What I Wore to the First Day of School

Hello friends!  I am back with my first day of school outfit.  I figured those signs that the kids have make them look so darn cute so I thought maybe it would help me out too.  Hahaha.  #itsnotjustforkids 

Speaking of being/acting like a child.  Did you do a back to school clothing shopping adventure?  We did not and actually I don't make it a big thing for my girls either.  If they need clothes we buy them, if they don't we just wait until they do.  This is probably because it wasn't a part of my childhood so to be honest it's not something that dawns on me as a thing to do. This year I did take the girls shopping but it was mostly because they were going to visit my sister and they needed new clothes as they just grew and grew and grew over the summer.  My Halie, my first born, my 12 year old is wearing size 8.5 and 9 women's shoes!!!!!  STOP growing!!!!  (for the record I wear a 7.5 or 8)

Anyway, even though I didn't have this back to school clothing adventure, I love picking out what I am going to wear to school.  It's the anticipation of seeing everyone for the first time in a couple of months and truly wanting to put my best foot forward. This year I am at a brand new school, in a new position, so I really wanted to dress nicely but also not overly dressy.  Most people in the last four years have seen me presenting, so heels, pencil skirts, blazers, etc.  I love all of those things, but I am in a school that requires me to be on the move, where families aren't necessarily walking through the doors wanting to see someone who they can't relate to, so I wanted to showcase my more casual, daily lifestyle wear, while also staying professional.  I am actually really huge on  professional dress codes, and though you can be more casual at times you still need to present yourself as a well put together, professional person.  Since the first day was just our staff, doing some team building, professional learning, and since summer is still here, I decided to layer one of my favorite jumpsuits.  I love how a classic white tee looks layered under a jumpsuit, and I added some fun boho jewelry to my look.  These earrings have been on repeat ALL summer long.  They are  lightweight and just make a statement on their own.  I also traded in my heels for some flats so that I can put on lots of miles during the day. 

 

Don't forget a healthy snack to keep me going.  My favorite is a good old green smoothie to get me from lunch to supper.  

It's been a fantastic first week but it's been busy.  Through that busyness it's easy to lose sight of things that are truly important.  I was so glad that I put a visit to my grandma's as a priority in my life this week.  I hadn't seen them through the summer much because we were at the lake, and so going into this week of work I knew that if I truly wanted to make that happen, I would have to write it down and make it a non-negotiable.  That day it trumped by workout and you know what, I am glad it did.  

How did you get ready for the first day of school as a child?  If you have children, do you have any special traditions  with them?

Shop This Look:

Jumpsuit (old; similar Old Navy )

Earrings 

Favorite White Tee

Guess Shoes (old; Naturalizer Metallic Flats)

Finding Your Creativity & DIY Paddles

Lately I’ve been pulled towards crafting.  Growing up I never considered myself a crafty or creative person.  I am not really sure where this narrative of myself came from, but I think it’s closely related to my once limited definition of “creativity” and how I closely linked it to just drawing.  Of course, I no longer hold those beliefs and I associate creativity to a number of different ways to express and create ideas and thoughts.  I started scrapbooking in my late teens and well into my twenties and LOVED IT.  I made several books and have several unfinished ones as well.  I have the most beautiful baby book documenting our oldest child’s first year of life.  However my second child’s book has been abandoned, and that’s one of my greatest regrets honestly.  Why?  Because it’s hard to remember all the tiny details after so many years have gone by, and with Halie I  was able to document it all.  Enter mom guilt.  I am sure many of your reading this have this same experience between your  first and second, or third, children in some way or another.  As life became busier and busier, and I threw myself into other wonderful pursuits, my work, running more and training more, doing my masters and enjoying being a mother, something had to go, so this creative outlet slipped away. 

 I’ve often talked about this blog being born out a desire to be creative with my clothes.  So when I did my very first GYPO style challenge several years ago, I became interested in using my creativity with my clothes.  I found a new and not overly time-consuming way to create.  But lately I’ve been drawn to more “project” type of creativity.  I generally don’t like long term projects but prefer short and quick little things.  I am someone that strives to get a check mark and cross it off my list, so quick gratification is important.  My first little project were these paddles for the lake to showcase our house number.  I had a pretty clear idea of what I wanted and I quickly sketched it out and explained to my dad and my husband how I wanted the paddles to look on our cabin.  Their job was to figure out how to make a notch in the paddles so they could crisscross and I went to work on making the design come to life.

This is what I needed:

• Chalk pain in white and dark blue (I got them from HomeDepot)
• Sand paper (I bought a variety pack, you don’t need much)
• Brushes (Home depot)
• Painters tape
• Artminds Varnish (this is the thing I researched the most.  I went with this glossy one that was created SPECIFICALLY for outdoor protection as I would be having it outside through all the harsh winters, hail and rain)
• House number from Michaels

Process:

1. Sketch out your design on a piece of paper.
2. Sand the paddles lightly down.
3. Pain the paddles white x 2.  Let the paint dry between each coat, approximately an hour.  I choose to paint them white first to give them a good solid base, like a primer.
   
