The Modest Budget: More Thrift Sweaters + Why I Decided to Take College Slower

Welcome to Tuesday, lovely readers!

Sweater: Thrift Store // Shirt: Gap // Skirt: Target (old) // Boots: Thrift Store

Holidays, finals week, present-buying/wrapping/anticipating... December always goes by so fast!
So I find myself grabbing one of my thrift store sweaters (ya'll know how much I like my thrift store sweaters!) and a basic tee, enabling me to switch up the "bottom half" of my outfit and create variety.

This December has looked a lot different than last December (a.k.a., our first holiday season as a married couple!) but different in a lot of good ways.
For one, I've cut back on my school load, and I've only taken one class at a time this semester.
Wanna hear why? 😉

Virginia Cold and a New Semester

I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed my break from school, blogging, and Young Life activities. Christmas was great, and my family went on an amazing vacation so far south that the coldest it got was 59 degrees. But vacations don't last forever, and all breaks end. Virginia welcomed us back with cold arms - and by "cold," I mean 25 degrees - and sent me flying into prepping for this next semester.

I feel like it's natural with the new year and a new semester to want to tackle all that new-ness with great strides, a calm mind, and being all "put together." So, Casey had high expectations for how she would conquer - she would get 8 hours of sleep every night, dare to wear cuter shoes to class instead of Converses, and she would be early more often than she was late.

Flash forward to Casey's life 3 days into this new semester, and she's running on 5.7 hours of sleep, rushing out of her dorm in sweatpants, sweatshirt and Uggs, balancing her laptop, school bag, keys, and a waffle hanging out of her mouth that she had swiped from the toaster and slapped butter on as she scrambled to leave on time.
And yes, it looks just as comical as it sounds.
But, hey, in the words of my beloved mother:

"If you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at?"

On a more serious note, I am thankful to again be living on campus, and have the opportunity to be leading at Deep Creek high school. And, yes, my goals for this next semester do include being more punctual and eating better/sleeping more. But really, I just want to have a heart attitude that is full of rest this semester. I want to worry less about tomorrow, and stress less about my homework, and instead just enjoy where the Lord has placed me and take care of what He has given me.

What are some of your goals for this coming semester/season?

WELCOME TO THE NEW SEMESTER!

Love,

          Casey

P.S., pictures from our vacationing adventure coming soon;)

My Doubts vs. His Display of Faithfulness

We all have those times where we realize, or become significantly more aware of, how far a year has taken us. Typically this time comes around New Years for me, or around my birthday. But this weekend marked a clear moment of reflection on how far the Lord has brought me.

This weekend I was one of 25 leaders on a trip with 350 teenagers from Chesapeake (almost 600 teenagers total) with Young Life. We were in Nags Head, I was leading beside some of my best friends in the world, and spending time with some of the coolest sophomore and junior girls I have ever met. I saw kids laugh and dance and cry and hear the Gospel in a very real way. Literally, my only job while I was there was to love on girls, spend time with them, and watch the Lord change lives.

Where was I last year? Praying that God would give me ministry. Dying to be around high school girls, and fulfill that calling that had been heavy on my heart for years. Frustrated at the lack of open doors for ministry. Why wouldn't the Lord honor my desires to serve, and give me opportunities in ministry?

After this sleepless and busy weekend, we drove straight back to the Young Life house in Chesapeake. I spent the afternoon talking with the other leaders about ways they saw the Lord move in their kids' lives while we played video games and ate great food. I realized, then, how much this group of people had become like a second family to me; a place where I felt safe enough to show weakness and honesty, but where I could always expect a laugh. 

Where was I last year? Desperate for community; tired of struggling through young adulthood on my own. Feeling left out and forgotten. Nobody to pray with or laugh with. No motivation from others in my walk with the Lord. Feeling uncared for. Would He ever give me real friends? or a solid community? Had He forgotten me? 

