Author Archives: laurenkahan

Thrifted Crop Flare Overalls (!!!) + Twirl Dresses Forever {and another Low Tide Adventure}

 I will always love overalls!  I think I actually owned this pair in a couple of colors back in the 90’s!  I just recently thrifted them for $6, so I have no idea from what era they originate.  I love that they are a little cropped (not sure if they are supposed to be??), and they are beyond comfy!Blog Gap Crop Flare Overalls Gold Salt Water Sandals-1 Blog Gap Crop Flare Overalls Gold Salt Water Sandals-2 Blog Gap Crop Flare Overalls Gold Salt Water Sandals-3 Blog Gap Crop Flare Overalls Gold Salt Water Sandals-4 Blog Gap Crop Flare Overalls Gold Salt Water Sandals-5 Blog Gap Crop Flare Overalls Gold Salt Water Sandals-6 Blog Gap Crop Flare Overalls Gold Salt Water Sandals-7I’m not 100% sure how I found Crew & Lu, but I’ve been following her on Instagram for a while now.  Uyen is freaking hysterical, and she makes the most adorable clothing!!  A few weeks ago, she had 60% off almost her entire inventory, and I jumped at the chance to get a few things for Maya.

When we opened the box, Maya “Ooooohed and aaaaaaahed!”  She kept saying “Oh, THANK YOU MOMMY!  These are amazing!”  I may have gotten a couple of dresses… 🙂Blog Crew and Lu Cloud Grey Everyday Dress Salt Water Sandals -1 LOVE the back on this dress!!Blog Crew and Lu Cloud Grey Everyday Dress Salt Water Sandals -2And the twirl factor is off the charts.  A total win in Maya’s book 😉 Blog Crew and Lu Cloud Grey Everyday Dress Salt Water Sandals -3 Blog Crew and Lu Cloud Grey Everyday Dress Salt Water Sandals -4 Blog Crew and Lu Cloud Grey Everyday Dress Salt Water Sandals -5

On me…

Overalls- Gap (thrifted, similar here and here)

Sandals- Salt Water Sandals

On Maya…
Dress- Crew & Lu (sold out, but so many other cute dresses)
Keeping it Real…
Normally when we go to the beach, she just runs, plays, FALLS, and splashes around.  She was so nervous about getting her dress dirty though that she kept holding it up.
Thankfully, she had her swim suit on underneath 😉Blog Outtake
(all pictures taken with a self timer/shutter release and tripod, except ones of Maya :))

