ageless style: the colors of fall

 

Happy Thursday, friends! Welcome to the September edition of Ageless Style. This month we're talking about the colors of fall! I hope this inspires you in your wardrobe for the upcoming season. 

I'm a seasonal dresser; this just means that I don't wear neon like colors in the fall and winter. I love those colors in the summer months when I'm tan, but I like more muted things in the fall and winter. I love jewel tones in the winter months, too, though...you've heard me talk about this a million times. The last couple of weeks I've been looking for some ways to add more color to my wardrobe to make it not so drab. I've added a few things to my closet lately, thanks to my searching. 

One is this shirt from the online boutique called Moco. I wore this to work on Monday and got several compliments on the shirt. Here's a link for the website, but I'm not able to find this particular shirt.

I'm also wearing lots of black, denim, mocha, and my favorite poncho style shirt from a boutique that closed down last year (The Paisley Rooster). This is the shirt in the picture right above. 

I invested in some new jeans this year, after losing a good bit of weight. Here is a link to these jeans that I love. I can't express how I feel about these jeans, friends. I love this wide leg on me, which I didn't think I would. I feel like they elongate my short legs, thus making me feel (and look) thinner. I ordered them in the petite length, and I recommend sizing down one from your regular size. These are two sizes smaller than my ones from last year, and they're perfect! I got this faded pair, and another darker pair. 

I got this top above in a wine color. Here's a link for the website. 

Additionally in the fall, my nails get darker polish and my lip gloss also gets more earthy and darker. 

My lip gloss is the only makeup that changes for me, though. I keep using all the regular products I always use for all of the seasons. I love that glowy/dewy look that I'm able to accomplish with inexpensive products...I plan on doing a post on this next week, so stay tuned! 

It's your turn! What are your dressing habits in the changing seasons? What colors do you lean more towards? I'd love to hear from you!

Here are the wonderful ladies who are co-hosts with me in this fun link party:

Amy ~ Amy’s Creative Pursuits

Blog | Instagram | Pinterest | Facebook |

Bo ~ Bo's Bodacious Blog

Blog / Instagram /Pinterest / Bloglovin'

Jennifer ~ Overflowing with Thankfulness 

Blog/Instagram/Pinterest

Joanne ~ My Slice of Life

Blog/ Instagram/ Pinterest/Facebook

Jodie ~ Jodie’s Touch of Style

Blog | Instagram | Facebook |

Marsha~ Marsha in the Middle

Blog |Instagram

Mireille ~ Chez Mireille Fashion Travel Mom

Blog | Instagram | Pinterest | Facebook |

Thanks for being here today, friends. Love to all!

Jenn 🖤

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

the Wednesday hodgepodge

 

Happy Wednesday, friends! I'm here with Joyce again today for the weekly hodgepodge...this is a post that I dearly love; thank you, Joyce, for your inspiring and thought provoking questions each and every week! I'll jump right in. 

1. Are you more life of the party, or a party pooper? If your answer is somewhere in the middle, which side do you lean towards more? I'm definitely in the middle, but I lean more towards being a party pooper. I am introverted deep down in my soul, and part of me hates being in a crowd, even still. 

Birthday party, beach party, cocktail party, dinner party, charity fundraiser, surprise party, costume party, garden party, Christmas party, reunion...what's your favorite kind of party? Of these, I would definitely say birthday, cocktail, or dinner party as my top choices!

2. Cheese, wine, and balsamic vinegar all improve with age. What would you personally add to the list? I think women improve with age! If you go back and look at pictures of yourself versus twenty years ago, chances are you'll think you've improved in the looks department. I know I think like this! I also think this is true of men. Aside from looks, I think we as humans improve with age. I know I love this version of me so much more than the younger, more naive, version of me. 

3. How do you feel about your birthday? How do you want to be celebrated? Or don't you? I love my birthday and feel like it's a big deal. I always want to spend time with my sons and my mom every year on this day. I would never want a surprise party, though! My favorite birthday so far was last year when my best friends and I met for dinner on the night of my birthday. 

This wasn't that night, but these were the wonderful friends that were there to celebrate me! 

4. What remarkable feat, interesting piece of trivia, or historical event occurred on your birth day and month? This is terrible, but the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting happened on my birthday in 2012. 