All of this is pretty cool to think about... but even more so in light of my current frustrations. I'm impatient with endless schoolwork, anticipating a time when I will no longer be single, and itching to be back in Guatemala. But these times of reflections bring encouragement.

What do these reflections say about me? Not much. 

What do these reflections say about the faithfulness of God? Everything.

When I look back on where I've come from, and consider where He's brought me compared to where I am, or where I thought I'd be going, it can be really humbling. It causes my current doubts and frustrations to shrink. Yes; sometimes frustrations last longer than a year, and yes; there are prayers and desires that take much longer to be fulfilled. 

BUT HE'S SO FAITHFUL.

I never would have imagined that the Lord would bring me to a place that was both so sweet and so challenging. So why should I doubt that He won't continue leading me? Why should I doubt that He still has amazing plans for me beyond my imagination? I'm working to choose His faithfulness over my doubts.

Keep your head up; because no matter where YOU are, the same goes for you, too.

He is faithful. And He's more interested in, and excited about your future than you are. I guarantee it.

Here, and Nowhere Else: Opportunities for Greater Faith

Fall is an easy time for me to feel overwhelmed.
Sometimes it's a good overwhelming. My heart tries to soak up every inch of this glorious season, and my eyes want to devour every single color of the clothes and the leaves and the cars and the streetlights. My insides get all bunched-up with excitement when I think about the approaching Christmas season. It's all I can think of when I see red and green stoplights at night, especially with the early darkness that has come along with daylight savings. I begin anticipating what the reaction will be to the presents I am most excited to give, and nighttime car drives that have no purpose other than to look at festive trees and porches that have been decked-out in sparkles and lights.

Other times, it's a bad overwhelming.
Homework seems unending, and my brain doesn't feel like it ever stops scrambling to remember everything on my extensive to-do list. My body is run down from its lack of sleep and lack of food. With Christmas comes another to-do list of presents and cookies to make, and people to see, and decorations to get; obligations continually hounding me for attention. And the wet, heavy blanket over your soul when you feel like you are alone.

Fall is the hardest season for me to be single sometimes. Loneliness is a common thing to feel when it's so glorious outside and there's no one to enjoy it with, or no one's flannels to wear, or no one to watch Christmas movies early with you, or no one to go to a crowded coffee shop and read with you.

Besides that, I think fall is just that sort of season. Every season we long for different things, andsometimes that correlates with the physical seasons. Winter is a dead and grey sort of season; Spring is anticipatory of blossoms and flowers; Summer is warm and slow. And fall, sometimes, is just that dread of the dead season coming, when things are darker and colder and lonelier and sometimes the snow leaves you stranded at home.

But it's a marvelous thing that I can rely on the fact that every season - truly, every moment of every day - is an opportunity to choose greater trust. I ask for greater faith, so I'm given greater opportunities to choose who/what I put my faith in. There are endless small moments to choose whether I willfocus on my own discouragements or circumstances or the lonely, overwhelming feeling of my heart...or trust that I am where I am supposed to be, and that I will continue to be guided to where I need to be when I need to be there.

"Here and nowhere else is the appointed place. If faith does not go to work here, it will not go to work at all." - Elizabeth Elliot

Have a phenomenal week, friends.
Case

SOMETHING Good

Lately, life's been hard. But it's also been good.

It's a testament to how good our God is that even when we feel completely overwhelmed or completely hopeless, it isn't ever all bad. There are always those little good things.
Even when I have an incredible amount of homework,
ministry takes up more time than I planned,
meetings come up at impractical times,
work is long,
people are tiring,
food is low,
math is hard,
money is gone,
and my head hurts...
The Lord still never gives me more than I can handle. He always provides a ray of sunshine, or a place of rest, or that one encouragement that I need to get me through.

Sometimes it's hard to see, but there's always something good.
It's just a matter of deciding what we look for.

"Break-less"

So I accidentally took off two weeks instead of one... whoops.
The first week was finals week and the second one was fall break week. And one thing stood out to me from these last two weeks:
we really are a break-less people.

