Munah's Cupcake

Munah’s Maternity did well for helping you ladies purchase gently used maternity clothes at affordable prices. What was not affordable was the shipping, so it kind of put a damper on the ordering. I remember one lady paying $17 in shipping! I had wished I could do something to change that.

Well, now I can!

I no longer sell through Store Envy. I have discovered Poshmark, and I am in love! Shipping is now a flate rate of either $4.99 or $6.99, depending on your total, and as long as I have bundled all your items into a single post. It takes some getting use to, so I have decided to give you some helpful shopping tips.

Sign up! Poshmark is best used as an app for iphone and ipads, because it caters to the seller to be able to upload items staright from their phone. They are planning on coming out with an android app, but until then you will need to use the full site version on the computer, or your phone, to purchase items if you do not have the app.

Now this is the important part, so listen carefully.

Sign up using my code so we both get a $5 credit!!!

As if Poshmark isn’t already cheap, there is a way to earn $5 towards your purchase. This is the same as free shipping (if you spend $25 or more) or the same as a free item, since plenty of items are only $5.

When you hit “SIGN UP” it will ask you if you want to sign up through facebook, or email. Use your email! After you type in your email address, you will get to the bottom where it asks you to enter a Invite Code.

This is the important part, you must enter:

HYUTV

There, the hard part is over. You are now a posher!

Search Items If you know what you are looking for this will make your shopping experience much more enjoyable. Instead of scrolling through alllllllll the items, you will be able to look through all the Toms shoes, or the denim skirts that you like while finding the best deal!

I am currently going through a ruffle phase, so I searched ruffles, and ruffle cardigans, and today at my doorstep two lovely boxes full of ruffles and lace showed up Last month I was able to search “Toms” and I found a pair of glitter Toms and lace up Toms for SUPER great prices. Oh! I even bought Carbon a lot of 13 PJammie’s for $15! Which brings me to my next tip…..

Bundle When you’ve found an item in someones closet that you like, it may be for a great price, but with shipping added it may not be such a great deal. So browse their closet and if you see other items you like, comment on one and ask them if they can bundle your “likes” (I’ll explain that one next). They will then take the items you want and post them into a single listing, which you will then purchase for the total price (which they may or may not give you a discount for buying bulk, you just have to ask) and only pay a flate shipping cost! YIPEE!!!!!!

Like the items you come accross and they will be stored in your “like” section for later if you decide to go back and buy. Wow! Affordable, and organized shopping?! we like that!

Accept your order once you recieve your package. This will then release the funds to the seller.

Shipped Item is what you will click if you are a seller. this will give your buyer the heads up that their package is on its way and that they will have the tracking info on their email. Yes, poshmark is THAT organized!

Follow womens’ closets that you like or that you have purchased from, so that you can see their new listings.

Explore your own closet settings once you have signed up. You will also have your own code to pass on to ladies you get to sign up and that will earn you both another $5. If you decide to sell, you will have a section of “your Sales” to keep track of what has sold, what has shipped, and what has been delivered. Delivered meaning your funds are now availbe to you. You can either leave the funds in your poshmark acct that will automatically go towards your next purchase, or you can click one button, and have it deposited into your bank account! Yes, that easy!

Also keep in mind, Poshmark keeps 20% of your sale. It will automatically be taken off when you get your funds.

I hope I have explained this well and that you will enjoy this site as much as I have. I’m sure there are some tips I’m forgetting (like what “parties” are) but I have no doubt you will catch on fast.

So, Munah’s Maternity is now on poshmark. If you are pregnant, go check out the great prices!

http://poshmark.com/closet/munahscupcake

And for the grand finale, here is Carbon Black. He is already 3 months! I hope to be linking back up with the Pregnancy Journal Link Up, real soon……. if you know what I mean

I planned on taking a week or two off of blogging, but today I realized sharing some quick modern and modest outfits with you all is a quick and easy way of encouraging women to try more appropriate ways of dressing. I originally wanted to share pictures of myself in jeans but I ended up wearing a skirt all week.

This black skirt from Kmart has been the best $14 spent in a long time! It makes a great everyday skirt and as you can see from these pictures, it is practical enough to wear with a tee shirt, sneakers, and a baby on the hip!

