Wardrobe Basics: Play Date to Date Night - The Maxi Skirt

I've found that I am rather lazy.  If a recipe is fussy, I won't make it, or will skip steps like they're going out of style.  I wear a skirt/dress all Sunday long not for any spiritual reason, but because I can't be bothered to come up with a second outfit when the first was hard enough.

So when we have those few and blessed out-of-the-house dates and I'm frantically trying to get jammies and dinner and diapers and everything else set out for the minions so the babysitter doesn't have to hunt anything down, the last thing on my mind is coming up with another cute outfit.

I've found there are a few pieces in my wardrobe, and probably yours, that transition really well from day to night, even if the day look just involves reading books on the couch or playing at the park.  Over the next few weeks, I'll show you how with a little forethought the morning of, I can easily get away with one outfit that suits (pun entirely intended) all my needs.

The Maxi Skirt

We'll kick things off with an easy one - the maxi skirt.  Because I'm sure everyone is not sick of hearing about the virtues of maxi skirts.

But really - they're popular for a reason.  I have to say, it took me a while to find a maxi or two that I love.  The uber voluminous ones just don't work on me, but ones with a little slimmer profile are great.  So if you've shied away thus far, consider trying out a slightly different style.

In any case, maxis are great because they provide daytime comfort and coverage, but can still easily be dressed up for night.  This pretty and flowy coral one is perfect for both occasions.

Play Date

Easy, breezy.  Simple tee tied in a fun and easy knot, flowy skirt that provides coverage if you need to crawl around for crumbs, a watch, and simple but cute sandals.  Glasses if you're feeling especially alert and peppy.


Date Night

Throw on some pretty, chunky gold jewelry and wedges, take a few minutes to actually put on some makeup/contacts,  and tame your hair into a slightly-less-messy knot.  Set!

Simple, right?

Outfit details: Tee: Loft (thrifted); Skirt: Target; Both Sandals: Target (old); Necklace/Earrings: Forever 21/old; Watch: c/o Daniel Wellington; Bracelets: India/c/o Yuni Kelley

Grinchy Monday

So this morning I was minding my own lazy business by ignoring the toddler's 5th request to get him out of his crib but then changing his mind when I got there and focusing on important post-vacation things (email) instead.

Of course he took my 2.3 second delay as an opportunity to climb out of his crib (which he's successfully and regularly done for the past several months...justification, I smell?) and injure his wrist.  No swelling and still has range of movement thus far (more from the defense attorney) but it sufficiently freaked us all that the rest of the morning was spent doling out offers of cuddles and brownies and videos of that one muppet we all know and love (bigwink), all with a large dose of guilt.

And then I tripped and almost fell allll the way over.  While holding the baby.

Here's to hoping your Monday has been equally excellent.

Weeknight Vegetarian: Toasted Coconut cream Ice Cream

What, you don't have ice cream for dinner?

This was actually Mother's Day dessert, c/o my husband who knows me all-too-well, but I easily would eat it for dinner.  And it's vegetarian.  And, quite possibly, the best ice cream I've ever eaten.  Counts, right?

Toasted Coconut Cream Ice Cream
adapted from The Perfect Scoop, David Lebovitz

1 cup dried, shredded coconut
1 cup whole milk
2 cups coconut cream
3/4 cup sugar
Big pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
5 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Spread coconut on baking sheet and toast for 5-8 minutes, stirring frequently, until it is golden brown.

2. In a medium saucepan, warm milk, 1 cup of coconut cream, sugar, salt, and toasted coconut.  Using a small knife, scrape vanilla seeds into the warm milk, then add the whole pod.  Cover, remove from heat, and steep at room temperature for 1 hour.

3. Rewarm milk mixture.  Remove the vanilla bean pieces.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks.  Slowly pour the warm coconut-milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the mixture back into the saucepan.  Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat, scraping the bottom, until the mixture thickens enough to coat a spatula.  Stir the remaining 1 cup of coconut cream into the saucepan.  Mix in vanilla and stir until cool over an ice bath.

4. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then churn in your ice cream maker.

 

  

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PS - It's the last day to enter to win a pretty pair of earrings from Blue Nile!

Wonder & Smiles

My book club recently read a sweet little book called Wonder.  It's about a boy with a facial deformity who has been homeschooled all his life, until now, when he enters middle school.  It delves into his thoughts, the thoughts of his family, and the thoughts of some of his newfound friends.  I loved that it didn't make most of the characters into "good" or "bad," but rather, had a spectrum of gray that provided interesting insight.  It's given me more thought into some of those struggles.

Many of you are probably familiar with Operation Smile, an organization that works to heal cleft lip, cleft palate, and other facial deformities around the world.  They are truly incredible and do so much good and save so many lives (for free!) across the globe.  Campus Book Rentals is working with them to donate over 1,000 life-saving cleft lip surgeries this year, which is really humbling.  I love that their focus is on facilitating education (their new program, RentBack allows students to rent out past textbooks to other students), but they use their resources toward corporate social responsibility, which was a big interest of mine in business school.

If you're a student, definitely check them out, and I definitely recommend Wonder to anyone looking for an inspiring middle-grade book.



Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Campus Book Rentals, but all opinions and recommendations are my own.