One of my most favorite things about dresses is all of the options for styling them! This post is the first in a continuous series I’m starting here where I’ll pick a dress and share multiple ways to wear it. With each post I’ll share a casual and a dressy way to wear the dress and sometimes even an in-between! Dresses are my go-to when I am getting dressed in the morning because I know that they can carry me through the whole day no matter what it holds and by changing a few accessories I can completely change the look!
The first look is something I would wear to a nice event like a wedding or church. I love the detail that the belt adds and the ruffles on the shoes go perfectly with the feminine details of the dress. My favorite detail are the statement earrings. I love how bold they are and that they have the blush centers tying all of the other accessories into the outfit.
I wore this look to church a few weeks ago, but it would also be perfect for a baby shower or bridal shower. The cork heels and basket purse are less formal than the pumps and statement earrings and I opted for simple gold hoops to go with the more simplistic feel of this outfit.
The final look is how I wear this outfit for an everyday basis. For the earrings I did hoops, although simple diamond studs are also a great option. I kept the basket purse and traded out the heels for simple slides. In the summer this is basically my uniform and is perfect for running errands or grabbing coffee with a friend!
Happy Easter my sweet friends! I wanted to take a few moments out of this day and share with you some things that have been on my heart and that God has been teaching me this year. While all of our Instagram feeds are filled with sweet family moments and children’s Easter egg hunts, I celebrated it this year in a cemetery alone eating ice cream. If you follow my Instagram , then you know that shortly after the start of this year my Papa was diagnosed with cancer and after two months of bravely battling it, he lost his battle with it here and went home to be with Jesus last month. Early into Papa’s battle my family realized that his birthday fell on Easter this year, and when he passed, I will be honest that I really struggled knowing that a holiday meant for celebrating the resurrected King would be clouded by the knowledge that I should have also been celebrating my Papa’s 91st birthday with him. As I have been walking this road of grief this past month I have come to realize something though, truly, God could not have chosen a more perfect day for Easter to fall this year. You see, my Papa knew Jesus as his Lord and Savior and as a result, I know that he is celebrating Easter and his birthday in Heaven with Jesus! The thing is, aside from Jesus’ work on the cross and the empty tomb, that comfort I have would not exist. Aside from Easter, death would have stolen my beloved Papa from me forever with no hope, but because of Easter death is not the end! Instead of having to tell my Papa goodbye forever, I only had to tell him “until I see you again”!
I am so so thankful that 2000 years ago God saw fit to send Jesus as a baby into the world to live the perfect life that I could not live and to die the perfect death. I am even more thankful that it did not end there on the cross, for you guys, three days later Jesus did the impossible, he defeated death and rose again! Because He lives, I can face today, tomorrow and eternity with hope knowing that I have placed my trust in Him and He will never disappoint me! He is my comfort when I sit at my Papa’s graveside crying because I miss him, but praise God that I know I will see him again! If you don’t have this hope, know that it is available to you! As I shared in my stories on Instagram, God didn’t wait for us to figure it out and get our lives perfectly together before we could have fellowship with Him and be given hope, rather He sent His son Jesus to us while we were yet sinners and died for us! If you have not heard of this hope that we can have before, please feel free to reach out to me, I would love to share more with you! I hope that each and every one of you had a wonderful Easter, but more importantly it is my prayer that each of you are encouraged and filled with hope this Easter because the tomb is empty and Jesus is very much so alive and active!
If you have followed me for any point of time, it is no secret that I LOVE Rachel Parcell’s clothing line. I love how timeless her pieces are and the feminine touches that always make them stand apart from other designers. I picked up this sweet dress last year and was so excited that she brought back a very similar version of it this year and have linked it up above. What do you look for in your ideal dress?
As we keep moving closer and closer to Easter weekend, I have been going back to a talk that Angie Smith gave at the If Gathering back in 2016 and I thought I’d give a recap of it today since it has been on my heart.
