Category: lifestyle

Giving Tuesday: 4 Great Places to Give if you Live in Colorado (Or Anywhere)

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Today is Giving Tuesday, a day dedicated to kicking off the holiday season by giving. You’ve probably seen various organizations’ campaigns asking for donations or heard that Facebook is matching donations up to 7 million (which they hit by 7am this morning). Everyone has causes that are near to their heart and today I’m sharing mine.  If you connect with any of them feel free to give or share the causes you are giving to today in the comments!

The Exodus Road I have had the privilege of interning for The Exodus Road for the past year. They work to find and free slaves in SE Asia, Latin America, and the USA. Today they are trying to raise $165,000 and all gifts given today will be TRIPLED. Another great way to give to TER is through their store which is full of beautiful fair trade products that not only help their mission but also provided dignified employment to either survivors or individuals at risk of trafficking.

Unite Ministries is a new ministry dedicated to uniting churches across Colorado Springs. They host quarterly worship nights (the next one is on November 30 at the World Prayer Center). I am so excited about how God will use this ministry and the young people who founded it in my city.

Life Network provides support, resources, and education to young parents, counseling to parents who are grieving after an abortion, and education on healthy relationships and safe sex to highschool students in the Pikes Peak region. I love their holistic approach to being pro-life and that they fight for the health of the whole family and whole community.

Dressember is a month-long advocacy and fundraising challenge that officially kicks off on December 1. 2018 is the second year that I will be wearing a dress every day of December and I can’t wait. All of the money donated to Dressember will be given in grants to their partners. This year they are partnering with IJM, A21, McMahon-Ryan, Restore, Pathfinders, Best, Youth Spark, Cast, and Olive Crest, Thorn, Love146, and Saving Innocence.

Are you giving today? What organizations are you passionate about? Tell me in the comments!

~Maizy

Unless I let you know otherwise, my posts aren’t sponsored by any of the companies whose products I mention. I won’t accept sponsorships from companies whose products I don’t truly think are really great. However, links marked with an * are affiliate links. Should you click on the links and make a purchase, at no extra cost to you, I’ll go add to my growing stash of tea, or yarn, or pay the fines on that library book that I couldn’t put down for a month.

Make Thanksgiving Weekend Count: Where I’m Shopping this Year

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Black Friday has been getting a bad rap in the past few years and for good reason. As a nation we devote an entire day to excessive consumption immediately after spending a day (supposedly) practicing gratitude and at the beginning of an entire season that should be centered around community, generosity, and gratitude. That said, Black Friday isn’t all bad. Businesses have to make a profit and my family has benefitted from the opportunity to save a lot of money on both necessary and enjoyable things. The key to doing Black Friday well is our attitude and purpose going into it. Are we mindful of the things that we truly need and will bring joy to our lives? Or are we just shopping because everything’s cheap? Black Friday is no different from any other day of the year in that we need to be mindful of the impact our consumption has on others and the ways we can either honor or further marginalize the people involved in creating the life we are accustomed to in the western world.

This Black Friday I challenge you to shop some sales but also try to do good with your shopping. To help you with that I’ve compiled a list of companies that are working to change consumption culture, including Black Friday. Some have sales, some don’t but all have amazing products that are guaranteed to be huge hits as Christmas gifts or super fun for yourself.

REI: Love the outdoors? Rei has amazing products for every outdoor activity. Don’t try shopping there the day after Thanksgiving though because their #OptOutside campaign is designed to encourage people to get out of consumerism and into nature.

Everlane: Ethically made, high-quality basics abound at Everlane. I’ve been drooling over their #damngooddenim. The best part? All of their profits from Black Friday will be used to start a farm that will provide two meals every day to the workers who create that denim as part of their Black Friday Fund.

Able: Stylish shoes and to-die-for leather bags made with ethical leather and beautiful jewelry made by individuals overcoming poverty in Nashville. This Friday their entire site is 30% off with the code ABLE30 and they offer free shipping for purchases over $49.

