currently loving

i. fresh air hinting of adventure & newness drifting in through my window every morning
ii. daily visits to the park
iii. laughter
iv. magical sunsets
v. morning lattes on the porch
vi. looking forward to a long road trip & two weeks in the sunshine state
vii. having ice cream every day
viii. messy buns, short sleeves, & flip flops
ix. good time with family & friends
x. making happy memories to last a lifetime

what are your current loves?
eve

DIY look books

Pencils, paper, textbooks... and clothes! It's back-to-school time already (can you believe it?), so my sister and I decided to make a look book with a few different outfits for the fall. This is a sample of our experiment. What do you think? You can make one yourself!

Here's what to do:

1. Brainstorm like crazy. Think of every possible crazy-cute outfit you can make from your wardrobe. Put together some options and lay them out.

2. Gather a few props to make it look like a real catalog, if you want. Props can be super fun-- things like cameras, school books, pencils and paper, nerd glasses, etc. They're all great.

3. Go outside (or inside) and snap away! Have fun with it and get creative.

4. Upload your photos and create collages on pixlr or pic monkey or whatever you use. Add little captions, outfit variations, stickers if you like.

5. Print out your collages and put them together in a book or hang them up in the back of your closet for when you get stumped. Viola!

xx.
Lindsey

those kids you're related to.

They're called siblings. You hold a special bond with them. You can talk about memories and moments you experienced together. Those wonderful times, and those not so wonderful times. Even if when you're all grown, you'll always share those mutual memories. I have three siblings- one brother and two sisters. My older sister and I are 9 years apart, my brother 7 years, and my little sister 8 years apart. Sometimes I wish I had a sibling really close in age to me, but being spread apart is wonderful too. I love these people so much.

Jamie - my older sister

When she was still living at home, we didn't always get along. We shared a room and I always wanted the lights on, and she wanted them off and she threatened to put ice cubes down my back if I didn't wake up one morning. But, she also took me out to the movies, put a Reese's peanut butter cup under my pillow and a whole lot of other nice things. Now she's married, has two little girls and another baby on the way. She's amazing and the best older sister ever. We like to go shopping together and drink lots of coffee. She's really funny, awesome and an all around amazing person. I'm so blessed to have her as my sister.

Tim - my older brother

When I was little and fell into a pool, he saved my life. He was really protective and good with me. When he became a teenager, we didn't get along. He "accidently" poured maple syrup over my head. Now we get along really well. He's such a good older brother. I was there to laugh at him, eat milkshakes and watch movies with him after he got his wisdom teeth out last year. When he went to Ireland for five months a few years ago, I couldn't wait for him to come home. On a recent road trip he told my little sister and I "scary/corny" stories, taught me how to count to ten in French. And since I have my drivers permit, he's gone driving with me a couple times. He's pretty cool.

Haley - my little sister

I prayed and prayed and prayed for a little sister when I was little. And God answered my prayers with Haley. When my dad, Jamie and Tim went to get food when we were at the hospital, I didn't want to go. I stayed, holding my new baby sister. I've seen her grow up into a sweet, caring, amazing eight year old. We don't always get along, but for the most part we do. She likes when I read my novels to her. We both Irish dance and she loves singing and acting. Sometimes I have to tell her to sing in the other room. She's awesome.

And me?

 Well, I'm a "home's cooler" kid who you can find doing history research just for the fun of it. Okay I admit it, I'm slightly nerdy, but only slightly. I love Jesus and this life he's given me. I write...a lot. I hope to be a published author. I take hundreds and hundreds of pictures on a weekly basis. I Irish dance. I like traveling, old fashioned things, reading, music, a good movie, coffee, tea, chocolate, simplicity, spending time with friends and family, running outside barefoot, smiling, cleaning my room (I know, I'm strange) and lots of other things.

xx, 
emily

This Is What Summer Is For.

Despite the heat that makes 98 degrees feel like a freezer, yesterday my mom took my sister and me on an outing. We went to the European Market and filled our basket with chocolates, cookie wafers, and Mascarpone cheese. Then we checked out with our groupon coupon, so it was just like shopping for free. Next, we stopped by the fabric store, an antique loft, and finally we splurged on some Starbucks drinks. The three of us sat atop bar stools overlooking the passersby and sipped our drinks contentedly. A mocha frappuccino for Libby, a latte for mamma, and a passion tea lemonade for me. Ahh, this is the life. This  is what summer is for.

What is your summer for?

xx.

