Hello, beloved friends! Happy Monday and how you doin'?! Isn't this picture of Janelle precious! She was just hanging outside of her home as we were shooting this outfit and had her speaker playing some awesome tunes and I needed major help with my bow! So I asked her if she could help me! I love that she was so ready to and how much she blessed me that day with her tender heart! It's because of people like her that this world is good!

Today, I'm sharing with you some tips to look fancy on a budget! I found this Gucci inspired dress at my friend's boutique in East Sac, SISU and it satisfied all the Gucci vibes I've been wanting without the price tag! The dress, for the price, is quite well made. It feels very sturdy and the lapel is gorgeous and airy! I loved topping this dress off with a gorgeous red fitted coat I got on sale at Zara! For me shopping within my means and not getting into credit card debt, (for anything) is extremely important! My family works out a budget plan for every single month and what we decide is for my clothing is what I get to play with! I have been in debt before and the claws of that feel excruciating and exhausting. So I am learning how to live within my means and how to have the maturity for purchases. I'm learning there is always a sale! And I can wait to buy something until it goes on sale OR wait a while before I buy OR my favorite one right now is; saving up the money for big-ticket items. I think that looking fancy is more about our heart-set more than anything else anyway! What you believe about yourself will come across in what you wear.  But here's the thing. We are ALL princesses in Jesus's court so we all have the same Heavenly Father and he is what gives us worth and value, not the labels we put on our backs! You are a daughter of a king! Listen, I'm NOT opposed to buying nice things, I'm just opposed to buying for the wrong reason (to feel valuable or worthy) or getting into debt for it! It's just simply not worth it!

Another tip for looking fancy on a budget is buying the right pieces. Nude pumps are always a great way to elevate the look and you can have those for a very long time. There are so many price points for these that anyone in any budget can enjoy! I love adding pears or a dainty jewelry to an outfit. I think less is more and that makes the outfit look more elevated and chic! I also think that picking jewel tones and neutrals is a great way to look real fancy! Emerald green and red are one of my favorite combos! What about you?!

I hope you had a rad weekend! I DID! My daughter just turned 8! I have so many feels! She is growing up to be such a delight and it's my honor to be her mother! I also saw my father beaming as I opened the door for him yesterday.  I saw him standing with a little rose he bought my little for her birthday. It took everything in me not to cry at that moment when he was giving the little rose to her. It was so redemptive and so healing to my heart.  My father was not emotionally in my life growing up as he was lost in alcoholism.  The pain from feeling unloved and unwanted has been so intense because I've believed for so long that it was BECAUSE of me he couldn't love me (or express he did). Little did I know that I've always been 100% loveable and I can't make someone love me but I can love myself and allow God's love to heal me and comfort me! 

Someone's inability to love you doesn't make you unlovable. If someone is heartbroken and doesn't know how to give that part of themselves to you, it's not a reflection of who you are, it's a reflection of them and the state their heart and mind is at that moment. That's why I suffered so greatly before. Now, I've finally had a lot of breakthroughs as I am allowing myself to grieve for that little girl in me in the presence of God and simultaneously re-writing the script of my identity with the help of the Lord! I am loveable and so are you, beloved friend. So are you! My father now is sober and we are working on building our relationship. It's been wonderful seeing his change as I have also allowed him to see a little bit into my heart!  And what I'm finding is this. Jesus can heal any wound (yes sometimes it takes time and our decision to go through the pain) but he heals and restores! Jesus just has a way of transforming hearts and when he finds us in a mess he loves us even then but he is too miraculous to leave us there. He truly is a God who makes beauty from ashes! (see Isaiah 61:3) 

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