Sunday Best {red on red}

What a fun weekend! I had an unusual amount of opportunities to dress up which I took full advantage of by wearing oodles of colorful, bare legged ensembles. Here's yesterday's look (and I'll post Saturday's brunch outfit soon).

This jacket is gorgeous but so tricky to wear! I think it would look great with a pair of dark skinnies and a white t-shirt, but I've not had the perfect white t until recently. So I'll give that a go for a date night perhaps. This time I thought I'd try it with another shade of red, layering color on color.

{jacket & lace shell - Forever 21, dress - Gap, shoes - Target, bag - thrifted}

Mama Style {teetering ... comfortably}

 Yay, it's Friday! 

We've had a relaxing Friday thus far, a bit of shopping (recent recipient of a very fine gift card to Azure!) and a bit of lunch. Pretty great.

I was going for comfy here but managed to squeeze in some of my favorite trends. A little colored jean here, a little aztec sweater there, a little rock 'n roll t shirt under, and a little (or lotta) wedge on the bottom. Okay so maybe comfortable doesn't describe this outfit for you but you'd be surprised how not-uncomfortable these shoes are!

All of my photos end this way, so I thought I'd share the reality of how these photo moments go down. In 3 words - not too seriously.

{sweater - Besselli (GB), t - husband's (shrank, so good for me!), jeans - Gap, shoes - Target}

Here's a peek at our week, taken on Instagram. You can follow along if you wish! (@kirstyg).

In a nutshell:
* Lots of naked time
* A bit of potty training
* Sleepy moments just before we're tucked in
* Sometimes caught in the act
* We love to ride our scooters!

PS: Swim lessons went so incredibly well! Night and day difference. So extreme, in fact, that my #2 was swimming with his chest puffed up high and a smile on his face, all the way across the pool (when practicing the backstroke).

Thrifty Thursday

Here it is! One man's junk ... my treasures. 

 $2 quilt (serious!) and $1 baby boy romper (no news, promise ;)

 $1 each belts. Isn't that beaded one a stunner!

 25 cent to $1 fabrics

 75 cent necklace

 Bracelet connected to ring thingie I'm been longing for, right there at St. Vincents! Only $1. Gorgeous bangle for 75 cents. 

 "Home Sweet Home" candle wicking and a doilie with embroidery hoop for a project (dream catcher). $1-$2

A collection of needle point that work together so well. 25 cents - 50 cents each.

Went back for these babies after much deliberation. A splurge at $30 each. Totally divine. 

Gotta run! Off to swim classes again. Prayers that they're better than last week. Ugh!

Mamma Style {preppy neutrals}

I'm feeling preppy today in my white jeans and chambray shirt, trudging around town doing a little work (visiting bridal boutiques to photograph shoes and hair accessories) and also a little thrifting. It's not easy to thrift in a pair of white jeans, let me tell ya. They had dirty marks all over them by the time I left the store. The price I had to pay for some astonishing treasures. I'll share them tomorrow cause you really have to see this stuff!

{necklace - Free People (gift from sisters), shirt - J. Crew, ring - Somewhere in Time (GB - clip on ear ring made into a ring), pants - American Eagle, bag - Modcloth, shoes - Target}

I wanted to tell you about 2 fashion events that are happening in De Pere this week, both of which I'll be attending. Firstly, tomorrow night is Azure's 2 year anniversary and they are celebrating with live music (my rockstar husband will be playing next to the prettiest voice in the world), cocktails, hors d'oeuvres and a trunk show from NYC designer Jay Godfrey. So come out if you have the evening free (from 5-8pm) and hopefully I'll see you there! 

(visit Azure's facebook page for more info)

And on Saturday morning I'll be at De Pere's Spring Fling fashion show and brunch, featuring fashion from Hey Daisy!, Azure, Sweet Pea, Puddle Duck and more. I'll be emceeing the event, so wish me luck. I've been known to trip over things when walking to microphones on a stage, so I hope to stay away from all stage obstacles this time. Tickets are $5 and there are just a few left. This event begins at 10am at The Vault. 

You can visit Hey Daisy!'s facebook page for more info. 

A Quilting Project

Well I've been a busy body this morning, spending way too much time at the fabric store with little E. We were on the hunt for pretty fabrics for a quilt that my mom is having made for me for my birthday! It's a really sweet little deal as I have recently met an amazing quilter (mother-in-law to a dear friend) and we're sort of collaborating a bit. I'm picking out all of the fabrics, the plan is for 12 1/4 yeards, and then she will cut them out and we'll lay out the color pattern together before she sews it into something lovely. I'm so excited about the project! 