But this is no one's fault but our own. It's our own inability! I stayed on-campus during break so that I could get more done. When I ran into one of my few friends who had stayed, he made an interesting comment: "Casey, I don't know how to do nothing."
He went on to explain that his fall break week was not a break, but that was because he didn't know how to take one. And this is practically the norm! In talking with the other students, most of them worked double-time over that week, were slammed with homework (like yours truly) or crammed so many trips and activities in the week that they never had a chance to just sit and enjoy the break.


This generation doesn't know how to sit and enjoy. 

Not only this generation or teenagers and young adults, but adults as well! With cell phones, Netflix, and endless Twitter conversations to keep up with - not to mention the dumb, addictive games and endless gossip - it's no wonder we never rest. Because, for us, rest only comes when there's nothing else to do or text or keep up with or google. But, guess what... That place in life doesn't exist and never will.

We need to re-shape our thinking. Real rest does not happen there is nothing else to do; real rest happens when we make a conscious decision to let our brains and our souls take a break from the texts and the people and the homework and the ministry and the work and the Instagram-photo-taking.

The world will not fall apart if you take time to rest now and then. In fact, the world will be better off if you take the time to rest. Because, honestly, you're a better you when you rest. You're more productive, more successful, friendlier, and healthier....

Want to have a positive effect on this world? Want to give your family the best you possible? Want to be the most effective you can be in your work or your ministry? Take a break and make it count. Turn your phone off for the day, or the afternoon, and take a drive somewhere. Think about as little as possible; reconnect with God; go somewhere cool; lay on your bed and stare at the ceiling; read a couple of chapters in that novel, just because; do anything!

JUST TAKE A BREAK.

Style{in} Skirts: As Many Colors As You Can

(We're gonna ignore that my hair looks some sort of weird in these pics, and that they were taken in the rain on the street under an umbrella that matches far too well with my outfit...;)

 Shirt: Forever 21 ($8); Skirt: I don't remember, but most of my skorts like this have come from the thrift store; 

Bag: Gift (from a thrift store); Boots: Gift (from a thrift store)

My life has been lots of kinds of crazy lately. I moved out over the weekend,  and I feel like I have done nothing but make tea, struggle with college algebra and solve the conundrum of bad lighting in my dorm with my roommate.

That is practically all I've been thinking about lately.

Reading homework.

Solving homework.

Catching up on homework.

Scheduling Young Life and homework.

Ignoring homework.

Trying not to stress about money.

Trying not to stress about homework.

Trying not to eat like a total college student.

Unpacking. 

Laundry.

Homework.

Homework.

Homework.

I already feel like I need a vacation. Haha!

So when life gets dreary and stressful and dull, and it rains for three days straight...

 Throw on as many colors as you can in one outfit, grab your pink umbrella, and tackle life looking a bit more fabulous.

That's all I got.

Love, Casey

Linking up at The Pleated Poppy, Transatlantic Blonde, Vodka Infused Lemonade, Penniless Socialite, Simply Just Lovely, Living In Color, Sequins & Style, Style Elixir, Two Thirty Five Designs, The Life of the Party, Musings of a Housewife, For the Love of Fancy, Watch Out for the Woestmans, Join the Gossip, Thirty Something Fashion, Still Being Molly, Walking in Memphis in High Heels and Because Shanna Said So

Style{in} Skirts: A Clearance Dress for All Season. 1 Dress; 4 Ways

So I thought I'd have a bit of fun this week... I got this bland dress at Target on clearance a couple of weeks ago. It had some great features, like the cute pattern and the knee-high slit to show off the shoes a little bit, and the fact that it was SUPER comfortable.... So I bought it and challenged myself to spice it up a bit. 

Dresses like this can be super versatile, and can stretch into almost all seasons. And with the new school year, who isn't looking for some fresh looks?

SO. Here's how I took a boring, clearance dress from this...

