Almost to 200

I just realized that I am coming up on my 200th post and I would LOVE to get feedback and some ideas on how to "celebrate" this anniversary. So, in the comments, leave any and all ideas. For my hundredth post I had a give away and that went pretty well. But if there is anything better or more personal I am very open to suggestions!  Also, what types of posts are people wanting more of? Recipes, "what I wore," random thoughts and inspirations, pictures of my kids? While I write this primarily as a time capsule for myself, I am always sensitive to my reader's perhaps varied interests so chime in and let me know!!!

A thought worth pondering

"The events in our lives happen in a sequence in time, but in their significance to ourselves they find their own order, a timetable not necessarily--perhaps not possibly--chronological. The time as we know it subjectively is often the chronology that stories and novels follow: it is the continuous thread of revelation."

                                                                                                                   --Eudora Welty

Back by popular demand

We went to Abilene yesterday, mostly because it is closer than KC and different than Manhattan, and sometimes you need to get out of Dodge.  Also, it provided the perfect chance to break out one of my favorite fall dresses.  These pictures in no way do it justice, but thanks to my sweet husband for documenting something silly even when the kids were raring to go do something else. It is a Nannette Lepore I found three years ago on a thrifting trip with my brother Derek, it was the icing on a very good day.  It has this sweet (but not sappy) tiered skirt, slightly raised waist, soft sweetheart neckline, and luscious Art Nouveau inspired print in olive, raspberry, cream, and dark brown. Oh and it is actually a cocktail dress, but seeing as I don't attend many cocktail parties these days, I tend to dress it down instead of up.  Thus the addition of raspberry merino cardigan, wide stamped leather belt, tall olive green socks (courtesy of Russ's military wardrobe), beat-up cowboy boots purchase for a dollar, and a dip-dyed "cafe au lait" wool scarf (a gift from Anne!) oh, and my favorite chandelier earrings that I wear too much.

Now you may ask why would I get so dressed up to stomp around an empty cow town? Or are you even comfortable? How do you take care of your children? First, I like to get dressed up. Most of you probably already know that. I figure wear what makes you happy. If that is jeans and a tee shirt (see the post below) GREAT! If it is a silk cocktail dress and cowboy boots, well wear that then.  And for the record, I was very comfortable, the dress just floats, and with the sweater and scarf I was just the right temperature. Plus those boots never hurt my feet!

Oh, and I figure I take the best care of my kids when I am happy and comfortable, and yesterday that meant wearing my favorite fall dress!

A casual outfit

I haven't had an outfit post in over a year! This isn't fancy or even particularly planned, but it does relate to my previous post about my inspiration board so I thought it would be a nice correlation.  The tee shirt is Old Navy, from the website. Thanks to Anne getting me addicted to its great drape and fit, I have it in a plethora of colors. It also comes in long sleeve. Be still my heart. The sweater is Banana Republic, from about 5 years ago. It used to be a wrap sweater but I got bored with it and made it into a "waterfall" style cardigan.  The jeans used to be my very favorite, you know the ones I sewed the waistband back on to. But now they are perfect for scrunching up, and rolling the ankles for that "boyfriend" look. The sandals are Chacos, the silver bracelets are a collection, and the rose behind my right ear apparently means I am available in Hawaii (thank you Russ for the trivia). I wasn't sold on the rolled hem jeans when Katie Holmes started it 3 years ago, but thanks to market saturation, I kinda dig it now. Anyway, back to the inspiration board; one of the trends/styles I kept returning to was rolled hems on jeans, both dark and slim jeans and baggy casual styles. This outfit is inspired by a picture from one of the Garnet Hill catalogs. The point isn't to copy any look head to toe, the model was wearing this awesome cardigan that comes past her knees and a necklace I am dying to try to make, but I looked at the lines, palette, and overall feel and did something similar.

Next: How to quickly re-fashion a genuine Grandpa cardigan into a "boyfriend cardigan"