Polka Dots

I finally did some Christmas shopping today! I went to Kohl's because I love them. I can't believe I had never shopped there before I moved to where I'm living now.  I literally spent all morning in there meticulously going through each department to see if there were things I could buy for my family. Plus I had a 20% off coupon so I got everything super cheap. 

I always feel weird shopping in regular stores though. I shop secondhand almost exclusively for myself, but for some reason when it comes to others I don't seem to find much at thrift stores. So I spend more time during the holidays checking out the retail options. 

The lighting was not with me today, so I tried to take some indoor shots. Good thing there are at least a couple of places in the apartment that aren't filled with stuff lying everywhere! haha

I thrifted this polka dot top ages ago, but the buttons are a little snug in *ahem* a certain area of my upper body. So I finally found something to layer it underneath! The top has a really cool ruffle piece which clips on underneath the collar, but I decided it was too frufru for today. Hopefully I'll be wearing that soon.
I love cardigan clips! It's hard to find them nowdays though, so I like to make my own. It is super easy! Thrift stores are full of pretty clip on earrings. All you do is hot glue the clip on earrings to a strand of beads or ribbon and voila! Instant vintage flair. :) If you have any that you've made in the past please share photos! I'd love to see.

Have a MARVELOUS day! Tomorrow is Friday and I'm sooo very excited :) 

God Bless!

KJA

Psalm 136: 1,26

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of heaven. His faithful love endures forever

Wearing:
Cardigan clip- made by me :)
Blouse- Vintage
Top- Maurices
Jeans- Thrifted, Old Navy
Shoes- Target
Hat- Old Navy

Photos from a Snowy Thanksgiving

We had the most lovely snow when we were in  Sean's hometown last week for Thanksgiving. It started off with tiny little flurries, and before we knew it the most beautiful, huge flakes were falling from the sky. "Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes" anyone? :D I had so much fun frolicking in the beautiful stuff, and then promptly went inside to warm up, help my mother in law make strudels, and watch the gorgeous snowfall through the window.

I love remixing thick sweaters and simple dresses once the weather cools down. They are so easy to throw on and make me feel cozy and ready for hot chocolate and baking. Not to mention dresses are way more comfy than jeans or other fussy outfits.  

I think it's amazing to see how what I wear has evolved over the years. I used to wear only sweatpants or jeans and t-shirts ALL THE TIME. Although, I suppose that is typical of high school and college kids? It's just more functional that way (or so I thought at the time). But now I rarely wear jeans. Only to shop or run errands for something casual. Give me warm tights in the winter any day!

Well, today is my first day going it solo at my new job! I still feel like there are many things I'm not prepared for, but I just need to make the mistakes on my own from now on and learn how to deal with all of the different kiddo's personalities. 

Have a very happy Wednesday and I hope you have a chance to smile a lot today!

God Bless, 

KJA

1 Chronicles 16:8

Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim His greatness. Let the whole world know what He has done.

Wearing:

Necklace- Mama's :)

Dress, Belt- Vintage

Sweater- Hand me down

Tights- Walmart

Shoes- Target

Coat, Scarf- Thrifted

Versatile Blogger

A bit of exciting news for the morning! The lovely and classy Caitlin who blogs over at The Efface awarded me The Versatile Blogger award! I love to read her blog, she always puts together such fancy and inspiring looks with whimsical headpieces and fabulous accessories. And she's super sweet too, thanks so much Caitlin! Go check out her blog and see what all this buzz is about ;)

The Versatile Blogger award is pretty simple, here are the rules:

-If you are nominated, you've been awarded the Versatile Blogger award.  Awww chika-yeah!!!!!

-Thank the person who gave you this award.

-Include a link to their blog.

-Next, select 15 blogs/bloggers that you've recently discovered or follow regularly.

-Nominate those 15 bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award with a link to their blog.

-Finally, tell 7 things about yourself.

So here are the 15 bloggers I chose! I could have picked many more, but these are the blogs I have most recently become acquainted with. Enjoy their blogs!

1.   The Shades of Monet Chronicles: How could I not nominate this beauty? She was one of the first blogs I found and has been a constant source of inspiration for me throughout this blogging journey. Not to mention she truly does seem to have a heart of gold adorned with bows in pretty pastel colors ;D     

2.   The Fashionable Adventures of Bethie the Boo: This gal has been the absolute SWEETEST person to me since I started blogging. I seriously love her personality on her blog and of course her fun daily outfits! 

3.       Of Corgis and Cocktails: Animals, cuteness, and great style!

4.       Midwest Muse: This gal is edgy and colorful and definitely one of my favorite daily reads.

5.       Mrs. Dork: This lovely redhead will make you covet her luscious locks and has such a fun personality in her photos!

6.       The Braided Bandit: Vintage goodness in every post, this little lady knows how to style up any item she finds with panache.

7.       Fashion for Giants: Her bright smile will brighten up your day, and she has great fashion advice (especially for you tall gals!).

8.       Room 334:  Cuteness on a stick, with the best cardigans and boots around!

9.      The Drawing Mannequin: This model-esque gal always has inspiring outfits, as well as inspiring artwork to showcase.

10.   Cuddly Cacti: She is the master of remixing and I'm always loving her colorful ensembles.

11.   Never Fully Dressed (Without a Style): Victorian, menswear, gorgeous 50's maven- this lovely gal has it all on her blog-along with insightful movie reviews too!

12.  Avenue M: A blog of pretty trinkets, and pretty clothing.

13.   Haircut and General Attitude: One of my very favorite reads! This gal is so sweet and I find myself coveting/copying so many of her looks.

14.   Thrifting Through Life: I think you'll love this sweetie-pie as much as I do. She posts lots of thrift finds and seriously has the cutest smile. 

