Things that inspire me on a Monday morning...

Making your backyard swing-set shake violently like it hasn't in ten years (at least, ours always did), while hanging upside down for a change of scenery. And maybe letting go in mid-air just so that you can get a taste of what it feels like to fly.

And if you're wearing a Louis Vuitton dress and designer heels... all the better.

More than just one solid color on the walls. Make the ordinary... unforgettable.

This dress from the Carolina Herrera Pre-Fall 2011 collection. I love the look of different fabrics merged together into one piece... This would be a holiday show stopper.

Furniture that is so creative and just amazing that is makes me look twice. I would have these "Stump Stools" in my home. :)

Looks inspired by the seaside and the navy, including stripes and dark blue, wide-leg jeans. The latter are so vintage-inspired and glamorous. And you can make your own.

More stripes... especially when they've got the Eiffel Tower for a background.

Hard boiled eggs for breakfast. Am I a fantastic cook, or what? ;)

What inspires you today?



P.S. I hosted a Narnia party on Thursday evening to celebrate the opening of "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader," complete with costumes, themed food and a trip to the theater for the first (midnight) showing of the film. I don't have a ton of pictures from the evening, but I'll try to get some up later this week. :)

Images: Dustjacket Attic / Head Over Heels / The Style Files / A Glamorous Little Side Project /  Simple Nourished Living

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A Touchstone Jewelry Party - Online!

I've always thought that parties are a lot of fun, especially when they include some shopping and yummy treats. If it were possible, I'd invite all of my readers over to my house for an evening of festivities. We'd talk and laugh, and maybe play dress-up. And I'd serve up some of my ill-fated Lemon Cranberry Bars, made properly this time, with French Vanilla Ice Cream. ;)

Since logistically I can't have you all here, I'm doing the next best thing; an online jewelry party! Yay! :)

My aunt recently became a consultant for Touchstone Crystal (which is a brand new, pretty rad  company) and has been sharing all the pretty, fashion-y goodness with me over the past couple of weeks. She's even lent me a bunch of the jewelry for  some of my recent "What I'm Wearing" shoots (like on Thanksgiving day) and suggested the neat idea of "hosting" a jewelry party online for my readers!

One of the things I love about this jewelry company is the blend of simplicity and classic designs, with pieces that are more funky and modern. And there's a lot of vintage-inspired lovelies... some of them look really Art Deco, which I'm crazy about. Also, the company uses Swarovski pearls and gems, which are gorgeous, high quality and you've most probably heard of them before. I've used Swarozski crystals in jewelry projects in the past and they are beautiful.

Anyway, let me share with you some of my favorite pieces... that I've been lucky enough to wear over the past weeks...

1. Be still my heart. The South Beach Necklace is so sweet. I've got a bit of a love affair with Cape Cod and this sparkly starfish is at once whimsical and elegant. It puts me in the mood for a Cape Cod Christmas. I've never had one, but it sounds dreamy. ;)
2. The Smoke and Mirrors Earrings feature pearls, which have always been favorites with me. They're a simple, classy addition to any look.
3. I love Art Deco. And this Show and Tell Bracelet captures the mood of the era beautifully. The blend of the circles, squares and diamond shapes are stunning, and this piece has a really nice weight when worn on my wrist.

Here's what I wore in my Thanksgiving ensemble:

1. One of my favorite instrumental pieces from the World War II era of music is A Sleepy Lagoon  and the Blue Lagoon Necklace brings it to mind. It's also got a simple, Art Deco-ish feel to it. And you know how I love blue...
2. These Icy Violet Earrings can be worn with or without the detachable purple gems. I wore them plain on Thanksgiving to match the necklace. It's fun to have pieces that go with anything!
3. Of course, I already admitted my great love for this Blue Diamond Ring, and it's the piece I'm planning to get for my very own. When I first saw it's turquoise/teal glitter, I fell under its spell. 

Join in the party!

