ODP 2012- Day 31 and TV feature

 Day 1-5

Day 6-10

Day 11-15

Day 17-20

Day 21-25

Tunic Outfits

Day 26-30

And I'm done!!! Hooray! I wore the dress for the last time on Saturday and have enjoyed the freedom of pants and shorts for a couple of days. I am enjoying it because in just a little while I'll be in skirts and dresses full time for over six weeks while I'm in Uganda finalizing our adoption. And here is the 31st outfit with the new accessories I won from Sseko Sandals!

Day 31: Blue floral scarf and Sseko sandals with rectangle Karibu accessory.

Buy yours here.

Alright, I lied. I did wear the dress one more time today for an hour. And there was a very good reason! Tonight the ODP girls will be on Channel 8 news!!! I as well as Cathy and Ida were interviewed about ODP and The 12X12 Project. It was super exciting to be a part of and I look forward to seeing how God will use this! Here is a picture that one of the other ladies took with the reporter, Jennifer Leigh.

Even though I am done, all of these ladies are doing the project correctly and it is Day 23 for them.

P.S. Want to see what I did in the October Dress Project 2013?

ODP 2012- Day 26, 27, 28, 29 & 30

 Day 1-5

Day 6-10

Day 11-15

Day 17-20

Day 21-25

Tunic Outfits

I am almost done! Hooray!!! This is the part of the project where I wish I could just wear normal clothes again. Just to do it. The tunic look makes me feel alright with wearing the dress all the time,  because I can wear leggings on pants with it. I think the biggest thing I am tired of is the color, actually. Red is hard to match to things and I really don't have a lot of neutral accessories, besides black. Last year's dress was a much more versatile color and shape for the 31 day long project.

Anyway! Here is the red dress, yet again:

Day 26: Ugandan beads from Amazima Ministries and crocs

Day 27: Good news for the adoption, hand-me-down floral shirt, white leggings and yellow sandals

Day 28:

Day 29: Black tanktop, Ugandan beads, handmade bracelet and yellow sandals

Day 30: Pink pin-striped shirt, brown necklace, large flower ring, nude pumps

Aren't you anxious to see how I finish out the project? You will just have to wait and see!

ODP 2012- Tunic Outfits

I discovered that day 24 is my favorite outfit for this dress so far. The silhouette of the dress is not one I would choose for my figure on a daily basis, but I found that I love the tunic look with this dress. This outfit looks a little rockabilly, doesn't it? I wore this for date night and received several compliments all day from strangers about it. Strange, but encouraging because I never would have discovered this look if I wasn't trying to re-invent the same dress in the first place!

Day 24

Well, I decided to try a couple of different looks for my tunic during a family dance/costume party. What do you think? Are any of them keepers?

Cowboy pilot with protective armor

Constructions worker with protective helmet and fashion scarf

And my personal favorite: Laura Ingalls Wilder meets gansta

What can I say? I'm a stylish lady with a vision for my classic wardrobe look. And apparently I do not discriminate color combinations, functionality or strange factor into my fashion decisions!

ODP 2012- Day 21, 22, 23, 24, & 25

 Day 1-5

Day 6-10

Day 11-16

Day 17-20

Check out this super cute logo designed by another ODP lady. Love it!

Only a little bit longer and I will be finished! Five days to be exact, since I am wearing the dress right now. As you can see from the day I started back in September, I have taken a couple of breaks during this month long venture. Calling it cheating, but I call it part of my distraction sanity. It gave me a chance to feel like I was in control of something with this adoption, which is CLEARLY not true. But a girl can pretend, right?

I finally tried two new ways to wear the dress and I loved them!!! Inspired by the ODP Facebook group, I wore it as a skirt and a strapless tunic. And I fell in love with the tunic look! Get ready to see that look several more times for the remainder of the project because it is a keeper. I'm glad the ODP girls inspired me to try putting the dress on differently because I was getting bored. This is the part of the project were you dream of other clothes and putting something where your thighs don't touch. TMI?

On with the pictures!

Day 21- 12X12 Project October The Gathering, yellow and grey sweater, cream belt, sandals

Day 22- Craig's shirt, Craig's hat, yellow sandals

This bracelet was in the shopping cart at Target. I had just been wanting and Pinning one, and there it was. It's the little things that remind me that Someone is looking out for me. Even the silly little desires of my heart.

Day 23- Dress as skirt, red shirt, cream belt, brown scarf, crocs

Day 24- FAVORITE OUTFIT!!! Dress as tunic, leggings, nude wedges, black cardigan, scarf

Day 25- Dress as tunic, Sseko sandals, leggings, purple scarf, teal World Vision bracelet

DISTRACTION: Saving my sanity

Photo by Emily Rose Portraits

I feel the dark cloud of anxiousness, depression and impatience looming over my head. I really want to write another whiny post like this one, but don't think you want to hear it. But that is how I feel, if you care to read about the inner heartache, angst and what adoption waiting is really like. I'm ten months paper-pregnant and if someone doesn't get this thing up and running so those boys are home soon, I might just fly over to Uganda myself and track them down. Thankfully my husband speaks truth, patience and understanding into my crazed adoptive mom brain and I am still sitting in my Florida home, homeschooling my home-growns and managing the house.

