DELILAH DIOR DOMINICA

I am a journal keeper. I have journaled nearly every day for the past eight years, allowing me to step fully into a place and time in my past through my own words. These journals are for myself and The Lord and I am so grateful that on sleepy nights and rushed mornings, I still took time to put pen to paper. To remember. These journals have gifted me with many things, but one of the greatest joys I claim through these books is gratitude . Reading words of heartache and loneliness, sifting through paragraphs of isolation and disobedience, I can truly see the story God is writing in my life. The equation has been proven over and over again in those journals: I diligently seek Him in prayer -- He is faithful. Wherever there was darkness, light was only a few pages away. So when I'm feeling lost or lonely, if ever I begin to wonder what my place is in this world, I can look back and remember that I serve a God who answers prayer . My life is a result of prayers prayed over me and

Well, friends, here we are! It's time for the Fall post of my pregnancy updates. Last time I checked in , we were on the last leg of Summer and this baby had been cooking for 21 weeks. If you ever think time is passing too slowly-get pregnant and line up your due-date with the end of the Holiday season. Phew...double whammy time-stealer. Same dress, same spot, nine weeks later. How far along: 30 Weeks. Total weight gain: 23 pounds. Maternity clothes: I still have yet to find the perfect maternity jeans. (Any suggestions?!) I have one pair of Paige Maternity Boyfriend Jeans but they're way too big. Wearing my pre-pregnancy jeans with the hair-tie trick is becoming a challenge. I can't help but picture the rubber band popping off and hitting someone in the eye one of these days. Simple maternity tees from Gap and Old Navy have been a daily go-to.  Sleep: On one hand, I'm so thankful that we have an incredibly active baby. My belly looks like a

When I stepped outside yesterday, I had to pull my jacket sleeves down over my fingers and tuck my face into my collar. Somehow, without me really realizing it, the season had changed. Of course I knew it was Autumn-there are pumpkins everywhere and much to my dismay, the back-to-school items Have been put on clearance to make room for trick-or-treat buckets and Twizzlers. The calendar declared it Autumn a long time ago, but the weather stubbornly ignored the date and kept on beaming summer. Fall is my favorite time of year without a doubt, and yet no matter how much I'm looking forward to all that these months bring-every time I feel a change of seasons I mourn the loss of the last one. You see, this summer changed my life as Summers often do. I have been given a gift that I grow closer to opening with each passing day. With this gift in my belly, I have watched the end of spring, the start of summer, and yesterday - to my surprise - the chill of an Autumn in full swing. Just a

A year ago today, I paid to have my dream website made. A year later, I have nothing to show for it. Well, that's not completely true; I have a deeper understanding of God's will for me and a killer mood board. Let's backtrack. After graduating college with a sparkling degree in Fine Art I decided that my dream job would be to write, spread the gospel, create artwork and share how the Lord is working in my life. At first I was convinced the two opposing worlds of art and my faith would need to be kept separate to thrive, but after much time in prayer I realized that I am called to keep the two united. I set out with a summer game plan of choosing a catchy Brand Name and color scheme, writing a business plan and selecting a graphic designer to work their magic for my website. After plenty of research and hunting, I found my dream designer. There has never been a truer Cinderella moment (you know, the whole sliding-her-foot-into-the-glass-slipper-to-find-a-perfect-fit part

Hi, friends! I just crossed over the halfway mark and the other day my husband looked at me and said, "do you realize you have more days behind you than ahead of you in this pregnancy?" I can say I feel as though I've been pregnant for both a million years and ten minutes, though that's how all of life's greatest joys tend to be. I decided I'd like to do this little questionnaire and take photos (in the same dress) once every season. Though there are already fallen leaves on our walking path, this will be my Summer post! How far along: 21 Weeks Total weight gain: 15 pounds! That was a scary weigh in... Maternity clothes: I don't technically need them yet, but I have snuck a few maternity jeans into the wardrobe as my skinny jeans are becoming less and less friendly. Being in my late second and third trimester in the winter months will certainly be a styling challenge. Sleep: Much better since I switched to the side of the bed closer

Fitness has always been a large part of my life. It wasn't necessarily a passion at first, but a necessity. I played a different sport every season for most of my childhood and stuck with volleyball through my college years. I had always dreamed of having thin, gangly limbs and a slender frame but God had other plans for this frame of mine. Thanks to my dad, I am built more like She-Hulk than the damsel in distress. My body craves muscle, and without it things tend to go south. Before getting pregnant I had a great low body fat percentage, was working out five days week and gained all my nutrients from a gluten free, nearly carbohydrate free diet. I was made up of protein, fruits and vegetables and healthy fats. That's it. Fast forward to the first trimester and all this stomach of mine could keep down was crackers, extra fizzy ginger ale and bread (thankfully we were in Europe where bread is practically currency!) Soon after my appetite left, my energy followed. On t

