what I wore // botanical gardens

bits and pieces

Since I've started homeschooling little A, I've found less time for blogging, but I'm hoping to still pop in from time to time to share updates and recipes, etc. Here are a few pics from the last few weeks:

night walks + long exposures

This weekend we took a late night walk with some friends to see fireflies and experiment with some long exposure photos. These were all taken around 11 pm with the shutter left open around 10-30 seconds on each one. I'm diggin' the ethereal effect...

Bits and Pieces

A few photos from the last week...

I gave my hula hoop a makeover by wrapping it in strips of vintage fabric, love how it turned out!

 taken at a pool party we went to last week with frineds

 I love century plant blooms!

from our family brunch outing, we saw a volkswagon show on the way

What I Wore // Sunday Brunch Date

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend. Yesterday hubs and I went out for a brunch date and tried out a restaurant we hadn't been to yet. It was a breezy, not-too-hot day and perfect for strolling around downtown and by the water too.

What I Wore // Among the Wildflowers

The wildflowers are in full bloom where we live...it was lovely seeing them and all the bees buzzing around them on our family nature walk the other day.

outfit details:

tee and sweater- Urban Outfitters

jeans- Gap

mocassins- Minnetonka via Amazon

crystal necklace- Belle Hibou

earrings- Modcloth

sunnies- Urban Outfitters

What I Wore // Pieces of the Weekend

This past weekend we hit the city and did some shopping at one of my favorite children's consignment stores to stock up for spring. We also stopped by one of our favorite cafes for some dinner. The weather had cooled off again, which was refreshing...It's back up to the 80s now but it was nice while it lasted haha!

What I Wore // Date Night

My mom is in town visiting and offered to watch Little A so hubby and I could go out to dinner alone. It was such a nice treat... We went to a restaurant we hadn't tried before and the food was outstanding. I got a locally brewed lager and scallops with toasted farro, herbs and blueberry sauce; hubby got grouper and we shared a Madagascar vanilla creme brulee with strawberries and an aged balsamic sauce. Afterwards we went and hung out at the bookstore for awhile like we used to do in our pre-child days haha...it was nice to catch up on some magazines and just relax :)

  

Petting Farm

This weekend my friend and I had a girl's day and took our little ones to the local petting farm. Little A had been once last year when she was 2 but didn't want to sit still long enough to get very much out of it, but this year she was much more interested and was able to participate a lot more and they had a blast! She also had her first pony ride and wasn't scared at all :) I kind of wish I had brought my DSLR, but some of the phone pics turned out really cute:

Currently...

Watching: Daniel Tiger, because a 3-year-old calls the shots in our house lol

Listening to: I've been listening to a lot of the Decemberists lately.

Thinking about: how behind I am on housework :/

Drinking: a dark beer :)

Wanting: more cold weather! But alas, it will be nearly 80 degrees again by Monday 

Wearing: leggings and a sweater 

Eating: my homemade Italian farro soup, yum!

Loving: yarn, I've become a little obsessed since I started weaving, ha

Reading: The Elegance of the Hedgehog

Making me happy: planning our Canada trip for this summer and buying our Big Guava Festival tickets tomorrow :)

Bits and Pieces

Sharing some photos from the past week: 

I've been working on my first weaving project :)

Weekend Photo Fun

This weekend we took a little trip to one of our favorite nature preserves for some walking and brought the camera and tripod along for a spontaneous photo shoot...sharing some of my favorite shots from the day: 

What I Wore // Pieces of the Weekend

The weather was absolutely gorgeous this weekend, sunny in the 60s, so we tried to make the most of it by getting out of the house as much as possible. We hit up the park, the science center (ok, that one was indoors but still fun), our front yard, and the beach. It was low-ish tide so we got to take a bike ride along the shore :)

a photo an hour

We had a great time picking strawberries, going to lunch and hanging out at the playground with our friends today. Here is a little peek of "a day in the life":

9:00 am

10:00 am

11:00 am

12:00 pm

1:00 pm

2:00 pm

3:00 pm

4:00 pm

5:00 pm

6:00 pm

7:00 pm

8:00

9:00 pm

Product Review: Remington Ceramic Elliptical Styling Wand

My hair is naturally stick straight and pretty flat. It also doesn't work very well for updos :/ So I'm always looking for ways to switch up my look. Last month I bought the Remington Elliptical Wand. It's basically a clamp-less curling iron with an oval barrel instead of the usual round shape. It comes with a glove to protect your hand from the heat. The barrel is silk ceramic and heats up to 410 degrees. I have used it a few times now and I am pleased with the results. It does give more loose waves instead of the tighter curls of a traditional curling iron. It heats up very quickly, and I can wave all of my hair in about 10-15 minutes, which is nice because I usually am running short on time. The only con I've found with it is that while I have it wound up on my head, sometimes my hand hits the buttons on the side and accidentally changes the temperature or turns it off...so I kind of wish they had put the buttons in a different place. Anyways, here is how I use it: 

1. First I spray my hair down with a heat protector.

2. I separate my hair into two sections, bottom and top, and pin up the top half with a jaw clip.

3. I start with the bottom half, wrapping each 1-inch strand around the barrel and holding it there for around 10-12 seconds. I catch the curl as soon as I remove it from the wand and hold it there for a second or two to help the curl set a little better.

4. Repeat the same process for the top half.

5. Gently separate the waves with my fingers and mist lightly with some hairspray. 

Here is what it looks like when I first finish before I've separated the waves:

And here's after I've finished styling:

And here is 8 hours later (after being in the humidity all day): 

And there you have it. It doesn't make huge, dramatic curls or anything, but for me it's a nice change to have a little extra body. It's less than $20 on Amazon.com, and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone else looking for a way to change up their 'do :)

Europe trip part 2: Paris

day 6 continued: we arrived in Paris, checked into our hotel and strolled around Montmartre, which was where our hotel was located. We had a gorgeous view of the city from our room. Next we headed over to Champ Élysées and window shopped, and of course picked up a crepe from a street vendor to hold us over til we made it to LaDuree for the best macarons ever! I had pretty high expectations and they did not disappoint! It was really hard to choose with all the lovely colors/flavors available, but I managed to narrow it down to: Marie Antionette (a lovely aqua blue), pistachio, orange blossom and rose. At dusk, we made our way to the Eiffel Tower and hung out there for awhile and got to see the light show, sooo pretty!