Grandma & Me: "Fun At Kline Creek Farm

This month's "Grandma & Me" post is going to be a little different because the WHOLE FAMILY IS INCLUDED and not just me and the grand kids.  Back in October we met the kids and grand kids at Kline Creek Farm in Wheaton, Illinois.  It is a a period working farm designed to educate people about farm life in the 19th century.

It was an overcast day, with a bit of a drizzle in the air, but that didn't damper Alethea's spirits!  She was so excited to see us again and visit all the animals on the farm.

My favorite part of the visit to the farm was that we got to take a tour of this beautiful farmhouse.  Every hour on the hour a volunteer dressed in period costume comes out and rings this bell to let visitors know the house is open for tours.

The interior of the house is furnished with period pieces, both originals and reproductions.

The house had beautiful flower garden beds all around it.

The farm has many buildings, but this is the largest barn.  Inside the barn they show how hay and feed is stored.  There is also a livery underneath and stalls for the animals.

I love this picture so much because of the way Alethea is looking at her Grandpa Todd.  She absolutely adores him.  She thinks he is so funny.  When I was with her last week she said to me "I love Grandpa Todd so much!"  It just melted my heart.  It's so important that our children and grandchildren to have great role models.

I suppose I had better get into the fashion side of this post as my "Grandma & Me" posts are about "What We Wore" too.  Well, since it was fall,  the kids and I and Ashley and Jason all dressed up in coordinating fall colors.  Ashley wanted fall family portraits taken and I wanted pictures for a "Grandma & Me" post, so we decided to kill two birds with one stone and do it on the same day.

For Alethea's outfit, she kept with the farm theme and wore an overall dress, with a white tee underneath and tall brown boots.  A mustard sweater was the perfect color for fall.

This farm kitty was so cute!  He ran to greet us when we first arrived.

I wore a new rust colored tie top from TJMaxx,  blue stretch cords (old, Stitch Fix), and brown suede fringe booties.  I put a yellow camisole underneath my top to match Alethea's yellow cardigan.

Atticus wore a cute top I bought for him from Carters when he was just born.  It has a teddy bear patch on the chest, blue stripes on the front and back, and red sleeves.  He wore soft blue jeans on his lower half.

And here is the fall family portrait Ashley used for Facebook.  I love how Ashley's top unifies all the colors everyone is wearing together.

The sheep were so CUTE!

I thought Alethea looked so cute in this outfit!  She loves her tall boots.  Her mom says she loves shoes in general.  She is such a fashionista!

The horses they had on the property were so beautiful!

They had lots of chickens on the farm, and even some turkeys.  They did not seem to fear people at all as they followed us everywhere.

And what would a farm be without cows?

The path to the farm is so pretty.  Right before you get to the house, there is a charming little bridge that goes across the creek.

Baby Atticus was pretty happy this day too.  He just started smiling when these photos were taken.  He was 2 and a half months old.

The farm is open Thursday through Monday 9:00 to 5:00 and is FREE!  Depending on the time of year, the period dressed volunteers and staff re-enact 19th century farm activities like canning, baking, planting, harvesting, sheep shearing, and ice cutting.  It is not only educational, but fun for the whole family.

Have A Great Day!  Amy

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Kimonos: The Perfect Cover-Up For Traveling

This is a dress I wore to Savannah.  If you missed my other Savannah Fashion Post, you can see it HERE.  This is a beautiful, iridescent blush sheath dress I picked up on clearance at H&M last year for only $4.00.  I previously showed it to you in THIS POST styled with a denim jacket and no belt.  In Savannah, I wore it with a silver belt and I had a kimono that I wore in the early morning and evening when it was chillier.  

I styled the dress with a black straw hat to protect me from the Georgia sun, comfortable Adrienne Vittadini rose gold sport sandals so I could walk for hours, and I carried a straw bag that I could easily stuff my kimono into when I wasn't using it.

Kimonos are the perfect cover up when traveling because they can slip so easily into a bag.  My husband purchased this one for me at Charlotte Russe last year.

Here is the kimono worn with the dress.  It is a sheer solid black with a floral print.  The colors of the flowers in the kimono will go with almost anything!

