a new (ad)venture.

Just a lil sum-sum that a friend and I decided to do that may be turning quite rapidly into a bigger sum-sum. Check out why I haven't been bloggin' (minus my three kiddos):

ze vinners.

If you’ve never given StitchFix a little look-see, then you may not know that you get sent five items in a box ranging from jewelry to blouses to skirts to shorts to jeans to scarves… etc. Women’s. Apparel. And they unknowingly make it in to a game where you get not only $20 off your order from your styling fee, but also a 25% discount if you keep all five items. THEN if you refer friends, you also get a $25 credit for every friend who tries it out. So, you get MEGA bonus points for wearing and sharing. :) Cause sharing is caring, right? So, these past two fixes I have been SO close to keeping all five items. I mean oh so close. But there is always just this one that I absolutely CAN NOT justify. I mean, y’all, the struggle is REAL to want to keep all five items and get that discount! But alas, only two survivors outlasted this present struggle. The three that got away were a pretty neat maxi dress that just wasn’t quite long enough for these ol legs of mine, a long gold coin medallion necklace, and a pair of army green cargo shorts. (They really were cuter than they sound, I just couldn’t get past feeling like I was in junior high again.) The two that made the cut were:

So we’ve got some Ikat and Aztec prints going on up in the Camie Risinger wardrobe now. If you follow me on Pinterest, you may have noted some crazier pins of edgier styled items, because I do wish to work that in a little to keep me not-so-serious. Steve will not allow me to buy the insane wedge sneakers that I somehow have a not-so-secret love/hate relationship with these days. BUT he did encourage this purchase of the off white and aztec print v-neck! Which in shape and cut isn’t THAT edgy (it’s actually quite flattering and extremely comfortable), but the print … let’s be honest. Who’s going to be wearing that print in two years?! No. One. Not one body. And I KNOW I will look back and say, "WHYYYY in the world did anyone let me wear that?” But hey. A trend is a trend, and it’s fun to jump on the bandwagon instead of running along beside it all out of breath and whatnot. So here’s to a trendy splurge. 

Now that black Ikat print blouse is a bit more classic to me because it is black after all. And the print is so small that it can be paired down with a jacket or cardigan and not be glaring at you with the trendy evil eye. It’s got a cute little pocket and gold shiny button closure for the keyhole in the back. And I really enjoyed the detail of the neckline almost looking and feeling like a really soft tee.

So, there ya have it. Two more shirts that are totally wearable for summer and even layered up into the fall and early winter months! Cheers to year round wearability! Thank you, StitchFix. You gals rock.

getting fixed.

Ladies and … ladies! (I don’t think I have any gentlemen readers!) Here is how I’ve been Stitch fixed previously…

And here we go again…

If you’re curious about size and fit and what to put in your own Stitch Fix style profile, leave a comment and I’ll give you my stats and sizes and how things fit to give you an idea!

well hey there.

Months have gone by without a peep! I guess that is what life with three under the age of two will do to ya. So I’ll do a quick recap. Please forgive my brevity, and leave a comment to let me know if you’d like more info on the happenings in our little fam’s life.

After Ezzy’s birth my body had a hard time recovering. Our sleep was great, but my hydration and hormones apparently were not. So after weeks of antibiotics and doctors visits, putting a sad and abrupt end to nursing, a colonoscopy, and a cystoscopy later, I now have a clean bill of health! Which is nothing short of a huge 'Thank You, Lord for your graciousness and provision.' I mean really though, what am I? 50 years old already? Oh, I received another Stitch Fix box in the mail so be looking for my update on my most recent ‘fixes’. We’ve traveled to Arkansas for a wedding. My parents have been here and back twice and got a dog. My brother and sister-in-law and their little fam moved. Steve’s youngest sister graduated high school, middle sister went to Slovakia, and brother got word that he’s to head to officer flight school in August. (I think that’s all right!) Our girls got to move in to big girl beds which proved to be a hard transition for Lola. We had their birthday party Saturday for their SECOND birthday which is tomorrow! Hot snot, I can’t believe the party has already come and gone. I don’t think I even remember really planning for it. Honestly, it feels like it just sort of happened without my knowing. Ezzy is sitting, eating real food, holding his own bottle, and trying his hardest to crawl. And Zekers is still alive.

