{grass roots growing}
Have you ever gone hunting for sea shells? In vast openness of sand & salty suds, you seek. Sea shell searching isn't fast paced or considered a task mandatory for survival. It's methodical. Encompassing a very rhythm about its process that promotes a feeling of contentedness. You walk with focus and with zero hurry. Your gazing is for beautiful & unique only. The senses inside you are every bit alive as if the waves crash & flow around you. The air is thick with possibility and the presence of the unknown. And your toes, touching & squishing, direct your path both sandy & intentional for beauty. You hand pick goodness. The kind that's yours. The kind you see as worthy of celebration. Aging is very much like a sea shell hunt.
For my fifth & final installment in this September Series deemed the #kmaccardiparty, I wanted to press out a message to serve my younger readers. In this aesthetically driven world, woman are so very much encouraged to seek brands and to clone trends. On their person just as much as inside their hearts. Society is that one big bully busting through our very own barricades made. On life's playground, "Red Rover, Red Rover",dangit, he just keeps coming over. Breaking down what we build for better unity with one another as well as for ourselves. And if my little online space can encourage just one to strengthen their grip, then I write for fashion with the right intentions.
I want fashion to serve us all well. Well for our bodies and the messages we send out. I want it to be a facet of our life where we seashell hunt. Honing in on what speaks to our hearts. Sifting through one dimensional fabrics for the sake of beauty both original and satisfying. For story telling a bit more about who you are even. Yes, being in the middle of life is teaching me so much about the story we all tell without even penning the first paragraph. I'm striving to tell this message more in my home & on my person.
The above ensemble wasn't just worn, it was celebrated. It was built with confidence & with joy. I stumbled upon these new kicks while with one of the volunteer models as we shopped for her articles to debut for October's Celebration of Wardrobe & Words GW3 Goodwill Challenge. Like one ginormous conch shell, I was smitten. Into my basket for $3.99 they went. The tee is vintage. Custom Sound was my grandparent's music store they owned & operated for 26 years. The earrings are my forever favorites purchased from Noonday. The vintage rhinestone necklace was my great-grandmother's. The $2.99 ruffled cardigan is oversized and deliciously textured which adds even more to the happy of me. Thrown together with a pair of $2.99 charcoal skinnys and my collecting is complete.
Growing. Grass roots. My own story. Celebrated. Sifted. Sought out & collected. With no time table or distinct notion of the now trending. I wanna wear me more. It is my hope that the bully won't just be banished from the runways, the magazines covers or the high school lunch tables, but from our hearts just the same the more that we all choose to collect our own kinda beautiful. It's worth the hunt. Let those senses inside you come alive. Handpick goodness; the kind that's yours.
I'm writing over at the Knoxville Moms Blog today. My segment is on ways to transition wearing shorts from summer into fall. I hope you'll enjoy my silly antics & the transformation of 4 different short looks. Head on over & check it out. I'd love for you to say hello!
This Wednesday, October 1st, begins the 31 day celebration of wardrobe & words here on the blog. I am beyond excited to share with you words that move me as well as words that move my guest authors. To read more about this challenge, visit here.
And each Cheap Thrills Thursday in October will bring you a guest model on my front porch of frugal fashion. These models have volunteered to shop with me for a minimum of 3 items from Goodwill to showcase that the look for less is out there & available to all. October's gonna be such a fun month!