a wide belt and some knee-high socks

 shoes & socks: don't recall. skirt: gap. shirt: gift/secondhand. necklace: forever21. belt: kohl's. bracelet & earrings: hawaii.

 And an early Christmas present to you all: a little photo I like to call "Most Awkward Outtake EVER"...drumroll please...

This week I'm grateful for:

- family reunions.

- food at family reunions.

- relaxing afternoons at a beach, including a short swim in the waves and a cuddle with my tired toddler and a riveting book in my hands.

- freedom and peace and safety. I've been reading "Unbroken," which you should all rush out to your local libraries and/or bookstores and pick up and read. It's fascinating, appalling, amazing, life-changing.

- sunglasses.

- summertime sleeping in...drawing to a close too swiftly...

- fly swatters.

- my now-3-year-old Little Miss Independent. She is one unique duck, and my husband and I adore her.

- air conditioning.

- night swimming and watching my kid experience the exhilaration of jumping off the diving board time and time and time and time again.

- having a waffle iron, waffle batter, and a fresh batch of huckleberry syrup all at the same time and place. As in, this morning, my kitchen. Mmmmm...

Happy Sunday.

larger than life

 shoes: converse brand. leggings: old navy. skirt: thrifted & modified. shirt: gap. watch: target. bracelets: forever21.

So our across-the-street neighbors had a yard sale on Saturday because they're moving. I got a set of jumper cables for $2, which I'm appreciative of, but beyond that I'm pretty mad at them.* 

[*Neighbs, if you're reading this, know I'm not really mad at you. Just, y'know, at the situation.]

My kids really really wanted to go to their yard sale after my jumper cable purchase, so they all got themselves dressed and their chores done (a prerequisite for such an excursion), and my daughter found her wallet in which all three kids' collective earnings were stored. I stayed in the kitchen doing the dishes, leaving the front door open and my ears hearing this:

[nothing for a while, then my son's adorable voice explaining] "Yeah, but we only have a five-dollar and two one-dollars, so I guess we can't buy it."

[muffled voices heard over my sigh of relief that more stuff was not going to be accumulated as a result of this venture]
[relative silence for about 3 minutes]

[kids enter the house; girls are squealing, son is grunting as he plops THIS in the entryway]:

I'm less than thrilled about it. The thing's enormous. The kids couldn't be more proud of themselves. (Their grampa's proud of their "wheelin-and-dealin," but their grampa doesn't have a life-size stuffed animal in his house, either. So.)

If you need me, I'll be smashing down walls for an extension to fit the new guy. Or dropping one of the kiddos off in a basket on the neighbor's porch. One of the two; I haven't decided.

Happy Monday.

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More Forever 21...

a one-track mind...and a reorganized living room

 shoes: steve madden. skirt & belt: kohl's. shirt: j.crew. necklace: downeast basics. bracelet: forever21. watch: target.

This week, I'm grateful for:

- the fact that I can eat what I want, when I want at home and not worry that bears are going to come sniff me out.

- family vacations and camping (read more about it here if you'd like).

- beef jerky.

- hot showers and soap and shampoo and razors.

- waterproof tents.

- truckbeds.

- campfires...and getting to the point where you stink so bad that campfire smoke actually improves your self-aroma.

- watching kids get creative with playing outside all day every day, no electronics, no toys, no nothing but their own brains, some sticks, and siblings & cousins.

- national parks.

- mosquito deaths. Seriously. Each one is a victory for mankind.

- barbeques and game nights with friends who have kids who are friends with my kids.

Happy Sunday.

a nurse's dress and a couple of ponytails

shoes: steve madden. dress: gap. belt: thrifted for my son's pirate costume, then stolen for myself. necklaces: random places. 

 This week I'm grateful for:

- swimming pools.

- surprise visits from family. And planned visits. And any visits, for that matter.

- hearing "Mom! This is the BEST BIRTHDAY CAKE EVER!!!" from my son...annnd his party-attending friends. (Minus the "mom" part, of course.)

- this blog. And you adorable readers.

- Roald Dahl. The man was a genius storyteller.

- a healthy body. Which might not last long, because I'm also grateful for...

- ...eating ice cream and cake for many days in a row. Sometimes multiple times in one day. I know. I win. And by "I" I of course mean "my blooming fat cells."

- a 2-year-old who pretends to "read" a scripture verse and always starts with, "And it tame to pass..." and usually involves Jesus, a king, a queen, and a monkey. And a swimming pool or bathtub, one of the two. And she's utterly, adorably sincere.

