i jump for date night

 shirt: thrifted // skirt: Gap // necklace: Urban Outfitters // shoes: c/o BC Footwear

hat: Mariners team store // jacket: Super Jock n Jill (where husband works) // shorts: Gap // flip-flops: Reefs

 

The husband and I don't always go on date nights-- not official ones, that is. We both are a bit on the cheap side and even if it's happy hour, we can always make it (and drink it) cheaper at home.

But sometimes it's so good to get out of your kitchen and down to your favorite neighborhood (our favorite spot is Ballard) and find a bar or restaurant where you can talk life (and whether the people in the bar are true hipsters.)

Can we also note that all the husband's outfit post photo taking has made him quite savvy to my wardrobe? When I got home from work, he told me "ohhh-- those shoes are fun-- they're a nice pop of color." Can you see why he's my favorite?

xo, erika

did you guess right?

Last week I got my very first Stitchfix box. And I was tempted to keep it all--- you can see the goodies here-- but I knew that wasn't too practical.

So I just kept one thing. Most of you guessed the jacket, (which I admit was amazing), but since it was $150 and I already splurged on a gorgeous jacket for winter, it went back.

But what did I keep? (drum roll please)

The skirt!

Megan of Moonbeam Wishes and K8te of Peony for Your Thoughts: I have a really good discount code for you-- email me. :)

To be honest, it was a really tough decision but the skirt was priced right, it goes with a ton of stuff in my closet and will work with multiple looks. But like I said, it was a tough decision.

If you ever feel the need to get cute clothes in the mail-- I suggest stitchfix. You can sign up here :)

As for everybody else,  use "because" for 10 percent off in my shop, just because I like you guys :)

oh and speaking of the shop-- just because it's getting to be the season-that-shall-not-be-named,** I'm beginning to work on a new line. be sure to snag the stuff in the shop now, because once it's gone-- it's gone!

xo, erika

**I'm not ready to be done with summer yet... if you were wondering.

the "really?!?" floral shorts + diy

So awhile back I found a pair of floral shorts. But the floral shorts were from a thrift store and they weren't the most flattering pair.

In fact, when the husband found them in the wash, he was a little confused as to why I would have bought them.

But I had the idea that they could be flattering-- with just a few fixes.

First I hemmed them, took in the sides and then took in the inseam.
I used the fabric from the hem for a tie to cover the elastic back waist band.

and voila!

my newest pair of shorts!

the husband still isn't the biggest fan. His words: "those shorts look very in." ;)

xo, erika

roadtrippin'

Three out of four weekends I've packed up my little car (his name is Brian) and headed away from the city, the water, and the green for the other side of the mountains.


Rather than resent the hours I've accumulated in the car, I'm thankful for the time it's given me to be quiet as I drive the miles away from Seattle, from traffic, from responsibilities and toward dry, dusty and spacious.


This past weekend, it was just me, the radio and sometimes, not even that as I made the trek. It gave me time to about this one life I've been given, to be thankful, to pray and to reflect.

 Sometimes we just need time to do that.


happy monday-- hope it's a good start to your week!

xo, erika

p.s. to a dear friend who has read this blog from the beginning and continues to do so. thank you for inviting me to be a part of your day yesterday. i am honored to know you and am thankful for the many lessons you have taught me since I first met you as that little freshmen in college! you have taught me so much about faith and trust and sharing twins beds. love you. :)

recipe. blackberry galette

If you've been around the blog awhile or know anything about me, you may recall that I like two things quite a bit: pie and France.

So what better for the two to meet?

galette is basically French for a "free-form" pie-- a rustic pie or what I call a lazy pie. It's pie that doesn't need to have a top or fancy pinched sides. A pie that you throw fruit in, fold up the sides and eat immediately after it comes out of the oven. Basically, my kind of pie.

since there are blackberries everywhere right now (like honestly, I picked these from my driveway, ) I thought what better way to enjoy them than in a galette.


filling:
2 cups blackberries (or any fruit)
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbs flour

wash fruit and sprinkle flour/sugar mixture over. this will thicken while the galette cooks.

crust: (2 ways)
1 stick of unsalted butter, cold – cut into slices
3 – 4 tablespoons of ice water (this is key)
1 ¼ cups flour
2 teaspoons sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
 or
1 ¼ cups flour 
5 to 8 tbs. ice water
¼ C. shortening
¼ tsp salt

In both cases, mix flour with salt and sugar (if you're adding it.) Add shortening or butter in chunks while mixing with hand mixer or pastry blender. Mix until the mixture is coarse, looking like breadcrumbs.