This anchor shirt is from GAP but you know how I roll. This was a $10 score from Poshmark! You can shop my closet at www.poshmark.com/closet/munahscupcake

Yup, these Toms came from Poshmark, too. $25 NWT (new with tag)

To read the post, please click on over to Sarah’s blog at My Joy-Filled Life where I have contributed to her new series called Mom 2 Mom Mondays. While you’re there, browse around. She has a great blog to follow, especially if you are a large family mom or a homeschooling mama! Enjoy!

I ordered Cipher and I a couple of fabric headbands from Deborah & Co. and I was very pleased. They actually look just as cute in person as they do on the website. I think this would be a great accessory to splurge on for a spring wardrobe, especially becasue of how easy they are to wear! Dress them up, or even wear them with your cozy clothes like we did for around the house cleaning. It was an easy fix to a blah outfit!

These great headbands can be found here through this link to Deborah & Co.

We as mothers, are our daughter’s best example. They look to us for all kinds of things such as cooking, keeping a home, mothering and how to dress. We are setting their foundation for their future of how they will become when they are a wife and mommy.

Let’s take a look at myself and my childhood. I have a mother who loves me very much and I love her very much, but my upbringing was very different from how I am trying to teach my daughter so I have real life experience of what I am desperately trying to avoid the best that I can do. The rest is up to Cipher and her choices.

I’m sure we can all agree that actions speak louder than words when it comes to our children. If they see us yelling at each other, then they start to think it must be ok for them to yell at a sibling, or even a parent! If we watch certain T.V. shows, read certain magazines, drink socially, then they will be molded to think this is acceptable behavior, or at least acceptable adult behavior. If all of these things are true, then why would our clothes be an exception? Guess what? They’re not.

That is what happened when it came to my wardrobe.

I didn’t dress like a yuppie woman you’d see at a club. Actually, I take that back. That was me. After being Saved and giving my life to Jesus I changed my dress but I still dressed up a lot. Mostly because I worked in a boutique and my past was filled with beauty related work. So its pretty much natural for me to be into the whole girly dressing up thing. But what I realized is that I was STILL teaching my little girl the ways of a corrupt lifestyle. A lifestyle full of superficial, self centered, and body cautious ways. I knew she’d end up getting her advice from non believers, fashion magazines, gossip tabloids or MTV if I didn’t do something about it. So I stepped up, starting with a good look at myself.

Some things I ask myself are:

- Do I dress in a way that shows I respect myself?

- Do I wear clothes that fit me correctly?

- Do I dress my age?

- Do I dress in a way that shows respect to God, and to my husband?

If I can answer yes to these, then my daughter has a good example from her mommy on what is ok and what is not.

So I challenge us mommies to ask ourselves the same questions. Whether you are a mommy who wears skirts, dresses, pants, or jeans….it doesn’t matter! Our choice in bottoms do not make us any more Christian than the next. What matters is how we wear it and that we are teaching our girls to dress appropriately and to not be a stumbling block for our brother’s and sister’s in Christ.

After we feel we’ve come to an appropriate wardrobe for ourselves, lets start looking at our daughters. When picking out their clothes lets ask

- is this age appropriate?

- is this free of any words, sayings, bands, or movie stars that give bad messages?

- are the clothes too snug?

- is it gender appropriate?

- is it acceptable for your family’s standards?

Something else I want to mention, there are people who are deeply tormented and have given themselves over to sin, perverts and petaphiles. Do we forget that this exists in this fallen world? This is just more reason for us to be aware of what we put on ourselves. Not only is it in my opinion that leggings should be worn under clothing and not as a stand alone bottom, but think about a woman or a child in leggings, tight top, or cleavage in the presence of a petaphiles or pervert. I dare you to say “well they should just keep their eyes to themselves or be put behind bars!” This is our job to protect our lil girls, our teenage girls and ourselves from adding to the temptation of sin! Do you know that in California someone actually presented a bill that could allow petaphilia to be classified as a sexual orientation?! yea, think about that next time you take your daughters to the park dressed up like Hannah Montana because “its cute”.

I’ve collected pictures over the past week of Cipher wearing outfits that are acceptable in our home. Cipher dresses herself and her everyday look is usually a tee shirt, a modest length skirt with leggings, or a long dress with leggings. My wardrobe consists of skirts (knee length and longer), a few pairs of jeans, and yes Tee shirts and hoodies!

Here is a look at what is in our family’s standards of what is appropriate for girls

- no cleavage.

- no vulgar words or images.

- no T.V, Disney, or Nick Jr stars.

- no leggings without a tunic, dress or skirt over them.

- and definitely no short dresses or skirts!

