Last-minute DIYs

So, I leave in two days, and I'm still frantically running around trying to finish things up. But one thing that I have been working on, and am almost finished with, is making my own ruffle shirts!

I personally have loved the new style with the ruffles on the front of a shirt, because it looks so professional and very nice with a cami over it. So I really, really wanted some for my mission! However, the cheapest they are in the store is like $25, which I'm not a huge fan of.

Instead, I went online and found a bunch of awesome DIY ruffle shirts, and have made them all! Here are the links, so you can make them too! All you need for most of them is two cheap t-shirts, some thread, pins, and a sewing machine!

1. Tea Rose Home
   This shirt is my all-time favorite! I ended up making two, one with the flowers, one without.
   Also, I made the two other ruflle shirt tutorials on this blog as well, both found in the list of tutorials.
   
2. Ruffles and Stuff
   Not gonna lie, I haven't actually made this one yet, but I'm going to tomorrow. And I'm excited about it!
   
3. Brassy Apple
   This one is a bit more complicated, but not too difficult once you figure out how to shir (I just looked it up on google).

All in all, I made (or will have made) five shirts, and have had so much fun doing it! So if you are willing to spend more time than money, these are the way to go!

One other tutorial I found that I never actually got around to:

Enchantresses3 - Corsage Tee

Holy JACKPOT!!!

I just found my mom's belt stash......... and she has like 50 million cute waist belts in virtually every color! Why did I not know about this sooner?!? I could have been so stylish this past year haha But they are perfect for adding a little flair to outfits for the mission!

Man, who knew? Girls, even if you have a mom who isn't quite as fashion-aware as you would like, DO NOT MISS the opportunity to go through her closet. She just might have had impeccable style that has happened to come back around in the popular style of today. Or maybe her sister dressed well and gave your mom her old clothes. Yeah. Anything is possible. Just look through her stuff and you're bound to find a treasure chest of cute things. 

Just to show you what I mean by treasure chest, jackpot, and 50 million, here's a picture of all the belts that were once hidden in the back of a closet and are now claimed as mine:

Now that's what I call a plethora of belts. So excited that I found them!

Shopping!

Starting this past Saturday, I began the long and agonizing trek of finding clothes for the mission. I struck gold! Well, as far as shoes go anyway.

On Saturday, I was able to find an adorable pair of purple shoes that just made me think of a cute missionary. I got them at JC Penney for about 40$, and they actually are very comfortable wide heels. The only problem is that they are suede, which will be harder to take care and look nice. But I decided they will be my special occasion summer shoes. --->

Also on Saturday, I finally got some socks meant for flats, which I've been needing forever, as well as a luggage set for only 99$ from JC Penney. I'm not sure about the dimensions of the luggage versus what we are allowed to have, but the set came with three suitcases as well as a large duffel bag, so I should be okay. 

Yesterday, Mariah and I went shopping again, searching for boots. I found some awesome rain boots, which  is what I need for the typhoon weather over in Korea. I wanted brown leather ones, but there's just no such thing for a reasonable price that actually has support. But these rain boots, My feet felt good in them! Which is not ordinarily the case for rain boots either. So I got them! And for only 32$ too. Awww yeah. I also got some long black socks to wear with them.

The last pair of shoes I needed was just some black flats, and I found the perfect pair at Clarks. I'm trying them out today... I'm still not sure how I feel about them though. I might have to bring a different pair, because even though the sole is ultra-comfy, the fact that it's leather rubbing against the top of my feet and ankle.. It's not fun to walk in. So I will have to keep wearing them, see if they wear in a little or not.

Last but not least, I found a teal cardigan! Teal is the best color ever (its going to be one of my wedding colors I've decided) and I FINALLY own something in it! Whooohoo. 

The search is still on for a good, warm, raincoat. I actually found a very cute pruple one at Nordstrom's yesterday, but I didn't get it because my aunt wasn't sure it was warm enough, and also I already have purple shoes, so if I had a different purple jacket, it wouldn't match. But mann... I hope I find another one like that, cause it looked good :)

Okay, enough about clothes and my shopping trips! Well for now at least... lol

There will be pictures. I promise.