And in the midst of all of this, we’re finding a greater richness in our pursuit of God and our knowing Him is bringing our lives to the brink of being shaped more drastically than ever before. Oh, I LONG and pray for the day that my littles know Him. I pray that I guard, through the Holy Spirit dwelling in me, these treasures that have been entrusted to me (2tim 1.14). And I pray that for you and whatever your treasures may be as well!

my new fav: part 2

Aaaaaaand here she is! The piece that I knew I would keep the moment I turned my little tissue paper sandwich sideways and caught a glimpse of her beauty. The piece that was dead-spot-on “Me” to a T. The piece that will be dressed up and worn out probably before summer is even over with.

5. An off-white/cream crocheted tank. Perfect for year-round wearing. Perfect for my skin/hair tones. Perfect for my budget. I had a $25 credit, so I only payed $30 for this tank. Worth. It. Perfect cotton fabric that is oh-so-soft to the touch and just lightweight enough that it will be super comfy in hot weather but not see-through. I’m just a sucker for all things winter white/off-white/cream. I love the look of white jeans, white blazers, and white linen pants. (I’ll be wearing robes of white one day, so I guess I’m just really excited about that already!!!) I like this tank so much that I’ve worn it twice this weekend already! I wore it the day I got it, and then I wore it today to church. Here is what I paired with it today:

From head to toe: coral earrings from Charlotte Russe, light grey scarf from Wal-mart (pretty sure I used it as a table cloth at my wedding), coral skinny skimmers from Target, and nude snake skin flats from Old Navy which are barely visible. When I wore the tank Friday night, I was wearing the earrings and scarf with a grey shawl collared cardigan, army green straight leg pants from Target, and grey crocheted Toms. My Style Suggestion card that came with the tank showed black skinny jeans or a blue chevron maxi skirt which are both ways that I look forward to wearing it as well!

Shout out to the hubs for taking my picture for me. Excuse the slightly disheveled look. We had just unloaded the three littles from the van and were wrestling them down for lunch and nap time. 

So, there ya have it. The results of my first fix. I hope you were inspired to maybe rethink the way you shop and hopefully save yourself (or your family) some extra dollars! This is one really cool way for me to honor my husband and give God the glory. So maybe it’s time for your First Fix or to find some accessories with a greater purpose!

***EDIT: What you don’t want to keep, you send back in a big ole plastic bag at no cost to you that looks like this:

Shout out to Eisley for being a great model!

my new fav

Friends! Romans! Countrymen! Lend me your ears, er, eyes!

About a month or so ago, I came across a nifty little company called Stitch Fix. If you’ve ever heard of Birchbox, it is very similar. It’s like a Birchbox for clothes. Now, if you’ve never heard of Birchbox, no worries. This post is all about explaining my super fun suprising exciting Christmas-in-April experience. (My friend Candice also blogged about her Stitch Fix experience if you would enjoy reading another point of view.)

Here’s how it works. You go to the sweet little website and create a style profile, filling out info such as your height, weight, occupational status, general tastes in style, likes and dislikes in various fits and styles, price range, and a little bit on the wardrobe you already have. Creating this profile places you on a waiting list to be assigned a personal stylist who will then pick out 5 items based on all your criteria that will be shipped to you when you get to schedule your first ‘fix’. Ok, I could ramble on and on about how it all works, but I’ll let you go explore and discover the rest on your own. I really want to just show you my first fix!!! Let’s go.

When I received this first little email, I seriously got so giddy like a little kid at Christmas. I felt like someone was sending me an awesomely thoughtful birthday present a whole month before my birthday because they just loved me THAT much! 

Then yesterday, a day EARLY, my present came packaged in this neat cute box.

Please understand that it was extremely hard to be patient enough to stop and take pictures at every transition in opening. So, some things just kinda got skipped. 

When you open up the box, the wrapping is immaculate. All of your belongings are in a perfectly folded little tissue paper sandwich, and the above photo is a prime example of my hastiness. I tried to put it nicely back in the box, but I just jacked it up. Ha! So, I went ahead and unwrapped everything to find these items:

1. Super cute mint leather and gold medallion snap bracelet. Great colors. My sylist figured me out quick. However, I realized that I don’t want jewelry in my fixes, because I am a straight up cheap skate when it comes to jewelry. I would rather buy a lot of cute cheap things for $30 instead of one bracelet. So this little gem got sent back.

2. Ok, I’m a little frustrated with this picture because it is just not doing the color of the blouse justice, which happened to be my favorite detail. It looks faded, which was not the case at all. It was a really pretty ivy green color that I was shocked to find looked good with my hair/skin tone. I never buy anything this color but will definitely keep my eyes peeled from now on. What I did not enjoy about this tunic was the cut. It was just awkward. Too big, maybe? I felt like if they kept the width, it needed to be longer. But for the length it was, I preferred a more tailored fit. The giant tube sleeves and short wide cut made me feel like I was trying to pull off an odd kimono/tunic hybrid thing. I thought just maybe the detail of rolling and buttoning up the sleeve would help. Negatory. Still awkward. So this little ditty got sent back. I will give my stylist a thumbs up for going a bit outside the box for me on this one. Spot on with the color choice.

