the art of being rediculous

John is my trusty photographer. He is sweet and always agrees, and is very gracious by while I change settings, check the lighting and poses and exclaim about how creepy and awkward I look. He just rolls his eyes and snaps another twenty photos. And somehow, with how many pictures we take, its amazing how few "acceptable" ones we get. I think it's a combination of my awkward personality, his laughing at me, and how short my attention span is; because most of the photos we capture end up being entirely ridiculous. Now I'm wondering... do I really appear this ditzy in real life, or just whenever a camera appears. :)

the many faces of james

James is a bundle of crazy energy. He's incredibly intelligent, has the vocabulary of a much older child, and is rather hilarious. He can be super sweet, and then turn around and be all boy. I don't think I've ever gotten him to pose with anything resembling a normal smile. James has the knack of being able to drive me absolutely insane and also make me melt with his cuteness. This morning he told Mama that she looked cool; because girls say pretty and beautiful, and boys say cool and awesome. He's pretty awesome. :)

its a girl thing // cranberry

this i need to do this afternoon:

* finish scoring the kiddo's math pages

* fold and put away the mountain of clothing that is currently covering my bed. 

* laundry

* play with my puppy.

places I'd rather be today:

* the beach. always the beach.

* Paris

* Italy

* Goldendale

simple things i love at the moment:

* lemonade

*captain crunch cereal

*morning coffee, afternoon coffee, after dinner coffee

* the sound of the rain outside my window

*listening to Lydia pretend to talk on the phone

* ice cream

* watching my siblings watch a movie

How to Get Dressed // Book Review

 



How to Get Dressed 
by Alison Freer

Costume Designer Alison Freer's styling kit is a magic bag of tricks, built to solve every single wardrobe malfunction on earth. TV and film productions wait for nothing, so her solution have to work fast. In How to Get Dressed Alison distills her secrets into a fun, comprehensive style guide focused on rethinking your wardrobe like a fashion expert and making what's in your closet work for you.

    ...instead of repeating boring style "rules" Alison breaks the rules and gets real about everything from bras to how to deal with inevitable fashion disasters. Including helpful information such as how to skip ironing and the dry cleaners, remove every stain under the sun and help clueless men get their sartorial acts together, How to Get Dressed has hundreds of insider tips from Alison's arsenal of tools and expertise.

- From the back cover

I'd never read a fashion book before, but was interested in a review by one of my favoritest bloggers, so I started reading this with high hopes. The book itself is adorable, with gold and polka dot accents all the way through. I love books that are not only interesting, but are also designed attractively and adorable, and this book was both! And her tips and tricks are insanely practical. It's stuff real people can use, not a book of designer clothing and tips only people with a huge budget can use. Practical advice for using what you have, altering to make things more flattering, and what to buy intentionally instead of just splurging on lots of stuff, 
     I would definitely recommend this book to those interested in dressing intentionally and learning to be practical, frugal, and comfortable with their wardrobe.

These are a few of my favorite things // 07

+ reading books with Lydia
+ being busy
+ late night ice cream
+ funny conversations with James {4}
+ solving problems
+ deep cleaning
+ strawberry acacia refreshers from starbucks
+ warm weather with blue skies!!
+ thousands of daisies on our property
+ sunsets
+ the Psalms
+ dancing
+ old movies (Cary Grant, Gregory Peck and Audry Hepburn.)
+ P.G. Wodehouse
+ playing old piano pieces
+ picking up my flute again (and remembering why I stopped playing. Hyperventilating isn't very fun. :)