- fresh salsa and "hint of lime" tortilla chips. If you haven't tried those, run -- don't walk -- to your nearest grocery store and pick up a bag. Those puppies are DELISH.

Happy Sunday.

sometimes i don't WANT to make lemonade...

 shoes, belt, & bracelets: forever21. skirt: thrifted. skirt extender: a slip shop. shirt: j.crew. watch: target. necklace: don't recall.

I apologize for this ensemble. Not much thought went into it or the pics. Why? Read on...

So, apparently a sprinkler pipe in our yard has been broken for a little while. Because our guest bedroom, which I went in yesterday to prepare for my parents' arrival at our house, had flooded. Not super badly (heaven knows plenty of people around here have it much, much worse in the flooding department this year), but enough that our only option was to pull up the carpet and borrow about 14 enormous fans to try to dry everything out.

Guess what smells worse than wet carpet? You might think "a gassy dog" or "dairy farms" or "burnt coffee cake batter" (don't ask), and those things are very, ah, aromatically disturbing. But the answer I'm looking for is actually "very very wet carpet." Bingo. I know this first-hand. Look into my tired, bloodshot eyes and see my wrinkled nose and believe.

Sighhhh... Our house flooded big-time two years ago while we were on vacation, and my husband and I have since had a knee-jerk aversion to water. This recent indoor swimming pool brings back all sorts of memories.

You know, sometimes we come to a crossroads in life, where the decision made will affect the rest of our lives. This is one of them: from here on out, I'll hydrate my children, and lawn, with hand-poured teaspoonfuls of gatorade. If you need me, I'll be out front, watering our square foot of grass.

Happy Thursday...?

Want this look? Shop below...

More J.Crew...

I think Cinderella was onto something...

 sandals & bracelets: forever21. pants: gap. belt & necklace: vintage. shirt: j.crew.

You guys, I can't even begin to explain to you how odd today was. You know that movie Groundhog Day? Nothing like that, other than it was strange. And I hope hope HOPE I don't have to relive it, because strange things happened. Like the fact that I got sucked into a 1-1/2 hour vacuum demonstration in my home in the middle of the afternoon when I was supposed to be working on a Fathers Day gift with my kids.

And the girl doing the demo (a.k.a. trying to sell me a $3,000 vacuum) reminded me that dirt stays in the bottom of carpet and eventually starts eating it. And, when I didn't gasp or shriek or do cartwheels or sign my name in blood to buy 14 of her products, she asked me, "And that doesn't gross you out?"

Sure it grosses me out if I think about it. Kinda like eating meat. (Don't think about it...it really is disturbing.) But there are a million other things to think about sometimes. Like the deliciousness of pnut m&ms. And the perfection of a mildly breezy spring day. And the fact that I'd rather hang out with my growing-up-too-fast kids than follow them around with a vacuum to keep the dust mites at bay.

Besides, maybe dust mites are cute and friendly and helpful. Maybe I'll channel my inner Cinderella and stitch little shirts and hats for them. And teach them to steal cute accessories. Woah. THIS idea just got brilliant...

Happy Thursday.

Want this look? Shop below...

More Forever 21...

Not hugely original or inspiring, but it's what I'm wearing. So.

 shoes: head over heels. jeans: kohl's. belt: thrifted. shirt: gap. cardigan: j.crew. watch: target.

Knock knock.

Who's there?

Pinky.

Pinky who?

Pinky who lives in a pack of diapers!!!

[enter hysterical pint-sized laughter]

Repeat. Including the hysterical laughter. Repeat some more. Repeat as a monologue when the adult party refuses to "answer the door" anymore. Repeat to siblings, repeat to barbies, repeat to strangers and neighbors. Repeat over ice cream, repeat over vegetables, repeat over strawberries dipped in powdered sugar. Repeat repeat repeat.

You all want to come to my house now, don't you, and befriend and swap jokes with my 2-year-old. I just know you do. My husband and I can't figure out why she loves this joke so much, other than the fact that she made it up herself. (No kidding. I mean, the punchline is clever and all...) (Oh. Wait. Nope. No it's not.)

Love it or not on the 10-milionth go-round, I'm afraid Pinky is here to stay.

Happy Thursday.

p.s. If you happen to meet up with diaper-dwelling Pinky, please pass on this message: no.one's.home.

p.p.s. I know my ensemble is winter-esque and unapplicable to many of you in warmer temps. But, despite the sunshine outside, it's downright chilly around here, and I spent my pre-dressed morning goose-bumpily all over. So. Warm & cozy it is.

