wear.

the other day i hacked away at a pair of seth's shorts. 

i figure he owns enough camo, he probably won't miss these. they're baggy and lightweight, perfect for the heat wave we've been in.

 also perfect for the heat wave? 

this hair-cut. i'm lovin' it.

t-shirt//old navy

bandeau//free people

shorts//cut-offs

belt//target

flip flops//j.crew

watch//timex

bracelet//target

wear.

i've had this t-shirt for years but i cut the sleeves off last week after being inspired by this picture of sjp. i wore it to work with my white, cropped tuxedo jacket (last worn here), but it was too hot to wear for these pictures, which were taken during a quick walk through the des moines arts festival.

it reminded me of the year my best friend, erika, and i got really "creative" with all our clothes. we started hacking away at shirts, shorts, pants...making holes, drapey necklines, et cetera. we ruined a lot of t-shirts, but had a few successes. i remember getting busted at my private school for cutting the necklines on all my uniforms. so much for artistic expression. (which, i suppose is why they're called "uniforms.") i'm sure my mother was less than pleased. after that i wore safety pins as earrings and bought crazy belts to wear with my khaki pants. i probably looked silly, but at least i didn't look exactly the same.

t-shirt//old

skirt//forever21

necklace//forever21

flats//gap

see.

there's a new little flag over there on the left. tumblr! 

i was encouraged to start one & i've been enjoying it. posts are short & sweet and the focus is on my kids. so if you don't care about that stuff, just ignore it. 

i used to post a lot more stories about parenting on this blog, so the tumblr is where that stuff will mainly be from now on. if we're instagram buddies, you may be seeing a lot of the same stuff. check it out if you want! 

do.

last weekend was (as most are), jam-packed with activity. my parents were up from tennessee so my sisters and i spent friday at the mall with my mom. after that, we had a bunch of friends over to grill out for the evening. i was so tired from the week--i bailed on the party early and sacked out on our couch! the next day we had a birthday party for my nephew, tickets to the iowa craft brew fest and then vip passes to the accidental industry fashion show! it was a busy, but really fun, day.

i wore one of my favorite summer dresses for the beer fest. plenty of room to consume. 

dress//aimee

necklace//american eagle

sandals//jeffrey campbell via dsw

bracelets//misc.

sunglasses//rayban

purse//fossil

 joseph accidentally knocked seth's sample glass to the ground.  #partyfoul. 

luckily, it survived. 

 it started pouring rain so everyone took shelter under meredith's poncho.

after a while, we decided we'd had enough rain-soaked beer-sampling, so we headed home to get cleaned up for our next event. the sky cleared and we had perfect weather for the outdoor fashion show. 

we got cleaned up and met at joey's place before walking over to to the show. joey even had his picture snapped by the dsm style hunter. i was insanely jealous. 

i wore...

jacket//forever21

top//aimee

skirt//forever21

wedges//bcbg

earrings//vintage

bracelets//j.crew, f21, jessica fox

 i borrowed this picture (above) from my friend's blog, pitter patter clunk. it cracked me up how joey, jen & i were all on our phones. likely instagramming. (don't worry, the show hadn't started yet.) you should check marissa's site for more (and better quality) pictures of the show. plus, her blog is adorable so you should check it out anyway. 

i was really impressed by the show. the designers were all local and had really beautiful work. i can't wait to see the professional pictures!

wear.

i've actually been surprised by the versatility of this haircut. spiky, smooth, faux-hawk, bed-head, head bands, scarves...i feel like it adds a lot more personality to my look than my previous hair, which spent a lot of time under hats or up in buns. today i went for a bit of androgyny to complement the menswear vibe of a buttoned-up button-up and oxfords. 

funny thing is, i have no plans but to work from home today. but actually getting dressed and "going to work" (the dining room) seems to help maintain motivation and minimize distraction. 

don't mind the mess. we had a wild storm last night and our back yard and patio are a wreck.

shirt//gap

necklace//forever21

jeans//paige via gilt

oxfords//gap

watch//timex

wear.

top//anthropologie

jeans//gap

driving mocs//j.crew

earrings//patina

bracelet//patina

watch//timex

see: hey guess what?

i cut my hair again. 

 and then i bleached it.

i know i told myself not to cut it (here) but once i went shoulder-length, i was itching to go even shorter. when i saw this picture of michelle williams i was a smitten kitten. 

sometimes it makes me sad when i think about how long it was (or worse, see pictures of how long it was), but then it makes me super happy when it takes me 5 minutes to blow-dry instead of 50 minutes. i felt pretty with long hair. but i think i began to feel too connected to it. or identified by it. or secure because of it. either way, i feel great now. 

wear: hashtag notaromper.

every time i wear this outfit (i've worn it twice) i get asked constantly (maybe 3 times) if it's a romper. 

it is, in fact, #notaromper. 

it is a blouse and a skort. the great skirt/short hybrid, not to be confused with the spork.

i kind of adore this little blouse. it has this little faux peter pan collar (tromp l'oeil, ifyouwillandiwill), and little black buttons all the way down the back. it's sweet, but not sugary, you know? (or does that only make sense in my head?)

blouse//urban outfitters

skort//fossil

flats//tory burch 

floral bracelet//f21

pink bracelet//j.crew

watch//timex

do: detour.

edit: some of you asked about my crazy flamingo swimsuit. when seth & i were shopping for his suit (his actual suit, not a bathing suit) we parked outside of jc penny. i don't think i've literally ever bought anything from there, but as we were walking out to our car i spotted this baby from across the store. $22 later, she was mine. 

*

while en route to the wedding in north carolina, we actually made a little detour to memphis tennessee to visit my parents. it was a brief visit, but our first since they relocated last summer. it was nice to finally get a picture of where they live and what their lives are like. their area (collierville) is really beautiful and they have a salt water pool in their back yard which was a welcomed respite from the heat and thick humidity. 

i don't have many pictures to show for our time there because it really was brief, but here are the few that i took (mostly with instagram)...

almost soon as we got out of the car, we got into the pool.

so sassy.

it's okay if you think this bathing suit is fugly. i love it.

on our last night my mom made an amazing nicoise salad. paired with a couple delicious cheeses and wine--it was the perfect summer meal. 

can't wait until our next visit!