Simple Sunday & Weekend Recap

Can't believe another weekend has flown by! I hope you all had a great one.

One of the highlights of my weekend was being able to judge my 1st pageant. My little sis was asked to help out at the Elkton (MD) Fall Fest this Saturday. The director of the event also asked if I was interested in judging. Of course I accepted with great pleasure! I had such a wonderful time and the contestants all did so well. I truly feel the girls who won deserved it. Both winners were poised and were genuinely nice girls.

*The outfit I wore Saturday*

I also attended church today and enjoyed family dinner afterwards. For the most part, I was relaxed while dressing this weekend. With the weather changing, I am still in the midst of changing my wardrobe from summer to fall. This afternoon, I threw on some comfy pants and a cute top, both from Target. Most, if not all of my jewelry is thrifted. 

*I can see a little bit of my work out paying off in these pics...YAY!!!*

All in all, the weekend was pretty good. As I type I'm watching the Ravens game, hoping they come back and win this game against the Patriots. My boo is next to me yelling at the screen and telling me what they're doing wrong. As if I don't know, LOL! 

Have a good night and I wish you a productive and blessed Monday. TTYS! 

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Today, I'm linking up with:

 

So Much to Celebrate

Hey there!! Happy Wednesday :-)

Recently, I saw that I'd reached 50,000 page views on my blog. WHOOP WHOP!!! I am so excited and greatful to all of my followers, new and old, as well as those who browse my page every now and then. It's such a sense of personal fulfillment when I see my peers really appreciate and enjoy my posts; it makes being a blogger worth while! I am becoming a better blogger as time goes on, and I thank you all for hanging in there and taking this journey with me. 

If you follow me on Facebook, you may remember me mentioning a giveaway of some sorts once I reached 50,000 views. Well, I am a woman of my word so here goes!...

As you may know, I am participating in the Dewdrop Swap & Shop event next Saturday as a plus size vendor (get tix, HERE). So in keeping with the swap theme, my giveaway consists of some of my favorite jewelry pieces from my closet. I also added my mothers Michael Kors handbag. She takes very good care of anything she purchases so the bag is as good as new! Now until 21st, you can enter below to win the following items:

Here are the rules for the giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck and please remember to leave your name AND email address below. Be blessed!

Thrifty Monday

Welcome to a new week friends!!!

I hope you've all had a GREAT weekend. Mine was pretty good. I spent the majority of it with my family, then spend a few hours with my babe thrifting on Saturday. We stopped by to see a few friends, grabbed a bite and were in the house relaxing by 9:30, LOL! Sunday, we went to church and as usual, the message was uplifting and relateable. 

I decided to wear two of my favorite thrifted pieces. My maroon, Coldwater Creek dress ($2.50) was purchased on a thrifting trip in Laurel, MD one weekend. I LOVE the slits in the dress, as well as the fit. It hugs my body just right! The leopard jacket (which is very lightweight) is form 2nd Avenue in Columbia. As you already know, I am a sucker for anything animal print ;-) I added my thrifted necklace and glasses (99 cents) to complete the look. 

My next look is from last weekend. My fiance' and I were asked by our good friends to host their wedding reception. With pleasure, we accepted and I immediately was on a hunt for a lavender/purple dress, per her request. I could not find anything lavender but I remembered I had a purple dress hanging in my closet. I purchased this dress form 2nd Avenue months ago for $3.50 and have been wanting to wear it for quite sometime now. The shoes were $14.99 from Marshalls and the earrings are my moms. Perfect look, huh?

Dress: Thrifted

Shoes: Marshalls

Earrings: Borrowed (Mommy)

Clutch: F21

As always, thanks for reading and I will speak with you soon. My next post is all about my 50,000 view giveaway so STAY TUNED!!! Be blessed! 

PS Don't forget to get your tickets for the upcoming Swap & Shop Event. Plus size clothing  (14-24) will be on sale at the event...hope to see YOU there!!!

(click photo for tickets)

Be Still

Happy Thursday all! 

Today's post features non other than, ME! LOL...it's been a while since I've done an outfit post so I am super excited to post this one. I wore this outfit to my friends Bridal Shower (see story HERE) and won best dressed :-) The theme was Sex and the City and I decided to dress 'like' Miranda. I feel that my dress is somewhat Miranda-ish. During the last season of the show, she really came into her own as far as style and she wore a lot of color, patterns, dresses and heels. So this is why I decided to go with this dress. What do you think? Miranda enough for you?? 

