Modesty Is Always Beautiful

New Year's Eve is ticking away and soon it will be another year. Looking back it seems like the last year has gone by so quickly and so slowly at the same time. To start the new year off, I thought I'd post a quote from a brilliant man and a few thoughts on it:

G.K. Chesterton said, "Modesty is always beautiful."

G.K. Chesterton presents a very nice thought and when you think the quote over you realize he's not just talking about outward appearance. G.K. Chesterton is also referring to the beauty of the actions of a person. If you really think about it, a person who isn't a showoff is a much more pleasant person. To act with modesty creates kinder feeling toward you and you become someone others are more attracted to. When eyes behold a kind person, they tend to see the beauty in that person. There is a natural attraction to people who are kind and modest.

When a person's actions are modest it becomes part of their personality. Most people tend to dress in styles that reflects their personalities. When modesty becomes part of a person's personality the person tends to dress modestly. Modesty is always beautiful. When a girl dresses with modesty she is truly dressing with beauty; she is dressing to attract to herself, not her clothing or her body.

Attractive and beautiful are words that have very different meanings, but you could substitute "attractive" for "beautiful" in G.K. Chesterton's quote and the meanings become very similar:  "Modesty is always attractive," "Modesty is always beautiful." I believe both are definitely true and I think it's safe to conclude that modesty attracts to a person's beauty, both inward and outward.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! I hope your day was fun and blessed! Mine certainly was; there is nothing like celebrating Christmas with my seven younger siblings. The reactions of the toddlers when they open a gift is priceless. One of my little sisters, age four, is very animated and exclaims "That's what I've always wanted!" quite often after opening a gift, (even if she doesn't know what it is). It's also quite amusing when my two year old, dinosaur-obsessed brother yells "Roar!" when he opens dinosaur gifts. So many interesting things happen Christmas morning with a fantastically large family.

Speaking of gifts, right now I am writing this blog post on my very own laptop! I have been saving up for one and surprise! "Santa" got me a laptop when a store was having an awesome sale. As soon as I tore the wrapping paper off and I saw the picture of a laptop on the box my eyes widened and I hugged the box, crying "my baby!" My biggest and most loved hobby is writing, particularly fictional story writing. Now that I have a laptop I can write more often. Since I'm still just a teenager there will be strict rules for it, but it still opens so many doors! I am really thankful! 

 

Every year I look forward to Christmas mass, not only because it's mass, but also because I usually have a new and nice outfit to wear. Sometimes it's only a new piece or two, but this year I happened to have a completely new one, which made me very excited. Here are some Christmas outfit inspirations:

 

Shopping for a modest Christmas outfit is usually hard, but this year it wasn't. I found a long, black, lacey skirt and a white scarf at a Maurice's sale, a red sweater at Target, and I already had a nice coat at home. The outfit wasn't a problem... but shoes were a rather hard. However, it was probably my fault. You see, I wanted red shoes. Not just red shoes, but red heels. Wherever I went there were red heels, but every time the heels were way too high. Sadly, small heels are rare. Thankfully, I succeeded in finding a pair of cherry red, small heels at payless. Even better, they were 50% off! I really got lucky and I rode home with a feeling of triumph. I must add that although I was happy with my purchases, the real highlight was spending hours of one-on-one time with my mom. She's so sweet and knows me well enough to recognize when I need to eat, (which is usually when I start stressing out ridiculously).

Before I end this post there is a little apology I must make. Because of all the company we've had and all the preparations for company that we've been doing I have neglected posting on this blog and I'm sorry. I should have posted sooner, but this being the busiest time of year... well, I hope it's understandable why it's taken so long.

May God bless you on this holy Christmas day!

~Mariana

Summer Dress to Fall Dress

 

 

 

 

There aren't a whole lot of clothing articles that can be worn all year round (sadly), however, some articles of clothing can be worn two seasons in a row such as spring-summer and fall-winter. Summer to fall is a bit harder. This white dress is from Maurice's and is (as the picture fails to show) shorter in the front than in the back; the front hits the top of the knee and the back extends several inches down. By pairing up the white dress with the denim jacket from Old Navy and cowboy-boots (hand-me-downs) it becomes a fall style.

 

What types of clothing transitions do you make from summer to fall?

