October 2014 archive

Nelson Farm

/ Leisure / 0 comment

What’s a fall season and Halloween holiday without a trip to a pumpkin patch? ** We got out of our sweatpants (because even sans blog, a pumpkin patch visit is a family photo gold mine) this past Sunday and headed to a nearby farm that offered pumpkins and then some. As you know from past posts, it takes a lot for the Olsons to get organized and go on a family outing. So when I was looking into options, I wanted to find something that hit on lots of cylinders. Although a roadside stand would actually suffice (all the kids really wanted was to pick out a pumpkin), I feel the need to try and tie in farm animals, fun and games, food and drink, a corn maze, you name it. There are a ton of options, to be sure, but I feel like we hit the jackpot with Nelson Farm.

DSC_0853_edited-1Kerry: Banana Republic jacket and shirt | Hudson jeans | Tory Burch handbag and sunglasses | Michael Kors watch | Melly bracelet | Steve Madden boots (old)
Ella: Gap jacket, shirt (similar here) and skirt | Boden tights and socks | Minnetonka moccasins
Taylor: Gap sweater, shirt and jeans | Primigi shoes
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Coated Denim

/ Looks / 4 Comments

For our date night a few weeks ago I convinced Trevor to go to the one year anniversary celebration of the Madewell store in the Mall of America. We go to the MOA together pretty much never (or shopping at all for that matter), so even though I may have fibbed a bit and told him there would be men’s clothes, all was smoothed over when we learned they were serving craft beer. It was a fun start to our night – I found a couple of great staple pieces, and Trevor picked out these pants, claiming to “love them” when I came out of the dressing room. I like them because they live up to the caption on the Madewell site: “all the cool factor of leather, but the ease of a jean,” but I also happen to feel like a Storm Trooper when I wear them. This is also, I believe, the real reason Trevor loves the pants. You saw the look on his face in the Antiquing post when he was looking at the vintage Star Wars figures, right? Going with the space theme, I thought we’d take a jaunt over to my mom’s hometown, Cosmos. I recalled from my youth a rocket or something or other on the playground that I thought would hold the kids’ attention while we took some pictures.  DSC_0262_edited-1

Madewell Jeans | Ann Taylor LOFT top | Tory Burch flats | Tory Burch handbag | Banana Republic necklace and earrings | Tag Heuer watch (old) | bracelet (old) | Tory Burch sunglasses

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Easy Applique

/ Decor & DIY / 2 Comments

As I edge closer to 40, I’m becoming more comfortable with the reality that I have done a terrible job at carrying on the tradition of handiwork (needlework, quilting, applique, etc.) passed down through generations of women in my family. Whether it’s my personality, my lifestyle, or my attention span, I just don’t see myself dedicating the time and loving care necessary for those types of projects. I don’t see myself taking the sewing machine out of storage (and let’s be honest – out of the box). I don’t see myself looking at a quilt and thinking, “I would really like to try that someday.” My thought when spotting one of the many beautiful, cozy quilts from my mom around our house is, “man, do I want to take a nap.” I do, however, love the creative process and truly value the homemade over the store-bought.

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One of the best parts of this blogging adventure has been the brainstorming my mom and I do to convert the handiwork of the past into projects suitable for me (and hopefully others with a similar personality, lifestyle and/or attention span). This idea stemmed from one of those conversations, and is a quick, easy and inexpensive way to add some homemade touches to your holiday décor. Start with an applique pattern and substitute: a scissors for the needle; strips of paper for the scraps of fabric; and minutes for the hours, and there you have it!

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