To these four looks:

(I kept it pretty simple accessories- and makeup-wise, but all of these outfits would be way more fun with chunky jewelry, and maybe a dash of pink lipstick;)

The first one is a bit simpler.

While I'm not a huge fan of belts (I don't like having to mess with them all day) this one adds a great waistline without adding layers. Good for the August weather we've been having lately.

And, of course, ya'll know how I feel about these shoes;)

The second one is similar, as it doesn't add too many hot layers, but it covers up the strappiness in the back if you're not a fan of that look, and still adds a waist:

These clunkers I got on clearance from Forever 21 a few seasons ago, and while they're not great for walking a lot (they start to hurt your toes after a few hours) they're still pretty fab;) 

This denim vest was a total score from a thrift store a few years back, and it's a fall-back of mine for changing up an outfit really quick without much effort.

 The third look can go into September and the slightly colder months. I kept the boots, but tried to swing the belted-cardi look:

Again, I'm not a huge fan of belts, but this one adds a waistline. These cardis are all over Target, too, and while they can be hard to find on clearance, they're typically worth buying full-price anyways. (I think the belt is from Target, too).

This last one is probably my favorite. Because, let's be honest, who isn't excited about layers and jackets and things to come back out with the fall weather?! And plus, with more layers, come more color...and I'm all about more color.

The jacket underneath is one I got on clearance at the end of last season (from Cotton On), and I snuck it into the spring weather. It's a great layering piece, too.

I also think I love this look because I don't have to worry about adding a waistline. The jackets do it for you without having to add anything like a belt or a vest or a corset...;)

 The denim jacket is kind of a "Heard Girl thing"... When the fall weather blows in, you'll see either me or my mom wearing one 90% of the time! 

You just can't go wrong with a denim jacket ;)

Scarf is from Francesca's 

These beauties are from Target, last season. Pretty sure they were only $5 off, but I don't regret the investment one bit. I've already worn them so much! And they're a great pop of color.

 Hopefully you enjoyed this little experiment... And all of these pieces I was able to pull together in less than 7 minutes! So keep an eye out for these clearance pieces, especially at the end of this summer season. A lot of them can be stretched into the beginnings of winter, or at least the beginnings of fall!

And, c'mon, Target clearance? Almost always a good investment;)

What have you found to be some great investments for the school year? Or super versatile pieces?

Have a fantastic week! Stay fab.

- Case


Ps, linking up at Watch Out for the Woestmans, The Foley Fam, Mom Trends, Transatlantic Blonde, The Life of the Party, Because Shanna Said So, Vodka Infused Lemonade, Sequins and Style, Penniless Socialite, Simply Just Lovely, Mix Match Fashion and Walking in Memphis in High Heels

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Style{in} Skirts: 5 Minutes?

(This isn't a post about my awesome(ly horrible) modeling skills...)

(Or the weird way someone cut our grass...)

(Or even my fabulous shoes) (well, actually, that's a lie... we all know I love these shoes).

It was one of those mornings when I didn't know I was leaving until I was supposed to be leaving. So where do you find Casey when she has 5 minutes? Throwing a scarf over her slightly-dirty hair and grabbing a maxi skirt. Maxi skirts are practically the cuter and more socially-acceptable-outside-of-walmart version of sweatpants. Which is a total win on a Sunday morning when you really don't want to get out of bed in the first place, much less put effort into looking decent. And the loose top is one of my faves because it's so darn comfortable and I don't have to pass up that last gf brownie to fit into it.

This little beauty is something my mom bought me over a year ago after a break up (see, good things DO come out of brokenness!;) It literally holds everything. On a good day, I pack a book, a snack, my planner, my bible, my wallet and my sweater for work (along with three hundred caramels, cuz I can't do without them). On top of that, it just adds great color to everything.

