Modest Dresses: How + Where to Find Them

{Left-->Right. Blue pattern: Loft, $20. Purple floral: Ross, $16. Pink floral: Francesca's, $28 with employee discount. White lace: Ross, $17. Blue&Cream: Anthropologie sale, $40.}

I've had many people comment here or on Instagram with something to this effect:
"How do you find all these cute/modest/affordable dresses?!"
Well my friends, I will now divulge to you my tips & tricks for dress shopping!

{Left-->Right. Teal pencil: Banana Republic, gift from friend+$5 strap tailoring. Taupe pattern: Banana Republic via Plato's Closet, $14+$5 strap tailoring. Cream lace: GDazzle.com, won in a giveaway. Yellow gingham: eShakti, c/o for a review+$5 strap tailoring. Orange eyelet: Old Navy, $7 on sale rack.}

How?

+ Know your height and figure! This will make shopping easier and much more time efficient. If you know that you have longer legs, then you probably shouldn't go for a dress that looks short on the hanger. As for me, being 5'3 with an hourglass shape, I usually go for pencil or fit & flare dress styles. I also know that dresses that look kind of short on the hanger will hit my knee when I try them on because I'm so short! Now that I can eyeball it, I go directly for the dresses that I know will flatter my shape. After lots of trying on and shopping practice, you will soon learn how to spot a dress that will fit your figure by just looking at it on the hanger.

+ Is it worth the hassle? I'm not a huge fan on lots of layering and the most I'll do is a lightweight sweater {I get so freaking hot, no more layers!}. So if a dress needs a top/tank underneath and a sweater on top or needs extensive tailoring, I usually just pass on it. You want dresses in your closet that are fun and easy to style, not something you have to constantly adjust or use a bazillion different layers for it to be deemed appropriate.

+ Sleeves, tank tops, and sweaters, oh my! If I love a dress but it doesn't meet my sleeve requirement, I think about what in my closet I could layer with it. An orange sweater? A tough leather jacket? Then the next question is whether or not it's worth paying for a dress that I would have to layer something over the top? If it's a good price, length, and it tugs at my heart strings...I'll give in and purchase the dress. All of these dresses are completely adorable and I would layer my sweater or chambray shirt over the top to not only make it modest, but give it some personality :)

Where?

 + Ross. I almost always find a nice pencil or lace dress at Ross {and adorable shoes, but that's beside the point!}. You have to visit Ross when you are in a "thrifting" mood, because you have to search for items in your size and try everything on. Although, it is completely worth it when you score a good deal because the dresses are usually $30 and under!

+ Secondhand Stores {i.e. Plato's Closet}. I have found many Banana Republic dresses at secondhand stores for only $14-$16, and the only tailoring needed was to pull up the straps! {yet again, midget status}. It is completely worth the inexpensive fix because they are classic pencil dresses that can be mixed and matched with anything for any season.

+ Anthropologie. Stop rolling your eyes! It can be inexpensive, it just takes more effort and time to keep track of the dress you want until it hits the sale racks. I've found funky pieces for $30-$50 on sale that add personality to my wardrobe AND meet my appropriate requirements.

+ Ann Taylor Loft. This is one of my favoritest places to shop. Seriously EVERYTHING goes on sale, and they can run from $15-$30 on the sale rack! A lot of times they will even do an additional 40-60% off of sale items which is awesome. Most everything has sleeves, is classy, and a good length. Definitely one of my top places to find comfy, affordable, and casual dresses!

Lawn-Gate

 It has been an extremely stressful few days, which is funny considering I felt inspired to write this post on prayer the other day...and now I've been non-stop praying that things will work out for us.

On Friday we were sent an email saying that the property owner of our place in Provo was extremely upset to see our front lawn starting to yellow and instead of giving us time to fix it, he instructed our management company not to re-new our contract. Which means we would have the next 15 days to find a new place and move out, with our roots {internship/job} still in California left to finish, and 2 weeks before school starts. Ridiculous right? So we dropped everything and drove up 10 hours through the night to get here. Come to find out, the switch that controls the sprinklers had been accidentally turned off around a week ago, which caused parts of the lawn to yellow.

We have been watering, mowing, edging, planting, and weeding non-stop to get this front yard back to pristine condition in hopes that the owner will take pity on us. Just in case he doesn't, we have looked into other options for housing. Talk about having the rug ripped out from under you.

We met with management this morning, and I was a nervous wreck the entire time. Pit in my stomach, dry throat, palm sweating, stammering kind of nervous. We {ok, mostly Ryan} explained the situation and asked if they would please be understanding. Especially since we sprung into action once we were informed of the issue, took control, and handled it. He gave us the response that regardless, we were still responsible for the lawn, even if we were out of state and had no clue about it. Also, he would have to talk to the owner and see what he has to say about it, and that he will get back to us tomorrow...

So now we play the waiting game. Will we get to stay? If we don't, will I stay in Utah to move us into a new place? When is Ryan going to head back to California to finish his work for the summer? Will we fight to stay in the house regardless?

What I do feel better about are the following things: that we have found a couple of options of apartments to move into, the rain is pouring down to green up our lawn, and that I seriously have the bestest friends, family, and husband in the entire world. {All of these answered prayers??}

Wish us luck!

Pray More, Worry Less

As of late, I've been feeling spiritually depleted. I need to study my scriptures, pray more, and stop fretting about life. I've had this craving to be more in tune with my marriage and with myself. Last Sunday, a woman gave a talk during church and noted that we should all take more enjoyment in the actual doing of things instead of the getting things done. It really spoke to me, especially as someone who takes great joy in crossing things off my to-do list.

Though, how can I expect to connect with my Heavenly Father when I'm busy running around stressing about the future? It's necessary to have that stillness & peace in my life so I'm able to create an atmosphere where I can be quiet & introspective. Not only is this essential to my spiritual well-being but also to my physical and mental counterparts which all plays a part in getting healthy. So my goal this week is to pray more & worry less.

How are you working towards getting healthy this week?