Looking Behind, Looking Ahead

2013 Year In Review

Looking Behind (Highlights of 2013):

• Dating my best friend. This is probably a given, but it has been an incredible time, and it is so fun to look back and see how much we've grown together since January.
• Traveling to St. Croix. Getting to share God with some awesome kiddos in a beautiful place is definitely one of my favorite memories of the year.  Mmm, passion fruit.
• Expanding my sewing skills. I know I haven't posted anything here (sorry!), but I've gotten to do a lot of creative things over the past year, including designing two (three, counting the Black Eyed Peas) halloween costumes, learning how to fit a paper pattern, and continuing to work in the Costume Shop.
• Maturing. I've seen myself grow in a lot of different ways over the  last year. I think I've changed in the way I do life, and it is a good change. God has taught me a lot about myself, about others, and about relating.

Looking Ahead (Dreams and Goals for 2014)
What will 2014 be like? When I started to write this, I got rather stuck because I couldn't think of any fancy "Dreams And Goals For 2014." But then I realized, who knows what this next year will hold? How exciting is that? There are things that I am expecting to happen, and things that I am hoping will happen, and things I wish would happen. What is exciting, though, is that I don't know. God is the only one who knows what might happen this next year. That is what makes life so exciting: It is like a roller coaster ride, and you never know what is around the next bend.

Let's catch up!

You: Oh, hey Lydia! It's been forever! How have you been??
Me: Oh, hi there, Reader!! I know, I disappeared for a bit there...sorry about that...I don't even have a good excuse! I've been good, just busy with school and stuff!
You: That's okay, I've been busy too!
Me: Thanks Reader! That is so nice of you! you're so understanding.
You: What kinds of things have you been up to?
Me: Well, school is in full swing, but I have fun classes this semester so that's good. For one of y classes, I even got to design two halloween costumes and display them in a fashion show. It was super fun. I've also continued my involvement with the Well, my church, and my other on-campus activities.
You: That sounds awesome! So, what has God been doing in your life the last few months?
Me: Well, I think He's been showing me a lot about myself and my relationship with Him. It has been a rather humbling experience (Isn't that always the case? Nobody quite likes getting a good look at their true self), but it has been really cool at the same time. Here are some things I've learned about myself:

• I struggle with actively engaging - if I am not consciously thinking about what's happening or being said, I can fall into a pattern of passivity and check out.
• I don't like being in front of large groups of people, but people tend to see me as a leader.
• I am an ISFP on the Myers-Briggs personality test - i.e. I'm pretty quiet until something needs to be done.
• I have the spiritual gift of Shepherding - i.e. I love, love, love taking care of people and guiding them.
• I am a daughter of the King, and that is the important thing. (hey look, I made a rhyme!)

You: wow, that's great! Sounds like you're doing great! Can't wait to read more of the blog  posts that you will regularly write...RIGHT?
Me: yes, yes I promise! ;)

Things I Learned In College

I am nearing the end of my second year, and my little sister is getting ready to graduate. When I think back to high school, I realize just how much I have grown, matured, and learned in the last two years. So even though there will be a lot to add in the next two years, I thought I'd write down some of the things I've come to realize during my college education.

1. Everything changes. Seriously. Everything.
2. It is possible to be friends with boys. I don't know what I thought in high school, but it was something along the lines of "boys are aliens from another planet".
3. Hair straighteners work great in a pinch to iron clothes. Especially for hems and other small spots.
4. Be yourself, or you'll end up with friends who don't know the real you. Nobody wants that.
5. There is a distinct difference between boy movies and girl movies. Who knew?!?
6. The occasional C is okay. Really.
7. Community bathrooms are not that bad. I promise.
8. Most people consider hanging out in graveyards abnormal behavior. The things unique to your family may not be common practice.
9. There will be times when your academics are not your top priority. Things happen, friends need you, it's okay.
10. Most of the time, academics will be your top priority. Everyone stresses about papers and tests. That's okay too.
11. Join only the clubs you love, and get leadership positions in them. Fun times and resume building! Win-win!
12. Don't join everything, just because you don't like saying no. Too many clubs just means too much stress. It is okay to say you aren't interested.
13. You will remember the nights spent stargazing, not the nights spent studying. Live a little.
14. God's got everything under control. Let Him take your stress and worry.