Photo by Emily Rose Portraits

But during all of this waiting, I use distraction to try to take my mind off the fact that the newly decorated nursery is empty and all of our nearly packed suitcases are gathering dust. Have you notice the new projects I have started on the blog? Color Me Lakeland? October Dress Project? Wardrobe Makeover? Barber Basics? Yep. All of them are distractions from what is really going on. My heart wants my boys home with their forever family. That is it. They should be home, not in foster care, not far away from their Mom, Dad, new brother and sister. So instead of dwelling on this reality, I come up with a new project to take my mind off the hard reality that we are not a family of six yet. Distract. Distract. Distract. And I'll probably do it until the day I have a court date.

Photo by Emily Rose Portraits

Please continue to pray for our family. There are some changes in country that we were just informed about and we might need to make two trips to Uganda. This will incur extra expenses and it will take longer for us to bring everyone back home. We still don't have any definite plans, but we are trusting that God called us to adoption and He will see us through all of the waiting and heartache.

Photo by Emily Rose Portraits

And today we received this little funny story about "Big" which did my heart good. Enjoy!

""Big" loves his brother "Little" and Lori Boynton's daughter who are with him in the foster home. "Big" tries to play with them although at times he just steps or sits on them. This is because he is not aware that he is hurting his friends."

Isn't that the funniest? I guess it is safe to say that "Big" is a typical one year old!

Creating a Classic Wardrobe - Part 1

I want to consume less.

I want to have a classic style.
I want quality clothing that lasts.
I want the money I spend on clothing to help others.

The logical conclusion then is that I create a classic wardrobe that is timeless, fits beautifully, holds all of the essential fashion items and will withstand fashion fads, wear, tear and four children. I want this set of clothes to last for 20 years. Is that too much to ask? How about for 10 years? And the only time I will NEED to purchase something new is when one of my essential clothing items is worn, torn, stained or destroyed. That sounds pretty simple and logical doesn't it?

It is easier said then done. I am involved in a year long buying freeze with the 12X12 Project, so my wardrobe is as it is right now. Unless I inherit something from a friend, what is in my closet will last me an entire year. This year long fast serves two purposes. First, it forces me to be content with what I have. A lot of people around the world feel blessed to have clean clothing let alone numerous outfits to choose from. As an American, it is hard to distinguish "want" from "need." When you grow up in a culture that encourages you to indulge in every desire and teaches the mentality that self deprivation in any degree is wrong, you start to think like that. I have never known want. And I deny myself very little. This year is a time to reflect on the abundance I have and choose to think about my possession in another way besides my right as an American. I am going to choose to think of them as a luxury.

Luxury: free or habitual indulgence in or enjoyment of comforts and pleasures in addition to those necessary for a reasonable standard of well-being

This is what I teach my four year son. That a luxury is something beyond what we need to survive. Why don't I teach it to myself? That is what this year is about. 

Retraining my mind and heart to realize that:

I am rich.
I have much. 
I own to excess. 
And just because I want it, doesn't mean I should have it. 

The second purpose of this year is to reinvent my style. I have been toying with what I truly like in fashion, whether it be vintage hairstyles or girly shoes or timeless silhouettes. When I walk out of the house, I want my clothes to look put together, stylish, modest and feminine. So often I try to dress like others or what I perceive to be fashionable. Even though it is fun to do that, I want my clothes to be a reflection of who I truly am. 

After this year is finished, my purchases of these timeless, essential items will not be like old clothing purchases. I want my money to make a statement about what I believe and what I stand for. Sure, it is easy to head to Target and grab a cute outfit off of the 30% off rack, but how is it that a garment of clothing is only $14.99? Fabric alone is pretty pricey and I wouldn't have the foggiest idea how to sew a tailored dress, so why is that adorable grey sleeveless tailored cocktail dress at such a steal of a price? It means that somewhere down the line, someone is not getting paid what they are owed. And you know that it isn't the people calling the shots who are denying their wants of a cushy pay check. I am not asking anyone else to change how they shop, but for me and my house, we will purchase as many items as we can that are made ethically, made by people who are being paid a fair and equitable wage, and are being eco-conscience in their manufacturing practices. Believe me, I realize this is a tall order. A lot of items that we consume as a family can not be found according to this criteria. But I can no longer sit by and allow my dollars to tell the world that:

I support planned obsolescence.
I support dishonesty.
I support slave trade.

