A Minty Obsession

MINT - simply the best

I love mint. I don't own too much of it, but I would really like to! It's one of those colors that I immediately categorize with my spring/summer wardrobe, but I've recently come to the conclusion that's not accurate. 

I love that mint just can't make up its mind whether it wants to be a winter or a summer color. The truth is, I see it capable functioning for both! Paired with white, yellow, teals, and other springy colors in the summer, mint is refreshing and clean. But paired with darker purples, blacks, and golds, mint can be festive and serve as a fun accent color in the winter.

Conclusion: mint is perfect in the winter. And we should all recognize it's perfection through some of my favorite mint pieces:

poppy statement necklace

leather coin purse

patent narrow-buckle belt

zigzag stripe scarf

double pocket longline wool coat

toothpick cord

essie mint candy apple

etta suede pumps

ombré infinity scarf

Happy Friday! 
PS - this video should make your Friday even more enjoyable.

Winter Patterns

I am in love with all of the winter patterns out, they are such an easy way to get into the festiveness of the holiday season. It's definitely time for me to start taking advantage of these patterns, because they will not work so well with my spring wardrobe. Here are a couple of my favorite winter patterns out right now, and some of my favorite items for sale for each!

Tartan

Tartan is a classic winter pattern, especially when when the colors incorporate the hunter green and red. It's super easy to dress up or dress down, which is why I love it! With jeans you can wear it super casually, but tucked into a skirt it's more dressy in a different kind of way. Tartan accents are also great because they're an easy way to add a festive flair to an otherwise plain outfit. Here are a few of my favorite tartan items!

boy shirt in grey tartan

barbour tartan plaid scarf

shirtdress

scotch shirt

Fair Isle

Nothing says winter quite like fair isle sweaters. I love the timelessness and festiveness of this pattern! Here are some of my favorite sweaters out this year:

lobster crewneck sweater

long-sleeve fair isle striped sweater

jeweled fair isle striped sweater

seaside fair isle crewneck sweater

Happy Winter!

DIY: Paper Snowflakes

So finals week has definitely got the best of my hallmates and me. While taking a study break, one of my hallmates discovered this super awesome DIY craft on Pinterest - paper snowflakes! She made a ton of them, and then hung them up from the ceiling to give our hall a taste of winter.

The link I provided below shows you step by step how to make them, and then how to make them into really cute curtains! I love the idea, and am probably going to make one when I get home.

It's such an easy and fun holiday decoration! Perfect to hang above your bed, in windows, or really just about anywhere. And it essentially costs nothing, so long as you own a pair of scissors and copy paper. 

Click here to learn how to make them!

The link looks really intimidating, but I promise it is super easy! 

Happy Crafting! 

Holiday Gifting

Fact: I usually do not make Christmas lists. I may hint at one or two big items that I want, but other than that I leave it up to my parents, friends, and family to figure out what to get me. Not knowing what I will open on Christmas morning makes the build up to Christmas morning so much more enjoyable, but I also love this idea for another reason.

I also really, really love spending time scouring the internet, mall, or Pinterest (for DIY gifts) to come up with the perfect gift for my friends and family. For me, standing on the giving side of a gifting session is so much more enjoyable than standing on the receiving side.

The more I think about it, the weirder it is for people to make detailed Christmas lists. Personally, I think it is way more fun to see what the people who love and care about you feel is an appropriate display of their feelings for you via gift giving. 

In this sense, I feel our culture has completely ruined the idea of gift giving, and it's so sad! What is intended to be an outward display of appreciation and value for someone's friendship or companionship has turned into a word doc listing not-so-subtle demands to guarantee happiness on Christmas morning. 

When you have very explicit expectations for what Christmas is going to look like, you create preconceived ideas of how things should be carried out in order to guarantee satisfaction and happiness. Entering the Christmas season with little to no expectations is the most liberating feeling - there is limited opportunity for you to be disappointed, and you can focus the attention you would have allotted on creating your dream Christmas list toward coming up with the perfect gifts for your friends and family. In the long run, this is so so so much more rewarding. 

Just a thought!

Sunday Wisdom: Peaking

We're all familiar with the ideal of "peaking". It's a term used to describe a self-actualization of sorts, the climax of an event, or even of our lives. Some might say they reached their "peak" in high school in reference to grades, while simultaneously describing they reached the "peak" of their social lives in college.

It's so easy and so tempting to look at our past and look toward our future and point to specific instances where we believed or believe we will excel. Oftentimes when we engage in this sort of mindset, we simultaneously point to specific goals or desires and say to ourselves, "If only I had _______, then I would be happiest, because it will allow me to have/do _______."

I do this all the time. It is so easy for me to look back on my past and wonder if I peaked in certain things, or look toward my future and believe that the happiest version of myself will exist as soon as _______ happens. 

But the more I think about it, the more incorrect this sort of mentality is - it is not a state of mind the Lord calls us to have. 

"This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." -Psalm 118:24

This verse is so simple, but really it carries immense meaning. So often do we spend our days concentrating on a past or future version of ourselves, rather than enjoying our present situation and surroundings. 

Don't get me wrong - setting goals for yourself and learning from the past is important, but it is not the only thing that is important. It is so easy to bulldoze over the present in the name of obtaining some milestone and not enjoy the simple, little, and everyday blessings that mold us into the person we are today. Not yesterday, not tomorrow, but today.

Happy Sunday!