Frock Me Friday > Shanties?

Today I'm going to tell you a tale of when I was a girl and I became slightly obsessed with Nair hair removal commercials. You know, the ones where those bouncy teen aged girls danced around on the beach and sang that mind numbingly catchy song, "Who wears short shorts?! We wear short, shorts!" That song, not the hair removal part - I was eight, was my and all my little friends summer anthem as we (in our summer shorts) jumped on my bed, belting out our love for short, shorts.

Now that I'm not so little, my love for the song still goes strong, but now in my head it goes a little something like this: "Who loves mid - to lower thigh short, shorts. We love, mid - to lower thigh short, shorts. Yes we do!

Have you seen the summer shorts in fashion recently? They are more like panties pretending to be shorts. Shanties!! And they are everywhere. It is a sign of the bad economy when retailers are saving on fabric costs by selling high priced booty shorts??

Really if you think about it the only people that legally pull off short shorts with the fashion police are supermodel Giselle Bundchen, anyone that has never been visited by the cellulite fairy (that's where it comes from in my mind -it's DEFINITELY not from my love of Dairy Queen cool treats), and Tom Selleck circa Magnum PI; another thing I was obsessed with as a girl. Yes, I was an odd child.

If you are Richard Simmons (seriously Richard, when your white man afro is bigger than your shorts, it is time to get SOME LONGER SHORTS) or have children that will fake a seizure to make sure you don't go out in public in short shorts; it is time to stay away from said short, shorts!

For the safety and respectability of all, here are some great - not so short shorts, that won't look like granny ware and are fashionably cute:

Shorts
Shorts

Shorts
Shorts

Happy Frock Me Friday!

~Angela

Dear Me > Last Day Of School

In what feels like a blink of an eye, once again school is out for summer. All across the country, mother's everywhere are gearing up for a three month free-for-all, by stocking up on pool toys, sunscreen, ear plugs, and for some of us, large glasses of wine.

 

Personally I sort of have a mixed bag of feelings about summer vacation. Part of me breaks into a cold sweat thinking about three wild boys running around my house looking for mischief something to do for eight hours a day. The images that come to my mind look a little like "Lord of the Flies".

A much bigger part of me though, delights in the idea of laid back mornings in our jammies, afternoons by the pool, dripping ice cream cones, and evenings spent roasting marshmallows. What's not to love about that?

Most of all, what I really love about summer break, is that it gives us moms (and grandmas!), after nine months of school projects, sports practice, flash cards and homework, the time to rediscover our children all over again.

Most of the time it feels as though my family and I are just on one big hamster wheel of life during the school year. We rise with the sun and rush to get ready for the day, scramble to make school lunches, and then race for the bus. Then it's off to run errands, doctor and dentist appointments, emptying the dishwasher, and folding never ending mountains of laundry. When the kids come from school it's a race for a quick snack, homework, then we all spread out for practice for whichever sport we are playing at the time. Dinner comes late in the evening, after which we finish up the rest of the homework, shower off the boy stink, and then collapse into bed. Then we wake up the next day and do it all over again. And on and on, around the hamster wheel we go.

Don't get me wrong though, my family weirdly thrives on a packed schedule and we do spend a lot of time together as a family because of it; but in our daily rush some of the spontaneity and closeness of just having some down time together gets lost in the hustle.

Summertime is a time to get silly with your kids, to stay up late gazing up at the stars to catch a comet, and for eating ice cream for breakfast. Somewhere in between the long bike rides, lazy picnic lunches, and skipping rock contests, it happens. Everyone's shoulders start to relax, those goofy personalities we love so much come out to play, and we once again see our carefree children that had once been so stressed out about playing, "Bah Bah Black Sheep" in their upcoming recorder concert.

Instead of fighting who gets to the bus first, brothers once again share whispered secrets while digging in the mud for worms, or giggles over inappropriate songs about body parts; instead of throwing erasers at each other's heads at the homework table. 

Moms get sweet hugs with sticky fingers and late night cuddles on the couch. On long walks by the river; preteen boys (who are still little boys to their mamas) share tales of their school friends that their mom didn't even know they had, and ask big questions their moms are never prepared to answer.

Mostly, summer for me, gives back some of that time from when they were little and we had them all to ourselves. We knew every triumph and tragedy in their little world and mostly all of their secrets.

I think back on how I couldn't wait for them to start preschool - for a tiny bit of independence for them and for me, but now I count the days until the summer sun comes out, and I see glimpses of those grubby little boys whose only worry is when their next snack is. I've got three months and gallons of ice cream ahead of me and I couldn't be happier!

Happy Summer Break!

~Angela

Frock Me Friday > Where Are My Thongs?

Weeeee'rrrre back!! Sorry for the radio silence, rolling tumbleweeds, and chirping crickets, but Laurie and I needed some serious recovery time after the big wedding. (Which was fabulous! More on that to come...) We are now officially back in the blogging saddle, and oh how we've missed you all!

Back to business though....

No, I wasn't talking about THAT kind of thong.

Although, I'm embarrassed to admit that years ago someone had to inform me that NO ONE was using the word "thongs" anymore. Sheesh! When did that happen, I wondered? The kind of thongs that go on your feet were now referred to as "flip flops" hence forth, explained my wise pop culture guru. "Thong" is now only used when describing seriously uncomfortable underwear that originated from Brazil, or a horrible late 90's songs.

Go figure. Just between you and me though, they will always be thongs to me and my inner 80's child. So there.

Luckily for you and me it's that time of year to break out that toe friendly foot wear! After all, nothing says summer, like a fresh pedicure and a pair of fabulous thongs flip flops. Check out some that have me matching up nail polish colors:

Summer Flip Flops by glossyflossy featuring floral print shoes

summer flip flops 2 by glossyflossy featuring strap shoes

Here's some looks to get you inspired:

Navy/Cream Stripe ruffle dress by cheesemyhead featuring volcom shoes

Striped Maxi Skirt by cheesemyhead featuring a denim jacket

Jason Wu Dress by bluehydrangea featuring jute handbags

Tangerine Summer Dream by ster-dub featuring stud earrings

Happy Frock Me Friday!

~Angela