How To Dress Your Petite Frame

It is no secret that I am a tiny person. Most people use the term "petite" but that sounds so old and stuffy, so I'm sticking with tiny. I am 5' 2" and 125 lbs. Obviously, I am lacking in the height department which makes it extremely difficult to find clothes. Now add in having wide hips and narrow shoulders and it seems nearly impossible to find anything! If you are in the same boat as I am, first of all, I'm so sorry sweetie, and second, there is hope. In a fashion world created for 5'10" size zeros, I have found a few gems for the gals like me! Today I will be discussing the problems tiny girls face, and solutions to these problems.

Problem Number 1: Everything Is Too Long

Find a good seamstress. You would be surprised by the amount of people who have never been to a seamstress. I honestly don't know what I would do without Yong. She has been my tiny family's lifesaver for years. She can take my 4 inches too long pants and transform them into the perfect length without sacrificing the style. The bottom line: all tiny people should be besties with a seamstress-- it will literally transform your life. 

Problem Number 2: Jeans

Forget about trying on a few pairs and finding "the ones." For me, it's more like try on 20 pairs and give up because I need a snack break from exhaustion. I know I cannot be the only young lady who has struggled in this department. As soon as my hips started outgrowing my small frame, jeans became a thing of the past. It is a rare day when you find me wearing a pair of my limited jeans collection. 

The best way to tackle the jeans dilemma is to find a style that fits you and write down the cut, size(s), and brand. The only jeans that work for me in my budget are from one of my favorite stores ever: Old Navy. Even within the styles, I vary in sizes. I have found that the Sweetheart and Flirt styles are the best fits for me but I can wear a size 4 or 6 in certain pairs within the same style. 

Problem Number 3: Loose Shoulders

Don't you just hate when the neckline of your shirt puckers because your shoulders are too narrow to fill it out? This is an ongoing problem I find with almost everything from dresses to shirts. My solution: wear loose fitting tank tops. The style is meant to be a bit baggy, but you may have to buy a size down so the body of the shirt doesn't swallow you up completely. 

Although being tiny has its disadvantages, there are also some perks that will save you moo-la, and who doesn't love to save money?!

Buy Girls Jackets and Sweatshirts

I have done this one a few occasions for rain jackets and quarter-zip pullovers. Instead of paying $75 and up for a Columbia rain jacket, I picked up a girls XL for around $50 (plus it was on sale!!) Before you buy any jackets or loose fitting sweatshirts, I always recommend checking the kids section first to get the best bang for your buck. You don't sacrifice on quality or style, so why pay more when you can fit into kids sizes?

Buy Kids Shoes

Okay, this tip can actually apply to more than just tiny people, but it's still a goodie! I'll insert a conversion chart down below. This tip is great for sandals, and tennis shoes especially if you tend to have a narrow foot! 

source

I hope some of these tips can help you! Do you have any tiny girl tips that you would like to share? Leave a comment down below or shoot me an email. 

Spiritual Sunday: Go

Lately there has been a tug on my heart to post on this blog about my relationship with God. I haven't been to church since the end of June (quite honestly, I've been oversleeping), and boy am I so glad I finally made it back today! Apparently my church has been in a series called "Go" since the beginning of this month and I came in on the perfect title, "And Away We Go." 

I feel like this title is appropriate for my life right now because I am about to embark on a wonderful journey in college. Anyways, the message today was not really about making things happen, but while I was praying God planted a seed in my head to write about my spiritual life. So here we are with Spiritual Sundays-- I'm making it happen. I'm hoping this segment on my blog will strengthen my relationship with God and also help keep me accountable. Some days I may write about what happened in church, others I may share some encouraging songs, and sometimes I might just share what I'm praying about currently. 

Today I'm going to share a list of extremely encouraging songs for baby Christians and deep-routed Christians alike. These songs were the set list for the service this morning and all three are extremely powerful. 

     1. Revival by Soulfire Revolution 

A verse in the song says:

The world is a desert dry and thirsty

Your love is the answer full of mercy

Give us your eyes to see the hurting

Bring us back to life

These lyrics are just a reminder that if we want any change to happen, we need God to make it happen. His love is always the answer.

     2. This I Believe (The Creed) by Hillsong Worship

This song is a proclamation of what Christians believe in. It's just an all-around great worship song. 

Here is the chorus in case you are curious:

I believe in God our Father

I believe in Christ the Son

I believe in the Holy Spirit

Our God is three in one

I believe in the resurrection

That we will rise again

For I believe in the name of Jesus

      3. For the Sake of the World by Brian Johnson

This song is a cry to God to just burn a fire in your heart to again, make a change in the world. The song talks about giving up your control to God and letting him work through you! This song is my inspiration to give up my control to God. I am a control freak, so I am and have been praying about this for a while now.

That's all I have for this first installment of Spiritual Sunday. I know some people will not care for this kind of post and to put it simply: I don't care. I am not ashamed of my God and I am excited to share another piece of me with the world.

See you next Sunday!

