Sunday's Best | Fall Florals

Hey Friends! I'm back as promised with the inaugural post for "Sunday's Best". In April I did something that my heart had been wanting for a long time. I was baptized Catholic. My whole life has changed since I entered my beautiful church and almost a year after attending my first Mass, I feel at home. I love this community that I have entered into and my spiritual growth has been amazing.

Growing up, my Mom (a southern woman), had always told me that Sunday is the day to wear your best outfits. In the rural south where she grew up there weren't many opportunities to show off your best outfits but at church. When I started going to church I wasn't sure what to wear and what was acceptable. I soon discovered that people wear pretty much whatever they want, from jeans and t-shirts to the most glamorous outfits I've seen in person.

With my love of pretty dresses, I've accumulated quite a decent size collection. I will be showcasing some of my favorite brands and outfits on this weekly ( I hope!) post. So lets get started!

Eshakti is one of my favorite clothing lines. I was first introduced to the brand when some of my blog friends had showcased their amazing custom made pieces. I had the privilege to review one of their pieces and to this day it is still one of my favorite dresses.

They have reached out to me a couple more times since then and I'm so happy to be able to showcase them again. The Rose Print Georgette Maxi Dress is such a gorgeous print! Although I wasn't sure how the style would look on me, I had to have it simply for the print alone.

It was the first cool morning we had here in Southern California in months and I was so happy to be able to pair my favorite cropped cardigan, matching scarf and hair flower with it. Unfortunately, this dress just doesn't fit me that well on the top. The custom sizing is spot on and there are no complaints there but as I said before, I got this for the print alone (and pockets!). I will still wear it regularly as the comfort and print will keep it a favorite. I'm considering taking it to a tailor to make it sleeveless or shorten the sleeves. Until then I will pair my favorite cardigan scarf combo with it all fall long!

I love the breezy skirt of this dress and how it feels when I'm moving around. Since I'm late to review this it has sold out (you can find the print in a different style here), but this style dress is an Eshakti staple and the prints they offer are gorgeous! This is one of my new Georgette favorites: 

Rose Print Georgette

As the temperature's begin to drop in the next month or so for us, I'm so looking forward to showing you some more of my favorite things to wear on my favorite day of the week. What are some of your favorite pieces from their site?

WIP Wednesday

I've been crocheting all the things lately so I thought I would share some of what I've been working on, my WIPs (Works in Progress) as the cool kids say.

For the past month I have been working on making baby hats for a parish wide baby shower at my church. So far I've made 20 cute little hats and plan on making even more by the end of September. This project has been so rewarding and I thank God everyday for blessing me with a skill that can offer comfort to so many.

I've used a couple different types of yarn for these but my favorite by far has been the Caron Baby Cakes. The yarn is so squishy and soft and the variegated colors are awesome. Thankfully I found them for 50% off at Michael's so I was able to buy more than enough for this project. Hope they make more because they have a fan for life! #yarnmakesmehappy

If you crochet and are interested in making any of these, just shoot me a comment and I'll share with you how I concocted my own pattern from a few I found.

Happy Wednesday!

Let's have a chat

It's been a while. Not sure anyone out there will read this but that's okay. I'm starting this little corner of the web back up again and hope I can stick with it a little longer this time around. So much has changed since I left my blog last. Too much to really catch up on in one post. If you follow me on the socials then you've been with me the last year and there's no need for updates! If you haven't, I will be including snippets here and there to help explain things a little better.

Blogging for me is so much bigger than what I write here. It's interacting with a group of women that have inspired me and I've come to admire. I want to make more of an effort to catch up with all of them again, that's one of the biggest reasons I came back. I also have some fun things to share with you!

Starting today I'll be working on getting weekly posts done. I want to start a fashion series called "Sunday's Best" and tell you all about what I'm wearing on Sunday's or what I've had my eye on in the current fashion market (Target fall clothes are coming!). I also want to take you into my world of crochet and showcase some of the pieces I've made, who they're for and the meaning behind why this craft is so important to me. If Wordless Wednesday is still a thing, you can count me in for some short and sweet posts on Wednesday's just to say hello.

I'm in a good place. For the first time in what feels like years, I feel like things are changing for the better. I'm changing for the better. Hope you'll join me. :)

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Thanks for the chat!

See you soon!

Wordless Wednesday

It's that time again! My team (the Los Angeles Kings) is in the first round of the playoffs and we're going into Game 4 tonight with a win under our belt. So excited!

