I am so excited for this prompt from the ladies over at the Blended Blog today. I adore wearing dresses, mainly because I feel like a good dress can make a statement all on it's own and there is minimal work involved. I also live in skirts and dresses during the spring/summer as much as I can.
Today I am going to feature two dresses that I have been wearing to work and are prefect for drinks, date night, a baptism, wedding, etc. Both of these dresses have been staples in my closet for the past two summers and the best part is they were FREE!!!! Yes you read that right, FREE. My wonderful sister loves to shop and generally after one season she passes pieces from her closet down to me, who eagerly awaits like it's Christmas morning. Just last week I sent her a text to see what she had for me for my summer wardrobe and I can't wait for my grandma, who is out in BC visiting her, to bring it to me next Monday. I am a lucky,and spoiled, girl.
Look #1 is pleats, pleats, pleats!!! This dress is so lightweight and flowy. It is extremely versatile and I wear it to work, both in the classroom and for meetings, for lunch/dinner dates, and any events that we have throughout the spring/summer season.
Look #2 I wear this work often in the spring and also love it paired up with brown boots & my mustard cardigan in the fall. Recently I purchased these lace-up flats from the Bay, and they are on sale for $39.99 right now. They are extremely comfortable and will be a staple in my wardrobe for our trip to London/Paris at the beginning of July.
Fall/Winter Look
WISH LIST DRESS: chambray, off the shoulder dress from Chicwish (below) and a new Maxi dress that I am hoping I will find through some of the other Link Ups via the Blended Blog.
Also linking up with Threads for Thomas, weekend addition. Great looks by Rachel herself and many others.
Sometimes things just go wrong like the first attempt at this post. The other day I began this post, saved the draft and left it open on the computer. My husband then went on to 'publish' the post that I had not proofread or finished writing. Needless to say I was not impressed. (I know first world problems; but still super annoying).
Anyway, let's try it again. I really wanted to link up to the Blended Blog for their style perspective prompt, navy stripes or nautical look. Be sure to head over there to see how the ladies styled this look, there are some really cute ideas. I love this look and wear some version of it on a weekly basis. Stripes are a mommy's best friend as far as I am concerned. The top I am featuring in these two looks is from Costco of all places and steal of a deal, $9.99!!! I have it in both navy/white and black/white, with that price point you really can't go wrong. I spiced up the look for the office by pairing it up with a bright coral skirt I purchased a couple of summers ago. I also snagged these awesome Nine West, peep-toe, stacked heel, sandals this past weekend. I love them and know they'll be getting lots of wear this spring, summer & fall season.
A couple of weekends ago, I paired the same top with skinny jeans, flats and a statement necklace for a more casual look on the weekend. I always take a cup of dark coffee along with me to my kids soccer practices. I sit on the side lines, drink my coffee and alternate between watching them and reading my book. Happiness.
When I saw this jumpsuit, it was love at first sight. Honestly, what is there not to love?!? Flower pattern. Spring color palette. Light weight and airy for the spring/summer heat. It can easily be dressed up/down. As I whisked it off into the dressing room, I hoped that is would suit my body and personality because I REALLY wanted it to. Put it on and once again, LOVE! My love of jumpsuits and rompers is just beginning, I have a feeling that I could pretty much live in jumpsuits or rompers in various patterns for the whole spring/summer season. To view my other jumpsuit click here.
I wore my newest jumpsuit for the first time a couple of weeks ago when we encountered some really hot, spring weather. I very much wanted to attend a garden tea party but since that wasn't happening, I choose to wear it out as we took a stroll by the river. I also dug out my floppy hat just because I wanted to, though it's not something you see often here in Saskatchewan. I felt FABLOUS.
I wanted to link you directly to this jumpsuit and yesterday when I went on the Old Navy site it was there but today it's no longer available. Not to worry though, because they have tons of option and this one immediately caught my eye, palm tree/flower pattern jumpsuit.
I am linking up with Threads for Thomas and Thursday Moda, so make sure you click on over there and see what other ladies are wearing this week.
This was my first DIY project. I have struggled and feared having my children grow up because I always envisioned myself having little toddlers, playing peek-a-boo, doing finger plays, building out of blocks and playdough, etc. Over the past couple of years though, the girls have been getting older and I am embracing all the things we can begin to do as a family that were partially put on hold because they were little, or at least one of them was too little do it on their own. When I came across this idea on Pinterest and read the step by step process outlined by Mandy over at Sugar Bee Crafts blog, I thought we (the girls and I) can do this!
STEP 1: We went out to Walmart, Michaels and Dollarama and purchased the supplies we needed.
- wreath (Walmart $6, well over that at Michaels)
- assortment of pink buttons (Dollarama)
- burlap ribbon (Michaels)
- 2 bunches of large tulips (I initially bought 3 but didn't end up needing them all Michaels)
- wooden letter to represent your family (Michaels)
- glue gun and sticks
- twist tie
The cost of all the materials was approximately $30-$35 in the end.
