Gotta Believe it to Be It

Hello Everyone!

Adriana here! Sorry for not posting lately. Life has been a crazy busy roller coaster ride but now, I'm back. So on with the post!

*not my quote. I just borrowed from Pinterest*

A struggle of mine lately has been that of 'Relationships' [insert dramatic music] Now,  I don't mean relationship struggles but lack of one... It sometimes actually upsets me because I really feel like nothing is going right, my life is going absolutely nowhere and I really just feel super alone when I keep hearing about my friends relationships or I'm told the exciting news that they are engaged (like what?!)

Now, I'm not saying I'm a girl who needs a guy to move on with my life and I am not saying that being an 'independent woman who don't need no man' is a bad thing. I'm just saying that eventually falling in love and getting married is something I would like to happen in my life and just being on my own "Without a Bae", as my mum would say to bug me, (She uses more teenage slang than I do haha) just sucks. I don't want to be single all my life and I'm the kind of person who really doesn't want to be single for that much longer, but who am I to control when Mr. Right walks into my life and sweeps me off my feet? God knows all that...but it's a very hard thing to remember.

The other day though, in a discussion with my mum about it, she asked me this. "What makes you think you are unloved and unlovable?"

I said I wasn't really sure and to be honest, I never thought of it that way. By saying things to myself or 'joking' about how I would be 'Forever alone' I was basically saying that. That was never my intention but that is and was what was happening.

My mum then went on to say(*note:not her exact words*). "That is a lie from hell. By saying this to yourself you are saying that you aren't worthy of love from anyone and thats how the devil is getting to you. He's getting to you and eventually you find yourself saying you're not even worthy of God's own love. You've got to believe that God loves you and you are loveable to truly be and feel worth it."

......Praise the Lord for the wisdom of mothers! ...anyways. I didn't even realize the truth and reality of what my mum said until she had actually spoken the words. Never once have I thought of it that way because you know, being in a relationship with someone and with God is completely different....or is it really?? Is there really a difference? I mean, yes. God created us and every one and thing around us, but is God's love any different? In fact its probably almost better in some, or all, ways actually. But anyways, besides that point (because that is a whole other topic for another time)

But, really. That thought process is the same. First it starts with you believing you are undeserving of love but then eventually you start to believe not only that but you are also underserving of God's love!

But let me end with something else my mum told me. "Mr.Right may not be here right now, but one day he is going to come and sweep you off your feet and it will be wonderful."

.....My mum also commented about how when he does come along she's probably gonna cry when he takes her baby away from her....but thats besides the point!

Vintage! Vintage! Vintage!

Hello Everyone!

Today I wasn't really sure about what I was going to post about but then I remembered!

I found a little hidden gem in my local area. That hidden gem was a boutique...

...and that boutique sells Vintage dresses!

[Insert Squeal of Excitement Here]

My sister and I went to the shop and tried on a couple dresses.

The first one I tried on, was cute but I didn't find to terribly flattering (colour wise) but I loved the style!

Can I just say how much I love the style and modesty of vintage clothing?! I am also quite convinced that I was made to wear these. I have a very curvy shape, so it was rather flattering and it fit perfectly to my form. On a whole I just loved the style! The narrow waist, the skirt style and length, the sleeves and the chest coverage. (That made me most excited y'all)...but now, let's just all admit the blue wasn't the greatest.

Luckily for me, I found the cutest dress, the same style, that had cherries on it, so obviously I HAD to try it on!

When I did, I half regretted it because I was unable to purchase the dress but...here is what t looked like...

Isn't it lovely? The instant I tried this on I fell in love with it and finally my mum and I came to the decision that vintage is probably one of the cutest styles in existence. 

Everything about the vintage style is just amazing and not to mention modest! That is what I love most about the whole vintage style! It's cute, it's classy and it's modest! A great mix if you ask me!

So, What are your thoughts on the vintage style? What do you love about it? Would you wear vintage clothing on a daily basis if you could? And, last question, have you discovered any little gems that sell your favourite clothing (like this boutique I found) in your area?

So, that is my post for today! Kinda fun and full of excited rambling, but still a post nonetheless. ;)

Until Next Time!

Greetings and Classy Outfit

Hello Everyone!

My name is Adriana and I am so excited to be joining the team here on a Pinch of Classy.

So I have a fun little Outfit Of The Day post for y’all (I think Leah is calling it a ‘Classy Garb’ post) but first I wanna take a little bit of your time to introduce myself a little. (My bio would be pages long if I tried to fit it all on that thing :P)

My bio is kinda more the bare bones about me but I’m gonna throw in a couple more fun details. I am the oldest of 8 kids and I’m overly obsessed with the color orange and the use of smiley emoji's whenever I can. I am known to be quite the girly girl. (Though I have my moments where I’m not.) and I love to dress up in my most classy outfits whenever I get the chance.

