new year, new blog: from Decked Out in Ruffles to Vicki Grace

Happy 2015! New years always bring with them an awareness of and excitement over the possibility of change, and I've decided to start off 2015 by bringing big changes to the blog. First, the biggest change is the name—I've been rolling around the idea of changing the name for some time now, since Decked Out in Ruffles just hasn't seemed to fit what I or the blog had become. So, I've changed it to a Vicki Grace, a name that I think will give the blog plenty of room to go in any direction it chooses. I talk more about it in the video, which explains a bit of where I've been these past few months, and why my posts have been so infrequent.

I fell into a slump sometime in mid-September, where, long story short, I was just overwhelmed by school and everything going on in life, and I decided to take a break from blogging for about a month or so. I was feeling refreshed by the end of October, when I made this video, but still didn't quite have the time/initiative to get back to blogging, which explains the sporadic posts. As I said in my last post, though, I think I'm finally ready to get back to blogging. 

So, there's a new name and a new design, and, Lord willing, lots of new content to come. I'm pretty excited about it, and I can't wait to see what ya'll think. :)

I hope your 2015 is off to a fantastic start! I know mine is. 

Walking Through Co. {review}

//t-shirt: c/o walking through co. / cardigan: h&m / jeans: forever21 / booties: thrifted / necklace: gift from Josh//

Hey guys! Again...it's been over a month since I blogged. At the time of my last outfit post, I had prepared a whole bunch of posts to go up, including some vacation, sewing, outfit, and lifestyle-type posts, but pretty quickly after that, life got stressful again, things happened, and I just didn't feel like blogging. But life has gotten (mostly) back to normal, I've finished my class (yay!), it's almost Christmas (yay!), and Josh and I are coming up on our first anniversary of dating (also super exciting. It's hard to believe it's already been a year!).

And I don't really want to make promises, since I feel I've made this same spiel a lot this year, but I'm really hoping to get this blog up and going again. I've got a new design in the works that I started working on in October, and I've still got all those posts (including a pumpkin patch post, haha. Let me know if you guys are still interested in something like that!) saved up. 

Anyway...a little while ago I was contacted by a new company called "Walking Through Co." that puts out t-shirts with Christian-themed designs, asking if I'd like to review one of their shirts. I chose to review this one, which is pretty simple with its black heart with a cross in the center. It's exactly my style of late, as I've been obsessed with incorporating lots of gray into my outfits. I know I talked about this in a post from this summer, but I just love gray. It just seems like a warm, comforting color to me, which may sound crazy, but...haha. Anyway, the shirt came really quickly after I sent them my info (and the gal I worked with was always super sweet), and I'm kinda in love with it. It's super soft and comfy, and I really like the slouchy fit. I've washed it once now and it's held up well. The design actually softened a bit, which I am ok with. I paired it with my crazy new high-low cardigan from H&M (which I got after watching the first Xmen...I told my boyfriend I wanted a long, hooded jacket like Rogue's...then I found this), high-waisted skinnies, and thrifted booties to complete the look. 

I'm really happy with this tee and I do recommend checking out the Walking Through Co. Their shirts are a bit on the pricey side, but are good quality and cute designs. 

Have a great day, guys, and I'll talk to you soon. :)

fall transitions with julep

//dress, shoes, belt: thrifted / cardigan: H&M / tights: JCP / cross ring: f21 / infinity ring: vintage//

Hey guys! Long time, no see! No worries, I'll let you know what I've been up to over the past couple months soon, but first I have something I'm super excited to share with you. Julep is a really great company, based locally in Seattle. They have amazing monthly subscription boxes filled with nail polishes and beauty products. I've been a subscriber for over a year now, and I've never been disappointed. My favorite eyeshadow palette is by Julep—I use it almost every day, and I'm actually wearing the eyeshadow in these photos! So if you're looking for a good subscription box to try, I highly recommend them. 

Anyway, I'm teaming up with Julep to bring you a fall-themed fashion post based off of one of their fall polish colors. They sent me this infographic with all the colors. 

My inspiration for this outfit was their pale pink color, Clara. This dress is actually the one I wore for this Easter, and I've been reluctant to wear it again by itself, because it is ever so slightly too small at the top. So I made the look much more fall-appropriate by adding gray tights and layering a black cardigan over the top.

What do you think? Which of these colors is your favorite for fall?