C'mon Ani

Right as I started to pose for this picture Austin said, "Typical 'Ani' pose".  Indeed.

So I don't wear overalls often, but when I do, "C'mon Eileen" is stuck in my head all day. Too-rah-loo-rah-Too-rah-loo-rye-yaaaaay. Ah Dexy's Midnight Runner's, why was this your only memorable song? 

Right?!  So when I walked into the kitchen wearing this outfit this morning, Austin looked at me and said, "Nice overalls."  I said, "Are you making fun of my overall's or are you saying you like them?" and he said, "Both." So that's that.  However, the outfit was perfect for a day of cleaning and running errands. Also, in perfect Ani fashion, the tag was still on the overalls as I was wearing them.  

I realize I've taken quite the hiatus from blogging, but in that time I finished my FINAL semester of seminary therefore all is so, SO well in my life now that I'm done with school.  I don't actually graduate till next year, but it pretty much feels like I'm done.  Plus, I have an amazing job and my family is coming to Dallas tomorrow (minus the brother and future sister-in-law, waaah) so we'll get to celebrate all of these blessings together. 

Here is to finishing school, blogging again and living life to its fullest.

{Overalls: Thrifted ($6.56), T-Shirt: old (?), Shoes: Urban Outfitters ($10.00)}

Red, White, and Bows

Wow, I look just like my mother in this picture.

This whole space behind the church reminded me of The Chronicles of Narnia.

O beautiful for spacious skies and having Christmas break. Yeah, I just sang that aloud. It feels amazing to finally have Austin on break with me and today was the first day this week, that I didn't have anything to do, so talk about feeling liberated. I worked out, did laundry, watched Mad Men, tried on a whole bunch of clothes in my closet, starting packing for our ski trip next week and got outside in the perfect, sunshiney, cool weather to take some pictures at a church.

I tried on stuff in my closet to remind myself how much clothing I have and that I have no need to go shopping, even though I'd love to go thrift just to thrift. I’m glad I did, too, because I found this dress that I’ve only worn once (thrifted: $3.50) and the jacket, which I’ve never worn (thrifted: $7.50) AND the shoes which i’ve never worn (thrifted: $2.50). Needless to say, it was a successful shopping trip in my own wardrobe and despite having nowhere to go, I felt like being girly..because I can be..cause I'm a girl.

Anyhow, I'm ready to be in the mountains. I can't wait to take pictures there and maybe just set up a shack on a portion of the mountain to live it. That sounds nice, right?

Ok, hopefully we'll be out celebrating for the rest of the night after we finish watching the Stars game...or maybe I'll just finish doing laundry. I don't care either way cause it's the weekend of Christmas break and I can do what I want. That, my friends, feels amazing.

Love,

Ani "I'm way too excited about Christmas now" B.

{Dress: Thrifted [F21] ($3.50), Jacket: Thrifted [H&M] ($7.50), Tights: Payless ($5.99), Shoes: Thrifted ($2.50), Earrings: Thrifted ($1.99), Sunglasses: Target ($12.99), Belt: Thrifted ($1.99)}

All is Full of Love

All is full of love today. My outfit says so. Well my outfit is full of hearts and hearts mean love so there.

These last few days have been full of bad weather. We've had straight up gloomy, depressing days that make me want to watch entire seasons of shows on Netflix and never get out of bed, but I've done my best to work against that. Hopefully tomorrow will be bright and beautiful. Oh and did I mention I'll be in COLORADO soon? I cannot wait.

We had a great team meeting today for church and I really felt like we laid great groundwork for next year. I feel like I can say this publicly, but I am so grateful for the team that I work with and for their heart for ministry. It's just incredible.

