Aveline is wearing :: Lately Lily tee and Joah Love leggings
Aveline is writing :: lots and lots and lots of “alphabets”
Tag: aveline alenka
LIFE IN PHOTOS :: A Deeper Country
“It is as hard to explain how this sunlit land was different from the old Narnia as it would be to tell you how the fruits of that country taste. Perhaps you will get some idea of it if you think like this. You may have been in a room in which there was a window that looked out on a lovely bay of the sea or a green valley that wound away among mountains. And in the wall of that room opposite to the window there may have been a looking-glass. And as you turned away from the window you suddenly caught sight of that sea or that valley, all over again, in the looking glass. And the sea in the mirror, or the valley in the mirror, were in one sense just the same as the real ones: yet at the same time they were somehow different – deeper, more wonderful, more like places in a story: in a story you have never heard but very much want to know. The difference between the old Narnia and the new Narnia was like that. The new one was a deeper country: every rock and flower and blade of grass looked as if it meant more.” -C.S. Lewis
LIFE IN PHOTOS :: You will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall…
It’s been a week of sick days here, and not a restful one, either. It’s been a week of maintenance repair people traipsing in and out, of interrupted sleep, of cancellations, of Josiah working very late, a week of rain and a week of exhaustion.
But this one’s always happy. Even at 3am, even with a fever, she’s full of joy.
I can learn a lot from her.
This morning wasn’t anything special, not to me anyway. It was another in a string of long, tired, days. But to Aveline, this morning was, “SUNNY DAY!”
To Aveline, this morning was “Blue hair wears (barrettes)! G’een hair wears! FLOWERS on pants! Sit he-ah! Hold dis! TAKE PIH-UH!! Drink kefir! Eat beh-uss (breakfast)! WEAR BIB WITH DOTS! PWAY GAMES!”
To Aveline, every day is a reason to be “gankful”. Every day is a reason to jump with joy (and pose with a duster, apparently.)
“But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings ; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall.” -Malachi 4:2
“Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and sound of a melody.” -Isaiah 51:3b
“So the ransomed of the Lord will return, and come with joyful shouting to Zion, and everlasting joy will be on their heads. They will obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.” -Isaiah 51:11
Thank you, Lord, for this reminder.
LITTLE STYLE :: JCP Kids Collection #FirstDayLook
Thanks to each of you who commented telling me which JCP Kids Collection #FirstDayLook you loved most! The Instagram crowd especially got into it, and I have to say, I didn’t expect such a runaway. Almost all of you voted for floral denim. Facebook voters did, too. Crazy, right?
So what did I choose? Well, Aveline definitely went home with “farkley” sparkle shoes and an awesome motorcycle jacket — you thought I was going to say floral denim, didn’t you? Patience, patience! Aveline is thrilled to have a jacket that almost matches her motorcycle-driving papa’s. (The shoes and coat don’t make an appearance in today’s photos, though, ’cause the temperature was over 90° with a heat index of 100°.)
But here’s what we did wear today!
On Aveline:
Arizona Grey Striped Dress
Ransom Girl™ Solid One-Button Cardigan
Total Girl Mint Faux-Leather L-O-V-E Bracelet (not on website)
Joe Fresh™ Floral-Print Skinny Jeans
Pinky 3/4-Sleeve Chiffon Blouse
Total Girl Black Faux-Leather S-M-I-L-E Bracelet (not on website)
On Gina:
Girlyfied® Striped Dropwaist Dress
Vanilla Star® Denim Cut-offs with Crochet, similar to these
Disclosure of Material Relationship: I received compensation in exchange for my participation in the JCP Kids Collection partnership, and the #FirstDayLook and #MakeItYours campaigns. All the photographs, opinions, and experiences shared here are in my own words and are my own honest evaluation. Please be assured, I only accept sponsorship opportunities for brands I personally use would recommend to close friends and family, and I will always disclose any such relationships.
LIFE IN PHOTOS :: T.G.I.F.
LITTLE STYLE :: Which #FirstDayLook Should Aveline Choose?
I always get excited when the back-to-school sales start. When I was a kid, I’d make sure my folders, pencils and notebooks were color-coded by subject, and then I’d add a matching sticker to the corresponding textbooks. I haven’t outgrown that too much — I’m still an office-supply nerd — and I definitely never outgrew the fresh new-start feeling of the back-to-school season. There’s just something in the air that makes me want to reorganize everything, get dressed up, and then sit down and work like crazy. I’ve got plenty coming up this month, with magazine interviews to write, articles to edit, and a lot of work for my secret project, too.
