We had a weekend free of birthday parties (which is rare at our kids’ ages, it seems), so we decided to spend a leisurely morning at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. Taylor and Ella used to go to a school nearby so they had the opportunity to visit often, but they haven’t been back since they’ve moved on to new schools. It was fun to see them explore the Garden and watch as certain parts of the grounds sparked their memories (including Tayor telling us that once he fell in the water when looking at the Spoonbridge and Cherry sculpture!).

Ella’s outfit details and links: Boden dress and tights | Gap shoes (similar here)
Taylor’s outfit details and links: Boden top | Gap pants | Tsukihoshi shoes
Kerry’s outfit details and links: Boden vest | Anthropologie top | Banana Republic pants | Tory Burch shoes (similar here) | Boden sunglasses

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Last weekend Trevor and I were invited to attend the “I Have a Voice” gala, a fundraising event for GiGi’s Playhouse. We dressed up, stayed up too late, narrowly missed bidding far over our auction limit for Taylor Swift tickets, laughed with friends, and had a wonderful evening out celebrating a great cause. The gala tickets came about by chance, and I feel so lucky that Trevor and I were able to attend – a fun night out with friends is always wonderful, but I’m so happy to have had the opportunity to listen to the presenters and be a part of the showing of love and support for GiGi’s Playhouse and the families to whom the facility means so much. I had heard of GiGi’s Playhouse and have driven by it on a number of occasions, but since the gala I’ve been reading more about this special place – its global message of acceptance, the organization’s efforts to change society’s perceptions about individuals with Down syndrome, the work that teachers, therapists and volunteers tirelessly do at the center, and the programs and opportunities offered at no cost to all families. Please take a moment to read more about GiGi’s Playhouse (link here).

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The recent cold snap has had our family sequestered inside for the last few weekends, and the ratio of pajamas to real clothes is becoming disturbingly disproportionate. This past Saturday Taylor was heading to the science museum with a friend, so I wanted to find something outside of the house that Ella and I could do together. We headed to Tonkadale Greenhouse, which is my favorite place to purchase plants in the growing season. The experience at this nursery is always delightful, with its wide rows, helpful staff, beautiful plants and let’s not forget – complimentary popcorn and bottled water. But I will admit that a majority of my past visits have a fair bit of stress built in, since it can be busy, I have a limited time frame, and I usually always miscalculate how much is in my cart – over purchasing from a budget perspective or in the sense that my eyes are bigger than the available garden space. This little visit with Ella was perfect in expected and unexpected ways. I was counting on some pink flowers and free popcorn to make our late morning a success. Those two things were definitely present, but there were so many other experiences that made for a lovely morning.

Ella’s outfit details with links: Boden dress (on sale), tights (on sale) and socks | Tsukihoshi shoes
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