August | 2016
"How beautiful the old Glen was, in its August ripeness, with its chain of bowery old homesteads, tilled meadows and quiet gardens. The western sky was like a great golden pearl. Far down the harbor was frosted with a dawning moonlight. The air was full of exquisite sounds - sleepy robin whistles, wonderful, mournful, soft murmurs of wind in the twilit trees, rustle of aspen poplars talking in silvery whispers and shaking their dainty, heart-shaped leaves, lilting young laughter from the windows of rooms where the girls were making ready for the dance. The world was steeped in maddening loveliness of sound and color."
-Rilla of Ingleside, L.M. Montgomery
I love this world we live in. So many small, sacred things to delight in! September dawned a few days ago and I had a jolt of surprise; Summer was being ushered out and Autumn was creeping in. Fall is a delicious season, but I couldn't help but feel sad that our long days were already growing shorter and our light gear will be exchanged for coats and gloves and hats again. But that's a few months away still. No need to get too far ahead :)
This month we hosted guests from Japan, played played played, began a new adventure into preschool, sipped copious amounts of afternoon espresso, and enjoyed all the little things that come with the unofficial new year in August. It's around this time that I go into hunter-gatherer mode and have already curated darling fall/winter wardrobes for the Littles. It is so much fun to buy their clothes! I get more pleasure from walking into Once Upon a Child than just about anything else. Can I get a holla for consignment shops? For less than $100 I got not one but two kids outfitted. !!! Mommy highs.
Attire aside, here's a glimpse of our August in pictures...
Tegu love
Alice's favorite blocks on the planet are these colorful magnetic wooden ones and she invents new creatures by the day. Tegu, you should really hire her.
tool belt
The other day I stopped in at an estate sale and saw this little leather tool belt pocket for $2 so I snagged it and took off the broken black belt and inserted an old belt I've been saving because I couldn't bring myself to get rid of it. Now Milo and Alice can help us at a moment's notice with their little kid work gloves!
Tomoaki & Alice
A couple of years ago, a former Dana student from Japan reached out to see if I had been a classmate but she had gone 10 years before me. We stayed in touch and I told her to please come stay with us if they ever visited the area. So they did! Mako & Tomoaki stayed with us for a few days and we had a great time visiting my grandparents farm, walking around Dana and Neihardt Park, downtown and relaxing at home.
postcards
I have some of those adult coloring book postcards so they each colored and then wrote a little something to Mako's husband from the US! It arrived the day before they got back :D
Jim & Connie's Donut Date
Any trip to Blair requires some J&C love...
lunch gear
Outfitting a kid for school is a lot of work! And a lot of fun :D Her lunchbox and shoes were some of the new things we got to deliberate over, and after much scouting I scored these adorable soft lunchbags from Old Navy ($5 steal!). Über cute and functional - win-win!
Alice the Preschooler
Full post on her first day here!
measuring up
Had Alice stand next to our two tiny trees to see how she/they grow over the years. Thanks for the idea, Gramma Jo!
hey
Milo selfie. Our handsome little man with those blue peepers and kissable lips...oh, small son, I just love you.
cookies!
Daddy busted out the almond flour and cocoa nibs for some after-school treats.
mmm...espresso
phone selfie!
I don't often take selfies, but JD handed me his camera the other day and I couldn't resist. Thanks, Jeni, for the sunnies!
lattes for two
Aren't friends just the best? Thank you, Elena, for this cup of loveliness at Aroma's in Benson!
pretty prints
Gifted a set of 25 of my favorites on pretty cardstock to my latest wedding clients from their big day using Parabo Press. So pretty!
MSL
Love me some Martha. Always spot on, short & sweet. I only subscribe to two magazines and this is one of them!
Cat & Jack
Alice had a $5 gift card at Target so this little fox pencil case from their new Cat & Jack line came home with us. We love it :D Alice now has her own little set of Prisma colored pencils in her backpack at all times for roadtrips and more!
Crayola Kids
These two have been coloring a lot more lately! Alice invents things and Milo mostly squiggles and then takes the twist up crayons out of the jar in order to put them all back in again. Silly Milo :D Full post on this to come!
calendar art
Turning two more month's illustrations from Rifle Paper Co.'s Alice in Wonderland calendar (only $10 right now!) into works of art. Cheapest art you can find, ladies and gentlemen. Full post to come!
new pjs!
Thank you, Gramma Jo, for the new pjs from the Disney Store in NYC! I especially love my little Captain America :D
Italy
Poured hours into creating the perfect keepsake from our dreamy trip this summer. Artifact Uprising, you're just the best. Full post to come!
butterfly bouquet
Pruned back our butterfly bushes (they had overgrown the sidewalk) so I kept the pretty blooms. Such a gorgeous deep violet!
sage counsel
My Papa Milo raised me to love Word Jumbles and even still he clips out the weekend one and saves them for me in a bundle. One in particular had stumped me so I asked if he could help a girl out. He mailed this to me in response :) (Side note: isn't his handwriting stunning??? I've tried to imitate it my whole life and ended up only half way there.)
fetching throw pillow
Last year, Lyn had me accompany her to the fabric store to pick out some lovelies for her to create some pillow covers with and this was one of the winners. Except now she has decided she doesn't like to have all of those unnecessary pillows to take off and put back on her bed, so this little beauty came home with me. Thanks, sis! (Side note: that scarf was my $1 birthday present from Banana Republic this summer - it was clearanced out at $15 in the men's section so I paid all of $1.04 for it with my $15 BR birthday money...!!!)
Risograph
Hey there, Parabo Press - we're still drooling over our new cheap risograph print above the fireplace! It's our new favorite way to swap out big art work. Three feet x four feet = $25. Such a steal! Love seeing photos from our Italy trip to remind us of all the fun we had.
relax
A couple of years ago after the hail storm I got these white rockers for the front porch. The hearty pompous grass is finally growing taller and now we have a nice secluded front porch for unwinding. Now I need to get a little table for my glass (ahem, bottle) of wine...
sneakers
Once Alice started preschool last week, we realized we'd have to break down and get her sneakers. Up to this point we have been a sandals-and-boots kind of family, but all of that playground gravel on a thrice-weekly basis meant Alice need more appropriate footwear. So I scoured the depths of the internet and found these fun (read: loud) pink and glow in the dark New Balance tennies from J Crew. They are wild, but they totally pick up all the little pink accents in her outfits, and the coordinator in me loves that they're the same neon pink of her lunchbox. Now that I know we need to look out for tennis shoes in the future they'll be on my radar at consignment shops so we're not forking over such ridiculous amounts for shoes they will literally wear for one year. Ugh! Full post on these kicks to come.
Gold + Books
I have been having so much fun with my new protege Miss Anna of Jackson Street that we've started styling photoshoots in lieu of tests. More styling to come, but in the meantime, full post here!
Goodbye August, Hello September!!!