5. Share two good things about your life right now. Two good things in my life right now are my home being decorated for fall and freshly painted/redecorated, and my work life. I love my job, friends! I love the students, my co-workers, and the very different schedule that each day brings. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I saw these on Instagram yesterday morning and loved them! It reminds me of a song...and on that note (see what I did there?), I am excited about getting to sing a song in church this weekend! It's one that I sang a few years ago, and it's called Still I Will Praise You. I sang it before just fine, but this time it feels more personal to me, since it's a song that is now my testimony. I haven't been able to sing it without getting choked up, so if you're the praying type, will you pray that I can get through it without a breakdown on stage? Here are part of the lyrics:

When the cares of life are just too much

And I have to drink a bitter cup

When I come to You with desperate cries

 But it's only silence that replies

When the wilderness becomes Your plan

And I reach but I don't feel Your hand

When I think this night will never end

And the darkness is my only friend

Still I will praise You, Still I will praise You

Still my trust in You remains

Still You are sovereign

Still You are faithful

Still I praise Your Name

When my heart would choose a path of ease

And my soul a joyful song to sing

But You lead me into suffering

When my tears become an offering

Still I will praise You, Still I will praise You

Still my trust in You remains

Still You are sovereign

Still You are faithful

Still I will praise Your Name

I can't wait to read your answers to these fun prompts! Thanks for being here to read my blog again today, friends. Love to all!

Jenn 

Tuesday Talk--Firsts and Lasts

 

Happy Tuesday, friends! A few weeks ago, Marilyn gave me a book called Burn After Writing. I was immediately inspired by this book to flip through it and write blog posts from some of the prompts inside. This is one such post! I'll mention this book again when I post things that the book inspired, but I'm going to jump right into this one called Firsts and Lasts. 

The first word I would use to describe myself: optimistic

The last time I felt happy: this morning when I woke up to a "Good morning, Beautiful" text from Chris. I don't want to take these for granted! And also, last night when I hugged Marilyn for a whole minute after days of not seeing her. 

The first thing I would do if I were in charge of the country: I would call on the people that run the Chick Fil A corporation. 

The last thing I think of before I go to sleep: is my alarm set? 

My first love: Dad.

The last time I cried: Saturday when I was at my dad's grave. I walked away and said, "Bye, Daddy. I love you." And the tears started. Chris was there with me when this happened, and he handled it like a champ. He just held his hand on my back and rubbed it as we walked back to the car. 

The first person I would confide in: Soulmate, aka Marilyn. 

The last person I would rely on: my ex-husband. Sad, but true. I'm not mad at him, by the way, as he's been nice to me. I've just been let down by him too many times to count, and I no longer believe anything he says. 

The first time I had my heart broken: in high school...teenage love stories are no joke! 

The last time I said I love you: last night when I said goodnight to my son.

The first quality I look for in a person: kindness is right there with loyalty.

The last time I felt in control: when I actually had my life together. 🤣

The first time I stood my ground: when I went through a divorce. 

The last time I faked it: I think this warrants a different answer, but instead of that, I'm going to say that I have to fake being patient and in a good mood everyday of my life to be out in the world. This is even more so because of the fact that I work with young students in an elementary school! Kids don't care if your life feels heavy or sad...they just need you to show up. 

The first person I would call in a crisis: without a doubt, my sister Lisa. 

The last time I congratulated myself: the day I dealt with getting the car title in my name and my own license plate and tags. I took a half day and treated myself to brunch afterward! 

My first real relationship: when I was 16, my first boyfriend's name was Jason. He drove a Bronco II, and I was at his house on Christmas Eve when my grandmother died. 

The last time I said thank you: Sunday night when Chris bought my dinner. 

The first person I had a crush on: my friend Brad from youth group when I was a teenager.

The last time I was angry: last week. Here's the blog post.

The first thing I would save in a house fire: my important papers, my purse, and my phone. 

The last time I was fearful: when I thought my world would end when my husband walked out of my life. I didn't think I'd be able to "do" life without him, but here I am today thriving and experiencing a glow-up, as my friend Kendra likes to say. 

I'll save some more of these for a later date, but in the meanwhile, did you learn anything new about me today? What are your thoughts on some of these? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog today, friends. Love to all!

Jenn ❤️

Hello Monday.

 

Happy Tuesday, friends, and happy September! I'm linking up with Holly and Sarah for today's blog post. How was your weekend? Mine was amazing! Here's what I did:

After work, I came home for just a bit and talked with Chris on the phone for a while before finally hanging up and going to change. I had plans to meet my co-workers for dinner and a high school musical! This was a really fun night; we met at Chili's for dinner and drinks, then we caravanned to the high school for The Descendants. It was so good! It turns out that I love getting out off campus for fun with co-workers. I'm going to do this all that I can! I ended the night with a cookie and a Diet Coke from Chick Fil A; have you had their cookies? They're my favorite! 

Chris came to my house pretty early on Saturday, and we got a start on our weekend. I wanted to get a pedicure, so while I did that, he waited for me at The Home Depot. He is closing on a piece of land this week in Blue Mountain, Mississippi, and he's turning a barn type building into a home. He has all kinds of things planned for this; I had fun sharing all of this process with him over the weekend! We ate lunch, we went to Graham's house to check on the progress of the new patio covering he made with my stepdad on Saturday, we ran a few errands, then we came back to my house so that I could do some laundry. We started a documentary on Charlie Sheen on Netflix while we waited; eventually we left here to go to his house for a yummy Mexican dinner. 