**COOL THING : With each piece comes an attached styling suggestion card. Genius!!! Sometimes you just get stuck, or really like a piece but have no clue how it would fit in your wardrobe. Bam. Problem solved. I would’ve never thought to tuck that big ole boxy thing in. Aaaaand another side note, that picture still isn’t the true color of that blouse. What up wit dat?!

3. Hey-o super cute maxi skirt! True colors. Little big on the fit. Great pick. So great in fact that I already own a skirt almost identical to this one. And it was a lot cheaper than $98. (Seriously? $98? Come onnnnnn. I’d buy a leather jacket for that. But an ole maxi? No way.) Got. Sent. Back.

4. Cute flouncy black and white sleeveless blouse with a great little pin tuck detail at the neckline. Loved the little geometric print. Great light weight material for summer, but definitely sturdy enough to be layered and pair with jackets and sweaters to wear year round. One of the most impressive things about this blouse was that it came with an attached camisole. And this camisole was unlike your typical attached cami that’s made of that funky material that is almost see-through itself and smells like horrible B.O. after you’ve worn it only once and didn’t even sweat. Ladies and gents, this camisole was a legit cotton blend cami. I loved the little mother of pearl buttons. And I even enjoyed the fact that the hem of the blouse was a reverse hi-lo. It was like a tunic in the front and a normal length blouse in the back. (This would be GREAT transitioning into your second trimester of pregnancy! haha) My hubs even said it looked like me. But despite the fact that there were so many things I really enjoyed about this piece, yes, you guessed it, it got sent back. And the main reason was the price. I just flat out couldn’t afford it. Because of…

5. My favorite piece that I’m waiting to blog about tomorrow that I KEPT!!!

Lessons learned: Price range is definitely a determining factor for me. Although great things don’t come cheap, I believe this way of shopping for me is worth every penny. I waste money and sanity driving around from store to store trying to find that ‘perfect’ item only to buy a few different items that I really don’t love. After being a little bit lot more specific in my style profile by adjusting my price range to the cheapest side of things (of which I am unashamed. The name of this game is saving money and sanity for me!!!) and asking to refrain from jewelry, I fully anticipate keeping all five items in my ‘fix’ one day. I trust my stylist’s ability and her knowledge of me THAT much. There are so many women in my life who I believe would enjoy and greatly benefit from shopping with Stitch Fix. So follow this link and see for yourself: Get my first Fix

And don’t forget to check back on the blog tomorrow for the big reveal of my favorite piece that I kept!

guest writer: katy

Who knew that stress was so stressful???

I mean, really. It had me at the doctor's office twice last week with stomach issues, and we all know Ain’t NOBODY got time fuh DAT! And you know how it got me there? It had me forgetting that 'I don't do it.' You say,”Whaaaat?! Camie, you are crazy.” Well, I already know that. But on the heels of some of the most trying days of my life, stress had me forgetting some integral truth that I'd been rehearsing for almost the past two years of my life. And when I read the blog post that I’m sharing with you today, it was absolutely a balm to my weary soul (after being a glass of cold water in the face), a resounding victory cry, and a call to remain faithful in pressing in.

Let me fill you in on my sistafriend, Katy. God brought our lives together through some fun circumstances with our husbands; and after finding out we were both from the south, had a handful of mutual friends and a mutual love for some good tex-mex, we knew were destined to be together. (chuckle chuckle) Katy has been my friend that, even though physical distance has always separated us, God has seen fit to continuously knit our hearts together through sharing the truth of His word with one another during our (sometimes insanely) similar life circumstances. The latest and craziest has been both of us finding out that we were pregnant (both unanticipated) putting us in the situation of having three kids under the age of three. We’ve laughed, and cried, and been angry, and been honest with each other in every season of life we’ve been through together, and I truly can’t thank the Lord enough for her. She has such a fun gift for writing and I LOVE that I get to share that with you. And while you’re at her blog, take a look around. I have no doubt she will bless your socks off.

Katy Tullos: I Don’t Know How You Do It

a step back

These two notes were brought to my attention this morning with the new updates to Facebook. So, I thought I would move them over to the ole bloggity blog. Reading these two blurbs has refreshed my love and appreciation for my godly, hard-working husband and has made me ever so thankful that the hard days of itty bitty twinkies are long gone.

