Modesty Challenge Day 3

Today's one purple praisin' Lord's Day

I French braided my hair after washing it last night

Looking back

Matching Purple Flats

Under Shirt- Target

Cardigan- Gift

Shirt- I think from K&G

"Skirt"- New York &Company

Flats- Gift

Modesty Challenge Day 2

Went for a rustic cityscape look 

 Not one for accessory, so I added a nice flower

Simple braided headband to complete the look

My little black shoes

Flower- Made by Mother

Shirt- Old Navy

"Skirt"- New York And Company

Shoes- From Mothers closet to mine

Modesty Challenge Day 1

I chose a simple black "skirt"(It is actually a dress, but I used it as a skirt.)

Added my little black boots. No leggings, equals one cold girl:(

Braided Hair

Undershirt- From Mother's closet to mine

Shirt- From Mother's closet to mine

"Skirt"- New York And Company

Shoes- Pay Less

Spring Hairstyles

Last post was about Spring fashions. When getting ready to exit your home, you not only get dressed but do your hair too. Hair is such a broad subject. There is curly, straight, and wavy. There is short, long and in between. No matter what type of hair you have, it is very important that you look presentable.

With Spring already here, why don't we do something new? I once had a classmate that did the same hairstyle, two pigtails everyday from kindergarten to fourth grade. From fifth grade until I left the public school (6th grade) she wore a ponytail. On rare occasions would she change her style. That is sorta like me, just not that extreme. I don't want to be known as the pigtail girl. I do not want to always do the same hairstyle. 

I figured that since God gave us dominion over everything, the least I could do is subdue this hair of mine. When I say you should be creative with your hair and try new things, I do not mean be vain. There is a very thin line between being vain and making yourself pretty and presentable for God and others.

"Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."

Proverbs 31:30

5 Simple steps to "change" your look

1. During wintertime ones hair usually gets very dry. You should consider getting your ends trimmed. If your really daring get a complete different hair cut. 

2. Let your hair go free. Most people keep their hair tied up. Leave your hair out. For those who want their hair to grow longer, it is recommended to leave your hair loose, so that it can grow "faster".

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3. This is sort of goes with rule number 2. If you usually keep your hair loose, tie it up or pick it up. If you leave it in a ponytail, let your hair go free, or pick it up. Do something out of the usual from your usual routine.

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4. Braids. I am a huge fan of braids. There are so many things you can do with braids. There are up do's that are constructed form braids, elegant buns, intricate side ponytails, and even braided headbands that add so much to your look.

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5. Flower Power. If you have a regular braid, ponytail, or even your hair loose, by simply adding a flower or a bow it definitely adds volumes to your simple hairstyle. Don't go small. Choose a bigger flower than you would normally go for. By going big you are getting out of your comfort zone which is a big plus, and it allows for it to be seen better with your outfit.

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A couple of places to get inspired are:
Youtube 

Pinterest
Internet

So ladies get of your routine and do something different. As they say "First impressions are lasting impressions." You just never know when you'll be making that lasting impression.

Spring Fashion

Spring does not only mean spring cleaning. Spring is the season where we get rid of our dark winter colors and trade them in for fun spring colors. Here are some 3 easy steps to help transition you from winter to spring.

1. During wintertime we tend to wear longer and thicker skirts. Instead of long skirts, choose mid- length.
2. Wintertime equals long sleeves, thick shirts, layers, and turtlenecks. By simply changing these shirts and choosing your thinner, cotton materials it helps keep you stay cool in the Spring.
3. Be creative. Be bold. With Spring fashions getting bigger and bolder every year, we can too. Wear bright colors. Wear printed shirts or skirts. Mix and match.

The change in weather does not mean you have to buy a whole new wardrobe, you can very well make do with what you have. Check this experiment out.

Now of course, I would change the pants into skirts.

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Look at all the wonderful outfits you can come up with for the whole entire month with just 13 pieces!

Just for fun I am entering this challenge.

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Hope you get inspired to join as well. Each day you can post a picture on your blog of your creative outfit to show  how the outfit you came up using the same skirt.

Virtual Shopping

Since, we have been discussing organization, I thought it would be fun to do some virtual shopping to get some ideas to get and stay organized.

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As many of you know, I enjoy reading. This is the perfect chair/ book shelf for me. 

