Flowers in November

I got inspiration for this outfit from the following photo in one of the summer issues of In Style. Given our summer weather figured I would break it out:

I adopted the 'white tee' with 'silky print mini' skirt and the 'long blazer' jacket with a 'broche'.

For day time I went with a silk flower pin and bare legs:

This Blazer jacket is another one of my business suit pieces from a long time ago. It is fitted and long and is perfect with the skirt. The skirt was exactly what I was looking for. It is flowy and mini, has a silky fabric and the print has colors that are going to be very easy to work with for layering in my fall wardrobe.

And here is the night version of this outfit. I swapped the silk flower pin for a vintage looking rhinestone one and had to wear pantyhose as it finally got chilly by late afternoon. I could have gone with thick tights but wanted to keep the summery look of this outfit.

I got this panty hose in Turkey. It is made for summer and is super sheer and feels great.

Here is a close-up of the pin. I bought this years ago when it was in style to wear pins on twinset cardigans. It is nice to wear it again.

And of course lets not forget my new collection of statement cuffs I have accumulated. I bought a few to create 3 different combinations depending on what I am wearing.

Blazer Jacket - part of a suit from Bebe

Silky flowery mini - Forever 21

White tee - Nordstrom rack (from the twilight movie collection)

Pins, Bracelets - Forever 21 & Charlotte Russe

Navy patent leather heels - Steven by Steve Madden

Today's Activities: Had an amazing today. My 3 mommy friends and I had booked a spa day month ago when all our husbands were traveling and we wanted something to look forward to. Met early in the morning at the Spa and sat in the steam room for an hour and chatted away as we sweat the toxins. Then we each had our treatments (them massages, me a facial). I like massages but I love facials more. They include a shoulder, arm/hand and scalp massage and plus my face gets a whole slew of treatments. Afterwards we sat in the relaxation room for a while and enjoyed the bliss. After showering and getting all dolled up we had a great lunch on the outside patio overlooking the bay.

Here are my georgous mommy friends:

My darling husband had the kids while I enjoyed this relaxing treat. He had grand plans to take both kids to the zoo by himself. Except he discovered by mistake I took both sets of our car keys and left him stranded at the house. He made do by walking to the park than my step dad came to rescue him (he has two car seats in his truck) and took them out to lunch and  a stroll on the beach boardwalk. When I got home he was in his room and she was napping. The house looked like a tornado had come through it but I didn't care. I took off my high heels and the bracelets. Swapped the mini for tights while I cleaned up everything. We played with the kids when they woke up and got dressed. I put back  the clothes plus the hose and we left for the family b-day dinner. It is both my husbands and my sister's birthday tomorrow. The dinner was very nice but short since we had the kids and as some of you know they don't last that long in a restaurant.

Here is my husband with the kids before we left:

And here is my sister and my husband:

 

Taupe Bunny

At this point I am pretty much ignoring the scorching weather. I am wearing fall clothes regardless. OK, so I didn't wear the tights or the wedges until close to sunset but in the evening they were OK. This gold striped thermal top is a post pregnancy purchase to dress up terry yoga pants. I like it is understated look with this very furry outfit.

Here is the faux fur belt I bought (in dead summer) in Turkey. This was before I had any access to fall fashion magazines so somehow I guessed that fur would be in... I realize it looks a bit weird since it is so thick right around my hips but since I have super narrow hips I like the bulk it adds....

And my faux fur trimmed new wedge booties. Absolutely love these. Love the oatmeal/taupe color that will pretty much go with everything. The same tone fur trim is removable for spring wear. My ankles are the skinniest part of my legs and I love how these add so much chunk right there. And I had never owned wedges before, they are quite comfy even when toting kids around. The taupe thick knit tights are also really cool.

I added the animal print scarf to cover the low neckline a bit and to introduce another print and dark browns to the outfit. 

I love this long owl charm necklace. It was like $4.50 from Forever 21 of course. Ordered it online and it was bigger than I thought but just goes great with these colors. And gives something for my kids to talk about.

The tweed shorts are a winter purchase from a few years ago. They have a hint of gold in the plaid design and are thick wool and lined.

My husband told me to hold the basketball since I was standing in front of his hoop.

Thermal gold striped top - Victoria's Secret Catalog (old)

Tweed Shorts - Forever 21 (old)

Faux Fur belt - From Turkey (summer 2010)

Taupe tights and owl charm - forever 21 (new)

animal print crinkled schiffon scarf - TJ Maxx (new)

Wedge Booties - Victoria's Secret Catalog (new)

And here is my son crying because we won't put in his Lion King DVD (for the millionth time) right before we have to leave the house...

