Fun With Back to School Shopping

One highlight of our recent vacation in South Carolina was some unexpected back-to-school shopping.  After several days of soaking up a little too much sun on the beach, my friends and I decided to take our kids shopping while our husbands spent the morning golfing.  There aren't too many stores that can entertain our busy gang of children, who range in age from 2 to 8.  Since school would be starting within the month, we hit up Kohls hoping to check some items off of our list.  We were not disappointed.
 All was quiet when we entered the store at 10 a.m. on Sunday.  There were enough carts for each kid to have his own.  Within seconds we were trailing after them as they filled the carts with items from their lists. 

Our daughters ended up with at least 20 dresses in their carts.  They were shopping for their big fall event - the Father/Daughter Dance.  Though they had their choice of dressing rooms, they squeezed into one.  What is more fun than a party in the fitting room with your friends?  Certainly not cleaning up after one (thanks for taking the lead on that, Paulette!).

Our sons stuffed their carts with tee-shirts and sports shorts.  Those weren't on my son's list, but I did buy him a few that were on sale. 

My two year old fell in love with a Dora nightgown and a dress that came with a matching doll dress.  The set was much cheaper than one I'd bought her at American Girl in the spring.  I'm a sucker for a bargain, as are my friends Monique and Paulette.  With bathing suits and sandals marked down 75%, we bought the kids some for our YTBP (yet-to-be-planned) spring vacations.  I guess the kids and I will be going someplace warm.  I couldn't pass up these silver sandals for $4.99.

We also found some Stuart Weitzman knock-off heels in a great taupe color for a fraction of the designer price.

When we finally made it to the registers to pay, afer our nearly two hour escapade, we learned that we could save an additional 30% off the prices if we opened a Kohls account.  We had so much fun that we decided it was worth it. 

My Favorite Thing To Do In Hilton Head

Every summer when we visit my husband's family in Hilton Head, South Carolina, we have our list of favorite things to do - go boogie boarding at the beach (in addition to family-friendly waves, Coligny Beach has a great splash fountain for little ones, porch swings and a gorgeous stretch of sand), search for dolphins on Grandpa's boat, listen to Greg Russell sing in Harbor Town, shop at the outlets, and stop for ice cream at Hilton Head Ice Cream (where there is an unlimited topping bar).  My personal favorite, though, is crabbing at the dock.

I love seafood, particularly fresh stone crab claws.  As soon as we get settled into my inlaw's house, I anxiously await the time that we can head to the dock to set the crab trap.  Fortunately, they keep fish heads in the garage freezer to use as bait.  On our recent trip to Hilton Head, I decided I wanted the entire crabbing experience, with the help of my well-trained relatives.

To catch crabs, you need fish, but to catch fish, you need shrimp.  The best time to shrimp and fish is two hours before and after low tide.  We used a small net to catch shrimp (the smaller the net, the easier it is to handle, apparently).  My brother-in-law demonstrated the technique for me, draping the net on his shoulder, putting a piece of it in his mouth and then casting it into the flowing water.  The best kind of cast or throw is called a pancake, which looks exactly like it sounds - round and flat.  You have greater odds of catching shrimp that way.  Something must have been wrong with our net because we mainly threw tacos (where the net folds in half before hitting the water).  We only caught a mud minnow and an oyster shell.

Luckily, cousins Julie and Bill caught a bunch of shrimp and shared their supply with us for fishing.  According to Julie, there are different types of fish - small fish to use as bait for fishing and crabbing, fish you throw back because they aren't quite big enough to eat, and tasty meals like trout and red fish that are 15" or longer.  We didn't catch any tasty meals, but we did catch enough bait to use in the crab trap for our visit.  With visions of a chilled crab appetizer in my future, we retrieved my father-in-law's crab trap and stuffed as many small red fish as we could into it.

On our first night, there were 17 crabs in the trap.  Sounds like the jackpot for a shellfish lover like me, but we don't keep the blue crabs and there were six of them (my father-in-law says they are too much work to eat).  We only take one claw from each stone crab we catch, and if there are any with a claw missing, we toss them back in the water.  Their claw will grow back to its full size within a year.  It is against the law to remove a claw from stone crabs carrying babies (we had two with orange sponges underneath which meant they were soon-to-be moms).  That left us with seven claws for dinner and they were mm-mmn good!

