halloween costumes + crochet

If you're looking for my giveaway at Keepin' It Thrifty, click HERE.

Here's the progression of Ella's owl Halloween costume. I started with the hat and finished with the body of the costume. Just a sneak peak at the finished product though, i'll share the final photos of her in it soon. 

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the finished product!

camping 2011

If you're looking for my giveaway at Keepin' It Thrifty, click HERE.

Last weekend we took our little family camping for the very first time (as a family of 3 that is...) We met our close friends who we vacation with often and also have a little boy the same age as Ella. Its SOOO nice traveling with other people that have little ones. They "get" it when your kid is throwing a fit or the RV is stinky from poopy diapers. 

We brought an RV (thankfully our friends had one in the family) which worked out great for putting our littles to bed in their porta-cribs and having a full kitchen available for cooking. Plus, I'm gonna be honest, it was nice sleeping inside a heated trailer instead of on the cold ground. 

It was a fun 4 days and we plan to do the trip annually with our friends.

camp

at the lake with daddy

in the RV watching Yo, Gabba Gabba!

friends

yes our campground had an arcade

our bruiser, actually a combo of 3 spills

smore time!

Insta-friday

If you're looking for my giveaway at Keepin' It Thrifty, click HERE.
Happy Friday!

"going incognito"

new fabric = new pillows!

leftover fabric = new makeup bag

makeup junkie

baby footprints

halloween ruffle pants

choco chip fudge brownies, yumo

crochet

$1 garage sale find

halloween decor

baby leg makin' machine

two fav hair products

old t-shirts

breakin' in the hunter wellies <3

hats

embroidery organization

 banana bread

dress up

"you don't know jacques"

sale

ikat home dec fabric

essie <3

Giveaway at keepin it thrifty

You're probably wondering why posts have been, well...absent as of lately. Our little family went camping! We're back now and i've been preparing a few great posts to share soon, so stay tuned for those.


Today I'm so excited to be a part of Andrea's Birthday Bash Giveaway Week! If you hop over to Keepin It Thrifty today you can enter to win a grab bag of goodies from the Abstract Grace shop. So head on over, check out Andrea's blog and enter! (**Giveaway will end on October 20-@ 12 noon EST**)

what i wore wednesday

Hello! Today I'm sharing some recent purchases for my Fall wardrobe, and a few styling ideas I'm excited to try this Fall. I'm also linking up to What I Wore Wednesday, so if you're visiting from there, Hello! Welcome! Follow (on the sidebar) and be sure to leave a comment I'd love to say "hi"!

Allotrope Shorts via Anthropologie

Ok, First off let me tell you, I am NOT a shorts person. Mostly because of the fact that I was born with short stubby legs (think complete opposite as the lovely lean model in the pic above), so I just don't care for wearing them. However, I saw these in the store and the pattern first caught my eye, then the fabric (it's very soft and comfy), and lastly it's elastic waist, hellooo comfortable! I thought that I'd branch out of my normal "non-short-wearing" regime and give them a try with tights/legging for fall. Then at least no one will be forced to see my pasty white legs, plus I think they'd look great with boots or clogs (note to self: get clogs). So i'm thinking that these shorts might not be a total failure, I'll let you know.

Black Gloss Hunter Wellies

Ok, I'm reaaaalllyyyy excited about these. I haven't officially got them in the mail yet (c'mon Zappos!) but they should be on my doorstep just in time for the rain we're supposed to get this week. I've wanted a pair of Hunter wellies for-ev-er, and i've been saving my pennies to get them. Finally, they're mine! I know they're kind of a splurge for rain boots, but they are amazingly chic and serve a good purpose. Good enough reasons for me! Lets just hope there are no funny sizing issues and I don't have to send them back.

leopard print scarf via h&m

Lastly, I've been on the lookout for leopard print accessories. I already scored an amazing umbrella a few weeks back, and when I came across this beauty at H&M I quickly scooped it up. I never was a huge animal print fan, but since I hit 25 i've been oddly attracted to it in small quantities. (Think shoes, purses, accessories).

So that's it for this week. I'm also linking up my new wardrobe additions to Real Momma, Real Style. Happy Wednesday!

sewing for fall: easy leggings

Between the millions of other sewing projects I have going on right now, I've managed to add a couple more pieces to Ella's Fall wardrobe. The most recent addition are these stretchy leggings. I bought a double needle, and have been excited to try using it, so when I came across a $.99 striped knit shirt at the thrift store I knew it would be perfect for fashioning into some leggings for Little Lady.

They really are the easiest things ever, and sewing with the double needle was a breeze. I just traced a pair of leggings that fit Ella on folded fabric, then used my double needle to sew up the sides and the crotch, folded the waist down and added elastic, and hemmed the legs (two pieces! easy peasy!). 

If you'd like to read a great intro into sewing with knits/stretchy fabrics and using a double needle i'd suggest reading this. And if you'd like a tutorial using the same method I did to make them, this is a great one (Lots of pictures and helpful instructions).

I definitely will be using my double needle more often, and making a few more pairs of these pants for her. You can use old t-shirts, yoga pants, anything that has stretch to it, so it's a great idea for refashioning items you're looking to get rid of.

Keep an eye out, because I've also used the same method with an added twist to make something else for the Fall season...i'll share that soon!

thrift store haul

Today I'm sharing a few new additions to Ella's vintage/handmade wardrobe. All these items were thrifted while we were on vacation in New Hampshire or at our local store here in town. Each item was also under $3.50, can't beat that!

 The sweetest smocked flower print vintage dress. 

Orange + teal citrus flower print w/ ric rac AND eyelet?! So sweet. 

Blue + red plaid dress with red ric rac. Sized perfect for next summer's Independence Day.

Long sleeved mushroom + polka dot top. Perfect addition to her Fall wardrobe. 

There are SO MANY great finds out there, you just have to have a keen eye, and my #1 thrifting tip, GO OFTEN!