Friday, September 27, 2019

How To Style A Kimono For Fall

On Monday's Fashion Post, I shared how dusters are the perfect fall layer, but kimonos, especially dark or fall colored ones, work well for fall too.  They are so lightweight, you can wear a kimono during the cooler periods of the day, and if it heats up mid-day, just take it off and toss it in your purse.

This long black kimono I have had for a year or two.  I have shown it to you once before styled with a dress in THIS POST.  


I bought my kimono on clearance years ago, but I found THIS ONE at Amazon that is pretty similar.


I carried a metallic, rose gold bag (old, similar HERE) to pull out the pink flowers in my kimono.


Underneath my kimono I wore a new olive green swing tank from JCPenney and Black Straight Leg Pants from Stitch Fix. The olive color top is sold out at JCP, but they have a few left in other colors HERE, and Amazon also has one HERE.


My pants are by Vince Camuto and are called "Kade Slim Straight Leg Pant".  I absolutely love these pants.  They are made of the same soft, stretchy material that high quality leggings are, yet they have a zipper and a waistband.  They are as comfortable as wearing leggings, yet they are a step up because they're actually pants.  I got mine from Stitch Fix, but I also found them on sale at Macy's HERE! 


For jewelry I chose this matching earring and necklace set from my collection.  Mine is old, but  I love this set from Amazon.


For footwear,  I chose black suede booties (old).



Have a Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

An Afternoon At Bisons Bluff

When I spent a week with my daughter and her family this past summer, we visited a lot of parks.   One of the parks that really stood out to me was Bison's Bluff located in Schaumburg Illinois.

Bison's Bluff is a very unique playground because it is situated in a natural setting and uses all natural materials like logs, boulders, sand, water, etc.  It also includes nature themed play structures that resemble a rock bluff, flowing streams, wetland, and a beaver lodge.


There aren't live Bison in Bison's Bluff, but there is a huge Bison statue right in front of the main play area.  The nearby climbing structure resembles a multi-tiered tree house.


I climbed into the tree house with Alethea.  We had so much fun exploring all the nooks and crannies.


Alethea was so excited to find this hammock that just her size.


Alethea loved climbing on this large grasshopper.


Water exploration is the favorite attraction for the kids in this park.




Nothing is off limits in this park.  The kids can get right inside the streams and wade.  The park was built with the philosophy that most children benefit physically, cognitively, socially, and emotionally through imaginative play in natural settings.  Children that live in large cities often do not have access to natural settings, so the park recreated it's own natural setting in this playground.  Nearby is also a nature center, farm,  and nature trails.


Alethea loved all the fun water features, like this frog that squirts water out of his mouth.


The park also has a musical area with wood and metal percussion instruments.  Oh, it would have been fun if my son, a professional percussionist, would have been with us this day.  He would have had a blast with these toys.




After we finished playing at the park we took one of the nature trails and discovered this pond filled with water lilies.  There was also a family of ducks swimming.  


The park is located at 1111 E. Schaumburg Rd., Schaumburg Illinois and is open 

  • April – October, Tuesday-Sunday, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. (Monday hours, Noon-8 p.m.)
  • November-March, Daily, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. (weather permitting) 
Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Late August Bible Journaling Pages

This week I have more Bible Journaling pages from the book of 1 Samuel to share.  Someday, when I'm all caught up sharing old pages with you, I hope to just do one page at a time and have a more complete and in depth Bible Study every week with you.  But for now, since I'm so new to this Bible Journaling journey, I will continue to share old pages until I'm caught up (I'm almost there!  I'm currently in 2 Samuel now) and share little tidbits of what I learned from that page.

Here is a pre-printed image that I colored with a mix of craft paint, markers, and pencils.  I focused on pinks and reds to emphasize the heart.  Aren't you glad God looks at our hearts and not our outward appearances?  Throughout my life I've always been hurt by other people because they misjudged the motives of my heart.  I've been told things like "I know exactly who you are!" It's ridiculous, I know, how can anyone but God know "exactly who I am".  People always think they know someone, when they really don't.  They judge by outward appearances.  But God looks at the heart.  I find so much comfort in that.


One of the most beautiful stories in the Bible is the friendship between Jonathan and David.  It's beautiful, and so rare, to see a friendship like this.  I created this page by water coloring the entire page with different shades of blue leaving just a heart opening white where it talks about the bond and love between David and Jonathan.  I used stamps from the Stampin' Up! set "Season of Friendship" on the page, and then hand wrote a few notes in.  The clouds were created by tracing a cloud die with a white gel pen.  The little heart next to the sentiment banner is an epoxy sticker.


Throughout my reading of 1 Samuel I was impressed with how often David sought God's wisdom before doing anything.  Oh, if we would only do this in our lives!  So  created a page mostly using stickers and wash tape emphasizing how David CONTINUOUSLY sought God's wisdom.  The background was done with gelatos.