dit-elle-Lauren

Low tide + Adorable Rash Guards

Having had two skin cancer diagnoses in the last year, I’m pretty fanatical now about sun screen or covering up both Maya and myself.
I stumbled upon Swim Zip a few years ago when we were heading to Hawaii for a family vacation.  I got Maya a few sets, and DIED when we got them.  SO CUTE!!
I’ve been buying them ever since, and we always get compliments!  Btw, this is not a sponsored post!!  I just really love them!
That little ruffle on the butt??!!Blog Purple Swim Zip Cutie Cruiser Rufflle Bottom Low Tide Alki-1I didn’t get a good picture of the front, because she was constantly running away from me haha.  BUT… the thing that initially sold me was the fact that they zip all the way up the front!!!  It makes getting them on (and more importantly OFF) super easy!  Even soaking wet-SCORE! Blog Purple Swim Zip Cutie Cruiser Rufflle Bottom Low Tide Alki-2 Blog Purple Swim Zip Cutie Cruiser Rufflle Bottom Low Tide Alki-3 Blog Purple Swim Zip Cutie Cruiser Rufflle Bottom Low Tide Alki-4 Blog Purple Swim Zip Cutie Cruiser Rufflle Bottom Low Tide Alki-5Blog Purple Swim Zip Cutie Cruiser Rufflle Bottom Low Tide Alki-6 Blog Purple Swim Zip Cutie Cruiser Rufflle Bottom Low Tide Alki-7 Blog Purple Swim Zip Cutie Cruiser Rufflle Bottom Low Tide Alki-8
On Maya…
Keeping it Real…
Over the last few weeks, Maya has tried on several occasions to play with various groups of kids who didn’t want to play with her.  Last weekend at a street fair, it got downright cruel.  She went up to a girl that she went to school with.  She was so excited to see someone she knew, but the little girl happened to be with a few older girls (friends?  relatives? siblings?)  All the other kids ganged up on Maya and were telling her she wasn’t the little girls friend and started yelling at her to go away.  Maya just stood there shocked and kept saying she WAS the girls friend.  I honestly stood there shocked for a while, and then ran over to get her.  I brought her back with me to stand in line, and the kids kept yelling at her and taunting her until she started crying.  Truth be told, I started crying too (ugh, I’m tearing up as I write this!!).  It was a few minutes before I could calm us both down.  She kept crying “Why are they being so evil to me?!” and she wanted to go yell back at them.  I kept telling her that we were there to have fun, and we were about to go on a really fun ride.  That she needed to just forget about them, because THEY were the ones not having fun, and we needed to not be around people that didn’t want to be nice.  So, we went to another ride, and she met new kids that wanted to play with her.  Such a hard cruel world we live in, and I hate that it starts so young.  We talked a number of times about how it made her feel when the other kids were mean to her, and to make sure that she never made anyone else ever feel like that.  I kept trying to tell her that there will always be people that are mean, but that there are ALWAYS people that are nice too.  That she should always try and choose to be the nice person, and to try and always choose to be around the nice people and walk away from the mean ones…
On this day, she tried going up to a few older kids and got shunned again.  They were fairly nice about it, but the message was clear.

“We don’t want to play with you.”

UGH.  I wish I could always hold her and comfort her, but I know that those days are numbered… Breaks my heart. I love her so… Blog Outtake

(All pictures taken by me)

dit-elle-Lauren

Faux Fur Vests + Hunter Boots…summer in Seattle.

 We got so spoiled with an amazing May and June.  The sun was shining more than it wasn’t, and we kind of forgot what the “norm” was… Now that it’s July, we are all expecting super warm sunny days!  And then, the last few days, I’ve had to dig out some winter wear!

Not that I’m complaining.  I kind of like the break in the weather.  I bought this faux fur vest off eBay for $16 back in April, and I didn’t think I’d get a chance to wear it for a while.  I honestly wasn’t sure I’d have the nerve to wear it at atll… I broke it out for the 4th of July, and then turned around and wore it again the next day for this little outing.  It’s so fun!!  Oddly, it kind of goes with everything, and Maya likes to snuggle up to it, so extra bonus!

Blog Joie Faux Fur Vest Joes Jeans Tunic Goldsign Gray Hunters-1It was actually pretty cold and windy when we first got to the park.  We ate a picnic lunch, and then decided to explore around the low tide.Blog Parka Hanna Andersson Striped Top GapKids Mini Skinny Rain Boots-2Blog Joie Faux Fur Vest Joes Jeans Tunic Goldsign Gray Hunters-3Once again…I had issues with my remote trigger.  I made sure to change the batteries right before we left, but didn’t check the batteries.  Turns out, one of them had been sitting in our “battery drawer” for a while, and was totally corroded ;{

So, it was back to the self timer, which meant me running back and forth like an idiot.  THANKFULLY the beach was pretty empty!Blog Joie Faux Fur Vest Joes Jeans Tunic Goldsign Gray Hunters-4 Blog Hanna Andersson Striped Top GapKids Mini Skinny Rain Boots-6 Blog Hanna Andersson Striped Top GapKids Mini Skinny Rain Boots-7Blog Hanna Andersson Striped Top GapKids Mini Skinny Rain Boots-5 Blog Lincoln Park Low Tide-8Blog Joie Faux Fur Vest Joes Jeans Tunic Goldsign Gray Hunters-9 Blog Joie Faux Fur Vest Joes Jeans Tunic Goldsign Gray Hunters-10Then it started getting a little warmer…Blog Joes Jeans Tunic Goldsign Gray Hunters-11 haha.  This totally cracks me up.  Again….SO glad there weren’t very many people here.