So, if you want to do a bit of Christmas shopping for your mom, sister, friend, or just pick up something special for yourself, go to Touchstone Crystal and visit the Online Shop. There you can browse the separate collections or view pieces by category (earrings, bracelets, et cetera). You can simply add whatever you like to your cart.

Important: Once you've completed shopping, before you complete your transaction, click on the shopping bag link and enter my name (Amanda Flynn) into the brown bar you'll see just above your order. When my name shows up as a hostess, make sure you click on it and see the confirmation that your order is attached my party. Otherwise, I'll lose any credit from your order, which would be a little sad. :( (Oh, and btw, that Chelmsford town listing is a lie, so don't bother stalking me. I don't really live there. ;) If you have any questions, feel free to contact me: amandabethboutique{at}gmail.com . You can also send your order to me through email and I'll get it all set, if that's what you prefer. :)

Your order will be shipped directly to your address, in time for Christmas. How easy is that??

The jewelry party will be open through this Saturday, December 11th. I hope you'll consider shopping through my online jewelry party. And that you're having the most wonderful time of the year!!

 

Friday night we went out to see a local production of A Christmas Carol and had a great evening. I decided to take my re-fashioned denim skirt into winter with the addition of boots and leggings. I know it's already made two appearances on the blog, but it's pretty much my favorite piece right now. :)

I hope you're having a great time getting ready for Christmas. We're decorated our tree today! Love it.



P.S. Just for the record, I am not being paid or reimbursed for writing this post. If you decide to join my jewelry party and pick up a few things, I'll get some credit towards a piece or two of my own (blue diamond ring *hint hint* ;), which would be lovely, but that's it. :)

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Thanksgiving Fashions and Failures

Did you have a wonderful, delicious Thanksgiving? Ours was a peaceful, small gathering this year, and I really like it that way. I think I even fell asleep on the couch after dinner. Something about turkey makes people lethargic....

For my outfit, I was thrilled to pull out this new ruffled cami that I picked up at Kohl's a few weeks ago. A lot of you probably know I have a serious weakness for blue and teal, so the mix of shades in this sheer, ruffle-y top was just too good to pass up. I paired it with some good old standards; a shrug and high heels from Bekah's wedding, stripe-y tights, and a black eyelet skirt that Lydia picked up at Saver's and recently bequeathed to me. The jewelry (necklace, earrings and ring) were lent to me by my aunt. (More on those later. :)

So the fashion part went fine for me that day. No crisis or indecision about what to put together. Unfortunately, the food didn't treat me so well...

I have come into a lovely state of affection with baking over the past six months. I've made a nice handful of recipes from Joy of Baking with great success and sung my own praises from the rooftop. Unfortunately, Martha Stewart gave me no such luck.

The Cranberry Lemon Squares went together like a dream. But the stupid berries refused to absorb all the water, and I didn't think to strain some of it out before adding it to the first layer in the pan. So... the 2nd layer was a big lemon-cranberry goop.

I screamed and threw up my hands in horror at the result, but we served it in tiny cups with ice cream on top and everyone said it was delicious. I had to agree that it could have been worse.

Like the Stuffed Mushrooms...

So what if I substituted crushed red pepper for red pepper flakes? I only used half of the called-for amount! The mushrooms came out looking like a magazine. I tried one. My mouth was set on fire.

That was a hard pill mushroom to swallow. But my family made the best of this disaster as well. Lydia declared them the best stuffed mushrooms she'd ever tasted (although she claims to usually hate stuffed mushrooms :P) and my brother-in-law said they were addicting and had a cleansing effect. He and Rebekah ate a lot of them.

None the less, my pride was crushed. Especially since I'd talked myself into believing that I was good at cooking and baking and wouldn't Julia Childs be jealous someday? Ouch. So much for that....

