Funday Fashion Monday: To the Art Museum

Don't forget that Pars Caeli has a new home! Stop over at www.parscaeli.com for all the latest.

Welcome to the week, friends! How was your weekend? I had a lovely one with the fam. We spent Saturday on the shores of Lake Michigan, digging big sand holes and riding on the truck/ship combo known as the Duck. Sunday we celebrated Rembrandt's birthday with a trip to one of our local art museums that was hosting a family day.

Have you visited an art gallery or museum lately? Have you taken your children? I took my two little ladies yesterday, and we came with our sketchbooks and pencils, ready to capture some inspiration. They loved every moment, and we could have easily spent more than our 2.5 hours waltzing through the galleries. If you haven't read it yet, check out Gabby's post on visiting art with your kiddos. Check the comments esp, great ways to get more out of the experience!

Here are some great summer finds for your next trip to the art museum (or anywhere else wonderful this sunny season).

Those shoes: A nice cork wedge to help you go up and down those flights of stairs as you ponder whether the modern art or the kinesthetic sculpture garden or the Renaissance oils were REALLY your fave.

These earrings: These lovelies are just the right amount of dangle mixed with a touch of sparkle.

That flattering tank: The levels of shirred fabric on this one compliment curves and the tone will coordinate with summer's great pops of color.

This sweater to keep you cozy: Not to be granny on you, but museums can get chilly so keep this bright mustard cardie in your purse or on top of the tank, just to show that you know how to mix it up with color.

That leather yumminess: This tote is supple, large, and can hold all the supplies you take into the museum and all the gifties you take home from the shop.

The sketchbooks and pencils: I find spiral-bounds to be child-friendly and ready to go anywhere they're needed. We stretched out on the floor right in front of our favorite paintings to capture the colors. These pencils are lead free, and they come in a CD case. Super handy and great quality for the price.

That, that skirt: My fave piece is the amazing tiered lace skirt. I've seen lace detail a lot lately, and this lace is done well and wearable. It comes in two colors, and you'll have a tough time deciding which is more awesome.

A tri- to try

Happy Friday! It kind of feels more like Tuesday, but, hey, I'm going with it. We have plans for the pool, the sprinklers, and lots of icy drink around here for the weekend; it's going to be super hot.

I have a triad of ideas for you to discover over the weekend...one for today, one for tomorrow, and one for Sunday.

 #1 FROST SOMETHING
Are you celebrating something this weekend? Perhaps 7/7 on Saturday or Video Game Day on Sunday? Well, even if you're not going to throw a party for either of those, here are some great ideas for frosting a cake. Kelly over at Studio DIY has some great tricks that can make even the least professional among us (pointing to myself) look ah-mazing. For little C's birthday, I disguised my lack of skill under rainbow M&Ms, and I was pretty pleased with the results and flavor.

 #2 PULL OUT THE WATERCOLORS
Watercolor pencils are my new favorite art supply. They have the control of pencil and the blending ability and surprise of watercolor. When was the last time you took a sketchpad outside with some pencils or watercolors? Try it this weekend.

#3 MAKE MESSY SUMMER HAIR

Undone hairdos are all the rage for summer. The messy bun, the roped pony, the loose braid–all beautiful and breezy. Anthropologie posted some great ideas for hair that shows the ease of summer. Here's M's version of a messy twist, designed and styled all by herself.

Hope you enjoyed the Tri- to Try. Wishing you all a bright weekend!

XOXO, MJ

Happy Fourth of July, friends! Today we celebrate the great US of A and all of the men and women who have made all this celebrating possible.

In real life, we're headed over to a friend's house for a cookout/bouncy water slide kind of afternoon, and we'll finish it off with fireflies and fireworks in the backyard. On the blog here, I've decided to throw a pool party!!

I had an in-ground pool for two years when my family lived in a wonderful, warm climate, and I have such great memories of hot afternoons under cool water. These days I don't have the luxury of a pool in my backyard but I can still throw a great party, and I have one cooking for you!!

