A summer dinner

I made dinner the other night and when I walked outside with it and placed it at the table my husband said "wow, this looks so amazing, you need to take a picture and put it on your blog". So, here you have it, dinner!

 I wanted to highlight fresh snap peas and cherry tomatoes from my neighbor's garden and just sauteed it up with some garlic and shrimp. Served it on a bed of fettuccine with a light Alfredo sauce.

YUM! And all was enjoyed with an ice cold beer. (iced tea for me)

Summer Wedding

In a recent post I highlighted a maxi dress in anticipation of wearing it to an upcoming wedding. I ended up returning that dress and purchasing another to wear and here it is in pictures:

I think I just didn't feel comfortable in the maxi for a wedding, it seemed too casual. So, I found this dress and felt very nice, isn't that the key to looking great, feeling great in it?

The bride looked beautiful, I had a great time with my husband and

I kept it simple and classic.

Dress: Calvin Klein
Shoes: BCBG
Bracelets, necklace and rings: gifts

When dressing is easy...

How easy can dressing be when all you have to do is slip on one soft item like a T-shirt?That's what it's like wearing this dress.

Add a necklace,

And some colorful shoes...

 and you're all good to go. Looking lovely and feeling cool.

But, "wait, I wanted to be in the picture, Mommy!"

Dress: Target (2008)

Necklace: LOFT outlet (2011)

Shoes: Boden-thrifted

Interestingly the shoes were thrifted brand new for $4, I was unsure how I would incorporate them but, I think this highlights them nicely.

Linked up for HOTT with Harper's Happenings....check out all these fab finds

Yes or No?

I bought this dress just recently after admiring it from the Target Webster collection.  I waited to purchase it because I was unsure how a maxi dress would fit into my daily outfit choices.

In this case, waiting had the added bonus of price reduction and when I saw it and purchased it for about 70% off, I thought this is a really cute dress and I like how it fits and feels.

But, I have to admit, I like how it fits and feels like I like an old nightgown; it's roomy and breezy and basically doesn't touch my body. 

So, I have a question: "is not touching my body a good fashion statement or just laziness due to the heat?"

Better view of shoes.

I was thinking about wearing it to a wedding this weekend (outside at a historic horse harness racing track) and I don't know if it is a good choice. Here, I styled it with a pair of flat thongs for length consideration, I think a heel/wedge would make it look too short and wore no jewelry because the print is so busy. What do you think, is it a good choice for a wedding or better for an evening on the lake? 

DIY Friday

I've been having fun doing small little projects and assorted DIY's with my daughter and this post features my most recent and a not so recent pair of altered jeans.

This anchor painted striped Tee is my most recent DIY. It was really easy and a fun activity that my daughter could join me in doing.

 I got the idea and instructions from April at Knocked up Fabulous. I wasn't sure if I'd feature it here on my blog, but it was cooler today and when I got up and put jeans and this T-shirt on I thought I'd might as well share.

Shirt: faded glory

Jeans's: Joe's Jeans-thrifted and tapered

Sandals: Payless

Toiles de Jouy

Toile fabric has always managed to capture my fascination and as kid I saw these scenes and often wondered where these people were from. Now I know that these pastoral images are typically of the French country side and are often depicting their everyday life. So, for me, this is my every summer shirt in toile.

Funny bending down pose for my daughter's camera skills.

I've worn this toile printed summer top for the last ten years. And here I've paired it with a light chambray skirt and broke my self imposed "chambray on the blog" ban, It's a skirt, not a shirt so I guess I'm okay. 

I usually break it out when it gets very hot because it is a thin wispy cotton and has minimal coverage.

As all of you are experiencing the summer heat wave you'll understand why these and the previous posts have been makeup less photo shoots. When the temperatures reach 100 degrees F, make up just melts off my face, so I don't bother.

Simple and cool.

Shirt: J.Crew-old

Skirt: Target-old

Sandals: TJ Maxx-old

Necklace: Target (2009)

Since I used the correct French description for toile in this post, I thought that this was probably appropriate for my Friday's Fancies at {longdistanceloving}.

Patterned Pants

Not for the faint at heart or for anyone who doesn't like to stand out and be different, patterned pants are here!