How I Fit My Entire Closet In 3 Feet of Space

The title alone of this post is a bold statement. But I can tell you that it is totally true! I fit all of my hanging clothes with the exception of formal dresses in a 3 foot wide space. How you ask? With this baby right here from Bed Bath and Beyond (AKA the college shopping HQ). 

I first read about the "Double Hang Commercial Grade Closet Rod" on xFashionistaGirlx's blog. You can read her post about it here. 

The hanging rod is a pretty simple but genius idea. The basic idea of the product is that it is an adjustable rod to maximize storage space. It can be customized so that the height of the second rod can be anywhere from 1" to 30" and the width can vary from 20" to 36". The product is also pretty sturdy because it can hold up to 40 pounds of clothes on the bottom rod alone. 

My reasons for buying it are simple:

1. I have a lot of clothes
2. I want to bring my clothes with me to college
3. I don't have a walk-in closet at school

At first, I had my doubts about being able to fit everything onto this.. I was so very wrong. In fact, in my closet, I don't even have it expanded to the full 36" width and I fit everything. I did this on purpose because I wanted to see how many clothes I can actually take with me to my probably smaller than 3' x 3' closet. I'm thinking i'll use the extra inches for my scarf organizer, hanging jewelry organizer, and maxi skirts and dresses!  

So on the built in rod in my closet, I put all of my hanging shirts ranging from tank tops, button-ups, and cardigans. On the new rod, I hung up all of my dresses, skirts, and jeans (I may add my shorts later if I need the drawer space). ***Update: I ended up hanging my shorts on these***

Here is the side of my closet that has all of my shirts. I tried to fit as many as I could, but a few got cut out. 

These are all of my dresses and skirts. I couldn't get a picture of the full length because my closet is very narrow. 

The finished product. Shirts on top and dresses on the bottom. I still have roughly 6" on either side of the dresses of open space. 

I am extremely impressed with this hanging rod and it will for sure be making its way into my closet at Florida State in one month. Side note: I MOVE IN ONE MONTH!!!! 

Do you have any college closet essentials that you think I should know about? Let me know in an email or comment!

XOXO, Monica

Out With the Old, In With the New

You're probably wondering what this post is about from the title, right? I'm creating this blog to help anyone else in the same boat as me: trying to transition your clothes from high school to college.

When you move onto a new stage in your life, you want to leave the old you behind. I've been running into this issue a lot more lately with college on my mind. Honestly, I wish I could throw out my entire closet and start over completely, but that's not an option. Instead, I've slowly been cleaning out my wardrobe and replacing it with new pieces. So here are a few ways I have began to transition my clothes from high school to college.

1. Stop wearing your high school t shirts.

I am so guilty for hoarding my high school t shirts. When I was cleaning out my drawers, I put more than 40 to the side. But I couldn't just throw these shirts away. They represent the last four years of my life! So I decided to get crafty and take on the challenge of putting these shirts together to create a t shirt quilt. It's still in the process I haven't touched it in over two months, but it's about 75% complete. I followed the tutorial here almost step by step if you want to make one yourself. I'm hoping to have it done before I leave for school so I can have a piece of home within reach all the time. This step will also save you a ton of storage space (which is limited) in college. Some of my older friends and family have told me that you will be offered free t shirts at your college all the time, so your high school t shirts are unnecessary.

2. Go through every piece of clothing you have

I mean it.. every piece. When you're sorting through your clothes ask yourself:

1. Will I still wear this in college?
2. Does it fit me?

If you answer "no" to either question, move on to the next step...

3. Trash, Goodwill, or Consignment Shop?

For your "no" pieces, decide where they should go.

1. Trash: If the piece has holes (that aren't on purpose), impossible to remove stains, or extremely excessive wear in them, it probably belongs in the trash.
2. Goodwill: If your clothes are not in style anymore or have slightly noticeable wear, Goodwill or any other thrift store is an excellent choice. Just make sure any clothes you donate, can actually be worn by someone else. 
3. Consignment Shop: In my area, we have a consignment store called Plato's Closet where you can sell slightly worn, name brand items and get money for them. This is a great option for clothes that are still on trend that you haven't worn out yet. Anything that a consignment store turns away though, can probably be taken to a thrift store.

4. Out with the old, and in with the new

This step is the fun part if you love to shop. When purchasing items, avoid super trendy pieces and look for more quality pieces than quantity. When you avoid the major on trend pieces and buy quality, you can stretch your wardrobe further than six months or if you're lucky one year. If you want to make your basic pieces go even further, invest in some statement jewelry and scarves to change them up every now and then. 

I hope these steps can help any other students making the transition. I would love to hear any other tips you may have about transitioning from high school to college, even if they aren't about clothes!

XOXO, Monica

P.S. I am trying to start an uploading schedule, so look out for new posts every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday!

DIY Dorm: Part II Decorative Cake Stand

Hello lovelies! From the title of this post, you're probably wondering why you would want a cake stand in your room? First of all, it will look really pretty and give you more vertical storage which is essential in a small dorm. Let's face it: you only have so much desk space to store stuff. With a cake stand to hold your perfumes, makeup brushes, foundation, you give yourself a little mini shelf on your desk for even more stuff! And ladies, we all know we have a lot of stuff. 