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Changes

Hi friends! Notice anything different? I went ahead and made the changes I discussed in my previous post. Unfortunately, because I changed my URL all of bloglovin' followers are gone :(. It's fine though, hopefully after reading this post most of you will click that little button down below and I'll be back to where I was in no time!

I'm excited about the changes! It feels like a clean slate. My biggest challenge will be consistency and confidence. I know I'll get there eventually.

As far as updates go, I've started physical therapy again! I've been going twice a week for a few weeks now and I'm loving it so far! Don't get me wrong, it's hard and painful but I know it has to be like this before I start seeing results. I'm hoping to get in some aqua therapy classes too! It's all so exciting! For the first time in a long time it feels like things are moving in the right direction.

If you follow me on social media then you know that my Dad has cancer. Since his diagnosis we've had our ups and downs with his care but he's finally in an amazing facility and getting the care he needs. I have so much going on with my own care but somehow I've managed to care for him as well as myself, thanks to the support of family. Dad and I got so lucky. :)

I have been very busy with all of our appointments lately but I still manage to spend time with family and friends when I can. My cousin is getting married in a couple weeks and I'm so looking forward to the wedding and seeing all of my family from near and far again. Sooner than that I'll be going to Passover dinner at my Aunt's house this weekend. Some of my fondest childhood memories are playing "hide the matzo" with my siblings at my Aunt's house.

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I'm so happy to be in a place where I feel like change can be good. The fear and pain will always be there but I'm choosing not to let it control me anymore. I deserve so much better than that.

Thank you so much for reading this and I truly hope you choose to stick around. :)

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Re-branding?

Hey guys! It's been a little bit since I've blogged and I've gotten the itch. Lately I've been observing other bloggers and YouTuber's and how they brand themselves. Now, I don't really have any goals set yet for what I'd like my blog to grow into but if I choose to let it grow, maybe re-branding wouldn't be such a bad idea.

When I first started this blog it was to help me connect to other military spouses and it has been so wonderful for that! What I have noticed though is that with my disability, my mind is no longer where it was when I first started. I don't lead a very adventurous life and I don't really see people sticking around to hear about my day to day. What I do really like to talk about is sharing my story of living with chronic pain to maybe help others who may feel as alone as I do sometimes. I also love vintage fashion, makeup, skincare and dogs! I do a lot of research on things that work for me so why not share that advice with others.

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If I can stick with it and stay consistent I feel like my voice could be heard and I'd be able to connect with so many more people that share the same interests as I do.

With all that said, I'm going to take the steps to re-brand my little corner of the web. I'll be doing more research on changing the domain which may lead to me starting fresh with a brand new blog. I'll keep you all posted here and on social media. I'm playing around with the new blog name, Kimberly Erin. I like how it sounds together and its 100% me. I'd love to know what you all think and if you have any suggestions before I go public.

Hope you're having a great week!

Living with Chronic Pain

Do you ever feel suffocated by life? The overwhelming pressure just pushes on you and the only thing you feel like doing is running away. Maybe not, but for me that's how I've been feeling lately. There are so many factors contributing to this "pressure", but one of the main factors is that I'm no where near where I want to be in my life. I'm a planner. Losing control will send me into a panic attack or leave me so anxious I just physically shut down. Being in control is where I'm happy.

I've been living with my injury and chronic pain for 4 1/2 years now. After seeing multiple surgeons, the majority of them feel I am not a candidate for surgery. The major deciding factor? My age. Studies have shown that 10 years from now a patient who chose back surgery and one who opted out will have the same symptoms. After all the research I've done, I agree. Why have them cut me open and take out pieces of my spine when they can be saved? There are conservative forms of pain treatment though. I can have epidurals followed up by physical therapy, as well as a nerve procedure that could leave me pain free long enough to strengthen my core and body. No longer depending on pain medications to function daily would be amazing. Sounds nice doesn't it? Unfortunately, things I can't speak too publicly about are trying to prevent me from getting the care I need. Fighting this thing has become a full time job for me. I'll get there though. There has to be a light at the end of this long tunnel.

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There it is. Today is hard. It's not necessarily a high pain day, but the consequences of what this pain has done to my life is hanging heavy on my shoulders. I thought writing this would help. I haven't posted anything here in so long I'm not even sure anyone will read this. It doesn't really matter though, writing is therapeutic so I'm going to keep doing it. Maybe tomorrow will be better. :)