birthday bangs.

hello friends. next week is my birthday and today my besties took me out for a little birthday shopping trip.  while we were out i decided it was finally time to get my bangs cut and my hair trimmed a little. i've been growing my hair out for almost two years now and want to keep it going (if you are new to the blog or don't remember how short it was you can get a refresher here..)


my little walk-in appointment is going to be the last time i go in to have someone cut my hair for a very long time. i'm happy with the trim up but i could not get the stylist to cut my bangs how i wanted them. she cut a tiny side bang when what i really wanted was a nice full bang... and after asking her to cut them shorter 3 times i gave up.  so when we got home i took out my trusty cutter bee's and took matters into my own hands... and i have to tell you i'm in love! i haven't been this happy with my hairstyle in a super long time!

(disclaimer: i'm NOT advocating cutting your hair with crafting scissors, even if they are awesome. for future bang trimming i will be purchasing real shears.)

i've been researching DIY haircuts for awhile. i've had my mind up to get bangs one way or another for awhile now and since i tend not to have amazing experiences with salons (unless i'm getting everything chopped off) learning to cut them myself has been a major desire. if you're interesting in trying to cut your own hair you should check out you tube and do some searches. there are a ton of really great videos to help you get on the right track. i suggest watching several until you are really confortable with it!


along with some new threads i got a new pair of Minnetonka's while we were out...

so comfy. all in all it was a beautiful saturday out with my two favorite people!


i hope everyone is having a great weekend... i'm off to cuddle with my little family as joey plays acoustic and little miss circle dances around us. happy days!


love.

outfit:

shirt: day trip

cardigan: merona (target)

jeans: h&m

moccasins: minnetonka

necklace: anthropologie

mommy + me style: new feature!

hi friends!
i'm really excited to be starting my new feature 'mommy + me style'! as i shed my cotton tee & yoga pant uniform of the past year i will be sharing some of the fun things little miss and i have in our closets...

*disclaimer: there is absolutely nothing wrong with cotton tees, yoga pants, or any other uniform you adhere to. to be honest my wardrobe is still and forever will be full of my favorite cotton tees from target BUT after leaving my job at anthropologie, a pregnancy, and my first year as a SAHM i have gotten lazy and complacent in the fashion department... this is an opportunity for me to share as i kick myself in the butt and fall back in love with my clothes and my closet.

{mommy's accessories: ag denim jacket/anthropologie, vintage restyle necklace/anthropologie}

sunday morning was again super crazy hot here. looking at me in a jean jacket makes me break a sweat... the idea was that little miss and i would wear our jackets in church but it was so hot inside even that we didn't need them!

i stepped a little out of my norm and opted to let my hair down. i surrendered to my natural wave and used a few pearl pins from anthropologie to twist back the front (still waiting for a good opportunity to get my bangs cut).

{on mommy: top/eloise by anthropologie, skirt/bcbg}

this skirt is several years old and is one of the few things that has survived through many closet purges post florida. it did have a dumb hot chocolate stain on the front that was about 4 years old and so last week it was put into the bag to donate this month. but for some reason i was determined to wear it and keep it yesterday. on a whim i thought i'd try to get the stain out once more so i poured straight bleach onto a paper towel and went to town. lo and behold it came right off! i had washed and taken this thing to the dry cleaners several times but for some reason never tried straight bleach. now i know i guess know!

{on little miss: top/koala kids, bloomers/carters, shoes/faded glory}

abby was not in the mood to stay with me for some photos... she wanted to show off how good she is at standing and stepping. not quite confident enough to walk in her sandals but she does these cute little step outs and then bounces and claps for herself. so cute. she also wanted to get down and crawl to daddy with the camera... not happening on the sidewalk with those chubby bare little knees!

hope you all had a great weekend and stayed cool... sunday began our tiny break from the heat wave hitting the east coast. i'll be sharing more a bit later and introducing more new features all week!

love.

vintage 70s floral dress // for sale

hello friends.
i bought this little cutie at a 60s/70s vintage store in new york city on the lower east side... it's in beautiful condition. unfortunately the print is a little young and doesn't look great on me so i'm offering it up to a better home. i don't have my etsy store up and running yet, but i thought i'd offer it here before taking it somewhere around here for consignment.

there's no tag/brand on the dress so i'm guessing it's handmade... and it's made very well! the ruffles/bow on the back are so cute!

i took the measurements with the dress laying flat so you'll have to double where appropriate. it fits me well and i'm about a 8-10ish right now...