The Exodus Road: Beautiful gifts and products that are helping to fight human trafficking? Not only is everything in The Exodus Road’s shop made by people rescued from or at risk for HT it is supporting TER’s fight against trafficking by helping them fund nights of investigation to rescue trafficking victims. On Black Friday-Cyber Monday they have free shipping on all orders using the code shippingfreedom

*ThredUp: Y’all, I’m obsessed with ThredUp. Everything is in super great shape, and way cheaper than buying it new. It’s my favorite. There are no sales specifically for Black Friday but be sure to check them out for gifts or holiday clothes!

~Maizy

Unless I let you know otherwise, my posts aren’t sponsored by any of the companies whose products I mention. I won’t accept sponsorships from companies whose products I don’t truly think are really great. However, links marked with an * are affiliate links. Should you click on the links and make a purchase, at no extra cost to you, I’ll go add to my growing stash of tea, or yarn, or pay the fines on that library book that I couldn’t put down for a month.

Colorado Travel Guide: How to Spend a Weekend in Colorado Springs

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I’ve written quite a few Colorado travel guides over the past couple of years. I started with Estes Park part 1 and part 2 and the most recent was Steamboat Springs but I’ve never posted about my hometown: Colorado Springs! This post was actually really difficult to write because I had a terrible time deciding which local businesses I wanted to recommend and which ones I wanted to keep to myself. Part of me wants everyone to love my favorite coffee shop but I also don’t really want my favorite table to be available even less often. I’ve managed to push down (most of) the selfishness and I’m doing a slightly different format for this post: a three-ish day schedule instead of just a list of my favorite places. I’m also not keeping you inside the city for the whole time. This is really designed for someone who either lives outside of Colorado, or is new to the area and has a few days free so if that sounds like you, or if you just want some new recommendations of things to do in the Springs, read on!

Day 1

Roll into town sometime early in the afternoon and head to Cheyenne Canyon for a hike. Seven Bridges is one of my favorites and if you have extra time you can keep going past the seventh bridge and hike into Allen’s Park. When you finish the hike head to Trader Joes. Get the ingredients to make dinner tonight, and a picnic lunch and trail mix for tomorrow.

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Day 2

Get up early and watch the sunrise from Garden of the Gods (balancing rock is a great spot for this!). Grab breakfast burritos from the La Casita on Cimmaron and coffee from Intertia Coffee and head west on highway 24 to explore the mountains. Mueller State Park has some great hikes and the aspens are beautiful in the fall. If you want something more strenuous, head to Pancake Rocks for an amazing view of Cripple Creek (you can read more about Pancake Rocks here). On your way back into town make sure you stop at the Donut Mill in Woodland Park!

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Eat a late lunch/early dinner at the Skirted Heifer in downtown CO Springs. They make some of the best burgers in town but don’t get there too late because the line gets crazy long! Spend the rest of the afternoon/evening shopping and exploring the downtown area. Some of my favorite shops are Rocky Mountain Soap Market, and Wilder Bag and Weighstead in Pikes Peak Market. When you’re in Pikes Peak Market, make sure to get some gelato from Legit Gelato, the orange chocolate is my favorite.

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Day 3

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Have brunch at Ivywild Kitchen. Ivywild Elementary School was built in 1916 and closed in 2009. It is now owned by Bristol Brewery and is home to Bristol Brewery, Ivywild Kitchen, a cute brunch place/coffee shop, a bar called The Principal’s Office, and fairtrade shop Yobel Market as well as a few other local businesses. When you’re done, explore the Broadmoor, a historic resort built by Spencer Penrose before heading back home or out of town.

Honorable mentions: I have visited some but not all of these businesses, they have all been recommended by friends who love them.

The Pop – a coffee/specialty soda drive-through in north CO Springs

Who Gives a Scrap – a second-hand craft supply store in Old Colorado City (I haven’t visited but this place looks really cool and I’m going to visit the next time I’m in the area!)

