Sunday Best {Remixed}

On Sunday I wore one of my favorite dresses, my little red number. I've worn it now on 3 separate occasions and remixed it into a "skirt" for the second time (here's the 1st look and the 2nd look).

There are lots of things that I love about this outfit - playing with the combo of tomato red with black and grey (really love any bright pop of color mixed with a neutral), my very old pair of mary janes making a rare appearance, a sweet pair of polka dot tights, and that awesome studded clutch! Now that's my true favorite - the perfect way to make any look a little edgy and much, much cooler.

I suppose that combination is what I'll really love about a look, a perfect mix of romantic boho (flowy, lace-y, sparkly, vintage-y pieces) meets a dash of that edgy rocker (Doc Martens, leather jackets, studded anything). Someone that "edgy" would never say the word "dash", now would they? So I guess I'm a wannabe. :) Free People does this so well but to make it work for me and my lifestyle, I have to take it down several (bazillion) notches.

 {necklace & bracelet - Limited, sweater, dress, blazer, clutch & tights (wow!) - Gap, shoes - Arden B}

Twas a bit windy on this afternoon, so you'll have to excuse a fairly lame attempt to keep my eyes open. 

Sunshine, Soccer, and {Tire} Swings

Hi friends! Happy Friday to you all. 

Here are a few pictures that were taken yesterday. A"new" tire swing kept the boys busy while we cleaned up the messy leaves and eventually watched the slowly setting sun over a bit of soccer. 

But first, an outfit. 

{sweatshirt & boots - Forever 21, t - Gap, skirt - Target}

Family is everything. 

This and That

We've spent much time outside today. It's a long weekend round herre (was listening to a little Nelly yesterday - haha) and we're making a fairly desperate attempt to keep busy and happy through it all. I've no desire to take them out and about, so we're thanking God for a beautiful day and spending much of it in the mass of leaves now littering our garden.

As I walked the garden path I came across a woodsy gnome

Donned in corduroy and knits, even the cutest of elbow patches 

What a handsome fellow

I stopped to talk and heard a tall tale, one that tickled my cheeks

It sadly told of a very runny nose that caused his face to pull in all directions

Causing odd grimaces and smirks

We wondered through the overgrown forest, inspecting this and that

Pine cones filled with sticky sap and even dangerously spike-y traps!

And then the wonkiest thing happened to that silly gnome

He discovered at the edge of the forest, my cozy human home

With toys and cars, crayons and balls, and even warm chocolatey drinks

And so this tiny fellow gave up his life of gnomery to live with my delighted family

~ The End ~

I made something so seriously delicious last night that I've been completely chuffed about ever since. It's a weekly special for sure. Let me just say, again, how absolutely amazing Pinterest is. I follow a few of my Tulsa friends and they all seem to have a great love for food, though while mine tends to keep to the eating of food, theirs also encompasses the preparation. Needless to say, I've been so inspired by their food boards that my grocery shopping this week was done entirely by following my favorite meals pinned by friends at Pinterest. You see, when you pin something, clicking on that picture will take you directly to the site from which it originated and hence, the recipe! Here's what I made -

Crispy Cheddar Chicken from Jamie Cooks It Up (recipe here). So easy, so outstanding. Basically, chicken breast dipped in milk, grated cheddar, and then crushed Ritz crackers. Baked in oven and with a yummy, yummy sauce.

And after dinner, the huz snapped a few pics of us messing around. 

(boys are in desperate need of hair cuts, I know)

He said he was taking a picture of me blogging. Now every time I'm at the computer the boys say I'm "blogging". Not really though, sometimes I'm reading other blogs. So there. And sometimes I'm window shopping. So really, there's about a million things I could be doing in front of the computer dudes. Hah ... as if blogging totally consumed my life. 

Sometimes we follow a meal with oatmeal. Better than dessert, I suppose, so I'm not going to fight that one. 

 And in Green Bay, in the winter, we do outside things on the inside. Like ... hide a "jumping castle" in the basement (bounce house), even a trampoline. Or allow the kids to ride tricycles and scooters down the length of the house (pretty good length so that can get up to quite a decent speed). I'm really not thrilled with the whole things but I'm willing to allow it because of the humongous amount of time it allows me to get things done. They love it! And my floors all seem to be in good shape despite and well, this is a family home and as I've said before, I just have to let go of some aesthetics here and let kids be kids. With that being said, I'm a clean freak and I'm tidying, washing, painting all the time. So I keep on top of the worser-for-the-wear spots as much as I can. When these boys are a bit older (age undecided), I will rip out carpet, put in gorgeous flooring, repaint walls, and chuck my couches. Until then, no sense in it. 

We're also constantly doing art and taping it to the "art" walls. It's quickly becoming Elliot's favorite too. 

Do you have an favorite recipe to share?

Earth Tones

Loving my neutrals today, after a few outfits that seemed to prefer the moodier side of color wheel. Earthy tones and neutrals punched up with a plum, and a perfect scarf for fall.

{coat - Tulle (bought in Waupaca), top, pants & flats - Gap, hat - Target, scarf - H&M}

A Sweet Wedding Invite

Just had to share this with you. I loved it!

{so sorry, lost the source}

Halloween-y House

With Halloween just around the corner, I thought I'd share my tiny bit of creepy decor before it's put away. 

Note the tiny white ghost on the right. 

 Okay, the skull is the extent of it. But it's funny that I have it at all really. Growing up, we never celebrated Halloween but that was simply due to location (South Africa does not have the holiday). Then we moved to the US and we still did not celebrate. Two reasons (1) I was in high school already but (2) I was (am) a preacher's kid and this preacher was not so into it. Understandable ... and didn't care.

Fast forward 18 years, 3 kids, 6 grand-kids, ... we've all chilled out considerably. We dress up, we trick or treat (more pointedly, they do) and we have fun. Though I would not let them dress up as anything dripping in blood or gore, even (gasp) a vampire (though I adore them). Haha!

Though I'm pretty mellow about the whole thing I understand those that aren't. After all, I've been there, done that, heard the stories, been banned from watching care bears. Those were the days huh? Now I'm more worried about what happens on the back seat of the school bus than I am with Scooby Doo. But that's just me ...

I've never photographed the TV cause it's the most hideous spot in the house. But I've recently made an attempt to make it more likeable, folding a few blankets into it's depths and adding the goodies to the left.  Now it gives me a mild case of the shakes but at least it doesn't make me cry.

Ooh La la {Python Print}

Hello friends! Hope you had a really fantastic weekend. We kept pretty busy, a bit of fun out and about and a bit of couch potato-ing. Nothing too spectacular to report but sometimes a quiet weekend is just what my guys and I need. 

This is what little E and I wore yesterday. We matched, as we often do (not really ... okay sometimes), and we had to take a few pics for you. 

I adore this sheer python print skirt, something that hits 2 major trends with 1 big punch - sheer maxis and python! Oh, you didn't know snakeskin was back in fashion? Well, now you do, so please go and unearth your grandmother's snakeskin pumps/purse and share them with us! (especially if you're in this neck of the woods. we're just so stinking fashion-depraved :)

{On me: necklace & skirt (worn with slip dress underneath) - Forever 21, sweater - H&M, cocktail ring - Somewhere in Time Antique (GB), wedges - Kelsi Dagger at T J Maxx

On E: top & bottoms - H&M, shoes - Robeez}