I thrifted these silk pants about a month ago and have been milling around in my mind what I would wear with them. I also spent time creating outfits out of things I don't have!

I finally wore these paired with a back buttoned silk blouse and loved the effect.

 I love the colors and kept everything in the outfit very simple so the pants could be the star.

The length on me is only appropriate for flats so I may end up cropping them or making a pair of shorts (my original plan).

Pants: Banana Republic-thrifted

Blouse: 100% silk-thrifted

Shoes: Stuart Weitzman-thrifted

Another Fun day on Monday

Another Monday in summer and therefore another day of fun adventures and activities with my daughter.

Simple outfit: Bermuda shorts, polka dot empire waist blouse, leather sandals. 

My girls!

I had to include this photo too, such a sweet picture! This is what we wore to a neighborhood party and had just enough time to snap a few photos before we left.

Also, isn't this watch cute? 
It has a buckle strap (plastic) and a large bronze-gold face and I picked it up for only $7.00.

Linked up today for Monday Mingle, check out all the other stylish Moms!

Shorts: J.Crew (old)

Shirt: Target (2008)

Sandals: Payless

Watch: Walmart

Necklace: J.Crew Outlet (2011)

Earrings: 14kt gold and thrifted for $3!

The Blues

In my effort to do a subtle pose in front of the tripod and camera, I come off looking rather blue in this photo.

But, I'm not. Who could be sad when they thrift a pair of cobalt colored jeans brand new with the tags still on for $2.00??

I was pretty surprised when I spotted these and then thrilled when they fit. They are regular length so I cuffed them rather than have them look too short!

It works as a fun casual outfit; pairing them with a thin floral top, leaf earrings and gladiator sandals.

Jeans: Aeropostale-thrifted

Shirt: Target (old)

Sandals: Mossimo (last summer)

Earrings: thrifted

Vintage Pendleton

I thrifted this vintage Pendleton, Country Sophisticates skirt just last week and originally thought that I would hem or alter it to a shorter length.

But, I wore it and loved the way the soft silky material comfortably swished around my legs on this hot day.

I figured a clothing company that has been around for as long as Pendleton, probably knew what they were doing when they designed this skirt some 30 years ago.

So, I tried to make it a little less dowdy and more trendy by pairing it with a simple grey T-shirt, cap toe flats and fun earrings. Now, does the T look better in or out?

Skirt:  Pendleton Country Sophisticates-vintage thrifted

Shirt: J.Crew 

Shoes: Merona-Target

Earrings: thrifted

Linked up with Harper's Happenings for HOTT!

Neon Stripes and Chambray

Yep, that's right, it's me in a chambray shirt, again.

I think I'm in a style rut...one of the reasons why I started this blog was to force me beyond the mundane, ordinary and "scripted" way I was fashioning outfits from my clothes. Now, let's see if I can identify the cause...

It is summer and I have no real place I have be, so my outfits merely become the ways that I don't wear a swimsuit.  Lucky for me most of my time is spent on the deck, on the dock in the water or on a boat watching over my daughter enjoying the summer and her youth. 

Or I could just dissect what I am wearing: Sneakers (Converse), so I can walk or run where ever I need to go. Cotton skirt:  breathable, stretchy and a cotton chambray, fun and functional.

All put together with a tree shaped pendant,

So summer for me!

Shirt: J.Crew

Skirt: Route 66

Shoes: Converse-thrifted

Necklace: thrifted

Linked up today at Two Thirty five designs for casual Friday and with long distance loving for Friday's Fancies.

Repurposed Necklace DIY

I had a men's gold link necklace kicking around from a family box of castoffs.  It looks to be from those 'necklace by the foot' rolls you see in every mall at those center aisle kiosks. I thought I could probably do something with it so I kept it around.

I originally saw this post on cheetah is the new black and thought aha, I know what I can do with the gold chain necklace I have.

And, this is how the idea was applied:

 I started off with a bundle of embroidery floss and doubled it up two times to have four full strands. I then tied off the end to the large open loop and proceeded to weave the thread through each link with a loop stitch technique.

A close up:

The finished product:

And this is how I wore it:

I was very happy with the finished product and thought that the orange could be swapped out anytime for another color if I tired of it. But, for now it adds just the right touch to many outfits!