4. When the paddles were completely dry, I measured and marked the design that I wanted to paint the blue.
   
5. I then painted the arrows with two coats of blue.  I didn’t take the painters tape off between each coat and that worked out well for me, but I did both coats within one afternoon. 
6.  I bought the house number at Michaels and used Crazy Glue to stick it on. 
7. Once everything was dry, I varnished the paddles with two coats.  They recommend that you let them curate for three weeks before putting them outside but I didn’t follow those instructions and the paddles have had no damage through the summer rains and wind.  They look perfect!
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That’s it!

 I’d love to hear what your own creative outlets are in the comments below.  Thanks for stopping by today.

Wishing to Play Dress-Up

I am in a fashion slump to be honest.  I find myself here every summer, mid-summer, because to be honest my wardrobe at the lake is the same most days, denim shorts and a tee, bathing suit and cover-up, leggings and sweatshirt with either flip flops or my converse shoes.  That’s basically on repeat everyday and I find it difficult too justify buying anything new or super cute because I don’t really have anywhere to wear it.  I also take a lot of lake showers and live with my hair up.  I love this and honestly don’t have any desire to change it up or wish this time away.

What I wear every evening by the fire. 

That begin said occasionally, on a cool and cloudy day, I just feel like I could use a good scrub down, to do my hair and to put on a pretty dress.  😊  I am currently really craving a date night, under the city lights, all dressed up and having a delicious cocktail on a fabulous patio, like Drift in our city.  Since that isn’t going to happen, I was searching through my photos from Mexico way back in February and I stumbled upon these pictures which totally match my current daydream state. This was my 2018 summer dress that I wore all the time and I still love it. I love the fluttery feel of it, the slightly teasing cold-shoulders, and the belt that adds just a little boho vibe and the added flower in the hair making it a perfect summer edition.  I went on a mass spring/summer purge this year, but this was a dress that has stayed safely in my closet and is completely wearable to work, with a cardigan or my kimono over top.
 

Cheers my friends and enjoy the last weeks of summer.  Don't rush it or wish it away, just bask in its warmth.  

What season do you find yourself struggling the most with in terms of your closet or fashion? 

July 2019 in Numbers

8 sets of visitors at the lake.  This is our favorite part of having a cabin and we love that our family and friends make the trek out to enjoy it with us.  We kicked off the first weekend in July with my parents, my aunt and uncle finally made it out finally, and my in-laws.  The girls also had several friends stay with us for extended periods of time over the month.  We made sure all their friends got out on the boat to rube and try various water sports, as well as beached.  I had a couple of girlfriends come and stay while the girls were at camp.  We biked, we talked, we beached, we walked.  To end off the month we were lucky to have our nephews (3.5 years and 10 months old).  August will bring less visitors but some of our favorites are coming for their annual stays and we can’t wait!!!

5 Books 

Beach Read 

**** I finished off the Singles Game by Lauren Weisgerber at the beginning of July.  It was an easy read and a great way to start the summer off.

Skip It

*** Inheritance by Dani Shapiro.   I hear Dani Shapiro speak on a podcast so this book intrigued me.  It was a relatively  easy read but there were things about it that I just didn’t connect to on an emotional level like I thought I would.   I only gave it three stars but I'll be interested to know what the rest of my book club thought of it.

Take It, Or Leave It

***  I listened to Girl Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis and it had a similar theme and message as Girl Wash Your Face.  It was easy to listen to while getting ready each morning but I am don't think it's at the top of my list of must reads.

Parenting Book
****  I also listened to Brene Browns, The Gifts of Imperfect Parenting: Raising Children With Courage, Compassion and Connection,  which I absolutely loved!!! It was a quick listen and this was my favorite reminder was, "our children our meant to push and test the boundaries.  We as parents are meant to hold them up."   I think it's so important to remember that some decisions they aren't really ready to make and that even when we aren't liked by our children, that we remind ourselves that our role is to love, protect and encourage them.  

BEST BOOK

***** Little Big Lies by Liane Moriaty.  Favorite book of the year.  I couldn't put it down.  Easy read.  Interesting characters.  Twists and turns.  Now I want to watch the HBO show.

2 happy campers!!!!  The girls went to an overnight camp for the first time ever and had the BEST time.  They both want to go again next year and I am so happy that their experience was so amazing. 

1 shed almost built.  Logan and my dad put this shed/bunkhouse together in a few days.  It’ll be completed fully with shingles and siding by the end of the summer.  I supervised.  😊 

2 DIY projects.  I am getting my craft on these days.  It started with the paddles, which inspired me to convert these old night tables that I found for $20 into these nautical inspired nightstands for the cabin.  I am thrilled with the final results.   I am so proud of them.

 

I also got a cricut and made my first project for the classroom.  I am adding some ribbons under each month so that I can display my students birthdays in the classroom.  I have many more projects that I want to use it for in my classroom and can’t wait to make them come to life.  Stay tuned and I'll share the final product on IG. 

37 years old!  I celebrated my 37th birthday here at the lake surrounded by my immediate family and friends.  Read all about it here.  

August long weekend begins today and it's going to be full of sunshine, good friend, family and good old fashioned fun!  Happy weekend everyone and stay safe on the roads.