Louise, Mo (one of my favorite Canadians), and Jess have fired up some great recipes and fashions for you to kick back and enjoy on this beautiful day. Thank you, wonderful women, for coming over and setting the place on fire with your creativity. So, have a seat on the chaise, grab a glass of Southern Belle, check out what Mo's wearing, and be sure to grab a heaping helping of that orzo salad Jess put together.

Louise is a rockstar, and she runs the hot spot blog of Laid Off Mom. She finds greatness, creates beauty, and spins around town with her little ones with ease. She's also, "out to prove to everyone that being laid off is not the end of your life…but the beginning of a better world!!"  And she has made this delectable for us...

 

Catch more from Louise by following her on Twitter.

Mo is hilarious. And she also makes some great jewelry. And blogs. And teaches. Full-time. Check out her goods over at Mo' Funk Designs. She's also got some lovely pool apparel for us to look cool and collected for the fourth. Thanks for bringing your stylin' to the US, Mo (and I totally want that cover-up)!

Pool Party by mofunk featuring polka dot sunglasses

Catch more from Mo by following her on Twitter!

Jess is a science educator by day, and a runner, reader, dog lover, and chef on the nights and weekends. She pretty much knows everything about everything, and she's cooked up an easy, scrumptious summer salad that I'm really looking forward to making for me. Here's Jess...

It seems the dog days of summer have arrived early this year. If you’re like me, your interest in cooking has hit a yearly low. Fortunately, all the wonderful fresh produce makes it easy to create simple, flavorful dishes, like this summer orzo salad.

I particularly love anything that allows me to incorporate farmer’s market finds and fresh herbs from my garden. This week, I was lucky enough to find some beautiful grape tomatoes, and decided to feature them as the star of a simple salad. I also decided that I would use my new favorite herb – boxwood basil.

I found this guy while shopping for herbs and veggies this spring and was immediately smitten. It tastes and smells just like a sweet basil, but the cute little leaves mean that no chopping is required! Less prep time = more time enjoying summer.

I love this salad because the light dressing really allows the flavors of the tomatoes, basil, and feta to shine through. It’s wonderful both hot and cold. It’s also very versatile. Substitute fresh mozzarella, cubed, for the feta, or add chicken or tofu to make this a more substantial main dish.

Serves 4 as a main dish, 6 as a side.

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cup orzo
• 1 pint grape tomatoes
• 5 oz feta cheese
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• Juice from one lemon (not pictured)
• ½ - 1 cup fresh basil, chopped

Cook orzo according to package directions. Drain well. Wash and halve grape tomatoes. Wash and finely chop basil.

In a small bowl, combine olive oil, red wine vinegar, and lemon juice. Whisk to combine.

In a large bowl, combine orzo, feta, tomatoes, and basil. Add olive oil mixture and toss to combine.

Serve immediately if desired, or store, tightly covered, in refrigerator. Best enjoyed on a deck or patio with good friends and a glass of wine.


Yum. Yum. Yum! Thanks so much, Jess. To hear more about what Jess is cooking up follow her on Twitter.


And last but not least (there's always room for dessert), I wanted to bring the blueberry cobbler recipe featured yesterday on Grown-up Goodness for you all to enjoy with a jumbo portion of vanilla ice cream.

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Loveliness!! I adore these kind of collaborations, and I just wish I could have these great ladies over for a real cookout (you would all get along so fabulously!!).

What's up for your Fourth? I'd love to hear.

Have an amazing Independence Day, friends. God bless America.

XOXO, MJ

P.S. If you're interested in collaborating on something really fun, send me an email at parscaeli@gmail.com...It'd be awesome to team up!!

Grown-up Goodness: Fresh to the Oven

Happy Tuesday, friends! It feels so good to return and celebrate all that is wonderful about summer for us grown-ups. I'm exploring the freshness of summer harvests today as I recap a tradition we celebrated this past weekend.

Do you pick? I mean, do you pick your own fruits and veggies fresh from the farm? We live just a mile from an incredible organic blueberry farm that offers nine different varieties of berries, and we make 2-3 journeys every summer to pick, and pick, and pick (and eat and eat and eat).

