Loving & Linking // 01 /
Photo via Healthy.Happy.Life
These look amazing and- dare I say- simple enough to try?
My favorite essay of the... year, maybe? Such truth.
Great back to school deals, for those of you thinking about that sort of thing (I still have one more beautiful year with my kiddos all to myself!)
This skirt is kind of perfect for little girls in the fall. I mean, it'd go with everything, and I would feel totally fine pairing it with patterned high socks that Sophie loves so much.
A little post I wrote for Honest this week.
Eyeing this for our Sophie girl. Anyone have it? Love it? Curious.
So badly wanting to eat this.
So idyllic.
The best printable of the week, in my opinion. ;)
My favorite tutorial/diy. So beautiful.
xo.
Happy Friday! /
We're in the midst of our foggy San Francisco summer days. I hear the rest of the country is wearing shorts and swimming. ;) Whatever the weather, hope you get a bit of relaxation and fun this weekend!
xoxo.
So Good: Fall Tea Collection /
Tea Collection creates clothing that makes kids feel good.
Honestly, it can be tricky to dress a little girl, considering all of their opinions. I don't want to be "that mom" that doesn't allow their child creative liberties when they're getting dressed, but I also don't prefer they go out looking disheveled and like a crazy person...
Enter Tea Collection. I've written about Tea before and my love for the company keeps growing. They make dresses that look put-together, and are perfect for playing outside. Shirts that twirl. Necklaces that are bright and comfortable. Dots, florals, scribbles, stripes, pattern. All Tea.
Tea's signature is their global inspiration. Each season brings to life comfortable, wearable, beautiful clothing that is a distinct take on a new, beautiful place. The fall collection is inspired by modern day China. The mix of old world China, modern, vivid street art and water villages are blended into the gorgeous collection. The blends create cohesiveness between each of the pieces, yet each article brings its own unique interest to an outfit.
Sophie helped me pick an outfit for both of my girls, and we were VERY excited to see everything in person. For Maggie, we ordered:
We liked the bubble dress because it has adorable dots and the blue is good for Maggie's eyes. Tea set the dress apart from other blue polka dot dresses by cinching the bottom to create the adorable bubble effect. The pompom clip by my favorite Hello Shiso brings texture to the outfit, and just the right balance of color and personality.
Sophie picked for herself:
The yellow top swings much like her favorite shirt from the summer collection, and it has eyelet detailing on the top, so it was an easy top-pick for her. The loveable necklace is the perfect accessory because it's soft (it won't hurt if she twirls around!), bright, bold, and patterned... just like Sophie. The leggings have just the right balance of neutral and pattern to complete the look. They also have the right stretch for her to be perfectly comfortable all day.
I'm sure you want to see more of the pieces, so I put my favorites on a little board for you. I'd buy or recommend any and every one of these and feel great about it. Shop any of the looks using the 10% discount link below.
I was not compensated for this post. Clothing was provided for review. All opinions are definitely my own. My children love every lovely thing that Tea makes, and so do I. xoxo, Kate
Shoelaces /
"No help, mama."
On, twist laces, off, repeat.
Practice makes perfect.
Pilates HURTS. /
If you're reading this in the morning, sipping a hot cup of coffee and catching up on a few posts from the weekend, I envy you.
It's Sunday evening and I'm about to go to bed after a beautiful weekend. I'm going to sleep and then I'm going to wake at a ridiculous (for me) hour of 6am to go to torture myself in a Pilates class.
Pilates is my new thing, maybe you've heard. If you're my friend in real life, there's practically no way you haven't heard. I'm that friend that decides to make (relatively) healthy choices for a full week, and I must tell the world. The "relatively" comes into play today when I was offered Swedish pancakes, Thai food and donuts and didn't refuse anything. The healthy is based on otherwise quality food decisions the remaining days of last week, two Pilates classes, and a 3-mile run.
Back to Pilates. I went for the first and second time ever last week. I go in there and the people are so friendly, that lighting so soft and music so beautiful. Even the hardwood floor is perfect. I sit on my mat and begin stretching... oh, you want my legs to be at "tabletop?" No big deal, I've got this. I chase an almost-two-year old, so this is no sweat. Arms over the head? No worries, I lift babies all the time...
..then suddenly it's "one leg tabletop, the other extended flex one, point the other, hips down- (or up?), back curved, elbows in, head straight all at once, now hold it, now pulse five... four... three..." what am I doing here again? It's 6:45 and I could be in warm, fluffy white blankets with that cup of coffee in my perfect orange mug, straight chillin' and I am WHERE? Moving my muscles to insane positions and thinking harder than anyone really should have to think at 6:45am... and I can't be the girl who collapses on my mat because then what will these people I will never see again in my life think of me? I must survive, I must get through this.
So I do this now. I'm a Pilates girl. And at 11pm on Sunday night- eve of another class- I am thinking about WHY I signed myself to a month of this torture. And I think to myself that probably no one else in the class seems to be having trouble because they've never had children. Gone went that that theory when I realized the instructor with the perfect abs has a 1-year-old. Ahh, excuses be gone.
Thus far, I've lived to tell about it. I mean, yes it's torture but it's such a tiny percentage of my week. The instructor says "and you.are.done!" in her perfect, morning peaceful voice, and I say "I've made it. I've really made it" in my head.
THIS is what keeps me going back: I leave my Pilates class and walk into the quiet streets enveloped in peaceful San Francisco morning fog, feeling calmer. Feeling proud of my accomplishment, and excited to tell my husband the crazy moves they tried on us this time... walk home to the chaos... having twisted and stretched and strengthened every bit of my core in a safe setting, and it actually feels good. I feel ready for anything if I conquered that crazy mountain.
I love how we get to start each week fresh. I love that this week I'm starting with a kind of torturous discipline. Sometimes I think that as a mom, what I need is that extra 30 or 45 minutes of sleep, even if it's followed by abrupt & charming & noisy chaos.
In reality, I am far more rested when I've begun my week with discipline... even if it's the kind that hurts (I mean that quite literally... I mean, I had no idea these muscles could even BE sore).