Monday 8.1.11 - a reason to celebrate
I woke up this morning next to the man of my dreams. He is better than the best husband I could've ever imagined, and now I am witnessing him step into the roll of dad and am amazed. His love for me and his love for our girls is only an outpouring of his love for our amazing God. I couldn't imagine making it through this past week without him and am blessed to celebrate making it through two years of marriage with him today! Steve Risinger, I love you. Happy Anniversary. :)

Sunday 8.7.11 - monitor conquered. almost.

Last Monday afternoon Steve and I received the best anniversary gift ever. Our 'littlest little' (as we love to refer to Eisley now) got to come home with us! However, this joyous occasion was marked with stress and heartache because we were sent home with an apnea monitor that to our dismay was constantly going off. We were doing good if we made it a solid hour without hearing the alarm sound multiple consecutive times. Friday morning we found that the amber colored data light was lit notifying us to take the monitor to have her info downloaded. So, I headed to the OSF sleep lab only to discover (to our dismay and also soon to our joy!) that our monitor had been given to us with the wrong settings for her breaths-per-minute! The sweet ladies in the sleep lab corrected all the settings and told me that we should not be concerned about any episodes because 99 percent of the alarms were false. Since that glorious correction, we have only heard an alarm sound 4-5 times, and it is Sunday! Praise the Lord. Fears have ceased. Sleep (ok at least 15 minutes of it!) have been restored. We have almost made a complete turn around with the monitor situation. And we are well on our way into week three of their tiny lives working hard at a consistent schedule to get these twinks to sleep through the night sooner than later! They are eating and pooping and sleeping and even doing a pretty good job of holding those heads up!!!

Steve (aka: I like it when you call me Big Poppa) spent last week working half days (on very little sleep and lots of coffee) while I spent my days loving on these little munchkins (on very little sleep and lots of coffee) while trying to do as little as possible around the house to heal properly, only being enabled to do so with the help of my mom. What a great and perfect gift that she took care of Steve and I so that we could best take care of our little ones. And again, we want to send out our greatest thanks to our friends and family who have prayed for, loved on, and fed us in these past weeks. Never have we witnessed the provision of our Great God in a more tangible way.

my itty bitty ladies

creatures of comfort

In the wake of a longer season of suffering than I’ve experienced in years, I am earnestly (and frequently) reflecting on a quote from Randy Alcorn’s book Safely Home that simply says this:

Real gold fears no fire.

     Oh! The implications of those words for the children of God. Have you been trusting Him through your light and momentary affliction? Do you consider yourself worthy to be called to suffer for His name and glory?
     Through this season I’ve seen friends suffering the absence of life due to physical and eternal distances, the emotional and physical stresses of sleepless nights, families being tried as marriages are attacked, and even myself suffering from the consequences of my sin and bitterness. I found myself not rejoicing in this suffering and burden bearing nor delighting in my reproof, but pleading with God for comfort. I wanted it all to end promptly. I especially longed for closure before I actually had to reach out and trust God in trusting someone else to see this ugliness.
     BUT of course that was not what God had in store. You see, something amazing starts to take shape when life seems to be out of my control and falling apart. My clouded eyes and calloused heart begin to see more clearly and become softened to behold God’s sufficiency and grandeur. And it takes place only by way of clinging, in faith, to the words, person, people, and purposes of Christ. Why do we believe that sometimes it is OK to suffer and walk our lives alone? I believe it’s pride, believing in self-sufficiency rather than Christ’s sufficiency.
     Oh, brothers and sisters! Are you clinging to someone who is just a hobby or shopping buddy during your season of suffering, or are you clinging to someone who will bring scripture to bear on your life? Are you believing the Word of God and acting on it no matter how you feel? Or are you giving up and giving in? What God says, He will do. Go on. Reach out. Don't be deceived into thinking that health in the Body and its members is defined by a lack of issues. Health means that when issues arise (cause they will), the body can and will battle the attack without becoming ill and overwhelmed. Praise God that He is victorious before us, dwelling in us, and reigning over us! He WILL bring a good result. I will trust Him. I will worship. I will follow.
     I want to leave you with one last quote to ponder from Thomas á Kempis who wrote, "Jesus now has many lovers of His heavenly kingdom, but few bearers of His cross. He has many who desire consolation, but few who desire tribulation. He finds many companions of His table, but few of His abstinence. All desire to rejoice with Him but few are willing to endure anything for Him or with Him. Many follow Jesus to the breaking of bread but few to the drinking of the cup of His passion. Many revere His miracles, but few follow the humiliation of His cross."