I set up the camera behind Maya, hit the shutter, and then ran out in front to push on her feet.  Love that she’s looking back at the camera!Blog Joes Jeans Tunic Goldsign Gray Hunters-12Maya could literally spend the entire time swinging if I let her.  Honestly, in my more honest bad mommy moments, I usually try and go to parks that don’t have swings.  She won’t run around and play if they are there.

But…the joy?  Hard to say no to that face!!Blog Hanna Andersson Striped Top GapKids Mini Skinny Rain Boots-13 Blog Hanna Andersson Striped Top GapKids Mini Skinny Rain Boots-14This face is so her.  Trying REALLY hard not to smile 😉 Blog Hanna Andersson Striped Top GapKids Mini Skinny Rain Boots-15 Although, this is even MORE her….

LOVE!!Blog Hanna Andersson Striped Top GapKids Mini Skinny Rain Boots-16 Blog Hanna Andersson Striped Top GapKids Mini Skinny Rain Boots-17On me…

Shirt- Joe’s Jeans (old,  short sleeve option here)
Jeans- GoldSign “Mayhem” (old, similar here and here)
Boots- Hunter “Graphite Gloss”  (thrifted for $40!)
On Maya…
Jacket- GapKids (thrifted)
Top- Hanna Andersson (thrifted, but similar here)
Jeans- GapKids (thrifted, but similar here)
Boots- (thrifted, but similar here)
Keeping it Real…
hahaha
Blog outtake
(all pictures taken with a self timer and tripod, except ones of Maya :))

dit-elle-Lauren

Boho Vibes…. A new favorite.

Maya had had morning music camp this whole week, and it’s amazing the difference it made in both our moods.  We came to this park to have a picnic lunch, and then just had the best time.  Once again…so glad I get to document these days to remember forever.

As a side note, it’s taking a WHOLE LOT OF WILLPOWER not the chop off all my jeans to this length!!  I have really short legs for my height, and I usually have to roll all my jeans.  LOVE the raw hem trend!!!Blog Free People Two to Tango DL1961 Cindy Dansko Clogs-1 LOVE HER!!Blog Free People Two to Tango DL1961 Cindy Dansko Clogs-2 Blog Free People Two to Tango DL1961 Cindy Dansko Clogs-3One of my favorite shots from the day…  Although, I have a few! Blog Free People Two to Tango DL1961 Cindy Dansko Clogs-4 Blog Free People Two to Tango DL1961 Cindy Dansko Clogs-5OMG!  Both of our faces here hahahaha.

Dying.Blog Free People Two to Tango DL1961 Cindy Dansko Clogs-6 Blog Free People Two to Tango DL1961 Cindy Dansko Clogs-7 Blog Free People Two to Tango DL1961 Cindy Dansko Clogs-8 Blog Free People Two to Tango DL1961 Cindy Dansko Clogs-9 Blog Free People Two to Tango DL1961 Cindy Dansko Clogs-10 Blog Free People Two to Tango DL1961 Cindy Dansko Clogs-11Another favorite… Blog Free People Two to Tango DL1961 Cindy Dansko Clogs-12 Blog Tea Collection La Ventana Embroidered Dress Keen Rivington-1 Blog Tea Collection La Ventana Embroidered Dress Keen Rivington-2 The camp Maya went to was 1.7 miles from our house.  She walked there every morning, and 3 out of the 5 days walked home too!  SO proud of her!!Blog Tea Collection La Ventana Embroidered Dress Keen Rivington-3She wants to pet just about every dog we see.  This owner was nice enough to let Maya throw the Frisbee for her dog a few times 🙂 Blog Tea Collection La Ventana Embroidered Dress Keen Rivington-4 Blog Tea Collection La Ventana Embroidered Dress Keen Rivington-5 Blog Tea Collection La Ventana Embroidered Dress Keen Rivington-6 Blog Tea Collection La Ventana Embroidered Dress Keen Rivington-7