This is a pre-printed page where I added a few more notes.  There are so many Bible stories we've heard all our lives, yet each time I read in again,  I see something new.  This time when I read the story of David and Goliath I noticed three important things:  David had a righteous anger,  he had complete confidence in God to rescue him, and he gave God the victory for killing Goliath and not his own skills.  So after I colored in the image with pencils and pens,  I added my extra notes.

Another thing I noticed in this story was verse 29 when David asked his brothers "What have I done NOW?"  I found so much comfort reading that, because I've often felt that myself many times in my life.  As I stated above,  I have frequently been misjudged in life, and it is very hurtful.  I took comfort that David, described as a "Man after God's own heart" was also misjudged, and not just by Saul, and others, but by his very own brothers!


In my Mid-August Bible Journaling Post, I shared pages of mistakes I made and how I fixed them.  This page on Friendship is an example of another mistake I made.  If you go back and look at the second picture in this post, when I stamped the tree on the previous page it showed up on the opposite page too.  But that's ok, because then I just used that image again and did a second page on Friendship.



After coloring the background blue, like the previous page, I hand wrote what I thought were the true signs of Friendship as illustrated between David and Jonathan.


On this page I colored the background with blue craft paint.  I used a mix of stamps and my own handwriting to share my thoughts of what I gleaned from my reading.  The flowers and background stamp are an old Stampin' Up! set.


On this page I was awestruck by how powerful God's holy spirit is.  So using a mix of stickers, stamps, and my own hand-writing I wrote my thoughts on the powerful spirit of God.

When you create your pages, don't be afraid to mix things up like I do.  If you struggle with calligraphy or you don't like your own hand writing, just write a few words in your own hand writing and use stickers and stamps for the rest.  I actually think it looks more interesting when you mix it up.


On this page I wrote about Psalm 52.  Did you know a lot of the Psalms were written from David's own life experiences?  Psalm 52 was written in response to David's experience in 1 Samuel 22.  It helps me in my Bible study to write in my margins where else in scripture a story occurs.

After I read this chapter, I read Psalm 52 and wrote what I learned from it in the margins.


And finally, here is another page that I created using a Psalm David wrote from an experience in 1 Samuel.  When David was hiding in a cave from Saul, he wrote the Psalms 142 and 57.  The name of the cave was called "Addullam" which means "Refuge".   I took a verse from Psalm 142 and emphasized the word "Refuge" with both stickers and my own writing.  The background was done with craft paint, and I hand drew the mountains.


I hope you enjoyed this week's Bible Journaling pages.

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

Monday, September 23, 2019

Dusters: The Perfect Early Fall Layer

I was so elated to see this pretty blue duster in my September box from Stitch Fix.  I always prefer dusters or cardigans over pullover sweaters during the winter months, because they are so easy to remove if I get too warm.  Long dusters can sometimes be problematic in the winter, because they tend to hang longer than most coats.  But in fall, when you don't need a coat, a long duster like this makes the perfect early fall layer. 


The duster is by Love Ellie and is called "Cheril Pointelle Duster Cardigan".  In case you want to request this from your Stitch Fix stylist, I am wearing a size Medium for reference.


The duster is a good length for me, stopping around five inches above my knee on my 5'7 frame.


I chose some pretty leafy earrings from Amazon in honor of the first day of fall.


What I really loved about this cardigan was how thin it was.  I'm not a fan of chunky knits on my body frame.  I also thought the see-thru design was very pretty.


I carried a burgundy bag to add a little more color to the outfit other than blue and white.  Mine is old, but I like THIS ONE on Amazon as well.


For footwear, I chose these suede navy blue booties, also from Stitch Fix.


I could not find this exact sweater on-line, but HERE is a similar one in Sea Moss.


I was happy to get this cardigan not just because of the style, but also the color.  I already own so many cardigans,  but I don't have any in blue.



I'll let you know in my Stitch Fix Review post if I kept this cardigan, but I'm sure you can already guess!  :)

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

Sunday, September 22, 2019

My Outdoor Fall Decor

Last week I showed you my Indoor Fall Decor and this week it's the outside fall tour.  

Let's begin with the walk up to the front porch door.  First of all, my front porch got an update this summer.  The roof got damaged over a hard winter so my husband had to replace it.  I then gave everything a fresh coat of paint.  It took us most of the summer to finish this porch, but it was sure worth it.  It never ceases to amaze me how much a fresh coat of paint makes everything look better.

On the walk to the front porch, I have garden beds on both sides of the walk way.  I put a few fall signs in the garden beds.



On the porch steps, I put a few pumpkins and potted mums.  I also have mums planted in the ground in the raised bed in front of the porch;  they just aren't blooming quite yet.


I snuck a little greeting sign amongst the mums to welcome visitors to the house.


Near the front door, I placed a pumpkin floral display.



On the side of the house, near the side post I added another metal pumpkin sign.


My side porch is actually the entrance I and most visitors use.  I put a "Happy Harvest"sign over a large tobacco basket on the back wall, and added more pumpkins, a fall pillow, a scarecrow, and more welcome signs near the door.







The first day of fall is September 23rd!  Have you decorated your house for fall yet?  I'd love to hear from you!

Have a Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!