Green Ruffles

Another outfit combo with an item from Mom's closet: the green ruffle front top. It was longer in lenght than I remembered so that was good. I think Mom wears this with a waist belt but I wore the belt at my hips to give the ruffles plenty of room. Although it looks dressy it was comfy and the no sleeves was perfect for the super hot weather that has started today. Jeans were too hot but oh well. Again would have loved to have worn some chunky bootie heels with these but sandals would have to do with so much walking and running after kids activities. Again noting the wallet/purse is a necessity and not part of my look. I did remember to remove it but it wasn't safe to put it somewhere for the photos so still had to hold it. The shots were taken at the street festival we went to in our neighborhood. The paintings were so pretty so made the perfect background.

Green Ruffle front top - Arden B (Mom's)

Chain belt - WCkaki

Dark Grey skinny jeans - CLOSET

Black Sandals - Boutique 9

Double stone ring - gift from mom from Turkey

Studded headband - Channel look alike from Turkey (gift from Mom)

Today's Activities: Attempted to walk with the kids in the AM only to realize heat has started and it makes you sick to your stomach to be outside so went back to the heavily air conditioned home. Ate ordered lunch and napped while the kids napped. Woke up and took them to the street festival in our neighborhood. We missed the kids stuff which had started at noon but was able to catch the exhibits and start of one concert. Saw couple vendors that were selling beautiful hand made necklaces from fabric and crochet. See photos below. Bought a super pretty one that reminds me of the Turkish Flag (same colors of red and white).  Afterwards we went to the water front (across the street) and had dinner at a cafe there. Saw the parade while having dinner as well. Kids had gotten gross at the playground so came home for a much needed bath and bed time. Hopefully no one will wake up tonight.

Here is the lady that makes and sells these hand made crochey/ribbon and natural stone necklaces:

Here is a closer shot of her table:

I could have chosen 5-6 but since I had a limit went with this red and white one below:

Oxford Cool

Got this idea from a store poster. The model had worn white jeans with black converses. I didn't bring my white jeans but my white capris served the same purpose. I do like the pinstriped oxford shirt over the white pants. To go with the pastel white/blue look added a white scarf as well. Could have gone red scarf but wanted to keep the color scheme neutral except for the black converses. Last two days I keep forgetting to take off my wallet/purse so it is in the photos even though it is not part of my look. When I am with kids I use that purse/wallet no matter what I am wearing. Accessories are all silver. Took the tripod with me and took these myself. Had to be quick though as people kept crossing the sidewalk and giving me puzzled looks. And the kids constantly saying they wanted to go did not help either.

Pinstriped Oxford Shirt - WeiJei store in Turkey

What Capri's - D&G thrifted from sister

White Scarf - from a street vendor in Turkey

Converses - converse.com

Today's Activities: Took the kids for a morning walk around the neighborhood. On our walk we had free syrupy dessert called 'lokma'. This is cooked on the street and distributed to public for free in return for prayer to a person that has passed away. The family pays for this on the 50th anniversary of their loved one's death. We'll be doing the same for my grandpa mid summer. My son was very interested of course in this activity and the sweet food. See photos below. Afterwards we went to a bakery to buy wheat bread and this giant bread had come out of the oven. It as giant. I had to take a photo.  

Came home for lunch and naps. Amazingly they slept pretty good today. After naps, had quick snacks and took a cab to the indoor play area we hosted my son's b-day party. It was perfect. 2.5 hours of high activity playtime in a nicely Air Conditioned place. I did have to run after my daughter most of the time but I did get a few minutes here and there to sip a couple cups of tea at least. Afterwards walked to a home store (just like Home Depot in the States) bought some darkenning shades for the summer house than walked to the playground right next door as we waited for my cousin to pick us up and take us home. Had dinner and put the kids down for bed time. We have a new nanny that started late so we immediately took advantage and left her home with the sleeping kids and went to see the new 'Sex and the City' movie with my cousin and his girlfriend. Loved it. It made me homesick for the states. I realize now I consider both countries my home. I miss Turkey when I am there and I do miss the States when I am here. Unfortunately the kids decided to wake up 2-3 times each after we went to bed at 2:30 AM. It was a long tiring night, but a fun day.

Here is my Son with his 'Lokma' dessert in front the cook who is shaping them by hand and throwing them in the boiling oil to fry. Another guy takes them out and pours syrup and distributes...

Here is the dessert close up:

Here is a photo of the giant wheat bread. Apparently it is called 'whale bread'. They cut as much as you want and even slice it and sell it by weight...

