True Parisian {Street Style From the City of Lights, Fall 2012}

 Bonjour ma chérie amie!  Runway inspiration is sublime, but you find real style on the streets.  And what better lanes & avenues to peruse than the streets of Paris?  None, I say.  None.  Here you'll get a glimpse at Parisian street style... in all its fresh, quirky, couture embodiments.  Delight in le inspiration! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love from Paris {If Only},

-Bess-

 

P.S.: This is the first installment of Bess' Bag's Friday Fashion Fix!  What did you think?  Do you want a modest fashionable post every Friday {just like clockwork}?

I ❤ Thursday: Shabby Apple

Do you know Shabby Apple?  It's this wonderfully chic online shop where the dresses, skirts, tops, & swimsuits don't flaunt plunging necklines or raised hems.  Women can be feminine & fashionable while remaining modest at Shabby Apple.  Below are some of their fair wares along with current prices.  Click the button above or the sidebar banner to discover these & much more!  An apple a day keeps the fashion police away!

Source: shabbyapple.com via Emily on Pinterest

Jabberwocky Maxi Skirt - $72.00

Source: shabbyapple.com via Ladies In Navy on Pinterest

Dorm Room Blouse - SALE $31.00

Source: shabbyapple.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Tess Pencil Skirt - SALE $37.60

Source: shabbyapple.com via Kellie on Pinterest

Violet Night Sash - $16.00

Source: shabbyapple.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Pink Lily Nail Color - $15.00

Source: shabbyapple.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Freedom Print - $23.00

Fashionable Love,

-Bess-



Tuesday Tutorial/Tip: Dot Those Nails

Confession, I’m not a big nail polish girl. I never have been {probably cause my nerves find their way to my fingernails – (I don’t bite em, but I pick at em (sorry if that was too much information for ya))}. However, I’m getting more into it. In fact, right now my toenails are painted a silvery pink!

Today’s Tuesday Tutorial/Tip {this one is sort of a combo} is for this clever nail dotter for perfectly polka-dotted nails! Try it won’t you? I’m thinking the dots would even look cute on a natural, bare nail, too. Hmmm, so many possibilities…

Source: thebeautydepartment.com via Joey on Pinterest

Love,

-Bess-

P.S.: I’m trying to get back to a semi blog schedule: Music Monday; Tuesday Tutorial {or Tip}; Friday Fashion Fix… What do you think?

When You Are Wronged

 

Broken world, broken people. There’s something about our brokenness. It’s messy & it rubs off on others. In this world, we have been wronged & we will be wronged {& let’s not forget, we, too, will wrong}. It’s an occupational hazard. This past year I found myself the victim of a deep gash – not visible, where it could be easily dealt with (ointment and bandages applied; or stitches) – but internally, in my heart & spirit, you might say {where the healing is oh-so-slow & the medicine hard to keep down}. It was an attack that I did not deserve, unlike some where you set yourself up for a blow by your previous actions & choices. It caught me by surprise & sent me reeling. Sometimes I feel like I’m still off kilter trying to regain my sense of me. Wrestling with forgiving my wound-givers is a moment-by-moment decision for me. One minute I am willing to extend mercy, telling my heavenly Daddy I forgive them & hand it over to Him; the next hour I am inwardly in angst over what they did & where I am because of it. They never told me they were sorry… & I needn’t wait for pigs to fly. It is like climbing Everest when the anger you hold is righteous anger over cruel & evil wronging. But, God is still good – still ruling – still in charge. Darkness hasn’t won. It seems funny to write, but I have heard God’s voice so many times through my car radio. It’s not a booming voice like thunder, or the physical sound of my Maker at all, it’s the songs that the DJs play on some of my favorite Christian radio stations. Soon after my wounding, at the most appropriate time imaginable {I had prayed for the words to say, confronted them, & seen them for the last time}, I heard Him speak. This was the song I heard…



There was no doubt. Not a bit. My Father was telling me it was okay. I had been terribly hurt, but it wasn’t a deadly wound. It had been wrong – sinful, and that is why forgiveness was needed & necessary. Those who acted out the evil did not deserve it – perhaps, would not even understand it, but the act of forgiving was in most ways more important for me than it was for them. I may have to remind myself many times that I forgave them & still forgive them.  This I know, there is hope after a wronging. Keep hold of it steadily, trusting in the Lord for healing.

Dear Father,

Help me to continually surrender over forgiveness to those who wounded me. I know it is Your will & I seek to do it. I praise You for who You are: merciful & forgiving to us beyond all imagining. You have sacrificed Your pure & spotless Son for us - when we should have been given death, you gave us life everlasting. Help those who hurt me to find their own healing of brokenness through You; may they turn to You & know You. Guide my paths that are so unknown to me this side of the wounding. I am afraid that is what I fear. Forgive my doubts & unbelief. You have never forsaken me. Illuminate my path with Your peace. I am Yours for Your service.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Love for Healing,

-Bess- 

Music Monday: My New Anthem / My New Favorite

Sometimes I'll just be driving in the car & a new song will come on the radio that just makes me want to pull over & listen.  Drink in the lyrics.  "Well Done" by Moriah Peters is that song for me.  It's my new anthem of sorts; I like to think of it as Bess' Bag's anthem, too.  This is what it's all about.  Listen closely & drink deep... 

The Story Behind the Song


"Well Done" by Moriah Peters

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

-Philippians 3:12-14 NIV

 

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

-1 Corinthians 9:24 NIV

 

An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.

