Enjoying the Small Things

Enjoying the Small Things

Earring of the Month

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This post is sponsored by Pair Piercing.

It was 1986. I was school shopping for the first day of second grade when I spotted a pair of yellow hoop earrings I was sure my dad wouldn’t let me get, but he said yes and thus the perfect back-to-school outfit was complete–a Modonna-esque trifecta of miniskirt, bulky yellow sweater and hoop earrings. I felt like an Esprit ad, the ultimate 80’s mark of confidence. I don’t remember any of the other earrings I wore as a kid, but I remember the hoops because of the memory with my dad and the way they made me feel.

Fast forward thirty-three years later, and I’m watching Lainey tuck wayward wisps of hair behind her ear as she slips the perfect delicate pair of heart hoops in.

“Did I ever tell you about the yellow hoop earrings I never thought my dad would let me get?” I asked her. I know I’ve told her.

We made our own little rite-of-passage moment from earrings last month when, after weeks of anticipation, Lainey sat next to her best friend she had been reunited with in Chicago, and the two of them got their ears double pierced together. Instantly, they seemed older. We commemorated the event with photos, they texted their friends, and the moment was filed under things I know they will remember.

It’s this rite of passage that inspired the idea behind Pair Piercing, a subscription box for girls that not only includes a beautiful pair of hypoallergenic, skin-friendly earrings (designed by luxury Brooklyn jeweler Page Sargisson) but meaningful expert-designed conversation starters on collectible stickers to help encourage heart-to-heart conversations with your daughter.

You get to choose all the details from how long you want the subscription (3, 6 or 12 month and you don’t have to remember to cancel it–it ends when you say it ends) to what earring club you prefer (Sterling Silver, Gold Vermeil or 14k Gold).

Your first box will also include an acrylic earring stand for organizing and displaying earrings.

I love all the meaningful details packed into each Pair Piercing box and how each pair of earrings is thoughtfully designed, age appropriate (Lainey loved the little “#/@” mismatch pair in one of the boxes!) and made to last. These are the keepsake earrings.

It’s the perfect gift for any tweent girl and a great way to celebrate milestones. And…just in time for Valentine’s Day! Have a little girl with pierced ears you want to show some love to? Order by February 8th for Valentine’s delivery. Join Pair Earring of the Month Club, and use Code ETST for $15 off.

I know there are a lot of subscription box products on the rise, but it’s so much fun when you find one that’s perfectly fitting for your child. The Pair Piercing box fits Lainey to a T, and I love that it’s more than just earrings; it’s about connecting and finding meaning in these little rites of passage buried in childhood.

As time feels like it slips by a little faster these days, it’s nice to have reminders to cherish these moments.

The little hearts on her ears are working.

What to Wear: Coordinating Family Looks for the Holiday Card Photo

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I know, I know, it’s not even Halloween yet, but in the photographer’s world, this is prime family photo season as families across the globe scramble to put outfits together for the annual Christmas card photo in an attempt to “get it over with” before things get crazy. With the big boys out of the house and more harried schedules for all of us, our annual family photo does, of course, bring a teeny bit of stress; but it’s a tradition that yields images we’ll cherish for years to come and often the only ones from the year that capture all of us together (looking half decent). In a perfect world, our annual family photo would be one of the beautiful unplanned, uncoordinated moments in our home where no one’s looking, no one’s matching, and the magic of our love casts an aura across the lens, but let’s face it. Those moments are hard to capture. So, a coordinated family photo it is for us.

So, the big question for so many families is…what do we wear? Oooh, oooh, I know this one! (hand waving dramatically) Pick me! Pick me! Coordinating outfits for family photos is one of my favorite things to do–so much, I’ve been known to take over this job for many of my friends’ photos (they willingly give it to me). Today, I’m sharing a few tips for choosing clothes for family photos as well as four themed style guides, and tomorrow I’ll be back with tips on attempting your own photos if hiring a photographer isn’t in the budget. Last year, Heidi got stuck in traffic on the way to our family photo shoot, so I handed the camera to a friend who was tagging along, and ten minutes later, our photos were done. It doesn’t have to be a big production.

A few things to consider…

Will the photos be displayed in your home?
If you intend to enlarge and display photos from your shoot, you’re going to want to consider the color palette of your home in choosing outfits. A selection of bright and fun jewel tone clothes, for instance, probably wouldn’t be the best choice if you’re going to display a large image in a living room with muted earth tones.

DON’T GO MATCHY MATCHY!
When I used to do more family photography and a family reported they were considering white shirts and khaki pants for all, I’d A: Get it together to keep my sarcasm in check, and then B: Calmy guide Florence toward a less 1989-Olan-Mills look. Sometimes it sounded like, “Hell no, Flo.” Might I suggest the following rules: Do not have everyone wear primary colored polos. One polo is okay. Five colored polos says,”We are going on a rainbow golf outing, and our mom is forcing us all to wear these.” Two people wearing jeans is okay. Six people wearing the same shade of blue jeans with black turtlenecks says, “We are in a cult, and this photo is going to show up in an Internet meme in T-minus-two-days.”  BREAK IT UP.

Throw in something unexpected.
Mix prints. A bright pop of color. Have someone wear a graphic tee. Bright pink with light pink. Wear a dress, but skip the dress shoes for sneakers. Break the rules. I love throwing something unexpected in our outfits–it keeps it from looking too perfect. One year, Austyn showed up to our shoot wearing camo shorts, and while I didn’t love it at first, it added such a great unexpected element and made our photos more fun. As if chasing Dash that year wasn’t fun enough.

