Hello lovelies,

 

So I just realized that this is the first time I've posted about New York City! I got back April 14th from the best trip of my life! I couldn't have asked for a better vacation! I could call this trip technically a "field trip" since I went with my Fashion & Design class from school. The best thing, though, was that some of my very best friends are in the class with me, so it really made for some special, once-in-a-lifetime memories!

 

I am at a crossroads in my life, of deciding what the Lord has in store for my life. Currently, I am definitely going to pursue my dream for social work, in hopes of one day working for an adoption agency (even ideally as the Director, so I can travel the world with adoptive families to bring their precious children home). But, also, there has always been a very special passion in my life for fashion. This trip really brought out that passion once again, which leaves me with some decisions to make about my future career, haha(:

 

Most of the trip was centered around touring New York's Garment district, which is absolutely incredible to see, especially from behind-the-scenes, which I was able to experience. While in New York , I did the typical “tourist” attractions. I saw the Statue of Liberty, went to the top of the Empire State building, saw a musical on Broadway (Mamma Mia!), and shopped in SoHo and 5^th Avenue. But, most people aren’t able to say that they shopped sample sales, toured pattern making & grading shops, watched jewelry being made for celebrities or toured Parsons School for Design.

 

I had such an incredible experience, and I would go back in a heartbeat if I could. Here is the best memories I have of the week in snapshots! Enjoy, loves! 

Much love, 

Olivia 

 

Hello lovelies,

So, one of the coolest friends I have, Elise, owns her own store called Made Lucid, where she sells tops, scarves, flower crowns, and some other adorable products for both guys and girls! The other day, we had a photo shoot to launch the spring line of flower crowns and men's tops.

 

 

We shot at the St. Louis Art Museum, and throughout Forest Park. It was a blast, and we even finished out the photo shoot with a picnic lunch, complete with brownies!

If you're at all interested, I would really LOVE it if you took a second to check out Made Lucid! You can find the cutest stuff there! I really am in love with these flower crowns; it was hard to take them off when the photoshoot was over...they're just so cute!

Hope you're enjoying your spring, almost summer, and enjoy a sneak peak of photos from the shoot!
Much love,
Olivia

Dad & I are went on a quick roadtrip to Jackson, Tennesee for a long weekend a few weeks ago. For the second day we were there; we had priorities and plans to get accomplished. But, on day one, we had no agenda. That's the best, really. My favorite.

crossing the bridge into tennesee! yay!

So, we explored. All day long. We probably drove around Jackson for between 2-3 hours, figuring out practically every side street. Here's what we found...

my dad is the best to roadtrip. we both like starbucks & oldies music!

luggage i bought from Elsie of A Beautiful Mess!

my favorite side street in jackson that we found!

Much love,
Olivia

I know you've all seen the bags everywhere. Maybe you don't really know the message behind them or anything. This video will show you the FEED team's mission, which is just precious to see. Lauren Bush Lauren, CEO of FEED has a goal to end world hunger and malnourishment worldwide. Her cause is beautiful & I can't wait to see where this company goes with their amazing ideas & super cute bags!

My own FEED bag (above)  is a yellow tote that specifically feeds Guatemalan children, but they have bags for countries all over the world! The number on the bag represents how many meals that your bag is going to provide to the children of that country. For instance, since mine says "FEED Guatemala 15" it is going to provide 15 (yes, FIFTEEN!) meals to Guatemalan children! It makes me happy when good causes are also super cute!
Much love,
Olivia

"Ask yourself what makes you come alive & then go do that."
~Lauren Bush Lauren

Hello lovelies,
Guess what? I'm on a road trip! It's wonderful & I'm definitely enjoying myself over the long weekend! I'll catch you all up once I get back in town, but while I'm gone, go check out the guest post I did for Chelsey at In These Shoes the other day on how to have fun & get the best deals while thrifting! Link is HERE to go check out all of the lovely thriftiness!!

Much love,
Olivia

Hi, I'm Chelsea.