Both the tank and the skirt I actually altered a bit. The tank was a camisole that I cut out, and the skirt had a weird ruffly top that just added fluff under my shirts where I didn't need fluff added. I re-sewed a hem of sorts there so it wouldn't stretch, but that's been the only sewing I've ever done as an alteration and it will probably stay that way.

Top: Forever 21 (and forever ago) Tank: Old Navy? Skirt: Target? Shoes: DSW Purse: Target

In the other realms of life that aren't related to what I've been wearing, I've been doing a lot of planning. Someone pointed out to me yesterday that it's "summer break" for us college students... yet you don't see anyone on break! We're running ourselves weary before we'll take time to rest and be refreshed. And resting out of exhaustion isn't really rest. It's rehab.

Part of this lack of summer break we see is a part of growing up, I think. Folks who work 9-5 don't get "summer break." However, I think taking the remainder of this summer to turn down busyness isn't going to hurt me. By the time September rolls around, I'll be thrown back into note-taking, tons of driving, and brain-stretching. My time management will have to be on an all-time high if I'm going to conquer more classes on top of work and ministry. Not to mention everything else that goes on in life.

Time management skills... will I ever gain them...

Hope ya'll are having a great summer, and are getting a little bit of a break!:)

Love, Casey

(Linking up here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here & here! #allofthelinkups)

Jump. And Keep on Jumping

As of today I am a Business major.
Yep.
And I'm terrified.

Why? Because as soon as I made the decision I was pounded with:
"Am I smart enough for this?"
"Do I manage my time well enough for 15 credit hours?"
"Will I have enough saved up to quit my job?"
"Will I have the bravery to face all of those smart people in class, when I haven't taken a math course in over 3 years?"
"Am I doing the right thing?"

Doubts. Yayyyyyy.

In the past twenty minutes, I have told myself, "you are a strong, confident young woman; a fighter and a trooper. YOU GOT THIS," about 14 times. And I'll probably say it 14 million more times. Because this isn't just a change to my major. Everything I do these days feels like a re-definition of myself, every moment of my mindset feels like it determines who I am. Which is true. But that's a lot of pressure.

But mostly it's because this change is not the only scary thing in my life. There are a lot of scary things in my life. But this is a scary thing that I've decided to tackle. I'll tackle the rest of them tomorrow. And the day after that. And the next week, and next month, and the rest of my life. But this one I tackled today.

Life is scary. And sometimes, when you don't know what on God's green earth to do with yourself and you feel like everything in life is unstable, you just have to jump. And keep jumping. Because everything is unstable.

Don't count on the stability of life. Life is surprise. Life is shaky. Life is fragile and delicate and lovely and sturdy and punch-you-in-the-mouth-like-strong-coffee. But what are you gonna do... quit???
Nope. Because life is beautiful. And I'm excited about it.

I am a strong, confident, fighter of a young woman. And now I'm a business major, too.

Make Time to BE

Sometimes,
when you've had a busy day,
not much sleep,
and a slightly stressful week as a whole,
it's good to go to Starbucks,
leave your phone in the car,
and simply take a date with Jesus.

I did that today, after 4 hours of school and almost 4 hours of studying.
I packed up, and drove to Starbucks.
I ordered a tall soy caramel latte with extra caramel and no whip,
and the guy gave me a grande.
I sat outside,
with nothing but my Bible and a pen
and nobody but Jesus.

We weren't there long. But it was the best part of my day.
Because, sometimes,
prying my phone from my hand and locking it away on the other side of the parking lot
is such a good thing.

I read somewhere in a textbook that us Americans use the excuse of, "I don't have the time," so often, yet it's really not true. The correct excuse would be, "it's just not that high on my priority list."
We make time for our highest priorities.
Like, for me, coffee is a priority.
I've been late to a few places because I stopped for coffee.
I make time to stop for coffee.

I want to make more time to just sit
with Jesus,
His word,
and a pen.
I want to make more time to put my phone down.
I want to make more time to people watch,
and actually maybe talk to some of these people.

I want to make more time to be, and not just do.