Ilana Kohn

Loving these new pieces by Ilana Kohn... A made to order dress (to your specifications), in trend-right fabrics and shapes for under $200, sign me up! Read More.. Read More..

Wanted: Bracelets

I am a professed necklace-only wearer, but lately I have been coming around to bracelets. A few stacked together - maybe even with a watch. Here are a couple of my recent favorites...



Bracelets by Erin Considine and Dores. Street Style photos by Jak&Jil. Read More.. Read More..

I've Got Your Heart In My Hands Baby

I hold my little child's heart in the palm of my hand. God designed me as a parent to have the unique privilege of molding and shaping my child. The spiritual, emotional, moral, and intellectual core of my child belongs to me. No small matter!




"My child, give me your heart and let your eyes delight in my ways."

Proverbs 23:26



When a child is small, it is easy to assume the concept in that verse is normal and will always come naturally. My little baby made eye contact with me, as her mother, first after birth. I am LIFE to her. Her smiles and giggles, cuddles, and love are all mine. I take for granted that she runs to me for help, comfort, excitement, and love. Woohoo! Mission accomplishes, she delights in my ways!

My job isn't done (and it isn't easy!). "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy" (John 10:10). A child grows and matures and his/her heart is fragile. My husband and I strive to bring up Godly children and we are in competition with the enemy for our child's spiritual, emotional, moral, and intellectual core.

I can easily lose my child's heart. If her heart doesn't belong to me and my husband, it belongs to someone else. Is there anyone worthy of possessing my child's heart? A friend, neighbor, teacher, Sponge Bob Square Pants? No, God gave the responsibility of molding a child's heart directly to his/her parents.






Jeff and I attended the OCEAN conference on Saturday. It was great and the first time Jeff and I have spent a sunny, summer, Saturday together in about 9 years! Our friend Jenni watched the kids in Portland and we were able to hear encouraging speakers all day about family values and home discipleship.




One of the sessions was titled "Winning and Keeping the Heart of Your Child." I enjoyed it because it reinforced the same thing as my favorite (all time!) parenting book, Shepherding a Child's Heart. I love practical parenting advice, something I can take home and do, or NOT do as the case may be. The following list is from my notes.



How can we lose the heart of a child?

• Discipline out of anger. A child's heart hardens against a parent who can't be trusted to discipline in love. "Do not aggravate your children or they will become discouraged." (Colossians 3:21) (James 1:20).

• Require a child to do more than they are capable or you have trained them for. I'm guilty of this when I expect my child to do things "perfectly" and give her a job too big for her maturity and skill.

• Talking down to him/her. A sigh of displeasure, rolling eyes, shake of the head in disgust, all count as "talking down" -- anything that makes a child feel less significant than he/she is as created by God ("fearfully and wonderfully made", Psalm 139:14).

• Criticize instead of encourage. The person who praises a child, holds a child's heart. "A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit." (Proverbs 15:13)

• Rules for the sake of rules. All rules should be enforced with love and for a child's health and safety (and for the well-being of the family). Don't we want God to give the same respect to us as his children? (Matthew 7:8)

"My child, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart," this parent says in Proverbs, 3:1. I long for that as I raise my children. That my amazing parenting won't be lost to angry words, false expectations, sighs of displeasure, criticism, and rules that exasperate. There is hope in parenting. The book I mentioned above is full of godly advice and I highly recommend it (invite me to your baby shower and I'll give it to you as a gift!). The Bible is absolutely our best source of counsel and encouragement. We can keep our children's hearts right where they belong!

"Know that wisdom is sweet to your soul. 

If you find it, there is a future hope for you, 

and your hope will not be cut off." 

(Proverbs 24:14)

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This Week's Inspiration

A bit of inspiration for the week ahead...


Two girls: How adorable are these two ladies? The Isabel Marant sweater, the beat up Chuck Taylors, pretty damn near perfection. (via The Sartorialist)


Bright Red: While I am not quite daring enough for a full-length, bright red dress... I love the combo of red + tan accessories. I've got some tan Swedish Hasbeens arriving Monday - eek! (via Glamcanyon)


Classic 70's: High-waisted flares, little vintage sweatshirt, braided sandals... just the right equation for a casual, vintage look. (via SFS) Read More.. Read More..

Meet Beaver and Dora (i.e. Cletus)

If I had a dollar for every post I did about "new cats," I would be a semi-rich woman.

