Growing up I had two older sisters with incredible fashion. As the youngest child, I often ended up with their (much desired) hand-me-downs. This made my little heart happy because I didn't have to spend any money AND I got to look good in my sisters clothing (win win!). Even if I was constantly a few years behind the fashion trends, I loved seeing beautiful things from my sisters end up in my closet. 

When I was young, I never really put a lot of thought into my appearance. With a short. low-maintenance haircut, and a preference for boys t-shirts and jeans over those itchy frilly tops, short shorts, and make up, I just didn't really care. When I got married, I started realizing that my entire closet was made up of hand-me downs, and some of these items were pushing 10 years old! (But my sisters looked so good in them!) My fear and hatred of spending money kept me from exploring my style, and my thrifty-what-if-I-need-this-in-4-years mentality kept me from getting rid of clothing that I'd held on to for far too long. 

Not long into our marriage, my dearest husband started pushing me to spend money on myself. Not because he wanted me to change, but because he knew that exploring my style and freshening up my wardrobe could bring a confidence in my identity and joy in my appearance that can only come from sitting down to think about what you actually want to look like - instead of being handed something for years.

Or maybe he didn't know that (girls are complicated). Maybe he had no clue what would happen - he was just being generous with his wife. But either way it pushed me down the dreaded path of spending (wasting - as I thought) money on myself. 

About a year ago I came across the idea of a capsule wardrobe when I was on Pinterest. My inspiration came from following a blog called Un-Fancy; a woman's journey to find joy in less, by limiting herself to a wardrobe of 37 pieces of clothing (37 PIECES, YA'LL) per season. Hating clutter and waste as much as I do, I loved the idea so much that I decided to tweak it for myself and try it for a whole year. I researched (Pinterested), studied (envied), and wrote lists (duh). And a year ago I dived into the capsule wardrobe world. 

I've never looked back. 

Now, I don't want to be dramatic.... but having a capsule wardrobe can change your life (is that dramatic?). Learning to live with less, being more intentional about my purchases, and wasting less time on the what-do-I-wear-today conundrum transferred into other areas of my life. When I picked up Mari Kondo's book: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, a light-bulb went off in my head! I long for simplicity. I hate clutter. I love owning a few things of great significance. I love having time and money to be generous with others.

You see, having a capsule wardrobe gave me the confidence and and courage to risk having less. I'm no longer afraid that I'll having nothing to wear. I no longer buy that $5 cute shirt on the sale rack at Target JUST because it's a bargain. I have a cleaner closet! I feel like I have more clothes that I love! I can create 5 outfits in 5 seconds that I would want to wear every day! (5 seconds is probably impossible, but you get the idea...) 

It's not about spending lots of money - believe me, I created my capsule wardrobe a little at a time. It's not about making up a bunch of rules that you can't, won't, or just don't even want to follow - I made my own guidelines and changed them as I went along. And it's definitely not about trying to fit in with whatever the latest fashion trends are - a capsule wardrobe is all about finding what works for you and giving you the confidence and satisfaction to own it. 

Coming up, I'm so excited to share all that I've learned about capsule wardrobes in next week's post (there's just too much to share in one blog post!), but in the meantime... check out Un-Fancy's blog, or my wardrobe Pinterest board to see how awesome a capsule wardrobe really is! (I may or may not be biased!) 

Also, big thanks for Aaron Phelps for these lovely photos of me and my love. I married the most generous man I've ever known. 

Good morning, love. Happy Anniversary. 

If I could go back in time ten years and tell my 14 year old self that I would be married to you - Sunil Mohinani - I'd probably laugh at my old time-traveling self. There was no possible way.

By this time ten years ago, you had become one of my closest guy friends; a highly respected (albeit very mysterious) man in my life. You intrigued me with each conversation, and I was fascinated with your heritage, your crazy sense of humor, and your honor for your family. But it was your compassion for people that drew me to you. The way you saw through walls to the very soul of a person and spoke right to them with gentleness and respect. The way you broke down hesitations instantly and gained people's trust with your sweet kindness and genuine desire for their happiness. Me included. 

While you are much less mysterious to me now (but still full of all sorts of surprises!) your heritage, humor, and honor still fascinate me - ten years later. I'm no longer terrified of the way you can read me like a book; instead I find safety in the trust that you've worked so hard to build. I'm proud and so intensely thankful for the way that you disarm and set at ease the people you come in contact with. You see stories in people's eyes and find hope in the most difficult of situations. 

Ten years is a long time to know someone, and yet it's gone in just a moment. Changes have come, some easy and some not so much. We've both had moments full of tears, joy, wonder, fulfillment, repentance, unknown, and fear, but we've always faced them hand in hand because our story isn't finished. We have decades left to live (I hope!), dreams left to dream (I'll probably let you do the dreaming - you know that freaks me out!), people still to love (they each have a story!), and at least one more day left with each other. 

I'm so thankful to be your wife. Your dream holder, your secret keeper, your reality checker, your budget holder, your home hoster, your fashion adviser, your humor understander, your chicken burner, and your cupcake. This marriage thing is pretty awesome. 

Happy 4th Anniversary, love.