 

~Mariana

T-Shirt Remodelling

Before and After

Once a week I take classes at a homeschool coop and they require that we wear these blue tee shirts, for the sake of modesty. Well, as you know, I love modesty... but after more than a year I still didn't love the shirt. I liked the color, but not much else. The collar was uncomfortably tight and annoying and the shirt was definitely a size too big for me. So I resewed it! Here are the steps I took:

1. I turned the blue shirt inside out. I then found a shirt that fit me the way I wanted the blue one to, (not too tight or loose), and placed it over the blue shirt. 

2. I traced around the outside of the shirt with chalk.

 

3. I removed the striped, guiding shirt and sewed the sides, sleeves, and collar along the chalk lines.

4. On the bottom of the shirt, I wanted the front to be higher than the back, so I found the center of the front piece and pinned it up to create a nice curve, like so:

 I then sewed a line across the front, bottom edge.

5. I trimmed a little of the extra fabric off for comfort (and a headband)

There you have it! It took me about half an hour of work and this was the result:

Tips:

• When making the collar and bottom hem/seems, fold fabric over twice to prevent fraying and a cleaner seem.
• If at any point you feel unsure about what you just sewed, flip right side out and try on.
• If you make the mistake of making the collar too large, create a pleat on each shoulder to bring it in. It still looks cute and people will think you planned it like that (trust me, I've done that on other shirts before).

If you have any comments, suggestions, corrections or anything else, feel free to put them in the comment section below.

~Mariana

Feeling Fall

 Fall Begins with Warm Colors for Cool Days

Technically, it has been fall for about a month, but down here in the south it hasn't actually started looking and feeling like fall until the past week. The colors outside are so pretty and the lawn now has a thin coating of leaves. As the outside world changes colors, so does my wardrobe.

Today's fashion inspiration is a brown, floor length skirt from Kohl's, a flower print tank from Delia's, and a denim jacket from Old Navy. I would highly recommend getting a denim jacket at Old Navy because the price difference is drastic. I got mine there for $24, but I looked at several other stores and they were all around $44. I've gotten a lot of use out of it and will for a long time. Denim jackets look great with a lot of things, including skirts, colored pants, and even dresses. They are one of those great pieces that can turn immodest tops into modest ones and are so fun to wear.

I've been playing around with photography (as you can see from all the extra pictures) and I've also gotten a tripod! Well, gotten in the terms of my parents pulling a somewhat forgotten one out of the closet. I had thought we'd gotten rid of it a long time ago, but I was wrong, which I'm glad of in this instance. I've been having fun taking pictures lately, especially at the pumpkin patch where we went for one of my other sister's 4th birthday. I don't know about your pumpkin patches, but this one has a whole kid's play area complete with bouncy house. Needless to say, my little sister had an absolute blast!

~Mariana

Flower Print and Leggings

 

Leggings, when worn correctly, can make a too-short-dress modest. Now that it's fall, the legging trick is much easier to pull off with all the layering options. Leggings are so much more comfortable that tights and stockings and are definitely a must-have! This cute flower print dress is made by Forever21, but I actually got it at a consignment store for half the price. The dress falls about four inches above the knee and you would never catch me wearing it without leggings. (Besides, the weather I wear this dress in would make my legs way too cold without the leggings!) The leggings and the brown, braided belt are from who-knows-where, but I'm very glad I have them.

 

How do you style leggings? Please feel free to post you comments, advice, or tips in the comment section below. 

 

~Mariana

Military Green on Green

I normally don't wear two colors on top of each other, but the nice thing about the military look is that you can. Military jackets are easily paired up with all types of colors, but other neutrals usually give it a sharper look. I got my military jacket at GAP a year back and it's not a purchase I regret. Especially now that it's no longer warm and going on to what actually feels like fall. You've probably also noticed my TOMS and no, they aren't actually TOMS brand. I got them for $8 while shopping clearance online at Delia's. Although the quality of these black shoes probably isn't as good as TOMS would be, the price difference was well worth it.

This is yet another casual outfit-inspiration, but next outfit-inspiration I'll be doing more formal attire.

I'd like to take a moment to brag about a little someone who has been my photographer for my previous pictures whose birthday we recently celebrated. My little six year old sister, Lilly, believe it or not, has been taking such excellent pictures with such a steady hand and with such sweet willingness to help me that this photo-shoot I decided to give her a break. I magically held the camera in the air and-- Just kidding. I stacked a tiny chair atop a table and used different objects to prop up the lens to get the right angle. I really need to get a tripod... sometime.

Do you have any suggestions or comments about the military style? Do you have any tips on where you got your tripod and the cost? Do you have any other comments? Then don't be shy about commenting below! If you have any other questions feel free to email me or contact me over Google Plus!

~Mariana