Burgundy + Black & Grace + Lace Link Up

Happy Monday and Happy Halloween! I hope you weekend was amazing! Mine was lovely and restful. Today, I have an outfit post for you guys! :)

The other day, Erica from Pumps and Push Ups shared a couple of outfits made from what she purchased at a LOFT sale. I was so inspired by the simple but gorgeous look of her first outfit, and I decided to recreate it!

Outfit details:

TOP: Kohl's (similar, similar)

JEANS: Old Navy (similar, similar)

NECKLACE: Charming Charlie (similar, similar)

SHOES: K-Mart (similar, similar)

It was super easy to recreate Erica's cute look because I already had each of the pieces. When you get kind of tired of your closet, surf Pinterest and other great blogs to find new ways to wear your existing clothes. It is so fun to do, and will save you a ton of money too! :)

See where I link up here.

Shop this post below:

Now, let's get to the link up!

1. Jill from Doused in Pink linked up an adorable outfit with a cute boho dress with burgundy flowers. I loved it so much!



2. Tif from Bright on a Budget shared a super cute outfit in front of an amazing mural. I loved the mix of colors and her utility jacket. :)

-Link back to Spreading His Grace, Bows & Clothes, or both

-Subscribe to both blogs and follow each of us on at least one social media.

Mackenzie: Blog | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter

Sarah: Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Bloglovin'

-This link up has no theme, so we encourage you to link any of your recent posts. Also note that we have to right to delete your link if it is inappropriate. However, we are super excited to read about your passions, and are so glad that you've decided to join us!

An InLinkz Link-up

5 Ways to Layer for Fall

Happy Wednesday, y'all! I have been so busy lately, but I hope that as these next few weeks calm down, I will be more present here and on social media. For today's post,  I am sharing 5 ways to wear fall layers.

MILITARY JACKETS

I am a huge military jacket fan. They are so versatile and can add so much to a fall outfit. Not to mention, they keep you super warm when it starts to get cold outside. I can't tell you just how many times I have worn my military jacket, but here are a few outfits that I have posted to the blog:

Also, you can shop some super great military jackets below!

BLANKET SCARVES

I have always been a lover of scarves. There is something just so cozy and cute about them. Blanket scarves are like regular scarves but ten times better. I love how they can be worn in so many different ways! I have two different ones. Below are a couple of ways that I have styled them before:

DUSTER CARDIGANS

Dusters are SO BIG for fall this year and I couldn't be more pleased. I mean who doesn't want to wear a super oversized sweater? They're pretty much socially accepted pj's, am I right? I have one from Old Navy that I absolutely love. You can buy one of your own below:

PUFFER VESTS

I just recently got on the puffer vest train and let me tell you, I am not getting off anytime soon. Puffer vests add that needed layer that gives each outfit a unique flair without making you too hot. My first puffer vest is navy and quilted. I think that I like quilted vests best, but let's be real, y'all: all vests are great!

LEATHER JACKETS

Leather jackets have always been on my love list, but I just got my first one this past summer. They add something special and different to any outfit. I like both black and brown ones. My favorite way to wear them is with dresses!

What ways do you like to layer for fall?

Linking up with these lovely ladies.

MIA & Grace + Lace Link Up

Hey, y'all! I just wanted to pop in super quickly today and apologize for the lack of posts and engagement on social media. My only explanation is busyness. I have just been so busy, you guys! This past week and the week before were just completely full. Luckily, most of the busyness was fun including the SC State Fair, a For King & Country concert, a fall festival, and lots of time with friends and family. 

Thank you guys so much for staying connected even when I wasn't. ;)

I also have a link up for you guys!

Since both Mackenzie and I have been super slammed lately, we haven't had much time to view those who linked up last week's posts. Thank you so much to all who did link up! Today, we are choosing to feature everyone because y'all are all super great anyway!

-Link back to Spreading His Grace, Bows & Clothes, or both

-Subscribe to both blogs and follow each of us on at least one social media.

Mackenzie: Blog | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter

Sarah: Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Bloglovin'

-This link up has no theme, so we encourage you to link any of your recent posts. Also note that we have to right to delete your link if it is inappropriate. However, we are super excited to read about your passions, and are so glad that you've decided to join us!

An InLinkz Link-up

Just Be With Me

Happy Wednesday! Today's post kind of goes with last Wednesday's post. Let's get to it!

Last Wednesday, I talked about struggling with perfection. So many people here on the blog and a few of my friends mentioned that they struggle with this as well. "This" meaning feeling like you have to be everything to everybody and do everything perfectly, never making a mistake. Since so many people are dealing with this as well, I thought that I would talk a little more about it. 

In my Sunday School class on Sunday, as I was pouring out my thoughts and being vulnerable (a big thing for me to do), I mentioned the analogy that I feel as if I were running as hard as I can, and even if I try harder and get faster, the finish line keeps gong further and further away. My classmates completely agreed and I believe that that analogy was from the Holy Spirit and that I was supposed to share it.

