Hello My Friends!

Isn’t Friday a beautiful thing? This week in the beautiful Mitten State, we’ve had rain and snow the size of wet sloppy pancakes and I am hoping that this somehow will translate into a great apple and cherry crop later this year. In the meantime, the sale of hairspray and umbrellas continues to rise!

I have to tell you, I love bright colors, and I spent a bit of time last summer trying to find a really nice shade of pink in a roll up sleeve v-neck blouse for a picture. There were all sorts of styles and shades and price ranges, and I found this one at The Limited, which is sadly no longer in business. But I do think its really handy to have a blouse in your closet at all times that you feel really good about, for those things that come up where you need to be dressed a little nicer. It could work for the office, out to dinner, and I’ve even seen them used with nice denim and heels, for evenings. Just head over to your favorite department store and grab every shade and style you like and try them on till you find that Cinderella keeper! You will always be glad to have it in your closet.

I shared with you last week about my new venture as a Stella & Dot stylist. Do you see the necklace I am wearing in this photo? That was the bait that drew me in! I saw several other fashion bloggers wearing this necklace, and I thought it was so interesting! I love necklaces this length as they seem to go with over half the items in my closet. After clicking on and drooling over it in blog after blog for several months, I decided to investigate the world of Stella & Dot. As you see, I now am sporting “the necklace” that drew me in! This is called the “Luna Pendant”, and it looks like a crescent moon, and it uses both gold and silver in the same piece which makes it super flexible for whatever bracelets and other jewelry you want to wear. You will see the Luna Pendant in every outfit I am wearing in today’s post because A) I love it, and B) it worked so well with every neckline!

Gray has been so big this year, (we’ve incorporated gray in our decor in almost every room of the house!) But its a tough color for me to wear with my skin tones being rather pale. Still, I fell in love with this top from White House Black Market this year. I love the scalloped edges, the chevron pattern, the layered bell sleeve, and the lacing at the neckline. This sweater has a slight metallic thread running through it as well, and I love the cut of the sweater as it helps give a nice shape (and I will always take any help I can get in that department!) I have on gray boots with a heel, and once again my dazzling Stella & Dot Luna Pendant!

I also used silver bracelets, including another couple favorites of mine from Stella & Dot, the spiky looking one below is “The Renegade” (what a great name!) its a stretchy light weight super comfortable piece, and its just edgy and fun! I also have on the Silver Cage Cuff bracelet, another great piece I will get tons of use out of.

And the Pave Chevron ring is big enough to make a statement, but still fit comfortably on my fingers, I would say my hands are on the medium  side, and this ring has an open back you can gently press or open depending on your need.

I opted for a light denim with this. I toyed with using white jeans which would be cute too, or gray.

Next is a black floral print top. This might be my only floral at the moment in the closet, but floral is definitely in. I’ve been seeing these larger prints on slate gray peplums and even black or green bomber jackets with floral, and they mix the feminine with the edgy in such interesting ways! In this top, I love the neckline, and the overall shape and lines of the top. I used black denim and high heel boots, but you could easily do a black legging and flats or ankle booties with it.

And once again, my Luna Pendant is singing its own little song!

Next I have a camel statement jacket. This is a great piece to have as you can dress it up for the office or pair it with denim for a date night or girl friend night.

I paired it with black denim and heels, and a cream long sleeve blouse. The jacket and blouse are both from White House Black Market, and once again, I paired a coupon and sale up to put it right into my economic comfort zone.

Troy was getting creative here using this mirror, he just painted the frame silver as we have been updating things with a fresh look around the house, and he did such a great job with this mirror!

My Luna Pendant is singing her song, but this time I paired it up with gold accent jewelry as the buttons on the blouse are gold.

I have the “Renegade” bracelet on in gold this time. I purchased a selection of both gold and silver jewelry as its just nice to have both for different outfits, and as I now am a Stella & Dot Stylist, if I go to someone’s home for a trunk show, I will have some samples to show them in a few styles and colors.

By the way, if you are interested in either the Luna Pendant or the “Renegade” bracelet or any other pieces, here is a link to my Stella & Dot page.

You don’t pay any more for them through this link than you would anywhere else, though I do receive a small commission as any Stella & Dot stylist does. 

