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

What Aurora Wore: Bare Midriff

Even though I love the look of a thin sliver of perfect tummy from this season's cropped shirt trend, I, myself, do not have the figure (or courage?) to pull it off.

But you know who has the best midriff? Babies!  For babies, the rounder the belly, the better.  Aurora dared to bare in a cute top I thrifted this week.  These pictures make her look so grown up.  And her whole outfit is thrifted/hand-me-down.  It's easy to be stylish on a budget...and we waste less too (more on that in a future post).

tie blouse-The Children's Place (thrifted), scooter skirt-hand me down, gold bow flats-Gymboree (thrifted), koi becklace (mama's!)

One day, Aurora came over to me while I was brushing my teeth...and she was wearing one of my necklaces that had been resting on my dresser!  She never seemed to notice to my jewelry, other than occasionally pulling on my earrings, but I guess she was paying attention!  Lately, I've been letting her wear this little fish necklace, since the chain is kind of short. She loves it!

You know what she also loves?  BUBBLES.  Like, with a passion.  If she sees the bubble container, there is no stopping here (there are a lot of bubbles blown inside the house here, and even, on one occasion, in the car!). She calls them Bub-bullsh. It's beyond cute.  She is still working on learning to blow them herself.  Unfortunately, she gets the bubble blower too close to her mouth and ends up with soapy lips!

We're linking up with Mama Loves Papa again this week for Small Style!  Click the link to check out other cuties in their best duds.

xo,
Amanda & Aurora

From Generation to Generation

My parents came to visit Virginia this weekend. We had a fantastic time eating, going to the Farmer's Market, eating, antiquing, and of course, playing with Aurora (and....eating)!  Last time I went to this antiquing/thrift spot, I found the cutest little lamb figurine for Aurora's room:

 I decided to make it an antiquing tradition, to find something for Aurora's room.  She has quite the mix of vintage, thrifted, and modern/new stuff in her nursery.  I found the perfect little companion to her lamb at the very same antique shop:

isn't he cute? he even has a little furry tuft of hair on top of his head!

Every family visit has become an opportunity for my parents to clean out their basement (which is still full of a lot my junk), and this time, they brought some things from my own childhood that I could now give to Aurora: a little kiddo wicker patio set and a rocking horse that my Uncle Jeff made for me.

It also reminded me of other childhood relics I have been sharing with Aurora. My mom was good at saving just the right amount of clothing in the bottom of her cedar chest for both me and Jayme.  When I start packing up some of Aurora's stuff now, I have difficulty getting rid of anything! Every little outfit holds a memory.  Plus, if my next baby is a girl, I can't let go of all of these sweet pink outfits yet.

a little trinket box...I'm a February birthday too, just 4 days after Aurora's!

a little t-shirt collection...shh, don't tell Jayme about the #1 Daughter top!

 

one of my baby bracelets

 I love seeing Aurora with all of these things.  It also got me to thinking about the intangible things that I want (and don't want) to pass down to her.  I hope she has my thick hair, sense of humor, and intelligence.  I hope she doesn't have: My thighs. My tendency to doubt myself and my abilities. My lack of common sense/clumsiness.

Of course, a few of those "bad" qualities are inevitable, but at least now I have the skills to provide her with some coping strategies! (Except for the thighs...when the pear-shape is passed down, there's pretty much no escaping it.)

xo,
Amanda