As you can see this leaves a lot of room to still enjoy fashion and being a girl. But we have to set limits, and If I follow them and apply them to my wardrobe, Cipher is sure to follow.

On a side note I do want to mention how thankful I am to The Lord that our daughter has no interest in dressing like anyone except for the Duggar girls and little house on the prairie, lol!

In the past 3 years I have gone from dressing like the rest of the world, to more aware of what I put on, to wearing skirts full time, and now to wearing skirts (and sometimes jeans) while focusing on being modern and allowing my style to still exist.

A year ago I was convicted big time for how I would dress. I spent too much unnecessary time and effort into wearing the latest fashion. I put way too much thought into my appearance. That changed when I envisioned my daughter becoming worldly in her choices of dress. Frankly, it scared the crap out of me.

1 Peter 3:3-4 “Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes.You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.”

I’ve had my ups and downs with trying new ways to not bring the wrong attention onto myself, but it’s kinda hard when you’re covered in tattoos and thats all people see. I discovered that I like skirts. A lot. They really made me feel feminine, which is how God created me. It motivated me to be the women that I am called to be in my home and I am so thankful for what I learned during that year. With working in a boutique with some overpriced and inappropriate clothes, I was able to witness to other women in my dress that we don’t need to dress like the world, or in it’s latest fashions, to still be cute. And as for living in southern California, I definitely didn’t blend in with their style anymore.

1 Timothy 2:9 “And I want women to be modest in their appearance. They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes.”

After I had Carbon I had a lot of questioning and praying about why I wanted to wear jeans and tee shirts more. I couldn’t understand how I’d been so convicted to wear skirts before, and now I was wanting to wear other things.

After prayer, and a waiting period of 3 months, I revieved an AWESOME email from a woman:

I came across your blog through a linked post on “modest Monday,” and you have inspired me to change my life. I have come back to Christ after so many years of doubt.

You have no idea how much you have inspired me. Thank you for sharing your life so that others can benefit.

A-BAM! that’s what my heart was telling me! Not that I wanted to dress like the world again, but to not give up blog posting, that it’s ok that I’m not your average Christain Women, and that I needed to relax and embrace my apperance.

I am that alternative Christian who likes loud (Christian) music, black shirts, funky hair, and red lipstick.

I can express that style.

My body, my outward appearance, is a broken vessel. But becasue of Jesus I am a new creation existing in this vehicle that He is driving.

As long as I come to Jesus daily asking Him to use me, to use my mouth to share His words, to use my hands to do His will, He is going to use my broken, dented, tattooed, vehicle for HIS purpose.

This blog is for sharing my testimony with others.

Because of Jesus, my mess is now a message

So I thank you you Jesus for keeping me from caving into the deciever who was trying to pursue me to jeaopordize my convictions.

I do want to point out that I do wear jeans sometimes. In the beginning I felt strongly against wearing pants, but now that I am not in California anymore and not around the half naked women with their fake ta-ta’s hanging out (Sorry if thats vulgar, but I didn’t want to beat around the bush to make my point) I feel comfortable enough to not have to worry about giving off the wrong impression that I’m that tattooed chick with a potty mouth, who’s gonna be across the street at the bar as soon as her shifts off. Ok, ok, that was a bit stereotypical. I dont need any harsh comments on that one. But hey, thats how my mind was thinking because thats who I easily could’ve become of it weren’t for Jesus.

Anyway, I’ve heard a lot of people say you cant hide from the world and shield yourself, but I find that is only half true. We all live in the same world, and that is a fallen world. But I also have seen the difference in where we have lived, and where we are now. Here in the Pacific Northwest, style is soooooo laid back compared to city life, or even the mountain life in California. Women here are not the same, not even close. Not that its a good thing, because hey, I’m a girl and I do like fashion. But I do not have to shield my children’s eyes when we go out. We’ve traded one kind of style, for the other, and its actually kind of extreme. A style of browns, grey’s, and hippie influenced, lol.

Bottom line is, I will always be cautious of what I wear, and use discernment in my clothing choices, whether it be a skirt or jeans. I think a tool all of us women can use is to ask ourselves why we are choosing to wear what we are about to put on. Are we picking out those jeans because it makes our butt look good? Or because the shirt shows off our cleavage? We all need to remember that we as Christians are to help bring others to Christ and we want to be living examples of what we preach. One of the biggest complaints of non-believers are Christians being hypocritical and how hypocritical would it be for a Christian women to be preaching modesty ( NOT SKIRT WEARING MODESTY), purity, or anything from the Bible, while dressed in revealing clothing? Ive seen a lot of this, even from family and friends! We want to be a walking example of living a Godly life as best as we can, and that still will come with flaws. I make mistakes everyday, but my heart is chasing after being a better wife, mother, and woman of God. With that comes consideration of how I am dressing.