Add the water a little bit at a time, each time stirring. Add water until the dough just begins to stick to the sides of the bowl. I usually use my hands here to form the dough into a ball.  Don't overwork it-- just form it into a loose ball and wrap in saran wrap and refridgerate at least an hour and up to three hours. 

Roll the dough out -- use plenty of flour to keep it from being sticky-- to about a 1/4 inch. Transfer to the bottom of a pie tin or cookie sheet. 

Dump the fruit on the center and fold in the sides of the dough. 

Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until the crust is lightly browned. 

 enjoy.

xo, erika

summer ease.

dress: target (borrowed) // shoes: seychelles // bangle: thrifted

i love the ease of summer style. 

i love not wearing a cardigan (except i have to in the office of my day job-- always ferrrr-eeezing!) 

i love bare toes and toe nail polish. (although i admit to painting over my chipped rather than removing the polish and painting a new coat. bad erika.)

i love slow, relaxing dinners on the deck. I can't remember the last time the husband and I ate inside. 

and i love easy, breezy dresses that i steal from my friends' closet.

what do you love about summer style? 

xo, erika

p.s. I got my first stitchfix box yesterday and I kept one thing... guess right and you'll get a discount code to my shop! make your guess here!

 

clothes in a box! (and a guessing game)

The biggest thing now seems to be subscription boxes. there's birchbox for makeup, there's this box for the time of the month, there's a nail polish box and there's a clothing box. 

and i decided, on a whim, to sign up for the clothing box-- stitchfix. 

so I filled out the profile, feeling skeptical, because I'm one of those people that KNOWS what I like to wear (and have been this way forever-- you can ask my mom about that.)

but I thought, why not? And plus, the box coming on Monday totally made the start of the work week loads better.

the husband, of course, was immediately skeptical about the whole thing. 

I told him that I didn't have to keep any of it, but he just raised his eyebrows at me.

"You're going to have a box of clothes sent to you and you're going to send it back?"

Husband. Have faith in me, okay?

So Monday evening I opened the box like a giddy kid on Christmas and tried it ALL on and of course made the husband take photos of ALL of it. 

Stitchfix, you did well. Way too well, in fact. 

>> blouse

 >> dress

>> skirt 

 >> necklace

 >> jacket

Buuuut I couldn't keep it all, because of the whole money thing ... but I did keep something. 

Do you guys want to play a game? Guess what I kept-- I'll reveal it next week-- and leave your email address with your guess in the comments. If you're right, I'll send you an exclusive discount code to my shop. 

Sound good? 

Ok, let's play. 

Did I pick.....

a.) the colorful blouse

b.) the geometric shift dress

c.) the fun striped skirt

d.) the statement necklace

e.) the classic mustard jacket

I'll reveal my answer next week! 

happy wednesday!

xo, erika

p.s. want to check out stitchfix for yourself? sign up here.

p.p.s. linking up to the pleated poppy!

arm party!

I love any excuse for mail.
Well, any excuse for good mail. Bills don't count.

This is why I jumped at the chance to do an "arm party" swap-- make bracelets, send bracelets-- what could be better?

Getting paired with Julie couldn't be better.

If someone told me two years ago that I would become good friends with people I met online, I would scoff. It sounds weird.

But Julie of Julie Ann Art has become a dear friend and sounding board for all things small biz/Etsy related and I was so excited to send her two bracelets I made.

And I was so excited to see what she sent me-- two really cute additions to my wrist. I'm super impressed by the chevron-patterned one. Not sure how she made that.

They were the perfect accessories at the beach:

love them.

other people made + shared bracelets. you should check 'em out here.

xo, erika

wedding wear

 dress: Target (borrowed) // shoes: urban outfitters // clutch: rouge + whimsy

another saturday, another wedding.

and I don't say that to complain. I'm a sap when it comes to weddings-- the details, the vows, the free wine (!) and luckily the husband is too. Going to a wedding reminds us of our day and our committment.

plus it's an excuse to get all fancy.

