DIY Fresh Flower Wreath

I pinned this tutorial this morning and thought I'd go ahead and give it a try right away. The flowers in my garden won't last for too much longer! 

I thought we'd give it a try in a newborn photo shoot this evening. It may be a little too big for her head and the flowers may have wilted by then, but we'll see ...

Have a very happy weekend friends!

PS: I received an email from a lovely reader in Cyprus today, who introcuced herself and requested the recipe for my scones. I was so thrilled to hear from her and have decided that it was a very good thing that I did not add the recipe. :) So, if you would like it too, I am happy to share but would love to hear from you and "meet" you first. Makes it much more fun for me this way! And Maria, I'll get it to you soon. :)

Fashion's Night Out Preview

Fashion's Night Out is just 1 week away and I can't wait for an evening out celebrating the beautiful world of fashion! As an added bonus, my mom was asked to model too and this morning we went by Azure to have our fitting. Above is a peek at the dresses that were picked to strut that catwalk next Thursday night (6-9pm just outside of Azure in De Pere - drinks, hors d'oeuvres, music, and a runway show featuring both ladies and children's clothing at 8pm, if you'd like to come!). Below are photos of some of the other looks that Shanna had us try on. All stunning. It's tough to make a choice. 

I will say though that this particular dress was my favorite and very "me", so I couldn't be happier. :)

Since the majority of our little family was there for the fitting (see Charlie boy above), afterwards we stopped by a nearby bakery for a handful of goodies and relaxed outside in the sunshine.

Baking with Gran

My gran and I made some scones this morning, using her mother-in-law's recipe. Now these are true scones, not the American kind. :) Isn't that cool, to use a recipe that's been passed down from generation to generation? I know it's done quite often in other families but I don't have many of those in my home. So here's to a new tradition!

My little sister took some video of the event. Here's a glimpse of our silly shenanigans. :)

Our First Day of School

Today my two little guys went off to their first day of school. They were both so excited about it too, Monty moving up into a new classroom for Kindergarten and little E into a bit of pre-school. Elliot thought he was the coolest kid in town and couldn't wait to go to school. When I picked him up at the end of his day (he goes from 9-12, 3 days a week), he said, "We stand in straight lines!" Monty turned  5 in June but I think he's ready to start learning reading, writing and math at a Kindergarten level. The younger 2 attend a Montessori school and I felt that M would gain so much by studying these subjects now and having opportunity to develop leadership skills and have "big kid" responsibilities (as an example, last year he had a speaking part in the Christmas production which was awesome for his confidence). Anyway, my plan is to move him to Parker's school next year as a new 6 year old and have him take Kindergarten again there with a new group of kids. It's a classical school and quite a bit more difficult, so I think it will be an appropriate move for him at that age. So that's the plan with my little Ro.

I found this adorable printable and had each boy take a picture on their first day to remember this momentous occasion. Not sure if you can read it as well as I'd like but oh well, cute nonetheless.

{Parker lost that other front tooth today!}

 {Monty rarely goes anywhere without a little toy to keep him company. This week's tagalong was "Cutie"}

{We love you Spiderman!}

Sunday Best {simple neutral}

Hello friends! Hope you're all doing well. I'm a little late to get things going here this week but I'm here now, thankfully, which means I've finally a moment to "chill". The boys started school today (more in the next post!) and it's been a whirlwind of a time preparing for today.

I had the coolest thing happen this morning. I received an email from a lovely lady with HGTV.com and she requested that they feature a photo of the fireplace area in our home on their site. How amazing! What wonderful little surprises can come out of these home tours. :)

Be back soon with photos of the boys first day back to school!

{dress - Target, shoes - Aldo, bag - Anthropologie}

Dear Boys ...

This is what's happening right now. A gingerbread scone with espresso icing.

I thought I'd take a moment to journal today ... 

{2 years}

 Dear Elliot,

This was a massive summer for you, a season in which you developed and changed. You lived in your spider man costume which is evident if you take a look at our photos and I thought it was adorable. That's what little boys should do ... just wear super hero uniforms out and about all the time, not just for Halloween. We agree on this matter. On others, notsomuch!

You are not as easy as pie as you once were. In fact, it's pretty safe to say that you are immersed in independence and stubbornness, needing no help and sure to yell loudly and with scrunched nose in position if we dare get in your way. You're a little tyrant sometimes but then in mere seconds you'll turn into mommy's sweetest chicken in the whole world. I knew it was coming, I've dealt with this several times before, and I know it will pass if we deal with it correctly. So I'm not worried. Granna and Garthie, on the other hand, are confounded by you. Angel one minute, wild animal the next. The biggest bummer is that we can no longer eat out with you. You're awful, excruciating company at a restaurant (no offense, little guy. I know you'll get better at it).

