Wednesday, September 29, 2010

The grey cardigan

I love this boy! What a character.Once again Master Elliot leads the What are You Wearing Wednesday. He picked out this green shirt out of three choices and LOVES it. I noticed that the ties Mr. Freeman picks to put on his son are the thrift store ones he thinks are ugly. What's he thinking? This tie is awesome!
Master Elliot:
shirt - Target, recent purchase
tie- thrifted, his dad's
trousers - Children's Place
shoes - second hand
I know, she wore the same shirt last week and cardigan the last two weeks but it's my favorite! This grey cardigan is definitely a staple clothing item in her closet.
Miss Avery:
shirt - Old Navy, recent purchase
cardigan - H &M, recent purchase
necklace - a boutique
skirt - Old Navy, recent purchase
shoes - Target
bracelet - made by me
Recognize my dress? This is the same one I wore for family pictures in July. I like how comfy it is and how it can go with anything and I can dress it up or dress it down.
Me: dressed simple and comfortable
dress - Anthropologie
belt - Anthropologie
nylons - Target
shoes - I don't remember but they're my favorite!
earrings - you can't see them in the picture but they're big white flowers from Contagious in down town Mesa.

Have a lovely Wednesday!

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

8 truths about Marilyn

I thought it would be interesting to share with you some relatively interesting truths about me.

1. I have lived in 9 residences my whole life; all of which are in Arizona or England.

2. I have no favorite color.

3. My feet are the crustiest on earth. Srsly, they are like whoa.

4. My first crush was to a guy named Roger M. in second grade.

5. I may or may not be obsessed with asian tv. (More about that another time.)

6. I have been married for 4 1/2 years and I still have a bank account in my maiden name.

7. I was 17 when I had my first kiss.

8. I HATE pepper when I am pregnant. (this is not an announcement - i am not prego)

Ok, now it's your turn! Please share because I'm dying to know more about you!

Monday, September 27, 2010

For Claire



Claire happens to be Mr. Freeman's only sibling. She's a really awesome person and easy to get along with. You only wish you had a sister-in-law so cool.
All these pictures were taken in July when Mr. Freeman's parents, Claire, and her boyfriend, Richard, visited us here in sunny Arizona. The pictures below are from when we went shooting - something they would never be able to do in England.
Since two is better than one here are the birthday song videos. Happy Birthday Claire!

Embrace the Season

My flowers that were planted in July are dead. Since my dead flowers were making my front lawn look worse than a cemetery it was time for them to go. Seeing the flowers reminds me of the change of season.
Even though it is now fall we are still hitting the triple digits so I thought I'd embrace this heat and have some fun before it gets too cold. Fun for me was soaking my kids.
Our toenails match. I know it's cheesy but having a daughter and being able to do things like this are another thing I embrace in life.
If you passed my house around 2:45 today you would have seen two little white bums from the stripping after the soaking. Pictures have been withheld.
When I went to Michaels last week I talked to this lady who was nearly at tears talking about how much Autumn is her favorite time of year. Isn't Autumn amazing? The colors, the leaves, the smell of cinnamon, and pumpkins. Embrace this time of year. Happy Fall!

Sunday, September 26, 2010

My Twin a.k.a. Zooey Deschanel

So . . . last week, when my hair looked like this, one of my activity day girls (from church) asked me if I was wearing a wig. Srsly? I haven't been asked that for years. (Yes, I have been asked that before.) That's too bad, because I really like my hair. Don't you love the tact of children? I just laughed. What would you say? Don't worry, no permanent scars. "Sticks and stones, love."

Today now that my hair looks like this someone told me I look like Zooey Deschanel. Thanks Julie! You deserve a Sprinkles cupcake. No, three Sprinkles cupcakes. Strange what a hair color can do to change someone's look.
Let's look at some of Zooey's looks now that I'm her twin.




Wow! What a babe! I've always thought she has a great sense of style. So classy. Such pretty eyes. Now that I'm her look-a-like I like her even more. Now if only my hair would grow faster, *Umhmph* not to mention the pounds I need to shed, so we can truly be twins.

