Feautured | Amanda from Fifty Shades of Grits and Grace

Hi, I am Amanda Cruse from the blog Fifty Shades of Grits and Grace. I am a southern mama of two from Alabama blogging about a strong passion and eye for style, fashion, beauty, food, her southern roots (drawl included) and a little bit of everything between. If you get a chance, we would love for you to check out our blog and all the amazing recipes and reviews we have to offer ;)

When my long-time friend, Delene, from City Girl with Country Charm asked me to do a style post to be featured on her blog my first reaction was gratitude, followed by a slight panic attack. What would I write, what would I feature, what types of apparel items would I include? So many thoughts went rushing through my head it was hard to catch even a single one of them. Finally I decided that I would just wing it, wing it as I do posting on my blog. Sometimes I hit a wall and lose focus on what I want to post about, but then it usually always comes to me once I get my fingers moving and the paragraphs flowing.

I really love fashion, style, accessories, and everything that goes along with paring the perfect items to create that perfect, signature look that is just your own. Take it from me, when I say that I am no fashionista, there is no truer truth to be told. I have no fashionable bone in my body. But what I do know about fashion is that if you can wear it, rock it, feel confident, and own it - it honestly doesn't even matter if you are wearing a burlap sack. Granted, there is nothing appealing about a burlap sack, but if you wear it right, it could easily be the next hit trend. Confidence is half the battle, y'all ;)

My style is an acquired taste for most and most certainly isn't what you would think of when you think typical southern girl. That's okay. I have never been one to go with the flow or confrom, if anything I define myself as quite the little rebel. I have an obscure outlook on what I think fashion is or isn't. It's not fancy dresses, expensive jewelry and the highest pair of heels you can stand to walk in. To me, it's so much more and the way you chose to style yourself says is a little deeper than the pair of destroyed jeans you are rocking on any given day. My fashion has changed so much over the last few years, especially when I was trying to be someone I wasn't for the people in my life that thought they should control every little thing I did. Before I met my ex-husband the majority of my wardrobe consisted of things from Buckle - Affeclition, True Religion, Miss Me, Billabong. I also loved Pac Sun until our local one closed in both malls,talk about a bummer. I tend to go through seasons with my style. For a few months I may walk proudly in a raggedy pair of blue jeans, a cut off tee and tennis shoes, and months later I am wearing boho rompers and flowers in my hair, maxi dresses and cute little wedged sandals, and a few months from that I may have on my Slackjaw Americana or Deadskull Co. or tee, cut-off sleeves, destroyed black jeans, spiked jewelry and my cowboy boots. I really don't have a set style. I just throw on whatever I am feeling that day and own it. My current trend is the badbass biker chick tattooed look. Because let's face it, I am a pretty badass person at times and I do have a couple tattoos, so I think I wear that look well if we are just being honest ;) The best part? I can definitely pull it off and above all, OWN IT. I guess that's the Biker side in my, thanks Daddy!

With that said, I wanted to include a few pieces above that I really love that I could definitely see in my closet in the near future. As most know, from my blog, Fifty Shades of Grits and Grace, I have a slight obsession with gemstone jewelry - and rocks in general for that matter. So it's no surprise that I have two or three raw gemstone pieces included in the looks I put together above. I love denim, so the denim sunwashed tunic dress had to be included in the round-up along with the Dolce Vita Haku booties and turquoise sandals. And anyone who knows me know that I cannot ever post a style post without including a bag or two. I really love this Liebeskind Margo Hobo Bag because it has plenty of spaces and compartments. The compartments and space is always a make it or break it for me, especially as a mother. I need all the nooks and cranny that I can get, especially in order to stash away things that I don't want the kiddos getting in to if they just so happen to get their paws on my satchel.

Hope you are all having an amazing week thus far, we are only a hop, a jump and a skip away from Friday! XO

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