Spring Essentials: Things I am currently loving!

North Carolina can be so tricky! She (pronoun I arbitrarily decided on—I like Ole’ Carolina being one of the gals) loves to dupe us with unseasonably (because there are no real seasons in this quaint neck of the woods) odd temperatures and unbearable mood swings that gives us Carolinians whiplash and pneumonia. Love her for it! This Saturday and the perpetually blooming Bradford pear trees left me reeling for sweet springtime. However, today the temperatures are frigid and my soul, too, is cold  as a result.

Almost every piece of clothing I buy I try to determine its utility value: how much wear can I get out of this? Thus, almost all my clothing is worn year-round. BUT wait, I do have a niffy little box of spring ready shorts and tanks that I took a gander inside this weekend and y'all, suddenly I smelt blooms and wished for sand between my toes. I am sucker for spring and fall. I would love an everlasting year of high-sixty-something’s. 

Without further ado, here is my list of spring essentials. Otherwise known as the websites' links I linger over too often, you feel me, right? I hope this is common practice for all girls or this just got awkward.

Jack Roger Georgica Sandal in Cork and Gold

Old Navy Rockstar Jeans in White (sign up for emails and receive alerts--their jeans go on sale regularly and I snagged these for $19).

Splurge Alert and will never be mine, but a girl can dream! Love this Sail to Sable Cheers to Chic Tunic in Yellow. 

Smitten with these Pleated Crepe J.Crew shorts in all colors, but especially the Bright Cerise and Navy

Reece and Blair Collection-The Loring statement earrings. Another splurge alert, but these are beautiful. 

J.Crew Knit Tunic Dress in White. Technically, this is a beach cover-up, but the material is thick enough to double as a flawlessly easy on-the-go dress. This screams summer to me! 

   The perfect jean jacket is a staple for the spring! This Gap 1969 Denim Jacket in Jericho is perfect. My current jacket is very similar from Nordstrom and I get so much wear out of it!

The Saddle Hayden Satchel from Gigi New York is too much goodness in one bag. It is the perfect transition bag and it comes in awesome spring/summer hues like Skye Blue and Tangerine. This is like the wish-wish-and-keep-wishing addition to the list.

Loving the graphic tees this season. These from Old Navy are a steal and perfect for tucking into skirts or shorts. 

Cami Maxi Dress from Gap is perfect and so versatile. So easy to dress up or down and have y'all put on a maxi lately, it is equivalent of PJ's on the comfort level--sign me up! Also, comes in another awesome color, Rose.

Jun & Ivy Scalloped Tank in Neon Pink from Francesca's. Love the scallop detail and bright color will look perfect through summer! 

Hope you enjoy my picks! Does Spring Fever have you dreaming?

Trusting if you Trust: Navigating True Trust

Last week was rough, y'all. And the week before that one. And maybe, like one more before that one. Walking around with bricks on bricks on my shoulders, rough. On days when my mascara is competing for the grand prize in an abstract painting contest, I love to post a picture (#grace), I love to tell a friend how I am just "trusting in the Lord", and on rough days I really love to be...mean, no better way to say that one. As I am quick to admit, I am a professional wall-builder. Call me Bob the Builder--but real talk, when circumstances become harder and harder I do a lot of things. Yell at my sweet husband. Demand jelly beans and chocolate bribes. Crawl under my covers for an abnormal amount of time and pretend I am on the cast of Pretty Little Liars. Yep, doing the most. What I don't do when I realize I cannot handle one more microscopic grain of hardship on my back? Call out on Christ. Trust that God is greater than my current situation. Believe God's word when it declares He truly will not give me more than I can handle. Fundamentally, I know these truths, but all the other things in my heart and head blur my spiritual desire for the Gospel, during times when that should be my first plan of action. If you were to ask me if I trust in God for all my needs I would say yes, every single time. I would not call myself a fair-weather fan of Christ because I know without a shadow of a doubt His blood has bought me at a price that I could never afford.

But, I think trust is an ongoing problem of Christians...or heck, just me.

When "it is a great day to be alive and I know the sun is still shining when I close my eyes" and I am feeling "blessed" (we won't go down that road in this post), I am quick to tell others the importance of trusting God in all circumstances. Yet, insert this last month and I just want to hug my Grandpaw and I am suddenly afraid for another family member's health and I feel inadequate at every turn of my program, then find me locked in my car shouting at God "WHY?" I just don't get it. I am such a great..oh wait, that isn't how it works! I have to humbly remind myself that circumstances, situations, bad days are all a result of sin, not a reflection of Christ's inadequacies. Words and actions are such different mediums for displaying our love to God on high. I pray I continually choose actions over words. My words are often convoluted into complaints and a quick chat with a friend is soon a full-blown vent session. My words are more adequately used for praises and prayers. Next time, I have a really dramatic, stage-5 clinger episode I desperately pray that "I am just trusting in the Lord" is so much more than a trite phrase flung haphazardly from my Christian lingo play-book.

In other news, five new things I really like about having a husband:

1. Hearing his voice next to mine during worship. Y,all. Knowing I get to praise Christ with our marriage and lives forever makes me gush, but I adore hearing my sweet hubs sing out of tune next to me.

2. Being like super weird. This is not new, but it has escalated. Example, Joe told me how he responded to a co-worker in this odd voice we use and got really embarrassed. #wifewin

3. Always having my car backed-in to my parking spot and filled up. Reversing into spots is not a skill I possess, apparently ignoring my gas light is a skill I possess.

4. Shopping the guys' and girls' sections in stores (See previous post to discover the delight I find in shopping). Having a husband is like getting a new bod--I suddenly get to look at a whole new world of clothing.

5. Bringing up the word "husband" in conversation. Stop. So fun. Also, if I see you often sorry, not sorry. i.e. "My husband and I were just at our apartment, where my husband lives too, and we were talking about him being my husband."

Like, what a stud.


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