day seventeen: repaired

I don't get out much, I guess. Because all of my best clothes seem to come from my older sister. That includes this blouse, which happens to be one of my favorite things in my closet. She sent it to me at the beginning of the summer and it fit great. Then I stopped nursing my baby, and magically overnight it became quite a bit roomier in the front than it was before. I hate when that happens. So I haven't worn it since. Well, that is just plain ridiculous. It took all of about five minutes to take in the sides and now all feels right again.

I have a busy day ahead. Lots of laundry and packing and emotional preparation as I get ready to leave the country and my family for five days. But, I just heard from my parents who arrived in England yesterday, and they reported 60 degrees and rain. Heaven!

Ok, must get going. . .

day sixteen: menswear

I feel like this dress is the equivalent of a men's blue oxford. Does that make it menswear-inspired? I don't know, but it sure is comfortable. It's perfect for a trip to the pediatrician, the grocery store, and piano lessons on a too hot summer day.

beauty-full

Thanks to the lovely Mrs. Bagley, I am feeling awefully beauty-full over at Cardigan Empire today. Her intro had me blushing in a major way. Thank you, sweet friend!

What makes you feel beautiful? Find my answer here.

day fifteen: a new hair do

Sometimes I love Mondays. Today is off to a great start. I'm making major progress on my to-do list and it's not even time to pick up Stella from preschool yet!

I had the best weekend ever. In case you missed it, Mike surprised me with my dream car for my birthday. I couldn't believe it. He is so sneaky and wonderful. The good news (besides the fact that a Grand Wagoneer is now sitting in my garage) is that we are a two car family again. I had forgotten how nice that could be.

Oh, and I tried a half french twist today, inspired by this.

day fourteen: copycat + remix no. three

I love this look. I found it on Danyelle's pinterest. I love the flowy top + the textured cardigan + the monochromatic scheme. Those are just about all of my favorite things. I recreated it with what I had in my closet, which = lots of pink and a cardigan that is a little too big. It's missing that little pop of yellow (and a serious lip pout!), but it gave me an excuse to use my remix item one last time. Phew.

Happy Sunday!

day thirteen: neutral with a pop of color

Today is my birthday. I am 32. I'm totally ok with getting older. I like what I have accomplished up to this point in my life, so my age is something I'm sort of proud to claim. Mike is taking me out for a fancy date tonight. He even booked the babysitter all by himself. I can't wait. I sure love that guy.

p.s. I kind of thought I was getting an electric griddle for my birthday, but instead, Mike surprised me with this. Can you believe it?

day twelve: jazzed up jeans and tee

Jeans and tees are my most classic ensemble. There were years of my life where I just wore little boys' white tee shirts. Everyday. I'm glad to say that I have moved on, but slipping back into comfy jeans and a tee will always feel like coming home.

Today I tried to be a little bit sophisticated with this pretty ruffled top and ballet flats. Although, I'm not sure how sophisticated the half-tuck is. Also, I think I need a belt.

Oh well.

day eleven: dress

Lately, I've taken to wearing this dress around the house. It is just so comfortable. Soft and stretchy and cool, and put together enough to be seen in at the grocery store.

I realized this morning that one week from today I will be on my way to England for my sister's wedding. Ah! That means: I need to get serious about finishing my dress, and I need to get my house in order. Mike will be playing the part of Mr. Mom while I am away, and I want to make it as easy for him as I can. It's going to be a quick trip, but packed to the brim with good things. I can't wait!

day ten: closet orphan + remix no. two

I am totally going against my better judgement today and wearing a wool skirt. It's supposed to be 114 degrees outside. 114 + a wool skirt! This skirt is definitely my closet orphan, so I didn't really have a choice. Plus, I am plum tired of the heat and from here on out will be pretending that it's fall. Even though I've only worn this skirt once, I can't seem to get rid of it. So I paired it with my remix item. It's not my favorite look, but it will do.

Stella goes monochromatic.

Stella came out of her room this morning, all dressed for school, and all in pink. She was so pleased with her outfit that I had to snap her picture.

We've been having a good week. Mabel and Oliver headed to the Grand Canyon with Mike's parents on Monday. Guess what I remembered? Having only two kids is a cinch! They are having a great time, but we are excited for them to get home tomorrow to hear more about their trip.

p.s. Do you think Elliot is going to have an outy?

day nine: monochromatic

Truth be told, I am getting kind of tired of posting pictures of myself. But I am really enjoying this challenge! It has forced me out of my rut, and I am adding clothes into my rotation that I normally wouldn't wear. It's been good for me. Today I just want to be comfortable. Besides a preschool run, I have no plans to leave my now-cool house, so loungewear it is.

Last night, Beth and I met up with some other bloggers (including Kayla) at DownEast Basics. While we visited and browsed, I came across this top. It must be the softest thing I have ever worn. While black is not usually my first choice, I couldn't pass up the interesting shape and draping. It is a great casual tee, and so it came home with me.

day eight: fancy and casual

I've only ever worn this skirt to church. Does that make it fancy? I thought that pairing it with a plain tee and flip flops would dress it down quite a bit. I used to wear flip flops all of the time. Then I realized that no one needs to see so much of my feet, so I save them for trips to the pool or the mail box. But you know what? It's still hovering near 90 in my house today, so flip flops will do.

day seven: layered accessories

Ok. Instead of calling my wardrobe boring, I think I'll say it's subtle. That sounds better, right? Today I layered pearls with my little initial necklace. Stella loves when I wear this necklace. She will sit on my lap at church and quietly study the letters for the longest time.