-2 Timothy 2:5 ESV

 

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

-Hebrews 12:1 NIV

 

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

-Isaiah 40:30-31

 

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

-2 Timothy 4:7 NIV

{Another} Story Behind the Song - so honest & real


"I Choose Jesus" by Moriah Peters

Monday Music Love,

-Bess-

 

P.S.: I hadn't really heard of Moriah Peters until that song came on my car radio.  Now she's definitely a favorite!  She has such a beautiful spirit!

Closet Hangers {To Organize!}

My clothes closet is definitely where the monsters live!  I'm not sure how it happened, but the creeps overtook it, & now I'm fighting to regain my skirts' & trousers' abode {be it ever so humble a battle}.  Oh, now I feel bad for calling the poor hapless, homeless creatures "creeps!"  I'll send them a fruitcake.        

What You Need:

-paper paint samples {I found these at Walmart with a pre-cut hole}

-scissors

-decorate tape or paper (with glue stick) 

-alphabet stamps with ink {or you could use a pen or marker}

Here's What You Do:

-Cut holes in the top center of each of your paint sample papers, along with a downward slanted slot {so you can hang them}.  {Even though mine already had a hole, I found it wasn't large enough, so I had to cut it larger.  Check your clothes rack to make sure you are making it an appropriate size.}

-Next, stamp out the words of the clothes' categories of your choice {that fit your needs}.  I chose: dresses, skirts, tops, blazers, vest, & jackets.  Remember, you can do this step with a marker or pen, too, or even print type off the computer.

-Add decorative tape or scrapbook paper to the parts of your paint sample that have words you wish to cover {like the name of the paint color/brand}.  

-Lastly, hang in your closet & organize your clothes accordingly {dresses behind the dresses tag, etc.} =).    

Love & Organization,

-Bess-

P.S.: I seem to be in a silly mood today.  Hmmm.    

Make Mine Vintage

Source: abeautifulmess.typepad.com via Beaches Resorts on Pinterest

If you didn't already know it, I seriously heart vintage things! {I know, I know, I've said it a million + times!} That's why I was so uber-ly excited to stumble upon A Beautiful Mess blog! It's a vast vintage wonderland {sigh}! Here's some crafty/vintage-y ideas from that fab blog via Pinterest...

Source: abeautifulmess.typepad.com via NicoleMarie on Pinterest

wrap bits & pieces of lace trim around terracotta pots (just add glue)

Source: abeautifulmess.typepad.com via Ashley on Pinterest

file folders are turned cute using vintage contact paper (or wrapping or wallpaper + double-sided tape or a glue stick)

Source: abeautifulmess.typepad.com via Sara on Pinterest

add some flair to a pair of oxfords

Source: abeautifulmess.typepad.com via Anita on Pinterest

hand stitch doilies together and tie over the bare bones of a lampshade 

 Love From the Vintage-Eras, 

-Bess- 

 P.S.: So sorry it's taken me forever to get this up! My computer is giving me fits!

Music Monday: I Love "Don't Have Love!"

"Don't Have Love" by Holly Starr

This is one of my newest favorites!  I dance & sing along & make a general crazy display, but only God has to see it - except for when I'm in the car & stopped at a red light.  Then it gets a little awkward.  But, hey, I heart the message!   

"If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all His mysteries & making everything plain as day, & if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," & it jumps, but I don't have love, I'm nothing."
-1 Corinthians 13:2, The Message (MSG) (emphasis mine)

There's something about us humans that think if we could just have this one thing - whatever it may be ("money, cool friends, a ring on your left hand" (from the song)) - we'll be truly happy; the void will be filled.  Sadly, each one thing turns in to multiple things, & none of them fill the empty space.  You gotta have love - real love from Jesus - that's the one thing.  This song totally reminds me.

Click here to "like" Holly's Facebook page & receive a free song download (Psalm 23)!

What do ya think?  Should I start posting a favorite tune or 2 on Mondays?  I'd call it Music Mondays. (That's original, don't ya think?=)  Let me know how you feel about it.  Okay?  Thanks!  Sorry I've been a little absent, lately!  I'm back & I missed you!

Monday Music Love,
-Bess-

"Lead, Serve, Love" Book Review

Lead, Serve, Love: 100 Three-Word Ways to Live Like Jesus

 by Gregory E. Lang

Lead, Serve, Love. Three teeny-weeny little words that pack a punch. It's what we've been called to do - our life-long quest, whittled down to three words (13 letters). In Gregory E. Lang's book Lead, Serve, Love: 100 Three-Word Ways to Be Like Jesus the reader will be presented with 100 such three word phrases that are simple, yet powerful, especially when not only read, but lived out through the power of Christ. This small little volume would make a terrific 100 day devotional, as each 3 words is followed by a small paragraph with accompanying Bible verses on the opposite page. It's also just a nice handy little reminder to live like Jesus. Some of the three words include: "Give Second Chances," "Choose Good Company," "Hold Yourself Accountable," & "Reward Others First." There is also a presentation page in the front of the book for gifting purposes. Sometimes books on living an authentic Jesus-inspired/pleasing life are wordy & scholarly &, well, daunting or intimidating – this is pure, simple, straight-to-the-point, & Bible-based. What more do you need? Its simplicity also lends itself to being a great gift for a new Christian. Taking a cue from the author, in three words I found this book: Winsome, Simple, & very Jesus-like.

*I received this book from the publisher for free (through the BookSneeze program) in exchange for my honest review.

Bookish Love,

-Bess-

Back to School Rules! 2012

Hope you all heading back to the books have a great first day {& entire year}!  Stand for Christ & learn a boat-load, too! 

Love & Back-to-School Prayers, 

-Bess-