Review: My Soludos

To start, I will say that I have *loved* these shows all Spring and Summer long. They are so easy to slip on and I found myself wearing them almost every day to run errands, do laundry, visit family, walk to the store, etc. The embroidered detail adds a little pep to my step and smile to my face whenever I looked down. The shoe itself is average for comfortability. The material molds to your foot with wear.

The downside: the stitching started to come undone on one of my pairs pretty quickly after purchasing. Since I wore them almost every day, I figured that was par for the course, and since I only paid $25 at Nordstrom Rack I really wasn't too concerned. Both pairs have a hole growing on the top of the shoe right above where my big toe sits.

Overall, I have been slightly disappointed because I really love the embroidered detailing and I was hoping to have these shoes last more than one season. I prefer to buy quality goods that will last the test of time and if I'm buying a one season wonder I prefer to not spend $70 (which was the cost of the other pair purchased at Nordstrom). The comfortability is enough to make me give another pair a try next spring but I'll definitely be buying from The Rack at the lower price point.

Strolling Around the Neighborhood

Top: J.Crew (old) | Jeans: Gap (similar) | Shoes: Jessica Simpson (similar)

The popover is a staple of my wardrobe. I've said it before but it bears repeating. It is the most comfortable way to look dressed up. The buttons and collar add detail, interest and refinement while the bottom of the shirt feels lengthy and more like a t-shirt. Often, I'll wear a popover with as simple short necklace but it pairs nicely with a long necklace as well.

This may come as a surprise but blue is not my favorite color, it just happens to represent at least 50% of my closet. I keep trying to branch and inevitably blue keeps coming home with me.

10 things to promote healthy living

Fall is upon us and it has me thinking about cold season. I spent the greater part of the past year fighting off low-grade sickness. At least once a month I was stuffed up, headachy and all around under the weather. Each time I would first wish for nothing but just to be able to breath again and think about the sweet relief of breathing through my nose! Then I would compile a mental list of all the things I swore I was going to do once I felt better in order to insure I built my immune system back up and worked on my overall health. Of course, once I started feeling better, there was a brief celebration of being able to breath again and my mental list was soon forgotten.

In light of that, I am writing it down. All of things that I want to do to bring myself and my family's health above par and *hopefully* this simple act of writing it down will encourage me to actually do the things.

1. Write out notecards of encouraging words to promote positive change.
2. Make food plan for Morgan and Jack.
3. Make plan to make dinner twice a week. (I've actually been working on this a bit and have been mildly successful).
4. Consume less sugar.
5. Take probiotics for immune strength daily.
6. Wash all the bedding. (This is always complete the second I start feeling better).
7. Write out daily schedule to help work/life balance.
8. Make time for God (prayer/Bible).
9. Take a daily vitamin and amp up immune system with elderberry syrup during cold season.
10. Exercise.

PS Today's my birthday so HAPPY BIRTHDAY to me!

Finding Confidence

It seems like I've spent my whole life defining myself by how I compare to others. I've based all of my confidence in how I think I measure up in life.

If comparison is the thief of all joy then I have literally robbed myself of the past 7 years by comparing myself to everyone around me physically and virtually. If I'm being really honest, I've probably allowed comparison to rob me of more than half of my life.

I've defined myself by the rejection I have received from others and the rejection I have perceived from the world. I'm hyper focused on what's wrong with me. I've only now just begun to realize this. I'm beginning to realize that I've been believing a big, fat lie about who I am and that it is so deeply ingrained into who I think I am that I truly cannot see the real me. Believing that I am unlovable, unworthy, uncool, weird in a bad way, not pretty enough, not smart enough. These are not things that make life easy. Paralyzing.

Or if I don't receive praise then I somehow think that equates to me not being good enough or worthy. Or if someone doesn't text/email me back, there is something wrong with me.

Comparison is a beast. I don't want to live my life that way. My value is not made up off all the things that I am not. We're not meant to compare our life to another. Lives are not comparable. Here's a thought: if our own siblings can turn out so drastically different then us, how much more different is everyone else? There's a comparison epidemic. This train has got to turn around for I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).

A new daily challenge for me will be to stop lying to myself. When I feel those deprecating, worthless thoughts start to creep in, I will turn to the truth instead.

Five Minute Friday: Heal

Among other goals, one is to have a better marriage. Under this goal I write out specific steps I could take that would be healing. I'm not in this marriage alone so I couldn't decide how I was going to pick what my steps were alone. To anyone who has ever spent time reading my posts, this will not come as a shock: I tend to be negative and focus on what's wrong in my life. Alas, this has been my husband's biggest grievance. I'm taking a step of faith here and starting the challenge of writing out one Bible verse a day and 5 things I'm grateful for. I've tried this before, it didn't stick but I've heard of other people (1000 Gifts) doing it and experiencing life changing outlooks so I'm gonna do it again and just keep doing it even when I feel like it'll never work its magic on me. I hope the daily practice of writing down gratitudes slowly (preferably quickly) heals this heart of mine.

Linked up here.

Volunteer Park Conservatory

Shirt: J.Crew(similar) | Pants: J.Crew(old) | Necklace: J.Crew(similar) | Shoes: Target(similar)

The popover has quickly become part of my daily uniform. The collar and buttons dress it up while maintaining complete comfortability and just a touch of casual. It pairs well with basically everything you can think of. Chambray could easily be considered a neutral. I love pairing it with these neon yellow pants. It's a great combination for the end of summer as we head into Fall.

Volunteer Park Conservatory is a favorite place of mine in the city. There's something intriguing and magical about this old building. The Victorian designed greenhouse was built in the early 1900's. Admission is free on the first Thursday of every month and it's only $4 per adult if you visit on another day.

It's OK to have regrets

By definition, regret is "a feeling of sadness, repentance, or disappointment over something that has happened or been done".

I hear a lot of people asked about what their biggest regret is and the most common answer is that they don't have any regrets because every decision they have made has brought them to where they are. This canned answer has always come off as superficial to me.

Either the responder is not thinking because everyone has done things in their life that they wish they didn't do or wish they had done slightly different OR the responder is choosing to not be transparent.

It's important to acknowledge the negative so that we can turn it into a positive and grow.

I don't sit around dwelling on the mistakes of my past but believe me there are things in my life that I wish I would not have done at all. Period. Yes, I can say that some mistakes have made me stronger but mostly stronger in the sense that I know I will never be making that same mistake again. If I hadn't made those mistakes, yes, I wouldn't be where I am right now but maybe I'd be in a better place or even just a different place. The thing is we wouldn't hate where we were if we were in a different place - that would be all we know so there wouldn't be this feeling of 'oh, if only I would have made a different decision then my life would look like such and such'.

Regret shows that we are human. That we have a conscience and are aware of being social beings. Regret shows that we can recognize poor decision making and make a change.