Hello, friends! Happy August! Since we last spoke, I have: - traveled to five countries - visited fourteen cities - attended two weddings - spent a total of seventeen days at home - hosted 20 people for a week in our home - started growing a human being The last one is by far the most exciting! We are just thrilled and growing into a further understanding of how great God is. Without going too far into detail, my husband and I chose to leave our family planning completely up to the Lord without any interference from us. With that decision made, however, we always expressed in prayer and to each other that we would love to wait 3 years to start a family. It sounds strange, but my husband and I had complete peace in the fact that our desires had been lined up with His will. We planned a two month trip to Europe to celebrate three years of marriage and, in typical God fashion, on the morning of our 3 year anniversary, I found out that I was indeed pregnant. God is so fait

Our Time in Rome has come to an end. We are already a little blue about leaving this city, but knowing that in a few hours we'll be on a hydrofoil crashing through the waves of Capri makes the goodbye a little more bearable. We were sure to shovel in some extra gelato for good measure. Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone!

Ciao from Roma! When my husband and I started planning this big Euro trip, we knew we wanted to spend at least a week in Rome. We had both been once before, but this vast empire is just too incredible to only see once. We decided it would be best to stay in an apartment for our eight-day stay so we could cook some meals and certainly save on expenses. Our first few days have been the equivalent of pressing “slow motion” on our lives.       Since we are still somewhat on Virginia time, we wake up around noon, go for a run and explore while facing the shocked looks of everyone around us (we realized after a few days that exercise is just simply not part of the culture here. We have to work off the gelato, pasta and pizza in advance!) Then we pull out our map and decide where we want to walk. I wrote a large list of restaurants I wanted us to visit so we always know where we can grab a good meal without falling into the tourist trap, and then we wan

Next up on the Citrus Color Crush list are Orange and Grapefruit. Pink and orange together used to seem a little too Lisa Frank for me, (anybody else picturing their unicorn bedazzled binders?) but lately I have warmed up to the duo. As usual, I recommend adding in both orange and grapefruit as a compliment to a neutral outfit, but sometimes a pink and orange dress is just necessary!   Orange: loafers. backpack. sunglasses. (similar) hat. earrings. heels. nail polish. clutch. dress.   Grapefruit: sunglasses. nail polish. body oil. camera. wallet. sandals. lingerie. clutch. heels. jumpsuit.   Pair: clutch. perfume. lipstick. espadrilles. bra. note pad. body cream. necklace. dress.

(Image via: Modern Hepburn )  Although I am admittedly a lover of neutrals, when spring and summer roll around I can't help but add in some unexpected accessories. Citrus extras are the perfect accent to a neutral outfit, especially since small changes like swapping flats for dancing shoes can take the look from day to night.  necklace. phone case. sunscreen. clutch. sandals. earrings. perfume. purse. heels. top. shorts.

Ladies. It's that time of year. That time where we somehow by a force unknown (a force that I wish existed in the Winter...) pushes us to reach for fruit instead of cupcakes. Okay. Maybe not instead of cupcakes. But we're certainly reaching for more fruit. When Spring hits, I suddenly cannot get enough citrus in my life. Next week I'll be sharing how to incorporate citruis inspired peices into your wardrobe, but this week I have to share how to incorporate it in the kitchen. In a doughnut. I was nursing a serious craving for lemon at the exact same moment a doughnut craving hit. Luckily, Pinterest was invented for moments like this. I scrolled like a mad woman until I came across a recipe I pinned months ago: Lemon Poppyseed Doughnuts by the Novice Chef. Within two hours, I was pulling these babies out of the oven: They were light, refreshing, lemony and so delicious. I only made a few changes to the recipe. 1. I used a full sized doughnut tra

This past weekend, Anthropologie in Reston, VA held a Birthday party for all March birthdays. Although I only work there a couple days a week as Personal Stylist, I take great pride in the brand. A few of us working at the store were in charge of party planning and it was a complete success, If I do say so myself! One of the most exciting parts of the party for me was illustrating some new Spring merchandise. Being able to tie in two of my greatest passions- Personal Styling and Fashion Illustration- was a momentous moment for me. I thought I'd share the illustrations throughout the week so I can give you a chance to shop their looks. dress. lipstick. sandals. hot pink peonies. blush peonies.   Here is a peek into the party. We had a s'mores bar (which we hovered over the entire evening...) Delicious blood orange cocktails, macaroons and a cheese tray for guests to snack on. We created a backdrop of tissue paper to acts as a photo booth wall and snapped our