My Latest Obsessions

Last Day of SCHOOL
Now on to 4th and 2nd grades and preschool for GMC

Grandpa T and GMC

Happy Friday! OMG, it has been FOREVER since my last post. I miss my little creative outlet! Today is the gals LAST day of school. It is NUTS to think that next year that C will be in 4th grade and that M will be in

2nd grade! And little GMC will be off to preschool! Our list day of school this year is very late due to construction and getting out early last year. It has made for a very long couple of weeks. However, it is nice to now officially make the transition to summer mode. Swim team has been in full effect for the last 2 weeks and we have our first official meet next week. Wahoo! Welcome back, Ultra Swim shampoo!

We had a lovely visit w/ JuJu and Grandpa T and they left this past Tuesday. I laugh w/ my mom and tell her that I hope that my kids will fight over me the way my sister and I fight over her while she is in town. We have shared custody and she and Grandpa T split their time between staying w/ us and my sister.

I've got a friend's baby shower on Saturday and then that evening PFC/I are heading to see BKO on the lawn at the tennis club for a Ravinia-esque evening. It should be fun! And Sunday for Father's Day we are having a low key day. My sister and her husband and little guy are going to come over to hang w/ us. We'll grill some burgers, head to the pool and just chill! PERFECT!

Happy Father's Day to all my fave dads or dads to be out there!

Some of my latest faves:

• We were at a friend's party last weekend and the host showed me her latest finds = these awesome Oak Park and River Forest posters by noted artist and cartoonist Chris Ware. I immediately went out and snagged both of them. They are pretty rad. We are not sure where they are going but we think they may head to Peter's office downtown. 
• School is over and I've gotta say I'm THRILLED that we won't be thinking about packing lunches until August. HOWEVER, I discovered these brilliant waste free lunch containers that I put inside of C + M's lunchboxes. And this made for a SUPER easy way for them to start making their own lunches the night before. We are trying to throw a little more responsibility their way! While I'm not the greenest person out there these waste free lunch containers made being green very easy! 
• A friend dropped these off = Caramel Krispy Marshmallows = YUMMY! 
• OMG, these Mocha Brownies from Pioneer Woman look AH-MAZING. 
• We decided to turn last year's Father's Day gift for all 4 of the grandpas in to a tradition. We had photo booth strip pics of the kiddos taken and turned them in to bookmarks. They turned out super CUTE! And then we bought each of them a book. Here is a DIY on bookmarks however, we went old school and used an old photo booth vs digital pics. We made one for PFC too and also had silhouettes done of the kids via Cassidy Alexander. I've always loved the old school silhouettes. 
• We plan to grill burgers on Sunday for Father's Day. Wouldn't this DIY Father's Day Custom Butcher paper be fun to make if you were having some nice steaks!? Very cute. 
• This tiny oak bag is pretty neat. Different for sure. 
• I love photo booths. I've made some simple ones for various birthday parties for the kids. Here is a How To post on how to make one and some tips. 
• Jonathan Adler has now collaborated w/ Paperless Post. FUN! 
• Jardim Lace Dress = Fantastic. Love this casual Market Day Striped Dress in the muted grey. And this Hot Stuff dress is fun. 
• I LOVE these bracelets. Quite unique. 
• I thought about making this Garlic Lover's Roast Beef for dinner on Father's Day but I'm going to save it for another night. Doesn't it look tasty?! And then you could make these yummy looking sandwiches the next day w/ the leftovers. 
• I LOVE fruit salad in the summer. I typically make a minted fruit salad as I love mint. And I recently tried this pretty fruit salad from Pioneer Woman over Memorial Day Weekend. It was a hit. I stumbled across this tropical fruit salad that looks really good. I said that I would make a fruit salad for Sunday. Maybe I'll try this one! 
• I like to have flowers around the house especially a vase on our island. Nothing fancy and nothing big. I just like the pop of color and having fresh flowers around. Here are 3 ways to arrange supermarket flowers. And what a cool way to display one flower! 
• Wrapping Paper Table Runner = very creative! 
• How adorable are these shrinky dink Father's Day gifts?! Love them. 
• Custom Engraved Mason Jars = Perfect GIFT! 
• I'm contemplating getting this 9 clip window wall frame for C + M's room so they can display some of their photos and notes and artwork. 
• I've been following the EWG's (Environmental Working Group) came 2013 sunscreen guide. The gals + GMC are SUPER fair skinned. I'm really trying to do my research on the best way to sunscreen them while minimizing the chemicals that we put on them. I picked up this sunscreen stick and we are currently trying out a combination of the Honest Company Co. sunscreen along w/ a few others (namely, Badger Kids Sunscreen).