I don't often blog on Sunday, so I am going to steal an idea from my sister. This Sunday, I am grateful for many things. First, air conditioning. It is currently 89 degrees in our house. Our air conditioner gave up the fight last night and we are sweltering. But just think of how much money we are saving on our electric bill! Just kidding. It's totally not worth it. I am grateful that we have lots of family nearby who will let us come cool off at their house. Despite our pink cheeks and sweaty faces, today has been a good day. I am grateful for Sundays. I love the boost I get from going to church and spending the day with family. It is the best way to start a new week.

day five: belted

I'm all set for a quick trip to the fabric store today. I'm knee deep in a dress for my little sister's wedding next month and have run out of interfacing. Blast.  

My other sister sent me this pretty dress as an early birthday gift. It screamed for a belt, and I was happy to oblige.

day four: color blocking

So, here's what I've learned from this challenge so far: my clothes are boring. I was hard pressed to find something other than denim, cream, and pale pink in my closet. I do love pink and red together, so I think my top and sandals win.

On the docket today: making tzatziki sauce for the first time, rubbing ointment on Elliot's 100 ant bites (He found an ant hill last night. It was very traumatic.), visiting teaching, and eating cake at my nephew Sam's second birthday party. What do you have planned?

day three: pattern mix

Oh dear. This one was hard. I own very few things with a pattern. Like a total of maybe three things in my whole closet. I love this striped maxi dress. It's so easy to wear. Usually I pair it with a more weather appropriate white short sleeved cardigan. I never would have thought to put the pink with it, but you know what? I like it. Too bad it's a million degrees outside and I would die the moment I stepped out of my air conditioned house. I will have to revisit this outfit during the more cardigan friendly month of November.

day two: tucked

I almost never tuck. But I've had this top for a while, and as I have lost the baby weight (slowly, slowly, so very slowly), it has gotten more and more tent-like around my middle. My waist is not my best feature, but I feel much more put together with this sucker tucked in.

day one: remix no. one

I'm choosing to remix this pale pink tee. It is one of my favorites, but I have a hard time wearing it. Untucked with skinny jeans is just about the only thing I can think of, so I am excited to try something different next time.

In non-wardrobe news, Stella started preschool today. She was pumped. We are getting into our routine, and it feels great.

the 21 day challenge

So, I'm thinking of participating in Kayla's 21 day wardrobe challenge. Frankly, I could use a little help in that department, and this seems like a fun way to do it. Each day, Kayla will give a prompt, something like "tuck it in", that you will use as outfit inspiration. Then take a photo and post it on your blog or in the flickr pool to show what you've done. There are all sorts of ways to earn points which will increase the chance of winning the end-of-challenge prize. It starts on Monday. Are you in?

For all of the details, check out Kayla's pretty blog.

thirty-nine

My parents are celebrating 39 years of marriage today. Hooray! I'm so glad they found each other back when they were 16. Their relationship is such a wonderful example of love and devotion. They've been through thick and thin together and are stronger for it.

Love you guys!

lighter by half

We sent the big two off to school today. I think they were excited. A little nervous maybe, but happy. That leaves the little two here at home with me until Stella starts preschool next week. So we are taking it easy. Maybe we'll go to the grocery store after our morning nap. Maybe we'll watch a movie instead. We'll see.

We might have overdone it.

This is our last day of summer vacation. My kids celebrated by watching Mr. Bean on youtube all morning and eating chocolate chip Belgian waffles with syrup and whipped cream for breakfast. I celebrated by staying in bed past 7, scrubbing all of the bathrooms, cleaning the house, and doing a million loads of laundry. There's nothing like starting the new school year off with a spotless house. And now that the kids are going back to school, it might actually stay that way!

In case you're in the mood for waffles, here's our tried and true family favorite recipe:

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup corn starch
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup oil
2 egg yolks

2 egg whites
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat your waffle oven. We use the Belgian kind that flips. It has a timer, too, so perfectly cooked waffles are a cinch. I don't know what we would do without it.

In a medium bowl, stir together the dry ingredients. Combine the buttermilk, milk, oil, and yolks in a measuring cup with a fork. In a small bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, adding the sugar gradually until the egg whites are thick and glossy. Stir in the vanilla.

Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk until just blended. Fold in the egg whites with a spatula.

Cook the waffles. Once out of the waffle maker, you can keep them warm in a warm oven, or put them on a cooling rack so they don't get soggy.

This recipe makes about 6 light and crisp Belgian waffles.

I like to use mostly whole wheat flour in our waffles. I like the white whole wheat kind. It's much less whole wheat-y, if you know what I mean. Also, what are your thoughts on coconut oil? I used it in our waffles today for the first time. The smell was a little too much for me, but the waffles tasted great.

We usually serve ours with lots of butter and real maple syrup. Today we added chocolate chips and whipped cream.

Happy last day of summer!

Three cheers for August!

Our August is shaping up to be the best month ever. First up, my oldest brother, Elliott, and his wife, Ginger, (+ their 5 kids) are moving down the street! And the fun doesn't stop there. Our calendar is so full to the brim with exciting things that we're not quite sure what to do with ourselves.

What's on your calendar this month? And does your school start in one week like our crazy school?