At the very beginning of scripture in the garden of Eden, we see two questions asked. The first one is by Satan and it is ‘Are you sure that God has your best in mind?’ and the second is by God and it is ‘where are you?’. Now, when God asked Adam and Eve where they were, it is important to realize that God had not lost them, he was asking them, what is the posture of your heart for me? God already knew where their hearts were, but by asking them Adam and Eve had to reevaluate their own hearts and find where they are. Several chapters later and hundreds of years after the garden of Eden, we find Abraham. He is now an old man and God had promised him a son that He would build a nation out of that would bless the whole world. In his old age God did grant Abraham that son, Isaac, but sometime later God tested Abraham which brings us to our first point: don’t let anyone ever tell you that God will not test you, He will never tempt you, but that is different than testing. The truth is, if we get honest God often gives us more than we can handle, and honestly, this whole life is more than we can handle, but that is why we have Him because He can handle it all. God called Abraham to take his son, his only son that he loved, up onto the mountain and to sacrifice him. On the way up the mountain as Isaac carried the wood and Abraham the fire, Isaac looked over and asked Abraham, “My father, we have the wood and fire, but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?” Abraham replied to Isaac, “God himself will provide the lamb.” We all know how the story goes at this point: right before Abraham sacrifices Isaac, God stops him and tells him that because he did not withhold anything from God, not even his only son, He knew he loved him more than anything. At this point God opens Abraham’s eyes and Abraham looks up to see a ram caught in the thicket and sacrifices the ram in Isaac’s place and walks down the mountain with his son. It is a story with a happy ending, of course Abraham can say that God is good when he walked down the mountain with his son, but what about when you walk down the mountain without your loved one as was the case with Angie Smith and me with my grandpa? It was during one such time in her life that Angie felt God leading her to go back and read this story again and again because He had something there for her. After reading it several times she realized something that changed her life and in a ripple effect has changed mine over the past several years, especially this one as I watched my Papa battle cancer and lose the battle. Go back and look at the beginning, as they were walking up the mountain, God promised to provide a lamb, He never said anything about a lamb. The promise was THE Lamb. Two thousand years later on this same mountain range, Jesus Christ was crucified on our behalf, HE was the promised lamb. When you think about who Christ is to you when you are being tested, have you spent more time with your eyes locked on the thicket or on the cross? We have no guarantees about the ram, but we have EVERY guarantee about The Lamb. He will not fail us, and these things that feel scary, we have to live it out and place our trust in Him, the Lamb of God. So as you face the two questions that have been asked since the beginning of time and continue to be asked over and over again, when you hear the enemy whisper, “are you sure?”, here’s your answer: “I’m not sure about the ram, but I am certain of the lamb.” And when you hear God asking, “where are you?” your answer is simple, “Right here Lord, ready and willing. You send me where you want me to go, and in your power and your strength I will do that.”
You guys, as I walk through life and all the scary hard trials that come with it, facing it with the realization that while I do not have the promise of the ram, but have EVERY promise of the lamb, I know I can walk through it because I won’t be alone, He will be there. Whatever you are facing in life, no matter how hard or scary, know that you are not alone, you have been promised the Lamb and He will not leave or forsake you, He has promised you this. If you’re needing encouragement right now (and honestly even if you don’t need it right now, because at some point you will need it), go watch the full talk that Angie Smith gave here. It is under seventeen minutes and SO worth every minute. As I said at the beginning, I have gone back to this so many times over the last several years and it has carried me through this past year.
I love all of you and am praying over each and every one of you this Easter season.
As we head into Easter week, I am going to share a different look with you guys each day to hopefully inspire you for your Easter outfit. I love the eyelet lace of this dress and the clear wedges add the perfect touch of being on trend. When I found these wedges I instantly fell in love with them as they made me think of a modern day version of Cinderella’s glass slippers. This dress would also pair perfectly with a cardigan if Easter happens to be a bit cooler where you live.
Today I am sharing with you my top 10 picks for Easter dresses this year. I love a beautiful feminine dress, and Easter is the perfect time of year to pick up a new one to enjoy throughout the upcoming warmer months. I love all of these picks because they are right on trend for this season while all having a timeless feel to them that guarantees you’ll be able to enjoy them for years to come.
If you still don’t have your outfit yet for St. Patrick’s Day, don’t worry, I have you covered! I found the CUTESET jumpsuit while looking at Versona’s new spring collection and the moment I saw it I KNEW that it was perfect for St. Patty’s Day! While I would normally wear a cute green top with jeans or green earrings for this day, with the holiday falling on a Sunday I knew that I had to find something extra special to wear this year, and this jumpsuit filled all of my dreams. The best part is that I will be wearing it long after St. Patrick’s Day as it would be so cute to wear to any wedding or bridal shower as well as is a top contender for Easter. I will warn you though, I shared this look early on my Instagram Stories since I knew it would sale out fast, and it is going fast, so I would definitely not waste any time either running to your local Versona or ordering it online. (If you do expedited shipping it should still reach you in time if you order today!)
