Modesty vs. Summer

Although it is a difficult subject to talk about and not offend people. I wanted to write a short post about how I manage my outfits and swim suits over the hotter seasons.

First off, no you don't have to wear just a bikini to be cool, or attractive! I've never worn just a bikini anywhere and I'm happy about it!
I'm not comfortable wearing that little, but I'm not ashamed of my body either. I usually wear shorty shorts and a light tee over whatever swim suit I'm sporting. No matter the place. It's just how I am.

If other people tell you that you have to wear just a bikini to fit in, but you're not comfortable with that. It's okay you're not the only one!


Some times there are events where people say the dress code is specific to a certain type of clothing. Like a summer dress or high heels.

There has been controversy lately about a woman getting fired for not wearing heels to work, but that, in my opinion is extremely unfair.

Anyway, if a summer dress is to short for you to be comfortable in you can wear tights or legging. A lot of the time I wear shorty shorts under my skirts if they're on the short side to make sure I don't flash anyone. (It also helps a little with chaffing.)


The point is if you prefer to be modest and Summer is your enemy because of it. It's okay to not wear stuff you're not comfortable in. Wear t-shirts overs bikini's if you want to! Wear tankinis if you want!

Have a fun Summer! Spend it with friends or family or both. Go to the beach or even the mountains. Enjoy the squelching heat! ;)

Looking for inspiration

One thing about me, I am creative. Like extremely creative! I'm not blowing my own horn by that. I only mean I have a creative mind and it's extremely frustrating sometimes.

It's kind of a funny comparison but in games when a character has to do a certain thing or it loses health. Yeah, that's me with creativity. So it's understandably discouraging when I haven't sketched, or taken pictures or whatever in a while.
It's almost like there's a little bar that shows how good or bad I'm feeling. Because I have anxiety, I am an introvert, and other things the bar is always fluctuating. I feel fantastic when it's full and green, but on tough days it's yellow and only half full. If the bad un-creative days go on for a while it's red and very low. Those are the times when I need to do, or make, something. Or I feel sad and un-happy.

Which is why inspiration is so important to me. I would never want stuff I've created, if I didn't truly like what it was, to represent me. If I wrote just to write and it reflected my mood and I wasn't inspired I would hate to post it. It would be a waste. If I took bad photos that I didn't really care about or love. I don't really want to remember they exist much less use them.

I go to all different places for encouragement. My mom is a key one, but also peers who have the same interests. They inspire me by their own creations. Reading my Bible helps, and talking to my best friend. There are many ways. Depending on what's going on.

As bad as I am at it. I try to learn from the bad, get over it, and forget it. And get myself back to the green.

Loving Jazz in modern day

I've thought about what it would be like if someone from the past came to modern day times. I know random! But hear me out.
What would they think of us? What would they think of the differences in our music, our culture?

It's just something I've thought about before. It got me thinking about music, and jazz specifically. I've seen so many old movies and know so much about jazz and big band music. That I feel like a few years ago. (When I was really obsessed with jazz.) I could understand what they would think about music now.

Since then I have begun to love modern music too, there's so much, and it's so different. The many types are so diverse now! I couldn't not love it!

I still love the oldies and can appreciate a good jazz fest. It makes me think, and want to make myself remember the past. How important and special it is. Even if it doesn't really fit in our world now.

It's kinda funny because I had this idea for a post a week or so ago. Then I posted a vintage inspired pic on Instagram. Weird, right?

Facts about being an Older Sibling

As I was writing this post I struggled to find an appropriate title. Stages of having a lot of siblings? Being an older sibling? I didn't expect to have so much material. Once I starting thinking about it I kept coming up with more! I was going to title this 10 things about having younger siblings, or some catchy, numbered title. I finally decided on Facts about being an Older Sibling.

I'm the second oldest and I have four younger brothers. I (Obviously) grew up in a big family, and if anything, I prefer it and I feel sorry for people who didn't. There's so much that happens with this many people day to day.

My younger brother who is closest in age to me, is probably the brother I am closest to. The two of us and our older brother had several years of growing up when it was just the three of us. There's a little back story for you to kinda explain the bizarre facts I've put together!


