Mustard Inspired

Oh mustard how I love thee...       

Top - Express 

Pants - Forever 21 

Boots - Payless 

Hand Warmers - The Velvetleaf Boutique

I got dressed up for a day of shopping yesterday. We went to Sam's club to restock on paper products. Yippee! And then we headed to Target for diapers and a bit of clothes shopping. God blessed me with some new workout tops on the clearance rack. They're bright and fun and make me want to exercise which is just what I need at the moment.

This outfit was possibly a bit over-the-top for a simple Sam's and Target run; but I always seem to enjoy the trip more when I've put myself together. I realize now I completely forgot to accessorize (aside from the hand warmers) before stepping out the door. I find myself wearing very little jewelry lately. I used to wear necklaces quite often. Then I switched over to scarves. And I almost always wear earrings. Except on those days that I don't of course. 

How 'bout you? What is your favorite accessory to wear?

p.s. Linking up with D.C In Style.

A Future Little Shop

Here's a little peek at what I've been working on lately...  

As many of you know, I've been longing to open my own little etsy shop. Slowly but surely I've been designing handmade items and setting them aside as merchandise. These darling fingerless gloves might just be my favorite creation thus far.  

All the different colors make me smile...  

I made the purple pair first as a thank-you gift for a friend, Hopefully she'll love 'em as much as I do... 

The green pair are marked as merchandise and will be going in my shop when it opens. I cannot tell you how excited I am for that day! 

If all goes according to plan, I'm hoping to have enough items ready for sale by the end of the month.

I hope you'll stay tuned for opening day...

Happy Friday everyone,

Stripes and Healthy Goals

Here are just a few things I've been loving lately... Stripes. Now don't get me wrong, I don't love all things striped. I'm still quite particular about the colors involved and the widths and the overall fit of the striped garment. However, if used correctly, stripes can be incredibly flattering. 

Stripes on feathered earrings? Yes please...this particular pair was a Christmas gift from my sister. They effortlessly add a playful pop to any date night outfit.Lastly, I'm loving my new workout shoes. The bottoms are wonderfully flexible, awesome for running, walking, and all around exercising. This reminds me...I need to give an update on my weekly health goals I've been implementing since January first...

You may remember: 

Week 1 - Drink more water. 

Week 2 - Do Pilates. 

Week 3 - I unfortunately didn't have a new healthy focus this week...

Week 4 - Exercise six days. I never blogged about this goal, but I did achieve it last week and I'm pressing on... 

Wednesday I'll write more about my healthy habit goal for week five. I can hardly believe February is nearly here.

I hope you've had a lovely January.

Lots of love,

A Polished Look

Is anyone else in love with polished nails but not always up for doing a self manicure? I find myself committing the crime of layering it up, adding a fresh coat without removing the chipped one I'm wearing... Today was one of those days...  

If you look from a distance, you can't tell that anything is amiss...  

But if you get real close, you'll see ridges under the surface (ridges I'm hiding)... This is such a girly analogy for our lives and how at times we hide our troubles and shortcomings... The truth is the Lord knows our "ridges." He sees past our polished (or unpolished) outward appearance to our pain, hurts, suffering, and all the other messes we strive to cover up. And He loves us still. I've found one of the most freeing things is to talk to Him about all of it. He already knows of course, but it allows me to feel peace and experience His love. 

So this is me today, encouraging us all to talk to Jesus...

With lots of love,

Courtney

A New Unexpected Outfit

This was a little treat of an outfit. Something i found when I wasn't particularly looking. In most cases, I would never recommend buying something you didn't realize you needed until you saw it. But, since the pants and top fit so spectacularly and the price was excellent, I could hardly resist. Dress - Plato's Closet 

Black Skinny Jeans & Purse - T.J. Max 

Earrings & Shoes - Target 

p.s. I love the red seat cushion of the patio furniture. Such a great pop of color especially in that last photo. Makes me think I should accent the outfit with some red shoes next time...

Linking up with I Feel Pretty.

What I'm Wearing Wednesday

I allowed myself to sleep late this morning in order to de-stress and recover from weeks of pushing myself to the limit. When I did get up I spent the noon hours cleaning and putting my house in order. By two o'clock I realized I was still in my pajamas. This was about the time I read this post on The Pleated Poppy and decided I'd like to put forth the effort of getting dressed and ready for an evening with my man.

What I'm Wearing

Earrings: Target (I think)

Scarf: H & M

Dress: Target

Sweater: Target

Tights: Express

Boots: Shi by Journeys

Hope you can sneak on over to What I Wore Wednesday and check out all the inspiring outfits. Happy middle-of-the-week day! I'm off to practice piano...

Shoes

Last week I went shopping for recital shoes. I had originally planned on getting ballet flats and found these slippers at the Gap on sale. When I wear them I feel like dancing everywhere I go, though I promise I'll leave that wonderful art form to the professionals. 