I love to be an encouragement to people and help them as much as I can. I am also a Junior Youth Leader at my Youth Group (meaning I help plan the outreach events to bring the youth of the community to our church) and I plan to attend Briercrest College for Youth Ministries.

So there you have it! A bit more about me (besides what's on my bio :P) and now it’s time to get serious and get right into this post! Yay :)

 

For Sundays I love to dress up. On Sundays is usually when I will wear a skirt or dress.

Yeah so my sister jumped in the one picture :P

 So this outfit is probably my favorite outfit of all time. It is an outfit I can also wear year round and one of my few outfits that looks great with my awesome 5 inch heels.

Since I don't have much money to spend on clothes you can probably count that it was cheap. Proof that modest clothing can be purchased at very cheap prices. (Except for the jacket. That was more on the expensive end but it is my moms that I 'borrow'...almost every day.)

I also like to do a little bit of makeup for thing like church or events that require me to dress up. For my makeup I just use Mascara and my all time favorite tinted mint lip gloss. Throw in the super easy hairstyle known as a bun it looks super cute!

So here is a quick recap as to what pieces make up my outfit (and where I purchased them)

 The jacket was purchased from a store called 'Ricki's'

The dress was purchased from Walmart

The leggings were purchased at Value Village. (Not sure they have that in the states but its a second hand store :P)

The shoes were purchased along with the necklace at Ardene

The mascara brand is L'Oreal (Miss Manga I believe it is called) and the lip gloss I found at Bath and Bodyworks

So, yeah. That's my outfit :) Hope you liked it!

Look forward to posting in the future,

 

Being Single in A Not So Single Time {guest post}

 

Today, it seems like everyone has a boyfriend. (Or girlfriend if you are a guy) so you can imagine some of the strange, and sometimes funny, thing people say when you tell them you are single. Okay, well usually that’s not what get’s priceless reactions from people its usually what I say afterwards. I simply will tell people (if the topic comes up about dating or boyfriends as such) that I have chosen not to date. Usually that always leads to the question of ‘Why?’ and usually when I politely answer everyone seems to start a debate even though that was never my intention or people jump in to defend themselves. ( I am not saying dating is a bad thing it’s just a decision I have made)

I have chosen not to date at all. One day when the time comes and ‘Mister Right’ comes my way then yes, maybe I will start dating but at the moment I really don’t know where this path will lead since it is all new to me.

I will admit that being single, in a not so single time, is really, really hard and sometimes even confusing or frustrating. Especially when you are an older teen who is on the verge of adulthood. For me, most of the time I see my friends going into relationships with people or dating/courting someone and sometimes I kind of wish that maybe I did date or I just wish that ‘Mr. Right’ would hurry up and get here. (That might sound funny how I worded it but it’s true.)

In this day and age almost anyone you meet (Well teenagers or young adults anyways) is either in a dating relationship or has been at some point in their life. So, you can imagine how hard and sometimes stressful it can be to go through life being single and sometimes just feeling alone.  I’m sure some of you can relate or have felt this at some point.

A couple friends and I always joke around too on how much we despise ‘Valentine’s Day’ (We don’t actually) and how we want to make a special annual event for singles but even though we joke around about these things and being single sometimes my friends and I (and I’m sure some of you as well) really do feel alone simply because most people around you have been in or are in a relationship.

Now, I’m really hoping this isn’t coming across as complaining. (Because that is not what I am trying to do at all.) Sometimes all it takes is just a simple reminder as to why you made the decision not to date and just talking to God. Tell him your struggles or worries because he always listens.

This summer was especially hard for me and I was worrying about what would happen and when I would meet 'Mr. Right'. I know it sounds silly, but really, I was. I was also a little bummed and started asking myself why I couldn't date someone and all these questions that made me kind of want to change my mind about dating. It was during my camping trip with my uncle and aunty this summer that I was reminded of a book I packed to read during the summer. (I brought about 20 books) I hurried into the trailer and dug through my box of books and pulled out 'I Kissed Dating Goodbye' by Joshua Harris. When I packed my books I didn't really know why I was bringing it but it seemed to serve its purpose. :)

For the next couple days I carried around that book wherever I went and sat on the beach for hours on end while I read.

 

The author went through every topic in the dating world and spoke honestly about it.

Most importantly her turned to the bible, giving examples of what God says in the bible for each chapter topic. I cannot think of one chapter in the book where the author didn’t use a verse from the bible. Everything he said was backed up with a bible verse.