There are many positive things about who I am and things about me thanks to having younger siblings.

Disney appreciation

A lot of people say they have an inner child, to explain why the still love Disney or typically kid things. I don't have to use that as an excuse. I love Disney and Pixar movies! I grew up with a generation of Disney, but because I had little brothers over a long stretch of time, I saw their generation and even the current generation of Disney. My friends think certain movies are to young for them. Or they would be embarrassed to be seen going to any animated movie. Where as I love it! :D

Strong personality

One thing is for sure, if you grow up with five brothers you're going to learn how to take care of yourself. Whether it's physically, or sarcastically.  Needless to say I can do both. ;) They used to say I was a ninja. I haven't needed to use my "ninja skills" on them in a long, long time. I'm still a very sarcastic person though.
I don't just do whatever people tell me to. I have a mind of my own, opinions, and independence thanks to the way I was raised and my brothers. I will fight you, and if you're my friend I will fight for you.
Whenever anyone would meet my brothers and me, they would say something like, "Oh, I bet you can beat them all up!" (I never really understood that. But I totally could! Lol)

Having someone to talk to, probably late at night, is a great part of the deal too! You never have to go far for a pair of ears, or two, ready to listen to your problems. Even if it's about nothing at all. Or deep relationship topics and moral dilemmas.

Borrowing their stuff, is great. Especially if you're the same gender because then you can borrow clothes too.

Giving them tips or suggestions and advice are a good way older siblings can help a younger sibling. I haven't had to much experience with that. Except for little things. Probably because I only have one sibling who is younger than me who is old enough to need anything like that.

But there are also not so good things that come with having younger siblings unfortunately. Thankfully most of these things are related to being younger, or small children.

Having so many brothers can be extremely annoying! Of course boys of every age are good at being annoying. ;) Having one in each age category piles on the annoyance factor sometimes.

Sibling rivalry 
This one is usually more of problem when siblings are kids, but it can still exist when they're grown. As kids it can be about anything, racing from one end of the yard to the other, or something more serious.

Just in case you were wondering. It is never silent around the house. Usually, as weird as it may sound, the shower is one of the only times you can't hear something or other going on.

Of course that also means you almost always have someone to hangout with. Enough that I don't feel lonely much. It would kinda be hard to!

If you're anything like us when we were little, or if you have kids, than you may have to deal with fighting at least once a day. This isn't as unusual for kids, in fact that's pretty much sibling 101.

Running out of hot water because everyone used it. Is yet another fact about having a big family. Thank goodness we have more than one water heater though and it's not as big of a problem as it used to be! :D

These facts are accurate for some people and not so much for others. All of our siblings or kids will experience these things at some point, and hopefully it'll be more of the good than the bad. After everything else it's about who they are and who they're turning into.
 I personally, currently have siblings who are in many different parts of their lives.
One is a toddler, one is a teenager, another is an adult and works a full time job.
Seeing them from my point of view is incredible and has been a journey and will continue to be. Never lose faith. Never let go. Let them be who they are, but don't be afraid to help them, or guide them if need be.
They're still just kids after all.

I read this article a while back and I realized how accurate a lot of the points they make are to me! Check it out if you want:

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/15-things-you-know-to-be-true-when-your-sibling-is-10-years-younger

No Time

I've started almost every post on every social media and blog for the past several months with, I've been so busy lately, or I'm sorry I haven't been active, or I so overwhelmed with work and projects I haven't been writing lately.

Sometimes I just want to cuddle up in my bed, eat chocolate, watch some Netflix and hide from the world. Lives get hectic, people get busy and important things fall to a back burner or completely disappear.

This last year I decided I'm going to work on building a photography business. It was a big decision that took a lot of soul searching and praying and honestly, crying. That's normal right?

This year I've really tried to make time to watch courses and dedicate time to photography and improving my skills. I would like to dedicate more time to it, but that's impossible at the moment.