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Of course I would not choose this color scheme. I love the desk. It has storage, but not too much that you could accumulate clutter.The cork board adds decor to the room and storage too. The bookcase is another small storage unit. 

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 Who doesn't love some cute file folders? 

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Or a cute planner? 

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Where would we be without out our sticky notes? 

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Writing with a cute pen totally changes your outlook.

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To do anything in life, especially stay organized you need lots of Bible reading and prayer. Without God we can do nothing.

Echoes of Titanic

About the Book:

Kelsey Tate comes from sturdy stock. Her great-grandmother Adele endured the sinking of Titanic and made it safely to America, where she not only survived but thrived. Generations later, Kelsey works for the firm Adele founded nearly 100 years ago.

Now facing a hostile takeover, the firm's origins are challenged when new facts emerge about Adele's actions on the night Titanic sank. Kelsey tries to defend the company and the great-grandmother she has long admired, but the stakes are raised when Kelsey's boss is murdered and her own life threatened.

Forced to seek help from Cole Thornton, a man Kelsey once loved-and lost, thanks to her success-at-all-costs mentality-she pursues mysteries both past and present. Aided by Cole and strengthened by the faith she'd all but forgotten in her climb up the corporate ladder, Kelsey races the clock to defend her family legacy, her livelihood, and ultimately her life.

My Review:

Echoes of Titanic was definitely a mystery/romance page turner! Most of the book took place during present time, but some of the book flashes back to the Titanic time period. Incorporating two different time periods, spanning from a hundred years, added a nice touch to the book, making it an interesting historical contemporary book.

The Clarks did a great job introducing you to the business world. Not Knowing anything about business myself, I enjoyed the business aspect of the story. From the very first page, the author immersed you in action  with anonymous characters. The twists and turns the authors added only deepened your curiosity level, making it hard to put down. Mindy and John started a portion in the story and would end at a crucial point swiftly changing characters or even time periods, leaving you in suspense.

I enjoyed their easy to read writing style. Their detailed descriptions of each place the characters visited, even their ever changing emotions, were very imaginable. You could easily picture the fresh bagels, beautiful Titanic dinning room, and even the feel of hurt and betrayal the characters experienced. I was thoroughly impressed with this book. It included everything I look for in a book--romance, mystery and suspense, and historical depictions.

I would recommend this book to readers of various tastes. It gets its well deserved 5 stars out of 5.

You can purchase this book at CBD and Amazon.

Count Your Blessings

We've had excellent weather this week.

 No stockings for this gal:)

This past week has been regular.

On Friday my parents went on a date. We stayed in my grandma's house. We were watching some old black and white shows, when my parents came. My little sister told my mom, "We've watched 2 grays:D"

Today we went to Ikea. It's always fun to go there. It was nice to have my grandma along too. I  received my Chemistry lab set. For a prize(from my parents) I also got Hearts that Survive. I am so excited to read yet another Titanic story.

Blog Calendar

If you are reading this, then more likely than not you are a blogger yourself. Blogging is a way to connect with others, share great tips, and keep an online journal of your life. Some months are super great. You have a flow of ideas of what you want to write about. Other months are not so great. You are at a loss  for ideas. Other times you have lots of ideas, but either forget them, never start them, or  do not know when to write them, so they are thus discarded. 

I have found a very great way to keep all my ideas down and when to post my ideas. I use a blog calender. I have found this method to be very helpful to me. Since I do lots of book reviews I just write them down on my calender so I do not forget.

You do not have to get anything fancy. I use an Office Max calendar that my mom got for free. 

I use this tiny spot to write down any ideas I want to write about, and things I want to include in that specific post.

This is what last month looks like. All the yellow highlights are the things I did. The ones left not highlighted are the things I did not get to that month.

You are probably thinking this is too strict. What if I do not want to plan my whole month on what I want to write about? Well that is one of the reasons I write in pencil. If I feel inspired to write something totally different I could just erase and fill it in. March was a pretty easy month but not all my months look as neat and done as this one. 

Some months, like April, look like this. Yellow means done. Red here means rescheduled. Blue means did not do it.