Roscos Coffee – a local coffee shop and roaster in downtown CO Springs

Switchback Roasters – another local coffee roaster/shop in downtown

Special Grounds Coffee – a local coffee shop in north/east CO Springs

What is your favorite thing to do in or near Colorado Springs? Tell me in the comments!

~Maizy

Fall Semester Goals Check-up

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So lately on social media I’ve seen a bunch of “last 90 days” or “last 100 days” challenges and maybe I’ve been living under a rock and they aren’t new but I like to think that I beat everyone to the idea because last month I shared my 6 Goals for the Fall Semester. I just finished week 6 at UCCS and the first full calendar month since the school year started will be over when this posts so it seems like a good time to check in and see how I’m doing with these goals.

  1. Find a bullet journaling rhythm that works for me I got about 2 weeks into September really loving bullet journaling and then slowly started using it less and less consistently. Once it’s set up it’s a really amazing tool but it’s a big time investment to get your month and weeks set up. I like that it’s adaptable because I’ve never found a planner that’s quite perfect for me and I’ve almost got my bullet journal spreads to exactly what I need but I’m still not sure if I’ll keep it up once the semester is over.
  2. Get the best grades I can in all my classes I have an A and 4 Bs right now. Junior year is turning out to be a lot harder than any other year of school and it’s been a struggle to keep my grades where they are but I’m pretty happy with how it’s going right now.
  3. Apply for the Compassion Internship The Compassion Internship application doesn’t open until November so no progress on this goal yet.
  4. Learn Adobe Premier Pro, Photoshop, and Lightroom Premier Pro has quite the learning curve. I’m pretty comfortable with Lightroom’s features but I’m still perfecting my editing process. I haven’t even touched Photoshop yet.
  5. Write to my Compassion Kids every month Its September 28 today and I have one more letter to write. Speaking of Compassion: Have you seen my fundraiser for Compassion El Salvador? It’s live for ONE more week! Check it out here!
  6. Blog twice a week Last week I only posted once but other than that I’ve had two blog posts (except for one YouTube video) per week

So far I think I’m doing pretty well! Hopefully I can keep this up for the rest of the semester!

What I Brought Back from El Salvador

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Every piece of clothing has a story. From the farm where the fibers are grown to the factory where the clothing is sewn together to the retail store where you buy it so many hands and lives have touched and been touched by the clothes you wear. That’s why I love slow fashion. I love knowing that the clothes I wear benefitted the people who came in contact with them and I love knowing those people’s stories. On our last day in El Salvador, we went to a local market to do some shopping. While the experience was a bit overshadowed by meeting my sponsored child earlier in the day, that didn’t totally cancel out how cool the experience was.

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I got to speak to the woman who hand embroidered this blouse. Knowing the stories of the people who made my clothes is amazing, actually getting to talk to them even more so.

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These shoes were made in one of Compassion El Salvador’s income generation projects. Income generation is part of how the Youth Development Program is replacing the Leadership Development Program so that more students are able to continue their education after highschool. You can read more about it in my post Compassion El Salvador 2018 Day 1: The Country Office and Home Visits. Currently, the students are making the shoes entirely by hand which isn’t very scalable. If the centers could scale the production of the shoes they could break into wholesale markets, and sell internationally but to do that they need two machines that cost $20,000 each. When I visited the country office I was inspired to fundraise and help them buy these machines. It’s been a little while but it’s finally ready! I worked with the awesome Grace Rouse to design a tshirt and it’s available on Bonfire. I don’t know if we can get to $20,000 or $40,000 but I do know that I serve an amazing God who can do anything He wants.

I would so so appreciate if you would share this and buy one if the shirts and/or the mission strike your fancy! You can get to the campaign page right here!