We go through cats! I tell ya, it's just not a safe environment around here. 

Max was run over by a passing police car.

Buddy was abducted by the neighbors 

(they fed him gourmet cat food, pet him 14 hours a day, and never tried to carry him by his neck --

it was no mystery why he left our family. He lives happily retired with them to this day).

Lucy was killed by an angry skunk.

Scratchy road to town in Jeff's pick-up and hasn't been seen again, 

although the girls still scour the Bi-Mart parking lot every time we are there.

So we got some new kittens.....

We got two Calico kittens from friends and they are just as cute as can be (the friends and the cats). 

I can't honestly tell the kittens apart, but the girls can.

Emma named her kitten Beaver because it is orange and black.

Mandy named hers Dora.... she decided she likes to name the cat, so it goes through an identity crisis every few days. The latest name is "Cletus." I have no idea where she got that name. I'm hoping this phase passes quickly because all I can think of is this song and it gets stuck in my head for hours at a time:

Back to the cats...

Does that look like a Cletus to you?

No, Dora. Definitely. 

The kids carry the cats around constantly and it has pacified Emma's constant pestering about wanting a d.o.g.

I am personally not an animal lover. Don't hate me. 

But cats have some winning attributes.

They catch mice.

They bury their poo (in a private place for outdoor cats).

They don't bark.

... And they catch mice.

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So good!

Ack! Julia's new Rennes handbag collection is sooo good! Love the simple styling for the shoot and that striped dress is a must-buy as well (if you're a size 4, you're in luck!) Now the tough part is deciding which bag you'll buy...


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Small Styling

You're all familiar with my Instant Outfits on Camp Comfort, but today I tried my hand at imaginary baby looks over at Unruly Things - go check it out! Read More.. Read More..

Easy Breezy

It's amazing how far a cute a-line skirt and simple tank can take you. This has been one of my favorite go-to summer looks for years! And a-line skirts are flattering on so many body types... Oh to have a waist-line again (baby's just 4 weeks away!!!)


Clothes and Accessories via Madewell (they're a bit of a one-stop-shop these days!)

Street style image via Elle. Read More.. Read More..

Why kids whine.

Why do my kids whine? I've spent quite a lot of time thinking about this... especially yesterday when all three of my kids were going strong in whine mode. I would have rather sat in my car with its alarm going off for 12 hours.


In my experience, kids whine for 3 reason:


1) hungry. Amazing what a little protein from a nutritious snack will do for an attitude.

2) tired. Interrupted sleep patterns, short nights, skipped naps, make for cranky, cranky kids.

3) want attention or bored. I've seen this in itty-bitty 6 months olds up to 6 years olds. "I'm bored, I want you to read to me, I want you to play with me....". Spoken or grunted, the words are the same. Give me your undivided attention. Now!


Oh, I just thought of a fourth reason...



4) habit. Babies are born wanting to be the center of attention and their worlds fall off axis when everything doesn't revolve around them. That whiny voice says, "I'm important and I think you forgot for a second that I. Have. Needs." A parent continues to give in to the whining (just make it stop!) and the kid has a fabulous habit of whining. All. The. Time. I say to my kids, "I can't understand your voice because you are whining. Try again and speak with respect." It works like a charm and nearly immediately, a little one's tone changes. But I have to say that sentence roughly 546 times a day. I think they are catching on. Maybe.



Yesterday, my three kids were suffering from all four major causes of whin-o-topia. I was tired of hearing whining, so I gave them an un-nutritious snack of fruit gummy things. My #1 child was acting really tired and I told her to take a nap, but she didn't and instead got #3 up from a nap early and while I was reprimanding #1 for waking #3, #3 woke up #2. Then everyone was bored with nothing to do except play outside on a beautiful day while I tried to get work done outside. I wasn't giving them attention. I know! The travesty. Then, the habit of whining that I've been trying to kick to the curb (not literally), came rearing its ugly head in all three of my children.



The problem is, once all three (and sometimes four) whine-inducing scenarios are breeched, there is little than can be done to salvage the day. I could have handled things better yesterday. I should have addressed the trifecta of whine-causes first instead of hoping and praying that this one day would be different from any other day and my kids could live through a sugary snack, no nap, and receiving none of my attention. I should have put my to-do list on hold and gave them real food, forced rest, and then had a wonderful time playing with them.


