Summer Accessories

I've been doing some Estate Sale shopping lately. More on that next week. Anyway, I came across this stellar clutch for $1.00 - can't pass that up. It's the perfect addition to my summer accessory line-up...

*neutral heels that go with everything
*black clutch
*straw hat for pool time and bad hair days
*vintage beaded necklaces
*80's beaded belt - the perfect accessory for jeans and a tee

Gosh, looking at these images I can't help but think of Fall - minus the hat. I love a multi-faceted wardrobe. xo

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Gatorade

Thirsty? In this house, we drink loads of Gatorade. I've got a husband who runs, a little who plays every sport you can think of and a tiny little who chases after his big brother with hopes of being just like him. Oh, and there's my aversion to any and all sodas. Yuck. So, instead of buying bottle after bottle of Gatorade, we buy the powder. (It helps me cut back on sugar intake for the boys too.) Instead of tossing those awesome orange containers, I've found some new uses.

I don't know about you, but when I pack snacks for my guys the pretzels, crackers and animal cookies inevitably end up in crumbs. I now pack all of their snacks in Gatorade containers. Not only does it prevent the snack from turing into mush, it keeps them fresh too.

These little containers also make a great music instrument. Fill with rice or beans for your maraca; add a chopstick to run up and down the rippled sides and you got two instruments in one. 

I've also been known to fill these amazing orange containers with used batteries. Once they're full, I take them to the recycle center. Who knew packaging could be so diverse? Thanks Gatorade. You rock! xo

Tie Dye FLOP

When Target has Kool-Aid on sale for 13 cents a package, you know I'm gonna try my hand at a little super smell good tie-dye. Using this "recipe", I was fired up for some groovy tees and an afternoon of fun. The afternoon of fun was had for sure, but none and I mean NONE of the color stayed. Uggghhh...I promise I can follow directions. Really I can!  I have zero idea where I went wrong with this one.

The absolute best part of this little adventure was the smell and Liam snapping photos with his Dad's old camera. The worst part? Twisting the boys' arms to actually do it with me, red hands (wear gloves, fo' real!), all the color washing out.

awesome!

NOT awesome!

Seriously. I'm clueless. I left these bad boys out in the hot Texas sun for 3 hours, dried them on the hottest setting in my dryer for 20 minutes, didn't wash them for 24 hours and ironed them. What the what? Next up...RIT Dye. Tried and true. xo

His & Hers: Summer Gear

It's HOT in Texas. When temps reach 100 almost everyday, there are only a few ways to cool down... movies, pool/lake, shopping. This past week, we swam four of the seven days. My fingers are still pruned. (Not really, but you get the picture.) Here's a look at our summer heat survival "gear."

 HIS

HERS

Today, Alli shared a His & Hers look at ice cream faves; another delightful way to beat the heat. Go take a look. Their road trip stop is adorable! xo

His & Hers series is a weekly little diddy that Alli, of Hooray, and I started for fun to give you guys a glimpse into our worlds - two images at a time. Two pics, two perspectives, no rules. Play along with us! xo

Weekly Challenge: Chronicle Mommy Wear

Here goes nothing... I had every intention of showing you a week's worth of outfits. Why? Because I see all these awesome ladies showing what they wear on a daily basis and get so inspired by them. However, the reality is that only about 30% of their amazing wardrobe is practical for me - a mommy of two. I want to wear heels and look cute all the time but that is just not the season of life I'm in right now. I wanted to show you all the stuff I wear, thinking it might inspire you - colors, mixes, accessories, etc. But, the more I thought about it and prayed about it, the more I realized that I just wanted you all to think I was cute and had good style. Selfish ambition and vain conceit are so ugly. 

It's my goal, and desire, to only share things with you that would inspire or stir in you a desire to create. So, if and when I do share my daily wardrobe, I promise it will come from a place of pure intentions - hoping that we can all feel beautiful without makeup, jewelry and heels. While it works for a lot of beautiful ladies out there, it doesn't fit my lifestyle right now and it might not fit yours. Plain and simple. Here's to the Mommies out there rolling around at the park with their littles in tennis shoes, flip flops and t-shirts. You are beautiful!

Funny side note - on Tuesday Jude, my oldest, asked me, "Mommy, why do you want to look all pretty?" What? I had on zero make-up and hadn't washed or styled my hair that day. My reply, "I want to look pretty for your Daddy. What makes you think I want to look pretty today?" Jude: "Because you have on that t-shirt and those necklaces and these shorts." Ha!  Yes, my t-shirt had beading, my necklaces were gold and my shorts...well, they were seer-sucker. How he saw that as wanting to be pretty I have no idea, but I love him for it. Ahhh...out of the mouths of babes. This Mom gig is so entertaining sometimes.

the "pretty" t-shirt

I hope your weekend if full of pretty and lots of sweet, random compliments. xo

Raven + Lily

For my birthday last year, my Mother-in-law gave me an amazing pair of leather feather earrings. They are amazing - I wear them all the time. I promised I would share a bit about the company that makes them because their story is amazing. So...better late than never. Check out Raven + Lily. It's not often that I promote products on my blog. But Raven + Lily is special. They are empowering women thru design/micro-enterpise training, thus giving them a future and hope for tomorrow.