 

As much as I love them, I ended up finding some elegant heels to wear with my dress. After my recital I will take pictures of the dress and heels, but until then the outfit must remain a secret.

Feminine and Flirty

Tonight I asked my dear husband to take me out for a photo shoot. The first place we stopped had way too many people walking about which made me nervous and uncomfortable and very inhibited. Ridiculous of me but true. The second location was actually the backdrop to a cemetery and was wonderfully quiet and peaceful. Much more conducive to my relaxation and modeling creativity. Here is the result of our excursion. 

 

 This outfit was inspired by the completion of the sheer top you see in the photographs. It's one of my own recently finished designs. The truth is that it turned out quite differently than my original sketch, and sewing it presented new challenges due to the quickly fraying fabric. Looking at the photos I'm still not sure I'm happy with how it lays exactly, but when I put it on I feel romantic and sweetly feminine. What do you think?

 

I love tights with heels. Beautiful for the fall.

 

The glasses actually belong to James. I like to borrow them every now and then to make an "artsy statement." Someday I'd love to have my own prescription put into lenses like these. 

 

Below is a picture from the first location we stopped at. The sunshine was beautiful but unfortunately too many other people thought so too. 

I wonder, do any of you struggle with modeling in public locations? Maybe it's just me but I feel incredibly awkward taking pictures of my outfit when strangers are watching. I like to think of it as an exercise in confidence building. 

Hope you've all had a wonderful week! Love and God bless. xoxo,

From Head to Toe

In case you hadn't guessed it, this is an outfit post. I haven't done one in awhile and was feeling inspired to photograph what I wore on this gorgeous day. James took me for a long walk to a coffee shop where I sat and did homework for an hour or two. Here's what I wore:

 

 

Outfit Details...

Hat: Express

Earrings: Along for the Ride

Scarf: gift from a friend from Italy

Purse: T.J. Max

Sweater: Target

Dress: Express

Leggings: gift from my mother

Shoes: Eco-tique

Yes, I am wearing black on black on black with a brown accessory. Yikes! Or maybe not. I like to think the fashion rules that told us never to mix brown and black are a thing of the past. Have you broken any "fashion rules" lately?

Dreams Come to Life

I'm so excited about this post because I get to share with you some photos of my very first design I plan to sell in my etsy shop this Fall. Yes, it is nearing that time where I get to put my dream into action and open my very own little shop.

Mustard Cowl

I've been loving the cozy texture of this piece ever since I finished it and can't wait to wear one of my own this winter in place of a scarf.

The best part is there is no winding, twisting, or tying involved. Just pull it over your head and press it flat. Ta-da!

This particular creation is in the beautiful fall color I like to call mustard. I hope to offer a plethora of color choices so I would love your recommendations! What color would you love to wear?

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and are ready for a superb week. Stay tuned for my shop's grand opening coming soon!!!

Enter the Giveaway

My creative space today is filled with a giveaway! Remember these?

It's time to enter the giveaway at Chantilly Songs to win these adorable bangle bracelets.

I recently created these one-of-a-kind hand-crocheted pink bangle bracelets tied with creamy ribbon. These bangles slide easily on and off the hand and have a wonderfully soft texture. They add whimsy to any outfit and provide that touch of cozy comfort that every girl loves against her delicate wrist. You could be the winner and get to wear them any day you please! Visit Chantilly's blog and find out how to enter.

This is so exciting! Thanks for participating and making it fun! And if you want to feel inspired you can visit more creative spaces here.

New Top Design

Here is the promised post about the top design I recently finished. Don't you just love the backdrop for my photo shoot. Nothing better than pictures in the kitchen at night with poor lighting and tacky towels hanging on the oven bar. Makes me feel right at home. In high heels of course.

One of these days I will take my photo shoots outside amidst beautiful scenery and perfect lighting. For now this will have to do.

It's amazing the things you learn from making something like this. I always feel the final product is never quite what I set out to create, but in this case I'm content with the outcome. If I decided to sell duplicates of this design, would anyone be interested?

I appreciate your feedback. Criticism too as long as it's constructive I'm all ears.

Creative Space

My creative space today is filled with snippets of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in C and thoughts of fashion design.

I'm preparing for a piano recital just around the corner and the Toccata is the second piece on my program. I can now play the entire piece start to finish from memory but not without pause and not as quickly as I'd like. Needless to say, I have my work cut out for me these next two months. So today I am working on snippets...

My practicing is intermingled with thoughts of sewing. I bought some new fabric last weekend. I love designing clothes and ideas are never far from my mind. Can't wait to see what evolves from the two pieces sitting next to me.

Thanks for stopping by. I'm posting frequently so come again soon!

In the meantime you can read about other creative spaces by clicking here.