Let's Bring Cloaks Back

Whenever I step out of the house while draped in my wool cloak, I can never anticipate the reactions that people will have when they see me.  There was the man who yelled out "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" as I walked down the sidewalk one fall morning. There was the elderly man who stopped me in a parking lot because he wanted to know where I bought it, since, as he said, "I was looking for something like that for my wife." And then there was one delightful woman, a worker at the zoo, who asked me if I'd heard of a nearby Viking Festival (she then proceeded to put down her broom and give me an impromptu tutorial of how to make a cloak by hand and waterproof it with beeswax).

Recently, I was meandering through a retail store and a brightly-colored box caught my eye. I blankly stared at "The Comfy" before confusion flooded my mind. Sure, it looks cozy, I thought, but why-WHY-would someone wear a tacky-looking, hooded "blanket sweatshirt" instead of an elegant cloak?

Granted, there are times when I love to curl up on the couch while wrapped in a baggy sweatshirt. However, most times when the weather is chilly, I don a cloak. And I wonder: Why aren't cloaks commonly worn anymore? They emerge at medieval festivals and costume parties, and occasionally in ladies' fashion, but their sight in daily life is rare indeed. This is a tragedy, for cloaks are simply amazing.

Should I Wear Jeans so that People Know I'm Catholic?

You know, when you first came in here, I thought you were Pentecostal Holiness.

His words jolted me awake even more than the scent of the freshly brewed coffee that stood on the counter nearby. Naturally, I asked him why (Naïve cradle Catholic that I am, I'm unfamiliar with many of the perspectives that Protestants have). He remarked that when I first began frequenting the coffee shop, I had long hair. Together, with the long, flowy skirts that I often wear, I apparently projected the image of someone who is Pentecostal Holiness. Amused, I put this short exchange on social media, and within minutes, several of my friends commented that they, in their skirts and dresses, had also been confused for members of non-Catholic religious groups. Should I wear jeans so that people know I'm Catholic? I jokingly mused.

Why Style Matters to Stay-at-Home Moms, Part 2: How to Reinvigorate Your Wardrobe

(Read Part 1 here)

I didn't want to feel frazzled, frumpy, or overwhelmed any longer. I didn't like smelling and feeling like breastmilk in the early postpartum days. I wanted to regain a sense of fun and outward beauty. 

I realized that I couldn't control all of the various trials that come with newborn life-but I could control how I clothed myself. And clothes affect how we feel, how we act, and how others perceive us. So, I decided to intentionally examine my wardrobe. While there are some very thorough regimes out there to give your wardrobe a makeover, I didn't have the time or the energy to spend several hours a week making mood boards and meticulously analyzing each item in my closet. After all, my main focus was on keeping myself and my newborn baby alive and well! Intentionally working with our wardrobes doesn't have to be complicated, and we shouldn't be intimidated by it. Here's the simple way I went about this process in those early months of newborn life:  

Why Style Matters to Stay-At-Home Moms

What does a stay-at-home mom look like?

Perhaps she's wearing yoga pants and a tank top with her hair thrown up in a messy bun. Or, maybe she's wearing a t-shirt and jeans with her hair pulled back in a ponytail. Or maybe she's wearing something else-but what does it matter? Stay-at-home moms don't have to follow an office dress code for a 9-5 job. Plus, if they have small children, they know that spit-up or food will eventually get on their clothes anyway. So, why shouldn't these ladies just throw on whatever they see first in the closet as they hastily prepare for the day? 

We shouldn't do this because our clothes affect us. What we wear influences how we carry ourselves, how we look at ourselves, and how we feel. I remember how my husband came home from work one day, a few weeks after I gave birth to my son, and I burst into tears. "I feel like milk!" I cried. As a newly breastfeeding mom, my supply had not regulated, and as I spent copious amounts of time on the couch, I mostly wore leggings or shorts with nursing tanks. I smelled like milk, I felt exhausted, and I looked frazzled. 

That Time I Wore a $4 Bed Sheet to a Regency Ball

A few weeks ago, we were leaving a friend's house and I mentioned how full our weekend of April 21-23 was looking. Then, she remarked, Oh, well, I was going to invite you to a Jane Austen Regency Ball that weekend.

Um, what??? YES PLEASE! 

Actually, it was quite providential that while Saturday and Sunday were filled with prior commitments, Friday night-the evening of the dance-was open. It was meant to be. But of course, there was just one glaring question at hand: What was I going to wear? My only formal dress though it is not floor-length, is lovely--but it's not "breastfeeding friendly." And since my little guy still nurses quite a big, and he would be accompanying us that evening, I knew that I needed a dress with easy nursing-access. Of course, I could wear a non-formal dress that was Regency-era-ish,but I didn't have one of those, either.

