"That's SO 70s" Refashion

Back in November, I found some dresses at the thrift store that I wanted to refashion. I kept putting it off and putting it off, but I finally got around to refashioning my "homeschool mom" dress here. For that dress, all I really had to do was trim the bottom and hem it. But, on that same thrifting journey, I found another dress. It was a dress that would need quite a bit of work. It was a refashion more at the level of  New Dress a Day. 

It kind of reminds me of dresses that I've seen my Mom wear in old pictures from her high school and college days. The amount of ruffles on this dress was crazy. I felt like I was stuck in a bad movie. Over the past month, I've worked bit by bit on this dress. I could only handle a little at a time. First, I removed the big ruffle collar from around the neck using a seam ripper. Then I cut some of the length off to make it a little shorter. About this time, I got frustrated and threw it across the room. It still wasn't looking right. I really was thinking that there was no hope for this dress. It was a little tight fitting, so not much room or material to work with. I didn't even take pictures, because I thought that there was no way for this to work out.

I thought that the flutter sleeves might look cute, but the dress was still too reminiscent of something I would have worn when I was five. 

Insert cute picture from when I was five-ish.

We moved up a few decades, but not enough. Cutting the flutter sleeves off really didn't help the thing, so once again it was thrown across the room and put up for a few days. Once again, no pictures of these steps because I was frustrated.

Then, I got the bright idea to cut the straps off (that's all that was left of the sleeves at this point). Which was a great idea, except for the fact that there was no way I could wear this dress strapless (it was cut the wrong way, and not made for that). I didn't want to mess with the zipper, so I got the idea to use the ribbon that had been used as a belt to make it into a "pillowcase-type" dress. I adjusted the zipper to make it start further down, folded the material over, and made a tunnel for the ribbon to go through. Finally, it started to look like something I could work with.

Pardon the iPhoneography. Not the best lighting.

I haven't hemmed the bottom yet, but I think it's good. It's a little dressier than I normally wear, but it could be cute for the right occasion. I mean, it has a BOW! Plus, it just makes me smile when I think about how it started out looking so silly!

the journey

I started this little blog during my freshman year of college. I'd dabbled in blogging for a few years (please tell me that I'm not the only one that was obsessed with Xanga in high school- I think my entire life story is out there-), so it wasn't a completely foreign thing to me. This blog is a little bit more sane than my Xanga. If you ever need a laugh at my expense, click on over. I was ridiculous. 

Awesome senior picture that perfectly describes my high school awkwardness.
Scratch that- I'm still pretty awkward.
(Yes, that is a calculator. TI-89 was my best friend. He was almost my prom date.)

Four years ago, I was ending my freshman year of college at Auburn. Four years ago today, I blogged about a little fish named Gus-gus Herman (he was a great fish, but he's dead now).

Spring Break Freshman Year. My baby brothers were so little! :)

Three years ago, I was an education major at AUM. Three years ago today, I wrote this post about Operation Beautiful. Even though I didn't exactly believe everything I was writing (and I still struggle with it), it's a post that I look back on sometimes when I need a little reminder.

Way too excited about observation hours, but I miss those days.

Two years ago, I was in my first semester at Huntingdon. I was in the midst of writing my final paper for my first religion class (that convinced me I needed to change my major), so I wrote about how God is always faithful as shown in the story of Noah.

My best friend. She's super amazing and I'm so glad to have her in my life! 

One year ago, I did a catch up post for my Sunday Sparkle project. :) I was completely overwhelmed by the school year at that point. Philosophy and Ethics were killer. I think that I was going crazy. But I made it. I survived- AND I pulled out an A for both!

Totally true. Stickers are my favorite. 

Not a picture of me. But it makes me giggle every time I see it. :)

And now...today.

Well, yesterday. But whatever.

Thank goodness I'm not the same silly, ridiculous person I was in high school (okay, so maybe I'm still a little crazy- but not THAT crazy!). I'm not even the same person I was four years ago when I started this blog. I don't even want to be that girl. I've learned so much. I've grown up. I've matured in my faith. Oh- and I finished college (even though it still doesn't really seem like it). I finished- and I finished strong. I finished well. I'm proud of myself. I'm proud of the progress that I've made. That picture up there represents so much. That award? It's for the highest grade point average in the department for the previous semester. Even with all of the messy stuff I was sorting through, I got a 4.0 last fall. I graduated with a 3.7 even though I battled my way through the last semester. There were moments that I thought I wouldn't make it. There were moments I wanted to give up, give in, and quit. There were days that I contemplated taking a medical leave of absence- my mind wasn't in the right place. I was struggling to keep my head afloat. I was struggling with assignments, struggling to make it to class, struggling to stay awake, struggling to pretend like everything was okay.

But today, I realized that even though the last few years have been a roller coaster- I DID IT. I went to three different colleges. I had five different majors. I've gone through so much emotionally. I still don't really know what I want to do with my life. But in the end, with God's help- I did it. I survived. I passed my classes (that I was sure that I was going to fail). I made a 4.0 for the semester. I finished my degree requirements. Yesterday, I received an award that means so much more to me than a piece of paper. It's a symbol that I didn't give up. It's a symbol that even when hard things happen, I can still do it. I can still live life. I can still push through and just do it.