Their blog is amazing too. It keeps you up to date with all that they are doing and the stories of the women they are empowering. They are currently undergoing some changes with their online shop page. Be patient with them. Their stuff is worth the wait. And if you live in LA, check out their new store. xo

Reduce, Reuse, Recycling: T-shirts

scarves

I'm a Mom... I live in t-shirts. Recently, blogland has me thinking of a few makeovers for my cast-offs.

produce bag

genius tutorial

love, love, love.

For more insanely fun ideas, go here. And to think, before the world wide web we were all just using our old tees as dust clothes! Happy crafting. xo

Playing with Fire

When it's 100+ degrees outside and you're dying for some quick/fun entertainment...why not build a fort and roast marshmallows - INDOORS? 

Here's what you'll need:

construction paper

scissors

tape

rocks

marshmallows

skewers

camping supplies (binoculars, sleeping bags and flashlights)

fort making supplies (couch, kitchen chairs, sheets/blankets)

baking pan

Take 1 or 2 sheets of black construction paper and cut into four sections.

Crumple up for "coal" - my guys loved this... "What are we doing?" They kept asking. (I like to keep them in suspense!) 

Cut and tape your "flames" out red, orange and yellow construction paper. (PS - I am aware that my fire looks more like a lotus flower, but whatever... the boys loved it.)

Take flames, "coal", rocks and pan. Build fire!

We ate our weight in marshmallows and made animal sounds while eating them. I kept looking through the binoculars and saying, "Did you hear that? It was a wolf, eagle, snake, owl, etc.! What sound does a wolf... make?" My youngest kept picking up his binoculars and saying, "Where Mommy? Where?" LOVE IT!

We then got into our tent/fort and read the Berenstain Bears: Spooky Old Tree with flashlights and headlight beaming.

***

It was so much fun. We will do this again for sure. xo

Around the House: Entry Table

I scored this humble little ditty over two years ago with the goal of painting it. I paid all of $12.00 for her, so I didn't mind the rough edges. But none the less, there she sat, in my entryway, longing for new life.  I'm pretty sure my husband thought I'd never paint her. Better yet, I'm pretty sure he saw her the week I brought her home and then never paid her a second thought. (We enter our home through the back door and my husband mostly pays attention to detail at work only.)

Here's a look at her now with a fresh new coat of ebony paint and accessories!

she's got a nice shape, I do believe

vintage books scored at a garage sale for $4.00

 rocks from the beach in San Diego

 brass candleholders from the thrift store - i love brass and black

my beloved new mason jars with flowers from neighbor Stan's garden

I kind of wish I did more front door entries! For now, I'll just sit on the edge of the couch and gaze into the entryway - with a big smile. Happy Monday. xo

Weekly Challenge: Survive Without My Man

When he's on the road and not right by my side, I can't sleep. It's not that we cuddle or spoon every night - I just like to know he's there. He makes me feel safe. So when he travels, I do my best to stay busy and catch up on reading all of your blogs at night. And I now have blogger bleedies - the reddest eyes in town due to looking at my computer screen for too long.

This week I:

*Didn't cook. If he's not here, we're having hotdogs and pizza.

*Made as many playdates as I could. Thank you Gramma, Ma, Rachel and Cricket.

*Had my Mom over for dinner and a sleep-over.

*Caught up on laundry. (Why do I feel like I'm always doing that?)

*Ran the dishwasher once, as opposed to everyday.

*Spent quality time with my littles. (I have some fun activities to share next week.)

This is the point, if I allowed comments, where I'd ask you - how do you pass the time when your hubs is away? Ugh, this no comment thing is a love/hate relationship. But it has done my heart well, I must admit.

XOXO to each of my lovely readers. You guys are better than peanut butter and chocolate. And that's saying a LOT! Happy Weekend. xo

Summer Fun

One hundred. Big number right? Well, it's a really big one when you're talking temperatures. Hello Texas Summer! If we are outside these days, you can bet we are trying to find a way to have fun AND stay cool. 


I found this really cool painting idea on Artful Parent. She used liquid watercolors, we opted for the what's in the cupboard "paint". Using food coloring, water, squirt bottles and pillowcases, we learned that red + blue = purple, yellow + red = orange and blue + yellow = green. Learning really can be fun.

The boys kept squirting water on their pillowcases after all the "paint" was gone so none of the color stayed, but they had a blast and stayed cool. Bonus - we get to do this again with the same pillowcases! Woot woot! xo