Our kiddos love the experience of the enormous. So many rows and rows of blueberry bushes are just the right amount of overwhelming goodness. As the girls have gotten older, they've grown to love the blueberry overall, also known as the strapped-on bucket to catch the motherload!

We picked for about an hour and a half and brought home a great beginning with eight pounds of fresh Spartan blueberries.

Now what to do with all of these?

C has eaten blueberries for every meal and snack since Saturday so we're already two pounds done with our first batch! Thankfully we're just steps away from our next pick.

My hubby makes blueberry pancakes for us every Sunday after Church. That's another two pounds that will go by quickly.

With a few of the remaining cups, I decided to try out a cobbler recipe I found from the great Pioneer Woman. Have you seen her stuff? Of course you have, she's so good. Well, about a month ago she posted her favorite summer desserts. I bookmarked and starred the post so that I could come back and enjoy when the time was right.

Uhm, yes, now is right!

Here's my adaptation of her blackberry cobbler for blueberries. This is all you need.

Preheat that oven to 350. Melt a stick of butter in the microwave. In another bowl, pour out a cup of sugar and then add a cup of the self-rising floor. Whisk together to get rid of the lumps. Add 1 cup of milk (I love all the one cup measurements...super simple!!) Now pour in the melted butter and stir again.

Coat a baking pan with butter - top, bottom, and sides. Pour in the batter. Place an even distribution of berries into the batter layer. Sprinkle on a nice, even layer of 1/4 cup of sugar (or more if you'd like).

Pop it in the oven and go read your favorite blogs for a whole hour. The smells will delight you, I promise.

And this is the beauty that awaits you. Scoop out a heaping helpful and top with vanilla ice cream. Yum, yum, yum.

Do you find summer a great time to bake? Or to pick fresh from the farm?

Thanks for hopping over, friends. Please come back tomorrow and join in the virtual pool party for the fourth of July!! Friends from the blogosphere and beyond will be coming over with recipes and fashions to delight. I'm so lucky.

XOXO, MJ

Living vicariously: Ireland

Tuesday, we're here!! And it's time for you to meet another wonderful. This is Claire, the fabulous big sis of one of my besties. She's an Irish friend I've had for many years who shares a passion for exploring design and crafting. We're living vicariously today...in Ireland.

For the past few weeks I have been happily soaking up the joy from all the summer ideas on Pinterest and my favourite blogs. Summer picnics, frozen treats, BBQ salads, floaty dresses, outdoor weddings, birthday parties in the park, drive-in movies... Images such as this beautiful picnic scene are the kind of days I am dreaming about.

And then I remember that I live in Ireland.

Now, don't get me wrong, there are many wonderful things about living in Ireland, the 'craic', the great culture, the stunning scenery, the friendly locals, however it is also fair to say that we have a fairly complicated relationship with Summer weather.

Put simply, you are likely to need your raincoat for all but about 2 weeks of the year. I'm not saying that it rains all the time, because it doesn't, just a little of every day. We have light showers, heavy showers, every kind of shower except for Wedding and baby showers (but that is a whole other issue!). It means that only the most optimistic of party-planners are seduced by outdoor paper lanterns and luminaries, as damp paper doesn't look good in any language.

Last year I moved to live at the coast  in the most Northwest corner of Ireland, beside amazing wide golden sandy beaches, miles long. Here is my local beach on one of the ten or so days of summer we've had, truly glorious.

Today, in the middle of June, I'm looking out at driving rain and 54 degrees. My garden chairs are calling to me, bemoaning the fact that I promised them sunshine and lunches and dinners al fresco, and they have barely a dent so far.

 

But you know, the Irish summer makes you hopeful. There is nothing like the rush in the shops for shorts and flip-flops on the first day of sun in early May when 'exam weather' arrives to make a whole country think that this will be the year of the hot summer, just like the ones when we were kids and the sun seemed to shine all summer long. My mummy will inevitably tell me about the long range weather forecast, which promises a summer of BBQs and Vitamin D for everyone.