I'm not who I was five years ago- I am so much more. Thank you for sticking around for the journey. I can't wait to see what story I'll be able to tell four or five years from now. There's still so much more in store. Am I nervous? Yep. Do I know what I'm doing with my life yet? Nope! But I know that life is an exciting adventure. I know that God already knows what's going to happen. He holds my life in the palm of his hand. He calls me his precious, beloved daughter. So, I'm trusting in that. I'm trusting that he'll lead me down the path I should go. I'm clinging to his Word. I have faith and believe that great things are in store. Great things.

new favorite quote

New Address!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

I'm super excited to announce that my blog is once again on it's own little custom domain. I think it makes things way simpler, and this way my full name isn't in the web address (that was just starting to creep me out a bit)! If you follow me through a reader, your services shouldn't be disrupted (because I did all of the domain purchasing through Blogger and it's still the same feed). But, you can update to my new address AND follow my blog on Bloglovin if you don't already! Yay!

favorite fonts: third edition

As you know. I like fonts.

So, let's add a few more to the list.

Just a few that I've gathered over the last few days thanks to Pinterest and that you might see featured in some upcoming design work!

[birmingham] [horseshoes and lemonade] [janda stylish script] [kg be still and know] [kg somebody that i used to know] [return to sender] [sofia] [will & grace]

I think my favorite is Janda Stylish Script. What's yours?

Marching Forward

It's been awhile. A long while. I didn't plan on taking this long of a break from blogging, but it happened. Honestly, it was kind of nice. I've been stuck in a blogging rut this year, but that is probably a good thing. It's given me the chance to look within and examine myself and why I blog. It's given me a new outlook on where I want to take this blog. This year has brought some major changes to this little space on the internet, even if I haven't blogged all that much. But, now it's April and my head is beginning to rise above the tumultuous waters of the deep. Is everything in my life perfect? Far from it. I feel like nothing and everything has changed in the last month since I've posted. Sometimes I feel like I'm running on a treadmill and while I'm making progress- I'm running the race- the scenery around me isn't changing. But, then I look up and I find myself in an altogether different place than where I began. Life's funny like that sometimes.

But- I think I'm back. I'm getting back into the swing of things. I'm getting back into "real life". I'm starting to exit the fog of treatment and enter the great big world (It's kind of scary, to be honest). Life isn't back to normal, but I'm getting there. I'm starting to think about the future- grad school, job hunting, a general feeling of "What am I going to do with my life?" that I'm sure you are all familiar with. It's scary, but I'm so ready. I'm ready to be free from the bondage that's held me captive for so long. I'm ready to spread my wings and fly!

So, what have I been up to in the last month? Everything. Seriously. March was a month of craziness. It was insane.

Last day of treatment. :)
In other news, my hair is getting crazy long.

There's no way on earth that I could explain everything from March (nor do I really want to), but there was a highlight from the month. During the boys' Spring Break, we took a family trip to Texas to see my Dad's parents. On one of the days, we got to visit the "happiest place on Earth"...not that one- this one!

It was pretty exciting. :)

I also rode a roller coaster with Max. You should know that I'm terribly afraid of coasters (um hello- they go fast and up really high). So, even though this Shamu coaster was for little kids, I still was a little frightened and was horribly nauseous when I got off. Max was a good sport about it (other than laughing about how the two year old behind us was braver than I was), and even rode the carousel with me afterwords.

As you can see, it was a very exciting day at Sea World. We even left with some stuffed Shamus (Well, Des and I did. Mine's named Shamumu. Max got popcorn). Thanks Daddy. :)

And then, Sunday was Easter. 

We dressed fabulously (as usual) and didn't really match at all. But, life was okay because I wore a dress that I got for 50% off from the thrift store- so it was like $2.50 and that made my life complete for some weird, strange, and crazy reason. I'm just silly like that.

Instagram picture via my mom. :)

So yeah. That was March. Full of ups and downs, but we survived. Here's to April being a better blogging month.

"We're Gonna Make It" Monday Playlist

Just a little music to get you up and going on this beautiful Monday morning! Yes, the weekend is over and it's back to "life" life, but that's okay. We're gonna make it after all. :)

1. Face Up- Lights 

Wake up darling! It's Monday! Maybe your head wants to lie on that pillow just a little longer, maybe there's not a reason to get up and going...but it's time to face up, wake up, and conquer the world.

2. Jar of Hearts- Boyce Avenue 

I just like this one. :)

3. Stronger- Kelly Clarkson 

What doesn't kill you makes you..stronger. Fight another day.

4. Wavin’ Flag- K’naan 

This one's just a fun one to dance around to. :)

5. Keep Your Eyes Open- NeedtoBreathe 

My therapist showed me this one. :) It's a good reminder to keep your eyes open to the possibilities, even when it seems like it's all going downhill.

6. Girl Power- Cheetah Girls 

What "Make it Monday" playlist would be complete without some Cheetah Girls :)

7. Girl on Fire- Alicia Keys 

If you need some more inspiration to go with that...you can watch Sophia Grace and Rosie sing it. Seriously. Just put on a princess dress and rock it. :)

8. Live Like a Warrior- Matisyahu 

When life gets you down, get back up and fight like a warrior! Mondays won't get us down.

9. Breathe In, Breathe Out- Mat Kearney

Deep breaths. Deep breaths.