1 Peter 2:12 “Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.”

As much as I prefer certain styles and clothing options over the other, or that I like wearing skirts more than jeans, I wanted to share an outfit that I think would be comfortable for women to wear, without showing off cleavage and butt cracks (intentional, or not). If I had more of a curvy shape in the behind, I feel too much attention would be drawn to my tush……but my mama didn’t pass down that gene. I am as straight as a stick back there. I like to call it, my never ending back. Not sure if this would make the cut of appropriate or modest for some women (it didn’t meet mine a year ago) but I do feel comfortable in this because of the white layering shell, and the long length of my shirt. Its not flashy or “look at me, look at me,” but leaves room to have fun with choices in hair, accessories, and shoes.

*This post was featured as the most viewed

I cant imagine writing this post if Cipher were 12 years old and I was trying to raise her to dress like a young lady and not a piece of meat. We are trying to raise a little girl in The Lord. Watching Disney’s Hannah Montana and Shake It Up where lil girls are dressing and behaving inappropriately was not helping us achieve that goal.

For Cipher’s 3rd birthday she was showered with Hannah Montana gifts. It was her favorite show and she watched daily while singing and dancing along. Then Shake It Up came out and there was even more dancing going on, except the dancing on this show was more about sex appeal and not about having fun, and definitely not where young girls should be getting their style of dress from! It was becoming difficult to raise a daughter Biblically while her mind was being filled with the exact opposite! Shortly after her 4th birthday the T.V. was turned off and all the DVD’s got thrown out.

I can hear a few ladies right now,”What’s so wrong letting them watch those shows, they’re cute.” There is absolutely zero Biblical value in an episode of Shake it up. Two little girls, who are supposedly best friends, manipulating other people and each other to get what they want. That’s not what I am supposed to be exposing my lil girl to. Best friends don’t do that to each other. They build each other up, not down.

We are called to be hot or cold, not luke warm. There are woman reading this right now that go to a Church building every sunday and never miss a service after being tipsy with girl friends on Saturday night at the Casino. Flat out, you can’t do that stuff and not give mixed signals to your kids. God’s not a vending machine that we pray at night to for goodies. If you think that’s who God is you are WRONG and in for a very painful lesson down your road. We are called to come out of the world and not be a part of it. Going out for drinks with non-believers is just asking for a demon to come home with you and mess with your family.

I didn’t know it but we were being luke warm, we told our daughter about the Bible while letting her learn other values from non-believers. It’s like asking a non-believer for advice, you know what you’re going to get? BAD ADVICE. Never ever ask a non-believer for advice about what you should be doing with your life or how you should be raising your kids. Because the devil is more than happy to lead you astray through them. Ask the Lord JESUS and wait on Him for an answer.

What’s the first thing our little girl did when we took all that stuff away? The same thing we all do when we are living in sin and someone points it out. She freaked. She got mad, angry and sad. Not necessarily in that order. Cutting sinful behavior out of someones life is like taking crack away from an addict, they’ll cut you if they have a knife and then thank you two weeks later for doing it.

Allowing our daughter to learn from these shows still effects her behavior at times, (their is currently one last show she has been able to watch with the family but that is on the line of getting tossed too because of the message it sends that it’s all fun and games for families to lie and manipulate). We pick up on it and we know where it comes from. We know it would have been worse if she hadn’t had it taken away. She’s moldable, unfortunately we were letting someone else mold her. IT IS HARD, to raise a daughter properly in this world. You can’t go to the grocery store without seeing a Kardashian acting like a piece of meat at every check out counter.

Only God knows how Cipher will turn out. She might succumb to the world’s temptations, I pray she won’t, but there’s a chance. The fact is I just don’t know, But I DO know that it’s our job to teach her about, and shield her from the world until she can make her own decisions.

Deborah & Co. has added some super cute fabric headbands and belts to their accessories that I think would look great on any age and style of women from conservative ladies to women with more spunk. Even lil girls!

I just ordered #1and #4 for Cipher and I, and I can’t wait to try them out. Perfect timing for spring and summer!

Click on over and check out the super pretty fabric belts like these!