shirt: LOFT cardigan: Old Navy jacket: H&M jeans: LOFT boots: JC Penney headband: Steve & Barry's (RIP) belt: thrifted

i'm 100% convinced that i have the most handsome husband in the whole world

my mood lately has been northing short of outstanding.  spring is the greatest thing since sliced bread.  come to think of it, it's better than carbs altogether.  and that's really saying something, because carbs are my best friend (or worst enemy, depending on which part of my body you ask).  there's nothing more satisfying than seeing the first signs of new life.  especially when those signs are found at the gorgeous home of my in-laws.  Eric and i got to enjoy some outside time today with the dogs before we went inside to eat dinner, at which point they roamed the property, finding dead things to eat and roll in.  Lily and Titan have asked me to emphasize to all of you that Grandma and Grandpa's house is the best place in the whole wide world.

in completely unrelated news, on Thursday, i met the husband of one of our group exercise instructors, and she introduced me as her boss.  this is still nothing short of bizarre for me.  me...i'm the boss?  obviously these people have never seen me dance around my house.  does this new sense of responsibility mean i have to stop eating Frosted Flakes, playing Lego Harry Potter and watching Teen Mom?

hat:  Loehmann's; necklace:  H&M; scarf:  knit by me; belt:  thrifted

alright, i'm officially ready.  it's a good thing, too, considering it's now after midnight, which means 30 for 30 has officially started.  i have 29 picks right now, with the intent of buying one more thing.  i know, i know...that's against the rules.  but today was a bit crazy and i didn't get to forever21 like i wanted.  i figure it's allowed because i already know what i want (a long-sleeved mustard tee).

ready to see my picks?

five pairs of pants:

Gap, Maurices, LOFT (x3)

 two skirts:

thrifted, & forever21

Ralph Lauren, H&M, Eddie Bauer, H&M, thrifted, J.Crew, LOFT

 three cardigans:

Forever21, Target, Old Navy

 four sweaters:

Wet Seal, Gap, Kohl's, Banana Republic

 two blazers:

Eddie Bauer & thrifted

 three pairs of boots:

Alloy, JC Penney (x2)

 three pairs of shoes:

Bandolino, thrifted, Target

i've also decided to go a step further with this challenge by throwing in a "10 under 10"...ten items out of my thirty are each under $10.

they consist of the following:

1. gray skinny pants (shown in the middle above)
2. pink skirt (only $1)
3. olive H&M shirt (second in picture)
4. white H&M tunic (fourth in picture)
5. striped navy shirt (fifth in picture - only $1)
6. striped J.Crew shirt (sixth in picture)
7. Old Navy blue cardigan
8. cinnamon-colored turtleneck
9. black blazer
10. mary janes

watch out now, look who's busting out of her shell and embracing the awkwardness of being on the other side of the lens.

this would make so much more sense if you could see the snow that was falling

shirt: forever21, blazer: thrifted, pants: LOFT, boots: jc penney, belt: american eagle, scarf: me

what?  how'd that get in there?  you know, it's pretty hard to be too stiff or serious when moustaches are involved.  maybe i should make this a schtick (see what i did there?  moustache...stick...schtick?).  i think this could be the thing that really takes this blog to the next level.  holler if you're with me.

you may have to pretend you didn't see this outfit come 30 for 30 time.  these pieces are strong contenders.  in fact, the pants are a must, considering i only have about four pairs that currently fit me.  i don't expect to garner any sympathy on this issue, being that the reason my pants don't fit is that i lost a bunch of weight unexpectedly following the end of my marathon training.  which makes me think...crap...what if i lose some more weight from P90X and i find myself in the midst of 30 for 30 with no clothes that fit me?  that is simply unacceptable.

i guess if push comes to shove, i'll have to finally learn how to use my ancient sewing machine...

...or binge on milk and cookies.  decisions, decisions.

today i'm linking up to Everybody, Everywear to show off muh stripes along with a lot of other fabulous ladies.

that's right, i've officially committed to Kendi's next 30 for 30 challenge.  for 30 days (starting february 1st), i will only be able to wear a combined total of 30 items from my closet (shoes included, accessories not included).  you guys, i am as nervous about this commitment as i am excited.  my main reason for taking this on is that i want to prove to myself that i don't really need a closet full of clothes.  i've been seeing a lot of focus on materialism in my life when it comes to my wardrobe.  yuck.  part of this challenge is to cut out shopping for the full 30 days, which, to be honest, will be tough for me.  who knows, maybe this will push me to finish some of the projects i've got going on around the house.

i'm also looking forward to this pushing my creativity.  so here's to february being a month of remixing.  please pray for my poor hair, as i'm pretty positive there will be times i want to rip it all out.  my goal is to pick all of my pieces out this week (after some serious consideration and lots of dress-up), and share them with everyone here sometime before i begin.