Then when we stop being hopeful, about the middle of July, we start being grateful. Grateful for even two sunny days in a row. Grateful for warm dry days at the beach, with hot tomato soup  after you swim in the cool Atlantic, even if the sun doesn't shine. Grateful for the beautiful green of the country and for a pub with a fire on and some nice pub grub.

And there is nothing as hopeful or as grateful for a sunny summer day as an Irish Bride! Not many people outside Ireland know that the summer weather for weddings is actually controlled by a small statue of the saint of the Child of Prague.

It is traditionally placed under a hedge the night before a wedding to ensure a dry day for the bride. Before the weddings of both my sisters there were multiple statues under multiple hedges placed by my mum's friends.. and it did work for them!

However, for those brides who do have to use their umbrellas after all, there is still gratitude. For a bright day, or that they at least got from the car to the church without the rain, and if all else fails, that the notoriously fragile neck on the Statue survived the trip under the hedge! (There are many Irish homes where a beheaded statue of the Child of Prague awaits some super glue after an over-enthusiastic game of football indoors) :)

So come to Ireland... and bring your raincoat!

And as for me, I'm off to Portugal for a week to lie on the beach where I am guaranteed a recharge of Vitamin D!

Claire xx

I wanna go!! Thanks so much for joining us, Claire. We'll see more of Miss Claire on Thursday, when she offers us a lovely DIY. How about you, friends?  Have you enjoyed an Irish summer?  XO, MJ

Mommy & Daddy School

Hi friends! This is totally what I'm feeling right now (so I had to make a pinnable. That's normal, right?). I have this image of my daughter going over to our outdoor faucet and leaning down to take a drink to discover that the water is bursting out of the pipes full blast as she goes to take a drink.

And it's all good.

I have always loved the feeling of going to bed exhausted (let's pretend this is a feeling in past tense) from a well-lived, emotional, love-ful day. We're having a lot of those, and I feel blessed.

However, the organized list of activities for Mommy & Daddy School is not quite what I had expected. As you remember from last week, we base our summer learning together on what makes our children curious. For blogging purposes, I'd like this all to be content-rich, developmentally-appropriate, superior learning.

But, this is real life, and I'm the momma here, and that title trumps blogger in any old Scrabble match (even if it has fewer letters). So, here's what we've had cooking for Mommy & Daddy school. We'll work in our bonus point fun (more on that later) and responsibility songs (ditto on more later) as the weeks go on, with the hopes that these might be useful to you.

Three themes have emerged thus far from our learning: tie dye is unbelievably amazing, scavenger hunts make any kind of learning more fun, and this country we live in is pretty stupendous. (Can I tell you more about the second two in a bit?).

Okay, so let me lay out these fun times so that you can pin, bookmark, star this and do it with your kiddos (or friends).

Tie dying is easy, messy, and perfection for summer. You need:

White (I recommend) cotton apparel - 60% cotton or more
Dye - we used a packaged kit from Tulip that was great and ready to go with squirt bottles half-filled with dye (retail $15)
Rubber bands and gloves (already in our kit)
Wide open space and a willingness to get dye on any of your clothes

We wanted a spiral design in the middle so I grabbed the center point of the shirt and twisted. As the twist got bigger, I placed the ends of the shirt around in a wrapped fashion, and I rubber-banded the shirt, creating four sections. This made it super easy for each child to know where to put their colors.

Some wanted two colors, some wanted all colors, and sectioning it off like this helped them to understand color blocking and bleeding a bit better. We found that putting on way more dye than you think you need is best. Soak it in color!

Once saturated, I wrapped them in plastic wrap to intensify the color. We kept them out in the sun all for about six hours, and I then washed out the dye in cool water. Check out the rainbow sink!

After the water runs clear, which was about 4 minutes per shirt for us, wring out the water and pop it into your washer, with a high water, hot water setting. I kept reds separate from blues just to be sure there would be no bleeding.

 We let ours drip dry (be careful they do drip color), and I was so happy with the brilliance of color.

The kids from big to small loved this. My favorite part of the adventure: these rainbow, water raisin piggies.