What I'm Wearing:

Knit Shrug by bravado! - $35 from Amazon
Ruffled Camisole by Energie - $12 from Kohl's
Eyelet Skirt by apostrophe - thrifted
Striped Tights by SimplyVera - from Kohl's
Heels by Madden Girl - $30 from Famous Footwear
Headband - $1.60 from Kohl's
Jewelry - (see below)

So, I want to share with you a tiny bit about this yummy jewelry that I got to borrow for the day. My aunt has been selling pieces like these and many others from a lovely new jewelry company and has got me excited about it, too. You see that amazing turquoise ring? It fits like a dream, sparkles like nobody's business... and it's going to be mine. :)

It could be yours, too, if you want it. 'Cause I'm going to host a jewelry party. I wish I could fit all of you in my house and do it in person, but I know that travel costs would be monstrous, and we don't want any stalkers showing up, do we? So, my aunt and I have schemed a bit, and come up with a way that I can have a party online. How cool is that???

The party will run from December 4th-ish to the 11th-ish and I'll be getting final details to you next week. I hope you'll join me, take a look at all the pretty stuff, and consider doing some of your Christmas shopping through the party. I hope it will be a lot of fun and that you'll find some lovely treasures to add to your own collection.

Stay tuned!

So... how did you celebrate Thanksgiving? What did you wear? Any personal holiday food disasters that you'd like to confess? :)

Thanks for stopping by!

P.S. I just wanted to say "thank you" again to everyone who left a comment on the last, monumental post. I was encouraged and inspired by your response... and this Thanksgiving, I am feeling very grateful for all of your love and support. :) xoxo

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Where in the world has AmandaBeth been?

Some of you may be wondering where I've been for the past few weeks. So sorry for the disappearance! I think that's the first time I've gone MIA from the blog world without a warning. It was kind of exciting. ;)

While family and various work projects have been occupying much of my days, I have also been spending a lot of time thinking about the future of the blog.

Reevaluating something that you've done for a long time is never easy, and for most of this year my mind has been distracted by many questions. What is the purpose of the blog? Am I staying true to that purpose? What does my audience want to read? Do I love what I am writing about? Is the blog worth the time I invest in it? What inspires me? Am I sharing the things that I feel are important?

A few months ago a well known Christian blogger announced that she was done blogging. She said she felt she'd written everything that she was meant to write on the blog. That didn't mean her life was ending, just that she needed to move on into the next chapter. I know exactly what she was talking about.

I've been writing AmandaBeth for over two and a half years and the focus has stayed pretty firmly on fashion. When I started the blog, I had just come off a year of reading loads of fashion, design, style, color, hair, makeup, health and beauty books and my head was crammed full of the things I had learned. I wanted an outlet in which to share those things, encourage other girls and women in the journey of  modesty and style, and carve my own little space on the world wide web.

Now I don't read about fashion all that much. I don't believe I've read a book on the subject in at least a year and a half. To be honest, most of my brain is filled with topics other than fashion these days. Writing, music, home decor, baking, organizing, and finding steady work.

And really, I feel as though I have said pretty much everything I ever wanted to say about fashion on this blog. (Ok, so I never fully got into "color," but that will definitely find a good time and place in the future. :) And over the past year I've been a bit fashion-burned-out (I'm sure some of you have sensed it ;). I feel as though God has blessed the blog and allowed me to make the small impact that I wanted, and now changing the world of fashion is not so much of a pressing focus in my life.

All of this said (and thank you for reading this far), it is not my intention to quit the blog. I've been immensely blessed through the process of writing AmandaBeth and don't want to abandon it after the amount of time and thoughts that have been invested. Besides, I still have more inspiration to share, more ideas to voice, and more to create. The thing is, I don't feel that focusing exclusively on fashion is my purpose anymore.

So, where is the blog going? I'm not 100% decided, and I plan on taking it one simple step at a time. Posting may become more sporadic, but hopefully it will be more inspired. I feel a need to write about everything; the things that make me laugh, the things that matter, the things that make life beautiful to me. This may be a number of topics; writing, baking, sewing, decorating, reading, music, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. And fashion will obviously be included, because that's also a part of who I am.

