Wearing: Navigable Top

(Anthropologie Navigable scoopneck, ASOS jersey midi, H&M shades, Nine West wedges)

I'm always really hesitant to give anyone fashion advice, even when I get emails asking for styling tips. I mean, honestly, who am I to say how it should be done? I don't feel I own a corner on anything....I only ever strive to put outfits together in a way that honors God, pleases me aesthetically and works for my lifestyle. While I normally answer all the questions sent my way by email, I decided to blog about a recent request for a tip on staying cool and cohesive even on the most humid of summer days.

Summer days are so much more than family BBQ's or lounging in the sun. I am a busy mommy to three energetic children. Life isn't a runway, but I've never thought motherhood should be used as an excuse to shed all self-respect, even though pulling oneself together takes a lot more effort than it used to. The never-ending tasks of running errands and grocery shopping dominate many hours of the day, but it's no excuse for throwing on shower flip-flops and baggy, college t-shirts.

When looking for something to survive intensely humid weather, I try to think outside my "comfy" box to build a practical ensemble that is highly durable for the events of the day, choosing the most breezy version of the styles I like. Slipping into a jersey knit skirt that is soft as marshmallows and a drapy, kimono sleeve top is a super feminine approach to casual summer wear. Wearing fabrics that breathe is the best way to survive the most humid of days looking comfortable, cool and cute.

Wearing: Tea-Stained Chiffon

Good evening, readers! As promised you all when I first told you about my upcoming book release, I've included a small excerpt from the first chapter of the book in this post. The process of publishing a book has seemed overwhelming and invasive some days and the publicity has been more involved than I would have ever imagined, but the anticipation of holding something so tangible in my hands keeps me strong.

(Sundance Chiffon dress, Claire's hemp belt, Nine West Wedges, AE watch)

The evening was filled with a million happy moments.

My parents and Nathaniel, along with my boyfriend, Scott, and I, had just finished eating out at a family-style restaurant and were headed home. The brilliant rays of the late evening sun were intense, whitewashing the colors as they poured through the window into the backseat of my father's car. The smell of boxed fried chicken lingered in the air and the conversation assumed the lazy tempo that often accompanies a satisfying meal. In a moment that seems suspended in time, my brother looked at me with eyes as wide and clear as the Texas sky--that oh, so familiar grin cutting a crooked line across his face.

"All I know, Kristina, is that I'd better die before you do, 'cuz I could never live without you", he said, matter-of-factly.

Some moments take your breath away, while others are so pure and beautiful in their simplicity, you don't recognize their significance until later. I will never know if my strong, strapping eighteen-year-old brother felt any insecurity in saying those words to me.

What matters most now, is that he said them.

--Excerpt from After Nathaniel