Happy Friday

It's finally Friday. Whew! What a week. Getting use to our new "schedule" for school has worn me out. I'm having to get up an hour earlier than I use to and just that hour has taken it's toll. I'm am looking forward to SLEEPING IN tomorrow.

On a flip note, I got news today that I MUST get off of caffeine. No Coffee, No Tea, No Chocolate, No Red Wine! COME ON!!!! Well, I am totally on board as the news is better than the alternative. Now, I am on the hunt for alternative "vices". I really had not been drinking much coffee, but McDonald's Sweet Tea was my alternate. YUM-I'm from the south remember? I grew up on sweet tea. And, I simply love all things chocolate; brownies, pie, ice cream, cake. There is just no substitute!! As for the red wine, I didn't drink too much, but it's the only spirit that I drink. This is my Happy Weekend News. Good and Bad. Any suggestions to replace my favorite beverages? I'll take any advice. Right now I'm going with water, water, water and the occasional lemonade.

Have a great weekend and enjoy your morning coffee for me! ))))hugs(((((!

Leslie

I'm Heading to the BEACH!!

I am heading off to the beach for a few hours for a girls day out. Can't remember the last time I could relax and soak up some rays all by myself. Here are a few pictures to get you in the beach mood.




Have a great day!

Leslie

Kitchen Inspiration

I took a few days off from posting as it was the last few days to spend with my little girl before she was off to the big world of Kindergarten. I wanted to soak as much of her up as I could so we played games, played dress up, painted pictures and just spent good mommy time.

But, now I am ready to blog. Check out these kitchens from Southern Living.com Idea Home Kitchens. I love the galley kitchen in the third picture with the horizontal tiles and two toned cabinetry. So chic. And the farm table at the end. This is a look I would love for my kitchen. We may just do some remodeling in our kitchen soon, an updated subway tile backsplash, soapstone counter tops and farm sink would certainly make it more my style.

I also love the horse head statue in the fourth picture and the light fixture in the last picture.

Dreamin.........

Leslie

The most beautiful thing I have ever read

i recently discovered the blog of Kelle Hampton. a photographer, a blogger, a mother. her blog is the only mommy blog I read. i normally gravitate towards home decor blogs, but this one is different. i have never heard the stories of motherhood told so poignantly, so beautifully. she is open and honest and describes motherhood, this incredible gift, as just that an incredible gift.

she wrote about the birth of her second child; Nella Cordelia: A birth story. i was moved beyond explanation. i was up last night and being by myself I took the time to read her story. i had waited until just the right moment as I knew it was a difficult though an incredibly wonderful story. it's just a must read! It's real, it's emotional, it's incredibly beautiful.

read her story here: http://www.kellehampton.com/2010/01/nella-cordelia-birth-story.html.

beyond being an incredible writer, i would give credit as being probably the best words I have read, she is an incredible photographer. a truly talented lady. she captures her life through words and photography.

on this Sunday remember that miracles really do happen and the gift of life, any life, is a precious one.

leslie

Fall Fashion

I thought I would wait until Monday but I headed over to my favorite on line store, Anthropologie, and found some great fall looks. I couldn't resist going ahead and posting about them. I am ready for fall and fall fashion. Bring it on!!! I love Love layers. It's great for Florida. I layer even now when I know I am going to be in the air condition for long periods of time.

I love these looks from Anthropologie. The looks are based off of a summer dress, appropriately titled Kissing Friday Dress, it has a ruched bodice and a fun floral sleeve detail. I love the rich chocolate brown and the cute ankle boots in the first picture. I love the cute little hat and long sweater with the dress in the third picture and the military style jacket with flirty dress in the last picture. Super cute! I am in to hats a little bit now so the third look is my favorite. I have two hats, from Anthropologie, that I scored on the clearance rack and I can't wait to wear them this fall.





Now these are back to school looks for us grown ups! All the new looks are starting to head in to stores. And right now there are no taxes in Florida on clothes (for items under $50.00). That might be hard to do at Anthropologie but you could re-create these looks at other stores. Try Urban Outfitters, Forever 21, Charlotte Russe, and Old Navy.

Happy Friday and have a great weekend. I'm heading out to go shopping (or shop looking).

Leslie

Back to School

Whether you are a parent sending your first child off to school or a seasoned school parent I think you will find these following websites helpful.


Anotherlunch.com
Check out this site for great ideas for lunches using bento boxes.


EasyLunchBoxes.com
Check out this site for great lunch ideas. Fun, creative, healthy and nutritious.

This is a great site that carries different containers for packing lunches in. The "Bento Box" is a great way to pack lunches. The entire lunch is contained on one container which makes it so easy.




Mabel's Labels
This is a great site for all things labels. It's a good idea to label your child's things-clothes, backpack, shoes, lunch boxes etc. so that they can identify their things. You can find the website at http://cj.mabel.ca





I will be ordering some of the labels from Mabel's labels today. And we actually received a bento box for my little girls birthday this summer. I didn't really know what it was when we got it, but after finding these websites am thrilled to have one to use for school lunches.

Okay. Back to fashion, interiors, and fun things on Monday. Just got the heading off to school thing on my mind these days.

Leslie

Summer craft project

I know, there has been a lot of talk lately on this blog about my little lady going off to kindergarten. I can't help it, it's a huge milestone. I think sometimes bigger for me (is that selfish?). I am truly excited for her and this new phase, though I wish I could slow time down! Well, I decided to end the summer with a craft project. We do a keepsake project each summer and this year I decided to do a garden stepping stone with her little hand print. This way I'll have a keepsake of her on this milestone occasion. Here are some pictures of our process. I had some help from my little assistant with photography.











.
Well, today we are off to meet our, um, her kindergarten teacher. So exciting. Her biggest fear is how she will remember her new teachers name. So sweet! She keeps asking each day, Is it time for me to start kindergarten? I decided to create a way for her to visually see how many days she has...see pic


We are down to five days.

What are you doing, or have you done, to mark this occasion with your little one?

Leslie