Do you ever catch yourself thinking, "oh I'm saving that for (fill in the blank)?"

I do this with clothes, food and relationships. Somewhere along the way I started to believe that I wasn't deserving of good things and that some day I will eat that food, wear that dress or put myself out there again. 

I hoard my "good" food and nourish myself with nothing of substance, because in my head, I don't believe that I am deserving of good things. 

I recently bought some shrimp and salmon from Sams Club and I was complaining in my head that I didn't have food, even though I had an overflowing amount of food in my freezer, available to me right now. For some reason I categorized that food as something I'd eat in the future. 

Why do we do that? It's like we've been conditioned to save that dress, save that food for some special event THAT. IS NEVER. GOING. TO. COME. 

I want to frolic in the clothes I buy. I want to eat food without feeling guilty that I'm indulging in something that was meant for a special dinner. 

Entitlement and realizing that you are deserving of good things are very different. I don't believe we are entitled to anything. But when you have access to the water and you don't drink it, that's just scarcity. 

This mindset of scarcity needs to go. It's a mindset that can't live in the same breath as my beliefs about God. 

I think we also do this with our relationship to God. We complain about anxiety, anger or unforgivingness and the author of life is waiting for you to come to Him. He is waiting for you to sit down and open the Bible and have a convo. We have full access to the water yet we're not drinking it. 

Tonight I made shrimp and rice and I ate it and thanked God for the chains he breaks and the way He provides. It's in the small moments of making dinner that He reminds us that we are enough and that we are deserving of good things. 

By now I'm sure you know that I love a pink moment, so these pants were a must have for my wardrobe. I will be honest though, I was pretty hesitant when I first bought them, but now I'm obsessed and wear them far too often. My coat is very light weight and I can wear it with pretty much everything since it's basically a neutral and I believe I bought it at Nordstrom Rack a few seasons ago. My top is a button up linen thrift find. I love finding basics at thrift stores, especially ones that are vintage. I gravitate towards a block heel so these black mules were definitely a wardrobe need and I hunted them down at Nordstrom Rack last year. This black Brixton cap I've had a few years now and it's still one of my favorites to rock. My LB pin is from the Garden, my local church I attend in Long Beach.

Similar Madewell jeans: Here
Brixton Cap: Here

I haven't been thrifting yet this year, so there's nothing yet to report about my challenge. That also means I haven't bought any clothes this month, which is a great reminder that I have all that I need.

Okay friends, I hope that you are inspired in some capacity.

Carry on with your lovely lives and and until next time.

xoxo,

Jill

Shesh, time does not slow down even in the new year. 

I got the flu (or something like it) right after Christmas and during New Years and lost my voice. Then work and life amped back up. I'm sure you all understand. I'm trying to be better about blocking out time to get personal things (blogging, creative ventures, etc.) done during the week since I'm gone for about 12 hours everyday for work and have about 2 hours before I need to be in bed to do it all over again the next day, but so far my attempts have been feeble. But I'm not going to quit my day dream despite my lack of free time.

I guess this is adulting? 

I just finished John Mark Comer's new book, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry and I'm feeling inspired to cut things out of my life that bring death to my soul. One of them being spending too much time on my phone. 

At the end of the book he gives the reader 20 practical ways to live more simply and cut out hurry. 

One of the practices was to put your phone to "bed" at night (far away) and use an alarm clock for the morning so you don't spend time scrolling at night or in the morning and you can give your eye's a rest from the overload of blue light we experience.

The nights that I have done this since finishing the book last week have been those with the best sleep and the easiest wake-up routine. I usually snooze my alarm 5-10 times in the morning (sorry roomie). But with only one alarm set (on my google home) and my phone far away charging in the living room, I was forced to get up and start getting ready. Nothing to pick up and scroll, nothing to distract myself with while in bed avoiding getting ready. I just picked up my phone on the way out the door and didn't spend ANY time distracted or scrolling in the morning or before bed. 

I definitely recommend this practice if you are like me and catch yourself wasting time on your phone at night or in the morning.