15.   Floral Prints and Common Sense: I love how she mixes patterns and she inspires me to pair items together that I normally wouldn't!

And the seven things about me:

1. I love living in South Dakota, but I have a secret passion to want to move to the Northwest part of the country, like to Washington or Oregon. I have some friends and family living there now, but I'm sure it will never happen-I have too many roots where I am now!

2. My husband has turned me into a total geek. I like to play (some) video games now, am completely obsessed with Doctor Who and Avatar the Last Airbender (among others). 

3. My favorite movie is Anne of Green Gables. My sisters and mother and I used to watch the 8-ish hours every year around Christmas time. It is my goal to get us all together to do that again someday!

4. I prefer cloudy days over seeing the sun. Sun gives me a headache!

5. I have a completely irrational fear of deer. I have nightmares about them chasing me, seriously I have a problem, haha. 

6. Avocado, squash, and walnuts are my favorite foods right now...YUMMY!

Have a happy day lovelies!

God bless, 

KJA

Psalm 3:8

Victory comes from you, O Lord, may you bless your people.

 

Class

Expect to be seeing a lot of coats on the blog now that the weather is finally cooling down. This has got to be one of my favorites. I thrifted it awhile ago and it has been so versatile and comfortable! I've been wanting a jacket with a belted waist for a long time, so this was a no-brainer. I have worn it with everything from jeans to fancy dresses and it works so well for both!

 

Yes, I did match my tights to my hat, what of it? :) In my wildest dreams this hat made me look like Ingrid Bergman. I always wish I could exude that much effortless class and mystery ever day.

I have had this dress for a long time. It was one of those Target clearance finds probably over 5 years ago. I bought it because I thought it would be great to teach in. It is super comfortable, easy to layer, and even has pockets! Perfect timeless plaid and matching skinny belt never hurt either.

 

I hope you all had a great Monday! So blessed to have all of you in my life...speaking of which, I just noticed I have over 70 followers what?!  How in the world did that happen! Thank you all who read my little piece of the internet, it makes my day :)

God Bless!

KJA

1 Peter 1:6

 So be truly glad.There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while.

^Wearing:

^{Necklace- Charlotte Russe}

^{Hat, Dress- Target}

^{Heels- Gordman's}

^{Gloves- Walmart}

^{Tights- TJ Maxx}

^{Bag- Vintage Coach}

^{Coat- Thrifted}    

Follow Me

Good Morning everyone! Follow me this way if you'd like to see my latest post on Flock Together! I am blogging about a swap with the lovely Elana (of Room 334). Click on over to see how she and I both styled her pretty little blouse. 

Aaaand, just in case you missed it (I forgot to mention it in my last few posts), here is another recent blog of mine on Flock Together on how to remix a dress.

Be back later with more you gorgeous creatures!

God bless, 

KJA

Colossians 3:17

And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

House Dress

I'm still staying at my in laws for the weekend, so simplicity was key in packing. I brought a bunch of vintage house dresses and some really thick knit sweaters because I knew it was going to be super cold. This was perfect and comfy for a game night of Uno and The Game of Things around the dinner table! For the record I am apparently the worst Uno player in the history of the game. I got to 500 points so fast it would make your head spin. Oopsy daisy....

 

This outfit is actually a collection of stolen items. A few years back I stole this dress from our dress up box at home. I think my mother must have worn it at some point for a while. She purchased it at the thrift store ages ago and we used to dress up in it as kids. It has the dreamiest full skirt and POCKETS which I adore. Not to mention the fun leaf print. Have I gushed about this dress enough yet? :) 

I stole the sweater from my older sister. I think it is perhaps a kid's sweater, but that makes it perfect for my purposes. It is a thick knit and has a shorter cut, which means it is ideal to pair with my high waisted vintage items

I hope you all have a lovely weekend! I absolutely cannot WAIT to have my mama come visit me for the day. There's just something so comforting about your mom even after you become an adult. She's like my best friend!

God Bless all :)

KJA

Colossians 2:6-7

And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness

Wearing:
Sweater, Dress- Hand me down/vintage
Belt- Vintage
Shoes- Target
Tights- Dollar store

The One Day of the Year I Don't Want to Shop

Hello all! Well today is 'Black Friday.' Today is the day I stay inside and snuggle on the couch with my hot chocolate thinking about all of the crazies out there who are shopping. My family have never been those to go out and about shopping the day after Thanksgiving. This is for a few reasons. 1. We are too passive: we would never be able to run ahead of someone else to get an item before they do, we would be more likely to get it and then say, "Oh here, did you want this? You can have it." 2. We are lazy: Seriously get up that early in the morning just to wait in lines in the freezing cold? I don't think so. 3. We are the type that wait until, like the day before Christmas to finally finish up our shopping. I just can't make decisions ok!

Haha, so props to you if you are a black Friday shopper! I hope you had fun and I do admire your tenacity ;)

This is what I wore for the drive to my hubby's hometown. It was such a nice comfy dress and these tights from target are probably the most comfortable and stretchy I own. I may have gone a bit color/print crazy on this one, but it was a bit out of the box for me, which is never a bad thing!

I've spent the past couple of days playing with little kitties, learning how to make strudels with my mother in law, and enjoying a gorgeous Thanksgiving Day snowfall (pics to come of course!).  I'm looking forward to my mother visiting me tomorrow! I don't know what all we plan on doing, but I'm always thankful for her smile and hugs!

Psalm 100:4-5

Enter His gates with thanksgiving; go into His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and His faithfulness continues to each generation.

Wearing:
Earrings-  Gift from my lovely sister :)
Hat, Dress, Cardigan, Tights (oops)-  All from Target
Belt-Vintage
Shoes- Kohl's