Category Archives: Day Casual

Happy Birthday to me! {42}

I don’t know about other Mom’s, but usually on the rare occasion that I go out at night- I’m still sitting in my sweats, hair a frizzy mess, no make up on, and NO idea what I’m wearing…about 20 minutes before we are due to head out the door.

So, of course, there are rarely pictures of me all done up in my “going out” clothes here.

#momlife

This past Friday, we went out early on a double date with my parents, and we actually got home before 9! It was the first time we left Maya with her youngest (oldest brother 15) as her babysitter!!

Honestly, it was perfect! We had an amazing time, ate a LOT of delicious food, drank some amazing wine, and rode the bus home (um, so fun and way cheaper!!)

AND…another total upside? I could run outside and take a few pictures while it was still light!

blog Ella Moss Geometric Silk Dress Ugg Espadrilles-1 And then, Maya all ready in her jammies, came out for a few!

I swear it’s a toss up between what’s better…

Going out and having your kid put to bed when you get home…

AND…

Having them still up when you get home, so you can hug and kiss them before they go to bed.

BOTH = HEAVEN.

I happened to capture the latter, and I’m so glad that I did! blog Ella Moss Geometric Silk Dress Ugg Espadrilles-4 Oh, and her nightgown is a 9-10 hahaha. I knew she’d love it, so I thrifted it for $3!!!

I kid you not, she’s picked it out of a stack of (I’m too embarrassed to say) 75% of the time since… So, clearly. Nightgowns for the win as far as Maya is concerned! Blog Mini Boden Night gown-1 I can’t even… Blog Mini Boden Night gown-2 Blog Mini Boden Night gown-3

On me…

Dress- Ella Moss (thrifted)

Sandals- Ugg (thrifted, similar here)

On Maya…

Nightgown- Mini Boden (thrifted, but similar here)

Keeping it Real…

Of course the minute I go out to take pictures, my neighbor walks by with is dog…

AWKWARD!!

(all pictures taken with a self timer/shutter release and tripod, except ones of Maya :))

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

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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 I’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!!And the twirl factor is off the charts. A total win in Maya’s book 😉

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)

Shoes- Salt Water Sandals “Surfer”

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 :))

Low tide + Adorable Rash Guards

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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-1

I 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-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-5

Blog 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…

Top- Swim Zip “Cutie Cruiser” in Purple

Bottoms- Swim Zip “Ruffled Bikini Bottom” in Purple

Shoes- Salt Water Sandals “Sun San” in Silver

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)

Faux Fur Vests + Hunter Boots…summer in Seattle.

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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-1 It 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-2 Once 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 Lincoln Park Low Tide-8 Then 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-12 Maya 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 This face is so her. Trying REALLY hard not to smile 😉 Although, this is even MORE her….

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

Vest- Joie “Glimmer Faux Fur Vest” (sold out, similar on sale here)

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

(all pictures taken with a self timer and tripod, except ones of Maya :))

Boho Vibes…. A new favorite.

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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!! One of my favorite shots from the day… Although, I have a few! OMG! Both of our faces here hahahaha.

Dying. Blog Free People Two to Tango DL1961 Cindy Dansko Clogs-6 Another favorite… Blog Tea Collection La Ventana Embroidered Dress Keen Rivington-1 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!!She 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

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…

Dress- Tea Collection “La Ventana Embroidered Dress” (thrifted for $3!!)

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-1

I had this idea of shooting through the hanging branches, except it was pretty windy, and half the shots are like this… 🙂

(all pictures taken with a self timer/shutter release and tripod, except ones of Maya :))

All Black, Under a Willow Tree…

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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 My 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 On 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.

(all pictures taken with a self timer/shutter release and tripod, except ones of Maya :))

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

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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!! Getting 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! Our shoes didn’t stay on long 🙂 And, she’s OFF! LOVE this next one!! hahaha. I had to get in the water for this shot, and let me tell you. The water was COLD!!!

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.

(all pictures taken with a self timer/shutter release and tripod, except ones of Maya :))

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

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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-1 I 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 GapKids Denim Jacket Purple Mexican Dress Gold Sun San Salt Water Sandals-4 For 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-6 Because…twinning is winning! haha. Maya wanted to “Make me look beautiful” by putting weeds in my hair 😉 You can’t really see them, but…so sweet! Blog GapKids Denim Jacket Purple Mexican Dress Gold Sun San Salt Water Sandals-11 Blog Roulee Pocket Maxi Dress Gold Salt Water Sandals-14 I can’t even handle her sweet smile!!! LOVE HER! 1 Blog Roulee Pocket Maxi Dress Gold Salt Water Sandals-16 The 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-20 I 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… Same 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)

Sandals- Salt Water Sandals

On Maya…

Jacket- (thrifted, but similar here)

Dress- thrifted

Sandals- Saltwater Sandals

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-1

And, 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 :))

Cream + White for a Girls Night Out!

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This last weekend, I went down to Oregon to meet up with 3 of my high school friends (one of whom I met in kindergarten 36 years ago!!!) We spent one night in Portland, and then headed to wine country to stay one night at The Allison Inn & Spa. We ate and drank too much, but we laughed even more. It was AMAZING!!!

I figured it was the perfect opportunity to wear all white and cream (I mean…NO KIDS!!)

Blog Sunner Tunic Genetic Denim the Shane Pale Ugg Sandals-1 There may or may not have been some wine before we took these… 😉 Sadly, I left my tripod leaning up against a building in Portland when I was loading my car up, and left it there. WAHHHHH!!!! I had all these plans to get a bunch of pictures of us together.

However, one of the staff at the Inn was nice enough to take a few for us!

Not too bad for a bunch of 40+ year old Moms!! 😉 1 sm Girls Trip 2016-130EC On me…

Top- Sunner (eBay)

Jeans- Genetic “The Shane” in Pale (eBay, sold out similar here)

Sandals- Ugg (thrifted, similar here)

Keeping it Real…

Um….I have NO idea what was going on here hahaha. Blog Outtake-2

(all pictures taken by my friend Kate :))

Exploring Low Tide (again!) | Constellation Park

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My parents were down at the beach with other beach naturalists, so we decided to go visit them. Honestly, I took these images a while ago.

BTW, if you are in the West Seattle area… It’s a group that volunteers to go down during extreme low tides. Look for red hats when you are down there!

I didn’t want to risk setting up the tripod on this uneven terrain, so my dad took a few pictures of us. 🙂

Blog Constellation Park Low Tide Free People DL1961 Checkered Vans-1 Earlier we saw a purple sea star (that I took a video off, but spaced on taking a picture of!) and a live crab, but it quickly hid under a rock. Later we found a baby crab that was sadly not alive anymore…

Blog Free People DL1961 Checkered Vans-2 We had a little “Pretty Woman” moment, where I pretended the crab bit her 🙂 Seriously…that face!!! Blog Mini Boden Fur Vest True Religion Jack Toddler Jeans Checkered Vans-1 I literally want to eat her up!! Blog West Seattle Constellation Park Low Tide-6