Frazzled Fridays!

It's in the Bag!

Hi frazzled friends!  To those who may or will be affected by Irene, please know our prayers are ongoing.  

We have been talking about Fall accessories these last couple of blogs.  Today we'll talk about the latest and greatest handbags!  Let's be honest girls, handbags can make or break an outfit.  It's the way we carry all our "essentials" - and why not carry them in style?!  And, if you are looking for one great accessory to update your wardrobe for the Fall, a handbag is a great one!

Top handle handbags and clutches are a carry-over from Spring and Summer.  You will find these in beautiful, rich jewel tone colors, fabrics, textures, lots of fur and even polka dots.  The "rule" for handbags is the color should closely match your hair color OR should fall within your DCC.  (click here for info on your Dominant Color Characteristic).  If you have blonde or gray/white hair, your handbag color should be more neutral.  

Also remember that when accessorizing you still need to consider balance and proportion.  Those who are 5'4" or under or wear smaller clothing sizes should beware of big bags.  You don't want people to see the bag before they see you!  And likewise, if you are tall or where clothing sizes over 14 you should beware of small bags which will make you appear bigger.  

Next time I will concentrate on clothing styles and colors for this Fall!  If you only get one new accessory for Fall, what will you get?  Love to hear from you!

Blessings!

Dawn

Frazzled Fridays!

Back to Spring Trends

All the Extras!!

Happy Frazzled Friday my friends!  I hope your week has been pleasant and productive.

The world of accessories - all the extras that bring an outfit together is abuzz this Spring (ha, no pun intended!).  There are several decades of influence this season from the 50's to the 80's.  So, you really can't go wrong, huh?!  

Love this slate stone combo

Things to add to your wardrobe can be bought at a variety of stores at a variety of prices.  Choose what's best for your budget.  Bangle bracelets - in lots of pretty colors or wooden and jeweled ones.
  

 

 

 

And look at these great Spring colors:

And one more; pretty jeweled one... although this could be a magnified statement ring.  Pretty non-the-less.

Also for wrists this season, colorful, whimsical, watches!

Notice the bright citrus color - very popular

 

 Even the very popular turquoise....

On those beautiful fingers (yes, yes they are!), make sure you have at least one statement ring.  Something that really pops out and makes a statement.

The very popular coral

How about this pretty gold/silver ring that is very dressy indeed:

Necklaces are long and bold this season.  Either long with pendants or short with longer pendants. 

Wooden, jeweled with a tribal flair:

The very popular turquoise, with the new wooden style intertwined.  Love this piece!!

Scarves continue their popularity this Spring with lighter weight materials.  

Florals and animal prints too!

Then we have those gorgeous, chandelier earrings:

Tribal inspired tassel earrings

Now, for out on the town, or out and about... sunglasses and bags!

The newest trends in handbags carried over from the last fall are satchel handled bags.  

And on the wild side - zebra print!  

And don't forget RUFFLES!

I will go into a little more detail with the "shades" - our big time summer wear, sunglasses!  When choosing sunglasses you need to take into account the shape of your face.  The trends this season are oversized, cat eye, aviator, Victoria Beckham and John Lennon styles.  Oversized is not for everyone. If you have small features these will overpower you.  Pick frames with smaller lines.

If you have an oval face the butterfly frames (some of the Victoria Beckham-like styles) are good as well as the cat eye styles. 

If your face is shaped more like a square try rounder frames like the John Lennon style or cat eye style.

 

For those with round shaped faces, look for sunglasses that are more angular, such as rectangular or square. And the aviator styles is great for you!  Both of these styles will make your face appear slimmer.

And for the (sweet) heart-shaped faces, you need glasses that will balance your beautiful face.  So do not get sunglasses with decoration at the top.  Try butterfly, cat eye or John Lennon styles.  

And so dear frazzled friends, this series of Spring trends must come to a close.  I will continue updating you as we get further into Spring and the start of Summer (can you believe school will be out in about 6 weeks!  Where oh where did the time go!)  