Take some time to tie dye this summer. It's addictive.

Join me back here tomorrow to learn how we're going to L-O-V-E our job thanks to Gretchen Rubin and The Happiness Project in our Summer of Happiness bookclub.

Thanks for hanging out, friend. I can't wait to show you more of what's going on over here. Have you started your own version of Mommy & Daddy school? Tell us all about it!

XOXO, MJ

New on Mondays: Funday Fashion Monday

Hello, friends! I've missed you...happy Monday. How was your summer weekend? Mine was filled with all sorts of goodness that I can't wait to share with you.

...But before I do, did you notice that happy, little badge up there on the header? I'm all about badges these days as my 7-year old needs them ironed on (or worse yet - sewn on) her vests and backpacks. So, I decided we needed one over at Pars Caeli, too. This one is to announce all of the lovelies I'm planning for this summer of fun. Can you tell I relish summer? (Actually, Fall is my favorite - yikes, wait to you read my excitement over that one.) As a mom, I can't help but plunge into the joy of summer with my three kiddos and see it all fresh and wonder-ful through their eyes. More to tell as the week goes on, but we're kicking it off big here.

For the summer I'm switching things up for Mondays. Pattern Play Monday is converting to Funday Fashion Monday. Sandals, sundresses, hats, accessories, and more! And, yes, I'll still be challenging myself to be more pattern-rific, but we'll take some jumps around to explore and soak up all the amazing summer fashions loading up store windows.

My weekend was filled with the end of the season soccer games, dinners on the deck, a great roadtrip, and some fun by the Lake.

Are you headed to the water this summer? The most amazing things happen to my family when we reach the great wide open waves: hubby becomes a kid again and goes right for the shovel to begin the grand sandcastles, M who is sometimes hesitant and pensive grabs the closest floatation device and runs to the water, C who is a bundle of jumping energy completely calms down and spends most of the time rolling around in the sand, relaxed, and L who is designated the follower by his big sisters begins to take charge and explicate a great narrative of all he wants to accomplish in the sand. As the mom of this merry band, it's awesome to see the delightful transformation.

So, on that happy note, here are recommendations for fun family fashions at the beach...

Can we go ahead and agree that a great beach cart and sand game are accessories? Good.

If you have not played OGO sport, you need to. It's super easy and great for all ages. You bounce the puff ball back and forth on the black, bouncy interior of the disks, or you can use them as frisbees. Great for the beach or backyard.

This beach cart. I spent a ridiculous amount of time on the worldwide web looking for just the right cart to transfer our tons of stuff. Let me save you the hastle and recommend you get this one.  It doubles as a table with cup holders, and when practically everything gets sandy, it's great to have a raised surface for beverages, phones, and keys.

I loved strolling around town after the beach in this maxi from Old Navy. Pink and orange is my favorite summer combination!

This striped tote from Land's End is big and durable with stripes weathered to perfection.

Retro swim fashions always catch my eye, and this tiny polka dot has vintage charm. Go grab one from Old Navy.

And to top it off this touch of neon. I saw so many spectacular summer hats as we walked the beach today. Well done, ladies, well done. This one is a great, affordable find from Target.

What are you wearing to the beach this summer? What are you must-haves to carry your goodies?

**Not pictured: a jumbo container of watermelon. We must have drippy watermelon on every trip to the water.

Thanks for popping over! It was spectacular to have you here. See you tomorrow...wishing you a bright week.

XOXO,
MJ

Summer hit lists

Have you seen these floating around the interwebs, friends? Great big, beautiful lists of simple, fun, wonderful summer activities that make you wish you were seven again.

Well, maybe this summer we will be. My fam has joined in the fun, too. In the past, we've made our lists over dinner conversations as the school year waned to a close. This year we again had such conversations and now we're writing them down and posting them pretty for all to see.

My job commitments grow more extensive in the summer so I have to be sure to keep these kinds of lists front and center so that I and the rest of the happy inhabitants in our home can have a carefree summer.