So I love this skirt for many reasons. 1) It's got cheesy hearts on it. 2) It fits me perfectly 3) the second button is missing so the person who gave it away just pinned it with a safety pin. I was so cheap that the first time I saw it at the thrift store, I went on a a day that the women's clothing didn't have an additional discount so I left it thinking, "surely no one else will want this ridiculous skirt" Sure enough, no on else wanted this ridiculous skirt. I went back on 50% off women's clothing day and got this skirt for $1.50. Now I know what you're thinking...The skirt was only $3! But it is seriously, it's so difficult for me to buy clothes on a normal day. I'm addicted to the additional discount days. I know, I'm crazy.

It's been a great day AND the Stars just won against the Islanders so, I'm a happy gal. Can't wait for Austin to be done with school so we can officially start our Christmas break!

Love,

Ani "I love wearing hearts" B.

{Shirt: Thrifted [h&m] ($1.59), Skirt: Thrifted ($1.50), Cardigan: F21 (?), Jacket: Target similar ($19.99), Tights: ?, Shoes: h&m ($12.95), Beanie: F21 ($4.99), Belt: Thrifted ($1.99)}

Hurts Like Heaven

Apparently, I'm very serious about leaves...OR I just needed something to hold to show my nail polish.

This outfit has definitely become my "go-to" outfit. I might have even worn it last night AND today. It's just so easy. Jeans, cute top, cardigan, jacket, boots...done. Anyone else out there have a "go-to" outfit?

It's shaping up to be a busier week than I realized so my free time hasn't really happened yet, but I was pretty happy about making it to the gym to actually work out today. Paul and I got to work on some music and then Austin, Brandon and I went to play some racquetball. For the record, I'm not very good at racquetball since this is my first time taking a swing at it (you see what I did there?) but it is so much more fun that just running on a treadmill.

My body is already saying, "Why are you hurting me?" but I keep telling myself it's for the best. I've done a good job of maintaining my weight but I haven't lost any more in a month or so. I still haven't reached my final goal. In the midst of school and church, I just didn't make dieting a priority and truly, I don't diet. My father-in-law actually did a great job of writing a book that pretty much sums up a lot of how I came to my own personal success on losing weight. It's called "Don't Eat So Dang Much Food" and while I'm not here to promote weight loss, I am definitely understanding the importance of healthy living. It has changed me for the better.

Honestly, I don't think I'd be doing this blog at the weight I was at a year ago because I didn't have the confidence then. I'm a firm believer that everything is connected: mind, body, and spirit. While I was strengthening my mind at school, I was doing a pretty horrible job of taking care of my body and spirit and for the people closest to me, it showed. Anyway, my point in all of this is to say that when I ran the elliptical for 45 mins today, all I could think was, "I would have never been able to do this a year and a half ago." So please, be encouraged. It's the little changes that stick and for me it was eating less food, cutting out some of the really bad stuff (like sodas), and making exercise a priority. While today's exercise has left me exhausted its reminded me that my weight loss has been a journey and it's been so worth it.

Well, this certainly wasn't where I was planning to go with this post, but that's cool. Hopefully, this is something someone needs to be encouraged in.

Love,

my aching body and my happy, full heart.

{Jeans: Thrifted [F21] ($5.00), Shirt: Old Navy ($10.00), Cardigan [Ralph Lauren Polo] ($3.50), Jacket: [GAP] ($5.00), Boots: Payless ($40.00), Belt: F21 ($3.50), Necklace: Charlotte Russe ($3.50), Sunglasses: Target ($12.00)}

Feelin Floral

Looking good, Dallas.

I've been diggin the pink and green look as of late. Hot pink and olive or pale pink and forest green, it is ALL working for me. Not to mention when it's cool and sunny outside, I immediately want to thrown on florals and a cardigan...and so it was.

Today was quite the unremarkable day. We slept in, hung around the house, played racquetball and worked out and Austin went to play some frisbee while I took pictures.

I don't have many words and my thoughts aren't exactly put together well right now so I'll just leave it there.

{Skirt: Plato's Closet [Delia's] ($6.00), Shirt: Thrifted [h&m] ($1.50), Cardigan: Old, Charlotte Russe, Tights: F21 ($7.80), Shoes: h&m ($12.95), Butterfly pin: Thrifted ($.99)}

I'm a Real Boy

I wore this outfit yesterday to get my hair cut and do some Christmas shopping.

