Time to Go

I packed my clock today.  

Somehow it makes the fact the moving truck is coming in three days seem very...official.

 It's the clock that sat on my mantel.  Here's she was last summer.

 It was my first time to really try to put together a mantel arrangement I loved. 

 I had so much fun with it.

We won't have a mantel in our new home, 

but I'm confident the clock will still find a happy place to sit.

Things are starting to feel pretty harried around here.  It's the typical moving scene -

boxes everywhere,

 filing project finishing up today, 

laundry piled high, 

children a little frazzled by the confusion and anticipation of something new.

Sister and I didn't get to go paint the kitchen like we hoped as the current homeowners got delayed on their moving out.  So this is not what it looks like...but I did decide to go all white.  

Love this whole look.

So yes, these cabinets are still waiting for me.

Make that a whole house waiting for me.

Make that a whole new life waiting for us.  

ready or not - here we come!

Dreaming of Order

Dreaming of the absolute soothing wonderfulness of pretty, orderly spaces....

 Spaces like this...

via

And this...

and this...

via

and this...

 via

 and especially this...

 

 via

 ooooo, and this too.

via

 and this....

 via

 and very much all of this...

 via

Because right now, my friends, it is a messy Monday here at our home.  

Everything feels undone and in complete disarray...we have ten days till the moving trucks come.

And just to keep things interesting, we decided now would be the best time to overhaul my filing system for the bookkeeping work I do.  These tables and papers have been permanent fixtures in the living room for two weeks.   I'm pretty over them.

  {My professional organizing friend actually staged an intervention - bless her heart}

Also, last week the twins decided now would be the perfect time to start potty training.  

That would be two little people trying to learn to control their bowels at the same time. 

How can you say "no" when they suddenly decide that they are a "big girl/boy" and are determined to wear underwear and use the toilet?  You have to go with it.

So we clean up accidents, we clean up accidents much.

 Nevertheless,

 right?

A Little Cowboy Campfire

Sister is really good at impromptu fun.

The other day the cousins delivered this invitation for a Cowboy Campfire.

Much excitement ensued.

That evening we headed around the corner and found this sign welcoming us into the backyard.

She had a table set up with all the necessaries for s'mores
(and wet washcloths for sticky fingers : )

Not having had a lot of s'more experience,
we needed a little help from our Aunt and Uncle campfire experts.

S'more-making is quite the art.

Requires much skill and concentration.

But, of course, completely worth the effort in the end.

Savoring these last around-the-corner-days,

remembering there will more sweet days together....just not around-the-corner days.

Closet Analysis Party!

What to wear.  It seems to be most every girl's daily conundrum, and Sister, my mum and I are no different.  Lately we'd been contemplating how helpful a closet overhaul would be, especially with some outside help - it's so hard to be objective in the closet!  So Sister and I decided last Mother's Day we would give give our mum the gift of our time and spend an afternoon/evening going through her closet, putting together outfits, and even taking pictures of approved combos for future reference.  Of course, it was loads of fun.

Here's the adorable invite Sister made.

Sister took the official photos for a little photo-flip book for Mum to keep in her closet.  I think we took shots of about 25 outfits - pretty much every spring/summer item in her closet in every combo possible. I just snapped a few of them on my iphone.

The creative energy in the room was tangible, I tell you.

 So fun to figure out ways to wear these shoes, and lament I don't have littler feet. ; )
 

 

Cute-Cute.

And part of the fun was the food, naturally.  We started with dessert: brownie-cookies from Whole Foods.

 

Then later had simple, yummy girl food: salad, smoked salmon, crackers, cream cheese, and capers. Yum.

Then back to work!  And it was work, keeping all those creative juices flowing and trying to consider so many factors - the fit, color, wearability, shoes, accessories.  It was a serious brain work-out.

 Mum just got these Dankos this season and we were impressed with how much they went with.  Dankos are the best for comfortable footware, though they can be a little on the clunky side.  These however felt very feminine, and the nude is so versatile and great for making your legs look longer.

 

Loved these skirt outfits.