Even so, it's important to remember on difficult days and long weeks what your striving for. Your goals, and what you are working towards, and what makes you happy at the end of the day. <3

Peace, Love and all that fun stuff!

Springtime

Along with, what's your favorite color? or what's your middle name? What's your favorite season? was one of the main need to know things about someone when I was a kid. Getting to know someone was practically a questionnaire of things. So with so much time to think about it, and evaluate my options I have finally decided I prefer wintertime to any other part of the year.

Mostly because I love Christmas and snow. (Not that it snows where I live.) But also because there are no pesky bugs or allergies and I can layer my clothes! (Which I love to do!) Even though my winters aren't always the ideal hot cocoa and a good book days. More often than not I prefer them to heat and critters.

Spring comes anyway, however, no matter how hard I try and wish it not to. Every year I am forced to say goodbye to, "the most wonderful time of the year..."

Spring isn't all bad I suppose, there is... flowers? I mean swimming is more of a summer thing, but still possible I guess. Hmm, apparently I don't know of any pros about it being Spring soon. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

5 Vintage Things that Need to Come Back

I saw a post titled the same as this one. It inspired me to write this and share what my version is. I actually know the girl who wrote it, but I disagreed with a few of the points. So I thought I'd make one with my own things.

1. Jukeboxes are one of the coolest most overlooked vintage items in existence. Everyone is quick to say polaroids and record players, but nobody seems to remember jukeboxes. They are a bit big and loud, and they were a key entertainment element in the 50s and 60s.

2. Vintage Glamour Shots were always so elegant. Don't get me wrong photography today is wonderful, but I don't mind a TBT every once in a while. (Throw back Thursday)

3. Records I own a record player and many vintage records. I really enjoy just relaxing and listening to some jazz.

4. Jazz music. It seems like today everyone has forgotten the "golden oldies". I love Jazz. I used to be obsessed with jazz, and big band and swing music. It's great, and relaxing and is clean so you don't have to feel self conscious if someone catches you listening to it in public. ;)

5.  Bright Red Lipstick. Although I'm typically not daring enough to chose this all the time it can be a staple outfit accessory.

When I was around 12 till I was about 15-16 I vintage things were my life! I loved anything from the 1920's to the 1960's. Whether it was movies, music, people or fashion. It was my biggest hobby and passion. I wouldn't touch anything to do with music or movies from this century. 

I have moved on from that stage of my life for a while now, but I'll always think of it fondly. It was an experience to say the least.

I rarely watch old movies now and listen to Jazz less often than I would like. Never forget your roots. What made you who you are today.

Merry Christmas

Making Old Skirts New

One of my hobbies is making old clothes, that are not very fashionable anymore, and turning them into something new. If you know how, it's a lot of fun!

I have a lot of old skirts from when I was a young teenager. They're not very fashionable any more and I can't really fit in them. So I decided to make them a little more current. (Please excuse my awkward legs/feet.)

#1 I've wanted to get a layered skirt for quite a while. It is a popular style right now, but I haven't been able to actually find one that isn't ridiculously expensive. So I finally decided to make myself one. I'm not sure how it looks still. It isn't exactly what I wanted, but it was free so it's better than nothing!

Before

After

Basically I pinned the two layers together at the top of the frilly layers. I cut the underneath layer at the top of my knees which conveniently is the same length as the top of the filly layers. 

(When I say frilly layers I mean this.)

I'm not 100% sure about the finished look. Most of the ones I've seen don't have frills or are higher in the front. So the frills may not be the best display of this type of skirt. I don't know yet.

#2 Another one I worked on is a two layered brown patterned skirt. I didn't actually cut it or sew anything I simply tucked the waistband under itself until it was a length I thought looked good.

                                              Before                                              After

#3      I used to be much better at sewing than I am now. I've gotten out of practice. My sewing machine broke several times and I never really got back into it. While I still had it I bought a dress that I wanted to turn into a skirt. Pretty simple right? Yeah, I thought so. Apparently it's not as easy as I thought.

(You can see how long ago it was.)