Note: I want you to know that I did not change my hair to look like Zooey's. In fact, I wanted my hair more red, but now that I have it I love it. Also, Zooey and I must be bosom buddies.

Who is your "twin"? What is the funniest thing someone said to you about how you look?

That's all.

Lesson Learned

I colored my hair! It turned out darker than I had in mind but it works.

So yesterday was Westwood's and Mountain View's Homecoming. My blood runs deep orange with my loyalty towards Westwood but I live in Mountain View boundaries and my kids might go there some day so I guess it's an OK school too.
(See the before and after)
My sister's friend, Angie went to Mountain View's Homecoming and I did her hair. Angie is such a sweet girl!
Ruth, my baby sister, went to Westwood Homecoming, She borrowed my black jacket and I did her make-up. It was her first dance.

She looked really cute.
I remember going to those dances and having fun! I was such a nerd in high school so my favorite part of the dances wasn't socializing but dressing up. I was so nerdy I even practiced in the orchestra room during lunch.

So Mr. Freeman got back from camping yesterday and the first thing I asked him was how it went sleeping in the hammock. Apparently it was too small so he tried to sleep in his sleeping back on the floor which would have been fine if it weren't for everyone else's snoring. Lesson learned! Bring ear plugs!

Friday, September 24, 2010

Hunger Games

Have you heard of this book? Who hasn't? Well, I read The Hunger Games as well as the two books that follow it; Catching Fire and Mockingjay. They were really good but I was considerably disappointed in the last one. I kept reading it hoping it would get better but it was so dark.

I look forward to seeing the film that will be out in 2013. If you haven't read it I can't give it a fully recommend it as a favorite but it was good enough for me to stay up late to read it (and I mean late) and my sleep is precious to me so that's saying a lot.

I'm really missing Mr. Freeman right now because he's camping but at least I've been busy. A good kind of busy. He's sleeping in his hammock tonight for the first time. I wonder how that will go?

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Sewing Again

Master Elliot gets to lead What are YOU Wearing Wednesday today. A lot of his clothes are second hand from my nephew a year older than him which is why I haven't posted him yet but he was so cute in his dad's tie that I couldn't resist sharing.
Master Elliot:
shirt - Children's Place
vest - Children's Place
slacks - Gymboree
shoes - second hand
tie - thrifted, his dad's
Miss Avery:
cardigan - H&M
shirt - Old Navy (recent purchase)
skirt - sewn by ME!
shoes - thrifted, Old Navy
hair clip - Simply Memzelle
Me again:
cardigan - Target
shirt - sewn by ME!
skirt - Old Navy
shoes - my sister

I'm proud of the fact that I sewed this shirt. Once again, I didn't use a pattern which is why it didn't turn out how I wanted it. Needless to say, I can't wear it without a cardigan unless I risk revealing obvious mistakes. The shirt is totally pooching in the second picture. Did you notice Mr. Freeman's peace sign?

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Cozy

(Master Elliot with Mr. Freeman looking COZY in the hammock he just made)

Isn't it interesting how some words, just by hearing them, makes you think or feel things?

Example: How do you feel about the word Cozy?

Everyone knows the definition, but what is the first thing you think about when you hear that word? Some people might think of hugging their grandma, sitting at a fireplace, Christmastime or something like that.

I think of Mr. Freeman simply because it's a word he uses a lot. Also because he's the number person I'd want to be "cozy" with. Only hearing him say the word "cozy" makes me want to snuggle up next to him.

For Mr. Freeman the word cozy is laying in a bed with lots of blankets with the window opened, but it HAS to be raining or at least freezing outside to have the full effect of coziness. He thinks heaven must be cozy because it's the best feeling ever.

What do you think of the word cozy? What's your favorite word? How does it make you feel?Well, I hope you all have a cozy day.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

The Brewery

Yesterday my family and I ate at Gordon Biersch, a restaurant on Mill Avenue, in Tempe. It's known for it's brewery with great booze therefore we had to go. Not! Mr. Freeman won a gift voucher there at work. We've been there before on a lunch date. This time I didn't cut his hand on a glass. (It was a sheer accident, I promise!) Our table was rickety and I knocked his glass over and he tried to catch it just as it broke on the wall.
Speaking of Mr. Freeman, he always calls the most palatable foods to him "gorgeous".
Example: "Mmmm - this bangers and mash is gorgeous! Is there enough for thirds?"
I think it's an English think because his family says it too. Well, even though he didn't use the word "gorgeous" last night to describe the food, I know that's how he felt. The food was very appetizing.

