Strange and Beautiful

This is my sister Brooke.

She was my baby girl who would choreograph her own dance to the Spice Girls and belt out Britney Spears every time she got in the shower.  She has always been a performer and I loved watching her perform in Hawaii.

I've always thought she'd be famous one day.

Now I'm convinced.

WIWW - Brookie

This month so far has been crazy!

 I feel like I have something going on every single day.

We are planning a trip for Memorial Day Weekend, and then the whole month of June is going to be crazy/busy with swimming, soccer, summer reading, BYU soccer camp, my dad is coming into town, etc.  So, I'm trying to get everything on my to-do list done before we leave for Memorial Weekend.

That seems to include a thousand doctors appointments.

We all went to the dentist.  Saxon had a couple of cavities so we had to go back twice.  Bridger has a wart so we went to the dermatologist, but we have to go back again.  I took Saxon to see my friends homeopathic doctor to check out his always-swollen lymph nodes (and in a few weeks we need to go back again), etc.

This week has been especially hectic.

I didn't have time to take any cute pictures and I was getting frustrated trying to come up with something at the last minute.

And it was getting dark.

And I was getting tired.

It frustrating trying to come up with something cute when you don't have extra money to just go buy the cute outfit you've had your eye on.

My sister Brooke is my fashion inspiration because she can pull off anything.  When she comes over, she mixes up the things that I already have in new ways so I feel like I have  a new outfit.  She is also great at finding things in thrift stores.

Since I was thinking of Brookie, I decided to check out her blog to see what she's been up to...

She's apparently been up to taking gorgeous pictures, in tropical locations and sipping fresh coconut juice.  The advantages of living in Hawaii I guess :)

I'm always inspired by Brooke and her unique style so I thought I'd post a few pictures of her for WIWW this week:

shirt: Forever 21

Shorts: thrifted

You can check out Brooke's blog at:

C'est La Vie

I love you Brookie!!!

The Birthday Box

I saw an idea on Pinterest a while back to fill a box with balloons and send it to someone on their birthday.  

Since today is my little sister BROOKIE's Birthday, we decided to send her one.

It should be arriving today :)

We went to Target and bought a bunch of stuff that could possibly fit into a balloon.  We didn't know what would work, but figured that if something didn't fit, we could always take it back.

We bought candy, a bikini, nail polish, eye shadow, chapstick, advil, markers, and socks.

We let the boys pick most of the gifts for her (like Skittles-flavored-chapstick).

Below:

A pair of Easter socks squeezed into a balloon.

We figured out that the best way to do this was to scrunch down the neck of the balloon, a then stretch it open.  Once the gift was inside the balloon, just blow it up and tie it off like a regular balloon.

Putting a bikini into a balloon was a joke at first.  Then we bought it just to try.  To our surprise, it worked!  So, I guess Brookie gets a neon yellow bikini for her birthday (receipt included LOL...it's hard to pick a bathing suit for someone else...).  Nate had to hold open the balloon while I tried to jam the bikini in...

We thought of filling a few with confetti, but ended up getting nerds instead.  Hopefully it will have the same effect :)

And here it is!

We didn't blow the balloons up very big because we wanted them to have room to expand or contract with the changing pressure and temperatures on the way to Hawaii.

Since they aren't blown up very big, they also aren't see-through.

So each time she pops a balloon to get her gift, it will be a surprise.

Every single balloon (almost 30) has something inside.

Saxon wrote his own little note on the box:

Ready to ship:

We sent it parcel post and it was only $13 which is really good because the box was HUGE.  It was about 20X20X20.

Happy 19th Birthday Brookie!!!!

We LOVE you sooooo much!!!

Brooke

This is my sister Brooke.

She has amazing style, she is creative, daring, and beautiful!

Since she is my fashion inspiration, I thought I would show you what she wore this week:

Brooke is at school at BYU Hawaii, so hopefully her wardrobe will give you a little inspiration for spring :)

shirt- thrifted

(inspiration for the shirt here or here both well over $100 and i got mine for like $2 :))

belt- thrifted

shorts- thrifted

ring- Tracy Couture

earrings- love stitched

Brooke was asked to model this outfit in a photoshoot for the Kahuku Grill.

http://pinterest.com/kahukugrill/

Thanks for being my inspiration Brookie!  I love you!

What I Wore...Sisters

Last week, we took a quick road trip to CA to see my little sister Brooke.

She was home from BYU Hawaii for a few weeks for Christmas break.

We spent the day on Venice Beach (one of our favorite spots) enjoying the amazingly warm weather.

I took advantage of having Brooke around to get some "What I Wore" shots:

What Brooke Wore:

Dress - Downeast

Cardigan - Target

Shoes - Urban Outfitters sale

Sunglasses - Thrifted

What I Wore:

Shirt- borrowed from Brooke (Urban sale again)

Undershirt - Downeast

Leggings - Target

I was experimenting with "leggings as pants".

I usually wear leggings under a dress or a very long shirt.

I don't usually consider them to be real pants.

But...I have been seeing a lot of people pull it off lately and it always looks so cute.

I thought I'd give it a try...