The flowers form a border on the back of the kimono, but are scattered throughout the rest of the garment.

This dress is so comfortable to wear on a hot and humid day!  And the kimono adds just the extra warmth I need for cool mornings or evenings, or when entering an over-air-conditioned building.

Have a Great Day!  Amy

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A Dress That Keeps Going, And Going, And Going....

I'll be honest, I go through a lot of clothes.  I'm sure I've contributed a lot to the carbon footprint with my disposal wardrobe.  But before all the environmentalists start lecturing me,  I also think I am far more environmentally conscientious than the average person.  I recycle and reuse everything...and I mean EVERYTHING, nothing goes to waste in my household.  I even wash and reuse sandwich bags or I never throw away a tea bag until I'm pretty sure I can't get one more cup of tea out of it.  I have created an almost two acre flower garden which feeds the birds and the bees and all other creatures who visit my yard.  I could go on and on with examples, well,  you get the idea.  But when it comes to clothes, I get bored easily and I like to buy new clothes as often as I can.  I do donate my clothes and not just to local charities.  My last haul I gave to my daughter to go through and after she picked out a few items, she ended up passing them off to a young new mom who was absolutely thrilled to receive them.  This new mom still hadn't lost all her pregnancy weight and didn't have the money to just go and buy all new clothes.  It made me feel good to know that my clothes made someone else so happy.

But no matter how often I "recycle" through clothes, there are always a few items in my closet that never go away...they keep going, and going, and going, year after year, just like the Energizer Bunny. And this striped jersey Joe Fresh dress that I purchased from JCPenney three years ago is one of them.

I can't even begin to tell you how much I LOVE this dress.  It's a soft jersey knit so it is so comfortable (hmm, I wonder if that's the reason it outlasted everything else in my closet?).  It's a tank racer back dress so I can wear it in very hot weather or I can layer it for cooler weather.  I've worn it with a t-shirt underneath and red sneakers HERE,  a camisole, white sandals, and white denim jacket HERE,  an olive green utility jacket, black sandals and hat HERE, and with a white shrug and yellow sandals HERE. 

On this day it was actually very hot and muggy so I wore the dress without a camisole or tee and nude sandals.   I wore this outfit as I was driving the six hours home from Illinois to Wisconsin.   It was so comfortable to wear in the car because of the loose fit and fabric.

I stopped multiple times on the way home for potty breaks, food, gas, and to pick up some groceries.  That is when I wore the cardigan.  The air conditioned buildings were too cold for me to go sleeveless.

I always use a cross body bag when traveling.  I received this mint green one from my daughter.    For jewelry, I wore a black and silver bracelet and a stone necklace.

My sandals and shoes are both new this season.  I chose these sandals because I was driving a long distance.  I didn't want anything with a heel or anything that would slip off my foot too easily and become dangerous to wear while driving.

They are a very supportive sandal and they have a Velcro closure.  I got them for an amazing deal at Younkers.  They were originally priced for $70.00, but were marked down to $24.99 for a  summer "Black Friday Sale".  I also had a $10.00 coupon so I scored them for only $14.99!

My necklace I picked up while on vacation at Cocoa Beach almost two years ago.

My cardigan is by Worthington and is still available HERE.  I love it so much I bought it in two colors:  white and rose smoke (the rose color is sold out).  It's the perfect summer cardigan:  thin, lightweight, three-quarter sleeve.  It provides just that extra touch of warmth you might need from air conditioned buildings or cooler nights.

Twice a year I go through my closet and remove clothes I don't want anymore.  I ask myself these questions in determining what stays and what goes.

Does It Still Fit?  Not, "It will fit if I gain/lose 5 pounds."  Does it fit right now?

Is It Comfortable?  Unless it's for a wedding, funeral, or other special event if it isn't comfortable I know I won't wear it.  So out it goes.

Is It Still In Style?  This can be difficult as things go in and out of style so quickly nowadays.  I can't tell you how many times I've discarded something thinking it was out-of-style only to see it return back in-style a few seasons later.