Want this look? Rewind (or fast-forward) to November, then shop below...

More MICHAEL Michael Kors...

layered like an onion. a 1-layered onion, sure, but an onion nonetheless...

 shoes: steve madden. dress & necklace: forever21. belt: kohl's. shirt: eddie bauer (?). watch: target. flower clip: downeast basics. earrings: hawaii.

My brain is still on vacation. And by "vacation" I of course mean "absent and/or scattered and/or eating cotton candy." Remember those one posters from the 90s, "this is your brain, this is your brain on drugs"? I don't actually remember more than that on the posters, 'cept eggs were involved somehow. And maybe bacon.

Speaking of...my husband loves bacon. Personally, I could live without it, mostly because whenever I cook it, my house reeks of 1-, 2-, and 3-day-old bacon stench. Which, if you've never experienced it, isn't something to live for. Unless you're my husband and son. Then, by all means, feel free to build a life's motto around the wrinkly crinkly strips of meat-speckled-fat somehow. And I'll stitch your words onto a pillow. After I learn to stitch.

Know what I don't need to learn anymore? This: despite their festive and brightly colored plastic coverings, hot glue guns are not kidding around about the "hot" part of their name. Three blisters later, this girl's got herself some serious Life's-Lessons-turned-Motivational-Speech fodder. Bring on the auditoriums full of impressionable youth; they'll learn from me and believe. Booyah.

Happy Wednesday.

Want this look? Click below...

More Forever 21...

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...

a wide leg trouser by any other name...

I think I have "cuffed pants" on the brain (prob because of this post). But before you make any judgments about today's ensemble, I have an explanation and an apology and a fascinating early-morning internal dialogue documented below. So. Read on.

shoes: unionbay brand. pants & denim jacket: gap. shirt: ana brand. belt: vintage. watch: target. necklace: forever21. bracelet: open jewelry market in hawaii.

  As the weather gloomified and chilled over course of the morning, I had to modify my outfit. First: I threw on a denim jacket and struck a weird facial expression.

 Second: I unrolled the trousers. Which, frankly, I liked better anyway with these pants. 'Tweren't broken. Shouldn't've tried to fix 'em. (Allsofasudden my fingers think I'm a redneck? Awesome. Something fried and delicious for dinner, I guess...)

Let's start at the beginning, shall we? Sometimes I make odd choices. Take this morning, for instance. I pulled out these sweet wide-leg plaid trousers because it's still raining and coldish. [Editor's note: I could've worn a skirt with colored tights, but I think I temporarily burned myself out on colored tights.] Despite their (the pants') fabulous features (e.g., wide leg, front crease, great colors, classic plaid print, good fit, etc.), I thought to myself, "these pants are too ordinary. I need to do something to make them unique."

(I also thought to myself, "what's for breakfast?" And then my brain answered, "toast." And then I complained, "what? toast again?" And then my brain said, "yep. and it'll be toast tomorrow, too, if y'all don't get yo'self to the grocer sto'.") (It's good to know my brain and my fingers speak the same dialect.)

Wow. Long story short (too late): I tried to peg and cuff these pants and get away with it. Shame on me. Which is why I love doing this blog--I find out all sorts of things. Like: don't try to make a garment something into it absolutely inherently isn't. And also: stop listening to country music for a while.

Do you guys ever do stuff like that? Try too hard to get something to be different when, really, it's best just to leave it alone and let it shine for what it is?

Either way...Happy Thursday.

 Want this look? Click below, buy some stuff...then don't cuff the pants, k? Thanks.

More Tory Burch...

wide leg pants and yoga. c'mon, Opportunity. knock already.

 shoes & overshirt: american eagle outfitters. pants: gap. long-sleeved shirt, belt, long necklace, & flower clip: vintage. short necklace: forever21.

You know how, sometimes, something obscure and blurry and vague will nevertheless weigh on your mind? That was me, until today, and I realized what it was: should an immediate opening for a yoga poster child ever arise, I'd have no photographic evidence of my being the perfect woman for the job.

Until now (last photo in top sequence), natch. What a load off.

So. About this ensemble: is it just me, or does anyone else, on occasion, feel like busting out monochromaticity? Every month or two, I allsofasudden get the urge to wear one color, and one color only. And usually that color's blue. (Is there a Freudian interpretation in this? Please no.)

