diy: a first birthday party

so i am fully aware that nobody except for me wants to see this many pictures of my child but it was his first birthday and he is the cutest so you'll just have to deal with it :)

we had a great party on memorial day weekend with a ton of cake and a pancake breakfast. he loved it all: the people, the presents, the food. we were so happy most of our friends and family could share this special day with us. logan only had one mini meltdown when one of his little friends started crying and it scared him into a hysterical cry as well. it was actually a little bit funny for us parents to watch.

my mom and i made a banana shaped cake, cinnamon cupcakes, a chocolate coconut loaf, an apple cinnamon loaf and my all time favorite: my godmother's recipe for carrot cake. we also had fruit salad, strawberry and pineapple skewers, a vegetable pizza courtesy of the MIL, iced tea with mint from the garden and freshly squeezed lemonade.

i never got a chance to take pictures of the decorations and food set up before people came so this is all i have. i used streamers and balloons indoors and out on the porch. i made logan his shirt with the appliqued number one on it and he actually kept it quite clean all day long. the birthday invites are my own design as well and will be available in my shop as a diy printable/download later this summer.

so that was his party. low key, all diy, not a crazy amount of people - just right.

i still can't believe my baby is now a toddler.

happy first birthday little man! mama and papa love you so much.

the life of the jet setting family

if you're into rating your days on a scale of 1- 10, thursday was kind of a bummer for us. probably a 3 or a 4. we had to say goodbye for a whole month as the hubby left for another road trip and the rest of us will be leaving for germany in a few days until he finally meets up with us there in july. needless to say, the whole preceding week was somewhat overshadowed by impending departures. 

i hate that feeling of restlessness that always creeps up in me before an upcoming trip. we are such frequent travelers you'd think it wouldn't phase me anymore... but that nervous feeling deep down in my stomach still makes a return every time. i get stressed out over things i still have to get done before we leave and totally overwhelmed to the point of where i just want to crawl into bed and curl up in a ball to hide from the pressure of leaving my life behind for 6 weeks. 

i worry about packing, that we will forget something important, about the house and the dogs, my garden, bills getting paid on time, the hubby being by himself - missing his little guy and me (hopefully) ;)... oh, you get the point! 

don't get me wrong, i look forward to each and every trip, my family, all the things i miss when i'm here at home but i hate the days leading up to it. 

so thursday was one step closer to me feeling normal again. does that sound weird? not seeing my husband for a whole month brings me closer to feeling normal again? 

well, the way i see it, it is just an inevitable part of our life. it will always be this way and i have accepted it and learned to deal with all the craziness that comes with being a bicultural family. we started out like this and we continue to be torn between two places. 

once my feet step off that plane and all our bags have safely arrived at the baggage claim i know the real excitement will set in. that's when i relax and i'll be ready to take it all in once again. that's when i'm home again. 

a guide to pattern mixing

I shared this over at love stitched last week so you may have seen it already. If not here is my very own take on pattern mixing. 

Pattern mixing can be simplified to fit your everyday needs quite easily. Plus, it is a ton of fun :) Most of you are probably already "beginning pattern mixers". A floral dress with a striped handbag, a striped skirt, white tee and a dotted scarf? 

These are outfits most of us pair up on a daily basis and yes, they are considered pattern mixing. If you’re really apprehensive about mixing your patterns and haven’t even done these before, this is probably the best way for you to start. The effect is subtle but it's there and you don't have to worry that you're overdoing it. And as a bonus, you probably already have everything you need to pattern mix in that closet of yours. Don't you love it when you don't have to go out and spend any money to create a few new outfits? 


If you’re already bored of the beginning pattern mixing stage, how about taking it a step further with these options? 

floral blouse, leopard flats by John Lewis, skirt from topshop, striped tank from general pants co., vivian polka dot satchel from brahmin

Pair your favorite jeans with a flowy, floral top and add a twist with an animal print belt and flats. Not into the animal print thing? How about your favorite skirt a striped tank and a patterned bag? Make sure to stick to 2-3 colors to keep your outfit cohesive. 
A boldly patterned handbag that ties in the same color of the skirt you’re wearing will do just that. Also make sure to keep your textures to a minimum. A pleated skirt shouldn’t be paired with a heavy knit cardigan or a ruched blouse when you’re pattern mixing.