So tell me, are you looking at swim/bathing suits yet?   They all look really good on the ladies in the magazines!!  If we all wear the right kind of suit for our body type, we will all look great in bathing suits!  Really AND seriously!    I will be blogging about these wonderful "suits" very soon.  Would you rather hear about the perfect jeans for your beautiful, one-of-a-kind body first??  Let me know!  Until next time sweet friends....

Blessings!

Dawn

             

Frazzled Fridays!

The Body Armor of God

The Sword of the Spirit
(What do you carry at your side?) 

Welcome back my Frazzled Friday friends!  (say that three times fast!)

The Lord has certainly blessed me earlier this week with less activity.   I also was very blessed to have the privilege of ministering to the women at the St. Giles Presbyterian MOPS group here in Charlotte.  What a wonderful group of women!  I so love doing what God has called me to do!!!

As we finish our series on the wearing the Body Armor of God, we will focus in on the second part of Ephesians 6: 17 which says, "and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."  Chip Ingram explains the definition: 

"The sword of the Spirit is the Word (rhema – spoken word, or words given to us by the Spirit of God) to do close, hand-to-hand combat with the lies and deceptions of the enemy. The truth of God’s Word quoted and applied to the specific lie or deception of the enemy will allow you to take “every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”" (emphasis mine)

 God's Word IS our defense against the many lies of the enemy.  If we do not have God's word in our heart and mind, then we are at a significant disadvantage against the enemy, and he knows that - because we are defenseless in some area(s).  I don't know about you, but I sometimes have a hard time memorizing things.  I think for the most part the reason for this is that my mind is crowded by trivial things compared to the desire to read and memorize God's truth.

I really like the way The Message reads for this verse: "God's Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out."

Now after reading God's Word daily and throughout the last two years, I realize what a complete advantage it is to know Truth!   "But where do I start?", you might ask.  I am not an expert on memorization or specific verses or books of the Bible to start with.  But I do know that there are Bible reading outlines available either on-line or through your church (even our local Christian radio station 91.9).  Or use the Chronological Bible which I personally recommend.  Before you begin reading each day ask the Lord to help you understand what He specifically wants you to know and remember.  And write it down.  Write down what you remember like a special verse that jumped out at you.  It's ok if there isn't a verse that jumps out each day.  But do know that God loves you and wants you to know Him better through reading His Word.

There are also a number of on-line devotional options.  My personal favorite is Encouragement for Today.  But find the one that you like best and begin to write verses down.  I keep a small spiral bound note card-size book filled with verses for specific topics like fear, truth, hope in my bathroom by my mirror.  And since I look in the mirror everyday I always see it and flip through to find a verse that covers the emotions going on at the time.   

Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, ... It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires."(emphasis mine)  Now that's the kind of sword I'd like to have defending me!

So what do we carry around by our side, strapped around our shoulders?  Our handbags!!

Here's the key to handbags... remember balance and proportion.  If you are a small woman don't carry around a handbag that's big enough to carry a small child in!  

People see the handbag coming before they see you!  In contrast if you are tall or maybe wear a size 14 or larger, don't carry around a little purse. 

It will make you seem larger.  You definitely can rock the larger bags!  If you are somewhere in between, stay with medium sized handbags.

But what color or style??  The style is really up to you, from casual to fancy-smancy.  As for color, either go with one that closely matches your hair color (except for those who are blonde or have very light colored hair - you would need to stick with tan/beige/taupe or a charcoal color).  

Or, pick a pop color for that season that looks great on you.  I will be covering Dominant Color Characteristic (DCC) beginning next Friday.  Do you have to have a handbag for every outfit?  Again, that's up to you.  I do encourage you to have a spring/summer bag and a fall/winter bag.  Linen or straw bags do not look right in the winter any more than wool looks good in the summer!  I am seeing some leather and canvas mixed bags coming out for the transition into spring.  But this bag really reminded me that spring is coming!!

Tune in next week when I will explain more about DCC.  You don't want to miss it... I'll have a give-away!!

Blessings!

Dawn