I bought it at a thrift store and was looking for pattern and not at the material pieces themselves. It turned out that the dress I picked had three panels. One for the skirt, one for the chest, and a separate one for the stomach. So the top seam of the skirt would be somewhere in the stomach panel. Which would require extra sewing for the waist. :/ 

Also there was a zipper in the back. Starting at the top of the chest panel and going all the way into the skirt panel. So, I seam ripped the zipper from the top to where I wanted the top of the skirt to start. I moved the metal prongs on the end of the zipper to where I wanted the zipper to stop. It was a difficult process and I didn't use any kind of tutorial or read anything about how to actually do it. I just kinda flew by the seat of my pants and it worked somehow. 

After I fixed the zipper, cut the extra fabric off the top of the dress. I sewed the zipper on the rest of the way and I hemmed the waist.

 I have a another dress that's white and brown. I never got around to hemming the waist, but I did cut the amount of skirt off that I wanted.


I bought a third dress from the thrift store, that's white with black flowers on it, at the thrift store. I was planning to turn it into a skirt as well. But then I discovered it was a Ralph Lauren dress and I didn't cut it up.

Marquee letter

I have wanted a marquee letter for a very long time! The only ones I ever found were expensive or tiny. So when I found a DIY for one on Pinterest that was a decent size and not terribly priced I was so excited.

You'll need:
Cardboard letter (Hollow)
A string of globe lights (Frosted, I didn't get frosted and they're a little blinding)
Spray paint (Whatever color you want your letter)
X-Acto knife
Dowel rod


Part 1:
 I got a hollow cardboard letter from Hobby Lobby. I got my X-Acto knife and cut the front off of the letter.

Note:
I found globe lights at Hobby Lobby. Once you have your letter you need to figure out how many bulbs you'll need. My A needed fifteen. I couldn't find a strand that was the right length so I got one that was a little longer and covered the extras to use them for extra cord.

Part 2:
You'll need to measure your bulbs to make sure they are spaced properly and then mark on the back where your holes need to go. I traced the hole that the bulbs were in, in the package to get an idea of the hole size I would need. I used my X-acto knife to make slits inside the circle. The dowel rod is for making the hole the size you need.

Part 3:
After you have made the holes and make sure the bulbs will fit well. You can paint it.

Part 4:

After the paint is dry you can put the bulbs where they go...

and light it up!!

Overall I'm not sure if I saved money by doing it this way. Because I had to buy the materials instead of an already made one. But it was a great project and I'm very proud of how nice it looks!

Avengers shoes

You could probably say I'm a bit of a geek. So when I saw this project on Pinterest I had to do it!

You need:
White canvas shoes
Mod Podge
X-Acto knife
Painters tape
Tiny paint brush
Foam brush

(You'll also want something to stuff in the toes of your shoes to help them keep there shape until your ready to wear them.)

You'll want to take the two layers of the napkins apart. The kind I got were two-ply if you have one that is different you'll only need the designed sheet.

I used my tiny paint brush to make a thin line of water on the napkin where I wanted to take out the character. Don't use scissors! Just tear gently. You want the edges to be somewhat rough, so they will mesh together better. 

Figure out where you want your characters. You should probably do a few extras. You'll end up needing extra pieces.

Use the foam brush to put a thin layer of Mod Podge in the area your going to put your character. Then put a thin layer over the top. I had to get more hands-on to get the wrinkles and bubbles out. Be very gentle. Only do one at a time. If you do several at once the colors might bleed through and ruin it.

I did one on the left shoe then one on the right and gave them plenty of time to dry. Repeat the process until your shoes are mostly covered. There may still some blank spots after you have all the characters you want on each shoe. Just take the bits and pieces you have left or new pieces and fill in the gaps.

Once your shoes including the tongue are completely covered and dry. Use the X-Acto knife to put the eye-lets out so you can put the laces back in.

If you want to make your shoes waterproof you can spray them with a waterproof seal. Clear spray paint for instance. Or outdoor mod podge. I didn't have any and decided to just be careful not to wear them when it rains.

Here's the finished product!! Pretty cool, huh?

When you put time and effort into a project, and you finish it you should be very proud of it.