On me…

Top- Free People  “Two to Tango” (Nordstrom Rack, sold out)
Jeans- DL1961 (Bootcut thrifted for $4.80!, and DIY Crop Flare, similar here)
Clogs- Dansko (thrifted, similar here)
On Maya…
Leggings- Tea Collection (thrifted)
Shoes- Keen “Rivington” (thrifted)
Keeping it Real…
This is the look I get at the start of every outting…
“NO PICTURES!!!”
Thankfully, she usually gets over it after playing for a few minutes.Blog Outtake-1I had this idea of shooting through the hanging branches, except it was pretty windy, and half the shots are like this… 🙂
Blog Outtake-2
(all pictures taken with a self timer/shutter release and tripod, except ones of Maya :))

dit-elle-Lauren

Grilled Chicken, Onion, and Pepper Shish Kabobs

It’s summer, and what screams summer more than grilling?!!  Ok, pools, popsicles, all of Esther’s yummy cocktails (!!)….ok, a lot of things scream summer.  BUT…grilling.  YUM!

I’ve talked many times about my love of grilling.  Ok, the EASE of grilling!!  It used to intimidate me, but now I LOVE it!  I usually do whole chicken breasts, but decided to try and do shish kabobs.  SO GOOD!Blog Whole30 Paleo Grilled Chicken Peppers Onions Shish Kabobs-1 Blog Whole30 Paleo Grilled Chicken Peppers Onions Shish Kabobs-2Ingredients (varies people you want to feed)

  • Chicken Breasts (cut into 1-1.5 inch cubes)
  • Bell Peppers-I used red, yellow, and orange (cut into 1-1.5 inch cubes)
  • Large Onion (cut into 1-1.5 inch cubes)
  • Olive Oil
  • Balsamic Vinegar
  • Trader Joe’s Every Day Seasoning

What to do

  • It’s not absolutely necessary, but if you can marinate the chicken a few hours before you’d like to grill, that’s the best.  Just put the cubed chicken in a bowl.  Drizzle with olive oil, balsamic, and grind the Trader Joe’s Every Day Seasoning over it.  I honestly had all these ideas of various spices I was going to add, and then (OF COURSE!) was running late and reached for what’s easy, and good!
  • Do the same for the veggies (not as necessary to have those marinate!)Blog Whole30 Paleo Grilled Chicken Peppers Onions Shish Kabobs-3 Blog Whole30 Paleo Grilled Chicken Peppers Onions Shish Kabobs-4
  • You can use wooden sticks to spear all the meat and veggies.  If you do, make sure you soak the them for a good 10 minutes prior.
  • Preheat  your grill to medium heat.
  • Evenly spear chicken and veggies until everything is used up.Blog Whole30 Paleo Grilled Chicken Peppers Onions Shish Kabobs-5Grill for 7-8 minutes on each side. Blog Whole30 Paleo Grilled Chicken Peppers Onions Shish Kabobs-6Oh, and Maya is in this stage where she doesn’t want her picture taken, UNLESS I’m trying to take pictures of something other than her… haha.Blog Outtake

Enjoy!dit-elle-Lauren

All Black, Under a Willow Tree…

 The trend lately here in Seattle is that it’s totally chilly and overcast in the morning, and then it switches gears about half way through the day (usually RIGHT as we are heading out!), and suddenly the clouds part, and it’s super sunny and HOT!!

When we left this morning, Maya said she wanted to be a vampire. haha 🙂  She wanted to wear all black and wear her wings from last year’s Halloween.   She wore the wings to the gym, and seriously-SO CUTE!