Much love,

Maizy

 

 

The Dress I Couldn’t Wait to Post About

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I bought this dress in May. When I roadtripped to visit my best friend in Dallas we decided to go to Waco and Houston together and visited Mercy House Global’s Big Red Barn. Y’all they had some really cute stuff (and still do, the fall line is to die for) including some dresses from Elegantees. I ended up getting the Riley dress from their kid’s line because I’m basically the size of a child and it was $20 cheaper (keepin it real). And then I got home and realized it was really short so I decided to just put it away and wait until I could wear it with tights in the fall. 3.5 months is a long time to wait when you’re really excited about the dress you just bought but fall is finally here and I can’t wait to live in this outfit until next May.

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Dress: Eden by Elegantees, shop their dresses in adult sizes here, Shoes: Target (Sold out) similar, similar

Have you every bought something you had to wait months for the right season to wear? Or am I crazy? Tell me in the comments!

~Maizy

Unless I let you know otherwise, my posts aren’t sponsored by any of the companies whose products I mention. I won’t accept sponsorships from companies whose products I don’t truly think are really great. However, links marked with an * are affiliate links. Should you click on the links and make a purchase, at no extra cost to you, I’ll go add to my growing stash of tea, or yarn, or pay the fines on that library book that I couldn’t put down for a month.

 

 

DIY Floral Applique Skirt

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I love love love the floral embroidery trend. Skirts, jeans, jackets, it’s all super cute. The best part about the trend is that it is a super easy way to upcycle something you already have in your closet. I recently upcycled a pair of jeans using *these appliques so I’ve decided to show you the process on a skirt I’ve been wanting to change up.

For this project you will need:

  • Floral appliques or patches I used *these ones
  • Needle and thread to match your appliques
  • scissors
  • Sewing pins
  • *Fabric glue would also be useful. I didn’t have any when I did this project but I would recommend it.

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Step 1. Gather and prep your supplies

The floral appliques I bought come in a pack of two but I cut them apart so I had four.

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Step 2. Lay the appliques out and make sure you like how it looks.

Play around with this, look up inspiration pictures and make sure you really love it.

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Step 3. Pin (and/or glue) everything down.

Once you have everything how you want it, make sure it won’t move around using pins or fabric glue.

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Step 4. Sew it all onto the skirt.

Depending on the type of appliques you might be able to use a sewing machine or you might just opt to use permanent fabric glue. Personally, I trust needle and thread more than glue so I sewed mine down. Unfortunately, I couldn’t use my machine on the applique I chose. If you end up in the same boat as me, I recommend spreading this out, and watching a movie because it is a long, tedious, process to make sure you have it stitched down in enough spots to make sure it won’t gape or move around.

What do you think of the floral applique trend? Are you going to try this DIY? Tell me in the comments!

~Maizy

Unless I let you know otherwise, my posts aren’t sponsored by any of the companies whose products I mention. I won’t accept sponsorships from companies whose products I don’t truly think are really great. However, links marked with an * are affiliate links. Should you click on the links and make a purchase, at no extra cost to you, I’ll go add to my growing stash of tea, or yarn, or pay the fines on that library book that I couldn’t put down for a month.

 

Fall Internship Outfit Inspo

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A major focus of college is finding internships and eventually jobs. For many people, this is the first time that they’ve needed to dress for a professional setting on a regular basis. It definitely was for me. Thankfully, my internship has a lot of flexibility in the dress code but there has still been a bit of a learning curve for this girl who pretty much lives in denim. I’ve added a couple of pieces to my wardrobe and learned how to wear my existing pieces differently and it’s actually been a fun experience! This look is one that I can’t wait to break out when we get farther into autumn and I’m also linking some other looks that have inspired me and hopefully will be inspiration for you as well!

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Unfortunately for my ability to link where I got all of my pieces, everything in this outfit is from Poshmark and sold out from the original seller. I do however, have two more outfits that are super easy to recreate and that I can’t wait to use as inspiration for my internship looks this fall!

This look is a bit more casual but is the perfect transition outfit for early fall!

Who says you can’t wear white after Labor Day? This sweater and skirt combo is adorable.