Lindsey

a day spent together

to celebrate this beautiful Fourth of July, our family went fishing at the most wonderful place in the world.

and unlike last time, we actually caught some fish. five, to be exact.

i love days like this spent with family. nothing could ever be better.

xo,

gracie

just two blocks away.

grandma sugar {from my mom's side} used to have a summer house in ann arbor, michigan. it was just mommy and daddy and i at the time, and when we went up north for thanksgiving or a spontaneous trip, all in the car, mommy would tell all of these stories that she cherished from her childhood. i think then, i didn't pay attention as much, but now that grandma sold that house and now has a vacation spot here in texas, i treasure those times just as much as mommy does.

compared to ann arbor, what we don't have here is the lake within a five minute's walk, the cool, spicy breeze, and tons of evergreen trees. instead, we have humidity, and while that's pretty much it, i don't complain.

when grandma comes to texas from her hometown in illinois, we make it a point to spend every evening with her. she makes dinner for us {sometimes chicken, sometimes porkchops and applesauce, sometimes burgers and fries and barbecue}, and then daddy turns on sports of some kind. joy and i grab and ice cream sandwich from the freezer, and the four of us settle with a thomas kinkade puzzle or The Word of the Day from the newspaper. we always end up leaving late.

the best thing about going to her house here is that there's no obligations. we don't have to cook, we don't have to clean, we don't have to go anywhere or really do anything at all. we subconsciously bond over our various drinks {read: water, orange crush, pepsi, peach tea} and our favorite basketball teams. our love for jazz records and judging whether or not it's soda or pop. whatever.

so she's coming tomorrow, and i can't wait to wrap my arms around grandma's familiar scent. and even when she's not here, her house is only two blocks away. touchdown.

xx,

jocee

{pea ess: oy vey, i write long posts, don't i?}

Our Newest Addition

Meet our newest addition: Fiona.

Sweet. Affectionate. Hungry for affection. Protective. Small. Wide-eyed. And barely twenty pounds.

She adds a new dynamic to our home, and never fails to greet me in the mornings by leaping onto my bed to smother me with kisses. In response, I usually turn over and hide my face, but I appreciate her effort. I really am growing to love her.

Do you have any pets?
xx.
Lindsey

Old Family Treasures

I've always loved old things. 

Ever since I can remember, I've gone antiquing with my mom and collecting old treasures. But the best treasures are the ones that come from a few branches up the family tree. 

My grandparents came to town yesterday, and my grandma brought my sister and me a treasure. This little  treasure, although probably not worth much, meant more to us than any fifty-dollar bill. It was a beautiful sketch by my great grandma Helen, drawn sometime in the mid-thirties.

great grandma Helen

When grandma revealed the brittle, yellowed paper, my sister and I gasped and oohed. Something so old and yet a piece of family history at the same time. The girls in the picture wore feminine clothes, obviously made for the thirties, which made me want to step into the picture and stand right there at the moment it was drawn.

We decided to frame it. It will hang on our walls for years, and remind us of the legacy of our grandmother and spur us to be remembered like her. It may also spur me to brush up on my sketching.


Do you have any old family treasures?

xx.
Lindsey

the breakfast meeting

breakfast is a rather important event in my home. joy is mommy's constant companion whilst concoctions like pancakes, waffles, bacon, or sausage are being prepared in the kitchen, and no matter late breakfast ends up being {we are infamous for eating our first meal at around noon}, everyone sits at the table and joy brings everyone to attention.

"everyone!" she'd say, even though it'd be just me, mommy and herself, "it is now time for the conbasation meeting, where we all meet at mealtime to have a conbasation!" her voice would be an octave higher than usual, and there'd be a certain trill in her manner as well. also: she doesn't know how to pronounce conversation."miss jocelyn, you may start."

i always start first. each morning, to annoy my sister, the first and only word that comes out of my mouth at the conversation meeting is, "hi." at which time, joy would get very irritated and exclaim, "jocee! rule number three: you cannot say just 'hi' when you are starting a conbasation! dismissed." i don't leave the table, so joy would roll her eyes and turn to mommy, who, sometimes says the same thing. but mommy is never dismissed.

this is our morning routine. after many trial-and-error, a conversation is had, and we laugh in between our bites of pancake and sips of milk, even though it's technically lunchtime.

and the most exhausting part of all of it? this happens at every. meal. of the day.
xx,
jocee

just write it on the wall

So, I have this amazing mother. And this amazing mother turned the wall in our reading room into a chalk board. After the paint set for three days, finally tonight my sister and I broke the ground... or whatever you want to call drawing on it for the first time. 

  First we had to draw over the entire wall...

... Then we doodled.

It's amazing how something so simple can be so enjoyable.

Do you like to draw with chalk?

xo.

Lindsey

he makes me laugh

he smiles, i laugh. 

he laughs, i laugh so hard i can't breath. 

he tries to hide his face from the camera using his baseball cap, i take a million pictures to only have one decent picture of his smiling face not hidden by the bight red hat. 

right here, in this moment, i am trying to document his contagious smile, his sparkling eyes, and his many freckles. i know none of this may last very long, and that is why i carry my camera with me everywhere. i want to remember how my little brother looked way back when he was ten. i want to remember that moment when we were in the car, riding home from baseball practice for the hundredth time, listening to country music with the windows down and eating ice cream. life is constantly moving past us, and it will never stop. 

what is one ordinary moment you wish could last forever?

xoxo,

gracie

Games

At my house we love to play games. Dutch Blitz is our favorite. What's yours?

xo

Lindsey

today

this is her guitar.  don't you want a rock guitar?  I want a rock guitar.  you should definitely want a rock guitar.

It was one of those barefoot outside even though it's forty degrees days.

xo,
a