Fresh as a daisy

Outfit Details:

Lemonade to Order Dress: ModCloth

Necklace: ASOS (sold out)

White flats: ASOS

Picnic basket purse: Chicwish

Daisy ring: Mom's

They're almost blooming!

Hope your day is sunny and bright!

xox Sammi  

How does your garden grow?

Outfit Details:

Floral print peplum dress: River Island

Bun top garland, worn as bracelet: River Island (sold out, similar here)

Pink jelly flats: J.Crew (old, similar here)

I've said it before, but I love this peplum dress... It somehow manages to be tight and flattering at the same time.  It's also on sale, and it's incredibly springy.  And it was finally warm enough to wear it!

It's hard to make out, but there are two robins in that tree!

I love spring.  Hope your day is just as springy!

xox Sammi

Tea for two (Mama's birthday post)

Yesterday was my mama's 60th birthday! 

My mom is one of the most important and special people in my life, and we have an incredibly close relationship.  She has done so many amazing things in her life, so it's no wonder that I've always considered her to be my role model.  She made her living in the music business for probably 20 years (she and my dad were in a band that was signed to Atlantic Records and had a video on MTV)...

And then she got into musical theatre and earned her Equity card...

Yes, that's me in the tiny nun's habit!

And then she worked as the entertainment reporter for a local news station for 12 years...

And now she runs her own public relations business that focuses on entertainment and the arts.  She's a bit of a chameleon, my mom.  I admire her ability to persevere in any given situation.  Her path has had unexpected twists and and turns and bumps along the way, but she's led about five different lives already, and is always finding new ways to put her creativity to good use.  I love that she is always growing, changing, and learning.  I hope that I will follow her lead in that regard.  (I also hope I look as good as she does when I turn 60!)

So for her birthday, she and I went out to brunch at The Cheesecake Factory...

And I wore my new teapot print dress...

And we took cute pictures...

And she opened her presents... 

Which someone thought were for HER... 

I got my garden-loving mom this necklace and these matching earrings from Betsey Johnson...

And I also got her this cute teacup-themed vase...

We actually planned to go to a teahouse for her birthday, but there's really only one around here, and of course, it's not open on Sundays.  Then we planned to have dinner at our favorite Thai and Vietnamese restaurant... which was also closed!  We ended up going to a chophouse on a whim, which was delicious, and then immediately followed that with from frozen custard from Abbott's (which is a locally-owned chain of ice cream shops -- frozen custard is their specialty).  It was a day of eating, with a little bit of shopping thrown in for good measure.  We also stopped by Powers Farm Market to look at some flowers, and to visit some animals...

These were baby... somethings!  I'm not sure what kind of babies they are, but they were cheeping away!

A very suspicious peacock

Since we didn't get to go have tea, I decided to represent it in my outfit...

I first saw this dress on Annika of The Pineneedle Collective (see how she wore it here!), and I knew I had to have it.  My love of tea and of novelty prints outweighed any cons I could think of.  I was so sad when the measurements to the exact dress she wore were too small, but amazingly, there is another dress with the same print on the website with bigger bust measurements (ahem)!  Hooray!

Outfit Details:

Teapot Print Dress: SheInside

Doo Bee Doo Bee Shoe Heels: ModCloth

Teapot Double Finger Ring: Can't remember, but available at SheInside and Storenvy

All in all, we had a beautiful day, and I think my mom enjoyed her birthday.  :)

Have a beautiful Monday!

xox Sammi  

The Glad Game

Outfit Details:

Cotton Candy Stand Dress: originally from ModCloth

(Purchased from Kate of Scathingly Brilliant & Sweet and Lovely)

Boater hat: River Island

Kimchi Blue T-Strap Flats: Urban Outfitters

Candyland Cotton Candy Necklace: Betsey Johnson (available on Amazon)

This outfit seemed fitting for a Sunday afternoon.  For some reason, this ensemble reminds me of the movie Pollyanna (the 1960s one with Hayley Mills), even though the style of that film was early 1900s, and this outfit is clearly... well, not that.  But specifically, it reminds me of all the exciting things they're going to do at the bazaar they hold for the town.  Maybe it just reminds me of the cake, though.

...Or maybe it's the hat.

What's really strange is that I didn't even know this dress was called "the cotton candy stand dress" until I looked it up just now; the necklace and the dress just reminded me of each other!

Pollyanna plays this game a lot called "The Glad Game," which basically entails finding something positive even in the saddest situations.  I was feeling so thankful for the weather when I took these, that I couldn't help playing the game myself.  In spite of all the frustrating and upsetting things that happen in our lives, I think it's important to find something you can smile about every day.

Hope you have something to smile about, too.

xox Sammi