Garden Days

I haven't been blogging about the garden as much, not because we've gotten any less obsessed with it, but because life has been crazy busy.  We found out that something (or someone) who was robbing all our tomatoes was indeed those naughty little squirrels.  We've had several rains here recently, so our garden that was once just flourishing is now absolutely overgrown (in the good way)!  The strawberries did end up tricking SOMETHING, as you can see from the bite taken out of it!  It's made of wood, so I'm sure something was not very pleased!  ;)

We learned a lot this year and feel even better garden-prepared for next year.  I will space things out a little wider, I will have that netting to keep the squirrels out from the beginning (!), and I won't be at all surprised when the watermelon and cucumber vines try to take over everything!

Weekly Wears: See You At the TxSC

As you know, I will be traveling to Austin for the Texas Style Council this weekend!  I'm hoping to see some of you there, but if you can't make it, be sure to follow along on Instagram.  I'll be guest-gramming for Lulu's, so if you aren't already following, you can find them here!

It's going to be a fun weekend full of friends and food and interesting speakers.  I'm really looking forward to my first trip to Austin!

Shirt: UO;  Shorts: c/o Lulu's;  Shoes: Worishofer; Daisy Crown: handmade

Uh-Oh... I'm In A Mom Group

This isn't one of those posts where I give you tips on making friends, because I'm not really qualified to do that.  I'm not always that great at meeting new people-- it's a little hit or miss for me.  I've also never been the kind of gal who wanted to be in a "mom group".  I have friends with kids and all that, but mom groups have always scared me. Except, now I kinda have one and I'm singing a different tune.

I think the trick for me was finding a group of gals who I really like... who also happen to have kids.  That's the thing I think I was missing for a long time-- you don't HAVE to bond with someone just because they have a kid, too.  I actually would sorta run from that-- it's a lot of pressure.  Now I look forward to our weekly (or bi-weekly, whatever we have time for) play dates and all the happy chaos that comes with it.  (We missed you, Janae!)

Snapshots

Glasses // Sandals from Elf // Rain boots in the summer (?!) // Hope // Grandparents

This weekend we saw some friends get married, celebrated a dear friend's birthday with drinks and pizza, the weather cooled down, and I work-work-worked.  As we're gearing up for Austin next weekend, I'm trying to make sure and stay on top of everything as much as possible... except emails.  I will forever and always be behind on emails.  ;)

JewelMint Giveaway-- CLOSED

Today, I'm teaming up with JewelMint to offer one lucky winner a piece of jewelry from their online store!  JewelMint is a free, members-only website that gives personal recommendations based on your style.  The jewelry is affordable (starting at $29.99) and they offer free shipping and returns.

To enter this giveaway, visit JewelMint and sign-up for a free account.  Then leave a comment here sharing which piece is your favorite!

The winner of this giveaway is:

**JewelMint is offering new members two pieces for the price of one when you sign up!

This giveaway is open to US and Canada residents only.  The winner will be drawn on Wednesday, July 31st and announced shortly after.  Good luck, friends!

Weekly Wears: Good Things

Rag curls from the day before, my current favorite dress (it changes all the time), the comfiest sandals I own, and a homemade daisy crown... all good things.  This dress was actually too long for my body and it looked pretty awful on me, but it was a good pattern/color/fabric so I ended up purchasing with the intention of altering it.  I took the shoulders up and it really did the trick (though I really need to go back and do a better job).  Now it fits and I've been wearing a different dress besides that black tank dress I became obsessed with for the last several weeks.

Dress: Marshall's;  Belt: vintage;  Shoes: c/o ModCloth;  Daisy crown: homemade;  Sunglasses: c/o BonLook

I hope you are having a great week so far!

Snapshots

Soaking airplants // Summer reading // Daddy snuggles // Catching bugs // Summer duds // Trampoline // Biggest cucumber from the garden yet! (and Johnny's a creeper)

Signs Of Summer

You can tell Summer is in full swing around here.  We've been enjoying get-togethers with friends, we've been doing our best to hit the pool when we can, and Hope is in super-duper birthday planning mode.  Not to mention being totally and completely eaten up by mosquitos.  That's summer in MO for you!  ;)

I've been working on my speech for the Texas Style Council coming up here REALLY soon-- I'm so nervous and excited about it.  Are any of you going?  I'm really hoping to meet some of you!

Blue bathing suit in 1st photo c/o OFabz;  Bathing suit in 2nd photo from ModCloth;  Sunnies in last photo from BonLook

Tandem Clean-Up (Before and After)

I spent several hours this weekend wearing my rubber gloves and scrubbing down the tandem... which reminds me, this bike really needs a name.  I can't keep calling her "the tandem" all the time.  Anyway, someone told us to use Lime-Away to take off some of the rust, and it really helped.  I was scrubbing and scrubbing (and scrubbing), and Johnny had to stop me and remind me that it isn't going to look brand new... it's a very old bike.  Sometimes I can get carried away.  Here's the improvement:

I took Hope for a quick ride down the street and we decided this bike needed some REAL breaking in.  She grabbed her helmet and we explored our neighborhood.  It was a special night.  I asked, "Hope, do you think you'll remember these nights when you're all grown up?  The breeze, the sounds, the smells?"  Of course, she doesn't realize how sentimental you become about those things when you're an adult.  She said, "Uh... I hope so."  Me, too.

*My shirt is from ModCloth and my shorts from UO.