. I have seriously had this dress at least 4-5 years. At one point during the day I asked Cody if it was time for me to get rid of it because mentally I know how old and worn it is. Later that day when shopping though, a lady stopped me and said, "I have that same dress! It's my favorite!" We then had a quick discussion about how much we both love it even though it so old and has carried both of us through pre-pregnancy, pregnancy and post-pregnancy bodies. Knowing that some one out there is still rocking this dress makes it acceptable for me to keep wearing it! :) 

Friday Night: Football Game

dress: ross

sunglasses: loft

bracelet: a new to me splurge from lisa leonard! 

Honestly, I spent most of Friday in shorts and a tank, working at stuff at the church with Cody and doing projects around the house. But I did at least fancy up for our first home football game. This outfit also confirmed why I quit wearing necklaces with most of my outfits. I know they usually need it, but I try to save them for special events/ church days because I have a little friend who is very interested in what momma is wearing. Which is why this necklace came home broken and confirmed that I shouldn't be too attached to the jewelry I wear!

Sunday: Church

dress: ivy jane via a small town store 

boots: nine west via dsw

it was 100% too early for me to truly break out the boots. I was burning up in our house and outside. lucky for me though, our church is always freezing, so I was the perfect temperature there! I will have to wait until october to start wearing them more regularly with texas temps, but it was fun for one day!

Monday: Labor day With Friends

top and jeans: loft

flip flops: reef

we had some of our good friends who made the hour trip down from abilene to come spend the day with us. it was a much needed refresher day and we had such a great time!

Tuesday: Errands in Abilene & Bad Selfies

dress: loft

Griff had his 1 year appointment on Tuesday and I had a few errands I needed to accomplish, so I went cute but oh so super comfy! 

check out the pleated poppy for more wiww!

WIWW : The Great Belt Debate

guess what y'all?

I actually put on real outfits every single day for the past seven days! I'm pretty sure this is the first week this has happened since I stopped working. It is definitely something to be celebrated. It would, however, be easier to celebrate if I actually had taken pictures of each outfit! {wah wah wahhhhhhh.}

Sadly, on several of my get dressed days, I need to be leaving right when Cody gets home from work to go to a work out class, so I've already changed and didn't get the pictures taken. From here on out I'll probably be relying on some more iPhone selfies to properly document seven full outfits!

thursday:

top {old} jeans {new} : both from loft

shoes: j. roberts in ruidoso, nm

I literally put on this outfit to lay around my house and clean the bathrooms. Thursday was Cody's day off this week so it was a little bit lazy and I knew if I didn't get dressed, I probably wouldn't get anything done. You'll be happy to know that I did put on an apron to protect my clothes so that any cleaning supplies wouldn't hurt my new jeans. {Priorities.}  These are a modern skinny fit from Loft and are seriously the best ever. I wore them Thursday and Friday and already know I should buy another pair because I will live in them this fall. 

sunday:

pants: target

wedges: jc penney 

Yeah... I should really take more pictures of my outfits to make it less obvious when I re-wear something :) Since I only had it on for a little while for being lazy on Thursday though, it seemed to easy to re-wear it for church on Sunday!  This does lead to a little debate though:

 belt or no belt?

    

I like it belted better, though it would look best with a colored belt. {with of course, the lazy day belt exemption that "isn't it enough that I got dressed today? must you people also expect a belt out of me?!?!" meaning, somedays you just need flowy and free!} 

monday:

dress: loft

sandles: target

this picture here is proof of why I probably shouldn't resort to iPhone selfies. I would at least like to point out that my laundry is folded on the bed, and the mess on the floor is items griff drug out through the day that does get picked up at night. 

and if one mirror selfie wasn't enough, I did walk over to the window and take another picture in the natural light to show you a better idea of the color the dress. {I feel like one of our junior high students!} 

check out the pleated poppy for more wiww!

WIWW: The Return

The whole reason Lindsey started What I Wore Wednesday was to get out of her pj/work out clothes rut and in to something real. Back in my working days I was quite the faithful WIWW participant,  but staying at home, especially during the summer with no schedule, has turned me into the definition of who WIWW is for!  So, I am slowly making my way back into the habit of putting on real outfits every day. As comfy as my shorts and tees are, I really am so much more productive when I am dressed in real clothes, which is a good thing! Here are the few outfits I do have this week:

Sunday: Church

denim shirt: walmart

striped maxi: bealls

shoes: j. roberts {ruidosa, nm}

belt: express

necklace: forever 21

monday: errands & serving at teacher appreciation luncheon

dress: old navy

scarf & bracelets: forever 21

earrings: gift

I love my short hair, but the fact of the matter is that sometimes it gets boring. There's no abundance of pins out there of how to put a bun in your hair, the newest twist to try out or anything exciting like that because I just don't have enough hair to do it. So occasionally I get bored and try something new and end up with this look that I like to call "80's Aerobics Instructor." It actually photographed better than I think it looked in person and I'm not sure I'll be trying it out again! {unless you have any tips then please send them my way!}

Tuesday: errands & housework

top: francesca's

pants: jc penneys

shoes: target

here's the main observation I take away from this week:

it is too sunny on my front porch! gotta find somewhere new to take my pics :)

check out the pleated poppy for more wiww inspirations!

