Showing off

I am showing off today

and not just because I made such cute kids.

I also made this dress. I intended to start it about a year ago for Ruby's Easter dress LAST year. I am glad I put it off since there is no way it would have fit her at six months. I had to take off the blue ruffle (shown below in a photo taken during construction) since I am not a huge fan of long gowns on little babies and it was way too long.

Here is the pattern I used:
I sort of winged it since I had a little bit of different vision in mind than what the pattern portrayed. As with everything I handmake, don't look too close. :-)

Hawaii outfits

My mom and dad have gotten into the habit of going to Hawaii every March. Each year my mom tells me that my dad won the trip. I'm starting to think my dad is either really lucky or my mom doesn't want me to feel bad that they are not inviting me to Hawaii with them. For the record, I don't feel bad. I do feel jealous.

Anyway, when my mom told me they were going earlier this month, she mentioned that she needed advice on what to wear. I love to give clothing advice (although I don't usually look like I should be giving clothing advice. One day... when I have unlimited funds and time...). So I have a few options (in a few installments) for warm climate vacation outfits. These are just ideas of what I would like to wear to Hawaii and she might have to make small tweaks to make each outfit age appropriate. But I think she could pull it all off.

Clockwise from top left: Sandpiper sierra blouse, Cooperative straw boater hat, BDG slub terry military jacket, Dot to Dot studs, Ringer bermudas, Jeffrey Campbell caprice (Ryan, I want these for my birthday... yes, I am that blatant)

Mom, I think you could wear all of these things. Ok, maybe not the hat. I love a boxy top with a fitted bottom. I would wear the jacket open. I think this outfit looks easy and fun.

Clockwise from top left: Know the ropes necklace, Extended shirt dress, Raw edge floral scarf, Cooperative canvas bucket bag, Cooperative suede t-strap sandal, Urban Renewal narrow leather belt (in any of those colors)

Mom, I like the scarf over her hair but I don't see you wearing it that way. You could wear it loosely around your neck and it would still look cute. This outfit seems so comfortable to me.

Clockwise from top left: Wink necklace, super sunglasses ciccio frames, Silk blythe blouse, Cooperative straw boater hat, Lockwood satchel, Ecote braided mini-wedge sandal, Eureka cargo skirt

Mom, I can see you wearing this entire outfit... except that hat ;-). I would like wearing all of these pink/blush shades together. The necklace is playful, yet sooo subtle.

Clockwise from top left: Spring forward hoodie, Natalie one-piece, Double bow studs, Evermore shades, Reef vero sandal, Angela Adams and Sea Bags for J.Crew pocket sail bag

For some reason I struggled finding an abundance of swimwear that I loved. I think this is quite normal for me actually, but maybe swim pieces will be easier to find (and love) in the next month or two. Until then, this works.

Hope this is to your liking, Mom. I will post again soon with more outfit ideas (clearly this is more for me than her). ;-)

Unique in no way, shape or form

If you have ever gone to a party or class and were asked to introduce yourself and say something unique about yourself and you began to sweat because you had absolutely no defining characteristic or story that set you apart from anybody, believe me, I know how you feel. I am so insanely normal - especially in Mormon settings. I am a blonde stay-at-home mom with a penchant for clothing and pretty housewares and things. I like to read, shop, sew, swim and one of my favorite hobbies is to socialize. I only speak English and I am currently ignoring my children. And in this little introduction of myself, I just vaguely described about half of all Mormon mommy bloggers on the Web this very minute.

So in college I realized that I did actually have something... well let me restate that; I hadn't had something that almost everyone else I met had. I had never had a cavity. I discovered this while playing a game of "I have never," and ever since then, it's been my go-to "unique" charactistic. I know, it's not much to go off of, but it's all I've got.

Before my visit to the dentist this morning, I prepared myself for letting go of this "no-cavity" title. After all, this was my first trip to the dentist in more than three years and my first teeth cleaning in six. My teeth were scraped and sprayed and picked and when the dentist came in at the end of the (2-hour) appointment and looked at my x-rays, he told me I was still cavity free! I was elated, mainly because that meant that I wouldn't have to come back and get anything filled. But I also felt happy to still be able to tout my tenacious enamel.

Then the doctor took a look in my mouth... and ate his words.

"Ooops, you actually do have a cavity."

My heart sunk.

"It's in your wisdom tooth."

Yes, I am 26 and am still the proud owner of all four wisdom teeth. I about got them out three years ago (mentioned that appointment earlier in this post), but changed my mind (it's a long story). He found another cavity in my mouth and it was in the other top wisdom tooth. So it turns out that had I gotten those teeth taken out years ago like I should have, I would still have a perfect set of teeth.

