Skirts, Skirts and More Skirts

Well, here are my sister missionary skirt contenders. You'll have to excuse the wrinkles-I was testing the size of my suitcase vs. the clothes I want to pack, and they ended up staying in there for a little bit. As I hung all my skirts up I realized I have quite the collection of boring skirts, and they are all similarly colored...but I love them anyways.
I hate when I find a really promising sister missionary blog and when they talk about where they got their skirts and dresses and everything else they just say "try Forever21, Kohls and department stores." That doesn't help me! But it left me to find skirts on my own and I think I did ok... Also, I am 5' 8" and all these skirts are the right length for me. And, on top of that, I wear everything at my natural waist and they STILL are long enough.

So, here is the break down of skirts:

Alright, these three skirts are vintage. I love vintage! The two blue ones were thrifted and the third was from Etsy. If you haven't heard of Etsy you are missing out. It's this super neat website were people can sell things they have made. I buy things on there all the time (and I also have my own shop). They also sell vintage on there! All you do is search skirts under vintage and BAM you have a plethora of skirts with attractive silhouettes and an appropriate sister missionary length.

These two beautiful skirts are from Forever21. I don't think the gray one exists any longer on the website but, winter is coming so give it a month or so and they will probably have a similar one. The black one, however, is still there. And it comes in a few different colors! I actually have it in Black and Blue. They are so light and flowy, I love them. And, this skirt is only $17.80.
You can get it here: http://www.forever21.com/Product/Product.aspx?BR=f21&Category=bottom_skirt-midi&ProductID=2000092011&VariantID=

These two skirts are from one of my new favorite stores; Old Navy! Both are from a few seasons ago but, there are similar styles on-line now.
 Here is the link to the skirts similar to the grey one: http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=79586&vid=1&pid=649034012. The new version hits my knee so, if you are shorter than me it would probably be perfect! I also own a few of these skirts that could work great for someone a little shorter than me as well . Both are modest for me, but not missionary length.

These are from Lands-End. The khaki skirt (which I still might not bring on my mission) was the old version of the black skirt. They are called chino skirts. The black skirt is still online. The skirt is $40.00 but right now is the friends and family sale so you could get 30% off! I love this skirt. It is made of a hardier material and has a really flattering look. You can still look professional but it is sooo comfy you feel like you could be in a jersey skirt. Also, there are a whole bunch of other cute modest skirts and dresses on-line as well. One of my other favorite dresses on Lands-End...who knew right??

The Dress EVERY Sister Missionary Should Get

Alright, I ordered this dress a few weeks ago and I absolutely love it! I actually received the dress the day before I left on vacation so I haven't had any time to truly appreciate it until now. And let me tell you, it is perfect. It has a flattering shape, it is the perfect length and there is enough of a skirt that you can ride a bicycle with no problem (something I have to worry about).


The first time I saw this dress, I was on Pinterest. It is on almost everyone's Sister missionary board. So, naturally, I pinned it as well. I wanted to order it but, I wasn't sure. As you can see, the dress doesn't look all the flattering off someone and even on the model it still didn't look that great. On top of that the dress is $42.43. Normally I wouldn't have a problem spending that on a great dress. But, I couldn't try it on and I had to rely on the sizing chart to know what size to get. Both of those factors made me a little nervous. So, the dress what put on the back burner as an "order later."


A little later I came across this blog (http://whoorl.com/archives/15602) by someone who had given her own opinion on whole bunch of ASOS dresses she had ordered. Luckily, the black dress I had my eye on was one of the dresses! It looked gorgeous on her! And, she shared what size she ordered too, and said that the ASOS sizing was spot on. Basically, she convinced me that ordering this dress was good idea.
       
So, there is this awesome website called Chicservative. It is a collection of modest clothing, from all different stores, all in one place. Awesome right? Yeahhh it is. Anyways, I found the dress there (http://chicservative.com/shop/asos/asos-midi-dress/) and  I took it as a sign. Clicked the link, and BAM the dress was ordered.