Ferry Boat Style

Great photo shoot today since I was out and about with  my mom.  Bought this orange tank top from my aunt's local bazaar for 3.5TL (approx $2). Love its quality and the tunic length. Thought it looks great with cargo's to dress them up a bit. The denim vest adds interest I felt. Although I didn't keep it on most of the day as it was too hot. Bought the perfect necklace at the end of the day from a street vendor that will go absolutely perfect with this top. Next time...

Shots below are taken on the ferry boat...Notice how the stairs match my top! 

 The cover photo on top is at the pier.  My mom was able to catch the ferry passing by on the background...

Orange tank top with gold sequins - Bazaar in Turkey

Cargo Pants - Gap

Denim Vest - Forever 21

Ankle cuff suede sandals - Victoria's Secret

Today's Activities: Left the house at 9 AM. Walked 20 minutes to the closest pier but we were half hour early for the boat so had a quick breakfast at a cafe facing the pier. Took the boat to one stop (photo aboove right) switched to another ferry and went to the neighborhood (Bostanli) we wanted to get to. Then we had to take the bus to the shopping center (Ege Se) that was our target. Took us 2.5 hours or so to get there. Had lunch and let the kids in the indoor play area. They loved it. Visited a toy store and bought a new shrek book on the latest movie. My son must have had us read it 5 times on the way back. Had to walk for 20 minutes in the heat to get the kids to nap in the stroller. Once they fell a sleep I could go back in the mall. We had about 30 minutes or so after that then they woke up. We took the bus back to the pier and took the two ferry boats back. My daughter decided she wanted to roll around on the boat floor. She had so much fun and since we were heading home we let her. When we reached our local pier I found the perfect hand made necklace below. The chain is leather and the stones are real. It was so pretty. We walked back 20 minutes then dipped the kids in baths for an hour. Washed every piece of clothing they had on, including their shoes. Had dinner at home and they both went to bed a little early.

Running out of Ideas

Not super creative today. I had a few more city outfits on my list but they don't seem to fit to my activities these days. So this was a last minute put together and I can't say I love it too much. This t-shirt is super cute though. I have a great outift planned for it for summer town. Today, wore it with khakis instead of jeans but added denim sandals to pick up the blue. Bone necklace and ring goes with the pants. Was going to go with a cream headband but then thought this channel headband picks up the silver/black chains of the denim sandals. Red belt is just a splach of color. 

Flowery Tee - Anthropologie

Cargo Pants - Gap

Denim Sandals - Steve Madden

Red Belt - Mom's (Mango)

Bone Necklace - old can't remember

Bone Ring - Gift

Headband - Gift

Today's Activities: Managed to get ready and get out of the house early enough for our long walk to the park. Took the bay side boardwalk instead today. It was nice and breezy and much easier to walk with no sidewalks and streets to cross. We also remembered to bring our bucket set so my daughter could get dirty and play at her heart's desire. Unfortunately playgrounds have soil instead of sand like the states so kids get soooo dirty but what can you do. I use half a pack of wipes afterwards just to get them to a position to get in the stroller for the walk back. Before coming home we ordered lunch this time gyro which my son adores. Had the food delivered home and they devoured it. Both napped pretty good so it was a good day. After naps my mom came home and we took a cab to the other nicer neighborhood (Alsancak) but it started to rain when we got there. My mom had to go visit a friend so we rushed to the big toy store to wait out the rain. We then visited my mom's cousin which is where we took the photos. Afterwards had dinner at my old favorite pizza restaurant. Quite pricey now especially for pizza. Took a cab back at home.

Cargo with Schiffon

So here are my renovated pants with belt loops. Now they stay put and do not ride down so I can wear them much more often. This top is super old. Got it at a TJ Max long time ago as I liked its creamy schiffon simple look with the bronze sequins. Wore it I think once to work but that was it. Brought it with me to wear it with silky green shorts but thought they would also look good with these pants. Wore my new nude tight tank top underneath though for additional coverage. That nude top was a great purchase for under $2.

Also realized this chain belt can be worn inside belt loops. You take out the chain, put it through the loops than re attach. Pretty cool. I do love how these anke cuff sandals look with slightly crop pants. They finish right when the pants start. Was alone with the kids again today so had to do photos inside which is not the best light or easy to position the tripod. Might take the tripod outside and see if I can attempt photos by myself tomorrow.