Oh, it was such good times!  I highly recommend you have your own closet analysis party quick-quick, or give one as a gift.  Mum was positively thrilled with hers.  We got rid of a whole pile of clothes, and now when she gets dressed, she pretty much knows just what to wear.  And yes, Sister and I are hoping for our own parties soon. : )

{Linking to What a Wore Wednesday at the Pleated Poppy}

Swinging & Singing

...all together,

at the top of our lungs...




...on Sister's porch swing.

and wondering if it could get any better than this....

wishing you a swinging, singing Sunday. 

xo,
cailan

Pink Toes, Happy Feet

I've only gotten a pedicure a few times in my life - a couple times at a salon and a sweet number of times by Sister, who never failed to give me a couple during my pregnancies.  To be frank, it feels a little pointless as I'm a died-in-the-wool barefoot gal.  All seasons of the year will find me about the house barefoot and in summer I rarely find I need shoes outside.  Consequently, my feet have taken on a bit of a....hmmmm, prehistoric feel - full of callousy bumps and rough sides and unpleasant nail beds.  So yes, foot care has never been real high on the priority list.

Nevertheless, whenever I do get have pretty toenails, something wonderful happens.  I instantly feel uber feminine, full of grace, obviously attractive.  It's like magic.

For Elizabeth's wedding I got a pedicure.  She was having hers done the morning of the wedding,  so I brought us some breakfast fruit and we did it together - just me and her.  It was a really sweet time. 

  Here's my feet after the gal had grated off a nice little pile of yuck, dead skin off and made the nails look manageable. 

And an after picture.  Normally, hot pink wouldn't be my color of choice, but for the sake of the dress, I did it.

 Since then, I am actually trying to use this little pumice stone/brush I got from Target.   Once your feet look pretty, one is a little motivated to try to keep them that way.

Not that I've given up my barefoot ways, but despite numerous barefoot runs around the corner to Sister's, I can report that my feet still look rather fine - maybe a little worse for wear - but the magic certainly hasn't worn off.

Yikes.  Promise no more pictures of my feet for a nice, long while. ; )

Linking up with adorable Alicia's Happy Day Project.

My Hot Pink Betty Dress

Last Friday found me in this pink dress and walking down the aisle in my dear friend, Elizabeth's wedding as her matron of honor.  Attempting to be the most devoted matron possible, I left my camera at home and carried around her make-up bag instead.  Consequently, no pictures.  Which of course I regret a little now. ; )  But I did want to show you this dress, so I slipped it on yesterday.  I don't have my pearl necklace on, or even the right bra on...that ahem, filled it out a bit better, but you get the idea.  I loved wearing this dress.

And there's a story behind it!  All five other bridesmaids actually wore blue at the wedding - the dresses were all handmade by one of the gals and lo and behold, three weeks before the wedding she realized she was behind and wouldn't be able to complete them all...mine in particular.  So the groom, of all people, had the idea of putting me and the best man's vest in their other wedding color - bright pink.  I confess this idea did not thrill me...bright pink has a way of drawing attention.  But they were sure it would be impossible to match the blue.  

So, I was goingto order a clearance dress from David's Bridal, when I happened upon this one online from Banana Republic.  A Betty Dress from their MadMen collection no less!   But alas, they only had a size 4, and while I'm generally a 6 (maybe a 4 on a non-cookie day) this dress runs two sizes big.

So here comes the best part!  While in San Fransisco last week, I walked into a Banana Republic, was handed a 40% off coupon, walked over and found a 2!  In the end I got the dress for $37.  

So yes, I was tickled pink. 

And look - it even has pockets!  It does not get better than this, my friends.

You better believe I had so much fun wearing this dress.   Sweetheart likes it too, and thinks I should make it my new "house dress". ha.

Here's a picture of my bouquet. 

Wish I had a picture of my hair.   I hadn't given it much thought - pigtails, maybe?  ; )  But a couple days before, Sister said, "So, I've been thinking about what we should do with your hair..."  She's so thoughtful like that, and she ended up putting it in such a pretty side, twisted in the back, loose side bun - perhaps I'll have her recreate it.  Here's the one picture mum snapped with her phone. 

So it was fun, but I'm a bit relieved to have the wedding over.  It was our last big event, and with just three weeks left before we move I kind-of needed it to be!  Yikes.

Hope you had a lovely weekend!