So this is what I decided on. My inspiration came from this picture and so we're going to create that zig zag or chevron-esque print. And I love the dominant shades of blue with peeks of pink. 

So I had several vintage sheets that I was hoping to incorporate. The pink floral (below) is one of them. And the white with tiny blue roses (first above) is another. And finally, the orange with tiny bouquets is the third. I hope to make it all work but the orange is the likely wild card here, so we'll see. I suppose I could incorporate it into the back, if anything. 

I started off picking out 12 florals, all with a vintage-shabby chic feel to them. But then I found the batiks and I chucked the lot! (not really). I have some mad, mad love for batiks and though I have no idea if they will look pretty in a quilt, mixed in with vintage florals and polka dots, I sure do hope so!

Love the medallion print below. I have 2 cuts with a similar medallion. 

Look at that feather print. Isn't it gorgeous?

A close up of the orange floral. There are plenty of dotted prints in these fabrics, which I thought was perfect. Some are intentional while others feel like rain drops. 

And there you have it! I'll keep you posted on this quilting journey. 

 Part 2 ~ it's wish list time again!

Here's a look at all the items I've hearted this week at Etsy. Lots and lots to get all google-y eyed about over there.

 {whimsical hand chain by Becca Cass Jewelry Design}

{vintage skeleton keys from Attic Antics}

{starry night bangles by Voz Clothing and Art}

 {a more affordable rhinestone and friendship bracelet by Colorblock Shop}

{brightly painted driftwood by Bonjour Frenchie}

Now I know this last one seems a bit indulgent. I mean come on, all I need to do is go ploughing through my own back yard (which abounds in trees and thus, sticks) to pick up a few samples. And then all I'd have to do is sand down those sticks, a job I can assure you ranks top of my list of undesirables. And lastly, all I'd have to do is buy paint and, paint them! (sour face). Not gonna happen. Bonjour Frenchie has done a fantastic job - beautiful! 

Sunday Best {Dotty Spotty}

Hello friends! Happy Monday to you.

Scuse the silly face here. We had a bit of a time with the "photo shoot" yesterday and I was having some difficulty whipping up a more pleasing expression in the 1 and only frame that was allowed me in that location. This was due to the fact that the huz was just so incredibly tired and rendered incapable of moving around the back yard to find a location with soft enough sunlight, the kind that generally allows me to fully open my eyes. Always nice in a photo, large eyes. So this first one was a quick snap and that's good ... I'm going to bed.

Moving on. I loved this dress from the moment I set eyes on it ... in my mom's closet. You may have noticed that I've been wearing an awful lot of mom's clothes of late and no apologies here. It's a huge bonus/blessing for me (and my sister) to have a mom with amazing style and a similar waistline. High fives and fist bumps all around!

This dress is reminiscent of the pretty 50's frocks worn in Mad Men's previous seasons. I realized that though I love vintage, I have very little inspired by the 50's at home. So this was a fun look to try. :)

 {dress - mom's closet (new favorite shop), purse - Anthropologie, belt - Forever 21, shoes - T J Maxx}

Don't you love the sweet hearts that I've added to the sidebar? If you read these posts via email only, please stop by and take a look. I'm so chuffed with them! They not only serve the purpose of pretty, pretty but also make it easy peasy to click and go. So please do, click and go, and join me on Facebook and Pinterest in you like. See you there!

When We Make Mistakes

Before I get to the title above, let's take a look at the DIY I had a go at this morning. 

I have these 4 friendship bracelets, 3 of which are truly as described (i.e. made with or by a friend) and the other was one that my pretend friend, Target, made for me. She's so sweet sometimes. 

Anyway, I love the way they all look together and especially love those friendship bracelets I've seen on Pinterest (here's an example) and Etsy (Doloris Petunia, oh my goodness $500 bracelet!), the kind that seem like fb's on steroids. They sparkle with rhinestones and are woven into fat pieces of glamorous arm candy. No regular friendship there. This friend is particularly awesome.

So I thought I'd sew my few together and create a pretty and slightly grander one, out of these 4 precious pieces. I like the fact that they all stay put now, instead of those unruly ends poking out all over the place. Now all I need is to bedazzle them! 

 Not perfect, with a bit of thread peeking, but my DIY's rarely are.

This is what the boys did while I worked on this. If they're awake, they're always nearby (still in jams here).