Schiffon Top with Bronze sequin neck trim - DKNY

Nude Tank Top (worn underneath) - from Turkey

Green Cargo type pants - Bebe

Cream/Green belt with chain - Bebe

Ankle Cuff suede sandals - Victoria's Secret

Gold Earings, Stringy Bracelet, bronze/silver ring

Today's Activities: My mom left to clean and fix up the summer house so I was alone with the kids. Took them by the water  (this time with the double stroller). They used broken up sidewalk pieces as rocks and threw them to water. Then we saw an editor who was fishing as a hobby. He showed my son how to throw a line and the fish he caught. Ordered lunch from a lady who makes and delivers homemade food. After lunch and naps, my cousin picked us up for the shopping center. Bought the cutest hooded terry panchos for the kids to use after swimming. Then went to the indoor play area, the kids ran around like crazy. Had dinner at uncle's restaurant and my cousin brought us back home.

Tackling Public Bazaar

This outfit would have been much more chic with other shoes but where we were going required sturdy converse type shoes. What I was going for was the blue accessories over yellow look. Initially it was just going to be this scarf. Then realized this new bead necklace I got couple weeks ago is the same shade and looks great over the scarf. The scarf was also supposed to be tied but it kept getting undone so left it like this. While shopping bought this super cute leather ring and thought it goes great with all of it.

Yellow Tee - Closet

Blue Skinny Jeans - Forever 21

Converse - Converse.com

Blue Scarf - Forever 21

Blue Bead necklace - Bazaar in Turkey

Leather blue ring - Bazaar in Turkey

Wallet Purse - Coach

Zip up hoodie (tied at waist) - Delia's Catalog

Today's Activities: It was again overcast and not so hot today which was great. Got my hair done again. Here the hair dresser is literally at the bottom of the apartment. He owns the bottom floor, so it is super convenient. Afterwards mom and I took the kids out. Did not make it all the way to the park but just walked around. My daughter now likes to get out and push the stroller herself. The pace is super slow but she gets some exercise this way. My son mostly walks anyway but it is great ot have the stroller option when he gets tired or we want to walk at a normal pace. We ordered lunch from a tiny kitchen/restaurant who makes homemade meals and delivers. The food got to the house at the same time we returned. Ate lunch and put the kids down for a nap. My son didn't nap but he rested. When my daughter woke up we immediately left the house. Ventured to go to the most crowded public bazaar. We wanted to truly rough it so instead of a cab took the bus. Two kids, two umberella strollers and a crowded city bus! The good thing is when you have kids people give up their seats and everyone helps out. Some one held the strollers while others helped entertain the kids. Turkish people are known for their friendliness. Once we got out and put the kids in strollers it wasn't so bad. Went to the closed section which is very touristy. Lots of silver jewelry, hand made scarfs, anything and everything with evil eyes. This is a place you can easily go and spend hours shopping. We of course spent a quick 45 minute browse. There are also super cool closed street sections with the coziest coffee houses. We of course could not sit to enjoy them. There were also lots of toy shops which the kids loved to browse. Other than this ring and stringy bracelet did not buy much. Bought some stuff for the kids and that was it. We had all intentions to take the bus back but the right bus was not coming so we took a cab instead and got home in time for dinner.

Below are the photos of my mom and I with the kids. You can see the antique closed bazaar better in the photo with my mom (the one I took! :))

Kids of course are looking at all the colorful stuff instead of the camera:

Melon PInk

Not the most creative outfit today. I saw this type of a look with a melon colored top, gold necklace and black pants. But this cardigan did not have a buttons or zippers or anything to allow me to wear it alone. Wore a nude top underneath instead but the look just wasn't the same. I do like the gold bib necklace against this color top.

Below is a closer look to my new hair color. I got the front fixed so I have darker streaks with light ones now. Before they were all too light up front...

Knit Cardigan - Mom's (bought it at bazaar)

Dark grey skinny jeans - Closet

Sandals - Mom's (Target)

Gold Bib Necklace - Kohl's

Gold bracelet watch - Ed Hard (Gift from Dad)

Today's Activities: Slept in a little thanks to Mom but afterwards she left to help my aunt move so I was alone with the kids all day. Took them out but made the mistake of taking one umberella stroller. My son got tired shortly after but I had no place to put him. After all my bribes ran out, I put him in and put my baby on his lap and rushed back home. So after that morning exercise we had lunch and went down for naps (all of us). In the afternoon, the weather had cooled and looked like rain in the forecast but I took the risk and went out anyway. This time with the double stroller. Leisurely walked to the park. Kids this time spent 1.5 hours there. My daughter once again got super dirty playing with dirt against all my pleads. In the afternoons corn in the cob seller comes to the park. My son loves it. So got them two big corns to eat on the way back. Got home for dinner and baths and bed time.