Have a fun weekend!

My sweet readers, what are you up to this weekend? Alex and I are cooking up spaghetti bolognese and reading baby books. Also, I'm excited to try this goat cheese, which I found today at the farmer's market. (It's made by a husband-and-wife team, who left their big-city jobs to buy forty goats and make cheese. Awesome.) Hope you have a wonderful weekend, and here are a few great posts from around the web...xoxo

Gorgeous DIY filament bulbs.

Nautical style, I will love you forever.

Hilarious royal tea bags.

The seven most beautiful ferry rides in the United States.

The iPhone app for the entire cookbook How to Cook Everything is only $1.99 (for a limited time). Genius.

Love this army jacket.

Pisa was hilariously predictable, but this photo of Florence's Duomo is refreshingly original.

Cheeky recipe website.

This photo makes me want to take a road trip.

High-five note card.

Sweet nursery with a Babar poster!

Dear Weekend is having a sale on her lovely oil paintings.

What fun pendant pillows.

Beautiful pregnant belly dancing on the beach.

Attention, New Yorkers: Milkmade ice cream + The Big Apple Tweed Ride. (Thanks, Brittany!)

And a huge thank you to the amazing Erin Jang from The Indigo Bunting for designing my new header. xo

Plus, five Cup of Jo posts you may have missed:
* Sky play.
* Whoopie pies.
* Summer love.
* Pumpkin marriage proposal.
* Fairy lights.

Big kiss to you! Have a great weekend! xo

(Photo of Paul Newman from Getty Images)

Picnic club

Every summer, I daydream about having a ton of picnics, but end up having fewer than I'd like. So, wouldn't it be fun to start a Summer Picnic Club? I've been thinking of inviting friends to meet at different parks around town every other Saturday. Everyone would bring their own blanket, plus a snack to share, and Alex and I would also bring frisbees and a bubble machine (and the baby!). It would be so much fun to have a recurring outdoorsy event to look forward to.

P.S. Refinery 29 posted a picnic guide today. I think it's a sign. :)

(Photos of our wedding brunch picnic by Max Wanger)

Sammy the Seagull

I loved this seagull bag, and now there's a print! Apparently, the dapper dude is named Sammy.

(Via Design is Mine)

Thursday Giveaway!

Today's giveaway is from Moop, a Pittsburgh studio that makes beautiful handmade bags. They're offering one lucky winner the bag of her choice. These soft and wonderful bags are perfect for adventures around town. And check out their two new designs--the Small Messenger and a collection of 100% organic bags.

For a chance to win, please visit Moop and leave a comment below with your favorite bag style. A winner will be chosen at random tomorrow. Good luck. xo

Update: Lauren W. is our lucky winner. Thanks for playing.

2 Braids to Updo

I started by making 2 diagonal frenchbraids that go back to the crown of her head.

Once the braids are secured with elastics I pulled the sides of her hair out of the way with a clip.

Now pull the 2 ends of the braids and secure together with an elasic in the center of the hair you have in the clip.  The hair left down is going to hide the elastics.

Pull up the both sides as shown below.

Secure both the sides in the center of her head with an elastic *Shown Below*

Now take all the hair into a ponytail form and twist it upward.  I secured her twist with a lot of bobby pins.  I also asked her if the twist felt tight, I kept adding bobby pins until she said it felt tight. 

Question #6

*Question 6*
A question was left for this adorable hairstyle.  She wanted to know how do you wrap the hair around the ponytail and hold it? Do you just tuck it into the rubberband?

Answer:  I usually use clear rubber bands and also bobby pins.  It depends on the style and how wild her hair is on that day.  For this style I just used the bobby pins.  I made several wraps around the ponytail and then took the ends under the ponytail and stuck the bobby pin straight into her hair this way you can't see the bobby pin.

Berries

Just a pretty photo for you this morning. Don't these look delicious?

P.S. A guide to berry picking.

(Photo by Tracy Sue)

Wednesday Giveaway!

Today's giveaway is from Babette, a jewelry shop run by a British designer. She's offering a pair of these beautiful zen hoops. The hammered gold hoops display rare vintage silver metal beads from the World War II era. Isn't that amazing? These earrings would look gorgeous while drinking wine in a restaurant's garden this summer...or anytime really. :)

For a chance to win, please visit Babette's shop and leave a comment below. A winner will be chosen at random tomorrow. Good luck!