So cheers (imagine me and you holding up our virtual Slurpees right now, only I really am holding my medium watermelon kiwi right now) to a great 10 weeks. Here are some easy, breezy summer lists you should check out:

100 Things to Do this Summer and
100 More Things to Do This Summer from Honest to Nod

101 Things to Do this Summer from Toy to the World

10 Things Every Child Should Experience in the Summer from 52 Brand New

40 Free (or nearly free) Things to Do this Summer from The Centsible Life

Let's Play from Lasso the Moon

30 Summer Activities for Kids from Lil' Luna

Join Camp Classic Play over at classic-play.com

441 Things to Do This Summer from We are that Family

(This one keeps growing) The 100 Days of Summer and The 100 Days of Summer ('12) from Mom Advice

And you just have to read this inspired post over at Hands Free Mama.

Here's our list. Please feel welcome to pin or download and make it your own great summer list.

 I have my own summer list that I'll share with you next week as we move into the Summer Edition of Pars Caeli.

Ah, we're summer lovin'.

Have a great weekend, friends. We'll be kicking it at home, knocking off some of these moments like hanging out by the pool and tie dying summer shirts.

See you back here on Monday! Thanks for a great week...it's so lovely to have you over.

XOXO, MJ

PS. If you enjoy a good photo party, follow me and many others by using the hashtag #instacamp (Chookooloonks offers a new prompt each Monday) and #100summerdays (run through MomAdvice.com). It's super fun to see all the great summertimes captured on Instagram and shared through Twitter.

PPS. I made the above image (with the Slurpee) in Phonto. It's a quirky photo app with tons of great fonts that you can add to your images. Check it out.

Okay, I'm done now. :)

The Happiness Project for Summer

When Denise over at Hello Moxie mentioned in 140 characters or less (go Twitter), that she was planning a summer bookclub on her blog, I knew I wanted to join in the fun.

Are you a fan of the combo of summer & reading? I remember the utter joy I felt when breaking open the stack of chapter books I was required to read in the months before my sixth grade summer. I have such happy memories of those days, lounged across my bed or sitting on the lawn, soaking up mounds of memorable stories.

Jess over at Curated Style put our her own summer reading challenge of 30 books this summer, and I was inspired (and intimidated).

So this piece of Heaven is starting slow but not small with a tag along bookclub of The Happiness Project. Author Gretchen Rubin started out on this adventure to find what makes her happy and multiply it. Throughout the year-long experience, Gretchen offers great research and quotes from great leaders and researchers on the study of happiness. As a collector of words, I find these snippets to be my favorite part.

Those and the Note to Readers in the beginning which lays out the Secrets of Adulthood (lessons learned sometimes too late and ones that Gretchen kept in mind while going through her own happiness project).

It's an awesome list, short and to the point. One in particular caught my eye and I had to read it aloud to my hubby,we're right in the midst of this very thing with summer events about to begin:

"You can't profoundly change your children's natures by nagging or signing them up for classes."

Okay, we'll cancel the yoga sessions.

Chapter 1 takes us through her first month of resolution setting and accomplishments. I found Gretchen's goals approachable and ones I might write for myself:

• Go to sleep earlier
• Exercise better
• Toss, restore, organize
• Tackle a nagging task
• Act more energetic

As an educator, I kind of wanted her to set measurable goals (less "better" and "earlier", more 1 hour earlier or 45 minutes jogging). This is likely part of what I need to work on in my own Happiness Project, but I'll try to keep with her #11 commandment here and suggest that there should be no calculation.

Certainly I could use a good dose of all five of these resolutions, but the one that intrigued me the most was number 5. 

Act more energetic

 

That's the one I'm taking away for this week, and I have a feeling it's going to bring a little more happiness my way. How about you? Is there a resolution that strikes a chord with your life right now?

We'll be exploring more of The Happiness Project here and feel invited to tweet with the #HappinessProject to add to the discussion on Twitter.

And a quotable to pin:

Happy Thursday, friends! See you back here tomorrow...bring your happiness. Or leave it behind, you'll find some here.

XOXO,
MJ