Maxi?

I've yet to embrace the maxi dress trend.  I'm not really a trend person but this one is growing on me.  When they first came out I thought they were cute but it's rarely warm enough for a "patio dress" here and frankly they reminded me of the "hostess dresses" my mom wore to entertain by our pool in the 1970's when I was a kids.  Dated myself there, didn't I?  Anyway, I'm thinking the time has come to take the maxi plunge.  I can just see it with a denim jacket and metallic sandles.  What do you think?

Cafe Capri in green?

I love the J crew cafe capri.  They have become my summer staple.  I wear them pressed with a nice crease for the office with a blouse, blazer and flats and on the weekend with a tee and sandles.  This past weekend I dropped into the J Crew store near me to see what was new and emerged with this pair in warm jade, which is J Crew speak for green.  I've been hovering around the fringle of colored pants for a while.  I didn't want to spend a great deal for them as I suspect the trend may be gone next summer but these were marked down to $29.99 and so I bit on them.  They are preppy and fun.  I'm going to wear them with a striped blouse and my navy school boy blazer to start I think.  They are pretty classic and so I hope that they will always be wearable even when the bright pant trend has faded. What do you think?

Hula Hoop

Remember all those fun games you used to do as a kid? jacks, hula hoop hop scotch?  I love teaching them to my kids.  It's not the same to play the hula hoop game on wii fit!  It's more fun to take the hoop outside and have at it.  Here's CMB showing her cousins who can hoop it up! Did you used to hula hoop?  What other fun games do you remember? 

Defining a personal style

Do you have a personal or signature style?  Does it change or evolve?  I've always been considered  a preppy type.  Button downs, sweaters, capri pants etc.  My office style has been skirts (yes mostly JCrew) with a blouse or cami and a cardigan topped off with heels.  Lately though, I have been thinking about a change.  This is partly driven by the growing issues I am having with my ankle and knee.  When I was 9, a horse I was riding slipped and fell, which crushed my anke and knee between her body and the ground.  As a result, I have increasingly sever arthritis issues in those joints.  Heels just aren't cutting it.  My doctor is after me to switch to flat shoes on a more permanent basis.  For a while I have been just ignoring him and wearing my heels but when then resulting pain keeps me awake at night and is starting to limit my physical exercise, it is time for a change.  I don't have to wear a suit to the office.  The same blouses and cardis and vlazers would likely still work. 

The second reason I am thinking about a chance is that  I have finally accepted that my weekend style is not very fancy.  Those moms you see on the weekend in a cute sundress and wedges? Not me.  I coach little league and girls lacrosse and also play tennis.  My weekend style is work out pants and a tee with athletic shoes and a sweatshirt when it is cool and cutoffs and tees with the same shoes in the summer.  So all those fun dresses and skirts hang unworn in my closet. 

I'm carefully editing my closet.  If I can wear it to work and it could do duty on the weekend like J Crew perfect shirts or chino shorts it can stay.  Some heels will survive too.  A girl has to have perfect black heels and a nice pair of nude ones too.  But alot of the pencil skirts and funky but painful shoes will go.  Right now its a work in progress but I will keep you posted!

Happy Mother's Day!

I wanted to wish a very Happy Mother's Day to all you mommies out there! Hope you are having a wonderful day.  I'm celebrating by doing absolutely nothing.  Relaxing in the backyard with a tall glass of iced tea and a new book.  However you celebrate, I hope it's special!

Walk a Jog

Our school's big fundraiser is called the Park School Walk a Jog.  We close off the street around the school and the kids walk or run around the block for an hour and a half and they are sponsored for how many checkpoint they do.  Afterwards there is a carnival.  It's really fun though it can be a long day. 

 OPB in his Walk a Jog tee.  Every year the tees are a different color.  This year the event was on Cinco De Mayo so they were red and green.

                                                    CMB and her best friend RL. 

 ABG and the gang.  The boys in the back are 5th graders and they were owning the school. AGB came straight from a game so he hadn't changed yet.

 CMB and OPB helping with set up.  It's an all hands on deck kind of event

                                 The carnival is always fun.  This is a ping pong ball race.

Adult volunteers having some down time after the event closes and we are done picking up!

Importance of Family

I really think family is important.  A few weeks ago we went to Fresno to see my cousin who still lives there.  The kids had a great time with their cousins and I love it that they are close.  I am the oldest of the cousins in my generation.  My sister is 3 years younger and my other two cousins are 10 and 12 years younger.  It made a big difference when we were younger, I was the baby sitter.  But now that we are grown, it does not seem to make a difference.  AGB is missing here because he was playing in a baseball tournament (what else). 

 My daugher CMB with cousins E and K.  CMB is almost 9.  E wis 3 and K 6.  They still have fun together.

 This is the terrible threesome oe my son OPB (in the center) and his cousins R and T on either side. They are only about 6 months apart in either directoin and have a ball together.

This is me (in the white top and khaki shorts) with my sister and cousins.  I don't look 10 years older do I?

Do you have cousins you are close too? 

Monogrammed Maddness

I've always wanted a monogrammed necklace but just not been able to swing the price tag on the gold or silver one I really wanted.  The today the lovely blogger at Tweed and Toile posted about one she at found over at ElizajayCharm via Etsy. I couldn't click over fast enough.  I ordered the red one shown above and am considering the tortoise one too.  Both for less than the price of the other ones.  I was so excited. I've only ever bought a few things on Esty before.  I've always been an Ebay kind of girl.  But I coould be converted. What do you think?  Do you like Esty? It seems so huge and hard to find things.  Any tips for a newbie?