Close Shave

Hello, it's Amanda (and Aurora!). It's been a while since we posted. We (well...me) have been shopping for and stocking the vintage shops and blogging occasionally on our other blog, but not doing a lot of talking here.

The truth is that Aurora is just a big bundle of movement and almost every picture I get of her is blurry! Fortunately, I was able to capture this scene one quiet, sweet morning last week:

On Monday and Wednesday mornings, Quentin goes into work later. Sweet husband that he is, he lets me sleep in on those days and has morning time with Aurora. They eat breakfast and play together and then come and wake me up. "Coffee, mama?"  Those are some of my favorite words...Aurora is a morning person, just like daddy, while I am a night owl.

Aurora is starting to mimic a lot of actions and words (oh, goodness, I need to be more careful with my language). She's such a little smarty-pants! The other day I said, "Hi, babe!" and gave her a kiss, and she said, "Hi, babe!" back.  It's absolutely adorable. She is so much fun these days.

And here she is, already shaving. Sigh. They grow up so fast... ;)

We're about to embark on our Thanksgiving travels...wish us luck! So excited to see Jayme, Lyla and family!  We have MUCH to be thankful for.

We'll say hi again soon! Happy Thanksgiving!

xo,
Amanda and Aurora

Aurora Style: Party Girl

Not only do Jayme and I borrow stuff from the vintage shop to wear, but we also borrow for our babes.  When Aurora got invited to her cousin Zoe's 2nd birthday, I had to put her in something festive. I remembered that these overalls were her size and decided to try them on: they were perfect!

ruffle tee-hand-me-down, Buster Brown overalls-vintage/Miskabelly, saddle shoes-vintage, hairbow-random Target pack

I know a lot of little girls like to wear dresses for parties, but I knew there would be a lot of playing outside or crawling around on the floor, so pants were a more comfortable option--yet still festive enough for a celebration! :)

Aurora has started to get into colorings and drawing (perhaps she'll be a visual artist like her auntie?), so these pics don't quite do the overalls justice. Here is a closer look--coming to the shop soon:

Light pink corduroy. White heart buttons.  A ribbon applique with a lamb that reads "I Love Ewe."  Heart ribbon ruffle at the back. And the cutest 80s balloon shape. (Size 2T!) By Buster Brown.

I love finding little quirky pieces like these! Kids clothes are so much fun (and we promise to keep adding fun things to the shop!).

xo
Amanda

A Happy Halloween, Indeed.

Aurora couldn't quite enjoy Halloween last year:  not enough teeth to eat candy, unable to say the words "trick or treat," and not even able to walk around. She was briefly dressed as a mermaid, and then went to bed at 7:00pm.

But this year was a totally different ballgame. It was fate: we found her costume at the thrift store and it fit perfectly.  Then Q got the Halloween bug and decided to go all out.  His enthusiasm got me going too, and an invitation to our neighborhood Halloween parade/block party sealed the deal:  we were doing a family costume!

Meet the Pirates.

Q spent a good part of the previous weekend and evenings during the week turning Aurora's bike trailer into a real pirate ship.  You wouldn't believe the detail that went into this thing, from a plank (with footprints!), to an anchor, a crow's nest, a treasure chest (complete with map!), netted ladders...it was pretty amazing.

My creative husband at work.

 

Heading out to the parade.

Pirate Parents.

Our neighborhood was so amazing! We were out of town for Halloween last year, so we didn't get to go, but they organize this parade and a party/potluck for the whole neighborhood. There was a DJ, lots of food, a cotton candy stand, pumpkin carving contest, and prizes for best costume! (Aurora took second place in her category for 3 and under! WOOO!) We had so much fun...and after a day of freezing cold and snow, we were thankful for clear blue, sunny skies.  It was the perfect day.

Aurora and Dada sharing some cotton candy.

Watching the big kids in awe.

She walked right over here with her cookie and sat down.  Yes, she's an extrovert.