The good in all of this is that I still do not have to have the cavities filled because I am just going to finally get my wisdom teeth pulled... next Fall... I think.

Anyway, now you know how very painfully boring all of my introductions from here on out will be.

And speaking of being different, I loved this post on Little Green Notebook, one of my very favorite blogs. Sometimes we need to just do what we love, and stop thinking about what sets us apart.

image via haikuwithteeth.com

Clinging to my fleeting job as puppetmaster...

How cute and well-behaved do my children look here?



Well, it took a lot of work to get to that point, especially now that Ruby's favorite word is "no." It used to be an enthusiastic "ya!" and it was so nice to be around someone so agreeable all of the time. Things have clearly changed and it's usually not this easy to wear this obstinate girl down...




p.s. Ruby had just barely spilled cereal all over the floor. Don't judge. :-).

Ethan is four

Ethan celebrated four years Tuesday with some of his favorite things: bowling and new toys. I think he said it best on our way to the bowling alley, "Fun means opening presents... and awesome means going bowling."

Growing up, I was allowed to invite my friends to my birthday parties every other year. The off years were spent with my family. I like this tradition and since we had quite the party last year, just the four of us partied at the bowling alley with Ethan this year. He didn't seem to mind at all.

Neither did she.

And he got this rad crown at school, where they had a little mini-party for him.

Can you guess what the cupcakes are supposed to be?

Ethan's first day of school... 150 days later

And I am finally blogging about it :-).
Ethan began preschool in September. He has loved every day of it... at least I think so. On school days he gets ready quickly and runs right into class, so that's how I know it's not too bad. He doesn't tell me much, unlike another little girl in his class, who runs home to her mom and tells her every little detail about each kid and what they did that day. I would always ask him questions like, "What did you do today? What did you play with? Who did you play with?" I realized I was becoming redundant when he climbed into the car one day and, without me asking, said "I played with toys, cars and trucks, Noah and Simon."

I used to feel bad about this lack of information, but I am used to it by now since it has been going on for five months. I have been able to go with him and help in preschool a couple of times so I am not completely in the dark. Anyway, it seems to be a success.

Speaking of talking kids, this (found via Random Thoughts About Random Things) is hilarious:



Sidenote: Ethan looks so young in this photo. It's crazy how fast these kids grow. I will have to post more current photos soon.

Neon and Nude

Shopping never disappoints me. Even if I purchase nothing, I almost always come out of my favorite stores with new images in my head of what I want (or don't want) to buy. On my last trip to the mall, there were a few pieces that jumped out at me, which was not surprising since a lot of them were neon. After seeing them, I searched the Internet looking for more brights, and I found these recent runway images:

Nina Ricci Spring 2011 collection

Christopher Kane Spring 2011 collection

Not many people can don an entire neon outfit, myself included. But I want to partake in this colorful trend. The way I think I can pull it off is by pairing my neons with neutrals and nudes. I compiled a few of my favorite brights, blushes and nude separates below, though they are not arranged in particular outfits. Click on the collages to zoom.

Clockwise from top left: Anthropologie sweater, Urban Outfitters blouse, Jimmy Choo flats, Anthropologie cardigan, J.Crew flip-flop, Christian Louboutin wedges, Anthropologie wide-leg trousers, Marc Jacobs handbag, Zara pants, Urban Outfitters oxfords

Clockwise from top left: Givenchy earrings, J.Crew tee, J.Crew blouse, pink lips, Christopher Kane sandals, Zara pants, Anthropologie wedges, J.Crew pencil skirt, J.Crew flats, Urban Outfitters oxfords

The dunes

Yes, this is another post from August. I am just trying to catch up here in my own way (slowly). Anyway, one of my favorite activities from our end-of-summer Outer Banks trip, was playing at the sand dunes. I haven't had that much fun in a long time. It was so worth finding sand in odd places for a few following days. :-)

In a blunder of Elaine Bennis Christmas card proportions, I posted a photo here of me crashing that turned out to be a little risque, though naively so. Thanks to a friend, who clicked on said photo and realized it showed a little more than she bargained for, I was alerted and I deleted the photo from the post. I apologize, if you too, zoomed in on the photo and saw a little too much of me. I guess I should examine my own photos a little more before I let the world see them. ;-O

Outfit #3

I am a fan of the pleated pant, but if you are like me and you feel a little hippy (larger in the hip area), pleats can make you feel even bigger. A nice way to combat that is to wear a very high heel, making your legs look longer. I am not even sure where I found this shoe but I think the platform T-strap would look cute with an ankle pant like this pair from Zara. A boxy top like this one from Anthropologie or a floral pattern would add movement to the look. And I really like this breezy jacket, also from Anthropologie. But my favorite part of this outfit is the Kate Spade cuff. Love it.