I am also looking ahead to Mother’s Day this year. Mother’s Day is a time to stop and honor and spoil those women in our lives who have mentored and loved us so unreservedly. So over the next several weeks, I will be sharing some things that might be a great idea for a gift for the women in your life who you have leaned on for help over the years! For many of us, we are blessed to have moms in our lives that fill that roll, but it might also be a sister, or an aunt or a dear friend! And we can celebrate all of them!

One easy way to a girl’s heart is a nice fragrant lotion. This one happens to be my current favorite, Kai. It smells like paradise, and I purchased it in Hawaii, on a dream vacation we took there awhile ago. The fragrant is floral, Hawaiian gardenia, and it literally makes you swoon! Ahhhh! You can get this at most department stores that carry nicer fragrances (mine was found in the gift shop at the hotel! Such a great memory!)

Pardon me, while I just indulge myself for a moment!

Another great option are the “purse” or “traveler” size perfumes out there! This is such a great way to enjoy some of those fragrances you love but are a little too spendy for your wallet or pocketbook! Most of the popular fragrances are available in these much more economic sizes, for under $50 (sometimes under $25) and you can finally enjoy them guilt free! I was shopping with my son Jake awhile back, he went his way, I went mine and when we met up, I had three fragrances I couldn’t decide between so I asked his opinion. He sniffed all 3, and he said with no hesitation, “Gucci Bamboo! Gucci Bamboo! Oh Mom, that smells so good! If my girlfriend wore that, that would be all I thought about all day long! That smells soooo good!” So guess what I chose? The Gucci Bamboo! Its kind of fun just saying it! And when my son Jake says it, he gives it sort of a Bostonian accent with a nice punch! Gucci Bamboo, Bada Boom Bada Bing! I liked the bamboo shaped container too! So pretty!

Anyway, more gift ideas coming in weeks to come.

Also, Jake helped me last night upload my first “vlog” on YouTube. Its a “Trunk Club Unboxing” video, another service that brings fresh styles to your door to try, this one is through Nordstrom. You can check out my video

I am brand new to all of this, and am continually learning so bear with me as I navigate these new waters!

I wanted to say a quick word about that red dragonfly lamp next to me. My parents love to go to auctions and look for antiques. One weekend, I planned to meet them at an auction after church. I hopped in my car and raced down to the auction house. I think it was my first time at an auction. My parents were so happy to see me walk in, and my dad was holding a bidding card for me. I was there as a spectator, but my dad would have none of that. He told me, “Amy, I want you to look at all of the things here, and tell me if you see something here you like, I want to get it for you.” Now, that doesn’t happen often in life… I didn’t quite know how to handle such a gracious gift! And I have to tell you, there were a lot of really pretty things at this auction! But I saw this red dragonfly lamp, and I love love love red! So, I asked my dad what he thought, and that was all she wrote. Nobody else had a chance! And my parents were absolutely delighted to bid with relentless pursuit until that lamp was theirs, and in turn a gift to me. So many lessons for me in that moment, how a pure love wants to lavish others, and I thought of how that feels to be the object of someone’s love, a love so great they selflessly lavish you. It is the kind of love that makes your roots grow down deep, and you feel yourself growing strong and confident, that in the eyes of my parents, I am a precious treasure! I want to instill that same love back on them, and on all of the precious treasures in my life, my husband, my sons, my parents, sisters and brothers, friends, and even my dear sweet doggy!

And you, dear friend, you are worth lavishing, you are a treasure! But even greater than being the one lavished is when you in turn allow yourself to love someone else with reckless abandon and just lavish them! There are no rules, you can love your kids or siblings or friends or grandparents or anyone that way! But to make someone feel like a treasure fills your own heart with pure gold! So I encourage you, go lavish someone! Take your grandkids out for double dip ice cream! Can you imagine the look on their face when you tell them to choose 2 flavors? One of my pastor’s best stories I love is when he tells of his dad taking him to the movies as a kid, and they walked out of one movie, and his dad immediately said, “let’s see another one,” and they walked back in for another movie! Back to back! How lavish is that! But its the memory that is the real treasure! To be loved so extravagantly that you stop and do a double take is a spotlight moment in your life! No matter what has happened before or after, that moment happened, and nothing can take it away! So, get creative and lavish someone! I’m smiling thinking of the joy we can all spread going just a little bananas with this!

Love Always,

Amy

~ “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” 1 John 3:1