Spiderman is always a good friend to have.

Hope you enjoyed this little peek into our very fun and family-filled Halloween! We're already looking forward to next year.

xo,
Amanda, Q & Aurora

Aurora Style: Pattern Mixing (Again)

I couldn't help it. I had to share MORE cute photos of Aurora.  She is really taking a liking to getting dressed up...mostly the shoes part (so much like her mama).  This weird in-between weather in conjunction with my laziness about laundry has caused me to be a little more creative with her clothes.

But this creativity turned out really cute!  Aurora is wearing a dress (12 months) as a tunic top--since she's now 19 months and it's too short--and a pair of pants as cropped pants/capris (since they're also 12 months). I was worried it might look a little like she simply outgrew her clothes (which, she did), but instead I think it was a really cute look! Especially with the red and white stripes and leopard. I added her little gold bow flats to give her that "petite jeune fille" look.  All that's missing is a beret! (She has one, but it's brown and pink, so it would clash too much with this ensemble.)

I also had to share that Aurora is becoming the sweetest little helper.  She helps to put away silverware, take things to the recycling, clean up her toys (sometimes), and most recently, she's started helping to bring the newpaper in for her dada.

Cute in cotton--->dress-Under the Nile (thrifted), pants-Carter's, flats-Gymboree (thrifted)

We are very careful about making sure no cars are coming/around when she gets the papers, even though it's a quiet neighborhood.  Don't worry, Grandma and Papa (if you're reading this!).

 I really don't think she could get much cuter...and then she does something TOTALLY cute and changes all that. I love that her personality is a little sweet, but a little feisty, and of course, very social (again...so much like mama already that it's scary).  We're looking forward to a fun fall weekend together, with weather cool enough to wear some of her new (thrifted) fall duds.  More photos to come--of course. :)

HAPPY FRIDAY!

xo,
Amanda

Aurora Style: Back to Preschool

Aurora isn't going to preschool....yet. She's not even 2. But we are touring a Mother's Day Out/Preschool place next week where she might go to play (if we like it, there's a short waiting list)  two mornings a week.  I am definitely a little nervous (I will miss her!), but I know she will love the opportunity to be around other kids.  And two free mornings a week would give me a lot of time to get additional work/cleaning/etc. done, so that's not a bad thing.

I think this is the perfect little Back to School outfit...the mustard corduroy and the saddle shoes/ruffle socks combination? I die.  This jumper is great because you can add a long sleeve blouse or tee/onesie when the weather gets cool. (And it's in the shop here!)

She was trying to wear the gourd like a bracelet! Such a little smartie (and fashionista!).

Picking flowers/Picking up pumpkins (unsuccessfully).

Doing a little dance! (dress-vintage from the shop, socks-random, saddle shoes-vintage, hair clip-homemade)

Some days she seems grown up. I love seeing her learn new things and become independent. I love having little conversations with her. I love seeing her personality start to come through.  We have so much fun together!  I think she'll be a big hit at preschool. ;)

xo,
Amanda

Aurora Style: The Comb-Over

Aurora loves bath time, and I love how she soft and sweet-smelling she is after her bath.  I also love brushing her hair, which is getting really long (and which I refuse to cut, though I do trim her bangs).  The other night I brushed her hair over to the side.  We were playing in her big sister's room and she caught a glimpse of her cute self in the mirror.  I had to capture the moment on camera.

This isn't exactly a style post, so we aren't linking up.  If she had on one of those camo/denim diapers (no), then maybe it would qualify.  But for today, I just wanted to share her sweet little moment admiring herself....if only we could all be so pleased with ourselves and how we look.

On another note, sorry we haven't been blogging!  We are evaluating our priorities. The shop is doing great, and we have things we like to share on the blog, but it's definitely lower on the priority list. That doesn't mean we don't love our readers and supporters, but sometimes we need a break.  And working at home means just that: watching a baby full time and WORKING in any spare moment we get. 

