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Kisses-P

Sophistafunkh Fashion Blog

Hey everyone I decided to move my fashion series Gucci to Goodwill to a new blog called Sophistafunkh.  Here is the link.  Check it out!  I'm really excited about it and am still currently developing the flow of the blog but I have some really exciting ideas.  Thank you for all the love and support!!!!

Get Sophistafunkh'd here!

The Beauty Process debunked:Beauty Secrets that work!

Today while I was driving to work I looked in the mirror and immediately I heard, "Get out of the mirror! You are fearfully and wonderfully made."  The only mirror you should be consumed with is mirroring Christ.

This morning I asked God to search my heart and show me my offensive ways.  I wasn't surprised to hear "Get out of the mirror!" I look in the mirror a lot! It was like I was depending on that mirror to tell me I was beautiful. #truth 

We (talking to myself) have these preconceived notions of what makes us beautiful but my challenge to myself and to you is to adopt God's perspective of what beautiful is.

Here are a few scriptures about how God looks at us.

Psalm 139:14
I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

1 Peter 3:3-5    
 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes.  Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.  For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. 

Proverbs 31:3 
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Isaiah 61:3
God said he would "bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. 

1 Samuel 16:7
But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

1Timothy 4:8
Physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is much more important, for it promises a reward in both this life and the next.

God also called us to be good stewards over all that he has entrusted to us so taking care of your body is important.  Eating right is important.  Exercise is important but this is NOT where true beauty comes from. Wearing fine clothes and taking time to consider your outfit is not a sin.  Wearing make-up is not a sin.  Beauty regimens are not in and of themselves sinful, but anything that you put before God, anything you turn to before God, anything you think about more than God is an idol and idols are NOT of God.  Idols are a type of God meaning it's something that people turn to in place of God when they should actually be turning to the one and only true God.

Exodus 20:3 
"You shall have no other Gods before me."

Anything can be preverted and exalted above God.  Make sure that while you are grooming and primping yourself, you realize that your true beauty comes from your creator.  Cast everything, absolutely everything to God, not above him.

Homework
Each time you look in the mirror repeat one of the above scriptures. Every time I look in the mirror I am going to say "I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."

I pray that this blog blesses you.
Kisses-P

Start Somewhere. Get to the ROOT!

One thing I am learning is that Obedience/Action follows Faith/Belief.  When you really believe something can happen, your actions start lining up with that Faith item.  One thing to look at when your actions aren’t lining up with your Faith item/Intent, is your belief system.  Do you really believe that what you want is possible? 

In our current economic climate, many people my age don’t believe that they will ever be able to purchase a home, so even if they intend to save for a home, they don’t because they don’t really believe it can happen.  I BELIEVE I AM GOING TO OWN PROPERTY!  I believe it so much that I’ve set up a savings account toward my future home.  This train of thought goes toward various areas of our lives.  Many fail at their dieting attempts because in the back of their minds, they don’t really BELIEVE they can lose the weight. 

All things really are possible through CHRIST (in accordance to his will.)  Once you start to really believe in your FAITH item/INTENT, whatever it may be, your actions will start to line up with your belief system.  If your actions don’t line up with your FAITH item/INTENT, get to the root of the issue.  Ask yourself, do you really believe that what you want can actually happen?

Kisses-P

Let's talk about Discipline...Can you cut it?

I started with this one simple task ;)

Lets talk about discipline.

What exactly is discipline?  Instead of thinking of discipline as a bunch of things you can’t do or have to do….lets think of discipline as a method of allowing you to do everything you want to do.

If you are disciplined enough to run your errands and do your housework during the week, it frees you up to completely enjoy your weekend.  (SUPER PLUS)

Want to a buy a house?       Disciplinary Action: SAVE MONEY.  This action frees you from paying into something you will never own.

Want to be a better writer?  Disciplinary Action: WRITE EVERYDAY.  Gives you endless job opportunities and may even open up another possible income stream.

