Friday Favorites - Check these out

Another TGIF has arrived.  For everyone headed to Coachella this weekend, have fun and be safe and stay hydrated (supposed to be in the 90s).  For the rest of us, have fun and be safe as well doing whatever fun your weekend holds.  And if you have a few minutes to browse the web, may I introduce you to a few blogs that I enjoy on a regular basis (I check them out pretty much every day as part of my Bloglovin' feed.)

• Lace and Locks - by Kim Le.  This is a fun one for me to follow and share because Kim Le is a girl I know from high school.  She is now a super talented  wedding/engagement/boudoir photographer and an entrepreneur, with her own online boutique and this style blog for petite women.  I'm about a foot taller than her, so we're dressing for different body types, but I totally appreciate her sense of style and she has great taste.
• J's Everyday Fashion - by "J".  This style blog is for most of us. Most of us have budgets, very practical, less than even 3-digit budgets.  Even with 20% off sales, most of us can't afford a $500 dress.  J takes high fashion/deisnger looks and styles her own version with affordable pieces, and she shows how she keeps to her budget and invests in versatile pieces.
• Style by Emily Henderson - by Emily Henderson.  If you ever watch HGTV then you might recognize the adorable Emily Henderson.  She has a great home makeover show that I loved.  She has a fun personality and it comes through in her design.  Her blog is fun and inspires my home décor ideas.

And to wrap up the week, a flashback Friday image to make you smile from exactly one year ago: silly faces with mom and a bald Little Dude.

Links

1. Growing Tulips in a Vase - spring flowers for those of us without a flower bed.
2. Need help deciding how to decorate? Take the Ultimate Find-Your-Style quiz.
3. Insight on how to deal with toddler tantrums and disciple without adding to the drama.
4. 6 Easy Top Knots - because who doesn't need quick, easy up-do ideas?
5. Are you a tea drinker? This little steeper man was just too cute not to share.
6. Nailed it - there's a vast difference between 'old' millennials and 'new' millennials.
7. In pursuit of reducing waste and repurposing - 101 Things to do with Mason Jars.
8. Baked Apple Donuts - yes, please.
9. Some cute ideas for the surplus of Easter eggs you have left over.
    

Friday Favorites - Anthropologie Floral

And we're here again - TGIF!  Happy Passover and Easter this weekend.

Easter feels like the start of spring dressing to me - I think because ever since I was a little girl I would always get a new Easter dress, and it inevitably was pretty and floral.  Its hard not to feel pretty in floral, and Anthropologie always has some of the prettiest dresses.

Poppy Field Dress
 

Nightgarden Sheath
 

Photostat Floral Dress
 

Butterfly Garden Gown
 

Don't you feel pretty just THINKING about wearing these dresses?  I confess that even on sale, Anthro is usually out of my budget, but a girl can dream, can't she?
 

Friday Favorites - Shopping for a Good Cause

TGIF! Hope the week has been a good one for you, and the weekend even better.

Not to get preachy, but I've been thinking a lot lately - or I'm trying to be continuously aware of - how blessed I am in this life.  I feel like I'm constantly in the "I want", "I need", "how can I have more" mind set, and while those can be self-motivating, I also don't want to forget all that I do already have. Which is so much more than most of the world.  And if you are reading this, you are likely living a blessed life as well (and I don't mean because you read my blog.  But if you are, that's another way I am blessed. Thank you.  ;) )

My favorites for this Friday are companies that are helping those who have much less than all of us.  Our purchases from these companies provide women, both domestic and foreign, with jobs so they can support themselves and their family, and provide food for hungry school children.  And we get to add some great accessories to our closets, which hopefully when we wear will remind us how fortunate and blessed we are.

Your purchase of a fashionABLE product helps create opportunities for vulnerable women in Africa.  fashionABLE works with women to help them start small business coopertives, and partners with and requires manufacturers to employ women with fair wages and fair hiring practices.
 

Clockwise from top left: The ABLE Scarf, Minka holding the Hibret Zippered Pouch, Tizita Bracelets, ABLE Necklace, and Agnes Foldover Crossbody Bag
 

Founded in 2007 by Lauren Bush Lauren, FEED supports the World Food Programme's School Feeding program, which feeds and educates hungry children.  Every product sold has a measurable donation attached to it and, to date, the social business has been able to provide over 87 million meals globally through the WFP and Feeding America.
 

Clockwise from top left: FEED 5 Bracelet (with pouch) provides 5 meals, FEED Diaper Bag provides 1 mother and 1 child with micronutrients for a year,  and FEED 10 T-shirt provides 10 school meals.
 

Better Life Bags is based in Detroit.  They hire women who otherwise could not get jobs, and then rent them a sewing machine and tools while teaching them skill sets that allow them to become a primary or secondary provider in their families.   Most of the women are fist generation immigrants, so BLB provides them with fellowship and friendship.  They have ready-to-ship items, or you can customize with your choice of fabrics.

Clockwise from top left: Laptop Sleeve, Linda, Brynnda, Wristlet Set, and Nesting Pouches with Leather Bands.