           

Before I go, I just want to share something. I attended Tuesday Night prayer this week and I feel compelled to share a bit of what touched me that night. As I sat there in the huge auditorium, there were people around me of all different races and backgrounds yet there was something we all had in common. At one point or another, we felt tired, worn out and stressed. Different people shared their prayer requests and prayer testimonies with the group and while listening, I began to realize that people in this world are really burnt out. Times are tough and stress levels are ridiculously high. As a result, people are getting divorced, suffering from depression, stress or worse. The minister had us sit in meditation/prayer towards the end of the service and all that you heard was the sound of the organ. I sat there...still. Quiet; making my prayer request known to God and tearing up while praying for others. I was able to really take the time and talk to God. And as the tears flowed, I knew He was listening. I was definitely in His presence. The whole day had gone by and that was the first time I'd taken to really sit and talk and focus on Him. It was powerful and it was something that I realized I needed to do more of.

Sometimes taking time out to just sit and focus on Him can calm us. We live in a world with constant movement and we all need to slow down. It doesn't matter if you take time to pray, sit in silence with the TV off, put your laptop and phone away for 30 mins...whatever it is, being still is so necessary.  Take time out of each day for yourself. Even if its 15 minutes, do it! Don't let this world drive you crazy and don't let this world get the best of you.

Be still, and know that I am God... Psalm 46:10

The Complete Look

Good afternoon friends!! Before I get into this post, I just want to say thank you ALL so much for your kind words on my most recent post. I really appreciate the support and love; it truly touched my heart. 

Today's post is short and to the point. I just wanted to share the rest of my leopard & black look with you. I purchased the dress at Target a few weeks ago and I've worn it 3 different ways. I thought about doing another dress challenge (last one HERE), and I even wanted to include some of my readers/fellow bloggers. But life got crazy busy so, I said hey. I'll just share how I styled this dress sporadically throughout my blog. 

I hope you enjoy the look, and be sure to check back tomorrow for Facebook Friday. I'm sure you'll love it! Until then, be blessed & take care.

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Dress: Target

Tee: Target

Sandals (that broke the other day):Target

Clutch: Marshalls 

Jewelry: ALL Thrifted

Seeing Clearly

Hello friends, and welcome to yet another Monday. I'm not even going go on and on, talking about how quick the weekend went by because I am sure you ALL agree ;-) Regardless, I am thankful to see another week and I'm ready to start off on a great note.

Yesterday, my fiance' and I went to church and when I say the message was right on time I mean it. The topic was, "Do You Know Him (God) Like That?". The minister preached from Philippians 3:1-14 and although he focused on vs. 10, he broke down every verse which was AWESOME! He explained that materials things, degrees/education, money, family background, etc. mean NOTHING if you don't have God. After all, how do you think you got all of those 'things' and accomplished so much??? He also went onto say that in order to GAIN the great things God has in store for us, we must NOT be afraid to LOSE somethings/some people in our lives. It's all apart of God's plan so we are to trust HIM.

I really felt connected to the message and I left the church feeling like somethings that I've been wondering about were all made clear. I get it now, and I am not afraid to continue walking into my GREAT future. Somethings, habits, and people may be left behind but I truly believe what God says he will do will be done.

I didn't realize this post was going to be a testimony when I stared writing it but hey, that's how it goes sometimes. This message was on my heart and I felt compelled to share. I hope you all enjoyed and maybe it helped someone or made you at least think about how certain things in your life. Either way, be blessed and enjoy the pics below :-)

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Dress: Gifted from my Mom

Tank: (under the dress) Target

Earrings: (borrowed) Mom's

Bracelet: (borrowed) Mom's

Curves Rock Weekend, Runway Show Recap Coming Up Next.....

Insta-Pics (The Week & Weekend)

The Princess Diaries ;-)

1. Taylor's Spa/Sleepover B-day party

2. Another Princess Appearance at the Miss MD Pageant 

(Taylor was chosen by Miss Baltimore, her mentor/pageant coach, to be one of her Princesses)

1. Taylor receiving her Princess Crown

(with Miss MD Outstanding Teen, Miss Historic MD, Miss Baltimore, Miss Cumberland & Miss MD)

2. Miss Baltimore & Her Princesses

3. Silly Faces ;-)

4. Taylor & Mommy, who is rocking her Love, Cortnie clutch :-)

1. Taylor at The Miss MD Pageant

(she is one of  Miss Baltimore's Princesses)

2. Taylor & Harlynn

(my good friends daughter; they came with us on Friday Night)

1. Me with my "Team Viki" Pin (Miss Baltimore)

2. Taylor and her other friends/Princesses 

3. Taylor and a Princess friend 

The Outfits

1. Worn last Sunday (Father's Day) to the Miss MD opening Festivities

2. Outfit worn to work/class (thrifted top, 2nd Avenue)

3. Worn to the Miss MD Pageant Preliminaries on Weds. night

Lounging around the house Sunday

(thrifted top, 2nd Avenue)

Worn Monday...*side note: I'm taking this outfit with me to FL for sure!!*