Even though I like to be creative when it comes to my own outfits I am also one to stick to the shapes and patterns that I know look good on me. Anyone else addicted to stripes? Well, my closet includes an overabundance of stripes so I like to pattern mix different stripes together. 


If you’re not really comfortable with pattern mixing (yet) but want to give it a try, make sure to stick to the shapes and patterns that you love and that flatter you most. You will feel so much more comfortable and be able to wear you new look with confidence. 

floral dress by romwe, striped bag from debenhams, tsumori chisato striped skirt "cats"

Another basic principle that works for me when it comes to pattern mixing is to stay away from too many accessories. I am more of minimalistic dresser and don’t wear much jewelry at all. When pattern mixing, you want those patterns to speak for themselves instead of having the focus diverted to a bright necklace and big earrings on top of that attention grabbing handbag.

If you are really into accessories make sure to make them part of your pattern mixing and don't go overboard - less is more. 


One final rule I always follow: Never wear more then 3 patterns in the same outfit!

the perfect end to a perfect day

This story has a long introduction but the mushy ending is coming, I promise!

Last Wednesday was one of those days you remember for years to come, one of those days you make great memories. We spent the day as a family, just the three of us, no stress and no obligations, away from all the things that needed done back at home. Jason has been working so hard lately and between all the road trips, different time zones and busy home stands we barely get to spend any time together. So when the first off day in 3 weeks finally rolled around we had great plans to go see the baseball game (how ironic!), stroll through the city, stop wherever looked good, eat great food and finally, instead of driving home, to just spend the night at a downtown hotel.

We made it through 8 innings of the game no problem but then the missed nap time really started to show its evil face. So we made our way to the hotel, a brand new stuffed animal parrot in hand and took a little break before heading back out into the city. We strolled around, bought groceries, stopped for coffee and tea with a sleeping toddler in the stroller and soaked in lots of sunshine along the way. On the way back we had dinner at Atrias and sat outside right by the river while the sun slowly started to set. By the time we got back to the hotel with our full bellies and aching feet it was just past bedtime for the little man. Bath time in the hotel tub turned out to be more of an adventure than in our boring old tub at home and soon our dirty little guy tuned back into that clean, deliciously smelling babe.
Hopeful for a quite night we lowered our usually perfect sleeper down into the hotel crib but quickly realized that he wasn't having any of it. Different bed, new smells and alone in a strange place - not the perfect combination for a quiet night.

After taking the "he probably just needs to cry for 10 minutes then he'll be asleep" route for a while and the hubby trying to rock him to sleep for 15 minutes, I ended up on the hotel couch, with a tired babe on my chest. As we laid there and I was watching him fight so hard to keep those big blue eyes open, staring intently at his mama and making sure she didn't decide to leave I realized how much I had missed these moments over the last months. Oh the warmth that ran through my entire body just holding him like I used to after he was first born and what now feels like a million years ago.

When he finally gave in to sleep and closed his eyes I watched him relax every muscle in his tiny body and even though I could have easily put him down into the crib at that point, I stayed exactly where I was, just holding him for a little while longer, while he actually let me. I started thinking about the past year and remembered the anticipation we felt at that same time just a year ago, how blessed we are to have him in our lives. Sure, times were tough once in a while but through it all we have grown closer as a family and received so much love from such a small person.

When I eventually put him down to sleep and closed that awful squealing door behind me it was late and the hubby and I hadn't gotten to have that quiet evening to ourselves. It really didn't matter though because for me it was still the perfect ending to a perfect day in every way imaginable.

instagram fashion round up

sorry for a no post yesterday. the hubby had a couple of off days, the first in a few weeks and we spent the day at a baseball game and then picked up my mama from the airport yesterday.

i thought i'd share some of my outfit shots from instagram today. can you tell i have a thing for stripes and polka dots? and how about that essie tart deco nail polish - the perfect peachy color for me. i wish i had time and most of all a photographer on hand to take more pictures for outfit posts but a lot of the time i don't. these are the instagrams i take everyday so you also get the evidence of the days i spend at home, in sweats, chasing after a toddler and wishing i had time to take a shower. not very glamorous, just keepin' it real folks.

if you want to follow me on instagram, i am @theforgestyle

speaking of that toddler, he is having a birthday this weekend and we are in full on preparation mode over here. i will do a post on his party next week.