Choose clothes that represent your kids’ personalities
If your kid dresses like a skater, let him dress like a skater for the family photo. If your daughter loves wearing Chuck Taylors, choose the Chuck Taylors to go with her dress for family photos. If your little one is wonderfully wild and crazy, let it show in the photos. Dash’s sweater in last year’s photo had a giant tiger on it, and I love it because it’s so him. In other words, don’t button up the things you love about your family for the photo…let it loose in the clothes you choose. You can coordinate and dress it up a little while still hanging on to everyone’s personality.

Keep it casual.
The best photos are ones that maintain a natural feel and ones where everyone looks comfortable. If everyone’s dressed like they’re going to a prom formal, likely no one’s comfortable, and it will show in posture and strained facial expressions.

Now that that’s out of the way, here are four color palettes with sources that show how outfits can come together with a coordinated feel without being too matchy. Note the unexpected elements in each ensemble–pops of color, leopard print touches, sequins and mixed shades. Now, can you guess which set is my favorite?

E A R T H   T O N E S

1. Dad
H & M Men’s Sweater
H & M Men’s Black Slim Jeans
H & M Men’s Desert Boots

2. Mom
H & M Women’s Ruffled Dress
Zara High Heel Leather Boots

3. Sister
Old Navy Oatmeal Ruffle Sleeve Sweater
Old Navy Girls’ Ballet Pink Jeggings
Zara Girls’ Ankle Boots

4. Sister
Zara Floral Print Dress
Wonder Nation Girls’ High Boots

H & M Boys’ Rust Slim-Fit Twill Pants

5. Brother
Mabo Kids Charcoal Stripe Tee
H & M Slim Fit Pants
Old Navy Sueded Boat Shoes

 

M O O D Y   B L U E S

1. Dad
H & M Men’s Light Blue Sweater
H & M Men’s Skinny Cords

2. Mom
Zara Women’s Cobalt Sweater 
Zara Animal Print Skirt
Noonday Collection Timber Hoop Earrings
And Other Stories Suede Kitten Heels (have the serious wants for these babies)

3. Sister
Gap Girls’ Ice Blue Bobble-Knit Sweater
Nordstrom Girls’ Wide Leg Jeans
Old Navy Faux Suede Flats

4. Brother
Boys’ Bear Graphic Sweater
H & M Boys’ Slim Jeans
Cat & Jack Sneakers

5. Sister
Janie & Jack Cobalt Knit Dress
H & M Navy Satin Ballet Flats

 

T H E   F U N   F A M I L Y

1. Dad
J. Crew Slub Knit Tee
Men’s Red Adidas

2. Mom
H & M Women’s Pink Sweater
Banana Republic Women’s Yellow Pants
J.Crew Silver Sequin Boots (on my birthday wish list)

3. Sister
Hanna Andersson Fair Isle Sweater (in my cart right now)
Cat & Jack Girls’ Skinny Jeans
Pink Converse

4. Brother
Boden Boys’ Stripe Tee
Cat & Jack Jeans
Boys’ Suede Pumas

5. Sister
Shein Green Dress
L’Amour Yellow Flats

C L A S S I C   C H R I S T M A S

1. Dad
Old Navy Jade Sweater

2. Mom
Boden Women’s Riley Blouse (obsessed with this blouse!)
Gap Women’s Red Plaid Pants
Zara Slingbacks

3. Sister
Zara Striped Sweater
Zara Girls’ Buttoned Pants
Zara Red Boots

4. Brother
Janie & Jack Fair Isle Sweater
Old Navy Jeans
Gap Mid-top Dress Sneakers

5. Sister
Next Direct Navy Dot Tea Dress
Gap Gold Sequin Flats

Round Rattan Bag 4 Ways

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I’ve determined the It Bag of the summer is a chic round rattan bag, popping up on sites and in stores everywhere and fitting in nicely with my summer dreams of picnicking, strolling beach docks and looking chicer than I ever will in real life. I mean, the jig is up–I’m the girl who drags toilet paper from her shoe. A girl can dream though, and dreams for this chic rattan bag come in so many flavors because this bag is a blank canvas begging to be jazzed up with accessories and colors. As for the bag itself, I fell in love with this one and this one but didn’t want to pay that much, so I found this one for $30, and it’s perfect.

Now comes the fun part–accessorizing. Four easy ways to transform your bag:

So quick and easy to switch out and depending what scarf you choose, you can make the bag take an elegant vibe or make it summery and fun (like this kid version with multiple gingham scarves).

This was really just a way to slip in my Shrinky Dink obsession, but still–I love it! Inspired by this project we did last year, we made three fruit tags and tied them on with a little string.

Want to step it up a notch?

Looks like a totally new bag. We dug through our craft bins to find some pom-poms and stitched them on with a needle and some embroidery floss. The basket weave of the rattan makes it easy to slip needles in and out, and just a few stitches held our pom-poms in place. If you want to change it up again, you can clip the stitches out and start from scratch–which you’ll totally want to do because there’s one more transformation…a full rainbow.

This one is, of course, my favorite and surprisingly didn’t take long at all. I used a thicker needle with a bigger eye so I could thread chunky rainbow yarn through. The needle is a little more blunt but still poked through the inside lining of the bag without a problem. I started each color arc securing a knot on the inside of the bag and threading the needle in and out of the bag 4-5 times to hold the shape of the rainbow arc and securing another knot on the inside. Repeat with each color.

Only one thing left to do–fill the bag with used wadded Kleenex, capless lip balms, snack crumbs, loose dimes, Band-Aids that fell out of their wrappers and a pen with no ink to make it mom ready. Let’s go.