What have you learned in college?

What I Love: 1/14/13

Taking a step. Today, I took a step with my best guy friend. I don't know where these steps will take us, but I'm going to enjoy the journey :)

What I Love: 1/7/13

Having an excuse to lay in a pile of blankets, listen to music, and surf the internet. Of course, that excuse is that I had my wisdom teeth removed, but still.

Mirror Mirror (2012)

This weekend, my sister, cousin, and I went to see Mirror Mirror starring Julia Roberts, Lily Collins, and Armie Hammer. It's a retelling of Snow White. I really enjoyed it; the plot was decent, the aerobatic sword fights were entertaining (watch out for those giant dwarves!), and there was a minimum of crudeness/vulgarity.

But the best part was the costumes. Hands down. Fabulous. Spectacular. Breathtaking.

The costume designer was Eiko Ishioka. Sadly, Mirror Mirror was her last film; she died of pancreatic cancer in January 2012. Her work on it was absolutely stunning, however; she knew how to combine and use bright colors, with a fantastic attention to detail.

From what I could gather, the costumes are vaguely based on an Elizabethan time period crossed with a french revolution/Marie Antoinette mash-up, i.e., corsets, panniers and extreme opulence.

See? (Click on the picture for a larger view)

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Just look at that skirt. Wow. Love! The way it poofs up around her hips means she probably is wearing panniers, which are hoop skirts that are more oval shaped, rather than circular, in order to emphasize the hips.

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This scene is during the Costume Ball (hence the bunny ears). The Evil Queen (Julia Roberts) is a peacock, but a stunning, satiny, red one.The embroidery on the front of that dress is beautifully intricate. I am impressed with the stand-up sleeves- I don't know what they are made of, but they match the dress perfectly.

Here's a peek at what's underneath (at least in the movie):

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This looks like a corset/hoop skirt made of oisers, or willow bark. In the movie, she is cinched down as far as she can possibly go, but I personally didn't think it was really that tight. It didn't seem to define her waist nearly as much as a real, properly cinched, corset would.

While they were not as elaborate as the Evil Queen's, Snow White also had some beautiful costumes.

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This is one of the more obviously Elizabethan dresses in the film. The flat bodice, lowish neckline, fabric folds at the waist, and full, hooped skirt all scream Elizabethan England.

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I LOVE this cape. The color, the fullness, the bows...it's so feminine! It's fascinating- Lily Collins' color season is most likely winter, and winters don't normally look good in bright, warm colors like this yellow. But  Eiko Ishioka found a shade that looks great on her.

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Snow White shows off her rebel side with this pirate-inspired look. This is such a difference from the style of the Queen, that it really shows Snow White's transformation from a small, cowed girl in the shadow of her stepmother to a confident, self-reliant woman who is the rightful Queen.

And that is what Mirror Mirror is all about.

I'll leave you with the most beautiful costume in the whole movie:

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Water-marbled nails

Hey guys!

I recently figured out how to water-marble nails!! It's really pretty. See?

The technique is a little bit confusing, but it's like this. (sorry I don't have any pictures of the process.)

First you get a little cup (I used a medicine cup) and put some room-temperature water in it. Then you drip different colors of nail polish into it so you end up with a bulls-eye. Next you take a toothpick and gently drag it through the polish to swirl it into the design you want. Put Vaseline on your finger (except for the nail) to protect from the nail polish, and dunk your nail in. You have to kind of bend your finger so you go in flat. While your finger is still in the water, use the toothpick to "clean up" the extra polish, and then pull your finger out. One done, nine to go!

I realize that it is hard to understand of you can't see what is going on, so here is the video I used to teach myself:

She uses scotch tape instead of Vaseline, but the purpose is the same.

The colors I used were both Pure Ice. The white is Super Star and the sparkle is Oh Baby. I don't know if I'd really recommend them for water marbling; The white did ok, but the sparkle didn't want to drip at all.

It was fun though, and I've found it is very relaxing!

Sweater week results!

Sweater week is over! Melisa and I wore sweaters every day this week, and took pictures in our favorite spots. We both got most of our sweaters from Goodwill or Salvation Army. (We love thrifting!) Because of this, I won't be posting links to the stores online. We both highly recommend you stop by your local second hand shop, though!