And then there’s Aveline, whose enthusiasm for “da alphabets” never wanes. She spells everything she sees — loudly, of course — and begs me to write out the letters over and over again. I know this fall is going to include a lot more of “da alphabets” as we delve into letter sounds, phonics, and, oh, counting past thirteen too. For now, we’re savoring summer while singing the ABCs on loop and hanging out with my best friend Lauren, who is vacationing here before launching into the new school year as a staff-member for a study-abroad program.
We three girls have been doing a lot of shopping, and this week we headed to JCPenney to pick out a new back-to-school outfit for Aveline. Aveline’s a perpetual motion machine, and I think the intense color of the changing rooms energized her even more. Phew. She really never stops.
Which #FirstDayLook should Aveline choose?
ONE – Intentionally worn two sizes too large, this modern black and white stripe turns into the perfect toddler maxi. A faux leather jacket completes the look.
TWO – A loose-fitting blouse and cami over cuffed floral denim is a great segue from summer to fall.
THREE – Puppy dog tails and sugar and spice pair up when this boys’ top from the infant section (sleeves are cuffed to 3/4 length) is worn with an off-white tulle skirt.
FOUR – Houndstooth leggings and a ribbed pink tank worn under a faux leather jacket brought out the spontaneous air guitar and crouching tiger — and a James Dean face.
I’m heading back to JCP to pick out Aveline’s #FirstDayLook soon — which outfit is your favorite? Let me know in the comments!
Disclosure of Material Relationship: I received compensation in exchange for my participation in the JCP Kids Collection partnership, and the #FirstDayLook and #MakeItYours campaigns. All the photographs, opinions, and experiences shared here are in my own words and are my own honest evaluation. Please be assured, I only accept sponsorship opportunities for brands I personally use would recommend to close friends and family, and I will always disclose any such relationships.
When Home Can’t Be Pinned Down
When I was little, I knew my grandparents through letters and home-recorded cassette tapes. I used to dream of hugging them, of spending long days beside them, of just looking at them and listening to the sound of their voice.
And one day, a long time ago, we showed up from another continent, from across the ocean, and “by the time we were at the bottom of the hill and had parked beside the house, my grandmother, my grandfather, and Aunt Margaret were all outside, looking exactly the way they had in the calendar picture. I ran right into my grandmother’s arms as if I’d been doing this every day.
‘Welcome home! Oh, welcome home!’ my grandmother cried.
I hadn’t known it, but this was exactly what I’d wanted her to say. I needed to hear it said out loud. I was home.” -Jean Fritz, Homesick pg. 138
All those memories came flooding back to me, this month, when I set Aveline down on the airport floor and watched her run at top speed into my dad’s arms. She latched onto him, she threw her arms around his neck, she pressed her cheek to his shoulder, and I felt it again. I felt I was a girl with one foot here, one foot there. A girl to whom home was a many-splendored thing, altogether here and there.
And in between the here-ness and there-ness is a place that can’t be pinned, a place that can’t be caught or ordered around, a place that can’t be pushed into a map’s tight little squiggly lines. It’s a place I can’t visit whenever I want to, but only when the road we’re on lets us go there, and maybe that’s the beauty of it.
Grandma never stopped smiling and Grandpa buckled her into her very own seat in his truck, and we all piled in. Looking at this scene, I didn’t know if it was 1991 or 2013. I didn’t know if she was being buckled into the seat or if it was me. Here and there passed each other so closely they became one, the one thing that can’t be held down.
Home.
“I paid no attention to the road. I just kept looking out the window until all at once there on my right was a white picket fence and a meadow, fresh and green as if it had just this minute been created…the whole scene. The perfect greenness. The washed-clean look. The peacefulness. Oh, now! I thought. Now I was in America. Every last inch of me.” -Jean Fritz, Homesick pg. 133
Every last inch.
LIFE IN PHOTOS :: Summer Shadows
We’re in Minnesota right now, and I’m thoroughly enjoying this (entirely unintentional) break from blogging. I’m still carrying my iPod everywhere, though, so you can follow me on Instagram if you’d like to keep up with some of our summer vacation moments.
Hope you’re all enjoying a terrific July!
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