This has been a real blessing in my life. It helps me to be accountable to myself and you guys. It allows me to see when I do not write and when I do. Once the month is over, I like to count to see how many posts I did accomplish in the month. I noticed the 2 months I did not write anything down in my calendar were the 2 months I felt uninspired. 

Maybe you won't plan out your whole month but you whole week instead. It all depends on how you want to do it. There is not right way. Do not feel bad if you forget to plan it out.  Have fun with it and be creative!

Putting It All Together

This past month we have talked about clutter and organization. We need a place to have it all together, a thing to keep us organized, less cluttered, and on time. That thing is, a home binder. 

This is our family home binder

Most people have a separate one for each person, but this works out best for our family.

Each person has their chores written down. 

We include daily chores, morning afternoon, and night.

Weekly chores Mon. - Fri. 

At the bottom we have a spot where we write down our weekly goals.  We also have to finish drinking 12 waters and do 11 exercises. This is one way to use your home binder.

Our home binder keeps us all organized and up to date in what we have to do.

You could include recipes you want to try out, hairstyles, calendars for important dates, schedules, to-do lists, lists of your finances, time budgets and much more. Their is no set rule on how to make yours. I have seen some very cute and different home binders, Here is an example.

I encourage you to make one. This is one way to prepare for when you have to take on the full responsibility of managing your household.

Natural Eating- Recipe

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My mom found this great recipe on Money Saving Mom's blog, who in turn found it on this blog. My family enjoys this recipe very much. I t is easy to make and eat. It includes natural and wholesome ingredients, but has the right amount of sweetness to make it enjoyable.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup rolled oats (Oatmeal)

1/2 cup peanut butter (or other nut butter)

1/3 cup honey

1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes (sweetened works fine)

1/2 cup sesame seeds (or ground nuts or flaxseed) -We Use walnuts-

1/2 cup chocolate chips (or raisins, mini chocolate chips, M&M’s or ground nuts)

1 teaspoon vanilla

DIRECTIONS:

Thoroughly combine all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl

Cover and chill for about 30 minutes

With clean hands, roll the dough into little balls about 1-inch in diameter

Store bites in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to 1 week

Book Review- Garden of Madness

Garden of Madness is based upon Tiamat, daughter of King Nebuchadnezzar, during the seven year period where he goes mad. There are sinister plots lurking in the realms of the palace. When recent deaths occurring and talk of killing her father arise, Princess Tiamat feels like she must hunt down the nemesis. She joins forces with Beltshazzar also known as Daniel and her late husband's brother, Pediah to seek out the truth.

Who would dare rebel against the the Mighty King of Babylon? Before she can find the culprit, Tiamat faces scorn and rejection from her mother, the belittling attitude of everyone, a peace treaty marriage, questions about the gods and the one true God, and her unknown past. Will Tiamat's life ever be straightened of all this madness?

This story was very interesting. The author chose a very different and difficult subject. She included real facts, historical details and characters from the Bible while adding her own fictional scenes and characters. I loved how she kept referring to the Hanging Gardens throughout the story. You could very well picture the grandness and beauty of this wonder of the world. It was fun to enter the life a young woman many years back in history. In many ways she was very much like the woman in this century, wanting freedom, feeling heartbroken, rejected, and experiencing true love. I thought she executed this book well. There was enough of everything romance, mystery, history, conflicting emotions and many unexpected curve balls. The perfect balance of these factors allowed Garden of Madness to be such an enjoyable book.

I would give this book a 5 out of 5.

I received this book free from Book Sneeze in exchange for my honest review.

You may purchase this book at CBD.

Count My Blessings

On Saturday we went shopping. We took such a long time there that I got a big headache, I think I even had a small fever. After that day, I do not think I will look at shopping the same way.

Since my aunt went on a camping trip we got to watch my little cousin for a night. It was so fun to have a baby in the house.

Last Sunday we celebrated Resurrection Sunday. We should celebrate everyday that He Lives not just once a year.

One of my instagram friends recommended this book for curly and wavy girls, it's called Curly Girl. It has some very good tips. I have enjoyed reading it so far. I borrowed my copy from  the library.

Do any of you have a favorite stuffed animals? I've had Florindo ever since I was in pre- school. My grandma gave him that name:) My mom had a photo shoot with him. He looks so cute

Look at that gorgeous smile:D

Hope you all have a blessed weekend!!!