I potty trained you this summer and it wasn't too bad. You weren't nearly as difficult as Parker, nor as easy as Monty. It's exhausting potty training a child and I think that this is the main reason I'm so spent nowadays. Chanting those same 7 words ("Elliot, do you need to go potty?") every 10 minutes is tiresome and the trips to the bathroom get old really fast. But we endure and it's for a very fine cause. No more diapers! You're almost there now, living in undies all day long except when you sleep. We did it little man! One more milestone under our belts.

You've also learned to talk much, much better. We understand just about everything that comes out of your mouth. Okay, at least daddy and I do. You make more sense and while you still love to chat about everything and nothing in the same conversation, you don't make up your words anymore. Haha! I think I'll miss that though. You say some really funny things like, "Mom, my boogers taste like vegetables!" (a very clever description) and when you pray at night, you tell God all about your day. We all (brothers too) listen to you ramble on and on about every little thing you did and enjoy the playback in our mind's eye. I'm sure the Big Guy just loves that though. :)

You still love for me to sing Twinkle Twinkle to you every night before bed, just as you have since you were a baby. That part has not changed.

I love you so much little E.

Dear Parker, 

You started 2nd grade this week and you were so excited about going back to school. I'm so grateful for that, the fact that you were eager and not dreading it. I couldn't bare it if we were both in the same boat, not wanting to say good bye to our summer. But you were brave and happy and we walked into your new classroom just 3 days ago, no tears at all. In fact you said, "Second grade is going to be the best grade ever!" What a relief for me, knowing that you're not always comfortable being in new places and with new people (you even seem a little uncomfortable going to the same kid's church every single Sunday), and being confident about it. I know it's because you feel like you know these kids and well, I'm just proud of you for handling this change the way you have. You're much trickier to figure out, much more intricate, and so I am often left to wonder what you're feeling and how to handle you. And yet we're the same you and I.

We spent some time working on reading and math this summer, just to keep that brain chugging. You seem to enjoy both and never complained when I asked you to do one or the other. Though you are obsessed with video games right now and I suppose this is it, huh!? Your dad loves them too. Your favorites are Lego Star Wars and Lego Batman and you'll talk to us about the characters and the plot for ages and ages, with great enthusiasm. It's funny cause I have no idea what your talking about but I try to keep up a little cause you think it's so cool. 

You're so wonderful about giving your mommy love when we're at home, you come up to me and tell me that you love me and you're so tender and kind to your whole family (though Monty can ruffle your feathers). But when I took you to your first day of school and I asked if I could hug you when we stood at your locker, well, you gave me a pleading smile and backed away. I guess you're too big for that now, at least at school. That's okay .... as long as I still get them at home. 

I love you so much Parker James. 

{7 years}

Alone Time

I've had a couple of weeks now with this same feeling ... just completely uninspired. I've not managed to produce any cute outfits or taken the time to get my hands into some interesting crafts. I think it has something to do with having the kids at home with me for the past 3 months and the fact that mamma time has been very slim. Now, with the kids heading back to school and that extra creative time glowing at me from the end of my gloomy tunnel (getting shades brighter each day), I'm looking forward to getting my energy for that back and feeling inspired to create beauty once again. And just so you know, it's not all yay, the kid's are gone and all but shoving them out the door kinda stuff over here. In fact, I've been in a haze the past few days with Parker back in school. It's one of the hardest adjustments for me in my year, that first week back to school. I'm horrible at it! I don't know what it is really ... perhaps the tug at my heart to remain unrestrained and without extended commitments, fly by the seat of our pants kinda people. Ridiculous. And then on the other side of that I'm thrilled to have alone time again. And when you're back into the routine of things, well, I guess it does feel pretty good. 

Anyway, since I don't have much original work to show you at the moment (though there are some mag articles in the works and which I hope to share soon), I thought I'd share some of my recent obsessions/interests on Pinterest. Seems I'm headed in a very autumnal direction and I just can't stop myself. Though I love summer dearly, I'm just so tired of these ol' clothes!

{"new" layered outfits + loving burgundy}

{coffee shops - my best friend wrote to me after she saw this picture, saying, "I think we should go on a trip around the world and find all the best coffee shops." Yes, that would be absolutely perfect, perfect, perfect. You and I are soul sisters}

{long locks/bangs forever!}

{spice-y hues}

{I'd rather be caught up in a fairy tale then rooted in real life sometimes}

{picnics and pastries}

{snuggling}

{coffee talk}

{comfort food}

Our Girl's Weekend Away

Here are a few pictures that we snapped on our girl's weekend away (to Madison) just a few days ago. It was the most fun ever and I appreciate these girls so much! Can't wait to do it again. :)Squashed in a van and posed in front of the state capitol.Cupcakes!

 Mimosas for breakfast and lots of shopping!

Cupcakes!

Dresses for dinner and first timers visit Anthropologie. 

Great conversation, lots of tears rolling down my cheeks from laughter, restless (noisy) nights, too much sugar, not enough coffee, and a few new outfits. The best! xx