Conversations Between Tots

The other day, we went to the pool with a group of friends. Everyone rode in my friend's minivan except for my Little Miss and her little friend.  Let me tell you, it made for a very interesting drive.

At one point, the two of them began to argue about something and it went like this:

Little Miss: Sully, top talkin'!
Sully: No, you top talkin'!
Little Miss: No, I not a baby!
Sully: Well, I not a baby eduh!
Me: Nobody's a baby, let's all play nicely. <smiley face into the rear view mirror>

Later, my little diva says, Sully, you yike Seet Fog (Sweet Frog)?
Sully: Yeah... but sometimes I 'cared dere.
Little Miss: Silent pause...
Sully: Dey hab ice cweam dere!
Little Miss: I yike ice keam.
Sully: I yike ice cweam, too. You wunna go?

I think my three-year old just got asked on her first date... I'm pretty sure her daddy will have something to say about that.

Well, I didn't wear this pretty little skirt to the pool, but I did wear it to meet a group of friends at Chick-fil-A where our kids proceeded to almost nearly tear down the play area... I've had three days of back-to-back play dates. I'm loving this summer thing.

Skirt & Tank: Target

Sandals: Jackie's eBoutique

Bracelets: Premier Designs Jewelry

Rings: Target & Alyssa's Antique Depot

I got this fedora at Target yesterday for only $6.48!

I'm linking up today with The Life of the Party, Passion for Fashion and Two Thirty Five Designs.  I hope you all have a beautiful weekend! We're heading to Alabama where internet connections are scarce, so I may not be seeing too much of you until I return on Monday.

Seven for Seven

As I finished my first 30 for 30, I thought to myself, "Aaah, this feels nice. I have no desire to get dressed and I don't have to!" So, I spent two whole days in my gym shorts, swimsuit and grubby clothes. Then I took a trip to New Orleans for my sister's shower.  Just before I began packing, I was reading one of my favorite style blogs and noticed that she was hosting a 7 for 7 link up.  Say what?  Make 7 different outfits out of 7 different pieces of clothing?  I mean, I know I just finished something similar, but this was the perfect solution to my packing dilemma!

coral shorts, black maxi skirt, coral hi-low skirt, striped shirt, turquoise shirt, red striped tank, bird print shirt

So, I threw these pieces into my bag, along with several pairs of shoes, lots of jewelry, and two tank tops, and called it finished.

These are my outfits in the order I wore them.

Outfit Number One: Coral Shorts & Striped Shirt

Worn while Cooking & Doing Crafty Stuff for the Shower (Friday)

Shorts: Target (Yeah, I'm stuck on these coral shorts.)

Top: Liz Claiborne (Thrifted)

The Little Miss is wearing a romper and leopard print ballet flats from Target, as well. I don't know how we'd manage to get dressed without Target.

Shoes: Target (Old)

My shoes were hidden in the grass, so I wanted to give you a close-up. =)

Outfit Number Two: Coral Shorts & Bird Print Shirt

Worn to Target & Baskin Robbins (Saturday)

Bird Print Shirt: H&M (Thrifted)

Sandals: Jackie's eBoutique

Wrap Bracelet: Premier Designs Jewelry

Outfit Number Three: Coral Hi-Low Skirt & Bird Print Shirt

Worn to my Sister's Shower (Saturday Evening)

Hi-Low Skirt: Target

Wedges: Zulily

Outfit Number Four: Black Maxi Skirt & Red Striped Tank

Worn to Church (Sunday)

Skirt: Target

Tank: TJMaxx

Necklace: Rue 21

Neon Bangle: Target

Outfit Number Five: Coral Shorts & Turquoise Shirt

Worn Playing Outside & Visiting Family (Sunday Afternoon)

Shirt: Banana Republic (Thrifted)

Flip Flops: JCPenney (My Sister)

Silver Ring & Belt: Target

Stacked Ring: Premier Designs Jewelry

Outfit Number Six: Hi-Low Skirt & Turquoise Shirt

Worn Traveling Home (Monday)

Rings: Target

Wrap Bracelet: Premier Designs Jewelry

Stacked Bracelets: Gift

Nail Polish: Maybelline Color Show, Polka Dots

Outfit Number Seven: Black Maxi Skirt & Turquoise Shirt

Worn to Church (Wednesday Night)

Wedges: Zulily

Belt: maurices

Bracelets: Gift, Premier Designs Jewelry, Bealls

Turquoise Ring: Ellis and Wiles

I think we can safely say that coral and turquoise dominated this challenge. The coral skirt, coral shorts, the turquoise top... During this challenge, it felt a bit like I was wearing the same thing over and over again.  To keep my outfits feeling fresh, I rotated between gold and silver jewelry.  But that only helped a little bit.  If I were to do something like this again, I think I'd include seven very different pieces, so that I felt like I was wearing very different outfits every time I got dressed.

