A Lesson in Layering and Airport Security.

As you know I'm taking a little trip soon, but I haven't been on a plane in FOREVER, and I've NEVER been on a plane when it's cold out. I am not checking a bag, just bringing my trusty carry-on; so I need to pack light. The key to fitting more into my suitcase is by wearing my bulkiest layers on the plane to save room for the rest of my clothes. I'm going to be doing a lot of layering here, so stay with me! :)

Step 1: The Baselayer.
I'll be wearing my coziest, comfiest tunic sweater and jeggings. I'm also wearing flats that are easy to walk in and slip off at airport security. I've pinned back my bangs so they don't get in my way, and I'm wearing the rest of my hair in a low, loose pony tail that's on the side so I won't hurt my head when I lean back in my seat.

Step 2: The Jacket.
This is the only jacket I'm bringing on the trip. I cinched in the waist with a southwestern style belt so it doesn't look too bulky.

Step 3: The Vest,
This vest is a must for my trip. It's versatile and will add some warmth to the rest of my layers. Can't you see it with a funky top for a night out in Wyoming??

Step 4: Hat, Scarf, and Mittens.
Finally, I add all my cold weather accessories and tah dah! I'm ready for my flight! I can remove any item at any time and add them to my carry on. I personally want to be bundled up for my layover in Denver, and then to my final destination--Seattle!

Tell me, how do you dress for the airport? Do you like to layer up?

A fancy little trick.

Hey friends! I'm so excited for the weekend! Tonight I'm going to a Dinner Theatre, so I wanted to dress up a bit, but still be warm because it gets chilly in the restaurant. I have heard of a little "trick" of making a dress into a skirt by folding the top of the dress into the bottom, then covering up the "bulk" with a belt. I tried that today on a party dress I have that never seems to get worn, and is way too revealing to wear by itself.




It's a little hard to tell in the pic, but the bottom of the dress is all lace.


I took the white spaghetti strap top and folded it under and inside the skirt. I then tucked my top I wanted to wear into the skirt, added a belt and voila! Instant skirt!

I threw on tights so I wouldn't get chilly, and the shirt is this one I had talked about ordering from J.Crew--clearance baby heck yeah!

The belt hides the bit of bulk from the top being folded under. Looks pretty good to me!

Know any little fashion tricks that you'd like to share?
Oh, and Emily don't be surprised if I wear this top to breakfast tomorrow too. I love it that much hehe...

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Love,
Les

"Spoon Man," Dinner Theatre, Farmer's Market and More..

Hello Friends! Are you thinking about the weekend already? Here are a few fun options if you're looking for something to do!

Today I'll be at the Cape Farmer's Market picking up some veggies to eat this week. I'm going to be practicing some side dishes for Thanksgiving, so stay tuned for those recipes on Tuesdays! Don't forget that Thursday, November 17th is the LAST FARMERS MARKET OF THE SEASON! Stock up while you can! Don't forget that most veggies can be frozen or canned!

Tomorrow, Friday 11/4, Annie Laurie's Antiques will have a special guest, the "Spoon Man" Owen Sloan. Mr. Sloan will be at Annie Laurie's from 10am-10pm showcasing his handmade spoon rings, bracelets and pendants. Laurie will also have some free food at 5pm.You can bring a special spoon of your own and have Mr. Sloan create a piece of jewelry that's uniquely you! I am going to bring one of my Nana's spoons and have him make a bracelet for me. It'll be a neat keepsake :) I'm also thinking about getting a few other spoon bracelets for Christmas gifts! I'll probably be there around noon so see you there!




Laurie with The Spoon Man


Tomorrow night I will be selling tickets at the River City Players Community Theatre's production of "First Thing's First! If you've never been to a dinner theatre show before, you're missing out! The food is delicious and they'll have an open bar as well. Dinner is at 7pm with the show starting at 8pm! Hope to see you there!

Since my hubby is out of town, John and I are going to be spending some quality Mommy-Son time on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday, St. Andrew Lutheran Church will be having a FREE Children's Fair with face painting, jumbo jumpers and more. The event is in celebration of National Adoption Month and they will have information on adoption there too--something that I'm really interested in. Also, my good friend Emmy is a youth pastor for St. Andrew Lutheran so any support I can show her and her church is a plus :) I believe the festivities start at 11am and go until 2pm.

Do you know of any family fun events happening in the area this weekend? A good site to check out is semoevents.com. You can search by date and voila! Events in our area! I did a search for this Saturday and that's how I found out about the Children's Fair.

See you at the Market this afternoon?

Black Dress Pants: Part 1

Black pants are pretty essential to the working woman's wardrobe.

Say that five times fast...working woman's wardrobe working woman's wardrobe working woman's wardrobe.....anyways......

Every woman has a pair of black "dress pants" as I like to call them. They work for interviews, business meetings, church, fancy dinners, etc etc.

I for one don't necessarily like black dress pants. They're a tad boring if you ask me, but I know I need them none the less. So I have two pairs. One slim-leg pair, and one trouser-leg pair. They're great for those mornings that you know you can't wear jeans, you're tired of skirts or dresses, and you're a bit out of other options. So I wear them. There are ways to make black dress pants a little less boring! Today I'm wearing my slim leg pair of black dress pants. These pants work best when worn with flats, which are also essential to a working woman's wardrobe.




Flats are from Target. Don't worry, ugly office carpet not included.


