Favorites

I don't know if it's fair to say these were my favorite looks from my trip... More like they were the outfits where I had opportunity to take a photograph before I had thoroughly melted.  Sweat stains don't have a place in outfit posts.  You're welcome.

Last, I wish I'd gotten a better picture of this outfit; I was inspired by Chioma's post about pairing a structured top with a flowy maxi.  Tying my shirt at the waist; how had I not thought of that!

Oh Happy Day

And I promise to post about our trip soon.  Getting back to real life is hard.  Whaah.

What to Pack

Summer Vacation, hip-hip-hooray!
I've posted before about my love for the challenge to pack light (and save baggage fee$).  Well, it's time again.
We're in the humid south for 7 days.  I picked my outfits by starting with a piece and choosing 2 ways to wear it.  And then taking each of those pieces and selecting another way to wear it.  And so on, until I had 8 outfits out of 8 articles of clothing.

1)J.Crew 2)AE 3)AE 4)H&M 5)NY&Co 6)F21 7)Target 8)Target

Oh, and of course bathing suits and workout clothes, just in case.

For the kids, I stuck mostly with dresses/one-pieces and then two bottoms and two tops for each.  While I plan for them to wear articles a couple times, I plan for more extra with them since kids are prone to accidents.

The kids will wear the one pair of shoes they bring (sandals) to the airport, I'll wear my sneakers and one pair sandals will be in my bag.  Voila, everything in one carry-on sized bag!

Summer Brews

A couple of Christmas es ago, Damon received a nice set of Stratton 22oz Beer Mugs:

I've been enjoying filling them up with fruity summer brews for lazy evening sipping.

Yum.

Photo Archives

One of my favorite things to do is to look through old pictures of my brother and me and see if I can find a picture of my kids with uncanny resemblance.
Today feels like a good day to share one!
Here's a gem my mom dug up for me:

Emberly really looks like a cuter, girl version of her daddy, but I did find one of her at the same age where she kind of looks like me in that picture:

And Bauer is 92% my brother's doppelganger, but he is never in the mood for a portrait!  Boys!  Here's the best I could do:

Water Skills

On Monday, June 18th of 2007, my little brother drowned where the American and Sacramento rivers converge.  He was a healthy 22yo and a strong swimmer, but somehow, it wasn't enough.
Combine that with the general paranoia of motherhood, I'm very concerned with water safety.

With Bauer being bigger this year and not content to just sit in a raft or hang out in mommy's arms, I have not gone to the pool by myself with my kids.  Emberly thinks she knows how to swim (but picture frantic doggy-paddling) and Bauer doesn't know that he needs to know how to swim and has no respect for the water.  It's too much for one person.
So this year they're taking lessons.  Their instructor is using a sensorimotor technique that means even Bauer will learn to swim and what to do should he fall into a pool.
They've had one week of lessons so far and they are a workout!  It's amazing how quickly they can learn a skill.  Bauer complains through most of his lessons and is exhausted by the end.

I cannot wait to be able to go swimming with them and not have my anxiety level on red alert.
This clip is nothing too exciting as it's difficult for me to tape when I've got to keep an eye on at least one squirrely kid all the time on the observation deck, but stay tuned for footage of Bauer swimming once they get further along in their lessons!

I hate only being able to wonder how much joy Brandon would have taken in his niece and nephew, or if by now he'd have kid(s) of his own that he'd bring over to play with their cousins. I think making them safe in the water is the best way I can honor his memory.
If you're in the Las Vegas area and your interested in your 10mo to 4yo child learning water safety skills and swimming, please check out Dolphin Baby Swim School.

Happy Father's Day

Damon started the weekend out with some bonding with his son; a trip to the barber shop!

We'll see what else is in store for him today!  Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful daddy's!

Minty

I've really been wanting a pair of mint colored pants.  But how many pairs of colored pants do I really need?  I'm forcing myself to really think about it and instead try to get my mint fix from a long adored tank top.

Top: Rubbish
Belt: F21
Skirt and Shoes: Target

Picture = 1000 Words

Do you follow any blogs that are in a language you do not speak?

I follow Pausa Para Feminices, a beauty blog completely in Portuguese, of which I do not speak a lick.  But there are lots of pictures and I've never felt like I needed to know just what she's saying.  I can't remember where I heard that you know a commercial is effective if you can turn of the volume and still find it an alluring ad.  Is it the same for a blog?  I don't know, but I think it's pretty cool.

Neon + Leather + Leopard

Top and Cardigan: F21
Short: H&M
Bracelets: NY&Co
Shoes: Sperry via Nordstrom

Binge

We grilled again this weekend.  Teriyaki chicken skewers.  Damon thinks I'm prone to binging and that he'll be stuck making some kabob or another every weekend for the rest of the summer.  Would that be so bad?

I read this and decided to make a refreshing Arnold Palmer with Pomegranate Tea and Blueberry Lemonade.  Bomb.

Frosting Time

One of my favorite blogs posted yesterday about a day for cake.
I like a good cake, but for me it's really about the frosting.
Buttercream is my favorite, both for its sugary delectable-ness and simplicity of making.  So I was inspired to whip up a small batch.

I put it on graham crackers for a snack for the kids, but I mostly just lick it off my finger :P

Melting

I swear this outfit looked so refreshing and crisp when I put it on.
Fast-forward 9hrs, I had Emberly snap a picture of me and wow.  My makeup's melted and I look just... disheveled!  You'll just have to take my word for what I looked like when the day started.  Before the heat and before the chasing of the littles!

top and sunnies: F21
necklace: gift (it has my children's birth gems!)
shorts: NY&Co
bracelets: H&M and NY&Co
bag: Target

What was I thinking

The other day it was still early in the afternoon when Damon left and I was at a loss as to what to do with the munchkins.  Town Square popped into mind with its playground and splash pad.  Off we went.  I decided, Bauer could get even more exercise if I made him walk instead of using the stroller.
I wasn't high, really.  But maybe I had sun stroke?
It was fine at first.  He walked holding my hand and following my directions and just being a cute little almost-two-year-old.  But we went in H&M and he realized that he could dance to the music.  Okay fine.  But then he wanted to hop off.  And then he saw his sister looking at jewelery and trying on hats and he wanted to touch stuff too.  And then when I tried to calmly instruct him, he would laugh maniacally and attempt to run away.
It was an experience.  I'm sure he enjoyed it much more than I.
But hey, I did get a picture of my other cutie pie smoochy wookems.

Snow White

I kind of loathe Kristen Stewart.  Her perpetually open mouth and weird noises and expressions like she just forgot the English words for what she wanted to say.  And that's why I haven't seen the remaining Twilight movies.
But I like Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron and it looked interesting so we went to see Snow White and the Hunstman.
It had such potential!  It was great for the first hour and a half or so.  Then it was like they realized the movie was getting long and just barreled toward the end.  Once she fell into the enchanted sleep, the movie felt rushed and awkward.
While I wasn't bothered as much as I thought I would be by Kristen, I think Emma Watson could've portrayed the character better.  Dye her hair black and voila, Snow White.

Feels like summer!

Fresh fruit, grilling and swim suits.

Again

Again with the yellow jeans.

Top: J.Crew
Jeans and Purse: Target
Belt and Bangles: F21
Bracelet and Scarf: NY&Co
Shoes: Sperry via Nordsrom