My haircut was exactly what I wanted but it's still taking some getting used to. It's probably the shortest I've ever had it. I told my hair stylist that short haircuts have become addictive for me like tattoos have become for Kat Von D. Every time I get it cut, I say "Shorter!" No idea why though. I'm glad I did it cause I wondered if I could pull it off. As of now, I don't think I can, but like I said, I'll give it a few days.

I took these pictures fairly quickly right after the haircut, so sadly my hair isn't really tamed in these and I'm pretty much back to my childhood mushroom haircut.

Hopefully today will be more successful. By the way, I have no idea what to do with my time now that I'm done with school. I will probably start reading Dance with Dragons since I started it right before the semester, but it's pretty pathetic that I have no hobbies. I just really like to read. Oh well, once my Nessa is in town and once we're skiing in the Rocky Mountains, I will feel like my break has really begun.

That's about all I have to offer this morning.

{Shirt: Thrifted ($1.50), Skirt: Thrifted ($2.50), Jacket: Target ($19.99), Shoes: Target ($34.00), Tights: Target ($10.00), Belt: Thrifted ($1.99), Sunglasses: Ross ($4.99)}

Mixin it Up

So I'm finally done with finals!! As a celebratory event, I went to the Bath House Cultural Center at White Rock Lake and took way too many pictures. It was so perfect outside today.

Oh! Look what I found!

Seriously, I was WAY too excited about this painted butterfly stump

Here was the view.

This was a fun pattern mix. It came together without much effort so I knew it was meant to be. Honestly, I've seen quite a few mixed patterns that look so cool and then I've seen ones that just fall flat. So I'm glad this one felt good for me. Also, I'm sure you can't tell, but I love navy.

So, I've not been a huge fan of living in Dallas for a bunch of different reasons. One of those reasons is simple: people are rude. They're rude on the highway, in public service, at the bank, at the mall, in restaurants, in my neighborhood. The list could go on, but I think you ger the idea. However, this week has proven me wrong and I stand in a place of humble correction. I've had various interactions this week where people have just, straight up, been pleasant. I've gotten hand waves in my alley to let me drive forward. I've had baggers at the grocery store offer to help me take firewood to my car. I had a sweet lady at the thrift store ask me about my measurements cause she needed help deciding if she wanted to buy some jeans for her daughter that was my size. I can't tell if it's just because I'm just in a happier mood or what, but I'm digging it. I think I'm going to do my best to be aware of people around me. It's just too easy to ignore people (especially when all I have is school on my mind). So my goal in this lovely season is to pay attention and not be so rude. It's tough, I know.

Austin and I went to his middle schools' Fall Orchestra concert tonight. First of all, am I the only one who gets super nostalgic when you're in a public school (for those of you who have been in the public education system, of course)? I start reverting back to my middle school self. It's hilarious. Anyway, I'm always pretty excited when I can go with Austin to his school events because I can meet people that he interacts with on a daily basis and witness the environment he works in. I respect my husband so much for taking on such a role of financial leader for our family. I mean, c'mon, he teaches 7th grade math (a subject hated by many) in DISD. Since he has given me the opportunity to work on my Master's degree while he works, I cannot wait to hold down the fort when the time comes for him to pursue his dreams.

Anyhow, the Dallas Stars game is about to start so I'm going to wrap this up. I can't believe Austin got me into hockey because our buddy Preston got him into hockey. It's become quite the obsession, which is probably why we'll move to Canada someday.

Till tomorrow...

{Currently listening to: Gossip-Heavy Cross on repeat}

{Dress [as top]: Thrifted ($.99), Skirt: Plato's Closet [Gilly Hicks] ($12.00), Belt: Thrifted (.99), Sweater: Thrifted [GAP] ($2.99), Shoes: Target ($14.99),Tights: ?, Sunglasses: Target ($12.99), Necklace: Gift from madre, Earrings: Target ($4.99)}