The shop has also been kind of slow, but we promise, we have adorable new kiddo stuff on the way!

xo,
Amanda and Aurora

Aurora Style: Hi, Rain!

Aurora loves to be outside in the rain, so VA's hurricane weather was just fine by her.  Q and I took her outside to play (pre-65 mph winds, mind you), all dolled up in her rain gear. She likes to say, "Hi, Rain!" when she feels it on her hands, which I think it about the cutest thing ever, wouldn't you agree?

Hi, Rain!

Puddle jumping with Dada

jacket-vintage, top-Oshkosh (thrifted), leggings-gift from Aunt Jayme, boots-gift from Aunt Jayme

We made the most of the natural disasters...like we do of every trying circumstance.  We're always "making it work."  I hope that resilience is a quality that we pass down to Aurora, as well as joy despite circumstances. We were healthy, happy and dry (except for that half an hour in the driveway).  Our house did not flood. No trees fell.  We cleaned out our gutters just in time.  We counted our blessings.  At the end of it all, I didn't want the weekend to end...


It's Small Style Day over on Mama Loves Papa, so we're linking up too!

Enjoy the day,
Amanda

Aurora Style: Hand-Me-Down Dress

It's Amanda (and Aurora!) writing from the beach.  We took these photos of Aurora last weekend before we headed off to our ocean vacation.  We got this dress from Aunt Jayme in the mail the day before (along with a sweet card, some photos, and a magazine for me to read at the beach! Care packages are the best!) and I had to try it on her! I love the color and the tie back detail.  The dress is actually on loan from Jayme's sister-in-law...who is now on her way to her first year of college in the fall! How time flies...

dress-vintage, shoes-Gymboree (thrifted)

I have another post to prep for tomorrow, and then it's on to a cold drink and a good book to wrap up a perfect vacation day!  See you when we get back...

(And don't forget to check out more Small Style over on the Mama Loves Papa blog today!)

xo,
Amanda & Aurora

A Smile for Your Weekend (and a little shop preview!)

Aurora knows what the camera does now.  For a while, she used to pose for it, and then she started getting too antsy, but she's come back around to the posing phase--which I, of course, LOVE.

She posed for these photos before we went out for a family picnic/concert in the park on Thursday night.  I found this little cotton lamb shirt (which I think is a baby dress, actually) this week. I'm in love with it, but it won't fit her much longer...so into the shop it shall go!

top/dress-Saks Fifth Avenue (vintage), wide leg pants-Janie&Jack (thrifted), red corduroy sneakers-Koala Kids (thrifted)

We hope you all have a fantastic weekend! The weather here is perfectly summery, and we're planning some little adventures.

xo,
Amanda & Aurora

What Aurora Wore: Minnie Mouse-y

I still love getting Aurora dressed every day...it's actually getting more and more fun. I've found some of the best stuff at the thrift lately (as Aurora grows out of her 12-18 month clothes and size 5 shoes!) and am really looking forward to fall.

It's actually more fun to dress Aurora than it is to dress myself to be honest...she looks super cute everyday, while I mostly look "meh" and sometimes get a little more dressed up for events/occasions.

Jayme thrifted this dress for Aurora, but it's the strangest size...2T Large or something...for extra pudgy toddlers? I'd never seen it!  But it's the cutest vintage-y looking dress, and it's just a little big in the waist, so I tied on a vintage scarf as a belt.  The bow shoes and bow headband seemed meant to be together. Of course, the black and polka dots reminds me of Minnie Mouse's ensemble (hence the title).

dress-Baby Gap (thrifted/gifted), shoes-Gymboree (thrifted), headband-mama's, vintage scarf-mama's

We're linking up with our friend Morgan of Mama Loves Papa for another week of Small Style...we love seeing so many other cuties in the blog world.

Have a great Thursday!

xo,
Amanda and Aurora