bust: 16"
hips: free
length (armpit to bottom): 25"

price: $25 OBO

this is such an affordable little vintage sundress! i priced it way below what i bought it for because i think NYC vintage prices are crazy insane...

i have a paypal vendor account and if you feel better going through our ebay i can accommodate. i will charge flat rate shipping to USA only.

please share this post with anyone who might be interested!

thanks. love.

a long daddy-less weekend.

so long.
long playtimes... long naps.
long rounds

(resisting the urge to add a lot of o's...)

we didn't have daddy this weekend which was a huge bummer. not having him around means that my kitchen is a wreck, i didn't make sunday dinner, and the laundry is now taking over my bedroom... but i won't think about all that right now.

we did have lots of long laughs, which was lovely. little miss is doing all kinds of new things and just can't stand it when she conquers a task... she screeches, laughs, excitedly chatters to all who will listen, and there are several rounds of applause. she's too much. quite obviously my daughter!

my sister's blanket is coming along. the rounds are getting super long and still haven't decided if i want to end it with panels & then a border, or keep doing rounds and do a thick border. decisions, decisions.

naptimes are really the only time i can work on it, as evidenced above. if i keep working on it while little miss is awake i have about 5 minutes before she wants to help. i've started giving her cast off yarn to play experiment with...

#1 we are working on not eating it. after we settle that she tends to throw it around for awhile, pull it apart, and hand it back to me in little fuzz balls. good times. she is really into handing me anything she comes across that she feels is out of place. she's delighted when you thank her for it!

and yes... that is an ipood tee she's wearing. i think i mentioned the laundry earlier.

so now babe is finally asleep, i'm going to think about cleaning the kitchen for a minute while i fake a dinner for myself, and then crochet and watch american pickers on netflix until joey comes home. it could very well be a late night but i'm praying it's not.

is it too soon to start a countdown to california? i think so.

oh. oh. speaking of cali... i almost completely forgot! a little later i'll go more into it but i'm super excited about putting together a real travel wardrobe for our trip. real dresses. put together outfits. vintage for me (and little miss too!). no easy cotton tees... etc. and the plan is to blog the process. putting this together is a little nerve-racking because these are going to be some of my first big fashion purchases since losing the majority of my baby weight and i still have a bit to go before September 1st. so every piece i order i have to pray that it will 'close' to fit, which is scary sometimes when ordering vintage or indie. but i digress...

the cause of my present excitement is my first purchase! i've been eyeing this dress at the red velvet shop and last night i took the leap... into my cart it went.


so i've broken the ice and i'm really happy. i hope to be just as happy when the dress comes home to me! i think it will... i don't want to spoil it but i am 99.9% sure that i'll be choosing this to wear for our friend's wedding. i'm planning on styling it with some off-white/antique white tights (as it will be post-labor day) and wedges.

and now it's time to get back to my hook and yarn zone. i noticed i used 'break the ice' like they do in american pickers... wouldn't that be an amazing job to have? my dream.

love.

anthro top 5.

kinda late for a long post but here we are.
i can spend hours going through the anthro.com
and it doesn't take long before my wishlist it overflowing with dresses,
blouses, jean, accessories, and home goodies.

but if i right now could only choose 5.
what would they be?

price will be a factor in this list. kinda.
i feel like some of my favorite pieces are actually pretty awesome price points.
so i feel a whole lot better when i come home from work with a little present for my closet.

so here we go...

1. side-by-side tunic: as you may have noticed i have this in the white/grey but it's just an amazing tunic that i might have to get in this grey/blue version. it's so comfy. and i see myself potentially getting too much wear out of it. and it's only $88. perfect.



2. button trio leggings: $54. not sure if we have these in the store yet but i love the extra button detail on these and can't wait to try a pair out. perfect with the tunic and a pair of flats! can't wait for it to warm up.



3. indian summer maillot: $198. i know, it's a bathing suit. but it was there, and it is perfect. i love this cut. i love the color stripes. would go amazing with the gladiators and a jersey dress. and a cocktail.



4. placated gladiators: $198. i'm kinda addicted to gladiator sandals. definitely not worth getting them yet but it's my top 5 and i obviously want to be on vacation.


5. there-you-were dress: $298. this dress is amazing. i'm thinking nicole's rehearsal dinner? maybe too much, but it's going to be july and i need an excuse to own this dress.



so there you have it.
maybe i should do a home top 5.
maybe tomorrow.
nite.