We were going to visit one of my best friends and her newborn for lunch.  They live in Kirkland about 5 minutes away from one of my favorite parks to shoot at.  It’s about 30-40 minutes away from us (with no traffic) though, so I’ve never taken Maya there.  I was super excited envisioning Maya running through all the tall grass and down all the wooden boardwalks with her wings flying on her back!

Of course as soon as we got to the park…the clouds parted and it got HOT!

I’d already lugged all my gear out, so we just sat in the shade of a big willow tree and snapped a few.Blog Leyendecker Blouse 7FAM Slimmy ShoeMint-1 Blog Leyendecker Blouse 7FAM Slimmy ShoeMint-2My girlfriend’s teenage daughter curled Maya’s hair while we caught up.  I’ve never curled her hair before, but it looked SO PRETTY!!Blog Gapkids Tunic Destroyed Mini Skinny Soda Ballet Flats-3 Blog Gapkids Tunic Destroyed Mini Skinny Soda Ballet Flats-4Blog Leyendecker Blouse 7FAM Slimmy ShoeMint-5 Blog Leyendecker Blouse 7FAM Slimmy ShoeMint-6 Blog Leyendecker Blouse 7FAM Slimmy ShoeMint-7 Blog Leyendecker Blouse 7FAM Slimmy ShoeMint-8Blog Gapkids Tunic Destroyed Mini Skinny Soda Ballet Flats-9 Blog Gapkids Tunic Destroyed Mini Skinny Soda Ballet Flats-10On me… (no time for links, sorry!)

Top- Leyendecker (eBay)
Jeans- 7 FAM “The Slimmy”
Sandals- Shoemint
On Maya…
Top- GapKids (thrifted)
Jeans- GapKids (thrifted, and DIY distressed)
Shoes- Soda (thrifted)
Keeping it Real…
That’s pretty much how I felt about the sun too.  This was as close as I got of her running through the high grass with her wings….sigh.
Blog Outtake
(all pictures taken with a self timer/shutter release and tripod, except ones of Maya :))

dit-elle-Lauren

Salmon Avocado Mango Salad with Soft Boiled Egg | Paleo // Whole30

Anyone else guilty of thinking up recipes about 30 minutes before you need to start making dinner?

There’s benefits to thinking on the fly, but a lot of times I’ll forget what I did.  That makes it hard to recreate if it turns out well.  I’m also forced to use what I have on hand, as a trip to the supermarket is out… Somehow, they always turn out ok…

This one was more than ok!  Light and refreshing, yet totally satisfying with lots of healthy fats!

So glad I wrote it all down 🙂Blog Paleo Whole30 Salmon Avocado Mango Salad with Soft Boiled Egg -1 Blog Paleo Whole30 Salmon Avocado Mango Salad with Soft Boiled Egg -2

Ingredients (Would serve 4)

  • 3 6oz cans of wild Alaskan Salmon
  • 10 grape tomatoes (cut in half)
  • 6-8 eggs (The Huz and I each had two, but Maya only had one)
  • 1 large avocados
  • 1 Mango diced
  • 1/2 and inch slice red onion diced (or a scallion)
  • 1/3 cup diced pickles
  • Sea Salt and Pepper to taste
  • Head of Butter Lettuce

Directions

  • Boil water and cook eggs for 7-8 minutes (I accidentally forgot to set the timer and cooked mine a little longer than I had planned)  7 minutes for a runny yolk, 8 for a soft one as pictured.  Take off burner and add cold water and ice until they are cool.  Very important to have them fully cool, in order to peel properly.  Set aside while you make everything else.
  • Drain Salmon, place in large bowl, and break it up.
  • Dice tomato, avocado, mango, and onions and stir into salmon
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • Set butter lettuce in a bowl, and scoop large cub of mixture on top.  Top with eggs.

Enjoy!

Next week, I’ll show you how I ate this for lunch the next day!  It was almost better!!

dit-elle-Lauren

Twinning in Levi’s Cut offs…and another low tide :)

 I’ve been feeling a little down lately.  There are a number of small little factors adding up, but one of them is that we aren’t able to do as many outings lately for a number of reasons.  I really miss them!!