I'm linking up all over the place today. If you want to see pretty little outfits all over the blogosphere, click on these links: I Feel Pretty, The Pleated Poppy, Transatlantic Blonde, Dear Abby Leigh, Wardrobe Wednesday, Monday Mingle, Funday Monday and Monday Bloom. 

BBQ Shrimp & More Summer (Mom) Style

Outfit #6 is brought to you by the sundress.  You really can't go wrong with a sundress. You could throw a cardigan button-up shirt over it if you wanted to wear it to church or work. Or you could bear your shoulders to the sunshine if you were just hanging around with your kids.

Dress & Sandals: Mark, Jackie's eBoutique

Belt & Rings: Target

Bracelets: Gift

Which is what I did.  Can I make a confession to you? I always thought SAHM moms were exaggerating when they said they didn't get dressed all day because they just didn't have time. In my little mind, I thought that certainly a mom could take a few minutes to get dressed even if she had no place to go.  Um, hello, wake-up call, nice to meet ya.

My morning yesterday was so busy (a run, a quick shower, clean up the house, swim laps at the pool about 40 minutes away) that I wasn't able to get for real dressed until about 1:30. At this point, do you know what was running through my mind?

Really, do I have to put on something cute? I'd much rather run around in pajama shorts and a tank top!  However, since I swore to complete this 30 for 3,. I got dressed. I had nowhere else to go, but I got dressed anyway.  At least my husband had something worth looking at when he got home, right? ;)

And now I want to take a quick minute to share a recipe with you.  I am 100% sold on eMeals.  I've been using them now for about 5 or 6 weeks and nearly every meal I've made has been amazing! One of my favorites was BBQ shrimp.

It may not look like much, but that's only because my picture taking capabilities are severely lacking...

1/4 cup fat-free Caesar dressing
3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp butter
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp hot sauce (Tabasco)
2 bay leaves
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 lb shrimp, peeled
3 tbsp white wine (or chicken broth)
2 lemons, wedged

Combine dressing, W sauce, butter, oregano, paprika, thyme, pepper, hot sauce, bay leaves and garlic in a large nonstick skillet.  Bring to a boil and add shrimp.  Cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add wine (or broth) and cook 1 minute more until shrimp are done.  Serve with lemon wedges, corn and slices of French bread.

You have got to make this sometime! It's amazingly delicious. I think it would pair wonderfully with steak. You know, a little surf and turf always goes well together.

If you're interested in trying eMeals for yourself, feel free to use the code Fourth for 15% off through February 10th!  Also, if you sign up now, you get a 4th of July menu and a summer vacation menu free!

I'm linking up today with Mix & Match Fashion.

Why I Do This...

Recently, I was all flustered and embarrassed when talking to a friend about this little ole blog of mine and asked myself the question... Why do I blog? And not so much why do I blog? But why do I blog about my clothes?

Top: NY&Co

Pants: Kohls

Sandals: Shoedazzle

Note to self... Find another pose. This looking down thing is making your hair look rather poofy.

There are several reasons, I guess. Initially, I started blogging because I was bored at work. Yes, I did the majority of my blogging at work during my lunch break or when the workload was slow. Now, I can guarantee you there is never a dull moment in my line of work! Teaching third graders keeps me constantly on my toes... quite literally. It's incredibly fun, rewarding . . . and exhausting! So, yeah, no time for blogging on the clock.

I also first started blogging about my clothes because I needed something to pull me out of my wardrobe slump. I was about 9-ish months post-partum with my youngest daughter and was feeling like a frumpy mom of two. Knowing that I'd be snapping pics of my frumpyness helped me to see the clothes hanging in my closet (or more often than not, on the floor of my closet) in a new light. And it helped me to put a bit of effort into my outfits even though I was sleep deprived from one or the other of my kids getting up constantly throughout the night.

Then I really got into it. I mean, how much fun is it to meet people not just all over the country, but all over the world?!? And I liked sharing a little bit of my creativity with the world.

