OMGosh... I LOVE IT!!!!!!

Alexander was being a little frisky this morning and resisted standing still... I was able to capture the essence of the shirt... Didn't it turn out wonderfully? Do you think Mr. Lauren would be upset or proud of my creative prowess? (LOL)





I un-tie died a faded red Polo of Alexander's... I so puffy heart this shirt now!!!! (And I made a terrible one of mine that looks like I tried to drink a mug of coffee while asleep... Will post that later.)
(See below post for directions and how to.)

Fluffernutter Sandwiches, Garden Grown Tomatoes, Reverse Tie-die, & The Dentist

It's amazing how productive one is when one cannot access one's blog! There were Blogger/Internet issues regarding this blog yesterday, but not my other one -- which was strange. And so being able to blog meant, well, spending some good, quality time with the children. And it was not half bad! (Kidding!)

I had this crazy idea that came to me after we painted our shirts the other day. Because not only do we have stained shirts that I hate to toss, but I also have faded shirts. Shirts that still fit the children but look old and worn. So what would happen if I tried to give new life to these shirts doing a reverse tie-die? I decided to try with one of mine. After a good, long bleach soak I was thrilled with the results!

The shirt, where exposed to the bleach, turned a pastel shade of pink and where it remained protected by the rubber bands remained pretty true to its navy origins, with a little hue of purple.

I washed, dried and ironed the shirt and then had to try it on! I wore it paired with my white linen capris and white Jack Rogers (and over sized pearl earrings) for one look. Then paired it with a pair of dark denim boyfriend jeans and ballet flats. (I kept the large earrings on.) I loved the look of both outfits. I loved the shirt!

Rebecca is envious and so I promised her a trip to Target to pick out a shirt so that we could do this too. (The shirts are $9 a piece)



Here's what I did:
I took an inexpensive navy blue long sleeved shirt (Merona from Target). I wanted to test it out on a shirt that I didn't love! I have slews of rubber bands, and started wrapping them around each sleeve, top to bottom. In the case of the thinner bands, I would wrap three at a time to achieve the same results the wider bands yield. Then I rolled the shirt (not the arms) and wrapped rubber bands around the shirt. (See above picture.) Then, in a large plastic bowl I added 9 cups of water and 1 cup of bleach. I mixed the solution well using a wooden spoon and immersed the shirt into the bowl. I did this on the laundry room floor so that there would be no damage done in the case of any bleach spilling onto the floors. This process took a while. To achieve the pale pink, the shirt was in the bleach solution for roughly 10 hours.
When the shirt was ready I wrung all the water and bleach out, removed the rubber bands and washed it in the machine alone as I did not want any of the bleach to leak out onto other clothes.
I am currently doing this to a faded Polo shirt of Alexander's (worn previously by big brother) and a dark grey shirt of mine. I will keep you posted as to how those turn out as well.
We also picked some of our tomatoes. Lovely, aromatic vine ripened tomatoes... I think tonight we'll have them on fresh Baguettes that we'll pick up from the French bakery in town... perhaps with a basil pesto and maybe a slice of Manchego or Parmesan...

The kids have asked for

and I am thinking that the combination of marshmallow and peanut butter would be fabulous in a cupcake! We'll have to create that next!
We've done a good bit of baking as well... a large Rustic 12 inch scone with almonds and raisins, dried cranberries and chocolate chips... Cut what you need. A bit sweet for breakfast... perfect with your afternoon tea or coffee... recipe will be posted on the food blog... eventually!
I had 7 almost over-ripe peaches that begged to be used up. I used 3 in a Peche Tarte Tatin and the other 4 in a One Bowl Almond Peach Cake... We haven't even tested that one yet.
Last night all three kids went to the dentist. We've just switched practices to a pediatric one. They were wonderful in there! Everyone was so nice and helpful and really made the kids feel like kids. They didn't want to leave and could have stayed all day getting their teeth cleaned while watching Sponge Bob Square pants on the TV on the ceiling! Or they could have stayed and played Guitar Hero and other Wii games. Alexander could have crawled around in the large wooden castle for hours!
All three kids had their cleanings at once in the same room. But seeing as how we were in and out in an hour, I think next time I will schedule everyone's appointments separately!
After the dentist I had 3 tired and hungry kids. So I called Daddy who met us out at The Beach Cafe. The kids and Daddy had BBQ Sliders and I had a Lobster Roll Sandwich. I can't seem to get enough of these this summer. It was a perfect night. The rains had come and gone. The temperature dropped about 20 degrees in an hour. The humidity had vanished as well. We drove home with the windows open, Rebecca in the passenger's seat, the boys in back, singing, (belting) Carly Simon's Natural Woman, Tom Cochran's Life is a Highway and Jason Mraz's I'm Yours... We had the wind blowing through our hair and we were rocking out and laughing and having such a good time... it was then it struck me how much Rebecca is growing up and how much we have in common and how much fun we have when we are together. She's growing up way too quickly, but she's also a lot of fun!
Now that this post is done I'm off to enjoy my kids and urge you to as well... Summer will be over before we know it!