until then i'm wishing you all a wonderful weekend :)

how-to: a guide to organizing and cleaning out your closet

the trouble with shopping is...

well, i guess most of you probably know just as well as i do what the trouble with shopping is, right?
if you're like me you love to shop and you love a good bargain. a combination that can be quite dangerous if you're not careful.
over the last 10 years or so i accumulated quite the collection in my closet.
a collection of things that even made it through a move from one continent to another
(no kidding, i sent about 4 big boxes of stuff which surprisingly all made it) and another move from one house to another.

now you'd think that moving may be a good time to go through your things and throw away or donate what you no longer use or wear, since you're already boxing things up anyway. well, i have a slight problem with throwing things away. they usually accumulate in a corner somewhere until one day i finally sit down to go through them, sort, throw things away and most likely create another pile somewhere else. it's not that i have a real emotional connection with these things or that i really need them but i have a need to make sure i spent the time to inspect carefully and make a conscious decision to let things go.

of course over the years i have gotten rid of clothing, given it away and even removed old high school and college t-shirts from my husbands closet. still, i always felt overwhelmed when it came to cleaning out my own mess of a closet. one time the shelving on the one side of my walk-in closet actually came off the wall and with it a big jumbled mess of fabric and hangers. so that was the first time i truly realized i probably had way too many clothes and started to fill a bag for donations and another bag to sell. another big indicator for me was that i started feeling lost and frustrated in my own closet when it came to picking outfits. i never felt that i liked most of the things i owned or that i was truly in love with a lot of my purchases.

it has taken me a lot of time to admit to myself that i need to be a more thoughtful shopper. i know what i like but sometimes that means that i have to spend more time researching where to buy and how much money to spend. i love places that offer trendy clothing for only a few bucks but i have also come to realize that those items are the ones that i hardly ever wear or that quickly end up with seams unravelling or ripping.

so last week i  got down to business once again and really cleaned out.
this time i filled up three bags, took them to goodwill and threw away a good bit as well.
i have kept my system of color coordinating so things are easier to find and you know where to look.
i have to admit that i felt such relief once all of these things were gone. i now walk into my closet and i don't feel lost and frustrated anymore.
i still have to go through most of my pants and there are a ton of purses i haven't even touched yet but i made progress and that's all that counts.

here are some pointers and rules i followed on how to clean out your closet to make it more manageable:

• if you haven't worn it in 3 months it needs to go
• if it's not in season it should be stored in a container in your attic, basement, another closet or under your bed (space bags are your best friend)
• if it has your high school/college name/team on it keep a couple of favorites and toss the rest (or make a memory quilt)
• organize your closet by color and style. that way you will see exactly where you need to lighten the load
• if it doesn't fit or you don't feel comfortable in it, donate it - don't keep it because you may one day lose those extra 5 pounds 
• if it has holes or stains that you can't fix or remove, it needs to go
• keep your favorite wardrobe staples such as the little black dress, blazer, a great fitting white t-shirt, skinny jeans etc. but be selective - you don't need 10 of the same!
• donate or give things away to friends/family - it will make you feel good and brighten their day
• sell items on auction platforms such as ebay to make a little bit of extra cash but make sure to only sell items that people want to buy
• sell things at a yard sale or consignment store/sale in your area
• leave enough room between clothes for you to move them easily, it'll help you when putting outfits together and shows you where there may be room for those items that are still missing in your closet 
• buy things you truly love that are of high quality and will last you a long time
• when buying into trends you are not 100% sure about be careful not to spend a ton of money 

so that's how i got my closet back under control. of course i still love to shop and always will :)
i would love to hear  from you on how you keep your closet under control. do you budget your shopping? do you clean out several times a year? what tips or directions do you follow? share them in the comments section, i would love to add to this list.

style files: pastel blue paper bag skirt

paper bag skirt: vintage (thrifted), tshirt: tresics, wedges: mootsies tootsies at kohls, watch: michael kors, nails: essie tart deco

so i had a really great weekend that included

thrifting

lost of sunshine 

a slight tan due to that sunshine

logan making such progress in the walking department

rolling around in freshly mowed grass

making $80 selling clothes and a few other things at a yard sale

yummy summer food like corn on the cob

an ikea shopping trip 

ice cream

a nice talk with the sister-in-law

the hubby coming home from his week long road trip

a movie night

yard work

and best of all, getting everything ready for my mom's visit this week :)