WIWW - Ponte Pants

Last weekend was Homecoming at our alma mater. We really hadn't talked much about doing any of the evening activities, but at the last minute decided to have a quick date night to go see SING! {sing is hard to explain until you've seen it. it's basically several 10 minute mini-musicals that on campus groups preform. it's always a great deal of fun to see what the groups come up with!}

All that to say, here's a date night outfit!

cardigan: f21       shirt: walmart       ponte pants: gap {SO COMFORTABLE!} 

peacock pin: loft       bracelet: audacious {store in my hometown}       flats: antonio melani from dillards

two things:

1. I love these pants. My parents gave them to me for Christmas last year and I wasn't able to wear them as much as I wanted due to that whole growing belly. I will say though, I don't think you can wear ponte pants {ake, VERY FITTED} without wearing a top that is longer and covers your bum. Because I can be honest and say, they are definitely pants, as they're a thick material and have buttons/pockets, but they are also a fancy version of tights. And I am a firm believer that TIGHTS ARE NOT PANTS. So, I have to be selective on my tops when I wear these.

2. I have been on the hunt for a good pair of black ballet flats for months. Last week I showed off just how embarrassing my other pair was. WELL past their retirement date. Well, when I was at shopping at home in a larger Dillards than what we have, I found these and knew they were the ones.  Imagine my joy when my mom told me, "I never would have thought that you would buy such a boring, sensible pair of shoes." Yeah, talk about taking the wind out from under my wings! As you can see, I didn't let her words keep me from buying the shoes :)

linking up with the pleated poppy for wiww!

WIWW - Mixing Patterns

the other day I saw a status on facebook that said: this mixing patterns trend has GOT to go!

and I shouted "NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!"

everyone is certainly entitled to their opinion, but personally, I LOVE the mixing pattern trend. I may have even been doing it before it was actually cool and in style. {see outfits here and here for proof!} I know it will probably eventually go out of style again, but for now, I'm soaking it up!

cardi: target  striped tank: h & m  jeans & scarf: old navy  bracelet: f21 

and my super embarrassingly tattered black ballets from target have now been replaced and are in the trashcan! 

so what side of the fence do you fall on: yay or nay for mixing patterns? 

WIWW #37

Here in Texas, when we get the first hint of what feels like fall weather, we celebrate by getting our first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season, making a cozy soup with cornbread and change our closet over to the fall season clothes.

Which is great and all, until you wear those fall clothes and end up sweating like a dog because even though it's only going to be in the 70's this week, it's still a tad bit too warm for sweaters and boots.

Yeah. So even though I was so excited to wear my fall clothes today, I did feel slightly ridiculous with the sweat rolling down my back. Guess I'll have to wait a few more days before it's really fall weather here!

top: loft

skirt: kohls

scarf: charming charlie's

boots: nine west via dsw

check out more wiww at the pleated poppy! 

What I Wore Wednesday - The Return To Greatness

Ok, so my title might be a little bit of an exaggeration.

You can decide for yourself about the greatness factor of these outfits, but it at least feels good to feel cute and have a bigger selection of my closet to choose from. Pregnancy is a blessing, but it's not a stylish one. {if you've seen maternity clothes lately, you know what I'm talking about!}

So welcome back WIWW- You have been greatly missed!

church:

jacket and top: loft

skirt: kohls

boots: nine west via dsw

purse: forever 21

{i also had on a cute gold necklace that broke at church. chasing beads all over the floor in front of a crowd is real fun!}

errands and headed to a much needed haircut:

shirt: target little boys

vest, jeans and necklace: loft

shoes: target {ages ago}

check out the pleated poppy for more wiww!

Diggin' Deep Animal Style

{have you done your part to stop SOPA? do your part now!}

On to another week of diggin' to the depths of my closet! I have to admit, getting ready in the morning seems to take a little bit longer and a little more effort. I am still tempted to go to my "easy" outfits. And, let's be honest, I wore my denim shirt this week. It's certainly easy and it's not a piece that's seen the depths of my closet. {Check out previous WIWW to see it practically every single week!} I did at least pair it up with some new {old} items, so that counts, right?

shirt: walmart
skirt: loft (dd item)
belt: express
shoes: clarks via dillards (dd item)

I'll tell you up front, even as I put this outfit together, I knew there was no way I was going to get rid of any of these pieces. Loft is my favorite store and I will take some major holes and a falling apart item before I'll part with it! And with the shoes, I got this for Christmas either last year or the year before and just love them. The problem is that I got in the habit of wearing flats during travel season and I haven't really transitioned back yet. So, everything about this outfit is still a keeper in my book. I felt very put together in it and will definitely reach for these D.D. items more often!

shirt: walmart
skirt: loft
tights: ??
shoes: gianni bini via dillards

I actually planned on wearing this shirt with a bright colored skirt for a more fun look today, but it was just a no go. I ended up throwing this together last minute and... I think I'm in love. For real. I love the look of dark tights into dark shoes. {you can make fun of me and call them panty hose if you want. tomato/tohmahto. I'm not really a fan of the sheer panty hose, but give me some big thick tights and I could wear them every day!} It's hard to put my finger on exactly what it was, but I just felt very chic and put together in this outfit. You are sure to see more of it in the coming days!

So there's my outfits for this week! Did anyone else take the challenge and pull out some items from your closet that haven't seen the light of day in a while? And, are they tights or panty hose to you? :)



I'm linking up with The Pleated Poppy for What I Wore Wednesday!