Tagging off that analogy, if we keep running and running and running, chasing perfection, we are bound to get tired. We can do nothing well on our own strength and soon, that feeble strength runs out. So what do we do to replenish it? If your life is like mine, there is not much time to not run. I have to keep running because I feel like I don't have time to stop. 

Going back to that other question: how do we gain more strength. The answer to this question is that you must allow yourself to spend some time resting and just being in God's presence. If your like me, you love the concept of just being because you feel like all you do is do, do, do all the time.

When we become exhausted by the perfect standard that we place on ourselves, Jesus calls us to rest. To just be with Him. He allows us to just sit in His presence not doing anything but resting in Him and focusing on who He is. 

And the best part, we don't have to get ourselves together before we go to Him. We don't have to put up a facade. We can just come and place all of our fears, worries, joys, pains, praises at His loving feet. He allows us to just be. 

And even if you feel like you don't have time to just be, put down whatever you're doing, and do it anyway. Jesus will take care of your lack of time when you rest at His feet. You will be so much better for it.

Something that I have been doing lately is asking God to remind me to be patient with myself and to remember that I don't have to save the world because He already did.

Thanks for reading all my rambles! I hope this was of encouragement to you!

See where I link up here.

Pumpkin Spice + Black & Grace + Lace Link Up

Happy Monday, you guys! I hope your weekend was amazing! Let's get right into this post.

This outfit. Y'all, it is so comfy, yet so cute. It screams fall and actually could be worn for Halloween. I wore it on Saturday, and it felt like I was wearing pj's. I want to wear it everyday. Okay, maybe not that much, but pretty close. It's that great.

After all that gushing, I'll finally let y'all see the actual outfit. Ha!

Outfit details: 

TOP: Old Navy {exact, similar}

PANTS: Target {similar, similar}

BRACELET: Boho Betty {use the code MYBOWSANDCLOTHES for 20% off!}

BOOTS: Kohl's {similar, similar}

HAT: c/o PopSugar Must Have Box {similar, similar}

I love the color contrast of this outfit. The black and pumpkin spice colors just look SO GOOD together.

Also, how adorable is this bracelet?! I love the simplistic and classy look. You can use the coupon MYBOWSANDCLOTHES for 20% off your order!

Shop this post below!

See where I link up here.

Now onto the link up!

1. I loved what Rachel shared about 8 things that she has learned to accept. I identify with so many of them and appreciate her transparency. Also, she has a few ways to getting discounted LipSense!

2. Kim from Champagneista linked up this adorable outfit and some tips for wearing fall clothes in the South. I live in the South as well, so this post was especially great for me.

-Link back to Spreading His Grace, Bows & Clothes, or both

-Subscribe to both blogs and follow each of us on at least one social media.

Mackenzie: Blog | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter

Sarah: Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Bloglovin'

-This link up has no theme, so we encourage you to link any of your recent posts. Also note that we have to right to delete your link if it is inappropriate. However, we are super excited to read about your passions, and are so glad that you've decided to join us!

An InLinkz Link-up

High Five for Friday | Paint + Prints

Happy Friday! We made it to the weekend! I hope you had a great week! Let's get to the five high points of my week:

1. The prompt for Five Minute Friday is mail:

I love it when the mail comes and I have a package or a letter. It seems that know one actually sends mail anymore, so when I get something, I know it's special. It kind of makes me feel special.

What if we made people feel that special. Let's be so kind and so nice that they would feel so good by how we invite them in, by how we love them.

One way that we can do just that is by actually sending people letters and packages. Let's start sending thank you notes, miss you notes, just because notes again. Because they make people feel special.

2. On Friday, I cleaned out and organized my bedroom. I usually don't like organizing, but I actually loved it. It felt super nice to give everything a fresh clean out and to re-organize a few things. Also, on Saturday, I repainted my bedroom to a dark grey color. It was bright green, so it's a super nice change. Haha!

Painting the walls is just the first phase of redecorating my bedroom. I want to still get new bedding and paint some of the furniture. My color scheme is grey, white, and turquoise with just a little bit of pink.

3. The weather has been simply lovely lately! The windows have been open and it has been breezy and cool outside. It finally feels like fall! Yay! How is the weather for you?

4. On Tuesday, I received some gorgeous prints from Made With Some Heart! I love them! There are so many different humorous and inspirational prints to choose from. Also, they are super inexpensive + I have a coupon code that anyone can use! The code is SARAH40 and it is for 40% off your order!

Go follow them on Instagram too! I was so inspired by their "just do your best" post!

5. Once again, I will share a couple of my outfits from the week:

 Wednesday, I wore this...

And Thursday, I wore this...

ICYMI, I posted two posts this week:

Favorite Fall Outfits from Last Year & Grace + Lace Link Up

On Grace and Perfection

How was your week?

See where I link up here.

On Grace and Perfection

I know I'm not the only one. I know others struggle with this too. Struggle with perfection and grace. I love and am all for God's grace. I am so thankful for it and I love that He lavishly bestows it upon me. But a lot of times, I don't accept it. I go through my day knowing in my head that grace is mine, but not truly knowing it in my heart and not giving grace to myself. 