Well, here is me in the dress. I absolutely love every thing about it. The material is amazing. It is soft and stretchy but still holds it's shape and structure. The dress has a natural waist and then it hits right below the knee. Also, it is SO fun to twirl in. But that is a side note.. The sizing chart that ASOS gives is right on. I ordered a 4 (which made me a little nervous) and it was perfect. I'm so glad I didn't order a smaller size because I would've been in trouble. Shipping is free and I used a coupon (summer4ever) which made it even cheaper. I don't know if my coupon code is any good anymore. But, there is always a 10% student discount and if you wait long enough I'm sure another coupon code will show up too. Moral of the story: order this dress.

Getting My Call

I've had my call for a few months now, but I thought it'd be fun to tell everyone a little bit about it. After I put my papers in we realized that my call could come on my birthday (July 12th)! We all thought that would just be the greatest. Not only was it my birthday, but it was the opening day of the Hill Cummorah Pageant. What a perfect day to get a mission call, right? Well, I guess the Lord had other plans...Friday came and went with no mission call. And then Saturday, when I hopefully checked the mail, there was still no mission call. Monday came around and I didn't expect much. So, when I received a text from my dad with a picture of my call envelope I was blown away. It was here! I impatiently waited for the end of work and then raced home. With my family and some of my closest friends, I finally got to open my mission call.
Now, if you've read my blog title, you all know where I am going. But, at that moment, no one knew where I was going. Everyone had made their guesses (mostly in places around Europe) and I was sure I was going to Idaho. There was a little part of me perfectly happy not knowing where I was going. But certainly not enough to keep me from opening it! As I read the first few lines, I was hit with the feeling that no matter what I read next, it was where I was needed to go. When I read Japan, Tokyo, I couldn't believe it! In all my mission day dreams, Tokyo had never crossed my mind. It took quite a while for that to sink in. And..maybe it still hasn't completely... But, I know that I am suppose to serve a mission, it is what Heavenly Father wants me to do and I am willing to go where ever he needs me to go. I cannot wait to leave and go share the gospel with the people of Japan!

My First Post!

76 days until I report to the MTC (missionary Training Center).  I am so excited to be devoting the next 18 months of my life to a full time mission. And in Tokyo too! For those of you who don’t know much about LDS missions or what we as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe I’ll be making a few sections of my blog dedicated to telling you all about that but until those are up and running I’ll just share a few things.

Who/ what is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?

The LDS church is the official name of the religion more commonly known as the Mormon Church.  

What do I (as a Mormon) believe?

I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God and is mine (and your) Savior.  And that we are all children of our Heavenly Father who loves us and knows each and every one of us by name. He wants each of us to return to him and live with him some day. Through the atonement of Jesus Christ, all mankind may be saved and we are all able to return to our Heavenly Father.

In addition to the Bible, the Book of Mormon is the word of God. Both the Book of Mormon and the Bible stand as a testament of Jesus Christ. Through the power of God, the prophet, Joseph Smith, translated the Book of Mormon and helped to restore the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ back to the Earth.  

 What is a mission?

An LDS mission is a little different than what most people commonly think a mission is. In the LDS church young men and women, most under the age of 25, devote 18 to 24 months (18 for girls, 24 for young men) of their life to sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.  They can be sent anywhere in the world! Missionaries pay for their own missions and give up school and work (and dating) to dedicate their lives to the Lord’s work and to inviting others to come unto Christ.

Although there is quite a lot of preparation that is put into going on a mission, what I find myself putting the most time into is thinking about what I am going to wear for the next 18 months.  As I've been preparing I've found that compiling the perfect wardrobe is a lot harder than I thought! When you’re only allowed eight to ten outfits and 3 pairs of shoes shopping really becomes a challenge!

I've searched and hunted the web for ALL the tips and tricks to building a wardrobe for sister missionaries. Well, needless to save I have had no luck. I find what look like ever so promising blogs where they give vague tips and somewhat helpful hints on where to get clothes.  And while pinterest is perfect for building your dream missionary wardrobe, in reality it hasn't been too much help.

So, I've decided to “document” my attempt to build the perfect sister missionary wardrobe. And hopefully I can help some future sister missionaries as well!