Etsy Love

I'm super duper in love with this print from oh gosh, Cindy!  I'm pretty sure this needs to come live with me.

These necklaces made by my lovely friend Jen in her JenLovesKev shop are so fun!  I'm having a hard time choosing a favorite!

I'm back on a backpack kick lately and this one from Lee Loong Studio is great!

K is for Kani makes the absolute prettiest floral crowns!

And this little sloth from FlowerLand Shop is too cute for words!

Happy weekend, friends!

Weekly Wears: Waiting Game

This time of year is always so awkward to me.  Everyone is rushing Fall with their coats and boots and Summer clearance, and here I am sweating it out for another couple of months.  I'm not above it, though-- I start falling into the trap pretty quickly.  I mean, it would be hard not to!  Even my husband brought home pumpkin beer last night, so I think it's safe to assume you'll be hearing me longing for Fall in the coming weeks.

Summer, we can be friends a little longer.  I'm still excited about my growing watermelons and blooming rose bushes.  Pretty soon though, I'll be ready for a break.  ;)


Top: local;  Skirt: vintage;  Shoes: Lotta (see DIY here);  Hat: gift from Elsie;  Necklace: my grandmother's;  Bracelet: my mother's;  Ring: Cookoorikoo

Snapshots

I'm happy to be doing hair tutorials (AND VIDEOS!) over on A Beautiful Mess again.  I've missed it!  // Studio snaps  //  Poesy just hanging out  //  I've been helping my friends over at Culture Flock get ready for to release their Fall line!  //  When your bedroom gets too messy to play, just continue the trail of toys into the living room.  ;)

We have been adjusting to our first weeks back at homeschool-- it's always a little challenging at first.  We're finding our routines to be getting easier each day, and Hope is really liking the new curriculum so far.  I'll share more about it after we've been doing it for a while.  I don't want to recommend anything before I know we love it long-term.  I have to say, I adore that laid back summertime feeling, but it's kind of nice to be back in working mode... not only for Hope, but for myself as well.  I've got animals to sew and blog projects to dream up.  I've also been scheming something really exciting, but I'll share more on that as soon as I have something to show.  :)

Happy Wednesday, friends!

DIY Tie Back Dress

Hello.  My name is Katie and I'm a sucker for Instagram sales.  It's true.  I have bought so many dresses from different "closet clean-out" sales... let's just say that I had to ban myself from looking at those anymore.  I got this dress from a friend on IG-- you might actually remember it from this post.  Here's a little secret: the dress is too small.  That's the thing about buying online, you can't try it on first!  I was wearing it under cardigans and just leaving the back unbuttoned during chillier days, but once summer came around I had to say bye-bye to the dress... until I found a solution.

Here's the dress before.  I know, I know... it's gorgeous and if altering wasn't necessary, I wouldn't have done it.  The little pearly blue buttons are so pretty.  Anyway, here's what I did:

First, I removed the buttons and then stitched up the button holes with a zig zag stitch.  I chose a fabric and cut six 4 1/2 x 6 1/2 strips.  I then folded each one in half and stitched all the way around, leaving one end open (make sure your strip is inside out at this point).  Then I flipped them right-side out and positioned them onto the dress.  I proceeded to stitch them to the edges of the dress, and then I was done!

When you tie the knots they make sweet little bows up your back.  You could either wear this with a bandeau underneath (learn how to make one right here!) or you could use my other solution for backless dresses.

Happy stitching!

Hope's Happy Birthday

As I mentioned last week, Hope had a birthday.  We had been having unseasonably GORGEOUS weather for the last couple of weeks, so she decided she'd like to have a party at the park.  It warmed back up just in time for the party, but that didn't stop us from having a good time anyway!  ;)

(Some people weren't quite ready to party yet.)

We had a piñata, a large parachute, bubbles, jumprope, lawn darts (the kid kind), sidewalk chalk, and those long tube things that make noise when you swing them around.  The goal was to keep everyone happy and occupied without having a lot of structured games.  We had a pretty broad age range and that seemed to work really well for all the kiddos.  (A huge "thank you" goes out to my dear, sweet friend Janae for snapping so many good photos during the piñata!)

We borrowed the giant jenga set from Emma for the grownups, though I didn't really get to play as much as I wanted.  I was a little busy... the whole time.  ;)
Everyone took a break for hotdogs and watermelon... and then we got back to party stuff.

Her big present was a balance beam, thanks to mom, dad, and the grandparents.  She was ecstatic!
It was so nice to celebrate with such a large group of people we adore.  After the party I kept telling Johnny how special it is to have such amazing friends.

**You can see Hope's birthday post from last year right here.  (Poesy was so tiny!)

Snapshots

Chalkboard art // Hope's official birthday-- right after birthday pancakes // Homemade Pajaki // The cutest pair // Favorite keepsake box and favorite BonLook glasses // Tidbits from my memory board