Spring Flowers

// Sweater: Kohl's // Sequined top, Purse: Thrifted // Floral Skinnies: Cotton On // Necklaces: Confirmation Gifts // Flats: Marshall's //

I'm not much of a jeans/pants-wearing person, because it's difficult for me to find jeans that are flattering to my body type and fit well. I'm also quite short, which doesn't help! Jeans that flare or are wide-legged tend to make me look even shorter, and skinny jeans that bunch up around my ankles aren't the most flattering thing in the world either. There are other reasons as well, such as the fact that I find it a bit difficult to style my jeans modestly, etc. That said, I love jeans because of their practicality and comfortability. And this past year especially, I've fallen in love with all of the colors and prints appearing on pants, so I've been making more of an effort to find pairs that work for me. I'd been looking for an inexpensive pair of floral pants for awhile now, and when I saw these on Cotton On's website (on sale, to boot!) I snatched them up. They're actually really thick leggings, which means wearing them with longer shirts/tunics (because, as I often feel inclined to say, "Leggings are not pants, people!") or shorter dresses for the sake of modesty, which is fine, because it's probably more flattering on me anyway. So, for church on Sunday, I paired them with a long, cozy sweater and simple accessories. I ended up loving the look so much that I didn't even change out of it and into something more casual after church like I usually would. I can definitely see these getting a lot of wear in the future.

What do you ladies think of the patterned/colorful pants trend? How do you find pants that work for you? I'd love to hear what you think!

Have a lovely day!



PS~ If you haven't already, be sure and enter my giveaway for a gift certificate to Shabby Apple!

Shabby Apple Giveaway

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{5 & 6}

Hello, everyone! I have a treat for you today--a special giveaway from Shabby Apple. Shabby Apple is one of my favorite sites to shop for clothing (remember this tulle skirt?), and I know I've spent far too many hours drooling over all of their modest clothing and tops. I thought I'd share some of my spring favorites with you--I really love that gingham skirt!

Today, Shabby Apple is offering you a $15 gift certificate to their site, which could go towards many delightful things!

The giveaway will run from today, March 22, through midnight (PST) April 5. The winner will be chosen on or about April 6 and emailed. Also, this giveaway is only open to U.S. residents.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Casual Girl's Night Out

Sweater, Tights: JCP // Tank top: Fred Meyer // Skirt: Thrifted // Boots: Snagged from my aunt's closet // Necklace: eBay // Jacket: Target

I love stripes and cozy sweaters, and a striped, cozy sweater is about the best thing ever for me. It's perfect for cold days and lazing around, but it's also a classy staple that can be dressed up. My friend and I decided to go on an impromptu night out a few weeks ago, so I paired this sweater with my navy blue schoolgirl skirt and my favorite tights, and I was ready to go. We shopped around at Target for several hours (they had a HUGE clearance sale going on, so we went through every article of clothing on the racks and tried on just about every shoe), then headed to The Rock for our favorite pizza. If you have one near you, The Rock truly has some of the most amazing pizza I've ever tasted (and probably the most unhealthy, but let's not talk about that). My friends and I love eating there...our favorite pizza is called the "meaty, beaty, big, and bouncy" which is basically their version of the meat-lover's pizza. Oh my. It's amazing. I definitely recommend it!

Ok, now I should really try and get back to my homework. I hope you all are having a wonderful week!

Green for St. Patrick's Day

Top, Cardigan, Skirt, Boots, Purse: Thrifted // Tights: ?? // Necklace: Shabby Apple // Bracelet: eBay

As I arise today,
may the strength of God pilot me,
the power of God uphold me,
the wisdom of God guide me.
May the eye of God look before me,
the ear of God hear me,
the word of God speak for me.
May the hand of God protect me,
the way of God lie before me,
the shield of God defend me,
the host of God save me.
May Christ shield me today.
Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit,
Christ when I stand,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
Amen

-The 'Breast-Plate' Prayer of St. Patrick

Although I'm not a Catholic, I have always loved this prayer attributed to St. Patrick. Happy St. Patrick's Day! I hope ya'll had a pinch-free day! My sister's baking up some traditional Irish soda bread for dinner and we're enjoying lots of Irish music, me while I get some work done on this week's statistics homework. Altogether, a loverly day!

My Week in Photos {#1}

Hello, everyone! I thought I'd try adding a weekly instagram feature to the blog--I only recently got hooked on instagram (if you have one, you can hop on over and follow me at deckedoutinruffles) and I really love it as a quick and easy way to share photos of life's little (and maybe big!) moments. Let me know what you think!




During my last day of spring break, I decided I wanted to make something like this for my wall, so I got out the perler beads and within a half hour or so, I had this! Isn't he cute? I have a newfound fondness for deer...and owls, and foxes. He was quite a pain to iron, though!



I've been doing my spring cleaning for the past week or so. It's a slow process, and I've been so focused on getting it done that sometimes I'll stay up late cleaning. I just really want everything to be nice and organized so that my room can be a place to relax. It's very unlike me, however--as my dad says when he sees me cleaning, "Who are you and what have you done with my daughter?"




