Organizing girls' outfits

I just did some shopping and decided try to take pictures of outfits so my girls can pick what to wear. I gathered some pieces we already had to complete some of the outfits.  They were VERY cooperative and are excited to start using the system I created. In fact, even now as I am trying to post, Samantha is begging to go to iphoto and pick out her outfit for the day. Here are some of their new looks:


First we have the bronze boot with the turquoise knee socks with the outfit, or we can choose the black shimmer flats with black lace trim leggings below.





Pictures can't do justice to this adorable outfit.  These jean leggings have brown stitching which totally matches the leopard print, and the  shimmery lace flats are super cute or could be switched for the bronze boots.


I love this little skirt!  Again, pictures can't do justice to it.


We recently picked up these red boots and skirt at different 2nd hand stores.  A true score, and now I can pair them with these adorable striped tights and turquoise ruffle shirt.



These navy polka dot flats make me very happy.



This turned out to be one of my very favorite of all of the outfits.



We had a leopard attack during the middle of our "fashion shoot"!


This trench coat was another gem we found a few months back that looks darling with the new outfit.


Again, the red boots totally make the outfit.  I'm not as confident about the turquoise print socks here, she is so I'm sure she can pull it off!




Miss Ella is always full of confidence, but I will may have her wear cream tights with this instead.


I love these little tights, although they are 2 sizes to big.  Thank goodness there's a little extra room in these boots.  And here again we have a jean skirt we got a while back that she loves.


My beautiful girls.


Here is miss Ella in her sisters old tights and shirt, and boots from a friend.  All hand me downs, except her new $4.00 skirt. Love it and I will have her wear her jean jacket with this.  Super cute!


Here she is with her navy Mary Jane's.

I have tagged each piece in iphoto. So, if one of the girls wants to wear red boots, we just go into iphoto and look up red boots and it shows every outfit we have to wear them with.

As I was working on this today, a few things I had ordered online came in the mail and I was able to get started with this on my own outfits too.  This was time consuming today, but it will save me loads of time later.  It can easily take me 30 minutes on Sunday morning to figure out what we are wearing. Yes, I should plan it ahead and I manage to do that occasionally, but for the most part unless I think about it 3-4 days in advance, it just gets too busy around here on the weekend.

Another great application for this plan is packing for a trip.  It takes me FOREVER!  I'm always trying things on and making a mess.  I also have my girls try things on so I can see just what I want to take for them.  I'm a little obsessed, I admit it.  But now, we will have all of the outfits pictured and just have to round them up.

This has been a time consuming process and I've only just begun.  I have pulled almost all of the girls' clothes out to be thorough and have a complete photo gallery of their wardrobe.  I am very excited!  It will be like looking through a catalog, but then just walking into the next room to pick up your stuff.

Date Night

Last night was date night and like so many times, we headed out without a plan. We had tried to google an Indian restaurant in the area, but no such luck. So we drove around aimlessly, trying to decide what to do, letting our 2 hours and 45 minutes start to tick away. We finally spotted a cantonese restaurant much like the one we used to go to when we were dating.

When we opened the door to go in, we both experienced a flood of memories with the fabulous and familiar aromas from 20 years ago. Even the decor inside took us back in time. It was fun to step back for a moment and remember when it was just about Dale and I. Our conversation was light and cheerful. We ordered some of our usuals from days past; subgum chicken chow mein and fried shrimp, but skipping the sweet and sour pork since we now try to avoid too much fried food and pork. It did not disappoint! We now have a new favorite restaurant, so next month when it's date night and we don't know where to go, we'll know where to go.

Then to top it all off, my honey let me go shopping for clothes, KID FREE, afterward. Did I mention KID FREE?!! I was actually able to find a few things too. Love him!!

So then we headed to the grocery store for dessert and picked up a bavarian filled eclair. Oh my, that was sooo tasty. It's a good thing we avoided some calories and fat grams at dinner, so we could pick them up for dessert.

Then, it was time to go get the kiddos and just like every month at this time, they were on a sugar high but also tired, since it was over an hour past their bedtime. After we finally wrangled them to the car and started the 40 minute drive home, they start whining about being hungry. We had already made it past McDonalds, their ritual spot to grab a small cheeseburger after date night. So, when we spotted a 7-11 we pulled in to get them a hot dog. Dale was tired so he stayed in the car, I wish I could pull that one. Sometime. Ever. He did let me go shopping kid free on date night though, so I let it slide.

When we got inside, my beautiful girls turned into maniacs, begging for donuts and chips. They must have forgotten that they had just confessed to eating cupcakes and junk 5 minutes earlier. Not that a hot dog isn't junk food, but it's the best choice in the situation. Anyways, back to the hoodlums. They had different agendas and loudly expressed them to me, when suddenly Ella's eyes widened, she grabbed herself and yelled, "Potttttyyyyyy!!!!" Off to the bathroom we all went. Once that was all done, I was a determined woman on a mission. Hot dogs. It was 9:30 at night in a 7-11 so this should have been a quick process, but we got behind some people who must have just won the lottery and decided to spend it all on more lottery tickets. Sigh.

"Mommy, I really want a donut!" Sigh. Finally, we got our turn and bought 2 hot dogs. We had spent about 15 minutes buying 2 hot dogs.

Did I mention how thankful I am that I got to go shopping KID FREE.

We ran out to the car and I started to explain why we took so long because I was sure Dale was irritated. He said, "Oh wow, I fell asleep. It seemed like just a minute." Oh wow is right. lol

I love my family, my kids, my hubby and this wonderful night out was a real treat.

I had a great idea this morning. "I will make the girls some Halloween bows before they wake up. They will be so excited!" This simple innocent thought seemed harmless and full of potential. Well something that should have taken me about 20 minutes turned into 2 hours. Everything that could go wrong, did. From not being able to find the glue gun (so much for getting all organized here lately), to having my sewing machine turn into a fabric eating machine! Whew! Scary stuff!! But, on the positive side, I have 2 adorable halloween bows for my little sweethearts :)