Outfit: Tropical

Hidey ho there neighbor! How is your week going? I've been computer-less as the husband rebuilt my laptop, but hopefully it is back in working order again :) So glad I have a tech-y man!

I am heavily inspired by photos like this, so when I found this tropical print top at the thrift store I knew I wanted to try my hand at styling it. Adding in the wedges and round sunglasses made this feel very 1940's. I also added this fabulous brown handbag I found stuffed in a random closet at my grandmother's. She always laughs at me and says things like, "why would you want my old stuff like that?" Because GRANDMA come on it's beautiful. I want it all.
I wore this for a day of school shopping with my sister and nephews! It was so much fun (although I definitely wore flats, and not these wedges...full disclosure).

God Bless,
KJA


1 Peter 2:4-5
As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—  you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.


Wearing:
Blouse- St. Vincent DePaul Thrift Store
Skirt- Benson's Flea Market
Wedges- Y's Buys Thrift Store
Bag- Grandmother's
Sunglasses- Old

Outfit: Swing Trousers

Hello there! Well, it's back to a Monday again, the second week of school. I am so thankful it is going to be in the high 70's this week and not into the 90's like it was last week! Work will be so much more bearable.

I can also start to pull out pants again! My hate for shorts is real, so it's nice when the weather cools down and I can pull out my favorite trousers. Like these red swing pants I got last year! They are so fun, but I thought I was getting more of a subdued cranberry color and was surprised when they arrived as a bright cherry red. It makes them more challenging to wear I think! When I saw this striped top with little button bows I knew the two would pair well together. I can't decide if I look like a retro circus clown, or just a very confident human being :)

Have a happy start to your week friends!

God Bless,
KJA


1 Peter 1: 24-25
All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.



Wearing:
Hat, Blouse- St. Vincent DePaul Thrift Store
Pants- Vivien of Holloway
Shoes- Lowry Mall
Bag- Milbank Community Thrift Store 

Devotional: 1 Peter 1, Love One Another Deeply

^{1 Peter 1: 6-9, 13-16, 22}

 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.

I've moved on from James and am now starting 1 Peter, in which Peter is writing to those who have faced all kinds of hardships because of their Christian faith. While I cannot relate directly to persecution of this kind, I found a lot of comfort and insight in the first chapter. 
I am appreciative of the fact that Peter recognizes how it feels to believe in a God whom we cannot see. I have struggled in the past (and sometimes present) with not feeling very close to God because He isn't physically there. Peter acknowledges this and states that even though we have not seen Him, we love Him and are filled with joy because we know that we are saved. The glorious joy we feel is a reassurance that He has saved us, no matter what kind of things come between our faith in moments of weakness. 
Peter reminds us that we are called to be holy, no matter what trials and temptations come our way we are called to be like Jesus. It's easy to fall back into old patterns. Even Christians who have been following Christ their whole lives can get in a pattern of stagnation in their faith where they are complacent. Not reading their Bible because they believe they don't need to, not serving others because they are too focused on their own journey, the list could go on (and most of it applies to me at one point or another). The point is that we are not supposed to go back to those times of ignorance. If we have the right answer, why are we choosing to daily bubble in the wrong answer just because we are stubborn? 
I love verse 22 where it says that once we have purified ourselves in obedience, that is where we can truly begin loving one another DEEPLY and from the heart. Love each other not as casual acquaintances, but as Christ loved us- a true, compassionate, unconditional love. Once we begin treating each other in that way, we can start to be an example of Christ's love through our service, and how we treat one another at our jobs and in our homes. We can let that love overflow into every aspect of our lives changing us from the inside out.

God Bless, 
KJA

Remix Friday: Jean Jackets

Why hello there! The week back to school went pretty well (except that there is no air conditioning...yikes), and I figured with summer coming to an end I would do a remix of how I've worn my favorite jean jackets the past couple of years. I have a few that I have found at rummage sales and they are all on regular rotation, with slightly different proportions and details. It has been blazing hot this week, but maybe I can pull one out again soon if it ever cools down! 

My Wrangler jacket: 

A shorter, more preppy jean jacket: 

An oversized jean jacket: 

It looks from these photos as though I mostly wear jean jackets with dresses or skirts, but I actually do wear them with jeans quite often on my more casual days.

Hope you all had a fantastic week!
God Bless,
KJA

Romans 8:32
He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

Outfit: Great-Grandfather's Trousers

 You guys, these PANTS. I was rifling through some more boxes of stuff at my grandparents' house when I stumbled upon these high-waisted, cuffed trousers with some sort of a brown sheen to the fabric. I just about shrieked! They were glorious! They have the name D. Jones written in the waistband. That's David Jones, my great-grandfather, and while I never met him I have to imagine he was quite short in his old age, because these are cropped pants on me! I was so excited when I tried them on and they fit so well. They are a bit big in the waist, but nothing a good belt won't fix. Not to mention I wore them to an 8 hour training day last week for my job and they definitely passed the comfy-for-sitting-in-a-metal-chair-for-8-hours test. The only trouble is that I had that thrift store song stuck in my head all day. I don't know the song well but there is that line about wearing your granddad's clothes? Yep, played in my head the whole time :)

I also decided that because there were roses on my scarf, I had to mirror that in my hair and tried some large pincurls, which were so fun to wear. I also had curly hair afterword, so win-win in my book.

And don't forget to check out my shop this week too! I've added a bunch of really fun vintage blouses with pretty collars and things :) Here is the link!

God Bless!
KJA

Psalm 16:8
I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.



Wearing:
Top- St. Vincent DePaul Thrift Store
Pants- Great-Grandfather's
Shoes- Rummage Sale
Scarf- Thrift Store?