Yard Sale Season

I turn into such a dork whenever we do our yard sales (which is beginning to be every year). I get all excited about haggling with the the bargain hunters and especially displaying all of our wares in an aesthetically pleasing manner .  Suddenly I'm 7 years old, playing "Museum" with my sister and our friends. Picture stuffed toys on pedestals with placards reading "Cabbage Patch eating Dinner" and "Care bear at Play".  Yes, I know what you're thinking...I've already got a call into Mattel... I'm pretty sure there is money to be made in a "My First Museum" Set.  I'll let you know how it pans out.

Boredom's culmination.

They just don't make labels like they used to.

Maybe if I stand here and act interested, people will stop and want to buy our crap...stuff...valuable items...

Inside book jacket  for "Living Life RAD: a Biography"

(P.S. Happy Birthday to my RAD hubby!!!)

The biggest problem with pulling out all of our old stuff to sell is that Charlotte starts to fall back in love with all of her old toys. I'm pretty sure I know where she gets it considering the pile of clothes that I rescued from the sale to "try again".  Here she demonstrates to some patrons how handy a jogging stroller might be, while partaking in a little sippy cup action.

"This can be a big girl cup too, huh Mama?"

Sure, Char, whatever you say....

Gypsy Life

I couldn't believe how hot it was today! I had all but given up on us having a summer at all, but it went up into the triple digits in many places around the central coast...yay, for summer arriving at the end of August! I may have gotten a tad excited at the prospect of actual hot weather and headed out in this daringly short skirt....to work. Don't worry, I wore my bloomers;)

In a former life this was a long, early 90's gypsy skirt that, I'm pretty sure at some point, my high school English teacher sported with Birkenstocks and a sweater vest, but I digress...

I chopped it off, ran my overlock machine along the edge, and Voila!

tank...New York and Company (gift from a friend)

Cardigan...Zac Posen for Target ($29)

Skirt...Thrifted ($3)

Shoes...Jessica Simpson thrifted ($15)

Necklace...Kohl's ($4)

I apologize for the excessive twirling and curtsying...but, I live with a 4 yr old professional princess, it comes with the territory....

...now if you'll excuse me, I have some essays to grade.

Shock of Color

This was my outfit for work today. This area of California has had a very non summer this year and it really stinks. I had high hopes for atleast a glimmer of sun so I rolled up my pants slapped on my sandals and hoped for the best.

 

 I love these pants. They are totally 80's which of course I love, but my favorite part about them is the pleats in front that cross over each other. I think that is so unique and fun!

 

One of my favorite tricks when I'm putting an outfit together is to think about color in a kind of "out of the box" way. For example, everyone knows that complimentary colors work well together because they are colors that are across from each other on the color wheel.  Colors such as blue and orange (War Eagle!), green and red, yellow and purple. If you also think of variations of these colors when coordinating outfits it will bring out alot of unexpected matches. I loved how these olive (variation of green) pants and hot pink (variation of red) belt complimented each other and made the outfit work. Paired with a basic black and white graphic tee.

In Bloom....ers

Charlotte went through a phase where she would wear nothing but dresses or skirts. The only way that we could convince her to atleast wear a pair of shorts under them, to avoid any wardrobe malfunctions, was to call them "bloomers" (Dave's brilliant idea). I guess maybe I've been harboring some bloomer envy because when I saw these on Etsy they were in my cart quicker than you can say, "are you actually gonna wear these in public!?"

Charlotte and I went to have lunch with Aunt Mo in downtown Santa Cruz, where some chick wearing her underwear as outerwear is on the normal end of the spectrum.

Whatcha think of my bag? Found it in a vintage/antique shop in Fairhope, AL when I was roadtripping with my Dad and Sis. It was so serindipidous because we found two (my sister has the other). This style of artwork is called Mola and is native to Panama where my dad was stationed when I was in 4th and 5th grades. It is very intricate and detailed and I have defintely developed more of an appreciation for the handwork since then.

Mo love.

Flower Girl

Last weekend we were witness to one of the most beautiful weddings I have seen.  Picture this, a redwood grove adjacent a beautiful mountain lake in the heart of the Santa Cruz mountains, late afternoon sunlight twinkling through the trees and glistening off the water, accents of orange and blue dot the background and an amazing couple pledging their love for always....

They were sweet enough to invite Charlotte to be a part of their big day as the flower girl. Let me tell you, as nervous as I was for her that she may feel the pressure of the moment or get stage fright, she came through with flying colors and took her job VERY seriously. I volunteered to give the beautiful bride a last fluff at the beginning of the aisle which also allowed me to whisper some last encouraging words to Charlotte before her big moment. Each of my assurances was answered with a cool and confident, "I know that...I know that, Mama..." as she stared dead ahead waiting for her cue.

I was one proud Mama.

A little known fact about my husband is that he breaks out in hives at the mere mention of him and I "matching" in any way, shape, or form. Even if we accidentally wear the same color he will insist on changing. HOWEVER, when he realized that he had a shirt in his closet that exactly matched the color of Charlotte's custom made (wink,wink) flower girl dress....well, as you can see he was one proud daddy.

After the wedding brought lots of savory Mexican food, , awesome 90's dance music ( I heard some strange chick even busted out both the Running Man AND the Roger Rabbit...weirdo.)...

delicious beverages...

...and of course many heart-warming romantic moments...precious.

Congratulations you guys, thanks for letting us be a part of your special day!

Flash Dance

This past weekend I got away for a fun Bachelorette weekend in San Francisco for my friend, Alexis...It was a lot of fun, filled with girl gab, cab rides, shopping, wine and cheese ingesting, hill walking, ice skating (yep, in July...you cant beat it), and to cap off the weekend  Mimosas. . During a delicious brunch at a spot that prides themselves on their "Bottomless Mimosas." I managed to get quite "tipsy".... I mean, "drunk" is such a strong word isn't it? 

Which brings me to the splendor you see before you...

After our champagne filled brunch we opted for last minute shopping  and stumbled (hehe) into the American Apparel were I discovered, to my drunken bliss, that they carried children's clothes. More specifically little girl's gold dance leggings...genius.

Had I  been  more sober I probably wouldn't have risked such a bold (and overpriced)  purchase on my fashionably head strong daughter, but luckily for me she LOVED them and the Abby Cadaby shirt that I got to go with them. My only problem now is that I'm pretty sure her preschool teachers think I have her in training for "Toddlers and Tiaras"...ugh.

She is a fan.

FOUR!

My beautiful, smart, funny, headstrong, sweet, and sassy girl turned four on the 1st of July. It's been a crazy month and am just now getting around to posting about her birthday. First of all I have to say that I cant believe this little girl has been lighting my life for four years already.  I feel so lucky to have such an amazing child, who shows me everyday the way to have passion for life in a way that can only be demonstrated by the spunky little four year old that she is.  The last few months she has been revelling in the fact that she was turning four, with comments such as "maybe I will try that when Im four", or "I will be able to do that by myself when I'm four", and now that she IS four I love seeing how she has taken a genuine interest and bravery in doing those things that she feels are adequate for a four year old. 

I made her dress with her help in picking the fabric...(she liked the pink and blue floral) I had to improvize and use the blue knit for the body of the dress because I didnt have enough floral to do the entire thing. She was definitely "in like" with the dress. She humored me.  I had to break my rule of letting her wear whatever she wants...she probably would have worn her swimsuit the whole day, but I insisted she put the dress on atleast for a little bit since there is a good 5 hrs labor in that thing.

Her party was a blast, filled with family, friends, pool and "slip and slide" fun, pinata beating and of course birthday cup cakes.

the gang.