The fantastic thing is, tomorrow is another day. Er, actually today is another day. And it is going fantastic with my new resolves....



And.... my husband felt such sympathy after hearing my whining about all their whining and he took the two oldest to work with him today. Love him!

:)


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Summer Weekends

I am so glad it's starting to feel like Summer here in Portland. And warm weather brings along a whole new set of fun weekend activities. This weekend the husband and I are planning a couple short hikes and last weekend I got together with a couple ladies for our first attempt at this summer's tie-dye projects (image proof below). Hope you all find something delightful to do this weekend!



Images by Afton, check out her blog for more! Read More.. Read More..

Girl Next Door

Pretty obsessed with Vanessa Jackman's Girl Next Door feature on Grazia.It... It's always so interesting to take a peek into the style-world of fashionable ladies!





"Girls" featured from top to bottom: Lucy Williams, Candice Lake, Cara Dawson and Claire Healy. Hop over to the feature to see more! And just in case you haven't already - check out Jackman's blog here. Tons and tons of style-inspiration!

All images by Vanessa Jackman via Grazia.It. Read More.. Read More..

Look But Don't Wear

At 8 1/2 months pregnant, I have to say the novelty of dressing around a baby bump is starting to fade. I am very much looking forward to wearing non-preggers clothes! And since they are currently off my daily wear list - I have become obsessed with two trends: High-heel clogs and Wide-leg denim.



Luckily I think both trends will stick around through the Summer and Fall, so I will be able to partake in no time!

Swedish Hasbeens ($285), No.6 ($260), Gap ($79.50), Madewell ($125). Read More.. Read More..

Self-tanning Ganache

My husband was humming, "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas."

His merry tune was less to do with the cool June weather and more to do with the snowy white complexion of my legs.

I am white as a sheet these days. I look around and see tan people, I envy them, but I know they did one of three things to become bronze instead of sheet-like. (Or they aren't causation, having darker skinned ethnicity would really help).

1) Fake and bake, ya, they tell us it is horrible for you, but it gives the glo and what is more fun than laying na-ked in a spaceship-like thing? 

2) Real sun, zero days over 80 degrees in 9 months in the NW, I know they must have been on an exotic vacation. 

3) Tan in a tube, it stinks but gives the elution of darker skin, what's not to love? Oh ya, the smell and the nasty chemicals.

I've participated in the above three bronze-achieving activities in the past. I'm not ashamed to admit it. I love the look of tanned skin. I'm with my husband on this one -- I think the color white should be reserved for wedding dresses, snow, and refrigerators.

My recent lotion making adventure had me wondering if I could make a chemical-free self-tanner in a tube. With dreams of deep, dark, skin, I turned to Google for advice. They came up with the reoccurring suggestion to use cocoa powder.

What did I have to lose? 

Well, maybe my pride.

I mixed equal parts cocoa powder and vanilla spice lotion (homemade).

It was way too thick, so I added twice as much lotion.

I ended up with a ganache-like consistency that smelled delicious. 

And I was very hungry and repulsed at the same time.

I smeared it on my pasty-white leg.

I think the results are quite natural looking.

I was hoping to perform this experiment in private and then Mandy got up from her nap.

Her running dialog went something like this:

"What are you doing?

Is that frosting?

Why are you putting frosting on yer-self?

Can I put frosting on my-self?

Can I lick your leg?"

I decided the "bronze cocoa" tan was a bit much.

Just a bit.

So I wiped it all off.

I tried and tried and tried to take a non-creepy picture of my legs. Really I did. It is impossible.

The leg on the left is cocoa-ed. The leg on the right is white as snow. Do you see a subtle difference?

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....."

The chemicals are nasty in regular self-tanners and they stink.

Yet, they work.

My review of the cocoa powder lotion?

The all-natural formula didn't actually work, took about half an hour to apply and then wipe off, and I had to shower before I went to bed because other reviewers said the un-tinted residual left on my skin would come off on my bed sheets and stain then. How ironic.

Looks like the only solution is an exotic vacation to the sun with plenty of time to lay around and eat ganache.

Exotic vacation to Mexico in November of 2009.

My skin color matches a newborn. I guess all that sun didn't help.

Because I was looking at Mexico pictures and found this.....

And suddenly I don't care any more that I'm not tan....

Or that I have Christmas songs running through my head in June....

Or that I just posted creepy pictures of my legs on the internet.

Have a beautifully pale day,

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