So, a few days before the event, I hunted through 3 different thrift stores. Nothing like procrastination, right?? No formal dresses that I found met my criteria. I couldn't find any dresses that looked like they could pass as "Regency-era-ish," either. On Wednesday evening, in a final attempt to find SOMETHING to wear, we took a trip to a thrift store that I had already visited. 

Books, Ducks, & How I Don't Buy Organic Food

When I was a child, I often heard the adage, "Don't judge a book by it's cover." These words pointed to the fact that we shouldn't necessarily judge something (or someone) hastily. 

Later on in life, I heard another saying: "If it quacks like a duck, and waddles like a duck, then it's a duck." These words pointed to the fact that if something or someone looked or acted in certain ways, then we could pin down who or what it was. 

I've been trying to see if these two sayings can both ring true at the same time. It appears to me-just in the way that I process words-that the first saying basically states: "Just because something looks like a certain thing does not mean that it is that thing." But, it also appears to me that the second saying basically states: "If something looks or acts like a certain thing, then it is that thing." 

Am I misunderstanding what these proverbs are trying to say? Or, is the human person such a complex being that we can't sum up the whole experience of encountering another person in a few flimsy words? 

Thrifting Fun and God's Providence!

GUYS.
Remember how God answered my very specific prayer about boots when I was making my Rey costume for the Star Wars movie? Well, He did it again! Only, not for boots. Let me explain.

Lately, I've been purging my closet and organizing the clothes that I want to keep and those that I should give away. After I organized my nursing-friendly clothes for this season, I realized that I would really benefit from another dress or two to wear to Mass. So, I headed out to the thrift store, and made a very specific prayer to God.

When Life Gets Hard, Wear a Cloak (7 Tips on How to Cope During a Rough Week)

This week has been pretty rough. Some of the tough stuff was due to my own unfortunate carelessness, and some of it was out of my control. I know that plenty of people are going through much worse trials than my own little concerns. Regardless, I think it's good to acknowledge that we all go through tough times, and that it is important to make it through those! The other day, Christy wrote that she wasn't sure how Lent was going, because she didn't feel extra-burdened. I knew where she was coming from, because I had been thinking something similar. Later on in the day, as I thought about how I was going through some rough patches, I realized how appropriate and perfect God's timing is. This is Lent, and by letting a bunch of non-enjoyable things coincide, God is handing me a great opportunity to grow in humility, trust, and good ol' Franciscan joy! As I've scrambled to pull myself together this week, a few different techniques have helped me focus on God's blessings. So, I'm linking up with Kelly for some 7 Quick Takes to talk about it! 

DIY Rey Costume On a Budget (Spoiler-Free)

I feel so pregnant in this picture :)
Not only was the movie awesome,
but it was Baby's first time going
to the movies! 

Doesn't she look cool? Not pictured
are the brown boots that also she wears.
 (image from hitfix.com)

Happy Friday, everyone!!! As many of you are probably aware, Star Wars: The Force Awakens premiered in the U.S.A. last night! My husband was super awesome and snagged us tickets to the 7 p.m. showing in IMAX (first showing in our area!), so yesterday, I bounced around the entire day in excitement and anticipation. Months ago, I knew that I wanted to dress in costume. After all, I had never really dressed in costume for a movie premiere before, and I figured that Star Wars would be a good place to start! I realized, though, that I had few options for a costume. If you haven't noticed, the female lead characters in Star Wars are few and far between, and some of the costumes are ridiculously complicated. I knew that I wanted a costume that would be like many of my normal clothes (so I could wear it around town whenever I felt like it), and that I didn't want to spend money. Initially, I planned to dress in Padme's Tatooine peasant outfit from Episode I, because it looked doable. And then I saw Rey in a Star Wars trailer. A scavenger on a desert planet, she not only looked like a very interesting character, but her outfit was awesome. I knew that I had to dress like her for the premiere. 

The Closet Challenge & Why I Feel Like a TARDIS

Happy Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception and beginning of the Year of Mercy! I honestly can't handle the epicness. Today, I'm linking up with the lovely ladies of Tuesday Talk to discuss something that has been on the backburner of this blog. Some of you might remember how myself-along with a few friends-spent the whole month of October on only 7 items of clothing (excluding underwear, pajamas, and workout clothes). I meant to do a end-of-month post about it, and I had planned to take loads of pictures...but, well, I only took a few photos and I never wrote a post. So today, I'm going to briefly discuss my thoughts on The Closet Challenge-and then I'm going to tie this into how I became like a TARDIS. Don't worry, non-Doctor Who people-I won't make this a geek-heavy post. ;)  

Michaelmas, Frankenstein, and the Closet Challenge!

Happy feast of St. Therese!!! I'll be digging into some chocolate eclairs later, because St. Therese liked 'em, so it's a great way to celebrate! (another way I'm celebrating is by reading her poetry) Today I'm linking up with Blessed is She to talk about wholeness. This story begins a few days prior to Michaelmas.