What Crystal Wore To Church - Mint and Grey

Still no baby, and if I were you, I wouldn't ask Beth about it. She's good natured and doesn't like to complain, but she is a 10 month pregnant lady at this point, it's just not polite to remind her she still hasn't had a baby. All calls should probably go through me. I'm far more cheerful about the wait.

But that just means you're stuck with my outfit to church this week. Get used to it, we've been brainstorming and she's got some posts ready for maternity leave like frozen casseroles in the freezer, but I'll be filling in any other missing posts. I'm happy to do it because well, sometimes I get stuck without deadlines. I've got at least 80 ideas for posts on my own blog and I've just not found the motivation to write them. But here there's an expectation! You folks deserve a weekly post, so here we go!

I do singing time in the children's classes at church so often I try to dress to accommodate the fact that I'll be singing Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes as well as feeling the pressure that some people I attend church with know that my sister runs a fashion blog. Today's singing time involved me acting out some fun for the kids and ditching the heels (these ones have a fake crocodile pattern) and putting on comfy flip flops. It worked great because I can look cute and then be functional with the kids.

I decided this morning I was mixing patterns. The pencil skirt comes from Target (Merona brand) and is a gray houndstooth. It's wintery but here in Pensacola it's a balmy 85 so I needed to pair it with the springy mint polka dot top from Cato. I loved how the statement necklace worked. The pearls around the roses felt like a perfect match with the polka dots on the top and then my earrings were also roses, but a different material and style. It felt like it went together without being too matchy matchy.

The earrings are something I picked up when I was buying a different mint dress with lace at Maurices. I thought a different set of earrings would work, but I wasn't sure, so I asked the associate in the store. If you're not able to shop with friends, I think asking an associate is a great idea. They typically know the products and can recommend something that can look even better than what you'd pick. I ended up buying both pairs of earrings but the rose ones the gal suggested have been worn much more than the ones I picked myself.

Overall I was happy with the outfit's functionality as well as style. Don't you love it when you can reach that dual goal?

Easter Guest Post - What Crystal Wore to Church

So we had a bit of a false alarm last night, and I was up until 2 in the morning hoping it would progress into something but it didn't. As such, I was way too tired to go to church this morning. So, my awesome sister, without even having to ask, filled in for me. And doesn't she look fabulous? Thanks a million, Crystal!!

Happy Easter! I'll be your host for today because well, Beth thought maybe, just maybe she'd have a baby last night. Just like that scene in Father of the Bride 2, turns out she wasn't ready to go to the hospital, but she was monumentally tired in the way that only a 39 week pregnant lady can be. So she ditched church to nap and probably eat Cadbury Mini Eggs. (I'm not sure about the Cadbury Mini Eggs but it's what I'd do and we often are of the same mind so I think it's a pretty solid assumption.) 

I woke up to the text that she wasn't at the hospital and thought, yikes! I need to step up my style game! So here we go.

I wanted to wear this fab skirt that my mom bought me on a trip back in November. We got it on the clearance rack and at the time I was a little apprehensive. But once I put it on I was in love. The mint makes it hip, even if it was last year's color, my check of people at church says it's still a popular color. But I also loved the coral, the army green, and the black. I don't have the kind of expendable cash Beth has, so I try to look for pieces that are really versatile. I've worn it before with a fancy black top but I think I like this look better. I've got a black cami and my fav coral sweater that Beth gifted me. (Guys, she's really out to make the world better dressed. She's constantly sending me the cutest pieces.)I have a pair of coral wedges that I really wanted to wear, but I felt like it was just too much coral so instead I went with these wedges from Just Fab.I bought several statement necklaces because I always want to wear them, but then I chicken out or worry they don't quite work with the outfit but I wasn't backing down on this. If you're not sure you want to invest in like 10 statement necklaces, don't worry, I noticed Walmart has a design that come in at least 15 colors with silver and gold that are $5! This one came from Cato and was $8.99 and I love the  sparkly bits. Still beats Target's for $16.99.

I'll bet your Easter outfits looked nice and springy but I'll be honest, I'm a little jealous of Beth's Easter outfit, a good pair of pajama pants is my fav Sunday look.

Julep - September Review

I didn't feel the need to get a September Julep box because I wasn't interested in any of the pairs of colors (I'd like one from one box and one from another, but none as a pair). So I thought it'd be fun to bring in a guest to do the September review. I bring you my friend Shawn! Ta da! 

My September Julep  Box:
The deets: Classic with a Twist=Julep BARE FACE Cleansing Oil, polish in Florence, and polish in Padma.

The low down: This is my second Julep box and I loved the first month—a lovely light lilac polish (Helen, I think), a super cool orangey-brick red (Catherine…methinks and currently gracing my piggies), and some minty exfoliating foot lotion—score! So I when I saw my September box I was a little bummed but I’m better now. Let me explain….

The polish first—I love, love, LOVE Padma. It’s a super dark purple that went on well with only one healthy coat. Like any dark polish, it stained my nail (and surrounding skin—I’m a sloppy polisher) immediately but a base coat and some polish remover easily remedies that. I can’t wait until winter to rock it on my nails and until then, it will be in my regular rotation for my toes.



Florence, on the other hand (well, on the index finger in this case), not so much, and I was really looking forward to this one. I love a good beige neutral but this one (the photo is not doing it justice) is more of a khaki so not good for my skin tone. I can probably pull it off as a toe polish, maybe with a thin coat of something sparkly over it, but sadly, I’m still on the hunt for the perfect beige for my hands.

Finally, the oil wash. I have crazy oily skin. I live in Colorado where the dry air sucks the moisture from your body faster than you can replenish it and my skin is STILL an oil slick. So, when I saw this I did a Scooby Do “HUHHHHH?!?!?!”—did they make a mistake? Nope, a check of Julep’s website and a quick scan of a couple reviews assured me this is for all skin types. Still skeptical, I dove in and there is photographic evidence to document it.

 

The first picture is me, fresh from a weekend road trip—sweaty, sunburnt, and grimy. The second…me with the oil smeared on my face and rubbed in really good. Finally, me post-rinse, all squeaky clean. This stuff is some kind of magic! It easily dissolved the makeup and grime from my face and rinsed off easily. My skin felt moisturized and not too oily. The downside…an hour or so later my face felt a tad TOO moisturized (a.k.a. oily) but one of the reviews I read claimed my skin would adjust over time. End result for me? This will go in my travel to-go bag because it’s a great multi-tasker but I’m still afraid to use it every day. Having said that, I might bust it out again if I’m feeling brave this winter when it’s even drier in my neck of the woods.

For those folks with “normal” oily skin—I say go for it, I bet you’ll love it.

One final thing…I’m not sure if I got this in my first box—if I did I’m bummed I missed it…the quote! I am a connoisseur of quotes so the Julep elves really found the way to my heart with this…and what a great choice! “If your dreams do not scare you, they aren’t big enough” (Ellen Johnson Sirleaf)---loved it and it totally made up for the heartbreak of Florence.

Thank you so much Shawn for doing that for me. (Isn't she adorable!!) Also, "the heartbreak of Florence" sounds like a good romance novel. Thanks for reading!