One thing that jumped out at me in the book was where the author spoke of singleness and the reason behind it (according to the Bible).

This was a great thing for me because, like I said before, its hard sometimes.

Sometimes I wish I had a boyfriend like everyone else or that a boy would tell me he liked me! Today it is especially hard because so many people are in relationships. (Especially a lot of my friends)

The author of the book mentioned how our years being single (As in being a young adult or teenager) are short and should be spent growing closer to God and digging deeper into his word.

I now realize how important this stage of my life is!

I’m now seeing the importance of being single now. Sometimes it just takes something like this to open your eyes.

I want to leave you today, with this.

You need to focus on God. That’s what's important…and then, when God knows you are ready 'Mr. Right' will come along. Just trust God and his timing and spend your time of singleness wisely growing closer to God. God knows what he is doing. He is writing your love story and it will be beautiful.

 

God bless,

(Visit Adriana at her blog Adriana Gabrielle Writes)

Modesty: Setting Some Guidelines

Hey! I’m so excited to be posting on this blog. This is my first ever post on a blog like this so please be patient with me :P

 

So I want to talk about an easy way to get started with modesty by setting some guidelines. Though some of you may already have some rules as to what you can and can’t wear it doesn’t hurt to get a refresher. Before I get started I just want to quickly say that everyone has different rules or guidelines when it comes to modesty.

 

Maybe you constantly wonder: “I’ve always wanted to dress modestly but how can I dress modestly and still wear what is in style?”

 

Well, sorry to have to tell you this, but sometimes you can’t. Now don’t get me wrong. I for one LOVE the latest and newest trends in fashion but sometimes it just can’t happen. Modesty is really important. Like Bethany said in her post:

 “I've discovered that the reason most people dress without modesty is to draw attention to themselves. This is the opposite of being humble. In modesty, we are not trying to attract attention, because all attention should be given to the One who deserves it: God.”

 

So that really cute shirt you saw in the store yesterday that shows to much cleavage or that really nice skirt that shows off most of your legs is, most likely, not the best choice, but if you take your time and look around the store you can find other cute tops or skirts that are modest and still cute or what you are looking for. If that store carries clothes that aren’t appropriate then don’t go back to that store. I have had to do that before. It’s not fun because the clothes are SO cute but if they aren’t honoring to God then don’t go there anymore. Avoid the temptation altogether by not shopping there anymore as much as you want to.

 

Now I know this is not what you are expecting to hear me say next but… I shop at Value Village. You probably just fainted like most of the people I know but let me tell you Value Village is not an old people store. (Half of my wardrobe is Value Village or Hand me downs). Example. You know those jeans that were $100 dollars at the store yesterday? Yup. I found a $100 pair of jeans at Value Village for $20 (sadly they didn’t fit) so get together some outfit Ideas and make a stop there. But before you go shopping, whether it be Value Village or the Mall, let’s set out some guidelines (now we finally get to them :P ) to take with us when we go shopping for clothes that will make you happy because you got what you wanted and you also got a modest outfit. YAY!

1.       Bring someone shopping with you.

This AMAZING man is my daddy. When I go shopping I will take him with me or if I buy something while he is at work I will wait to take off the tags until he sees it and approves. I would highly suggest taking a family member, whose opinion you trust, shopping with you. Whether it is your mom, dad or grandparents. I take my dad with me or get his consent because he knows what’s appropriate or not and I listen to him. Maybe I really wanted that dress or skirt but I need to honor what my father says. Besides I don’t want to be drawing attention to myself (especially in the wrong ways) Do you?

2.       What is too short or too low?

Here are a few tests I keep in mind when I go shopping.

(These tests I am about to show you are from the book called ‘Secret Keeper Girl’ by Dannah Gresh that I went through years ago with my mom)

Test 1. How short is too short?

Get in front of a full length mirror. If you are in shorts, sit Indian style. If you are in a skirt sit in a chair with your legs crossed. Now, what do you see in the mirror? If you see underwear or lots of thigh your skirt or shorts are too short.

Please keep in mind that you just need to think about this when you go shopping. I am not telling you to go to the store and test this in front of those full length mirrors in the dressing room. I won’t go through ALL the test but I will give you 1 more.

Test 2. Is my shirt too low?

Lean forward a little bit. Can you see too much of your chest or even (with a shirt I had) when you bend over you could see my stomach the shirt was too loose? ( so watch for shirts that are to baggy or loose as well) If any of that happens your shirt is too low. Layering is a good solution just go buy a camisole and layer it up!

So those are a few things I keep in mind when shopping for clothes and only a few of my guidelines. I hope you enjoyed this post and it was helpful.