STEP 2: Little A and I spent some one on one time and she designed our letter using the buttons. I did not step in or make changes to her design but instead really worked hard to let her be creative giving her ownership over this part of our wreath.
Step 2: Prepping the flowers. Use really strong scissors or even better, wire cutters. I found cutting the stems to be a little shorter was better and easier to weave into the wreath, but it's better to start off a little longer and then cut to what you need or works best for you. I separated the leaves and the flowers from each other.
Step 3: Weaving the flowers into the wreath is a bit tricky but once I figured it out and showed H. she was pretty good at it. H. is very artistic and has a lot of patience. I did the top half, then left a hand width space or slightly more, and H. did the weaving on the bottom half. Alternate weaving 2 or 3 flowers into the wreathe with the leaves to fill the spaces in between and to hide the stems. Make sure you leave enough space on the right hand side to place your letter afterwards.
Step 4: I used hot glue gun to attach the letter K between the two sections of tulips
Step 5: I did NOT know how to tie a beautiful ribbon, let alone a burlap one so YouTube to the rescue! For the life of me I cannot find the video but here is a step by step on how to create a simple burlap ribbon. First, I wrapped the middle section on the left hand side with burlap so that you couldn't see any of the stems. I secured the burlap in place using a hot glue gun. Next, I created the ribbon, following the tutorial and attached it to the middle section using a hot glue gun which proved to be dangerous for me several times throughout the project.
Step 6: Display. The kids and I are so happy and proud with the finished product and every time we come home it's a beautiful sight to walk up to. I feel like this DIY project is just the beginning for us. Happy spring!
Last week the temperature took a dip back down in e and it was cooler than we had been experiencing, but this week its full on summer weather!!! Anyway due to the chill, my body kind of aching and a lack of time/desire to shave my legs I spent a lot of time in pants. Some weeks you just want to live in your jeans, but due to work office dress code these two simply casual outfits were a perfect match.
#1 Leggings, tunic, a lovely spring floral scarf I picked up at Reitman's for $5 and I added some bling with a new/borrowed from my mom H & B bracelet. Click on over to the Blended Blog to check out how other ladies are styling this prompt.
#2 Linen pants, printed top, blush purse (by far my favorite color this season) and nautical wedges. Oh, and this is my old hair that desperately needed a makeover which it got over the weekend :)
Last weekend I got down on the floor, took an extended time-out from my never ending "to do list", and played Barbie's with my six year old. Little Miss A. and I haven't had a lot of one-on-one time lately, to be honest my running 6 days a week for a minimum of an hour is slowly killing all of us but it's almost over, and recently my little girl who is usually easy going, happy to play with her little dolls and stuffies, has been completely melting down over everything. She can't make a decision on what to wear, who to invite over for a play date, what story to read, what game she wants to play, etc. I don't think it's all related to a lack of one-on-one time because we still spend a TON of time together but we haven't had as much evening/morning time cuddles as usual. (I feel guilty about this but I have more/less let myself off to the hook because this running thing is only temporary and it's something I choose to do for me, and I need to be okay with that).
Last Sunday, I seized the opportunity to have some special play time with Miss. A. Maria Montossori came up with a term that is wildly used in early childhood, "play is the work of a child" and as an early childhood educator I firmly believe in this. There are many types of play and purposes of play, but on Sunday I choose to participate in child-led play. Anya and I went down to play Barbies and as I watched and followed her lead, once in a while I would lend a suggestion that would continue the game or provide her with a prompt. Our friends got dressed in summer clothing, got themselves ready to host a "birthday party", which Anya had attended just the day before, and mostly her ideas were a reenactment of the birthday party she attend. We danced to music, played limbo, sat in the pool, created a movie theater and a concession stand. Through our time together we used other toys and materials to create a setting, thus being creative, and problem solved together. We built a dance floor out of our craft trays, used big blocks for benches around our pool which was from a Polly pocket set, used food stickers to create a concession stand, ect. We enjoyed our game for approximately 55 minutes before it naturally came to an end at which point Anya turned to me and said, "Mama you can go now." It wasn't spoken with any sadness/regret but rather in complete contentment with our special time together. She was ready to move on to something new and on her own. It's difficult to find time to just play without any distractions and also to get into the mindset of imaginary play, but if you have even 15 minutes to play with your child in this way, it will open a window into their lives, their way of thinking and the way they see the world around them. (This is not to make you feel bad if you haven't been doing this because remember at the beginning of the post I confessed how I had been spending a lot of time on my running and just day to day things.)
Sorry the pictures aren't the best but I didn't really take many because I didn't want it to impede on our playtime.