Do I Like It?  That's a good one.  So often I buy clothes because they are trendy, but I really don't like them (Think cold shoulder tops.  After purchasing two of those this season, I've determined they are not for me).  I try to keep clothes that I really like, not what other people like, because I'm the one who will be wearing them.

Do I Feel Good About Myself When I Am Wearing It?  Oh, that's a hard one!  It kind of goes with Do I Like It, but it's more than that.  An item that makes me feel good about myself is one where I feel confident, pretty, and most like "me".

Is It Damaged?  We all have the favorite tee or sweatshirt that has a stain on it or a little hole somewhere but we can't part with it because we love it so much.  But, we never wear it outside the house because it is damaged.  So it ends up being worn to do house work or gardening.  But eventually the number of stained/damaged clothes starts to exceed the number of perfect clothes, so something has to give.  That's when I have to determine which pieces have just a little more wear left to them and which ones go into the garbage.  Do not donate damaged clothing.

Do I Need It?  There are some items I keep in my closet for special occasions that I haven't worn in years.  Some examples would be :  A black suit for funerals (gosh I hope I don't need to wear that for a long time) or a beach suit cover-up ( I can't remember the last time I spent all day hanging pool side where I would need a cover-up, but do I really need to toss it only to have to buy another one when the occasion would arise?).  But there are many items in our closets that we frankly really don't need and someone else might really be able to get a lot of use out of.  I use to have a lot of semi-formal clothing from when I use to sing on a worship team.  I haven't sung for a couple of years now and I was not using that clothing.  Now I only wear casual clothes to church.  But my daughter, who goes to a very formal church and sings in their choir could make good use of that clothing so I gave all those items to her.  Why keep items taking up space in your closet if someone else really needs them?

These are the questions I ask myself when deciding if a clothing item gets donated, or it keeps going, and going, and going year after year in my wardrobe...just like the Energizer Bunny.  The dress I'm wearing in today's post meets all my criteria:  It fits, it's comfortable, the stripes are still in style, I like it, I feel good about myself when I wear it, it's not damaged, and I definitely need it!

What about you?  What questions do you ask yourself when deciding if an item stays or goes?  I'd love to hear from you!

Have a Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

What I Wore To A Conservatory

 I am back from a wonderful week of visiting my children who live in the Chicago area.  We had a jam-packed action-filled week of activities that I am so excited to share with you on my Wednesday Travel Posts.  One of the things we did was visit the Garfield Park Conservatory.  Visiting a Conservatory during the winter months is such a rejuvenating experience.  It's the most wonderful feeling in the world to experience warmth and flowers in the middle of winter.

On this winter day however, it was fairly nice out.  We mid-westerners experienced a touch of spring last week with rare fifty to seventy degree days.  But, it didn't last long.  Our week of spring ended with a major blizzard and back to twenty degree temperatures.   The day I went to the conservatory it was cloudy and the temperatures were in the fifties or low sixties when the sun came out.

This is a dress I've shown you twice before.  The first time I styled it for spring HERE, and the second time I styled it for fall HERE.  This is one of my favorite dresses because the color can be worn in the colder months and it has a shorter length and short sleeves so I can wear it during the warmer months as well.  Thus I get a lot of use of it!  Plus, it's a shift dress so it's super comfy!

 I wore my shift dress with a black cardigan that could be easily removed if I got too warm.  I debated between a scarf or jewelry and I finally decided on a black and gold multi-strand necklace because I thought I might get too warm with a scarf and a sweater.   I ended up regretting that decision because we went to the zoo in the afternoon and I was a little chilled.  I should have taken the scarf with me and tied it to my bag if I didn't need it.  Live and learn.

I wore black and gold bracelets on my wrists.   I carried a cross body bag like I normally do when I travel.

My cardigan hangs lower in the back than it does in the front.

For footwear I chose simple black pointed toe flats with a velvet bow.

After the conservatory we visited the Lincoln Park Zoo where I was able to take this picture with the Chicago skyline behind me.  It was so nice to be able to take fashion photos with a fun, unique background again instead of on my porch.  I took fashion photos everyday and now have five days worth of posts!  Yeah!  No more dressing up on weekends for awhile just to take pictures!

Have a Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!