I'm still not sure whether I should bring all of these changes to AmandaBeth or leave it as a purely fashion venture and start up this new approach at a different site address. (What do you think?)
I do hope that whatever changes are made will make my writing a more personal endeavor, bring us all together and make things even more fun. :)

Remember, there are 2 1/2 years worth of archives for perusing if you want some fashion-y reading or inspiration, and it will all remain here for you to access. Thank you for your patience in reading the entirety of this post and listening to where my heart is at right now. I didn't want to leave you all in the dark and I hope you understand the way I've been feeling. (Oh yes, and please leave a comment and let me know what you think about all of this.)

Thanks from the bottom of my heart to all you dear, lovely readers who have stuck with me over the years, months, weeks, and days. I am so excited that adventure is continuing, and that I've got all of you with me on the journey. (Stay subscribed so you can get updates! :)

All my love, and have a beautiful and blessed Thanksgiving...


Images: Apartment34 / Ooo... I Like It! / Seen and Said / The Paper Dialogues

P.S. I was a good girl last week and updated the Modest Fashion Bloggers Network for the first time in ages. Check it out! :)

Oh yes, and I've got a fashiony sort of "party"coming up, so check back over the next week for some fun details!

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Oh, that fabulous Gibson Girl!

Long have loved the iconic Gibson Girl, the epitome of early 20th century beauty. There's something sensational, elusive, and maybe just a bit mercenary about this lady, who carries herself proudly and sometimes steps carelessly on a gentleman on her way out the door.

First created in 1890 by the artist Charles Dana Gibson, the Gibson Girl was modeled after a number of ideal beauties, including Gibson's wife, and made a mark on fashion and beauty in the early 1900s. She clearly captured the look that was so highly prized during the era ("S" shaped corsets, pigeon front blouses, sweeping skirts, and hair piled high in a pompadour) and is a big reason why the Edwardian age is one of my favorites. (Also, sometimes she  reminds me of Anne Shirley, who has a very special place in the hearts of girls all over the world, including my own. :)

Charles Dana Gibson featured his "girl" in lots of tongue-in-cheek illustrations, which always make me laugh (albeit guiltily). Of course, it's dreadful for a young lady to treat a gentleman the way she often does, but I can't help chuckling at her "girl power." Charles Dana Gibson was a good observer of people of both genders, and his captions are usually right on target. ;)

1. Stepped On / 2. Accident to a Young Man with a Weak Heart

Of course, the Gibson Girl wasn't always cruel. There's quite a few illustrations where she makes somebody's dream come true. That's usually when we say, "Aww..."

So, are there any Gibson Girls lurking out there? :)

If you'd like to possess a piece of the Gibson glamour for yourself, I've just recently put together these two pretty ladies, and would like to find good homes for them. They've been waiting patiently for me to put together a post for the past few crazy-busy weeks, and now they are all set to go!

Both of these Gibson Girl pendants are strung with glass pearl beads. The 1st necklace has ivory and pale blue pearls, a silver plated chain and clasp and measures 17" long. The 2nd necklace is strung with pink, brown and mini ivory pearls and measures 16" long. The Gibson Girl pendants hang at 2" and are 1" wide. 

 

Here's a quick shot of me modeling the blue necklace so you can get some perspective of how it looks "live." The pink necklace is just slightly shorter. I know that Halloween is over, but these would be so fun with a costume-y ensemble... at any time of the year!

The two pendants were the last in the store, so these ladies are the only ones of their kind, unless I stumble upon something this unusual again. I'm selling them for $20 each (with free shipping in the US) and first-come first-serve, so if you'd like to grab one for your very own, or as a gift for a fellow Gibson Girl, please drop me an email with your paypal email address so I can send you a a payment invoice. And don't forget to say which lovely lady you'd like! :) You can reach me at amandabethboutique{at}gmail.com

I hope you all had a fun, safe weekend. I meant to post with some "creepy" seasonal fashion, but time ran away from me. You can't check out last year's post if you want a scare... ;)

God bless you all. Thanks for reading!


Images: Flickr, LIFE, Wikipedia

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Lions and tigers and bears... (Oh my!)

Well, it's that time of year, isn't it? The season when most people dress up, eat candy and scare themselves silly.

I, for one, do enjoy a little scare every now and again. Not the terrible, nasty kind (I don't watch horror films or read anything stronger than an Agatha Christie :), but the slightly eery, gives-you-goosebumps kind. I can conjure it up pretty easily with my imagination. Just give me a dark room and a couple of creaky floorboards... ;)

My siblings love to make fun of how easy it is to get me to scream. Even when I know that one of them is waiting to leap out and scare me, I still jump and shriek aloud. Just a few days ago my sister almost gave me a heart attack when she hid in a closet in my basement. Totally unexpected. ;)


Do you scare easily? And do you like to be scared?

I thought it fitting, considering the season, to use this month's Classic Actress Style post to share a classic, terribly scary moment from the silver screen. If you didn't get nervous as a child when the Cowardly Lion first made his appearance... you had better not wait around for the Wicked Witch. ;)

(Click to watch Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Man scared out of their senses by the Cowardly Lion. ;)

Of course, Judy (or I should say, Dorothy) takes things just the way a plucky American girl should. She is startled and frighten by the CL's appearance, but when he threatens her dog... just watch how she springs into action!

She handles the Wicked Witch just as bravely; dousing the green fiend  in water while trying to save her friend. And then, like any polite child, she apologizes. It's a good thing that it came too late. ;)

Of course, the truly frightening moment is when the true Wizard of Oz is first revealed. Suddenly, everyone's big dreams don't look so attainable...

The Wizard of Oz was the first movie in which I saw Judy Garland (if you've been following the blog, I think you know how special she is to me :), and even before that, I loved Dorothy. She was my childhood heroine and I envied her the fantastical trip to the "merry old land of Oz." (Oh yes, and that sweet blue and white checked dress!) I have a fair share of  movie memorabilia, and Judy singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" still remains one of my favorite film moments of all time.

(Click to watch "Somewhere Over the Rainbow")

You know a movie is a classic when you re-watch it in your twenties and appreciate it as much as you did when you were ten years old... maybe even more.

Do you have fond memories of "Oz?" Anybody have a favorite classic (not really) scary film? ;)


Images: Doctor Macro / NYTimes

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Feelin' So Fall

Some things I love about October...

1. Fall foliage! We've just reached the peak in color here in New England, and if you live anywhere else, you should be jealous. ;) Oh yes, and the sun always casts the most gorgeous shadows across the road, shooting through the colorful trees like stained-glass windows. That is, when it's not raining...
2. The chill. While feeling freezing isn't always fun, that nippy breeze that hints of winter is rather refreshing. It makes everything smell so nice and crisp!
3. Chai tea and hot cocoa. Warm drinks are such a wonderful, therapeutic part of the season. This all-natural powdered chai from Trader Joe's is my favorite. :)
4. Pumpkins! and other fall decor. I carved a pheonix on my pumpkin this year and displayed it in my new space until the thing decided to go moldy on me. Now it's taken up residence on the front porch. You can see a picture here at my TwitPic page.
5. Clothing. We've already touched on sweaters, but boots, scarves, knee-socks, and fingerless-gloves are equally lovely. And I adore layering!

What are some of your favorite things about fall? 
Any special times or traditions you're family or friends share?