I also recommend this book if you're looking for a new read. John Mark's writing feels like an easy conversation and I've heard him speak enough to understand his lighthearted and sometimes sarcastic tone. I've read all of his books and this one is a great reminder of the importance of living a slow and meaningful life, amid our busy modern society. 

​Well onto this outfit below ;)

My cute siblings helped me shoot this outfit this past summer. We even got Morgan to strut her stuff in front of the camera alittle. I love her confidence and sass.

My yellow skirt is a vintage find from the rose bowl flea market. Thankfully the vendor had a booth to try on clothes and I was able to make sure it fit before pulling the trigger. I got pretty dang lucky because it fits like a glove. Which can be good or bad since vintage clothes have no stretch. Let's just hope I don't gain any weight and can't wear it anymore because it's a definitely a favorite in my closet right now.

The denim jacket is a lovely thrift find and my graphic tee is from Zara.

Zara has an amazing graphic tee selection and they are always rotating out new designs. I was having a hard time finding good graphic tees for a while, but once I found Zara's selection, I haven't looked back. But now that I'm only buying secondhand for the next year, I'll keep you updated on some tips for finding them secondhand.

About 20-30% of my closet is secondhand and I'm hoping to grow that percentage in 2020.

This necklace pairing has been a favorite of mine for a while. The heart necklace is from Madewell and the dreamer necklace is from Gorjana. The two tone metal earrings are from Madewell.

Pro-tip, get the earrings from Nordstrom Rack instead of paying full price at Madewell. That's where I bought these ones from.

My yellow purse is from T.J. Maxx and my sneakers are the classic checkerboard slip-on vans that have come back around the fashion loop. I love how versatile they are and how seamless they pair with a skirt just as well as jeans. My hat is the one I always wear (eye roll) from a consignment years ago in New Hampshire. Don't worry, I have a new hat to showcase very soon.

Thanks for stopping by. Let me know if there's anything else you want me to share on here.

xoxo,

Jill

I love a good challenge. I would even say that I crave a good challenge. And I need accountability. With that said, that is why I'm telling you all about this year's challenge I am taking on.  Every new year I try to take time to reset my goals and take on new ones. This year I decided to take a bigger stand against the fast fashion world.

I'm going to spend all of 2020 only buying second hand. Whether that's poshmark, thred-up, consignment, vintage, flea market, thrift stores or friend's closet clean out, I'm going to only consume clothing second hand. 

I've talked about doing this on and off for the past year and couldn't really find a time to pause and make this a realistic goal. So why not start it in the new year?

I've always enjoyed curating outfits and this will give me the opportunity to curate them for an entire year using just the creativity of my mind. No mannequin to copy an outfit off of. No instagram ad pulling me in to buy another cheap t shirt. Just me and the second hand clothes I come by. 

Buying things second hand is important to our environment and keeping things in the ecosystem instead of the landfill. It's also important to buy things with intention, knowing that you will get good use out of the pieces in your closet. 

I  want to take you on this journey with me. I'm going to document my finds. I've also been listening to a podcast about second hand fashion called, "It Never Gets Old." I definitely recommend listening to it if you're ever interested in the world of second hand. 

There are a few exceptions I am willing to make to my own rule. I have two wedding that I'm in this year. The first wedding I already ordered the bridesmaids dress for, but the second is in November and I don't plan on buying this second hand. Unless I get super lucky and the right dress (color, size and style) is online somewhere second hand. I've already planned on breaking my rule for this dress, but I'll still make an effort to look for it second hand. Also, I will not be buying bra's or underwear second hand. Those items I do not feel comfortable buying second hand, as I'm sure most of you wouldn't want to do that either. 

I still have some more fashion related blog posts lined up that don't have to do with thrifting, but I will still post them and talk about the outfits regardless of my new challenge. 

Speaking of all this second had fashion, everything in this outfit below, besides my vans, are second hand. My skirt, linen t-shirt and blazer were all only $14.50 combined and I made the headband out of a set I thrifted. The purse is from my aunt who found it in a vintage shop in Florida. 

I hope this post inspires you to check out your local thrift or go online to poshmark or thred-up and consider buying second hand. It's vital for our planet and can be a whole lot of fun. 

Thanks for checking out my blog!

xoxo, 

​Jill 
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