And creatively, I miss taking pictures for ME…of US.  I miss the fun we have (not that we aren’t still having fun!), but I really miss being able to document that fun.

Anyways, enough about that!  But be forewarned.  Since the outings are fewer and far between, I took a TON of pictures haha.  Trust me, this post could have been even longer!!Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-1 Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-2Getting her to come to me when there’s all the open space from low tide, is practically impossible!  Although, I tried to take a bunch while I was holding her, but my remote trigger was acting up-GRRR! Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-3 Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-4 Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-5Our shoes didn’t stay on long 🙂 Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-6And, she’s OFF! Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-7 LOVE this next one!!Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-8 Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-9 Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-10 Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-11hahaha. Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-12 Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-13- Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-13 Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-14 Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-15 Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-16 Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-17I had to get in the water for this shot, and let me tell you.  The water was COLD!!! Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-18 Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-19 Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-20 Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-21 Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-22

On me…

Top- Monrow (thrifted)
Jeans- Levi’s 501 (purchased 20+ years ago and DIY cut off, similar here)
On Maya…
Top- The LB Brand “Dear Big Me” (tee version here)
Jeans- DIY Levi’s Cutoff  (thrifted, but similar here)
Keeping it Real…
So, my remote trigger (MY 3RD ONE!!!) wasn’t working about 5  minutes in.  I’m really hoping the batteries are just going out.  I haven’t had time to test it again.  I had to hold it pointing at my camera, which I shouldn’t have to do.  I had to Photoshop it out of my hand in the first shot 😦
Oh, and my face?  hahaha.
Blog Outtake
(all pictures taken with a self timer/shutter release and tripod, except ones of Maya :))

dit-elle-Lauren

Healthy Chocolate Chip Mint NiceCream

Ever since I successfully made a Healthy Cherry Garcia, I’ve been dying to make a Mint Chocolate Chip version.  I’ve had this recipe in my mind for a LONG time, and finally got around to making it last night.  I might play around with it a little more, but overall, I think it was pretty good for the first try!Blog Healty Mint Chocolate Chip NiceCream-1 Blog Healty Mint Chocolate Chip NiceCream-2 Blog Healty Mint Chocolate Chip NiceCream-3Ingredients (serves 3-4)

  • 3 Frozen Bananas (cut into 2-3 inch pieces prior to freezing)
  • 1/2 cup frozen Avocado (cut into cubes then frozen)
  • 1/3 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
  • Half of a vanilla bean (slice open and scrape inside out)
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Peppermint Extract
  • Garnish with dark chocolate chipsBlog Healty Mint Chocolate Chip NiceCream-4

Directions

Put frozen bananas, Avocado, almond milk, peppermint extract and inside of vanilla bean in a high speed blender or Cuisinart, and pulse/stop and stir occasionally until it gets to a creamy consistency.  You might need to add more almond milk.

Maya loves to push the button 🙂 Blog Healty Mint Chocolate Chip NiceCream-5

That’s it!!

Garnish with the dark chocolate chips (although, omit this if you are strict on certain diets). Blog Healty Mint Chocolate Chip NiceCream-6

Enjoy!  We did 😉dit-elle-Lauren

The Dress You’ll Want to Wear Every Day…and Salt Water Sandals!

 One of my favorite things about Instagram (besides meeting super cool people!), if finding random little shops that I never would have known about otherwise!