Necklace: Jackie's eBoutique

Bracelet & Ring: No idea...

But let me tell you... do I enjoy preening in front of the camera? Um, no. I'm especially uncomfortable when someone walks past right as I'm posing all prettily.  Can we say... AWKward! But it's fun to put my outfits out there on the world wide web and be critiqued.  I don't think it's vanity or being self absorbed... I certainly hope it isn't!  I tried blogging about a few things that are close to my heart, but that isn't my talent. Laughing at myself I can do. Talking about something serious and important... I just don't have the ability to make it sound as important as it really is.  So, instead of trying to talk about important things, I keep my posts about the superficial and hope that maybe some flustered mom out there will look at my blog and think... Well, if she can get dressed in an ensemble that is somewhat put together and stylish on 4.5 hours of sleep, then maybe I can too.

Okay, in reality, I'm getting more like 7-ish hours of sleep these days. But trust me, there are times when I get much less.  Ear infections, sore throats, nightmares, early morning runs... they all interfere with the perfect 8-hour night of sleep.  You know how it is!

Finally, my last reason for blogging is to ask for advice. There's often something that I wear over and over again . . . in the same way! So, I ask you how you would wear it and get all kinds of outfit inspiration.  Which brings me to my question of the day...

How else would you style these sandals? I'm stuck!

I'm linking up today with Monday Mingle, Still Being Molly, Sunday Style, Passion for Fashion and Watch What I'm Wearing.

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While you're here, don't forget to swing by and enter to win your own personalized Road ID bracelet! You only have until Wednesday!

Sugar Rush

Have you ever had a sugar rush?  I'm about to have one because I'm drinking a white chocolate mocha while eating on some powdered doughnuts. That's sure to bring on a sugar rush!

I'm also having a bit of sugar rush over this adorably sweet clutch from Sugar Rush Creative that I won in Sharon's giveaway!

Bracelet & Necklace: mark. via Jackie's eBoutique

Rings: Target & Premier Designs

Clutch: Sugar Rush Creative

All of the products by Sugar Rush Creative are so sweet, like the Bluebird Reversible Hobo Bag, the perfect bag to give you a sugar rush all summer long! =)

This clutch is the perfect size to carry my keys, my lipgloss, my wallet and few other necessities. It's small enough that I could toss it into my everyday purse, but roomy enough that I could carry it on its own! And how pretty is the navy and lime green pattern?!?

Trusty Chambray Shirt: Gap, Thrifted

Neon Jeans: NY&Co

Belt: Target

Flats: No idea, they're sooo old. ;)

Do you like a bit of a sugar rush? =)

I'm linking up today with The Pleated Poppy and Transatlantic Blonde for What I Wore Wednesday!

While you're here, if you don't mind, could you swing by Monroe & Main's facebook page and vote for my shoe haiku? It's #44 on Page 3! The winner gets a $250 gift card and if I win, I'll definitely be sharing the love with you! =) Thank you so much!!

OTI - WInning Interpretation

We're almost finished with Open to Interpretation! Today's interpretation is based on the following photo, which one of the participants submitted.  We all voted on various submissions and this one was the winning look.

Now, longsleeves and sweaters just don't work in Florida in June.  However, how about those gorgeous colors?!? I love the pink and green together, so I chose those to work with, as well as incorporating some checks into the outfit, too. =)

Shirt: Thrifted

Dress & Sandals: mark. (purchase here)

While I love and adore my new little tank dress that I got from Jackie's eBoutique, this is not the cutest outfit that I've ever put together. Some girls look so effortlessly chic when they knot their shirts. Well, when I do it, I just look very busty and a little bit like I'm trying to draw attention there, when I'm totally not!

These sandals, however? I love them! I have a feeling I'll be pairing them with all of my sundresses this summer.

Bracelets: Target

Zipper Bracelet: Tara Lane Designs

Ring: Alyssa's Antique Depot

See how I played with the greens and pinks here? I wore the pink checked shirt over the nude colored dress and then accessorized with green.  I like how pairing the colors played out, but I'm just not crazy about knotting the shirt.  You know, I've done this a few times and each time, I think that it could be done better. Then I never seem to get to that "better" point. Ha! Maybe it's time for me to stop attempting these knotted shirts!

To see how other bloggers interpreted this look, swing on by Freckles in April and check them all out!