Concerning Personal Style

Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this is not a fashion blog. Too bad really, because I love a good fashion blog. I'm kind of a voyeur when it comes to style. I love to look - blogs, pinterest, magazines, it's just the application that's a little elusive. Can I get an amen?

Specifically, the idea of "personal style" is a bit tricky for me. It's been gradually coming to my attention that, assuming I have one, I'm not sure what it is. And let's be clear, I'm not talking about the idea that everyone should fit themselves into a little box labeled "preppy," "boho," "beachy," etc. But rather the self awarness to say "this is what looks good on me, and this is what I like."

My early attempts at personal style included wearing skirts over jeans and other regrettable high school decisions. We've all been there...right? Hopefully, I'm not the only woman who had a rough early millenium? Now that I'm a little older (and wiser?), here's my M.O. maybe you can relate: When I get the opportunity to buy some clothes, I go around the store collecting all this cute stuff and then head to the fitting room to see if it fits. If it does, I bring it home where it sits in my closet because every time I have the chance to wear it I don't because it doesn't seem right. So I end up wearing the same five outfits over, and over, and over....You know what I mean?

I think the solution might have something to do with asking the right questions. Not "Do I like this?" but "Do I like this on me?" Not "Does it fit?" but "Is this something I will wear?" I think I'm starting to understand that just because I like a fad doesn't necessarily mean I need to adopt it. That I can appreciate a super cute sweater, dress, or top without feeling the need to own it. "It's cute and it fits" does not equal "It needs to come home with me." Thus, saving money and closet space on those things that truly speak to me.

Now, it remains for me to figure out what those things are. What do I really want to wear? What actually feels right for me? This is something I've been especially dealing with since having my sweet Baby 6 weeks ago. Not only do certain things just plain not fit but I'm finding that some of the things I used to wear proudly just don't seem to work, in deeper ways, on my new child-bearing self. Here come the Mom Jeans! Juuuuust kidding. No, I'm just suggesting that there may be a different way to embrace this new season in my life, stylistically speaking, than the things that used to work before. Above all, personal style should be just that - personal. It should communicate something about who you are, and who I am has recently undergone some major overhaul. Perhaps the way I pick out clothes should too?

So, it's kind of like a blank slate. Approaching myself, and my closet, with honesty. Being picky about what I choose to own.

So, thoughts? Suggestions? What are some of the ways you've defined your personal style?

Introductions

I've given a lot of thought as to how to begin this blog. Do I jump right in? Introduce myself? Give you a detailed plan of what I'd like to accomplish here and where we're going? How about a combination?

A couple of years ago, I started a blog about being a newlywed and my endeavours to achieve domestic success paramount to that great saint of housewives everywhere - June Cleaver. I set out to improve myself while reviving what I felt was the lost art of keeping house, and I wanted to help all the ladies out there who shared my concern and passion. It included recipes, how-tos, and - let's be real - diatribes about the everyday happenings of this modern, old-fashioned homemaker. At first I resolved to "leave God out of it," attempting to, I'm ashamed to say, appeal to a wider audience and keep from making anyone uncomfortable. But eventually it evolved into something slightly more. It became an ode to enjoying the little things, to picking out the treasured moments among the mundane, and my faith occasionally leaked out. And it became, I believe, a better blog, but there was still something missing.

I would read these wonderful, compelling blogs that seemed to have such purpose. God challenged me and my molded my heart through these blogs. These beautiful women would speak wisdom into my life and talk of their "calling" to blog. Their "purpose." Where was my calling? My purpose? All I seemed to have were various seasons with the blog. I'd spring from happy consistency to apathy, then bursts or obsession generally followed by breaks I forced myself to take to readjust my priorities or because something felt "off." Then, not really intentionally, I stopped blogging altogether.

Several months, one baby, and (I hope) a little more spiritual maturity later, here I am again. For the first time in a long time, I really want to be here. I mean, I really, really want to blog. Only this time, I think I know what's missing. I simply cannot do this alone. I used to think there were certain arenas in my life that I could handle by myself i.e. keeping house, buying groceries, putting food on the table and most of the other things my blogging seemed to cover. I was counting on God to make me a better person, but somehow I seemed to have the notion that it was up to me to be a better wife. And, honestly, I was "handling" those things. Well, I don't want to "handle" things anymore. I want to excel.

I want to maintain a home that is a harbor for my growing family. I want to once again find enjoyment in planning our meals and shopping for them within my grocery budget. I want to create a place where my husband can breath again after a long day of bringing home the bacon. And if there is one thing I have learned in these silent months it is how utterly incapable I am, but how very much God can accomplish through me. Being a wife, a Mommy, and a Homemaker are sacred callings, and expecting to be able to do them in my own strength is setting myself up for disappointment, if not failure all together.

Now, maybe I'm the only one who feels this way, and this new blog will be nothing more than a cathartic record of this new journey, but I'm willing to bet that I am not alone. Do you know what I'm talking about? Have you felt this way?

That seems to take care of the introductions, jumping in, and what I'm doing here. As for where we're going, I'm not entirely sure. I don't foresee this being a place of heavy and, let's be honest, long-winded posts like this. And with said new Baby, I can't make any promises as to consistency. I just want to create a place for enjoying the little things again, and being a better me, all with the mindset that I'm not doing it alone. I expect we'll still have recipes, how-tos, and yes, the diatribes of yours truly, with a little spiritual inspiration thrown into the mix. Most importantly, I'm open to where God is calling this blog and how He wants to use it - and me.

So, whaddya say, want to join me?