EBEW - Maxi Skirt

Today is Every Body Every Wear's Maxi Skirt Day!

So, I had 2 other choices in the maxi skirt area, one was my old black banan republic one that i have worn a few times already, the other was the new sheer animal print maxi. I would have loved to debut the animal print one but it was too light for today's weather. Plus I had not worn this skirt ever since starting this blog so why not? It is again another super super old piece from my closet. I wore this so  much to work with sweaters and blouses back in the day. Then the maxi went out of style but I kept it in the kids' closets waiting for it come back in fashion again.

The sage green top is a  new purchase couple months ago from J Crew's clearence section. I already saw two other bloggers wearing this and got some different styling ideas. I was torn between wearing a rusty red top or this one but went with this to be more earthy. The utility shirt which I always wear as a jacket since it is a thick fabric is something I wore last spring/summer all the time. Another sale rack purchase.

I do like the outfit but it is something I would have worn before blogging. Everything kind of matches and goes together. There is no interesting or eye catching aspect to it but oh well. I did attemp that by adding the coral accessories and the rugged boots but still all very matchy.

Maxi Skirt - Ann Taylor

Green top - J Crew

Utility Shirt (worn like a Jacket) - Gap

Boots - Steve Madden

Necklace - Charlotte Russe

Bangle set - Ruche.com

Belt - Forever 21

To see everyone else strutting their beautiful Maxi Skirts click here!

Today's Activities: Rough morning. My husband has been calling in everyday to see if he should report for this federal jury duty he got assigned and finally they called him today. He had to be there at 7:45 am so left the house before the kids were even up, which meant I had to get up earlier to take care of them. Plus I had to shower and put away laundry AND stuff candy in mini bags in easter eggs for our preschool class egg hunt. Of course don't forget the photo shoot for the blog. Amazingly we arrived at the park only 20 minutes late which is totally cool as most people arrive 45 minutes late. It is a long class all outdoors! The class meets at a different park every week all round the city. Today's park happenned to be very close to us and right by the water which is usually great cause of beautiful views but today was overcast and cold so I was freezing. The kids of course could care less as they run around. They had their easter egg hunt and enjoyed the mini candies that came inside their 6 plastic eggs. They napped hard.

I got my yesstyle.com order in the mail today. I have been so nervous as the merchandise comes from Hong Kong! I found the website through Mellow Mayoness's blog. I was amazed at the variety of the prettiest schiffon floral dresses (totally this spring's trend) at prices under $25! I read carefully and the shipping was cheap and only 3 days! But it takes them 7 days to ship so still 10 days which is not bad. I also checked to make sure if I wanted to return it would go to a U.S. adress and it did. So far so good.

But it was still risky as none of the dresses have sizes. They are just kind of  'one size'! I have been to bazaars at Hong Kong and I remember how absolutely tiny the Chinese women on the streets were and hence the clothes were also that tiny. I was worried but it all worked out. They all fit. They are all lined and beautiful. I only had one disappointment as the 'red' dress I ordered was more 'burgandy' but that is OK. So of course that all turned into a 45 minute outfit creation session where I created 4 outfits with this one dark grey tutu dress I purchased. I know, A grown woman in her 30s should not own tutu skirted dresses (and I own 3). But I don't care. I just love them so much. So you will have to wait and see and let me know if it looks ridicilous. :)

Heading to indoor play area in the afternoon then ordering pick-up-stix which my best friend will pick up and join us for dinner and hanging out after the kids go to bed.

Here is the group of kids waiting for the OK to collec their eggs...For this age group they are not hidden but out in the open...

The baskets kids made out of paper bags which was the art project of the day...

Here is my daughter taking off and collecting...Notice the view in the background.

Kids posing in the wind... 

Inspiration Monday

This is my take on the Inspiration Monday challange outfit.

Here was the challange photo:

Inspiration Mondays are hosted by Megan & Nora from the Two Birds blog.

I tried to be different and pair this skirt with a different top but it just did not go, so I gave up the fight and used the matching shirt that goes with the skirt.

Even though the inspiration photo did not show any accessories, I wanted to add something. So added the cute and chunky charm bracelet that has pinks and purples like the outfit and the chunky chain necklace to pick up the gold on the boots... 

If my skirt was minier my tigh high boots would have been cool but since it is not that mini I think these knee high boots do just fine.