There were a few different definitions for the word discipline but this one lines up with the train of thought for this blog entry.

Discipline:

Activity, exercise, or a regimen that develops or improves a skill; training:

We want to improve our habits or train ourselves to have good habits.

If you lack discipline here is a tip I learned a few years back.  I use it and it has evolved areas of my life.

Tip:

If there is a particular area or thing you lack discipline in pick one thing and do it everyday as if your life depended on it.

I was the type of person that never made up their bed in the morning.  I always made up my bed after I came home from work so initially, my "One" thing was making sure I made up my bed every morning.  I did that "One" thing even if I was running late or other areas of my home were out of order.  Sometimes we say to ourselves, "everything else needs cleaning, why stop to do this One thing?"  I will tell you why.  Because we are training ourselves to have good habits.  Rome wasn't built in a day nor will building all good habits be done in a day but it does take commitment.  I continued to do this and guess what happened?  It became a habit!  By habit, I don’t mean I’m perfect in that area, but I no longer feel right leaving out of the house without making up my bed.  It's a HABIT.  

Years ago I developed a habit of always wearing a fragrance and earrings whenever I left the house.  Now it's to the point where it doesn’t matter if I am rushing, I always spritz and throw a pair in my purse.

If you want discipline, make sure you utilize this small tip.  Start off with one thing and be sure to do it every single day.  EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.  Once that thing becomes a habit, move onto the next thing.

Now if only I could make washing the dishes every night a habit….Grrrrrrr.

I screech God

Funny things happen when you earnestly want to change your life!  Let me preface this blog by stating that I Positively Absolutely CANNOT sing!  My Father could SING, but apparently none of that was passed down to his offspring.  Noises come out but whether they are soothing and transcending to a blissful state are another story.  I've made it my mission to get up in the morning to praise and worship and then pray.  The first time I decided to sing I stopped after one sentence and said Oh GOD! I sound terrible! (says the girl who was in the CSUN gospel choir.  I was terrible then too, but I digress.)  Here I am trying to enter into his presence but the screeching sound coming out of my mouth is really hindering this process.  I said well Porscha God loves you and it doesn't matter what you sound like so just do your best.  It took me a little while to get used to the sound of my singing, but I've surpassed that obstacle.

Yesterday at bible study, praise and worship went ROGUE lol!  Okay so maybe Rogue isn't the correct word but it was definitely different, but in a beautiful way.  Instead of the usual back up singers and multiple musicians; we had One Praise Team member playing an acoustic guitar (an AWESOMELY TALENTED one), a percussionist, and our voices.  We gathered around in a circle and praised and worshiped.  With the absence of a full band and back up singers, our voices were the main instruments and again I say...I CANNOT sing.  At times our praise leader would drop out from the singing and the guitar would go silent and literally, our voices were the instruments of praise.

In my private time I don't care if I sound terrible because God loves it but now, everyone can hear me.  I know that if I throw myself off, it would only make sense that these poor unsuspecting people will be thrown off by my singing as well.  I had a decision to make.  I chose to sing, and to the best of my ability (lol) in order to praise God.  I refused to let the devil steal my praise and keep me from worshiping last night.  Sorry If I threw anyone off as I have thrown myself off many many a times lol.  But truth be told, the praise and worship last night was so sweet.  By the end of praise and worship all you could hear was our voices and our hearts.  True praise and worship is a matter of the heart.  Being able to praise and worship shouldn't be dependent upon whether we have a full house band, awesome singers, and the extra's.  It's a heart matter between us and God.  God makes us uncomfortable at times in order to grow us and I'm glad he's growing me. AMEN!

Kisses-P

From Gucci to Goodwill: Get clothes for FREE! pt. 1 Video soon to follow

Yes this is true!  You can get clothes for free and not just any clothes, but FABULOUS clothes!!!!  Lets put this term "FREE" into perspective because Mama always told me, nothing in life is free!  Well, in this case free means without paying any money out of pocket.  I love shopping this way and it is one of the many ways I acquire new and trendy clothing on a consistent basis.