It makes my heart sick to think about how my luxuries are at the expense of people's lives. Just let that sink in. If you aren't convinced, read my post about how I employ 56 slaves. And after readying this article with pictures of people living right now in slave labor around the world, how could I look into their eyes and make another choice then the one I am making? I would love to talk more with anyone who wants to about the slavery that exists right now in 2012. Just ask and we can chat, because it is a pretty big deal to me and I would love share what I know and open up a dialog about it with you. I know it seems like we can't make a difference, but I know that we can. One fair trade item at a time.

My recently purged closet.

And back to clothing talk!  In order to achieve this dream wardrobe of mine, I purged my closet pretty intensely last week and created a Pinterest board of my essential wardrobe. The ruthless sorting brought my wardrobe down to only classic items, with a few trendy pieces. There are some noticeable holes in my fashion arsenal: shoes and shirts. Those seem like basic things, but I am lacking on both departments!The Pinterest board I created has received the attention of friends, since I can't shop for a year. It will just have to sit there and wait until next October. 

Follow Karissa Barber // The Acting Mom's board The Acting Mom's Classic Style on Pinterest.

And while I wait, I am going to focus on getting to my ideal weight and body figure. I don't want to purchase all of these expensive, fair trade classic clothing items in a size I don't plan on staying. So, I should be heading out to the pavement to burn some calories right about now, but I think I'll wait until tomorrow. 
Tonight, pumpkin pie ice cream awaits!

Continue reading part 2.

ODP- 2012 Day 17, 18, 19, & 20

 Day 1-5

Day 6-10

Day 11-15

Well, with my foot in a post-op boot and the limitation that that brought, I really didn't care too much about fashion last week.  My wonderful friend who were there when I sliced my foot open brought me and my family meals all week, which was a HUGE blessing! I did experiment with a couple of things fashion wise, but my foot kept me out of commission for a lot of things, including washing my October Dress. So, I wore my other One Mango Tree dresses while I waited for mobility to wash my red October Dress. I was inspired by this blog post to turn a scarf from my grandmother-in-law into a vest, which was fun.

During this last week of nursing my foot (which you can read about here), I had an epiphany. My wardrobe is purged every couple of months, but there are many items I have kept for my entire adult life. Why not have the majority of my wardrobe be the type of pieces that I will NEVER get rid of because they are timeless, classic, flatter my figure and durable? A blog post is in the works on this one because this revelation ties in with the 12X12 Project and part of the inspiration came from this post, the creator of the October Dress Project.

And now for the pictures! And a HUGE surprise at the end!!!

Day 17: White One Mango Tree dress, purple shirt, teal belt, grey Sseko sandals

Sseko sandals with knotty tie and post-op booty

Day 18- White dress, mauve knitted cardigan, Ugandan beads, teal sandals

Day 19: Red dress is back! Chevron scarf turned vest, white belt, boat shoes

Click here to see 10 ways to turn a scarf into a vest

Day 20: Dress, lace top, pearls, red shoes and OUR NEW VAN!!!

 

My parents blessed us with a mini-van this weekend! We had planned for me to simply stay home with the kiddos and then take two cars with Craig to head to church or anywhere. It wasn't an ideal situation, but we felt like it was more important to finish the adoption then wait for enough money for a van. I am still in shock over this enormous blessing! I drove it for the first time yesterday and was overwhelmed, to say the least. Thank you, Mom and Dad for continually pouring into our lives. We all love you!

Happy 1st Birthday, "Big" and "Little"

We have known about our two little guys across the world since July. We weren't told their names or their ages, but we were told their birth dates. Now that we have read all about these two sweet boys, seen pictures and heard reports about the type of food they like and where they are developmentally, we almost feel like we know them. I guess it feels more like they are miniature pen pals that will one day live with us, but regardless of how it feels, we know that one day we will be their forever family.

We hoped that we would be able to celebrate their first birthdays with them in Uganda, but that didn't happen. So we did the next best thing. We had a little birthday celebration for each of them on their birthday, holding their picture there as a symbol that we are commemorating their day. Asher, Alethea, Craig and I all sang "Happy Birthday" and blew out the candles together, because they weren't there to do it themselves. We as their forever family honored their mothers who gave them life and are treasuring one year of surviving amazing obstacles. These two little boys have a fight and passion in them despite all of the hardships they have had to overcome, and we celebrated all of that on their first birthdays while they were in Uganda sleeping.

Happy Birthday, "Big." 

We can't wait to see you toddling around our house with Asher and Alethea, and "Little" playing right along. We look forward to discovering your favorite foods and your sweet smile. We can't wait to hold you and kiss your little forehead and say, "You are home. Forever." Happy 1st Birthday, "Big!"

Happy Birthday, "Little."

We are excited to see you start to crawl, pull up, and then walk with "Big", Asher and Alethea. We are anxious to see what kind of toys you enjoy and what songs you like to sing when you first wake up. We can't wait to snuggle you close and whisper to you that you are loved. Happy 1st Birthday, "Little!"