My "Go-To" Work Dress

In May I ordered three (black, grey and light grey/white stripe) of these super affordable dresses from Old Navy and have worn them a ton this summer. Old Navy has such great sales that two of them were only $12! Plus they come in tall sizes which fit me better for "work length" style. It's nice to have something easy to throw on now that the heat is here and they look great with cardigans and blazers.

What are your go-to work staples?

DIY Kombucha

Look! I made this! 

(AND I drank it and haven't died!)

I'm a big fan of kombucha, but the idea of making something that's fermented was a little scary to me and rightfully so- the fermenting process goes against everything I've ever been taught about food safety and leaving things out, growing bacteria, etc. 

If you enjoyed science experiments as a kid, this is right up your alley. 

Basically, you make tea, add sugar, put it in a big jar with this sorta creepy looking bacteria/yeast blob that looks like a wet rubbery biscuit and let it sit on a shelf in your pantry for a few weeks. Added bonus, you can hide your favorite snacks behind it. It definitely detours husbands looking to eat all of the cookies :). 

I'm not going to pretend to be an expert by any means, so instead of telling you how to do it, I'll direct you to the experts that I've looked to:

First off, this post comparing the costs of buying kombucha  vs. making yoru own is what inspired me give it a go. 

I purchased the Goldfinch Kombucha Kit at Whole Foods. Their instructions were really straightforward and simple to follow. 

This had a bunch of helpful tips, photos and explanations as well. 

For my first round, I chose to keep the flavors simple, mainly because I wanted to make sure everything tasted right. I kept a few plain and added pommagranate juice to a few. I'm excited to try some of these suggestions in the future. 

Finally, I got my bottles from Bob's Homebrew Supply

I've already got my second batch fermenting in my pantry! SO I'd call this experiment a success! 

New York Wedding

On the Fourth of July, Jason and I shot a lovely wedding in Manhattan's Financial District. Rachael, the bride was a college roommate, so it made being a part of their day even more special! Here are a few of my favorites...

Photos by Studio JKoe 

Would you wear bright eyeliner?

Mylo's wonderful nanny Jessica often wears gorgeous bright green or blue eyeliner which looks stunning on her. I'm too much of a wuss to try it out but I'd like to give it a chance at some point. Am I too old??

Elle Fanning recently rocked neon yellow eyeliner at Comic-Con and looked so cute. Would you dare? 

PS. Jenny showing us how to wear neon makeup. Guess this trend has stuck around! 

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Monday Motivation

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Friday Roundup

Happy Friday! Hope you have some fun plans for this beautiful weekend. I'm heading over the eastern WA for a bachelorette weekend which I've been looking forward to for months. It will be my first nights away from Mylo though so wish me luck!

Here are some links to kick us off:

Amazing airstream remodel.

10 ways to use liqueurs in summer desserts and a delicious looking bourbon slush punch.

Would you consider giving your child the mother's last name?

Cute and practical, I need to get some of this before Mylo grows even taller!

5 ways to raise kind children, love this article.

This looks like an awesome date night.

Well done Kristin Bell!

Seriously? Ice creme sandwich donuts (!) and the cutest fruit macaroons (image to the left).

Interesting article about modern parenting.

Dreaming of far off places and beautiful design: an eclectic London flat, a Brazilian rainforest escape, a modern German boathouse, and a colorful Australian beach home.

Would you teach your baby sign language?

 

For the past few weeks Myles has been driving us all a little bonkers with his fairly constant whining. He has this little sound that he makes all day that's like a high pitched "eh" noise. He hasn't started saying any words yet so this is his best attempt to communicate with us every thing from "I'm hungry, where's my breakfast?" to "I'm bored, let's go outside." Honestly I can't blame the little guy for trying to talk with us the only way he knows how.

Patrick and I are both eager to help Myles to communicate with us but there are only so many times you can try to get him to say "mama." So I'm thinking of trying to teach him some sign language. I've heard it can be fairly easy to teach babies a few words of ASL so that they are able to communicate before they have verbal language skills.

This website is awesome with basic videos on how to get started. Has anyone out there tried baby sign language? Any tips or success stories to get us started?

PS. 12 basic sign language words (love the one for cat!)