The End of my Shop Fast

Well, I did it. I went an entire year without shopping for myself. I am actually very surprised by how fast the year went by. I am also shocked to hear myself say that it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I know without a doubt that God used this simple challenge to prepare me for a roller coaster of a ride.

There have been so many sweet spots during the past year. Gifts to my blog, gift cards, gifts from friends, hand-me-downs, and more. Any sacrifice I made was given back to me in such a sweet way. I appreciated the small things with a greater love, and this made me recognize areas of selfishness that I never want to return. I have learned a lot about wants versus needs, and my self control is better than ever. I still love fashion and always will, but this break taught me that less really IS more.

The last month has brought on yet another challenge for my family that I just wasn't ready to share publicly. I don't know if it was because of fear, or embarrassment, or a little of both. But in the past few days, God is showing me even more who He is, and how important every step of this yearlong journey I have been on is. If I hold back, how am I to truly communicate what He has been doing in my life? I realize not everything has to be shared, but I signed on for this year of transparency, and so I am going with it.

Well, as of August 28th my husband has been out of a job again. This is the second time in six months, for a man that has had only 4 jobs for the past 25 years of his life. The very same job we accepted as such a blessing several months back, turned out to be a horrible fit for our family. The commute, the long hours, draining work environment and missing out on family activities all took their toll on my man. Obviously, we would have preferred he found something else before parting ways, but in the situation he was in, there was no time to look or leave work for interviews, etc. I am sure there was a reason for his 5 months of suffering, but God wanted him out of there.

So now, here we are looking up to God and believing and KNOWING that He is going to provide. I won't lie and say I haven't worried, I have. But what is really awesome is the community of friends that have loved on us, prayed for us, and reminded us of the truths that we needed to hear and repeat until we believed them.

When we went through this in March, a fix came quick. This time, not so quick. But we have been able to see why God may be waiting. My husband was freed up to serve at Tres Dias men's weekend and he needed to be there. With his previous job, or even a new one....he would not have been able to take the time off to attend. We have had amazing quality time to spend together over the last month....(we had plenty of catching up to do). He has also had the opportunity to participate in car line pick ups, and school lunch dates. This quality time is helping us get through not knowing what will happen next.

Maybe God allows us to visit a scary place to show us that it's not so scary if we just keep our eyes on him? 

So even though I would love to celebrate the end of this shop fast by heading to Nordstrom, due to our current situation it looks like my shop fast will continue on. So I thought, What better way to celebrate than with the October Dress Project? Day one, year four......here I go again! God is so good, all of the time.

Post-Christmas Confessions

It has been a few days since my last post. I promised myself I would slow down and I did. The spending freeze is going well, and my DIY gifts were loved by all. I have one more gift to deliver, and after that I will be able to post pictures to give you ideas for next year!

Confession: I haven't spent on myself, but I have wanted to. I almost returned a gift to get a credit at Marshalls' just so that I could shop. But I didn't. The thought of shopping sounded great.....but I knew I would regret returning the gift. While I am in confession mode, I have another. I hired my cleaning team back. I just couldn't do it. The kids, work, schedules, all left me exhausted and no time to clean. The pressure was killing me. I think I should have started out with baby steps instead of cutting everything out at once. I am cutting myself some slack on this one.

On a more positive note, I didn't question returning the gifts I am wearing in this photo. A scarf and earrings from my 4 and 5 year olds. They did mommy proud! I hope your Christmas was wonderful and you are well on your way to a happy New Year!

The Shopping Party

My outfit for church on Sunday!

Courtney and I at Nordstrom's Christmas party

A shopping party at Nordstrom....? Oh no, the ultimate in temptation right?

How could a girl on a shopping fast even consider it? 

For the past two years, my friend Courtney and I have made it a tradition. After waiting in a line wrapped around the building, we are greeted by a number of waiters with hors d'oeuvres and sweet treats. The store is beautifully decorated and a DJ is spinning away. We oooh and ahhh over the displays, and have fun playing dress up.

In the past, I have bought at least a few items for myself, and even stalked out gift ideas to email my hubs. But this year was different. I thought I would feel more of a pull to purchase, but I didn't. As fun as it was to be among the hustle and bustle, I didn't get the urge to indulge as I have in the past. I really enjoyed looking at the clothes, shoes, bags and other accessories. I made mental notes for working the items in my closet. I didn't leave depressed or deflated that I couldn't "shop till I dropped." I felt good, leaving with only two small bags in hand.

Instead of trying on a new dress or shoes,  I found equal satisfaction in refilling two necessities: my favorite lipgloss and eyeshadow. I do love how shopping restraint has made me appreciate the little things so much more. I even found a few gifts for the kids on clearance...score!

I have been delighted to see how far my money has gone this Christmas. This is the first year that we have actually set a budget. I was so scared that a slim Christmas would be such a let down for the kids and for myself. But, I am truly evaluating quality over quantity...and realizing it is time to stop the pattern of overindulging on Christmas. I am even selling my homemade soaps, Classy Sudz, with 100% of the proceeds going to clean water for the 12X12 Project!

It is fun to see gifts piled high and overflowing stockings, but this year the only thing I want to overflow is my heart. We already have so much. I loved this post by Jones Design Company, Four Gifts for Christmas. What a great way to size things down. So I realized, a spending freeze doesn't mean I have to give up the fun of holiday shopping parties, they just become window shopping/fashion inspiration parties for me, and I am just fine with that!

#1000 Gifts
52. Holiday parties
53. Window shopping
54. Closet inspiration
55. Long talks with friends
56. Music that makes you dance
57. Sweet treats
58. A friend that shares the same shoe size :)
59. Makeup
60. Christmas decor

A Great Day!

Dress, bag, and shoes: Thrifted

Dress c/o eShakti

Today was a good day. Really good. It started off with a press conference, then a meeting with a new client, followed by an impromptu lunch with one of my favorite friends, Casey Wohl. She just so happens to be the Getaway Girl so you should be following her. She has an amazing 12 Days 'til Christmas promotion going on during the month of December and you will definitely want to enter to win!

When I came home, I found a box at my doorstep with this beautiful dress in it! You will have to forgive my excitement, but this is only my second gift to the blog, so I am still a bit in awe. I can't wait to wear it, in the meantime check out eShakti. I was really impressed with the selection, it was so hard to choose a sample. I went with this dress because I felt it would get the most use.

What a blessing, especially during a time when I have been struggling. It was divine encouragement from above I am sure. I was chatting with a close friend, who just happens to be a therapist, and she said, "There is pain in growth, there is no growth without pain." Those words encouraged me more than the dress on my doorstep.

1000 Gifts
45. Good days
46. Dresses
47. Books
48. Girlfriends
49. New recipies
50. A quite house
51. Watching babies sleep