I've Got a Crush...on Suits.

It's no surprise that I have a love affair with two piece suits. I think it's the versatility with which one can remix the items and incorporate them into more casual or quirky outfits. This particular shoot does not showcase the wonder of this dress and jacket combination found at my recent trip to the flea market. It was horribly cold and windy on Sunday, so I'll have to get better pictures of it next time. It includes a basic shift dress and short jacket with the cutest collar and buttons! I'm getting really into the 60's you guys. I feel like that is where most of my vintage wardrobe derives from. Not to mention, during our house hunting ventures, I just fell in love with the most amazing house from 1963. I felt my heart swell a bit while I was inside. It is painted in the most wonderful pastel colors, like mint and mauve, which made me melt into a puddle of sentiment. Not to mention, there is a spectacular bathroom downstairs with double sinks that looked straight out of a Rock Hudson/Doris Day movie (Send Me No Flowers, anyone?). Count me IN! Husband is not too sure (he still thinks he married a 65 year old lady), but who knows, I may convince him in the end!

I've been having really great luck in the hat department lately. One of my favorite antique shops sells some beauties for under ten dollars, which is a steal in my opinion. I couldn't resist the ruched bow detailing on this piece!

Wearing:

Suit- Vintage, ReTHREADS via Benson's Flea Market

Shoes- Vintage, thrifted

Hat- Vintage, Antiques on 18th

Bag- Vintage, thrifted

Coat- Vintage, Grandmother's

Gloves- Vintage, gift

Tights- Walmart

We'll be doing some more house hunting tonight if all goes well, and potentially making an offer on a place in the next week or so. It is such a scary thought! We'll potentially be living there for a great many years, so it seems a tremendous decision is looming upon us. Prayer for wisdom is always appreciated :)
I hope you have a simply splendid day darlings!
God Bless,
KJA

Colossians is really inspiring me lately. It is full of daily reminders for us to grow and develop in our relationship with Christ. Take a few minutes and read through the book of Colossians if you have a chance!
Colossians 4:2
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

*My heart and prayers go out to the victims of the bombing at the Boston Marathon. What senseless violence, it doesn't add up. It seems as though events of this nature are getting closer and closer together over the past few years. All I can do from where I sit is pray for those affected. 

Psalm 147:3

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

 

The Castle

I told you I couldn't wait even a week to remix this coat. It was just begging to be paired with some casual jeans on a Saturday afternoon. Sean and I drove around to look at some of the neighborhoods our potential house will be in. I threw on one of his comfy sweaters and it was a nice little drive! It's fun to explore the city you live in a bit more. There are so many areas I'm not familiar with, so there's always something new to see. 

I decided to snap some photos by our children's hospital. They built it in the shape of a castle so it's a neat site to see. The castle is right by the school I work at, so I get to see it all lit up every day I leave work.

I'm finding myself reverting back to cozy winter style with the cold and snowy weather we've been having. Until it warms up a bit it will be cozy sweaters, hats, and coats for me!

 

Have a beautiful Sunday, Ok? I'm not sure what Sean and I will be doing, but it will likely consist of watching the Twilight Zone and sipping some hot chocolate :)
God Bless!
KJA

Colossians 2:6-7
 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him,  rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

Wearing:

Hat- Vintage, Antiques on 18th

Coat- Vintage, Benson's Flea Market

Jeans- Old Navy, thrifted

Sweater- Husband's

Shoes- Kohl's

Bag- Dooney and Bourke, thrifted-Savers

Necklace- Charlotte Russe

Inspired

These are some rather old photos, before our little snowstorm we had this week. I was feeling a bit Audrey Hepburn in my all black ensemble, so I decided to roll with it and take some fun black and white shots!

Audrey Hepburn is constantly inspiring me. Whenever I see her in a movie I immediately want to recreate whatever fabulous ensemble she is in. The amazing thing is that most of the time her outfits aren't anything too fabulous in the garments themselves. She made the simplest of pieces seem positively special just by her carriage and demeanor. Take this look in all black. Nothing particularly special about it at all and yet it is so iconic. I remember the first time I saw an Audrey film-being enamored with her style.

Are there any old film stars who inspire you? Please share!