I walk to the piano and don't try to play a new song for fear that I won't get it right the first time. I don't try, that way I won't have to go through failing. Oh, you do that, too? Good. Now we know we are not alone. 

I have always prided myself in being a hard worker. I have always said that I work super hard at everything I do. And sometimes I do. But when I think I might fail or make a mistake, I don't take that risk. I work just hard enough to get it done, but not my best so I don't accidentally mess up.

I always want to do what's right. Constantly, always, forever, never making a mistake. That's great and all. We should try to be the best Christian that we can be. However, sometimes, I get a little carried away. I tend to hold myself to a standard of perfection, not grace. When I make a mistake or fail at something, I get super upset. 

But Jesus. But Jesus calls me back and reminds me of His marvelous patience and grace for me, no matter what. He reminds me that I am not perfect, and I never will be. I am human. And humans make mistakes. We fail. We are bound to mess up sometimes. Instead of killing myself because I am always striving to be perfect in every area of my life all the time, I need to remember that God gives grace abundantly. And I need to do the same for myself.

He is always patient and gracious with us. He never holds us to a standard of perfection, Then why do we? Why do we think that we have to be perfect all the time? Because the enemy tells us that we won't measure up, that we aren't good enough, if we aren't perfect all the time. But that's not true. Jesus died for us while we were still in our sin. The Message version of Romans 5:6-8 says, 

"Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn’t, and doesn’t, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn’t been so weak, we wouldn’t have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him."

Did you get that? While we were of no use whatever to Him. When we were--and are--imperfect.

I think that a lot of times we, as women, only share the highlight reels of our lives. We just Instagram the best picture, the best parts. We don't let people know that we locked our keys in the car, or whatever you call imperfect. 

I am going to give a challenge. I am going to challenge us--you and myself--to post a messy picture. To talk about the real stuff, the unedited vulnerable stuff. The stuff that might make others feel better about their mess and mistakes. Let's all hold ourselves to a standard of grace, and extend that grace to our sisters as well. 

Linking up here.

Favorite Fall Outfits from Last Year & Grace + Lace Link Up

Happy Monday! I hope y'all had an amazing weekend! We survived Hurricane Matthew! Praise God! Luckily, we only got some rain and wind, and our power was out for a few hours, but nothing too bad. Please remember to be in prayer for those who were affected by the storm. 

Since it has been super rainy, I haven't been able to take outfit photos. However, I wore some super great Fall outfits last year, so I thought I would share them with you today. Also, a new link up is live, so don't forget to link up at the bottom of the post!

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

Which one is your favorite?

See where I link up here.

1. Brooke from The Vine Press shared an awesome post about letting the Bible speak for itself. At times, I can be guilty of the exact things that she mentioned. Go check it out!

2. Meg from No Small Life linked up a lovely post sharing six ways to paint pumpkins instaed of carving them. Her tips are so great! Loved her pumpkins!

-Link back to Spreading His Grace, Bows & Clothes, or both

-Subscribe to both blogs and follow each of us on at least one social media.

Mackenzie: Blog | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter

Sarah: Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Bloglovin'

-This link up has no theme, so we encourage you to link any of your recent posts. Also note that we have to right to delete your link if it is inappropriate. However, we are super excited to read about your passions, and are so glad that you've decided to join us!

An InLinkz Link-up

High Five for Friday | Cooler Weather

Happy Friday, y'all! Can we all just give ourselves a high five for making it to the weekend? It took a lot to get here. Let's just celebrate!

1. The prompt for Five Minute Friday today is test:

God is a transformer. It's just who He is. He takes things into His loving hands and makes them new.

Trials and tests may seem burdensome, hard, and scary. But, God uses them for our good and His glory. James 1:2-4 says, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

You see, God takes what seems like the test of your life, and He uses it to make you more like the person that He has created you to be.

2. Last Friday, my family and I headed out for a weekend vacation to Kings Mountain State Park in South Carolina. It was super relaxing and I got a good bit of stuff done which is always great! It was kind of cold there, and I loved it! Here are a few pictures:

 

3. On Tuesday, a few of my friends and family members went to a local park. It was so gorgeous! I can't wait to go back when all the leaves have changed. Also it was #NationalTacoDay on Taco Tuesday! So obviously, I had a taco.

4. I loved my outfits on both Wednesday and Thursday, so I thought that I would show them to you guys. Also, because I was going with a red theme on Wednesday, I wore my Smith and Cult lip gloss and loved it so much! And, I wore my Boho Betty bracelet for the first time! {use code MYBOWSANDCLOTHES for 20% off!}

5. On Thursday, it was actually kind of cool outside, so of course, I had to drink some Orange Spice tea!

ICYMI: I posted twice this week...

4 Fabulous Colors for Fall & Grace + Lace Link Up

Currently | October

This weekend, I plan to organize my bedroom. Wish me luck! Haha! Also, let's remember to be in prayer for those affected by Hurricane Matthew!

Have a lovely weekend!

See where I link up here.