I don’t like to make New Year’s Resolutions, mainly because they usually become New Week’s Resolutions.  Unfortunately, the start of the year has no magic mojo to make me follow through with the things that I have been needing change for awhile.  However, I do believe in setting goals.  And I understand that a fresh start can make those goals seem that much more achievable.  Since I am a Graduate Student, my life is run more by the school year than the year, year.  I just started a New Semester.  This semester is special, because it consists of student teaching.  That means, I get to hang out with a bunch of rowdy teenagers every day.  So, because New Year’s Resolutions are too mainstream or something like that, here are my New Semester Goals.

1. Spend consistent time with the Lord.  This one, almost always makes my list of goals.  Why?  Because I have found that nothing impacts my life more than reading and reflecting on the bible and spending time just talking with the one who my soul was made to love.  Last semester, I got a little taste of student teaching—I was in the classroom two days a week—and I’m thinking this is going to be an extra difficult semester.  Right now I am feeling like I can’t possibly survive this without relying on some divine intervention.

2. Handwritten notes.  Don’t you just love getting these?  I have saved every single one that my husband has given me (and vice versa, swoon).  There’s something about them that you just can’t get in a text message or email.  When I feel loved by God, my immediate response is a desire to encourage others.  I think writing notes is a good way to do this.  I will take the time to give cards to friends/family, and to write my students notes when the opportunity arises.



 

3. Live simply.  Give Generously.  This is something hubs and I desperately want to be true of our family.  Right now this means we’re de-cluttering our apartment.  It’s amazing how much junk can accumulate over a short period of time.  We don’t want to appear on the next episode of Hoarders!  My hope is that everything in our house would be something we love, and/or use often.  We also want to continue to stick to our budget and make smart purchases.  This means limiting what we buy, and knowing what to invest in, and what to try to find on the cheap.  Part two of this goal, is probably my favorite.  For most of my undergraduate career I played the I’m-a-poor-college student-so-I-can’t-afford-to-give card.  And yet I had not probably spending my pennies on clothes, or feeding my Chai-tea addiction.  I love hand-selecting something to give to one of my friends or family members.  It probably brings me more joy than it brings to them.  The bible says that where you invest your treasure, you invest your heart.  Call me crazy, but I think that spending money on people actually helps me love them more.

4. Enjoy my wardrobe.  I love am obsessed with clothes.  However, sometimes comparison steals my joy in this department.  I peruse fashion blogs and Pinterest and find myself thinking, “I could be happy with my wardrobe if I only had that.”  I know that is a big fat LIE.  This semester I want to take fashion risks.  Because, hey, if you mess up, you get to try again tomorrow.  The fun thing is that as a student teacher I have an excuse to dress up every day.  I’m loving trying to get the most use out of my skirts, dresses, and trousers by mixing and matching.  I want to be creative and wear something I think is fun every day.

5. Pursue spiritual closeness with my husband.  From the get-go we’ve tried to make our relationship centered on God.  We’ve found that focusing on Him improves pretty much every area of our relationship.  Right now, this looks like a little before-bed Bible study.  Basically, we just read a short message from a devotional Oswald Chambers’ My Utmost For His Highest & pray together.  It helps us to sleep better, and start the next day off better.

 I’ll leave it at that, because, let’s be real, if I overload myself with goals, none of them will get accomplished.  Thanks for reading!  I would love to get to know you better.  Stop by and take a walk In These Shoes sometime.  Usually you’ll find me gushing about my crush on my husband, or sharing things I’m learning from a Carpenter from Nazareth.  Not to mention the occasional outfit, DIY/decorating project, and movie/book/TV reviews, because I love all of those things way too much.

I’ve gotta give a shout out to Olivia for hosting me!  I love your blog, and I had a blast!  Thanks girl!

Thanks so much Chelsea, for guest posting for me! You are just too sweet and I'm so glad to have gotten to know you better! You're such a blessing, girl! Everyone...be sure to go check out Chelsea's awesome blog over at "In These Shoes"!
Much love,
Olivia

I worship a beautiful Lord and Savior. He knows perfectly when to put people in your life, and exactly why to put them in your life.

Flashback to January 3rd at approximately 8:20am. The phone rings in the classroom I'm in at school. The phone is for me, and it's the school's main office calling.

"Olivia, we need to see you in our office immediately."