Consignment stores allow you to sell slightly worn items in your wardrobe for re-sell, and receive either cash or store credit.

Here is the Breakdown:
35% cash or 50% in store credit.

So, say for example I take bag of clothes I desire to sell to a Consignment store.  The store decides to buy $100 dollars worth of clothing. If I sell $100 dollars in clothing, I can then either receive 35% in cash which in this case is $35 bucks or, I can take 50% in store credit or $50 dollars. I can now peruse the store, find something absolutely fabulous and use my store credit to purchase the item.  Guess what...You've updated your wardrobe and you haven't spent a dime!!! 


Let's go through this step by step.

• 1. Call a consignment store to see what they are currently buying.  This changes as do the trends.  Sometimes Neons are in but then, just as fast as the trend came, it's out.  It changes also due to the season.  Sometimes they start buying for summer in the spring to prep themselves in advance.  You don't want to waste your precious time and GAS! (Good Lord help us all...SMH) so it's always good to put in a call.  Sometimes this info can be retrieved through the automated voice system.

• 2.Go through your closet and pull out stuff that matches what they are buying.  I generally try to look for stuff I know they are buying but also anything which I think is stylish or cute.  Note: If you don't wear it because you think it is raggedy, chances are, they will too.  They will kindly decline the item and put it back in your bag! Also note: Vintage, Classics, and Basics are always in!

• 3. Prep the garment.  The items they buy from you get tagged and go directly on the floor so if it's stanking (and yes stanking with an A), dingy, has a bunch of deodorant stains or is too wrinkled, they will again decline the item regardless of how cute it is.  Imagine how frustrating it is to know you could have added to your capital or wardrobe if you just would have cleaned up those shoes a little better or ironed that garment.

• 4. Take the clothes to the consignment shop.  There is almost always a line but wait patiently until called.

• 5. THIS IS A BIGGY!  Don't get butt-hurt if they pass up some items you would go without food and water to have (Been there done that...I luv food too much to do it again lol!).  I can't tell you the amount of times I've seen someone trying to sell their items, arguing with the buyer.  Really!?!  Do you know nothing about business etiquette?  This may not be your business per se, but you are in the business of trying to get something for those clothes RIGHT?!  Well think about it and don't burn your bridges!  We are all human and the same person you are yelling at, is the same person who will be going through the rest of your clothes and pricing them.  Do you really want to sit there and argue with them?  The fact of the matter is, even if an item you bring in is fashionable, sometimes they are fully stocked on an item and are no longer buying those.

Case in Point-I took in a pair of uber cute Cowboy boots from Aldo.  They were well stocked on their cowboy boots.  She told me to bring them in another time.  I brought them back a month later and they bought them!

Another good reason not to argue with the buyers:  If you are a consistent seller as am I, you will be remembered.  If you are going to be remembered, make it a positive one!

• 6.  You must have your I.D.

• 7. Have fun Perusing the store with your new store credit or Get the heck out of dodge with the cash! (or use that money to shop elsewhere.)

Either way, ROCK ON Fashionista (or Fashionist-O for men) for being fabulous and a good steward over your finances!

Since I live in California, I will list some stores in LA that buy, sell, and trade clothing.
(also note each consignment store varies as to the inventory it buys.  Each store has their own vibe according to the vibe of that city.  It's always safe to call in advance.)

Buffalo Exchange http://www.buffaloexchange.com/

Crossroads Trade Co. http://crossroadstrading.com/

Wasteland https://www.shopwasteland.com/

Upon doing my research, I stumbled onto this website that has various consignment shops across the US which buy clothes as well as other items.
http://consignmentshops.com/

STAY TUNED FOR PART 2.  YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT I GOT FOR FREE, SHOPPING CONSIGNMENT!!!

Kisses-P