Update: Catherine is our lucky winner. Thanks for playing.

Toddler Knots to Pigtails

This hairstyle did not turn out how I had imagined it.  With toddlers I guess that is normal 

Her hair is so thin that the knots didn't look as good as I had wanted.

I started by pulling the front part of her hair and tied a knot.  Then I made a 2nd knot just behind the first.  Because of how thin her hair is I had to secure the ends of both knots with an elastic.  That is why there is an elastic in the middle of the 2 pigtials.

Once the knots are secured I pulled the remaining hair into side pigtails.

Birthday cupcakes

Tina (aka Swissmiss) has the sweetest tradition of making her daughter birthday cupcakes, decorated with photos of her changing face. How adorable have the past four years been? Aww, happy birthday, Ella Joy! xo

Musk for girls

One of my guy friends used to wear Kiehl's Musk 1921, which is the greatest scent. Luckily, it also works on ladies (deep, rich, tomboy-ish, awesome), so I've been trying it out myself. I have to say, I'm really into it. The sexy scent pairs well with T-shirts and jeans, and you won't be able to stop sniffing your wrist.

What type of perfume do you wear, my lovelies?

Braids to Ponytail

It is getting really hot around our part of the world.  My older daughter hates to sweat weird I know so we were going to spend the day at the park and here is the up hairstyle we came up with.

I started in the middle of her head and made a triangle part and made a simple braid all the way down to the ends and secured with an elastic. 

Once the center braid is made make 4 more braids 2 on each side of the center braid. 

Below is a picture of the top 3 braids.

Then pull all the hair and braids into a ponytail as shown below.

Then wrap the braids around the ponytail and secure the ends with a bobby pin.

Below is a side view of her hair.

What will the baby look like?

Now that I'm almost eight months pregnant, I've been thinking so much about what our baby will look like. It's so crazy to feel him kicking all the time and feel like I already know him, but still have no idea how to envision his little face. So, I've been looking through some of my and Alex's childhood photos, since he'll probably look like a combination of the two of us, right? (Blond hair with a big head, methinks?) Ahh, I CANNOT WAIT to finally see his teeny face and hold him in my arms!!!
My twin sister Lucy and me (I'm on the right side in all the photos)...
And Alex as a little dude. (Isn't he funny in that straw hat and red shorts?:)

Toddler simple twist

We have been on vacation that is the reason for the lack of posts lately. 

My toddler has a sensative head and regularly asks for simple hairstyles with no elastics. 

A simple twist across the front of her head and curled the rest under. 

**NOTE** If any of you have noticed our recent shortness in the bangs this is what happens when a toddler moves while getting her bangs cut.  At least she looks good with what we call the Katy Perry bangs. 

Question #5

Question #5 is this  "is there anyway i can do that on myself, i tried, its hard"

This hair style is much easier when someone else can do the braid.  However it is possible.  I have to make sure my hair is wet when I start.  Then I take a pillow and lay it on a counter to place my head on.  The hardest part is controlling the hair because it wants to lay over where you are working.  This is the reason for placing my head on the pillow.  You want as much hair out of your way as possible.  I hope this helps you will also want to practice a couple of times.  I think it took me several tries the first time to get it right.

Hunter boots

I have a perfectly good pair of rain boots already, but I'd secretly love a pair of Hunter's Wellington boots. They're elegant, slim and tall, so they make your legs look miles long. And the Queen of England wears them. La di da! I've been trying my best to rationalize a purchase. :)

(Bottom photo by Stephanie)

Wedding dress + veil

I'm really drawn to simple weddings these days, so I'm loving Bryce and Stephanie's afternoon wedding in Michigan. Their dog Morty was the enthusiastic best man, and Stephanie carried a bunch of wildflowers. She found her beautiful dress at Loehmann's (Loehmann's!) for $55. And isn't it gorgeous how she tucked her veil under her bun? I don't think I've ever seen that before! So graceful and old-fashioned. xo

(Photos by Amy Carroll, via the amazing OnceWed)

Poof to Ponytail

There are so many times my daughters asks for a quick hairstyle so this took us seconds. 

I made a simple poof keeping her bangs out of her face.  Then pulled the rest of the hair into a ponytail.

I finished it off by wrapping the ponytail with her hair.