~Maizy

Unless I let you know otherwise, my posts aren’t sponsored by any of the companies whose products I mention. I won’t accept sponsorships from companies whose products I don’t truly think are really great. However, links marked with an * are affiliate links. Should you click on the links and make a purchase, at no extra cost to you, I’ll go add to my growing stash of tea, or yarn, or pay the fines on that library book that I couldn’t put down for a month.

Compassion El Salvador 2018 CHILD VISIT DAY!!

adminCompassion International

Y’all I’m finally talking about the reason why I even went to El Salvador in the first place. It’s about time amiright? If you’ve missed my previous posts you can find my the first post here and the second post here.

The last full day in El Salvador was child visit day and it was absolutely one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever had. I cried at least 3 times. I think every Compassion sponsor who has the ability to visit their child 100% needs to do it. In addition to meeting Nuria, I met her mom, her tutor, and another staff member from her Center. I actually was not sponsoring Nuria when I signed up for the trip. My mom and the two of my sisters that I traveled with had sponsored children in El Salvador and I went just to experience Compassion’s work firsthand meet my family’s kids. A few months before the trip I volunteered at a Compassion event and found Nuria’s packet and decided to sponsor her. It was so cool getting to meet her so early on in our relationship. Now, when I write to her, I know her personality, I know her mom, and I know some of the people who she sees every day.

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left to right: Nuria’s mom, Nuria, me, Nuria’s tutor, the computer workshop instructor from her center.

For child visit days, Compassion sets the meeting up in a large public place, in El Salvador child visits take place at a waterpark. Especially if you are meeting younger children it is great to be able to play and move around, some sponsors also brought soccer balls or other toys to play with. I brought a volleyball and coloring supplies and after lunch we were able to sit down and color which gave me a chance to talk to her mother and tutor a little bit.

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I loved the waterfall but Nuria was more a fan of the slides.

Most people expect that Compassion sponsorship is a blessing to the children who are sponsored but I think that it is just as much of a blessing to the sponsors. God is the one changing lives in El Salvador and it’s crazy awesome that I get to be a part of that, that I get to build a relationship with Nuria and meet the literal superheroes who are following God and transforming their entire country by serving kids. Compassion sponsorship is one of the best decisions anyone can make, it really makes a difference in the lives of children all over the world and in the lives of sponsors. If after reading these posts you are interested in sponsoring yourself, please pray about it and seriously consider it. The website is right here.

~Maizy

 

What to Wear After the Long Weekend

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Y’all Labor Day is quite possibly my least favorite holiday of the year. Just when I’m starting to come to terms with the fact that school is in fact here and I’m going to have to deal with class schedules and homework for the next 9 months a four day weekend rolls around and throws me right back into summer mode. This year I’m a little more excited for the long weekend though because I get to take a mini road trip to attend my cousin’s bridal shower and I wouldn’t have been able to attend if I didn’t have the extra time off of school. If the day after the Labor Day weekend is as much of a struggle for you as it is for me I’m sharing the coziest outfit that will keep you looking put together when you just want to go back to bed. It’s also what I wear pretty much nonstop in the Autumn so hopefully it will help you get into the fall spirit too!

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Is socks and birkenstocks just a Colorado thing? It’s so comy!

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This tshirt is from a company called Z Supply, they’re fast fashion unfortunately, but they are donating 100% of the profits from this shirt to the anti-trafficking organization The Exodus Road and if you post a photo with #everydayeveryone they’ll donate $5 to The Exodus Road. It’s also soo comfy and I’ve been living in it a lot lately.

What are you doing for the long weekend? Tell me in the comments!

~Maizy

Unless I let you know otherwise, my posts aren’t sponsored by any of the companies whose products I mention. I won’t accept sponsorships from companies whose products I don’t truly think are really great. However, links marked with an * are affiliate links. Should you click on the links and make a purchase, at no extra cost to you, I’ll go add to my growing stash of tea, or yarn, or pay the fines on that library book that I couldn’t put down for a month.