Mr. Freeman also has a thing about ordering a burger any where we go if it's on the menu. This time I followed his example. He ordered some BBQ burger and I got the swiss mushroom burger. The kids had pizza. Actually, Miss Avery pretty much just had ketchup as you see above. That was before the dessert came.
For dessert we choose the only two desserts that had chocolate in them. The chocolate cake may have been bigger but the brownie was so much better! That is, if you're into rich chocolate gooie-ness with vanilla ice cream.
Yea - it didn't last long.
Miss Avery was the messiest. She takes after me with my chocolate obsession. She ate the brownie like nobody's business! It even got worse after this. If you go to this restaurant request an outdoor seat to avoid noisy bar and open kitchen inside.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

{BANGS}

I'm not one of those people that finds a great hairdo and unremittingly stick to it. Maybe that's because I just haven't found the "perfect" do yet. Therefore, I change my look every now and again to freshen things up a bit. This time I just added some thick bangs to frame my face a different way.
Before:
(On a date flying kites with Mr. Freeman)
After:
Having "bangs" made me think of the fact that they're called "fringe" in England. Now that makes more sense than the word bangs so I did a little research on the origin of the word bangs. Check it out. Maybe you'll learn something. I did. Oh, and - how do you like my BANGS?

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Labor of Love

It's time for "What are YOU wearing Wednesday" from here again! It was so hard to get a decent picture of Miss Avery so this is as good as it gets.
dress - Target
cardigan - H&M
shoes - thrifted, Old Navy
felt hair clip - Simply Memzelle

I get some of my clothes from really random places. I'm all about shopping at different places to get a good deal on something I really like.
I'm really proud of my skirt because I made it! I sewed it with vintage fabric without a pattern and made so many mistakes. It was seriously a labor of love so I'm probably going to wear it all the time now.
top - Rainbow
necklace - borrowed
earrings - Forever 21
skirt - hand sewn by ME
shoes - Payless
Master Elliot took the above picture. He likes to do anything is daddy does.
He's the best.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Mud Bath

Have you ever done this before? It looks like so much fun!
Of course, Miss Avery had to choose my flower bed to do this in.
Truthfully, how can I get cross with her when I wanted to join her.
(You'll have to excuse my son's lack of clothing. Since potty training started a couple months ago he often goes around in only underwear.)
When I was in 8th or 9th grade I would play irrigation tackle football every other week. Mud and grass head to toe. The best part was my soft skin the next day. Everyone needs a good mud bath every now and again.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Green Eggs and Ham

Recently I have become obsessed with F21's men's line of clothing. Most specifically the male cardigans and vests. Unfortunately, my husband says he doesn't like men's cardigans. Apparently they're not very masculine. Not true!
2. Striped Knit Cardigan, navy/burgundy
4. Striped Knit Cardigan, brown/green

All of these would look so attractive on him while not inhibiting his own style and need for a masculine exterior. I hope it'll be like Green Eggs and Ham. Once he tries a cardigan, he'll see how great they are.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

I know when you are sleeping . . .


I love this.
Watching my kids sleep.
Is that weird?
No, because they look like this.
Question: Do your kids sleep like you?
I have a picture (somewhere) of Mr. Freeman and Master Elliot in the same sleeping position.
There's a mom that makes her baby's naps an art.
Awesome!
Check it out here.

Garden Vegetable Lasagna

This looks so good! I'm totally drooling, aren't you? Get the recipe here. (It's even vegetarian friendly)

{What are YOU wearing} - 1


The lovely, Niki, from and-im-feelin-good posts every Wednesday about what she and her daughter are wearing, so I thought I'd join in on the fun. Today Miss Avery was more than happy to be the little model.
dress - girl shirt made into toddler dress
shoes - Target
bracelet - toy chain adorned by Miss Avery

Come back tomorrow for funny children sleeping positions!