I laughed at all of these drinks! We were trying to make our iced coffees taste better on Sunday, but we did not succeed. 🤣

We found ourselves in a tiny grocery store in Ripley looking for odds and ends that they sold along with groceries. We eventually ate lunch, had Sonic drinks, then did a few more things while we were in that area before making our way back to his place. One of the things we stumbled upon was this beautiful lake! 

He gets bonus points for asking if I wanted to take pictures, and then taking multiple shots of different parts of the lake. He gets me! 🤣 When we got to his house, we watched a movie, I tried taking a nap, then we got dinner again before I left again to come back home for the night. I laughed over how we ate dinner; we talked and he watched a race with one earbud in while we ate. I got home and showered so that I won't have to deal with my hair in the morning, then worked on blog stuff for this week as I watched Virgin River. 

What did you do that you loved this weekend? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog today, friends. Love to all!

Jenn ❤️

Friday Favorites, 9.12.2025.

 

Happy Friday, friends! This has been a week; I don't know how a week can feel so long and be the same five days as every other week. Maybe it's the memories of the last year that did it to me this week? I have some dates that have snuck up on me that might have been the cause for some of the things I've felt this week. Who knows? All that to say, I'm so glad it's Friday! I'm in need of the weekend. In the meantime, here are some of my favorites from this week.

They're all out of order, but here are my outfits from the week; getting dressed is one of my favorite parts of everyday! I pulled out some jeans and the wide-legged pants this week since our weather has been cooler; it's hotter again now, so it was fun while it lasted! I started with the khaki ones right above these words and my black CWES shirt; last Friday was spirit day. My Queen tee and leggings was Saturday; the pink pants were Monday, jeans and the mocha colored shirt were Tuesday, the black dress was Wednesday, and the new Halara jeans and red and white striped button down was yesterday for patriot day, since it was 9/11. 

Country drives will always be my favorite!

I follow all these relationship accounts on social media; these are some that made me stop for a minute this week. That first one is my favorite, though! Please forgive the bleeped out curse word, but it made me laugh ridiculously hard when I saw it on Instagram.

Sweet happenings in room 304 are my favorite! These are the third graders that come to us, minus the one who sits at my table. We separate them based on what they need; the one at my table needs more help with math, but these pictured need reading lessons, which is way more difficult to teach. I'm so glad I get to be an assistant at my job, and that I get to do the easier things. It makes sense, right? That isn't what happened when I worked at this school two years ago; I was thrown into doing something I didn't know how to do, and I had anxiety attacks a lot of mornings before I went to work. In second grade, I work with two very different students while Karen works with the other six. Second grade is a lot. 🤣

I sent this one to Karen on Tuesday, when they all walked out and our heads were spinning. She's like me and loves pickles, and we were both officially over the day at that point. We look at each other a lot and start laughing almost uncontrollably. 

The commencement of burning my wedding dress was definitely a favorite from this week! Monday was rough; this felt like free therapy.

I didn't feel good at all on Tuesday and Wednesday; I sent this to Chris while eating lunch. He had seen a Snapchat I'd sent him from Tuesday night, so he texted asking if I'd had to go home for being sick. I sent him this back as proof of life. Being sick isn't my favorite, but having someone ask about me and how I'm feeling is. 

Teacher treats were my favorite on Wednesday! Today we get Sonic drinks for lunch; I love special things like this to pass a week quickly. We have the very best PTA!

Wednesday nights are ours now! Rotolo's with Kendra (and a quick visit with Mar when she stopped by) have quickly become my favorite night of the week. I love our time together! We took this picture and then we each cried at one point afterward, both over different things that we've walked through in the last year (or more for her). 

Yesterday was an emotional day for me, with it being another date that passed by on the calendar. It was the year anniversary of me filing for divorce. I'll always remember the events that led up to me deciding to take that first step and then talking to my sister Lisa on the phone about everything. She knew I didn't want to do that, but she also knew it was something that I needed to do, since the outcome was inevitable. I'll never forget her thinking I would chicken out and asking what it would take to make me follow through; I said I needed someone to go with me. A few minutes later, she'd booked a flight home from Denver for two nights, just so that she could go with me to the attorney's office the next day to file. 

This was us the day she flew home. I cried over this so many times! It got me again on Wednesday night when I was with Kendra; the gift of sisters is like none other! I am so thankful for mine, and that they all have my back, especially in the worst year of my life. They will always be my favorites!

What was something that was a favorite for you this week? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog today, friends. Love to all!

Jenn