I started my new classes this week: statistics and public speaking. These two are some of my more dreaded required classes--public speaking tends to terrify me, while math has never been my strong suit. Still, I think they'll both be interesting and at least useful classes.





I started work on a new sewing project! I forgot how happy sewing makes me...especially with such fun fabric! Any guesses as to what it's going to be? It's almost finished, so I expect you'll be seeing pictures of the finished product soon enough!





For my confirmation, I wanted to have freshly painted nails--this is what I came up with. The yellow is from my March Julep box (which I ordered completely by accident, since I forgot to cancel for this month, but am very happy with), and I really like it, despite the fact that I've never been a huge fan of yellow.





My little cousin, Ally, drew a picture for me this past week. I was so touched! I think that one of the sweetest gifts you can get from a child is one that they made specially for you--it shows how much they care. It makes me nostalgic, too--when I was little, I drew pictures for everyone. My style was very similar to this, but I was obsessed with curls, so all the girls I drew had poodle hair.


Well, those are a few tidbits from my week! How was your week?

Another Milestone

Dress: Ross // Tights: JCP // Shoes: Target // Necklace: Claire's // Earrings: Gift // Hair pins: DIY {tutorial coming soon} // Nail Polish: Julep's "Leila," with silver glitter polish from Forever21

Hello everyone! I don't know if I've mentioned it on the blog at all, but the last couple of weeks (well, really, months, but in particular the last two weeks) have been pretty crazy for me. First, school is always crazy. I don't know where I got the idea that these eight-week courses wouldn't be too tough--they are a lot more intensive than I had ever expected. Not that that's a bad thing. I enjoy being challenged and I am the kind of gal who always needs something to do, so in a way, I really like it. Then then over the past couple of months, something new was added to my plate--my impending confirmation. I'm not sure how many churches do it, but in the church that I am a member of, in order to become a communicant member, a person has to take an instruction class and learn the key doctrines of the Christian religion (think along the lines of the 10 commandments, Law and Gospel, baptism, etc.). It involves a huge amount of memorization, and in the end, a public examination and confirmation of faith in front of the congregation.

When I was little and my grandpa was the pastor, I honestly thought that this was the most terrifying thing ever, and I couldn't imagine myself ever going through it. And yet...this past week, I actually did it, and (surprise!) I survived, after a crazy amount of studying and making myself almost sick with stress and unnecessary worry. And it was an incredible experience. My class and I (it was an unusually large class of 11 people) were all a lot older than the age when most are confirmed, and after waiting for so long and working so hard, it was rewarding, among other things. I know I am strengthened in my faith because of it, and I'm just overwhelmingly happy to be confirmed and to be able to take the Lord's Supper.

I know I don't really talk much about my personal life on the blog, aside from the occasional tidbits about school, and I think it's something I should start doing more often. Not overloading you with stories about my day-to-day life (though a little bit of that), but talking to ya'll about what's important to me. Like this. :) I love when bloggers do this, and so I want to do it a bit too.

Anyway...if you made it to the end of this post, first, congratulations (it seems really long to me!), and second, I want to ask your opinion about something. This new, more confident me is thinking about doing a vlog. Would any of you be interested in seeing one? What would you like me to talk about? Let me know in the comment section below or in an email (deckedoutinruffles@gmail.com). I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Call the Midwife // Inspired by Film Day 3

Top, Skirt, Heels: Thrifted // Tights: Fred Meyer

Today's outfit is supposed to be inspired by a show or movie that takes place in the 1950s. This was a tough one, since I watch so many period dramas and old movies that do take place in the 50s, but I finally settled on a new favorite, Call the Midwife. Call the Midwife is a British show that recently started airing on PBS about midwives living and working in a very impoverished area, focusing primarily on the story of Nurse Jenny Lee. I wasn't sure that I would like the show at first, but after the first episode, I had completely fallen in love with the show. I love Jenny Lee and her story, and the other characters and stories are so touching and endearing. I can't recommend the show to everyone, especially younger readers, because there are some graphic birth scenes, as well as other disturbing (to me, at least...super squeamish girl here!) medical related scenes, and some (though not many) more mature themes. As a whole, though, it's a fairly clean show, at least judging from the first season, and it has fast become one of my favorites. And by the by, it has a phenomenal soundtrack (lots of great 50s tunes)!

Anyway! This outfit is inspired by Jenny Lee. Her outfits are often simple and fairly practical, but also classy and cute. So I paired my plaid skirt with my bow sweater and Oxford heels, and I had a simple, but cute and comfortable outfit that looked very much like something Jenny would wear. I also wanted to wear my hair similarly to Jenny's which is a sort of curly bob, so I twisted and pinned the sides back, then pinned the back of my hair up and under to create a faux bob. I actually really like the result, and now I'm tempted to get my hair cut again just so I can wear it like this all the time!

Have a lovely day!