100 Things

This was inspired by Mrs. Cramer, from Adventures in Odyssey. She is hilarious, if you haven't heard her in "To Mend or Repair," you definitely need to! She goes to an open mic poetry reading and reads her poem entitled "100 Things I Hate." some of the things on her list include: flimsy supermarket lettuce, poems that don't rhyme, children laughing, democracy." Hahaha I love her! I am compiling a list of 100 Things I Hate.
However, since I believe in balance, I am also creating a list of 100 Things I Love. This is written in all jest, and I hope you all enjoy it!

100 Things I Hate by Apostolic Fashion
1. Spandex
2. Slips with slits
3. Cute clothes ruined by rhinestones or sequins
4. Flip flops that cost more than $5 (I mean, really?? They're pieces of rubber!)
5. Hats that make my ears stick out
6. Pimples (they always show up right before a big conference or meeting)
7. Clothes tags that scratch
8. Saggy nylons
9. Cute shoes on the clearance rack that aren't my size
10. Elastic waistbands
11. Sprung bobby pins
12. Uneven hems
13. Greasy lotion
14. Irons that spit water all over my clothes
15. Ill-fitting bridesmaid dresses

100 Things I Love by Apostolic Fashion
1. Converse All Stars
2. High heels
3. Finding a "brand new with tags" skirt at a thrift store
4. Jean skirts
5. Sandals (hallelujah its spring!)
6. Cowboy hats
7. Hot sticks
8. Plaid
9. Dressing up
10. Hearing someone say "omyword I love her outfit" behind my back
11. Scarves
12. Yellow
13. Having someone else do my hair
14. Sunglasses
15. Fuzzy socks

Pictures

I have recently discovered Pinterest, and thought I'd share some fun stuff with y'all.

An ode

An ode to my favorite jean skirt

Here's to you, my darling jean skirt
You've been an amazing part of my wardrobe
Your stylishness conformed to my pastor's guidelines
And you kept me modest and comfy
A find like you is such a rarity
And I enjoyed the time we've spent together
All the conferences we've attended together
The boring college classes we've endured
The comfy "jeans and hoody" days we've shared
All this must come to a close
As alas, you've lived a good life
And you've served me well
You've worn yourself out on my behalf
And you are now wholly holey (and therefore no longer holy)
I'll miss you dreadfully
Love, your wearer for the the past 6 years

Psalm 45

I recently read Psalm 45 in my Bible reading, and it got me thinking. Allow me to draw some parallels to apostolic fashion from this chapter in the Word of God.

Psalm 45:11 So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for He is thy Lord and worship thou Him.

Psalm 45:13 The king's daughter is all glorious within...

Verse 11 talks about how the king (aka God) desires our beauty! May I draw your attention to three different verses that discuss beauty...

1 Chronicles 16:29 ... Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness
Psalm 29:2 ... Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness
Psalm 69:9 worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness...

Holiness is beautiful!!!! Thank the Lord - that's the only chance some of us have to be beautiful! (only kidding). When we receive the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues, we have the Holy Ghost working in our lives, making us holy! We cannot be holy on our own - wearing a dress and doing your hair the apostolic way will not make you holy. Only the Holy Ghost can do that! I am reminded of that old song, "Jesus on the inside, working on the outside, oh what a change in my life!"

God desires us to be holy! Psalm 34:11 says the king greatly desires our beauty (the beauty of holiness). The reason why we should be holy? "For He is thy Lord." and then it gives us a command, "worship thou Him." The three verses that discuss "worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness" make me think that holiness coupled with worship is pretty important to God. In fact, I have always thought of worship and holiness together being beautiful to God. When we worship Him with a holy heart, He flat out LOVES it!

Psalm 45:13 says that the king's daughter is all glorious within. This tells me that the princess is not simply beautiful on the outside - she is a glorious person on the inside as well! Sometimes we focus so much on looking just right on the outside that we forget about being glorious inside. Let me encourage everyone (including myself) to work on being glorious inside. A glorious-within kind of woman (in my mind) is like the Proverbs 31 woman (who just really amazes me - how does she do all that stuff????) as well as bearing the Fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, patience). Next time you're getting all spiffed up for church or a special date night, or maybe just going to the grocery store, remember to put on your glorious inside, as well as your glorious outside! And ask the Lord for help with being glorious inside - if anyone can make you glorious, if would be the King of Glory!

With love to my glorious/beautiful sisters,
A.F.