Monday:

Melisa and I took this pic in our lobby. (The happy birthday on the wall is for our RA) We both went pretty simple for the first day, with just a plain black and white cardi for me and a neutral pullover for Mel.

Tuesday:

Tuesday was Oversized Sweater Day. We took these shots in the elevator. Living on the 6th floor means the elevator is your best friend! The lighting was very yellow though, and made my cozy pink sweater look like a weird shade of salmon. It set off Melisa's Fair Isle sweater great, though.

Wednesday:

Yes, the laundry room. A college student's best friend, or worst enemy. We found out after taking the picture that you really shouldn't sit on the dryers. Oops! It wasn't on purpose, but we both ended up wearing pastel sweaters on this day.

Thursday:

Ah, Fat Bar. That is what AU students call the dessert/ice cream/slushie bar. It is definitely one of our favorite spots on campus, and a perfect spot for pictures in our favorite pullovers!

Friday:

We were kind of lazy on this day, and just took pictures on our beds. They are some of our favorite spots on campus, though! (Please excuse my messy covers. No, seriously, stop looking.)

Saturday:

We took this picture at the most important place in a college student's life: Wal-Mart. The coffee aisle. Yeah baby.

Sunday:

We went a little dressier for Sunday, because we were going to church. Yes, a sweater dress still qualifies for Sweater Week. And yes, that is the kitchenette on our floor.

We had a blast figuring out different ways to wear sweaters this week. I thought about trying the backwards sweater trend, but I just wasn't brave enough. Maybe that will get it's own post soon. Have you been wearing sweaters this week? Do you have any other sweater-styling ideas? Let me know in the comments!

Sweater week

It's sweater week!!

Every day this week, my roommate/cousin Melisa and I will wear sweaters and take pictures around campus. On Saturday, I will post the results! Stay tuned!

Melisa and I

First Day of School

I'm back at school! Yay! My first day of classes was yesterday. The fun thing about college is things change so quickly. In high school, I was used to doing all my courses, every day, all school year. Here, I have Monday-Wednesday-Friday classes and Tuesday-Thursday classes, AND I get totally new subjects every four months! It's so nice to change things up. The other advantage to having all new classes, etc. is you get an extra first day of school. Instead of one a year, now there's two! So this was my January First-Day-of-School outfit.

I love this sweater. I found it at Sears for only like $8! And it's soft and cute. :)

These are my cute jeans. I have comfy jeans, skinny jeans, and cute jeans. I love the wide bell-bottoms, and the sparkly bling on the pockets doesn't hurt.

These boots are perfect with these pants. The hem is kinda long, so I am continually stepping on it and wearing it out. The heels on these ankle boots are 2 in. - not enough to make me stumble, but just enough to lift my pants off the ground.

I found this bag at an antiques/second hand store and fell in love! The bright color is so cheery, and it's made of silicone or vinyl or something, so it doesn't get dirty easily.

Sweater: Sears
Jeans: K-Mart
Boots (I couldn't find this exact shoe, so here's a similar style): Payless
Bag: Thrifted.

It's the New Year!

I don't usually make New Years Resolutions. Well, if I do, they are never anything specific. Maybe something like, "Grow closer to God," or something generic like that. So, this year, I decided to do something different, see if I could keep a New Year's Resolution. I'm going to try to post on here at least once a week. I know, I know, "real" bloggers post once a day, at minimum. BUT, that's a lot, so I'm going to start small and see if I can handle this whole blogging thing.

Wanna help me out? leave a comment. I think the reason I went on a blogging hiatus the last six months was that there was no indication anyone was even reading my crazy ramblings. Also, perhaps, that I had been almost solely blogging about sewing-related topics. Of course, there will still be plenty of that. But, I'm a college student, so that means I don't have a lot of time for sewing anymore. Super sad face!

I have been sewing in the costume shop of late. I was lucky enough to get a work-study job there, so I get as much of a "sewing fix" as I can there. I don't know what I'll do when we close after our last show of the season!