 I smile is quickly followed by a frown; fasted thing you'll ever see. And then back again in the blink of an eye. Not even sure what the problem was here, but it may have been for me to "uppy" him. That's a uszh for us.

 So, speaking of grumpy boys and back to my post's title, I think I'll tell you how terrible of a mom I am. Yesterday was our swimming lesson, something we've done for 3 or 4 years now, each spring, in preparation for the summer. Every year, someone doesn't want to take lessons. The first year it was Parker and he was maybe 4. He screamed and cried and embarassed me enough that I finally gave up. It would have helped if his teacher had just grabbed him from me, but she didn't and I understand that the circumstances don't always allow for it. (And by the way, I always appreciate a teacher or worker that is happy to take a crying child from my arms. Our kid's hair stylist even did that for me once and asked me to go get some coffee. Precious woman).

The next time round it was their cousin that was unhappy to go to class and my sister had to deal with the tears. Thankfully my boys were quite decent and Elliot was small enough to sit their contently, nibbling on biter biscuits.

Each year seemed to get a little better actually, well, until 2012. Yesterday was lesson #2 and it was hell. Parker's swim trunks were too big, the very same pair that was too big last summer (come on waistline!) and when something is wrong with his clothes or shoes, he cannot handle it. This has happened at school on 3 occasions (too cold, hole developing on knee, backpack was Monty's) and it has been the cause for not-too-fun breakdowns (meaning we have a meaningful discussion in the hall until the blessed principal steps in and saves the day. Yes, that's how it goes). So he wouldn't get into the pool. Awesome. This made Monty decide that he too, would not get into the pool. He was not to thrilled about class to begin with and I think that it's because his instructor let go of him last week and he had a scare.

I was fuming. Fuming, fuming, fuming. And I had to remain calm and composed while other parents  pretended not to notice the spectacle unfolding in from of them. So we finally left the pool area and went back to the locker rooms where I tried to reason with them and then threatened to take away Nintendo DS' - FOREVER! Finally, I whip Monty's swim trunks off of him, as he screams at me, and pull them up over Parker's hips, which seems to make P willing to try class (though they are incredibly tight). So off I send him and I leave with Monty and Elliot and we make our way to the bleachers to watch. The rest of the lesson went very well for Parker and his cousin, but Monty and Elliot decided to team up against me at the end when we were trying to get dried and dressed and it was just ... I don't know ... a complete nightmare.

Monty went to his room until dinner time, the first time we've ever done that (a good 30-40 minutes). It was very effective and all was well after. (When we give time outs, we talk to them after and pray together after apologies have been made).

All this to tell you about this morning. Monty was getting a little naughty again and I gave him a time out. It was supposed to be 4 minutes long (they're always their age - 2 minutes for E and 7 for P). And then an awful thing happened. I went to take a shower.

At least 20 minutes later, I'm pittering around the bedroom and little E walks up to Monty's bedroom door and knocks on it! I'm still complete unaware and I open the door ("strange that it was closed") and there he his, sitting under his bed, playing with toys. I felt SO bad. I think he was prepped yesterday and thought this was just another long one, so he never complained.

I did apologize to him for leaving him in there for so long and he was sweet as pie, like it was no big deal. I guess it worked?

But man, I can't believe I forgot about him.

A Day in the Life

Yesterday I tackled a project I've had planned for a while now, as it required a trip to Home Depot to pick up some paint (not my favorite thing). I found these adorable silhouettes at a thrift store about a month ago and though they weren't awful in their regular frames, I thought a little turquoise paint would spice them up a bit. I just had to pick out the perfect shade, which is where things get intimidating for me. 

This family of 5 is now hanging from our tree but I have plans to move them to a better spot. I'm just going back and forth between 2 walls, trying to make a decision.

I found this framed map on that same thrifting excursion and thought it could also use a splash of turquoise. It's now hanging in the guest bath room.

And changing subjects, but I mentioned yesterday that we had made cupcakes (for the kid's really) for my husband's birthday. I took a few pictures of them once they were alight with 34 candles. We needed some sort of sweet to sing a "Happy Birthday" tune over! Don't worry, I had some cherry cheesecake on hand for him too.

It was a lovely birthday day and we will celebrate again tomorrow with a date night. For his present he chose to hit the skies, taking a "discovery flight" before he starts his official lessons. My man has most definitely caught the flying bug, or something similar to that. It's wonderful when dreams start to become reality!