Awesome. It's day one of a new semester & I was trying to make it the best yet. What could I have possibly done in the fifteen minutes we've been in school for this new year that equalled the magnitude of leaving my current class and taking a trip to the main office?

I walk into the main office only to be handed a stack of papers by the office receptionist.

"These papers are the schedule for a girl who moved here over Christmas break. She can't speak much English & she doesn't know a single person in our school. Our staff decided that you would be a good candidate to show her where everything is, to include her in some of your activities, and to inform us if there's any problems."

Talk about overwhelming. I was having a hard time getting adjusted to my own schedule as it was. It's a heavier load than last semester, and I wasn't sure if I was going to have time to fit everything in. Now, this?! Uggh.

Twenty minutes later, I went to pick up the "new girl", who, despite her wonderful ((20 letter long)) first name, decided to change her "American" name to Jaae (pronounced Jay). I took her around to her classes that day, invited her to lunch with me, & exchanged phone numbers. Although she didn't understand a good 1/3 of what I was saying, she seemed to like me and my friends.

The next morning, as I was waiting to order my coffee, I decided to get her some pink Starbucks cake pops. I took them to her first class of the morning, since, you know, I knew her schedule so well. She almost cried. She thanked me over and over and gave me a hug when I gave them to her. I knew she'd be grateful, but I had not expected this at all.

Later, at lunch, I eagerly asked her how she liked eating the cake pops. She told me that they were still in her backpack. I asked her if she didn't think she would like them.

She looked at me happily and said, "No! I love them. I want to take them home to my Mom to show her that I made a friend here in the U.S. and she really cares about me."

That was it. My heart was melted. This adorable little Thai girl, probably over a foot shorter than me,  probably so confused as to what was going on here in our country, just broke me.

I couldn't help but be reminded of Paul's true and perfectly fitting words in Philippians 2:4,

"Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others."

Since that second day, when I completely lost it ((ok, ok, I'm sorry if I sound a little sappy...I can't help it!!)), we have become friends! We've had lunch  several times, hung out, and, tonight, she even came to church with me!

The Lord knows exactly when and how to use people in your life: you just have to be open. I was so close to going into this whole experience of showing Jaae around with a bad attitude because it was hindering me from my own schedule, plans, and even time with my other friends. But, as always, the Lord knew more than I did. Come to think of it, I haven't EVER known more than He has ((hahaha)).

Walking around school, then stopping because I hear a heavily accented little voice calling, "Best friend, best friend, come here, I need to talk to you!" is precious, because I know the Lord orchestrated this entire friendship. Jaae needs the Lord. And, hopefully, the Lord will be able to use me to bring her to the Lord. Whatever the case, whatever happens, I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store!

Much love,
Olivia

Any Season Dresses! by oliviagrace3196 featuring a sheer dress

When purchasing a good, quality dress, it can be an investment. So, why not buy dresses that can be worn in any weather, any season, any time of the year? These are some of my most favorite dresses that can be worn alone in the spring or summer, or can be worn with a cardi and leggings in the fall and winter! If you're going to buy a dress you love, why not be able to pull it out of the closet to wear at any time?

Much love,
Olivia

P.S. The best part is...every dress here is under $100!

Yum. That is all I can say after I ate at the Mud House a few weeks ago. When my friend Amanda, from over at Life, Liberty & The Pursuit of Coupons introduced me to this place a few weeks ago, I was hooked! From the outside, it looks somewhat like just a random, hole-in-the-wall coffee shop. But, as soon as you walk in, you know you're going to be in for a treat!

 

 

From what Amanda had heard, they are known for their crepes: so of course we both had to try them out for ourselves! Not even being a huge fan of breakfast food to begin with, I was a little unsure. But, I LOVED my apple & raisin crepes and am totally craving it again! I need to go back sometime this month!

 

Their menu includes a vast variety of breakfast foods, salads, wraps, sandwiches, smoothies, coffees, lattes & more. Just the overall atmosphere, too, just makes you happy. Indie music playing in the background & vintage signs posted on the walls are to be expected. Water glasses come in the form of mason jars & the hardwood floors creak with a home-y vibe. I would definitely search this place out if you're in the St. Louis area, and hang around awhile.

1st photo:mine
2nd photo: c/o the mud house tumblr