 I can't believe it's Friday evening already! Three snow days sure can fly by so quickly. I feel as though I didn't get a lot accomplished either, which is always rather a bummer. I couldn't go running because of the snow packed sidewalks so I really need to get some form of exercise this weekend! Sean and I did head to the bank today though so we could get approved for a loan on a house! Twas quite the grown up thing to do and I felt quite good about it :)

I hope you all have the loveliest of weekends!
God Bless,
KJA

Colossians 3:2
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 

Wearing:

Cardigan-Great-grandmother's

Trousers- Walmart

Shoes- Vintage, thrifted

Scarf- Grandmother's

Front Twist Ponytail Hair Tutorial

What's a girl to do when she's snowed in for the second (soon to be third) day in a row? Why make a hair tutorial of course! This one is on the front twist I did in my last couple of posts: seen here and here. It really is the simplest thing to do so I hope you have fun with this one! If any of you try it PLEASE let me know and share photos! I would love to see :)

Have a blessed day!

KJA

1 Peter 3:3-4

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes.  Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.

The Aftermath

We've had quite the doozy of a storm these past few days. First it was buckets of freezing rain encasing our cars in 1/2 inch thick (or more) of ice. Below are images of my car from two days ago. The entire car from front to back was in a shell of 1/2 inch thick ice. It took us around thirty minutes just to open up my car doors so that I could start it warming up.

The following images were largely taken from friends' facebook pages who live in neighborhoods with a higher concentration of trees. The destruction is incredible to witness as one drives through the streets of the city. It was a scary thing to drive home from  work on Tuesday, hoping a tree didn't give way onto my car under the weight of the ice. In addition to the heavy ice storm we had, we got around 8 more inches of snow on top of that the next day. We've had school off for two days, and we'll see if we don't make it three days. We're going to have some funny looking trees this spring that's for sure! Power has also been out for thousands around the city. Luckily we've maintained power in our area of town, which I am grateful for.

These are images from outside of my apartment window. As bad as it has been the past couple of days, snow is STILL coming down from the sky, pretty heavily too I might add. We're not done yet, but hopefully the worst is over?

It's amazing to me how vital water is to our health and survival, but also how destructive it can be in every form, from ice to snow to rain and everything in-between.

Hope your Thursday is snow-free!

God Bless, 

KJA

Psalm 4:8

In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.

Blue and Green Suit

As promised, here is one of the ensembles I received from my trip to the flea market on Saturday! I really couldn't be more delighted with how well this dress fits me. Most of the time I have to use a belt or some other contraption to get vintage dresses to fit, but this one truly fits my measurements, which is such a difficult thing to find when buying vintage. I couldn't resist rolling my hair again for this look. It just seemed to fit the style of the dress. I love how this looks like I'm wearing a blue dress with a vest and matching bow over it-what a fun design! Plus, I'm so excited to have some pleats in my closet now. I'm not sure I have anything pleated and that is just a shame.

I think my style has become more eccentric in the past year. I'm coming to love prints and colors that aren't necessarily pleasing to the eye, but are constructed in a way that makes one admire them anyway. I can pretty much find the beauty in anything that is thrown at me, even if it's a kooky green and blue diamond print suit.

Well, I have an unexpected 'snow' day today from school! Yesterday we had a pretty horrendous ice storm that wreaked havoc on most of the trees in Sioux Falls. Branches and powerlines are down in so many places. From my living room window I watched a large branch fall on top of a girl's car because it couldn't hold the weight of the ice anymore! When I went to go to work I found that I had a layer of ice around my entire car that was 1/2 inch thick. I had to have my husband come from work to try and crack my car out so that I could make it to work. The drive was pretty treacherous with the freezing rain and branches in the road. Ice filled trees are the most beautifully terrifying thing I've seen. They look so lovely, but don't get caught underneath one when it decides to give way! We are getting even more snow from last night into today. I am so glad they cancelled school because kiddos being out in this type of storm really makes me nervous. The weirdest part is that there has been thunder and lightning accompanying the snowstorm-how bizarre is that? All I can say after this weather rant is that I'm even more excited for spring.

As if the dress wasn't darling enough, it came with a matching coat! I love that because I can see myself styling this coat in so many more ways-dressing it down with jeans or wearing it with other dresses and skirts. Oh the possibilities! It may be a bit loud, but no one dresses for fun anymore it seems and we need more of that in our lives!

Have a swell day, dears and I hope you're having nicer weather wherever you are!
God Bless,
KJA

Romans 5:6-8
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Wearing:

Dress and Suit- Vintage, Benson's Flea Market

Shoes- Vintage, thrifted

Bag- Vintage Coach, Thrifted

Earrings- Vintage