Happy Birthday, America!

An experienced blogger would have had her 4th of July post written and ready to post during peak posting hours earlier today.  Unfortunately, I am not an experienced blogger.  My allergies started bothering me last night so I didn't feel very well last night or this morning.  I was able to sleep in (thanks to Mr. How being the ever-so-helpful husband by feeding and tending to the children) then managed to get dressed for the day and pop some allergy meds.

Today was Day 4 of my summer remix challenge.  Since I am limited to 20 pieces for the month of July, I wanted to put together a subtle, yet festive, outfit for the 4th of July.  Here's what I came up with:

The navy tee and the white jeans are two of my 20 pieces.  Did I cheat by adding the red layering tank underneath?  I actually decided not to wear it after taking these photos.  I did paint my nails red though, so technically I was wearing red, white, and blue.  

You'll notice I didn't include my feet in the photograph.  I wasn't quite sure what shoes I wanted to wear.  Does anyone else have that same dilemma?  I posted a picture of this outfit on Instagram with red flats, but even as comfy as flats can be, I needed "comfier" footwear.  I really wanted to wear my white Converse, but we were spending the day at my in-laws' where I'm often running in and out of the house chasing the kids.  I would be taking my shoes off and putting them back on - Hawaiian style - so I knew tennis shoes wouldn't be practical. In the end I decided to wear my neutral sandals.  These sandals truly are the perfect footwear for any summer occasion. Sandals are as comfortable and casual as flip flops (or slippahs as we say in Hawaii) but also a little dressier, so if you're not quite sure how dressy others will be at your event, they function both ways: casual and dressy. 

 

My in-laws moved here to our neck of the woods a couple of years ago to be closer to the grandbabies.  Poppy How owns an antique truck and he drives it in his city's 4th of July parade.  My son, K.D.* and his cousin, Rosie, were able to ride with Poppy this year! 

After the parade, we continued with our holiday festivities.  First, we went to my in-laws' house for a cookout.  There were hamburgers, hot dogs, sausages and all the fixings.  Next, the kids had a blast playing outside in the kiddie pool and with water guns.  After that, we always feed the ducks in the pond behind the house.  For dessert, my brother-in-law made THE (pronounced thee) best homemade ice cream ever.  I dubbed him the Dairy King.  Finally, when the sun set we all sat and snuggled and watched the nearby city fireworks show from the driveway.  

Spending time with people you love and celebrating the freedom we have as Americans is what this holiday is about.  May we never take for granted the blessings we have in this great country God created for us. 

How was your 4th of July?  Did you put together a festive outfit?  Linking up with Mix and Match Fashion, Respect the Shoes, and The Modern Austen!

Remix Rewear Restyle: Flashback

Now that I've officially joined the blogging world, I'm really looking forward to the writing aspect of it.  After all, I am a middle school English teacher.  And notice, I teach middle school, (I also took a break from the world of secondary education and taught third grade for twelve years) so PLEASE do not critique my grammar.  I am being open and honest with my writing here and I don't want to have to get all nit-picky about the mechanics.  That being said, I love to tell stories.  Just ask my students.  There are just so many things we can learn through stories.  Even the storyteller can discover some new things, too.

My friend, Caitlin, who blogs over at Greater Than Rubies, hosts a weekly link-up called Remix Rewear Restyle.  It encourages women to be creative and remix their closets with a different challenge each week.  I used to participate in RRR via Instagram when Caitlin first started it that way, but now she does a link up and I so I haven't been participating until now with this blog. 

This week's challenge is "Flashback."  The challenge is to "take inspiration from an old picture of yourself and show your new spin on a similar piece."  I really had to dig through my old photos to find something I could use for today's challenge.  When I was young, we didn't have all this fancy schmancy digitally enhanced technology like we have today.  Here's my inspiration photo:

Ah yes...flashback to those wonderful days of middle school.  (My students would get a kick out of this picture.)  Here's my story:  I was born and raised in Hawaii on the island of Maui and in the 7th grade I was in the band. I played the clarinet, and we went on a band trip that year to the island of Kauai. I believe this photo was taken at the Fern Grotto.  T-shirts and athletic shorts were apparently in style back then, as were white tennis shoes. Oh how I loved my white Keds tennis shoes! With or without laces. With or without socks. White, black, colored socks that matched your shirt and scrunchie - you name it, we did it all. 

During my recent comfy momma style quest, I was in search of comfy shoes that were still chic enough to be worn with different pieces and for different occasions.  Athletic shoes while albeit very comfy, are not so much stylish when paired with dresses and jeans.  However, Converse shoes are another story. 

I don't know why it took me so long to realize that the perfect comfy momma style althletic shoe is the classic white tennis shoe!  I paired mine here with khaki shorts and a gingham shirt for a little stroll to the park with my family. 

It dawned on me that this outfit would be a festive, yet subtle 4th of July look.  Instead of sporting head to toe red, white, and blue, you have some blue and white in the gingham and a red stripe on the white Converse.  These happen to be  the Converse One Star from Target, so mine really are American as they have the stars on them, too! 

Do you have a favorite style flashback story to share?  I'd love to hear it.