Crab Bait

Fish Bait

My Brother-In-Law Demonstrating His Casting Technique

Fishing off the Dock

Julie & My Son Posing With An "Almost-Tasty-Meal" - one inch too short

Racing to the Dock To Check the Trap

Our Catch

The Mother Crab & Her Orange Egg Sac

Jumping off of Grandpa's Boat While Looking for Dolphins

Playing Dress Up In My Sister's Closet

I went back to Indianapolis last weekend to visit with my family and attend my 20 year high school reunion.  A few days before the reunion, I learned that cocktail attire was required.  Fortunately for me, my fashionable sister, Meri, and her husband, are staying with my parents  while their house is under construction.  Her extensive desiner wardrobe is now on display in almost every closet on the second floor of their house.  When I explained my need for a nice cocktail dress, she threw open the doors of closet number one and whipped out seven for me to try on.  I felt like what my daughter must have felt like at the Bibbi Bobbidi Boutique in Disney World (where she's tried on every princess gown in existence).  I had my choice of designer gowns:  Chanel, Rebecca Taylor, Michael Kors, Kate Spade, Diane Von Furstenberg and a variety of others I'd seen on the pages of In Style Magazine.  I debated between some flashy dresses - pink and white, silver, taupe, turquiose - but decided to play it safe by borrowing a little black dress.  As I returned the other dresses to Meri, I asked her if there was anything she might want to consign to her older sister, mom of three, who doesn't have much time to shop, nor the eye for chic apparel.  She was very agreeable to my proposal exclaiming that there were a number of items she'd seen on Net-A-Porter.com that she might like to buy.  From that point on, every time I came up to my room I found shoes, tops, skirts and dresses laid out for me to try on.  It felt like I had a personal shopper.  Everything fit perfectly.  I had a lot of fun playing dress up, though I'm not a big fan of high heels and could barely walk to the mirror to check out how her shoes looked on my feet.  I ended up with four "new" dresses and two "new" tops in my suitcase.  And Meri ended up with some extra cash to purchase her next installment of designer duds (which could be mine on consignment when I visit next summer - cha ching).  Thanks Meri!

Closet #1

Closet #2

 These Yves St. Laurent shoes arrived while I was visiting.  When I asked Meri what she would pair them with, she suggested this dress...

Gorgeous!

Fitting right in with my girlfriends, in my "new" black dress at the reunion

Who needs Carrie (Bradshaw) as a friend, when they've got Meri!

Move Over Martha Stewart

My sister Wendy's artistic friends, Charlotte and Erin, along with my ever-so-creative mother, planned a shower worthy of a spread in Martha Stewart Magazine for her.  The theme, "Feathering the Nest," and colors, pink and green, were selected based on her nursery.  From the invitations and decorations to the food and game, everything was perfect.  Charlotte had saved baby food jars for several weeks to use as place card holders.  She and Erin painted the inside of the jars pink and green, filled them with flowers, and attached name tags to them.

Centerpieces featured painted applesauce jars that were filled with tree branches and brightly-colored birds.

My mother made her own version of a diaper cake that was topped with a stuffed animal.

As guests arrived they were served a glass of pink lemonade and asked to write a new mom tip for Wendy.  (My sister Meri, who is not a mom yet, quickly stepped into my dad's office to Google new mom tips.  Hers was the only one that quoted a study.)

The lunch menu was fitting for a hot July day.  It included chilled strawberry soup, chicken pasta salad, and sweet rolls from Taylor's Bakery.

For dessert, Charlotte and Erin had decorated cupcakes to look like bird's nests.  They took vanilla cupcakes, piped on brown icing, sprinkled on some coconut, and topped them with pink candy-coated almonds.  They were almost too pretty to eat.  When I was young, I used to wonder why my mom's Christmas list always included serving dishes.  How many of these dishes could one person possibly need?  Five sizes of salad bowls, eight sets of salad servers, six sets of china.  Now I know why - so she can host a shower for 30 people.

After lunch, a memory game was played with a tray full of baby items and prizes were awarded.

Then, the new mom tips were read and gifts were opened.  Though the fashionable baby clothes and tiny shoes received plenty of "oohs and aahs" from the crowd, it was the homemade gifts and baby products that make life easier that interested me.  Here's a list of the gifts that intrigued me the most.

1) A homemade quilt in the nursery colors from the hostess with the mostest - Erin
2) A homemade alphabet and number book by my daughter

3)  Crafty Mama: Makes 49 Fast, Fabulous, Foolproof (Baby & Toddler) Projects
4) Beaded flower drawer knobs from Pottery Barn

5) Swaddle Plus instant swaddlers (much easier than using a receiving blanket)

6) Safety 1st 4 Piece Oral Care Set - this kit grows with the baby from infant to toddler years
7) Munchkin A&H Disposable Changing Pad - 10 Pack



8) Sloganed onesies from Urban Smalls

9) Simple Wishes Hands-Free Breastpump Bra, Pink, XS/S/M *This nursing bra was highly recommended by a guest who had used it to pump, hands-free, while commuting to and from work

10) In My Flower - an adorable interactive baby book

My daughters enjoyed helping out at the shower and can't wait to make their own painted jar decorations, like the ones used in the centerpieces.