Like my dress? I wish I could say it was mine, but truthfully, I borrowed it. The bracelet isn't mine either but I can lay claim to my shoes and the clutch.

xo, erika

p.s. isn't this the cutest set up for a wedding? and the chair!! I wanted to steal it.

mind-changing

 tee: urban outfitters (ancient) // skirt: h&m // shoes: bc footwear

So I decided I changed my mind... (which I am apt to do)

friday finds is no longer a link-up just because i am so lazy about creating the link-ups-- (it feels like so much work) and sometimes I don't want to blog my favorites that I find during the week.

I just want to blog.

You know?

It's kind of like saying I just want to dance.

This is why the husband sometimes tells me I'm spastic.

Or my mom says I'm a space cadet.

But if you're curious, I liked this post this week, and this one.

I also like the husband.

xo, erika

p.s. is there a trick to keep pencil skirts from riding up when you walk? if so, i'd love to know it.

your new favorites (+ a giveaway)

I am excited to share with you some of the lovelies on my sidebar ... please do yourself a favor and give 'em some love :)

Dot in the city is a blog about faith + food, sprinkled with social media tips, DIY projects, and thrifty finds for you and your home.

must read from dot in the city: 

how to meet a blogger in real life
warm caramel (paint) saved my life

favorite summer memory: Going to on a road trip with my parents to see Yellow Stone National Park, Mt Rushmore and the Badlands. My brother and I still laugh about the guy who belched in the Badlands and it echoed!

connect with Beth here: blog // twitter // facebook

Handmade, ruffled accessories with sustainability in mind.

must-haves from Sew Beastly:
scrappy fold-over clutch
ruffled tote in red ikat

favorite summer memory:
Having my cousins spend the summer at our house and playing "Olympics".  Yes, we picked a country & competed at different sports...fun times!!

Connect with Sew Beastly here: shop // facebook // pinterest 

and use code ROUGE for 15% off all orders!

 Little Waterlily in a Big Pond is a blog about my life, loves, pets and pet peeves.

must read from Little Waterlily:
fresh bread and freezer jam
story of princess trilly

favorite summer memory: I have one of an evening when Dad came home from work and came out to play with my little brothers and I.  It turned into a full scale water fight with everyone, particularly Dad dripping wet.  I was probably about 12 so it's one of my last summer memories before I entered the "too cool" teenage years!

connect with Leigh-Ellen: blog // twitter // facebook

Radiant Cosmetics is a social enterprise makeup company whose vision is to end human trafficking, one lipstick at a time.

must-haves from Radiant Cosmetics:
Gel Eyeliner
Moisturizing Lipstick

favorite summer memory: The Fourth of July was always big in my family, we had friends who threw a huge party every year. My favorite childhood memories were are of my sister and I furiously making bracelets all of June to sell to my parents friends at the big Fourth of July party and coming home from that weekend. My sister and I thought we were so cool.

connect with Radiant Cosmetics here: shop, facebook, twitter

 I scour the net to find lovely design, fashion, food and life experience a.k.a. life's golden tokens!

must reads from Swell and Stylish:
DIY Colorful Creature Home Accessory
Scouting: Duluth, Minnesota 

favorite summer memory: Camping ohh camping! We used to go camping at least once per summer and we had a blast!

Connect with Rachel: blog // twitter // facebook

 discount code: Advertise on swell and stylish and use code 'take2' for $2 off any ad here

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And because they're so great, some of them are offering some items for you guys!

win one month free large ad space from Dot in the City 

and a large ad from Little Waterlily in a Big Pond

a Rafflecopter giveaway

xo, erika

p.s. i'll be back tomorrow with my favorites from the web + non-web life. you should join me. :)

de-compartmentalized

top: thrifted (also worn here) // skirt: Gap (worn here) // belt: Gap // bangle, shoes: thrifted

I don't always talk deep stuff here. I like light-hearted stuff and fun stuff and inspiring stuff.

And sometimes deep stuff -- like thoughts on faith -- seem strange to pair with a post about a thrifted tee.

But what I'm learning lately is that my faith is not a faith that is easily compartmentalized. And my life, as hard as I try, is not always easily compartmentalized.

It turns out what I wear posts pairs perfectly with what I believe. And I believe that God is honored when I live my life fully -- when I pursue passions with my utmost, even somewhat silly passions like putting together an outfit with a thrifted top.

I am learning to own up to who I am -- in my faith, the outfit posts, my etsy shop, day job, corgi monster and all.

Do you (try to) compartmentalize your life?

xo, erika

p.s. linking up to pleated poppy