The Mall and Perfect Friends

So I haven't been to the mall in forever, since life doesn't always allow for hours-long shopping trips. However, I recently went with a couple friends for a day-long shopping excursion, which included thrift stores and the mall. Walking through the mall and being bombarded with pictures of mostly-naked people and other inappropriate sights made me sick. I decided if I ever have children, I will NOT take them to the mall. Wow - so inappropriate.
There was a girl at the mall (I think she worked at Nordstrom) who was obviously on her break outside the store. She had a mini skirt (2 sizes too small), boots, and patterned nylons on. She was standing outside Nordstrom talking on the phone, and I wonder if she knew what happened next. Three guys walked by, and these guys were like total losers. You know the type - white trash who probably sit at home in their trashed trailer, drinking beer, playing video games and beating their wife. Anyway, the three of them stopped and stared at her for a good 3 minutes - it was nasty. I wonder if she knew when she got dressed that morning that that was the kind of guy she was going to attract that day. My word, if I had guys looking at me like that, my daddy would hit the roof. It creeped me out just seeing them stare at her like that.
On to better subjects.
Any of you have perfect friends? You know the type - skinny, tall and gorgeous? The kind you don't want to stand next to in a picture, because you feel frumpy beside them? Yeah, I have been blessed with several perfect friends. I was talking to one the other day, and she said something about needing to lose a few pounds. I CANNOT be the only one in the world who has heard this from someone who OBVIOUSLY DOES NOT NEED TO LOSE WEIGHT. I really wanted to throw her out a window... but I refrained (only because she was not in the same county as I was at the time). I even have a perfect guy friend. He's the guy that walks into the conference and all the girls inhale at once. I'm friends with him just so I can be popular with the girls ("Who is that??" "Can you introduce me??") A few days ago, I said something about those shirts that you get at camp or a conference that are unisex size and never look flattering. I said "That shirt looks horrid on me," and he said "Well, it looks good on me." I said, "Well, SOME OF US AREN'T PERFECT!" and you know what the brat said? "Oh, yeah... sorry." Grrrr....
Someday, I want to be someone's perfect friend...

Sadly packed away my white skirts, white shoes and summery clothes... unpacked my plaid skirts and sweaters...
I love fall, I really do! I love the colors of fall, as well as the weather, but I really do miss my summer clothes. As I packed my clothes up into the big storage tote I keep them in over the winter, I thought I never even wore this skirt this summer! I only wore this skirt once! Sigh... summer is just too short.
I just went through Old Navy's website, and their new fall collection looks pretty good - if you wanna pay their prices... I have a tough time shopping anything but the clearance rack there, because I just feel like they are overpriced. Anyway, they have some great winter trenches that are super cute, as well as some maxi skirts (if you can wear the knit-type skirts), and some super cute shirts.
The best thing about fall is the return of BOOTS! I love my boots! I love shoes of any kind, but boots are just so cozy and cute. The only problems with boots are: I always need another pair, and some of the cutest boots are the most uncomfortable! Well, I don't think I can solve the former, but I think I have come up with a solution to the latter! Check out aldoshoes.com they have super cute boots, and they are supposedly extremely comfortable! (I haven't bought myself a pair YET, but several colleagues have recommended them and raved about how comfy they are).
While you're on the Aldo site, make sure you check out their oxfords. I am a fan of these shoes! They have become so popular, and they are so stinkin' cute! You can find 'em pretty much everywhere, and they look good with a jean skirt or semi-casual professional wear. Wear 'em with tights or no socks, and they look great!
Since we're on the topic of shoes, I am in LOVE with Toms! Check out toms.com Their classic shoe is super cute, but I love the wedge, especially in the corduroy. These shoes are great school shoes for the kids(unless you live in a very wet area - they are NOT waterproof). Very comfy, and they come in a billion colors/designs! Take them to the youth conference when you don't want to change out of your dress clothes for the gym but the dress shoes are murder. Besides, every time you buy a pair, they donate a pair to a child in need. Charity and fashion combined!
Happy Fall!
~A.F

Hiatus

Hello Everyone,

I hope everyone is having a good day off, whether you are celebrating December 25th or just enjoying a restful day with family and/or friends.
I regret that I have been unable to update the blog like I have wanted. I wanted to give a reason or two for the absence of posts. I am working on an advanced degree, and it has taken most of my time and brainpower, and will continue to do so for a while. While I love the upkeep of this blog, I feel that I cannot continue to keep it up until my life slows down a little bit. That being said, I am officially announcing my hiatus (even though it's been in effect since June haha). This is not to say that I will not, on occasion, find time to post something. Also, I find that updating the twitter feed is a much more feasible goal than updating the blog, so I will attempt to tweet regularly with my angst about the way fashion is going nowadays (by the way, the twitter feed is once more open to any and everyone to see... and this might be the longest run-on sentence I've ever written).
That being said... what is with people wearing sweaters and leggings?? DISGUSTING! The sweater barely covers the sit-down area of a person, and the leggings are basically opaque tights, which just makes it nasty looking! Why do people do this? What is our world coming to??
On a happier note, I have been searching for the perfect pair of black boots, and I found them today online! Yippee! Think cowboy boot meets black ruffles. Too cute!
I also was recently given the most adorable red shirt with huge red roses on the collar. Now to find the perfect outfit to go with it...

Until I find time again, I wish everyone the best fashion finds and budget bargains! (The plus about this time of year is all the sales! Especially the day after C-mas!!)

~A.F