Painted Apple Tee

Supplies:
Striped tee
Fabric paint (red & green)
Paintbrush
Palette paper

Directions:
Insert a piece of palette paper (or a plastic bag) in between the front and back of the tee and paint your design on. Allow your design to dry completely, and then with a scrap piece of fabric completely covering your painted design, iron the tee to heat set the design on.

We got this striped shirt from Old Navy, and since going back to (home) school is just around the corner, we decided to paint an apple on it. Well, we also got the polkadot tank and couldn’t just stop at the apple (and Soul wanted her chance to paint too), so we made a strawberry on that one. The dots ended up perfect for that! True and Brave get to share the apple tee, and Soul and Glow share the strawberry one.

Here are the girls being silly and wearing their tees out in the wild (we went to the zoo)…

We all get such a kick out of those animals masks, but I think the gorilla looks pretty freaky. True’s latest accessory is her “craft bag.” She has a container full of brads and some washi tape attached to outside of it, and inside it is filled with masking tape, scissors, stickers, markers, paper, you name the craft item, it’s probably in there. She brings that bag everywhere! Apparently, she takes her crafting seriously that she must even tote that stuff to the zoo. You never know when inspiration may strike!

on true: chambray top, drapey pants, and leopard sneakers, c/o old navy. bag, vintage from ms. tips. on brave: striped tee, denim skirt, and silver sandals, c/o old navy. on soul: swiss dot dress, c/o old navy. on glow: polkadot tee and skinny jeans, c/o old navy. sandals, vintage.

This post is in collaboration with Old Navy. I’m always thankful for the support you give me and the companies I choose to partner with! 

This is my own girl scout troop, but we just don’t wear the brown, blue, or green uniforms, and our troop is more multi-aged. We do engage in outside activities together and are often found doing craft projects at home. Also, we don’t sell girl scout cookies (Ben does not approve of the hydrogenation they still put in those delicious things!).

True story… last spring, a sweet girl scout came knocking at our door with some cookies to sell. I really wanted to support that sweet girl, and I really wanted girl scout cookies. I asked if if I could look at all of them to see their ingredients list, and sure enough they all had hydrogenation (ugh!), and with Ben standing behind me, I said, “What do you think?” He shook his head no. I told that sweet girl that I had to pass because they all had hydrogenation. She probably walked away thinking I was a crazy lady.

Anyway, maybe my troop and I should make our own non-hydrogenated girl scout cookies this week. We’re back home and getting back to routine after last week’s traveling. We have dinner club back on the schedule, our week is already filled up with swim classes and hangouts, and I have lots of emails to catch up on.

I notice my girls True and Soul tend to mimic how I dress. Glow mimics all her older sisters, and Brave beats to her own drum. She picked out this dress because it had red and blue (why? Spider-Man of course!). The girls must be going through a growth spurt; usually, my girls stay the same shoe size for at least a year (sometimes more!), so there’s never a need to switch out shoes that often. In True’s case though, we bought her those checkered vans for her birthday (and they were slightly big then), but now she’s already complaining they’re too tight. Soul’s also jumped up a shoe size in a matter of a couple months. Kids grow so fast, don’t they?!

on me: shirt and denim skirt, thrifted (I just chopped the denim skirt shorter). shoes, gift from BFF (she got them in Korea, but these are similar). on true: floral romper, c/o old navy (I’d totally wear that!). checkered vans, shoebuy. on brave: tank dress and espadrilles, c/o old navy. on soul: crochet top, denim skort, gold sandals, c/o old navy. on glow: floral chambray dress, silver sandals, c/o old navy. hello kitty glasses (on true and brave), ebay.

This post is sponsored by Old Navy. Thank you guys for your continuous support of me, this space, and the brands I partner with. xoxo

Our friends got married a couple weeks ago and I used the occasion to sew myself a dress. I had this blush-tan linen that I wanted to use, I did a V-neck front and I kept it all simple (it’s been the preferred dress style of late). I sewed bust darts, but didn’t like how it looked, so I took it out. I did a blind stitched hem to make it feel slightly more dressy, and just like that, I had myself a new dress. Sewing your own clothes always feels pretty great. It’s like bargain shopping, but better!

The girls were in awe as the bride walked down the aisle and they had so much fun running in the grass with their friends. I thought they were going to have fun boogying down on the dance floor, but they were acting shy and didn’t really let loose. They did let loose on all the dessert though, and boy did they come home on a sugar high. That’s all part of wedding fun though, don’t you agree?!

on me: dress, home sewn. shoes, miss selfridge (bought over 10 years ago when I studied in London). stone necklace, lisa leonard. on true: dress, fab kids (worn for this party). vans, shoebuy. cat headband, hello shiso. on brave: tee, gift from misha lulu. wing clip, hello shiso. on soul: dress, anthropologie (bought a long time ago when True was 2). shoes, old navy. bead bow headband, hello shiso. on glow: dress and shoes, vintage. tulip clips, hello shiso. on ben: shirt, aa. bow tie, forage haberdashery.