i promise the picture quality will be better than the following.  if we had gone outside to take a picture, a) eric would have never agreed to take another one of me ever, and b) my face would not have looked this happy.  in fact, you would see me crying...with frozen tears.  it's that cold.

right...like you haven't noticed.  i've been changing taglines around here about as much as i change my undies (which is daily, by the way, in case there was any question as to the state of my hygiene).

over the past few weeks, i've really been struggling to figure out what my blog identity is.  i've been feeling a bit scattered and completely unorganized.  when i read blogs, they tend to have a central focus, whether it be mommyhood, fashion, cooking, crafting, home decor, etc.  you get the picture.  i see communities formed around these central focuses (focusi?).  so i started thinking...hard.  what voice do i want to have as a blogger?  which of these groups do i most identify with?

after much thought and careful consideration, i came to this conclusion:  poo on one theme.

i discovered the issue behind this dilemma of mine wasn't me wanting focus or more organization.  it was me trying to find an audience to impress.  my epiphany came last night while reading Forgotten God, by Francis Chan, in which he shared this quote from A.W. Tozer:  "...we have imitated the world, sought popular favor, manufactured delights to substitute for the joy of the Lord and produced a cheap and synthetic power to substitute for the power of the Holy Ghost."

so i'm going to forget about impressing anyone in the blog world.  because really, at the end of this life, it doesn't matter how many followers your blog has.  instead, i'm going to continue blogging simply whatever is inspiring me each day.  that may present itself in the form of frugal fashion, crafting, new decor ideas, my marriage, my puppies, or any other number of things.  whatever my inspiration my be, it is my hope that far more than anything else, my love for Christ would shine through.

please don't read this as me not caring about anyone that does follow me.  i think you guys are awesome, and i really value the fellowship that i've found through blogging.  but if i don't gain another follower, i'll be okay.


and now, as if this hasn't all been long and random enough, i had a plan to share my outfit for the day.  i wouldn't want the pictures that eric slaved over to go to waste.  so without further ado:

exhibit A for why i shouldn't be a fashion blogger

hi, my name is lauren, and i'm a cheater.

i know that it's supposed to be steppin' out saturday, but let me just tell you that a greasy ponytail and grubby clothes aren't really a good look on me, and tales of cleaning toilets and folding clothes might not make for the most exciting post i've ever written.

so, steppin' out sunday it is, then.

sweater:  banana republic, gift from my ma
dress:  LOFT ($10!)
leggings:  h&m
boots:  jc penney
belt:  thrifted, salvation army
pom/poof:  me

we go to church in eric's hometown, about a half hour drive from our house in fort wayne.  about a mile away from the church, there is an antique mall that i've been dying to go to for as long as i've known it's there, but for some reason, we've just never gone.  well, we finally made a stop there today after church, and let me tell you, it didn't disappoint.


everything was so beautiful and organized.  all of the above pictures are from two booths, which i absolutely fell in love with.  i have a plan to purchase the drawer from the top right corner to hang on our living room wall, and add three old mason jars filled with billy balls.  i also found a small dresser, which is the whole reason we went, for only $20.  it looks pretty worn, but it's solid wood and nothing that a coat of paint can't fix.  i am in desperate need of some craft organization, y'all.

then it was back to eric's parent's house for dinner, which is something we do every week.  we always take the puppies down and drop them off in the "stable" while we go to church.  then, while we eat dinner, they get to run around outside in the woods until their little (or massive, in titan's case) hearts are content.

this is the part of my sunday that truly makes it feel like a day of rest.  the in-laws property is so peaceful.  my wonderful mother-in-law fills our bellies with delicious, warm food, and i find comfort in a mug of freshly-ground coffee and the company of family.



i have been finding more and more value in a Sabbath day lately.  i didn't have an opportunity for any rest last week, and the only word that i can manage to come up with for the way it affected my whole week is that i felt weary.  i understand why we are commanded to rest.  i've also come to understand that rest doesn't equate to laziness.  i find my rest even when we are away from home on these sundays.  i find my rest in family, in some solitude, and most importantly, in Christ.

