twists and turns

Apparently there was something super interesting outside my window. Like the garbage truck.

 shoes, jeans, & slouchy tee: american eagle outfitters. striped tunic & wide belt: forever21. cardigan: don't recall. earrings: hawaii. watch: target. bracelet: burntsiena designs.

Allow me to totally geek out on you all for a minute...please? (You hesitate, probably because you're baffled as to how this would be any different from any other post on here...) So. Geek Central: I love the balance of circles-and-stripes in this outfit. Belt clasp, watch face, earrings, necklace = all circles. Tunic and the line of the sash on my head = stripes. Unexpected and maybe awesome for me here.

And I didn't even plan it, really. Which makes me think today is going to be a normal day with pops o' fabulousness. Probably dinner will taste okay tonight. My kids won't hit each other when they argue. And my sore throat won't progress into a full-fledged cold. How could I not love a day like today?

Which makes me also think that my future's looking pretty stinking bright as a psychic or fortune cookie author. "You will do great things when you take your kids to the playground and offer a crying stranger a slice of your gala apple." "You will meet someone new who has purple hair and a garage band." Sure, they're a touch specific, but that doesn't mean they won't happen...and if when they do, think how disturbing crazy-awesome that would be!!!

Happy Tuesday.

p.s. I wore my slouchy tee backwards under the tunic today. Thoughts on that little rule-breakage?

Want this look? You don't have to answer that. I already know. (Remember? I'm psychic now.) Shop below...

More Forever 21...

Just like they say in German: donkey-shins.

  shoes: steve madden. skirt & shirt: gap. skirt extender: a slip shop. cardigan: don't recall (more than a decade old). turquoise necklace: forever21. silver necklace: earned.

I felt brighter/springier/fresher in this ensemble than these photos reflect. That's kind of becoming a pattern for me. Maybe I'm in denial about how my outfits actually come together? Hmm...

This week I'm grateful for:

- primary kids (3-12 years old) singing their hearts out.

- spending quality time with my husband. Like, one night we sat talking and looking out our living room windows at dusk after tucking the kids in...and before we both knew it, it was well into night-time. He makes me laugh and understands me and doesn't judge me and is my best friend. So cheesy, I know, and you can all roll your eyes, but in this weekly gratitude list, it must be said. 

- electric beaters.

- food from a box that, actually, turns out delicious. Okay, fine, edible.

- an 80-cents-off-a-gallon surprise coupon at the gas pump.

- jogging.

- sometimes not jogging.

- my kids when they don't talk rudely. These moments are becoming sparser these days, so I'm particularly grateful when they do happen.

- the temple.

- big dreams.

- going to bed by 10:30 p.m. instead of 3:30 a.m.

- homemade oreos.

- house slippers.

- when my daughter compliments me, several times, on how "nice" or "cute" I look that day.

- creative outlets, like this blog and home design projects and grantwriting.

Happy Sunday!

just a little outfit I like to call: zebra in a rain forest.

 boots: (all together now) target. tights & necklace: don't recall. skirt: gap. tunic & belt: forever21. cardigan: the limited. bracelet: open jewelry market in hawaii.

So many style blogs out there have beautiful photos. The outfits are good, too, but the photography itself is straight-up eye candy. I'm very impressed.

And then...there's this blog. Self-timer, same exact backdrop every day. Sure, the poses are slightly modified on the daily, but all in all, the only thing that really changes around here is what I'm wearing. (And, FINE, the zit placement on my face. Blugh.) 

There are loads of cool photog sites in my town, and I've toyed with the idea of branching out. But I've decided against it for a few reasons: (1) As much as I love you all, I'm just too lazy to tote kids around to take some photos of myself. (2) I'm lazy. (3) I have kids. (4) Did I mention I'm lazy? "Lazy with Children"...sweet name for a TV show... 

It's just about all I can do to get these pics snapped in the morning whilst the kids dine on a fabulous homemade breakfast (homemade by a man named General Mills...ever heard of him?). I'm not making excuses, I'm just saying. That's why I photog, day in and day out, in this spot in my house: it's convenient and I can multitask while doing it. Bam. Done and done. Still in the Mother of the Year running.

But that's not to say these self-photo shoots run like clockwork every day. Even in this controlled environment, complications arise. Like this morning. But it's the cutest, most free-spirited little complication I've ever seen: 

Happy Thursday.

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More Lily White...

i feel like i'm forgetting something...

it's my birthday today. addie's helping me with this post. she's sporting her favorite kitty pjs and her not-favorite-but-moderately-clean bib. i think i should include her everyday. she's stinking cute.

boots: target. jeans: bullhead brand (?). belt: forever 21. vneck: old navy. cardigan: the limited. scarf & necklace: no idea. hair thing: smiths marketplace.

Can you guess how old I am? I'll give you a hint: it's subtly displayed in one of the cheesy photos above. Got it? Yep, 31. I'm strangely not really affected by birthdays. I don't go through this "wow, I'm getting sooooo oooooold" phase, I don't spend a lot of time in reflection about where my life has been and/or is headed, and I don't worry about wrinkles and grey hairs. Which I don't think I have yet, but the only reason why is (a) I don't consider smile lines wrinkles, and (b) my hair is a strange mix of colors in which grey, even if it's present, is overshadowed and outnumbered.

Probably, I'm just not mature enough to spend time in arbitrary deep thought when there's fun to be had with my favorite people.

Oooh, but one thing that IS obvious about my getting older is my wandering brain. Actually, sometimes it's not even wandering. It's shut down completely, on bed rest with only a catheter to funnel the random bits of information that have been known, on occasion, to spew forth.

[Editor's note: Eww. My apologies for the analogy. Normally I wouldn't allow such lapses in publishing judgment, but it IS her birthday after all. And she's kind of a diva on her birthday. Breaks all sorts of rules this time of year, as you witnessed first-hand yesterday.]

So, anyway. I plan on going sledding and playing in the snow and eating all sorts of scrumptious foods in very large quantities. So I wore black. It's slimming, right? [Editor's note: Ehhhh...slimming, maybe. An invisibility cloak? No.] Paired with a vertically striped sweater to elongate my frame (and to camoflauge the inevitable wideness-o-belly that will ensue today), I think it'll do the trick.

Seriously, you guys, can you tell I'm a little distracted today? And happy? Because it's Christmas Eve!! And we should all be doing something other than peering into our computer screens today.

Happy Friday.