So onto the tutorial.. This one is even quicker and easier than the DIY decorative pillows in my last post (you can go and read it here). 

Materials:

• 2 identical or similar sized serving platters (I got mine from the wedding section at Dollar Tree)
• Candle stick (I got mine from Hobby Lobby for 40% off)
• Super glue
  
  
  

Instructions:

1. Clean your plates and candle sticks off (you never know who has touched those things...) Also, remove any stickers. I didn't do this on the plate on the top but it would make it look more polished. Side note: DO NOT clean any metal with Clorox wipes (trust me, it's a bad idea). 
2. Dry off your plates and get rid of as many finger prints as possible.
3. Attach the candle stick to the to the bottom of the top plate with super glue. To maximize your storage, flip the candle stick so the bottom is attached to the plate. Oh and make sure you center the candle stick! 

   

   You don't need this much glue unless you want to wipe up the excess like I had to.

   

   Although you won't see the sticker because it's the plate on top, I still recommend removing them!

4. Glue the second plate to the other side of the candle stick. Again, make sure it's centered!
   
5. Enjoy your new cake stand!
   

I don't recommend putting a ton of weight on the top plate, but they can hold more than I have pictured! I'm thinking I will store this on my desk because I will be putting my makeup there. My cake stand will most likely hold my mason jars with my brushes in them, some perfumes, and possibly cotton swabs and cotton balls. 

I think this would also be super cute with colorful plates and candle sticks. You could buy some plain plates and spray paint them any color you like. Personally, I like how classic and clean the silver looks.

If you recreate this DIY, I would love to see! 

XOXO, Monica

DIY Dorm: Part I Decorative Pillows

Hey Y'all! This is the beginning of a new series on this blog called "DIY Dorm"... for now or until I figure out a new title for it (if you have any ideas for the name of this series please let me know!!!) 

After searching endless hours online and in store for a dang "Hey Y'all" pillow like this one for a reasonable price, I finally decided that it would be pretty easy (and much more special) to create it on my own. For those who don't know me, I don't greet anyone without saying "hey y'all", it's just my thing I guess! That's why this pillow is a must for my dorm room. It's so simple, but is so me. 

Alright, alright, onto the tutorial now...

The materials you will need are:

• 1 pillow any size (I found mine at Hobby Lobby)
• Pen or pencil
• Fabric marker in any color (I chose black)

Instructions:

1. Get your pillow and all materials together.

   

   I love the cute side detailing on this pillow!

2. Sketch out your phrase onto the pillow with a pen or pencil. I suggest pencil if it will show up, but it just wasn't writing on my pillow since its a burlapy-ish fabric. 
   
3. Trace your phrase with the fabric marker.
   
4. Darken your letters by tracing around them again. 
5. Add some weight to your letters. By this I simply mean, make them look more like how a felt tip pen would have written them. You can easily do this by thickening anywhere on the letter that you made a downward stroke.
   
    
6. Finally, go back into each letter and make sure none of the pillow is peaking through where you have written. 

I know this was such a simple tutorial, but if it helps someone looking to recreate a pillow they have had their eye on forever then it's worth it. By the way, this entire project cost me about $12 which is the cheapest I have seen any similar pillows.. you're welcome! Of course, like any DIY project, the words used on your pillow can totally be customized to your preference and liking. I think this pillow would be so cute with something like "good morning gorgeous" or "smile" on it. Heck, if you are artistic and want to draw a picture, go for it! The possibilities are endless. 

Have fun creating!

XOXO, Monica

Get Your Fix

Hello lovelies! I just received what is probably going to be my new addiction- Stitch Fix! As soon as I got my package in the mail, I knew this was going to be trouble. Many of you are probably wondering what this wonderful company is so I will explain it to you. 

Basically, you create an account by following this link and create your profile. Then, you fill out your "Style Profile" where you tell your personal stylist what you like, don't like, and your sizes. You also let them know how you like your clothes to fit and what styles you do and don't like. You can even link a Pinterest account and create a board that your stylist will look at to get to know you even better. 

The next step is the fun part, you set a date to receive your five stylist selected pieces and wait patiently for the package to grace your mailbox. Once it arrives, you can try on the clothes and decide what works and what doesn't! The clothes that you don't want slip into the included shipping bag and get dropped off at the post office to return back to Stitch Fix. The beauty of this process: you only keep what you want. 

Finally, like most subscription services (by the way, you do not have to continually receive packages; although it is an option) you give feedback to your stylist about why you kept/sent back pieces. The more you interact, the more personalized each box gets. 

Here are a few pictures from my first fix!

My stylist, Lori, left me a note explaining why she picked the pieces and how she suggests styling them!

Every item is shown on this card with two ways to style it. Lori suggests even mixing some of the pieces together!

This is how the clothes were wrapped in the package!

I would have included pictures of me in the clothes, but I had just gotten home from a long road trip and was too tired to care what I looked like! Of the clothes I received, I will most likely be keeping the polka dotted skirt and possibly the coral top! I'm so excited for my next fix! 

If you decide to get your fix, I would love to hear what you got!!!