Matching skirt and blouse - La Redoute Catalog

Belt - Delia's

Boots - Juicy Couture

Necklace - Ralph Lauren

Charm Bracelet - Victoria's Secret

To see how others applied this same inspiration check out Two Birds' Post...

Today's Activities: Well, today is the start of our big backyard remodel. Below I posted a few photos of the 'before' just to give you an idea. Can't wait to do the whole 'before' and 'after' album when it is all finished and done. Once I got the demo guys settled I left for preschool with the kids. Since it was somewhat nice out there was a big water table activity going on in the playground section so they both got soaked, but I keep a bag of extra clothes so it was no problem. I loved though my son came to me before and asked if he could play with water so I rolled up his sleeves. A while later he came to tell me he was a little bit wet but it was OK that it would dry. He is just too cute. When we got home they both laid on the floor of our family room checking out the rock pile that has become of our backyard from under the nylon they had taped on the windows.

We might hit the indoor play area after naps and some errands. Might or might not go out with the mommy friends tonight. We had plans but one of them is sick so not sure what is going on. The thing is I already changed out of the silk dress so that is de-motivating me for going out...

Here are some 'Before' of our backyard...

The sliding door behind this table used to be a window so when we turned into a sliding door we left the front in dirt then just put loose bricks. Nice right? Also the other dirt part is where we used to have our sprinkler system...

Notice how the tile is covered in moss and discolord and the grout is totally crumbling. We can't even wash the ground with a regular hose as it removes the grout like pieces of rocks... 

This stupid 'step down' next to the dinning area drives us crazy. We are going to even it out. Also notice our kids' sand box is filled with sand bags instead. We use these to prevent flodding when it rains. Horrible draineage issues... 

And finally notice the huge black 'rust' spots in our pool... 

Hopefully in a month and a half I will be posting beautiful after photos... :)

'Hop' in Style

My outfit on Saturday. It was suppose to be chilly so picked one of my thick outfits that uses pretty comfortable flat shoes for today's activities...

The inspiration came from the following chictopia post: 

I had all the similar items in my closet. What drew me to this was its coziness and the use of a hat of course...

So this stupid blouse's buttons kept popping open all morning exposing my animal print bra. I warned my son to tell me if it happens again so as soon as we got home he reported to his dad 'mommy's blouse opens all the time daddy'. Lovely! I had to button up the cardi until we got home and used 4 safety pins for the afternoon!

This cardi is a F21 purchase a few years ago. I love its chunky coziness and the faux fur trimmed hood.

The dark rinse skinnies are from H&M. They have very little spandex in them so they stay put. I cuffed them for this outfit to expose more of the rugged boots.

The blue earings pick that subtle hint of blue flowers on the blouse. They were thread show purchase last year.

Blouse, Cardigan, Hat - Forever 21

Jeans - H&M

Boots - Steve Madden

Earings & Ring - Thread Show

P.S. DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE 'INSPIRATION MONDAY' and the 'EVERY BODY EVERY WEAR - MAXI SKIRT' challanges coming up Monday and Tuesday. Click on the buttons on the right side of the blog for more info...

SATURDAY's ACTIVITIES: Full day today. My husband took our daughter to her gym class than out to lunch just father daughter. I took our son to see the movie 'Hop'. I have to frequently tell him what is going on to keep his interest going but he loves when they have music and of course the pop cor and the candy. I just love hanging out with him. That kid and I we are two peas in a pod. Total kindred spirits. We get each other so much that it is scary. After the movie we had gyro's for lunch his favorite. Of course he did not nap though but as usual stayed in his room and read and played during his 'quiet time'. As soon as my daughter woke up we got them dressed and out the door to meet 3 other couples and their kids at the zoo for a big playdate. We covered the utmost minimum ground in the huge zoo but that was OK. The kids enjoyed playing together and running and chasing more than actually looking at any animals. Realizing taking this group to a restaurant would be a disaster we decided to order pizzas and head to our friend's house to eat there. More crazy playing from the kids but regardless of the chaos all around us we enjoyed each other's company and hanging out. Kids crashed hard at night.

In front of the 'Hop' display at the movie theaters:

This was my son yesterday eating noodles at the Vietnamese restaurant. He wanted me to take the photo