Happy Mother's Day

To all you amazing, godly mothers in the world-- including my loving, devoted mom, Karen, and my wonderful grandmothers, Mary, Lily, and Erma-- I wish a beautifully happy Mother's Day. Thank you for showing us Jesus, thank you for your self-sacrifice, and thank you for your amazing love. Thank you. You have helped us become who we are today.

The Sun Is Rising // Outfit Post

Yes, yes, I know Memorial Day isn't for several more weeks, but who says I have to wait til then to do the Americana thing?

 

 

Today I'm wearing a fitted red tee with checked blue-and-white pants and short wedge sandals. I added the glitzy red scarf to make the look more creative, and I like the way it plays off the silver hoops.

 

 

Optional denim jacket.

 

 

Perfect for a picnic right? Photo creds go to my mom. :)

This look is really different from my normal style. While I wouldn't wear stuff like this all the time, it's fun to experiment. And the teenage years are great for that, assuming the experimentation is healthy.

 

Do you like my creative Americana spin-off? And is there a new style you're wanting to try out?

 

xoxo,

Ireland

 

Credits

Red tee: Express, thrifted

Checked pants: tommy jeans, thrifted

Shoes: hand-me-down

Scarf: Fresh Produce

Earrings: ???, probably Claire's

Title: The Sun Is Rising by Britt Nicole



The Beautiful Blogger Award

Thanks so much to Khloe Grace, who gave me the Beautiful Blog Award!!! She has a really cool blog you can check out HERE.

Here are the five rules that go along with accepting this award:

1. Thank the blogger who awarded you

2. Answer the ten questions he/she asked

3. Nominate ten bloggers to receive the award

4. Ask them ten questions

5. Let them know they've been awarded

 

I am more than happy to oblige.

1. Have you ever left the country?  If so, where did you go and why?

Yes. When I was three, my parents took me to Dublin, Ireland. It was the first and only time I've been on a plane, and while I don't remember much, we do have some pictures that can help spark memories. I've also been to the Caribbean.

 

2. Have you read the Hunger Games?  What are your thoughts on it?

Yes, all of them, several times. It's a really sad storyline, but I enjoyed reading the books immensely. I love that the main theme is hope and that that's the big idea even through all the grotesqueness of the political system.

 

3. Who is your favorite U.S. president?

I'm not really up on my politics, so I'm not really apt to answer this question. I'm going to go with Teddy Roosevelt because he was the POTUS in the Kit Kittredge American Girl books, and I loved those :) . (I told you I wasn't up on my politics...) Ask me again in a couple years when I know more about politics and government.

 

4. What is your favorite song... or top three if you can't decide?

Emily (It's Love) by Francesca Battistelli

Carolina In My Mind by James Taylor

American Honey by Lady Antebellum

*They will probably change in a few months, just to warn you!

 

5. What is one of your biggest life goals?

Complete my undergrad.

 

6. What is one of the most embarrassing things that has happened to you?

I get embarrassed when I remember the social/moral mistakes I've made in the past. But I don't think God really wants us to feel that way-- if it's an important mistake, we have to go to him about it, and if it's not we have to remember humility and move on! :) A difficult lesson, but worth it...

 

7. Do you follow sports?  If so, what sport and what is your favorite team?

I don't really follow sports, per se, but I like watching football with my dad. The New York Giants are my favorite team.

 

8. Have you ever attended a dance?  If so, what was it for?

Like at school? I went to a costume dance in seventh grade but it wasn't that fun and I haven't been to another. Anyway, I'm homeschooled now, and I haven't gone to a home-school/co-op dance.

 

9. Do you have a job?

While I'm not technically old enough to work, my church does pay me to babysit for some of the women's small groups.

 

10. When was the last time you saw a movie in the theater?  What was it?

A couple weeks ago I went with a friend to see God's Not Dead. It was a good movie, and I love to support the Christian film industry!

 

My Questions:
1. What was your hardest subject in school?
2. Do you play an instrument, and if so, which one?
3. What is your favorite color? And you have to pick ONE. No cop-outs.

4. Flip-flops or boots?

5. Football, soccer, or tennis?

6. Have you ever taken a self-defense course?

7. What is one weak area of your life that you are working to improve?
8. Bible passage you are loving right now?

9. How would you describe your personal style?
10. What's your favorite way to work out? Again, no cop-outs. :)

 

My Nominees:
1. Sarah at All Things Vintage

2. The girls at Going Upstream

3. Paige at Sunday Best and All the Rest

4. Sarah Elizabeth at Learning to Trust God

5. McKenna at Cherishing My Role (In the Home)

6. Karen at Bodies On a Budget

7. Jill at The Wizard of Odds and Ends

8. Bree at Cover Up for Christ

9. Iris at Feminine Modesty

10. Jeff at Jeff Headrick & Associates Wealth Management

 

xoxo,

Ireland

P.S. I'll be back on Saturday with an outfit post. Scroll down the homepage to see the one from Wednesday.

Geek Chic // Outfit Post

It's Wednesday! And for me, that means there are only two more days until my family and I load up the car and head to Tennessee. My parents are going on a business trip and my brother and I will be staying with relatives. I'm excited to see my family and friends in TN again :)

Today's outfit is in honor of a certain Gwen Stacy from a certain incredibly successful movie franchise. The Amazing Spiderman 2 just came out in theaters, and as I am planning to see it within the next week or so, I decided to pay tribute to Gwen with this look.

 

Gwen Stacy wears very polished clothing that has a sophisticated, schoolgirl vibe. This outfit is modeled after the fashion in the first movie, but I'm looking forward to seeing how her style has developed in the second one.

I channeled my inner schoolgirl with a collared shirt with a simple grey skirt, similar to the one Gwen wears in the movie. Her shoes are very simple but sleek, so I went with these black, Oxford-esque shoes that have a chunky little heel and paired them with matching socks.

 

In almost every scene in the movie (with a few exceptions, of course), Gwen wears her platinum-blond hair in a bouncy ponytail with blunt bangs. I wasn't going to have my bangs cut just for the sake of this look, but I did pull my hair back and smooth back the top-- simple and classy.

 

Her makeup is pretty natural, other than the occasional winged eyeliner, so I focused on the eyes and then just lined and colored my lips. Light foundation & blush.

 

This ended up being more of a tutorial on a Gwen Stacy look! Oh, well, I like it :)

 

Who is your favorite Marvel character? Do you get inspiration from movie fashion, too?

 

xoxo,

Ireland

P.S. This link will take you to my Pinterest board with a lot of Gwen Stacy looks.

 

 

Credits:
White shirt: thrifted

Grey skirt: thrifted
Shoes: borrowed
Socks: Aeropostale
Silver hoops: ???, probably Claire's

Something Beautiful // Outfit Post

Good afternoon, my lovelies! It's a warm, sunny day here in Southport, North Carolina and the trees are bright and green and ALIVE. The birds are chirping outside my window, my parents are talking softly amongst themselves in the kitchen, and I have just kicked my shoes off and am now sitting here at the computer, talking to you. :)

 

I went to a coffee shop downtown with my dad earlier today and had a hot chocolate, complete with mini marshmallows and whipped cream. We sat at one of the little tables by the window and just talked about music for forty-five minutes. That is what I call a good start to Tuesday.

 

 

 

Today I'm wearing a printed blue dress with a knotted chambray button-down and blue sandals. It's casual but girly, and the little wedge heel on the shoes make me exactly the same height as my mom. (I like that. :))

 

One thing I like about my hair is that I can straighten it in the morning, wake up the next day and it looks about the same, except for a few needed touch-ups. I need to remember this blessing when I start to feel like I'm having a bad hair day!

Comment away...

xoxo,
Ireland

Credits:
Printed dress: Kohls

Chambray button-down: Charlotte Russe

Sandals: hand-me-down from mom

Title: "Something Beautiful" by NEEDTOBREATHE, from the album The Outsiders

It's Love // Outfit Post

Happy Monday, all! 

Yesterday, I wore this pretty purple maxidress to church. It's made of a really soft, drapey material, and I love how the fabric flares over the cinched waistband. Paired with tall nude peep-toes, it's more dressy than casual, but still simple in the overall feel.

 

Taking outfit pictures is not always easy on Sundays, due to church and taekwondo practice and trying to take extra time to rest, but I really liked this outfit and wanted to make sure I shared it with you guys.

 

This picture really shows off the shoes (pause for closer inspection) and the bracelet, which I made with my grandmother last year during a trip back to Tennessee :)

 

  

I'm really loving the song "Emily (It's Love)" by Francesca Battistelli featuring Dave Barnes. Here are some of the lyrics:

Emily, you will see some stormy weather
Dark and cloudy days of rain (days of rain)
But Emily, there will be summer laughter
'Cause everybody knows the seasons change

Circumstances can change your mind
And time will help you see

It's love that hung the moon and stars for you above
And stays awake to start the morning
When you feel you've had enough
He's never given up, it's love

 
I hope this will prompt you to check out the song  for yourself and let me know what you think! Also, how would you style my dress? I look forward to hearing from you...

 

xoxo,

Ireland

 

 

Outfit Credit:
Purple dress: Fiancée, via Dressing Your Truth
Bracelet: handmade

Earrings: secondhand

Shoes: borrowed



on the wings of the wind.

 

 I went to SPT Marina yesterday with my dad and we had lunch... and talked... and looked at cool boats.

 

 

Here is the awesome Happy Sandwich I made him. My sandwiches are better than my pancakes, right?

 

There's a park right across from the park, and here's... a TREE!

 



It felt so good to be on a dock, surrounded by water... We used to have a boat when I was little and spent a lot of time at the lake. Happy memories.

More boats.

 

Still more boats.

 

And now we come to the title of this post. So, Dad and I were reading all the boats' names... which is always fun... and I really liked this one: On the Wings of the Wind. We also saw one called 10 acious. Cute, right?

 

Do you love being on the water? Would you rather go surfing or boating regularly?

I look forward to reading your comments!

 

~xoxo~

Ireland