One way to make black dress pants less boring is to spice up the shoe. Don't go with just plain black! My leopard flats fit the bill here. Also, mixing prints can be a bit intimidating, but give it a try. Mix small prints with another small print in the same color family. My top has a small black print that compliments the black in my pants and the leopard shoes.

The mornings are getting pretty chilly, so I throw on a blazer, but NOT in black. I don't want to be too "suit like." My tan blazer goes great with the shoes too!

What do you think about black pants? Do you like wearing them, or do you think they're kinda boring? Would you ever mix prints like I did?

Next time I'll show you how to style my black trouser (wide leg) dress pants. Have a good Wednesday!

Dinner tonight: Halloween Chicken and Dumplings

Chicken and Dumplings are obviously not limited to Halloween night. They're a warm and satisfying "winter-time" meal that is easier to make than you think. My mom makes Chicken and Dumplings every year on Halloween because she's a pro at making them and it's a feast that can feed several people. Here's her recipe, I hope you'll try it out!

Easy Chicken and Dumplings
Cook and prep time appx 4 hours.

INGREDIENTS:
* 1 package of Mary B's brand frozen dumpling strips
* 1 whole, fresh chicken, insides removed (there's a little bag inside the chicken with the gizzards and stuff you just remove it and throw it out! Unless you are wanting to eat the gizzards and in that case you're on your own there!)
* salt and pepper
* water

DIRECTIONS:
1. Place the entire chicken in a big ol' pot and cover with water. Season with salt and pepper. Bring the water to a boil. Turn the heat down to med-low, and let the chicken cook down for a couple hours.

2. About two hours before dinner time, take the chicken out of the water and start removing the meat from the bone. It should come apart easily. Throw the meat back into the pot of water and discard the bones. Bring to a boil again, aka turn the heat back up.

3. Separate each frozen dumpling strip and throw them into the pot of chicken meat and water. Your water should be straight up chicken broth by now. Test the flavor of the broth to see if you need to add more salt or pepper. Let the water come back to a boil and then turn the heat back down to low. (I know, there's a lot of turning the heat up and down, but you don't want the dumplings to get mushy.)

4. Let the dumplings cook in the broth for those two hours or so until dinner time. Serve and enjoy!

Mary B's brand is available at Wal-Mart.

When we were kiddos, my Mom would make the dumpling strips from scratch. According to my mom, Mary B's dumpling strips are just as good if not BETTER than the homemade ones. They're also a lot less messy and time consuming.

Does your Mom have a "tried and true" family gathering recipe? Please share!

Since Thanksgiving is coming up, I'll be featuring recipes on Tuesdays that will work as either side dishes for your holiday meal or main course dishes that aren't your average cooked Turkey. I'd love to hear some recipes from you guys too!

A DIY Halloween.

There's just something about dressing in a costume that makes me feel unique and more like myself all at the same time. Costumes may be a way for you to become a person you're not in real life, but I actually feel more relaxed and at ease when I'm in a costume...weird huh? It's like I'm able to become more like my true self.

Ok, enough with the crazy talk! Daniel and I attended a Halloween Bash last Thursday night, and dressed in 1940's/1970's wear (we were seriously a perfect blend!) since the theme was "Blast from the Past." We put our costumes together using some things we already had at home and also some vintage pieces from Annie Laurie's. Here's what we wore!

My favorite part about this dress is the color...very sophisticated yet bright and fun at the same time! The shoes are just some wedges I've had for awhile from Target, with my own vintage-looking Timex watch.

My headpiece was made out of some type of real animal fur--I loved it! It had little satin bows on the side that complimented Daniel's outfit..so we were kind of matching :)

Check this guy out! A 100% polyester leisure suit in burnt orange complete with matching tacky tie. His shoes are driving loafers he got for his birthday and he wore a dress shirt he already had in his closet. The buttons on the suit were the same color as my dress!



All ready!

 And don't think that I forgot about our little Angry Bird...

I snapped this on the run this morning before he left for Nana's. I'll definitely get better pics tonight and share later. His hat is handmade by my friend Laura from Leighanna Paige Boutique, and I sewed the cape myself!

A back shot of the cape. I just sewed two pieces of felt together and made a "feather" like effect on the bottom. I'm so proud of his costume this year because it's all handmade with love :)

Are you dressing up this year for Halloween? What are your kiddos wearing? Have a safe and Happy Halloween!

Vacation is all I ever wanted....

Announcement time....we're going on Vacation! That's right friends, Daniel got a job helping to build a vacation house for a family from our church...in Seattle! Daniel is DRIVING (yes, he's quite aware that it's a 30 hour trip) from here clear across the country to work on this house for a week. When the week is up I'm flying to Seattle to meet him. We'll spend a few days together there and then make the long drive home, stopping in different cities along the way. We plan to do a bit of camping, mixed in with sightseeing and DEFINITELY relaxation. I can't wait! I was planning to take outfit photos today but the rain changed those plans, so I wanted to share a few recent finds that will help me get through the trip. We won't be doing much shopping on this trip, just spending the majority of our funds on hotel rooms and food.

These high waisted skinny jeans will be worn pretty much the entire trip I'm sure!

J. Crew $68.60.

Also this silk blouse will be perfect for day and night adventures...

J. Crew $34.50

And FINALLY an affordable pair of genuine leather boots. They're wide enough for my runners calves and in the most perfect cognac color.

Target $60.00

These pink pants will look adorable with a sexy sequin top..

Old Navy $20.

Like this one....



Old Navy $34.50


I'll go into more details about the trip as soon as I can! Have a good night, friends!