Speaking of layering, one of the fun things about the season change is how you can take your clothes from summer into fall. This skirt, which I re-fashioned back in April (click here for the tutorial) is too short to wear with bare legs in the fall... unless you don't have any trouble staying warm. (I'm usually freezing!) So I brought it into the fall season with the addition of some fun knee socks (in my favorite teal shade, of course). The cropped sweater/hoodie became a good friend of mine last year, as did the flats (also in teal). I just love feeling comfy and cozy without sacrificing fun pieces!

What I'm Wearing:

• Grey sweater with hood by Loca Loca- hand-me-down (I get random clothes from other people a lot, if you haven't noticed that already!)
• Black camisole by SO - from Kohls
• Denim skirt by Mossimo Supply Co. - hand-me-down - re-fashioned by me
• Teal knee-socks by SimplyVera/Vera Wang - from Kohls (I got them  at the end of the season for $1.40 :) 
• Teal shoes by Mossimo Supply Co. - from Target
• Jewelry by random - necklace from the Dominican Republic, bracelet was a Christmas present, ring came from somewhere ;)

One thought I had when I put this outfit together was that it was rather on the "teen-ish" side of things. I love youthful clothes and trendy, cute-sy pieces... as well as more "mature" looking, classic styles. But I wonder if, at 22, I should be wearing more of the latter?

Nah. I'm only young once, and plenty of people have thought I'm sixteen, so I may as well dress the part. ;)  I've always identified and been friends with people who are younger than me anyway.

So, I guess the important question is... what are YOU wearing today? :)

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Sweaterrific

I am not such a great knitter.

My younger sister taught me how to do the basics (like, what is required to make a scarf) about four years ago, and I pick it up every winter without fail. And then drop it in the springtime.

I've still got last year's scarf in a tangled bunch on my shelf.

My craftmanship last year was especially poor, and this particular piece has some strange holes. I was too lazy to go back when I dropped or added a stitch... and just remedied it in in the next row. Not such a good idea.

It's no wonder the poor thing looks at my so reproachfully. :P

Perhaps it's only the cold weather that inspires images of knitting by the fire with a mug of hot chocolate. Maybe I just don't have the patience for such a time-consuming craft. Regardless, I routinely pick up my knitting in the fall, and drop it in April.

It's a good thing I feel a longer lasting affection towards my sweaters. :)

My sweaters see me through three seasons of the year, receive a warm welcome come fall, and are bittersweetly bid farewell when the spring weather gets to be too hot. I've had a passion for sweaters since I was a young teen, and I've still got a couple of my first favorites, although they are so weary that I'm really going to try to convince myself to throw them away. :(

It seems that people are always giving me sweaters, long ones, short ones, classy ones and ugly ones. I've kept most of them and my collection overflows a big cardboard box. They are just so hard to part with!

Here's some reasons why I love them:

1. They add warmth to whatever I'm wearing. (Yay for layers!)
2. They are comfortable. So relaxing for around-the-house or out in public.
3. They aren't always bulky! Depending on what type of sweater you wear and what you layer underneath, they can stay slim and flattering.
4. They are unstructured. I love knits that stretch, drape and just hang so prettily. Must be my love of dance wear and costumes. :)
5. They're classic. (Seen here on Audrey, Grace, and Marilyn.)

I thought this photo shoot was absolutely adorable, and "oh! so cozy" looking! Not only are the sweaters all terrific, but every other piece is equally warm and chic. Wearing a light scarf wrapped over your head like a headband can keep you even more snug, and stockings or fingerless gloves (I'm wearing both as we speak) do wonders.

The way that skirts are worked into these ensembles is just brilliant, from solid button-downs to bright patterned, full and flowing. How about a wool or tweed one? Or a little lace dress?

Sweaters never looked so good. :)

What's your knitting story? Do you love your sweaters dearly? What's your favorite cold weather piece or accessory?

For the record, I had a lovely vacation time with my family and managed to get some much-needed rest and refreshment. I'm hoping the rest of the month will be just as sweaterrific! :)

God bless. Thank you, as always, for reading!


Images: VogueGirlKorea via dustjacket attic

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