Good thing I had Brooke around to loan me a shirt to go with the leggings.

Doesn't everyone need a Brookie in their lives?

Impromptu Road Trip

Every since my sister Brooke went away to BYUH, I've been trying to figure out when I can see her next.  I really want to fly to Hawaii and spend a week with her (who wouldn't?)...but we don't really have the money for any major vacations...much less a trip to Hawaii.

I wanted to spend Christmas with my family in CA, but Nate works for Walgreens, and they can't take any time off during the holiday months.

So, as soon as all of the holidays were over, we decided to take a last minute weekend road trip to CA to see Brooke before she had to fly back.

Since we drove all the way there, my mom took us to DISNEYLAND for the day!

It was magical!

I'm from CA, but we've never taken or kids to Disneyland because it is so expensive.

My mom found some discount tickets and we packed a lunch, and had the time of our lives!

I had a talk with my kids on the way down there, explaining that our special treat was that we get to go to Disneyland.  We are not asking for anything while we are there!  They were SO GOOD!  They didn't ask for one single thing.  They just enjoyed the magic of being at Disneyland.

The day after Disneyland, we spent the day at Venice Beach.

My mom grew up in Venice, and it just doesn't feel like a trip home without a trip to Venice Beach.  The weather was beautiful!

Did everyone else have unseasonably warm weather last week?

Then we had to hit up our favorite Mexican Food place...Titos.  :)

After a few wonderful days of family and sunshine, we headed home to Utah.

What did you do this weekend?

What I Wore...Fall Skirt

My little sister Brooke is my fashion inspiration.

I keep thinking that for "What I Wore Wednesday", I should post pictures of her.

You would definitely feel inspired!

But...is that cheating...if I didn't actually wear it?

This week, I tried to channel my inner-Brooke and wear a long skirt and flowy top.

Brooke always wears skirts, and lots of flowing layers.

Skirt: Nordstorm SALE $15

Shirt: Charlotte Russe SALE $9

Boots: Charlotte Russe SALE $20

Earrings: Love Stitched GIFT

Bracelet: Brighton GIFT

(and I'm wearing a half-tee under my Charlotte Russe shirt so I didn't have to worry about it falling off my shoulders and I carry my kids around)

I love wearing "fall" skirts.

I get bored of wearing jeans everyday...

I had to try a few times to get this outfit right.

My instinct told me that a loose skirt needed a tight shirt.

But my inner Brooke whispered that it doesn't have to match, 

and not to worry about breaking the rules.

Brooke never follows the rules because she doesn't want to look the same as everyone else. 

I wish I were braver.

One more shot of my boots, because in Utah, you can't live without boots.

It's FREEZING here!

Are there any fashion trends that you've been dying to try?

(even if you're not brave enough...like me...LOL)

My Retro-Momma Makeover

Since we were down to our last few days together, my sister Brooke and I decided to re-make one more thrift store dress.  This is the before:

(you may not notice, but it has this fancy matching belt :) and it's a little big.  It's a size 14.  Brooke says not to look at sizes because you can always make it work).

So...here we go...

First we chopped it off.
All of you seamstresses out there might cringe, but we didn't even use sewing scissors.  We just grabbed out kitchen scissors and chopped away.
Notice the mismatched buttons...ha ha.
We cut the dress off right in between a set of buttons so that we didn't end up with a button in a weird place (like too close to the top or bottom).

And the after:
Dress: thrifted $1.95
Cardigan: thrifted from Buffalo Exchange $7
Shoes: "Wanted" from Marshall's $15
Jewelry: downtown L.A.

belt: thrifted $3

Brooke had to convince me to buy the dress because I thought it was so ugly.

Once you pair it with a few cute pieces, it turns into something completely different.

The waistline of the dress is actually really low, but Brooke said you would never notice, so we belted it up high anyway.  And, the orange in the cardigan is a different orange than the dress, but it all still works.

Brooke spent only about 5 minutes on my hair and made it look so cute!

She put a little braid on each side and scooped it up into a messy bun, then curled the stray pieces that hung down.  Super easy and cute.  I love having ideas to pull my hair up and get it out of the way, but still look like my hair is "done."  I'm always pulling my hair up in the summer.

Check out this ring of Brooke's that I borrowed...

It's from a store called "Girl Talk" and it was $2 for 3 rings.

Such a great deal!

This little one was dying to be held, so here I am with my baby :)

We matched in orange.

Beauty and the Budget

Once upon a time there was a girl named Beauty (Brooke).

Since she had to contend with her budget, this is what she did:

hat: thrift store $5

cardigan: delia's

vest: thrift $3

leggings: walmart $6

shoes: Macys clearance

dress: Target $15

boots: thrift store $8

necklace: Forever 21

scarf: thrift store $1

shirt: urban outfitters sale $10

skirt: hand-me-down from mom "free" :)

shoes: thrift store $5

cardigan: thrifted 95 cents

dress: thrifted $4

And that's how Beauty, fell in love with her budget, and lived happily ever after...

I loved all of these outfits and just wanted to share with you some fun, modern ideas, that  don't cost very much.

Now, go give it a try :)

You'll see my first attempt later this week...