These girls do so much growing everyday. I love seeing them grow and discover their unique selves, and it’s all happening so fast, but slow at the same time. I’ve said it before, but as crazy as it is to have 4 kids who are so close in age, seeing how they are instant best friends makes me glad it all happened this way. It makes all the chaos worth it.

In our house, everyone yells and runs, absolute silence is a rarity. I feel like we’re always rushing about, and sometimes our morning just starts, and I’m already wishing for bedtime. I try to keep my routine and everyone in line, but some days things just fall apart (schedule, kids, me…) and I try to be okay with it, but sometimes I’m just a mess.

I’ll look at Ben and look at the girls, and I’m in awe at how we went from a family of two to six so fast. I see bits of both of us in each of them, but I also see so much of their own self too. I like how the overflow of love Ben and I share came out four unique little beings who are just full of sweetness and love (with a whole lot of stubbornness mixed in too!).

on me: dress, thrifted (it was huge and not cute, so I did a little cutting and sewing, and the result is a dress I absolutely loved and paid only $2.50 for; totally reminds me of this way pricey dress). sandals, piperlime. on true: tunic, misha lulu. vans, shoebuy. on brave: tee, old navy. short, misha lulu. on soul: dress, vintage from ms. tips. boots, thrifted. on glow: dress, vintage. shoes, vintage.

We all wore black, white, and silver on Father’s Day to show team spirit for our San Antonio Spurs. This was such big game and it was happening on Father’s Day. Ben is from San Antonio, Texas and I was raised by an anti-Laker in Southern California (my dad is a huge Boston Celtics fan), so you can imagine, we’re pretty much a perfect match!

This was on Father’s Day and we celebrated by showing team spirit for the San Antonio Spurs, which is Ben’s favorite sport’s team (and us girls love them just as much too!). Since we didn’t get to give him his present at home, we brought it with us to give it to him while out. I got him his fave ray-ban aviators because I accidentally lost his; it slipped out of my purse while we were out somewhere.

Old Navy had all the black, white, and silver I was looking for, and I particularly loved Brave’s romper and her silver shoes. This is my first time wearing a romper and I liked it even though I kind of felt like an overgrown kid. The girls are also sporting some Hello Shiso goodies, which I first shared about here. Soul hates spaghetti straps or exposing too much of her shoulders, so she put a shirt on under; that girls has a style of her own! Brave was hilarious this day as she wore her sunglasses everywhere, even indoors.

We were bummed that morning since Ben wasn’t feeling well, but thankfully by the end of the evening, the body aches were gone and he was feeling himself again. I think his fave team winning a championship (and some meds) is a good cure for a stomach infection. His only Father’s Day request was to watch the game together and for the Spurs to win, so I think he was definitely treated like a champ that evening.

on me: romper, vintage from ms. tips. clogs, lotta from stockholm. on true: tee, shorts, c/o old navy. hair clip, hello shiso. shoes, shoebuy. on brave: romper and silver sandals, c/o old navy. bunny ears, hello shiso. on soul: shirt, misha lulu. dress and jellies, c/o old navy. bow headband, hello shiso. on glow: pineapple dress and silver sandals, c/o old navy.

This post is sponsored by Old Navy. I’m very grateful for your support and these opportunities! 

It’s a long weekend over here to remember all those who died (and served) serving in our armed forces. We will spend the day resting, playing, and probably gardening because that’s what happens on the weekends over here. We aren’t attending any barbecues, but we will be making langostino sopes again (my favorite!) and I will have a recipe to share with you guys soon.

Again, Brave goes for a red and blue outfit, but not necessarily for Memorial Day, but all for Spider-Man. I’d totally wear True and Glow’s outfit, and I actually thought about wearing a romper too, but decided if Glow and I were both wearing rompers at the same time, I’d feel like an overgrown baby. Way weird. Thus, I decided against it. I went for this vintage dress I scored on ebay years ago, but never wore. Totally lame, I know. I’ll be wearing it more for sure.

These girls of mine are silly hams, and you can totally see it in a a couple of these shots. I love their silliness! I’ll take their silliness over stubbornness any day.

Red, white, and blue,
Happy Memorial Day to you!

on me: dress, vintage. shoes, the splurge ones that I love so much (mentioned here). on true: peplum top, denim shorts, cowboy hat, c/o old navy. shoes, vans. on brave: peplum top, spider-man hat, denim capris, striped espadrilles, c/o old navy. on soul: shoulder bow sundress, c/o old navy. shoes, thrifted. on glow: star romper (perfect for 4th of July!), jelly sandals, c/o old navy.

This post is sponsored by Old Navy. I’m thankful for the support you give me and this space, and the sponsors I decide to partner with! xoxo