A few weeks ago, I saw someone wearing this amazing dress on Instagram, and I had to see where it was from!  In my mind, I was sure it was going to be 100’s of dollars.  NO!!!  Less than $45!!!  Sadly, it was sold out, but I scored the short sleeve version I’m wearing, an amazing tunic (that I’ll be blogging soon-taking it from day to night), and a cardigan for $8 (that I might try and turn into a wrap dress :))!!!  Almost all their clothing is less than $50 and it’s all ridiculously comfortable and well made too! I swear this isn’t an ad or a collaboration.  They have no idea I’m writing this.  The store is that cool!! 🙂

 The other super cool thing about this dress, is that when I wore it to preschool pick up I had both a grandmother and a 20 something mom ask me where I got it!Blog Roulee Pocket Maxi Dress Gold Salt Water Sandals-1I took these the day before I left on my girls weekend over a week ago…

I couldn’t stop smooching on Maya before I left!Blog Roulee Pocket Maxi Dress Gold Salt Water Sandals-2 Blog Roulee Pocket Maxi Dress Gold Salt Water Sandals-3Blog GapKids Denim Jacket Purple Mexican Dress Gold Sun San Salt Water Sandals-4Blog Roulee Pocket Maxi Dress Gold Salt Water Sandals-5For a sizing reference.  I’m 5′ 8″, and I got a small.  It’s actually almost too long!  Nothing a little knot doesn’t fix!

And, I cannot believe it’s taken me this long to buy Salt Water Sandals for myself!!!  They were also on sale, so I scooped up a pair to see if I’d like them.  I’ve worn them SO MUCH!!!Blog Roulee Pocket Maxi Dress Gold Salt Water Sandals-6Because…twinning is winning! haha. Blog Roulee Pocket Maxi Dress Gold Salt Water Sandals-7 Blog Roulee Pocket Maxi Dress Gold Salt Water Sandals-8 Blog Roulee Pocket Maxi Dress Gold Salt Water Sandals-9Maya wanted to “Make me look beautiful” by putting weeds in my hair 😉 Blog Roulee Pocket Maxi Dress Gold Salt Water Sandals-10You can’t really see them, but…so sweet! Blog Roulee Pocket Maxi Dress Gold Salt Water Sandals-13Blog GapKids Denim Jacket Purple Mexican Dress Gold Sun San Salt Water Sandals-11 Blog GapKids Denim Jacket Purple Mexican Dress Gold Sun San Salt Water Sandals-12 Blog Roulee Pocket Maxi Dress Gold Salt Water Sandals-14 Blog Roulee Pocket Maxi Dress Gold Salt Water Sandals-15 I can’t even handle her sweet smile!!!  LOVE HER!1 Blog Roulee Pocket Maxi Dress Gold Salt Water Sandals-16 Blog Roulee Pocket Maxi Dress Gold Salt Water Sandals-17 Blog Roulee Pocket Maxi Dress Gold Salt Water Sandals-18 Blog Roulee Pocket Maxi Dress Gold Salt Water Sandals-19The low tide was SO cool, but it was SO slippery out there on the rocks.  We ventured out a little bit, and then came back.Blog GapKids Denim Jacket Purple Mexican Dress Gold Sun San Salt Water Sandals-20I thought about messing with this image in Photoshop to enhance the beauty, but decided to leave it exactly the way I took it in my camera… Blog GapKids Denim Jacket Purple Mexican Dress Gold Sun San Salt Water Sandals-21Same with this one.  I’m not much of a landscape photographer, but I couldn’t help but take a picture on this day. Blog West Seattle Beach-22

On me…

Dress- Coal Black Maxi Dress (definitely more of an olive green color)
On Maya…
Jacket- (thrifted, but similar here)
Dress- thrifted
Keeping it Real…
I had put my camera on burst mode when Maya was jumping off the ledge, but forgot to turn it off… Nothing like capturing about 50+ shots when you intended to take one haha.  AND…nothing like getting my entire laugh caught in succession.  I ommited the REALLY ugly laughs.  Like, I look like I’m going to kill someone in some of these.  SO sorry for those of you that have to see that all the time ha! 😉Blog Outtake-1And, I’ve always wanted to capture Maya mid jump.  Oddly…when I finally did, I realize it wasn’t exaaaaaactly how I pictured it in my mind 🙂 Blog Outtake-2
(all pictures taken with a self timer/shutter release and tripod, except ones of Maya :))

dit-elle-Lauren