Today's Activities: Oh, it was so odd to wake up to a super quiet house (the kids spent the night at my mom's and stepdad's). We enjoyed a quiet breakfast where I actually watched Private Practice from 2 weeks ago while folding laundry. Having the TV to ourselves in the morning is unheard of. I then started in a mad rush to get everything done before I pick up the kids. Washed/masked and dried my hair, paid bills, organized our office, posted november events on our calendar and purchased tickets to some upcoming events like 'Breakfast with Santa' and 'The Grinch who stole Christmas play' and sent and replied to ton of emails, updated my facebook profile (I never go there) and finally rushed out to get my nails done before going to my mom's. Picked up the kids came home and unpacked their bags and made cookies for the preschool PJ party we won't be attending but I had already committed to. When hubby came home quickly took these shots and left to drop off the cookies at preschool than a fast dinner at Baja Fresh before going to my brother's for hte big 'revealing of the baby's sex' ceremony. We cut the choclate cake my sister-in-law baked to discover the color of the frosting which told us the sex of the baby. Can't say it yet as they have more family to tell but everyone was so happy.

Silverlight

So this is the outfit on my list, but you will see at the bottom how I only could wear it without the jacket and flats instead of heels. It is just too hot. But look how cool it looks with this  cropped navy blazer. This blazer just works with so many outfits, I love it. I also did a back photo so you an see it laces up in the back. Found this silver glitter striped tank on a $5 rack in Charlotte Russe. It is one of those great layering pieces. Super thin and light too. These denim leggings are growing on me. As long as I wash them after every wear they seem to sag less. The bib necklace is my favorite. I ordered it in gold tones as well. It is such a statement piece that I didn't want to wear any other jewelry. These ruffle zipper heels I think look great with the look but of course had to switch to (silver) ballet flats for a more realistic look with the kids.

 Discovered if I do my photos during nap time the light is much better. But sometimes my outfit is already too worn or dirty by noon so doesn't always work...

Here is the lace up back:

My attempts on a 'walking' shot. A little hard to pull off with a tripod:

Crop navy blazer jacket - Forever 21

Silver knit tank with glitter stripes - Charlotte Russe

Denim leggings - Guess

Ruffle zipper heels - Madden Girl by Steve Madden

Bib necklace - Forever 21

Silver ballet flats (see below) - Mia

See the flats?

They are so worn out and I really should give them away but not until I can replace them with a new pair of silver flats. They seem to come handy a lot more than you could imagine.

Today's Activities: Classic thursday of swim class in the am, music class in the pm. Except had a really rough night with my son again (woke up 4 times) that I was so sleep deprived and snappy. So much that when my mom offerred to take the kids I said no cause I didn't have the energy to pack them up and drive them. She was a life saver when she offerred to come to get them. I enjoyed absolute quietness for an hour late afternoon. It is something I haven't had for so long. When my husband came home he enjoyed playing video games whie I read blogs over beers. For those without kids this sounds so boring but parents will relate that doing such activity before bedtime is quite a vacation. We had dinner totally late (8 PM) and went out for ice cream. I lined up ton of errands and tasks for tomorrow before I pick them up. I love them and miss them but it is nice to have a mini break like this sometimes. What is even better is kids look at going to their house as a total treat. They were utterly excited when they left although did not stop my son from giving me the 3rd degree on where I was going to go and what I was going to do while he was there. He is so like me that it scares me.

Country Charm

Given our ridicilous warm weather front I had to come up with an outfit from my fall collection by combinning two different combinations. One was plaid shirt with skinny jeans, brown cardigan boots and a red belt. Too warm for our weather. The other plaid shirt, winter shorts, rugged boots and tights and jean jacket. So we have this as a result: No tights, denim shorts, boots with socks and a belt. Since the shirt was long sleeve I rolled them up. I tried to scrunch up the socks over the boots but they kept falling so I did this fold over them. And I think they kind of look cool like a red trim. Notice also how I did the half tuck again. To give it a bit country charm without going over board just put on thin loop earings.

Red/black plaid shirt - Gap

Cut off shorts - TJ Maxx

Red ankle socks - we love colors

Rugged boots - Steve Madden

Belt - Limited

Rose Gold hoops - Betsey Johnson

Watch - Michael Kors

Today's Activities: As you can tell from the title and the following photos we went to a real farm/pumpkin patch as a field trip with our preschool class. The temp was in the 90s we were baking but the kids did not seem to mind. There was so much to do. So much in fact we didn't even realize a whole section in the back that consisted of large toy trucks in a huge sand hill, play houses in a gated section and a whole playground in the back. My son loved the hay maze and the cotton seed hill where they had sleds for kids to slide on. He also became really good friends with one of the girls and they did everything together from that point on. My mom came with us. It was our turn to bring snack for the whole class. Our snack of cheese slices, cinnamon pretzel sticks and sweet (red, orange, yellow) mini bell peppers was a huge hit. Everyone kept asking where I got them which was all from Costco. After this long and tiring trip somehow the kids did not nap! My daughter only slept in the car but woke up when we got home. My son acted like he had a shot of red bull the whole ride back and in the house. We stayed home in the afternoon and my dad and sister came to hang out.

This was at the enterance:

Love this green truck:

These wooden cows, actually were set-up so kids can practice milking a cow (they were filled with water):

My son loved this:

Here is a closeup of me and the kids. Notice my wallet/purse that I never take off....

Not something we are used to seeing in Coastal San Diego:

 Here is the cotton seed hill:

Here is my son announcing the snack he brought to share:

On the Hay Ride with my mom: