• budget,  fashion,  spring

    My French Inspired Outfits

    I ordered a few items from Vivi et Margot a couple months ago and they inspired me to put together a few outfits that made me think of France. Even though I grew up in France and have visited a few times since then, I do not think that I am an expert about French fashion: I think of classy and classic when I think of French style, of stripes and white button downs but I think most people do not have a particular style unless they live in more metropolitan areas. At least that was my experience growing up there. Teenagers in my private school were all about brands…

  • outdoors,  travel

    Atlanta Botanical Gardens: Origami Exhibit

    A few weeks ago, a friend and I planned a playdate at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens with our youngests and after some deliberation, I decided to also take his two brothers as I was already planning to take them out of school early as it was Holy Friday. They really enjoyed our outing and are voting that we get our own family membership to the gardens. We were very thankful to be able to go free with our friend but would love the opportunity to go at any time. It was also Earth day so there were a few activities for the children and the weather was a nice spring…

  • fashion,  spring

    Happy Birthday, Ada! Express Dress for Multiple Occasions

    Today’s blog post is in honor of Ada’s (Elegance and Mommyhood) birthday! We have been cohosting the Sunday Showcase for almost 2 years now and have developed our friendship through messaging and phone calls. As busy moms it is sometimes hard to touch base but the ease of messaging or texting each helps us keep in touch. Hopefully, we will be able to meet in the near future! Ada’s has a lovely sense of style and I love how she often wear light and airy dresses and rompers. She wears colors so well and knows where to shop.  I would say, Loft, Express and Target are her top choices and…

  • fashion,  spring,  Sunday Showcase

    Sunday Showcase: Mothers Day Brunch Dresses

    Mother’s day is coming up! Will you dress up and wear a favorite outfit? Will you dress down and wear something cozy? Today,  I am sharing one of my dresses that would be one of my top 3 choices to wear. I have worn this dress to a wedding as well as this year Pascha’s night matins and Liturgy. My mom gave it to be a couple of years ago and I really felt pretty wearing it on this occasion. Don’t forget to stop by Ada’s blog to see more about her outfit details! She is wearing the cutest spring dress with her daughters and love how sweet they look.…

  • budget,  fashion

    March and April Budget Recap

    At the beginning of the year, I decided I wanted to keep track of how much I was spending on clothes and what I was buying. I also wanted to decide whether I regretted any of my purchases and wanted to spend less retail and more thrifting. Sadly I haven’t done much thrifting but have bought more second hand as on Poshmark and Ebay (see my January/February recap). KellyAnn (here is her last Closet Confessions) inspired me to share my clothes budget recap to help me be more accountable and to give you another real insight on what others spend on clothes and why they make certain purchases. Please remember…

  • hikes,  outdoors,  travel

    Tips for Hiking With Kids: Spruce Flat Falls

    You would think that with all of the hiking we do on vacations and on the weekends  that we would be experts about hiking with our kids. We have hiked with them since they were babies, first in carriers and then a combination of carrier and walking until around age 4 when they walk all of the way. On this hike at Spruce Flat Falls, we encountered some difficulties with extreme crankiness that could have been easily solved with my number one tip! Tip #1 Bring snacks and water! This is the only hike where we left both in the car and it was not a happy mistake: the complaining…

  • budget,  fashion,  hikes,  outdoors,  spring

    Recap: Hiking Outfits for the Great Smoky Mountains

    I packed a variety of comfortable clothes for our spring break and put together my outfits by rolling them in my packing cubes. It took less space and made getting dressed easier. I did purchase a few things on this trip and I will share those items soon. Here is a recap of what I wore and which activities we did on those days. This is what I wore when we hiked Laurel Falls Branch except that this sweatshirt is a souvenir sweatshirt I picked up in Townsend on the way back. We spent the evening by the river and made a fire. I did not attempt to fish as…

  • travel,  zoos and aquariums

    Parrot Mountain, Pigeon Forge

    During our spring break in the Great Smoky Mountains, I wanted to do an activity that did not involve hiking. After briefly looking at the prices of Dollywood (that a budget friendly place for a family of 6), I looked up animal or zoo places nearby. Parrot Mountain popped up and reading about them online, I decided that our family would love it: I was not wrong! Parrot Mountain is actually 2 min from Dollywood and a mere 30 minutes from where we stayed near Townsend, TN. It is a family owned business on 4 acres and has a variety of birds. Tickets for adults are 24.95 and 12.95 for…

  • ageless style link up,  budget,  fashion,  spring

    April Showers with Ageless Style Link Up

    I absolutely loved this theme chosen by Leslie of Once Upon a Time Happily Ever After. I knew I would use my pretty and inexpensive umbrella from Aldi but wasn’t sure what I would wear. Then a couple of weeks ago, Jodie of Jodie Touch of Style shared a look that Lesley wore and I knew that was the one! I shopped my closet to create something similar. I really love an all white look and I have done this a couple of times on the blog with different pieces. This time I really liked Lesley’s idea of using black accessories. I tried adding a belt but it didn’t look…

  • fashion,  spring,  Ways to wear

    4 Ways to Wear a Floral Skirt

    While we were on vacation, I found two pretty floral items and today I am sharing the floral skirt I picked up at the TjMaxx in Maryville, TN. On a side note, that was the best TjMaxx I have ever been in. My pictures don’t really do this skirt justice and I will say that I prefer the fitted options with it but I wanted to show some variety in styling. Casual with a Sweatshirt I wore this outfit while on vacation: we had intended to go to our friends’ church on a spur of the moment and I did not have plain shoes nor a skirt. So I picked…