Some other things I've been doing this past semester: Learning how to draw the proper 9 heads fashion figure, having fun times with my roomie-cousin, actually working out, I NEVER went to the gym in high school. Oops. Making midnight runs to Wal-Mart, Attending Ugly Sweater Christmas parties, and having an amazing time of growth with my Freshman Girls Small Group.

Update on life

Yay for a crazy busy life. Lately, I've been working. A lot. But that's ok, because the more I work, the more money I get! I am also going to teach a few ten-year-olds how to sew over the summer. I am looking forward to that! AND I've been doing quite a bit of babysitting lately. Funny story, I put a one-year-old to sleep by pretending to snore. Yep. I guess I have a soothing snore.

Oh, and Project Runway is starting back up July 25th!!!

A Hard Thing That Needs Doing

"John Piper, pastor and author, defines a holy ambition as something you really, really, really want to do-and that God wants you to do also. Some people would call this passion, but it's passion under the lordship of Jesus Christ. What's yours?" Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris.

When I read this passage this morning, my mind flashed back to a conversation I had with my Mom a few days ago. I have always loved sewing (as evidenced by this blog) but I have other passions as well. One of them is the people of Africa. I went to Zambia last year, and what I saw there burned itself in my memory. The people literally have nothing. The government tries to help, but what happens when the government can't afford to help anymore? Or when the government is in turmoil, like Libya or Somalia? I firmly believe that the only way to really help these people is to give them the resources and training to help themselves.

As my Mom and I talked about this, we discussed what a seamstress like me might be able to do. We agreed that teaching African women to sew would give them a livelihood and means of support, but we realized that many of the people who really need it don't have the electricity to run a sewing machine. Then we hit upon an idea: Treadle sewing machines.

What if I partnered with a major sewing machine company (Singer, Pfaff) to manufacture treadle sewing machines to give to African women for free? I would raise the money, and they would make them.

When my mom and I hashed this out, I was excited that I might be able to do something like that eventually. But this book, Do Hard Things, has challenged me to do it NOW. However, I can't do it alone. No matter what your strengths are, I can put them to use. If you are interested, (even a little!) please comment on this post, or send me a message, or something. Let's do this!

Modesty

Lately I have been thinking about what it means to be modest. This was sparked by a survey I read online, The Modesty Survey, conducted by The Rebelution. The survey was mainly about what Christian guys view as modest, and some of it surprised me. For example, having a purse strap across your chest between your breasts is a stumbling block for many guys. As a girl who loves fashion and loves to look nice, this was kind of an eye-opener for me. I am realizing that many of my shirts are probably too tight to be really modest, and some of my shorts are very short. What am I to do? Do I just never wear those again? Do I only wear them in certain places? Do I refashion them to make them more modest? How does one make shorts a good 6 inches longer anyway?

But I think modesty isn't just about how you dress. Attitude, and Actions have an influence on what guys will think about when they look at you. If your heart doesn't have a God-glorifying attitude, they're not going to see God. If you go around doing things that turn guys on, (flirting, trying to get attention) you will end up turning them on, even if it's just in their minds. Jesus says: "If anyone causes one of these little ones-those who believe in me-to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea." (Matthew 18:6 NIV) Wow! God feels very strongly about causing other Christians to stumble! As girls, we need to do our part to protect our brothers from sin.

What modesty really comes down to is who are you dressing for? Are you dressing to get guys attention? Maybe, you are just dressing to please yourself, what you think looks nice and not thinking about what God or guys will see (Mea culpa on this one). But who we need to be dressing for-myself included- is God. If God is pleased, you are modest.

Today, I did something new.

I sewed a puppet's hand.

Because of VBS, of course!

The Vacation Bible School at my church runs every year in the last week of June. It is always a blast, even for teens like me. We get to help out with shepherding the little kids, doing songs and hand motions, and puppets, of course! Earlier this week, I did the puppet costumes. No, I didn't sew them. (you can all gasp in astonishment now)

Instead, I went to the Salvation Army Store and bought baby clothes. (no comments on how it must look for my 17 year old self to be buying baby clothes...)

The puppets looked really good, except for one of the girl puppets, who had a small rip on her finger. So, I had to stitch it up. In the car. On the way to puppet rehearsal. YAY

Anyway, I am looking forward to VBS, and I think you should come check it out!