Our Tree

This post was one of my favorites to put together. I absolutely love decorating the Christmas tree every year. It is so personal and special to look through the boxes of ornaments that have been collected through years. Each one has a story- especially if your family is the kind that gets a new ornament every year to place on the tree.  My husband's family is that way, so he has quite a collection of wonderful and interesting pieces. He has so many that our tree will look so different from year to year because we can put a different combination of ornaments up every year and the tree will never look the same! We also have a box of his great grandmother's ornaments which are so fun to look through. Most of them were handmade which makes them even more special. Now all I need is to get some of my childhood ornaments to place on our tree!

This was our second tree together, since the first year we were married we moved at Christmas time so we didn't have one.

Enjoy some photos of our decorating fun :) 

I am a sucker for a real tree. We grew up getting real trees and there is just something so wonderful about the way they smell, the way they look-a fake tree will never compare for me. I had so much fun picking out just the one I wanted. I found this adorable, short and fat tree and knew it was perfect. Sean wasn't so sure at first but I just felt like it would make me happy every time I looked at it. It may be a little sparse in places, but I love it. Yes, I even like to give my trees a hug. Ahhhhh Christmas :)

Here is the box of vintage ornaments. Swoon.

How cute is this little soldier and pretty lace angel?

Here are our 'Awkward Family Photos' haha! Just look at those smiles!

Aaaand, a nice one :)

Decorating the tree is exhausting work, do you know.

Thank you for being nostalgic with me for a bit! I hope you have a simply lovely Friday.
God Bless,
KJA

John 1:4-5
In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

^Wearing:

^{Top, Skirt- Target}

^{Necklace- Charlotte Russe}

^{Belt- Vintage}

^{Tights-Gifted to me by my lovely sister :)} 

Guest Post on Cuddly Cacti

Good morning all! Today I am honored to be doing a guest post for one of my very favorite bloggers and a fellow Flock Together gal. She hails from a much warmer climate than SD so I'm blogging about some of my favorite holiday and snowy looks from winters past. Head on over to Cuddly Cacti to see more!

God Bless,
KJA

John 8:12

Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

Christmas Party

I love to get gussied up for special occasions. I don't think people take them seriously enough anymore. Everyone shows up to holiday parties in jeans and sweatshirts and I am perceived as garishly overdressed. Alas, I wouldn't have it any other way. Life is too short to not have a little happiness in the things you enjoy doing. My personality is so altered by what I wear. In a fancy dress I feel more regal and classy. It helps me pretend I am a part of a time from decades ago. I really wish that balls and fancy parties were still a thing. I would love to listen to classical music while we all dance fancy dances together and sip little lemonades while we swoon over men in coattails and women in their pearls. Bring back those times please!

I actually have a funny story about this dress. I went vintage shopping with my mother over Thanksgiving and we found this stunning dress on the basement floor hidden away-I almost missed it! When I did find it I did a little gasp and just marveled at all of the wonderful details. However I was just sure that it was too small for me and that I would never fit into it. My mother was determined however and she said that I HAD to try it on. The problem was that there was no dressing room in this vintage store (a three floored massive place by the way). She tried to open various doors and persuade me to change in dark, forbidden closets in the store because I just had to try on this dress! Of course I refused because I have a horridly guilty conscience and a fear of getting caught doing stupid things like that. Well, we found a curtain on the top floor of this place where all the clothes were and my mom-MY OWN MOTHER somehow got me to go behind that curtain and change amongst all of the store's back room items while she stood watch outside the curtain. BAHAHA that is something I will never forget! Needless to say the dress fit perfectly and I, of course, couldn't leave without it. Especially with a story like that backing it up. I love my mama so, so much.

Sorry for the horrid pictures, our apartment complex started redoing the carpets in the hallway and never finished...so we have these lovely looking concrete floors! That's the problem with getting dressed up for parties-they happen at nighttime so you have to take photos is a dank hallway-oh well, no matter!

Sean and I went and bought our Christmas tree last night! We bought a short, fat little guy that I just fell in love with. We are trying to come up with a name for him (it is our first real tree and all you know) but are having a little trouble doing so. Any ideas for me? I'd love it if you'd share!

Have a wonderful Wednesday all :)

God Bless!

KJA

John 10:14-15

 “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me,  just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep."

Wearing:

Dress, Coat, Clutch, Bracelet, Shoes- Vintage, thrifted

Tights- Walmart

Colorful

I felt very colorful wearing this outfit. I built the ensemble around this aaaaamazing hat I found at a vintage store. I've been looking for a bow hat for a very long time and almost did a little dance in the store when I saw this beauty! Whoever owned this hat kept it in such great condition. It only has one or two very small breaks in the veil and otherwise is perfect. Usually the hats I find have a horribly crumpled/broken veil, so I was delighted at how this one held up through the years. I need to buy myself some mannequin heads or something to set my hats on so they don't just get crumpled on my dresser. My next project I suppose!

I found this coat recently as well. It is one of my favorite vintage finds. The tag's says the brand is Ultima Taylored by Mr. Vincent. It also says that it is 100 percent cashmere, but I'm not an expert so I can't tell if it really is or not. It is very soft and I love the coat regardless if that is legit or not! It is like a big soft robe that I can wear out in public.

The veil also has these whimsical little pompoms all over it! I love how fun they look, and it lets you know this hat doesn't take itself too seriously. As if the bright purple hue didn't give that away!

And I couldn't resist these bright red bow heels when I saw them! One thing that was lacking in my shoe wardrobe was a pair of red heels. I've heard it said (and I must agree) that every woman should have a pair of red heels in her closet, but I could never find a pair that I felt was 'me' enough to buy. These fit the bill perfectly, everything from the pointed toe to the big bow had me smitten.

I'm really excited for this evening. Sean and I are finally going to get a Christmas tree! We're a bit late but I'm so happy because we're going to pick out a real tree. I love having a real tree. The smell and everything about it just means cheerfulness to me this time of year :) I can't wait to decorate it with the special ornaments new and old. Hopefully pictures to come of some of those!

Have a lovely day everyone :)

God Bless!

KJA

John 8:12

Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life."

Wearing:

Hat, Scarf, Coat, Dress, Belt- Vintage, thrifted

Shoes- Kohl's

Extreme Pring Mixing

I'm over at Flock Together today remixing one of Marisa's fabulous blazers!  Fly on over, if you so desire, to see the full post and how Marisa styled the blazer as well as a bit of the Christmas story-since it is December and all ;). Have a happy Monday!

Framed

I  finally got around to a project I've been meaning to do for months now! I have a cute little jewelry frame on which to hang my earrings. This means they won't be floating around in random places in all of the nooks and crannies of the apartment getting lost and crumpled :S

My husband actually did most of the DIY-ing. I found the frame at the thrift store and he put the wire mesh inside. I'm also in the process of making a similar frame for my necklaces, but that project isn't quite finished yet, I'll be sure to share when it is! 

I don't have a lick of decorating flair in me, so I feel like this is a very pretty addition to our bare bedroom wall and it certainly helps me out when deciding which earrings I want to wear for the day (even though most days I just wear my pearl studs, haha). 

Anyway, it was super easy to make, and so fun to organize. Do any of you have a similar way to organize your jewelry?

Have a wonderful Sunday!

God bless, 

KJA

1 Peter 3:3-4

Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.