{fashion} OOTD - mother's day

The Details:

• Shirt: Vestique
• Shorts: Target
• Shoes: Not Jacks! Surprised? The brand is Mila Paoli, but they don't sell online. My mom found these cork ones at Marshalls. I have also seen them at TJMAXX!
• Watch: Anne Klein - gift
• Bracelet: Alex & Ani - gift
• Belt: Came with a dress.

I have been looking for non-hoochymama shorts for a while that have a smaller price tag than my dream J. Crew chinos. I finally found these shorts on sale at Target and fell in love!

I love this comfy top paired with the structured shorts.

I was busy running around the house all afternoon with my cousin's adorable little ones.

I hope that you had a great weekend filled with family and yummy food.

xo, Jen

{beauty} easy summer hairstyles

Who cares what the calendar says... it is officially SUMMER in Florida!

Sweltering, humid days and nights... nothing quite like it.

With the intense FL summer heat comes lots and lots of hair and makeup frustrations.

Two things about my hair:

A) It is L-O-N-G.

B) I have no idea how to do anything to my hair except blow-dry, straighten, and curl it.

Check out the tutorial I used to learn how to get soft curls - it is extremely helpful!

I will be working outside at a summer camp during some of the hottest months out of the entire year coming up shortly. I knew that I needed to find some ponytail and braid styles that were quick, easy, and durable. Since I will be playing with kids outside quite a bit, I want to make sure that my hair is off of my neck and back and out of my face. I have learned that practice makes perfect when it comes to new hairstyles, so I searched Pinterest & Real Simple's websites, and set out to try out a few new styles.

Click on the source links beneath the photos to visit the original websites!

The "Rainy Day" Style:

{source - Real Simple}

Directions: To get this look, you must first pull your hair into a low ponytail. Divide your ponytail into two sections. Take the first section and wind it into a bun. Pin with a few bobby pins. Take the other section and repeat. Add a fun headband to complete the look.

My experience: This style was easy to put together, but I had to use a lot of bobby pins to hold up my long, thick hair. It didn't feel too terribly secure. Word of advice: Don't try to twist your hair section before creating the bun. The hair will be too thick and heavy, and will likely stretch out your bobby pin. I have no idea if this makes sense to anyone but me, but I think you will see what I mean! 

Verdict: I think I will definitely rock this look sometime, but probably not at summer camp. Also, I kind of think that the original poster has shorter hair, making the buns a bit neater looking.

The Double Braided Bun Style:

{source - Join the Mood}

Directions: Follow the photo tutorial. She did a great job displaying the steps!

My experience: This was a very easy hairstyle to put together quickly. Note to self: invest in tiny clear hair ties. My normal sized lime green one totally showed!

Verdict: I will definitely wear my hair like this to summer camp. It is extremely secure and cuter than a normal bun. I looove that it keeps all of my hair out of my face and off of my neck.

Follow my Style - Hair & Makeup board on Pinterest to see more styles I want to try.

I do not know how to utilize hair products at all...

Now that I am a college graduate, I think it is time I learn. :)

Question of the day: What is your favorite summer hairstyle?

xo, Jen

{life} happy mother's day momma!

I love you to the moon and back.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day with their moms and grandmothers!

xo, Jen

{diy} mother's day craft for kids!

This is my first teacher-esque blog post!

As some of you might know by now, I am an after-school kindergarten teacher. I co-teach with two fabulous girls, and we couldn't love our jobs more.

We are constantly looking at Pinterest to help us figure out our latest craft that will match our theme of the week. The most recent theme of the week was "Marvelous Music." We had our kids bring in their favorite instruments for show-and-tell. It was a hit! We had a hard time figuring out a cute craft that fit the "Marvelous Music" theme on Pinterest this week though. So I thought of the second-best option...

A cute mother's day craft!

I thought of this idea originally after seeing this craft on Pinterest. I liked it how it was in the picture, but thought that we could make it a little more special. We decided to have them do handprints with green paint on a piece of paper first, and then glue the flower pots on second. We sat each child down and asked them why they loved their moms, wrote it down for them, and had them copy their sentence onto their flower pot in their own handwriting. We used a machine in the elementary school's media room to cut out the flowers.

I think that they turned out great! This is a very easy craft. We spread this project out over three days so we would have time to let the hand prints dry and get a sentence from each of our 39 kindergartners to write on the flower pots. The answers range from super silly to incredibly sweet. Click on the picture above for a bigger view.

I know it is a little late to re-create this project for mother's day with little ones, but I; think it could really be done for anything! I am sucker for painted hand print crafts. :)

Any teachers, moms, or camp counselors out there?!

What is your favorite craft to do with little ones?

xo, Jen