Exodus 34:21 Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest.


how do you recharge?

to say this weekend was a busy one would be a massive understatement.  friday ran into saturday, saturday ran into today, and now i'm left feeling a bit weary.

i went home for the weekend without the hubs, and for good reason.  friday night was spent with two out of the three of my best friends from high school.  my friend hope was leaving for nicaragua yesterday morning and i desperately needed to see her one more time before she left for four months.  i have to say, this was my absolute favorite part of the weekend.  it's amazing to me that although we don't see each other very often, and we don't really talk much outside of our reunions, we settle into such comfortable conversation.  we painted our nails, reminisced and caught up into the wee hours of the morning, and it was wonderful.

saturday was spent olive-gardening (bet you didn't know that was a verb) with my ma and the older of my two brothers.  we filled up on unlimited soup and salad and carbo-loaded on breadsticks to gear up for some shopping, and some animal-visiting at the humane shelter.  then i made them they happily volunteered to join in on the SOS action.

normally, i'm not all about kitties, but this one looked identical to an awesome cat we used to have.  seriously eerie.

then, in the evening, i met up with two of my college roommates.  it was paige's birthday and we ate mexican and went to see a sketch comedy show at shadowbox cabaret with a couple other friends of hers.  fun was had, but i was starting to feel a little ragged from all of the running around, so i took off halfway through the show to make it home to my pjams.

oh haiiiii birthday girl

getting out of bed this morning was, in one word, rough.  but up it was, to finish up my young life small group lesson and then head to my friend crystal's baby shower.  she is the third of my three high school best friends, the lone soldier that was unable to join us on friday night.  and who can blame her?  girlfriend has had a little bun cooking in the oven for about 8 months now and we didn't hang until 11pm.  she looked beautiful and the party was uber cute.  unfortunately, a) i forgot to take a pic of the gift i made for baby noble (which i was quite proud of, btw), and b) i had to cut out before it really even started to get back to fort wayne to lead small group.

loved it.

whew!  did you catch all of that?  at the end of the weekend, i'm a bit frustrated.  i hate that, although i got to spend a bit of time with everyone, i didn't really get to give all of myself to anyone.  time was given, but when there's so much focus on just surviving the weekend's demands, how much quality can really be expected from that time?  and where was my sabbath day?  bear with me this week, guys.  there's about a 72% chance that posts will be getting shorter and grumpier as the week goes on.

i apologize in advance, you know, just in case.  do you get really grumpy if you don't have a day of rest, or do you thrive on the go, go, go?

i was feeling quite studious today, so this is me...exercising my brain.  (please don't let them ask me what book that is)

just perusing the bookshelves for a good find.  maybe i should revisit ACSM's guidelines for fitness testing and prescription, you know, brush up on the old college bank of knowledge

i really need a pair of glasses.  dang you 20/20 vision.

this picture is actually very deceptive.  it doesn't even come close to doing the height difference justice.  at the beginning of each year, we meet up with my mother-in-law's side of the family at pokagon state park in angola, indiana.  this was my third year, and every year that i've been part of this tradition, at least one person will approach the family and ask if they are a sports team or point out how extraordinarily tall they are.  i love this family, but when we leave them, my neck breathes a sigh of relief.  if you would like a better glimpse into the lives of the tall women in this family, you should visit my wonderful sister-in-law's blog.

where was i?  oh, yes, poof love.  i had some free time tonight and decided to make myself a little something pretty.  introducing my newest poof:

don't mind the robe.  comfort is a prerequisite to a creative crafting mind and nimble fingers.  this isn't made up, it's a scientific fact.

wow, that was random and altogether unorganized.  thank goodness tomorrow is friday, y'all.

seriously.

that's right, my buckeyes won last night.  it only took ten tries to beat an SEC team in a bowl game, and the fourth quarter left me with nubs for fingernails, but they did it.  the fact that they won made staying up until 12:30 so worth it.  in fact, they probably won because i stayed up to cheer them on.  yah, let's go with that.

today's outfit was my attempt at a subtle celebration, but eric informed me there was nothing subtle about my color choices.  here's the take-away, kids:


in other news, i found out some amazing news today that led me to call eric immediately to share with him.  i really thought he would be more excited, but as it turns out, he's a big fuddy-duddy.  so hopefully someone here will get excited with me.  today, on my way to work, i passed an empty store that used to house big lots, but it went out almost a year ago.  today there was a sign posted with the new resident...

...gosh, i hate to say it, but i really think most people will be let down by this build-up.  we are getting a salvation army about two minutes from our house.  and it's going to be huge!  this is big news. big.  one more store in which to find fun, thrifted treasures.  and, hi, i can go on a whim.

good day.

does fashion blogging mean you have to post your outfit even if you're not so sure anymore that you really like it, or if it's not as flattering as you thought it was when you looked in the mirror, or if your hair won't do anything today?

i thought so.  crap.

isn't it pretty?  watch out world, louann and i are sticking together from now on.  the best part?  i can fit enough of my other crap essentials inside of it that it'll suffice as my only bag/purse.  thanks hubs!

now, if only i had time to actually learn to use my camera.

details.

i wish the hubs would have mentioned i have a large chunk of hair that was looking a little whack.