At first glance, everything in this outfit appears to be heavy solid-on-solid. But the pants have a subtle pinstripe, the long-sleeve layering tee has a sheer/opaque stripe going on, the belt divides the top half of me from bottom half, the crown braid and flower clip add a touch of whimsy and youth (do I sound, like, 80 saying that, or what?), and everything else just is.

Know what else just is? The eterna-crumbness of my dining room floor. I've come to accept it, to assign the floor-sweep chore to my dog, and to then ignore it. A trifecta of solution that screams win-win.

Happy Monday, friends.

Want this look? Sweet. Check out all the blue stuff you can get to have it...

More Gap...

to crop or not to crop... not even a question, really. CROP.

 shoes: unionbay brand. jeans: old navy. shirt: american eagle. sweater & bracelet: downeast basics. watch: target. necklace & flower hair clip (which you can't see): gift. 

[Editor's note: These pants are a smidge too big, but perfect for a lazy rainy day like today. In the pic above, you'll notice my left hip looks like it has some cuh-razy double-jointage. Although that would be cool, I have no such claim to fame. The belt hits below my hip bone, and the top of my pants poke out below. Make sense? Ease your mind? Good.]

Hey guys, It's Friend Friday! Today's topic is: Inspiration... (If you're interested, you should check out tons of other people's responses here.)

1. Which celebrity (celebrities) do you look to for fashion inspiration? You guys are all not going to believe me, but I speak (type) the truth: I don't know squat about celebs in general. It's embarrassing, actually...but apparently not embarrassing enough that I change the fact. Heh. BUT that's not to say I get dressed in a bubble--I'm sure that certain celebs have sported (and, consequently, made "fashionable") some of the types of clothing I wear. I just don't know who they are or what the items were. Otherwise I'd for sure give them lip service. Which they probably wouldn't want from a celeb-noramous (celebrity + ignoramous) like me anyway. So I guess we all win...?

2. When it comes to your own personal style, what inspires you? Comfort inspires me. Classic looks inspire me. Color combinations that I see in nature and home design inspire me. Ironic balance inspires me (i.e., fanciness + rusticity, chic + cozy, delicate + chunky, etc.). J.Crew inspires me. (Is that so base of me to admit? You guys. You know me by now that I'm here to keep it real. Take me or leave me, but don't doubt my frankness...unless I'm being sarcastic. Then you should all just ignore me.)

3. How do you hope to inspire your readers? I hope my readers see me as I am -- a normal girl who's got some kids and some clothes and who tries to have fun with getting dressed. I'm no fashion guru or model or anything of the like. Several of you are floored by that last statement, I'm sure, so I'll pause and let it sink in. [Editor's note: Kay, that's an example of sarcasm. Ignore and move on.]

4. Outside the realm of fashion who/what inspires you? The simplistic part of me wants to say my husband (who is my rock and all things perfectly fitted for me) and home design (Celerie Kemble!). But if I were stranded on a desert island and had only one thing to be inspired by, it would be, without hesitation and all kidding aside, my Savior Jesus Christ. Which is a little heavy for this blog. So. With all due respect... I'll move on.

5. And since Idol is ending… Which songs inspire you? Holy incriminating. Okay, fine. John Denver's Annie's Song, Jon Bon Jovi's Livin' on a Prayer, REO Speedwagon's In My Dreams, James Taylor's Shower the People you Love with Love (or whatever the title is), Moulin Rouge's Your Song (originally Elton John's, I think?), the Anne of Green Gables soundtrack, pretty much everything Karen Carpenter sang, and many others that I either can't think of or am too embarrassed because I feel totally granny-licious by the information I've already given you. 

Happy Friday!

Want this look? Shop below...but get the jeans a bit big to do that covetable hip trick...

More Old Navy...

happy days are here again...and again...and again...

This week I'm grateful for:

- church.

- stripes.

- outings to the park with friends and friends of my kids.

- friends of my kids who teach them (my kids) good things, like being polite and empathetic and obedient. May this always be the case. (Yeah, right, but a parent can hope, right?)

- the ability to jog.

- our piano, especially before the sustaining pedal broke. Sighhhhh...

- a husband who surprises me in, well, surprising ways, even after 9-1/2 years of marriage.

- the letter "r" and the many ways toddlers try to say it.

- texting.

- daffodils. (We have one! In our yard! A flower bloomed!)

- cars and appliances that all function as they should. Can't imagine doing as much laundry as I do by hand or at the laundromat. Ugh.

- prayer and the peace it brings.

- family time, in all its crazy glory.

- cookies & cream ice cream.

Happy Sunday, everyone!