The Donut Experiment

Greetings from Florida!! We seemed to escape the winter wonderland just in time for some sunshine down south. One of my favorite things about this trip are the donuts! I generally prefer yeast donuts over the cake variety - unless they’re hot and fresh. This morning Adam and I had a special date with just Felix - we thought he could benefit from some two on one attention - but just as we headed for the door he said “oh no! Please bring baby Beatrix!!” He’s really surprised us with how loving he is of his younger sister! 

But back to those donuts!! We get ours from The Donut Experience and I can’t recommend them enough! The actual experience is a little chaotic (especially around 10am when there’s a big rush), but if you come prepared to wait a bit, it’s totally worth it.

Here’s how it works: When you come in you pick up an order sheet and check off what combo of icing and toppings you want on each donut. We went with the house Key Lime (graham cracker and lime drizzle), glaze and rainbow sprinkles, plain chocolate, plain strawberry, caramel and nuts and strawberry with sea salt. You can watch the staff prep each order, and there is a 15-20 minute wait, but NOTHING beats a fresh hot donut in my world! Unless it’s my son enjoying his donut just as much as his mama. Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree there! 

Have you ever done the create-your-own-flavor donut type thing? What combo do I definitely have to try? Drop me a note on facebook or instagram! 

If you’re in this neck of the wood, The Donut Experiment is at 210c Pine Ave, Anna Maria, FL 34216 and open 7am-1pm. 

What I Wore | Last Day at the Beach

WhatIWore: If you saw me walking the beach or strolling through town in Anna Maria Island, chances are you saw me in this romper - I wore it just about every day! I asked Adam to quickly snap these photos on my way out the door to go shopping one morning - nothing too complicated -  just a cute and easy spring outfit! 

When: March 17, 2016

What:
Hat: Stars + Field (self made)
Shades: Karen Walker ‘Super Duper’ in Crazy Tort
Romper: Old Navy (purchased with a left over gift card of previous partnership)
Bag: Coach
Sandals: Clark’s

Where: Hanging out on AMI

Spring 2016 Inspiration | Blue Palms

Inspiration

Over the past month or so I’ve been working towards something really fun that I’ve always wanted to do - creating a mini spring collection for my closet! It’s not for any professional purpose or for sale or anything, just a project for the fun of it! I’ve used a mix of commercial, indie and self made pattern designs and then selected fabrics to compliment my theme and the different silhouettes. I’ll be debuting each look next week and talking about the patterns and fabric in even more detail! Stay tuned! 

The mood I’m going for is like a hazey blue sunset during an early 1950s Florida vacation - a faded snapshot from the beach full of full skirts, play suits and halter tops.

Palette and Fabrics

This collection is all in cool tones - teal palm leaves, bold kelly green, faded chambrays, navy, and an over dyed stripe.

I’m super limited with what fabrics I can buy locally and I really like to feel them in person and see how they move.  These pieces used both quilting cottons and upholstery fabric (!!!) but I love how the end results have a vintage vibe.  To get the colors right, I overdyed my stripes in the washing machine with a package of indigo and navy Rit dyes. I love how it transformed the colors.

Silhouettes

My skirts are all simple circles that I measured and cut without a pattern and then added a simple waistband to bring the focus to a natural waist. The shorts (which I’ve stitched before) also have a high rise.

For the tops (minus my vintage alteration), I started with sketches and then found commercial patterns that had the same feel I was going for (so for clarity, these aren’t my original designs!) I actually really like using store bought patterns because a) they save massive amounts of time and b) because I really like sewing from instructions! I think one of the things I enjoy most about it is the precision of pinning and sewing the pieces together, creating perfect seams and pressing the garment. Sewing nerd alert! 

Accessories

To coordinate with my looks I’m blocking a new sunhat (no photos yet, still a work in progress!) and a pair of hand made espadrille shoes. I dug through my collection of vintage silk scarves to tie around my hat or beach bag and pull each look together. I also bought a couple pair of cheap-o sunglasses (one pictured below) that are a little experimental for my style. Matchy matchy forever. 

Spring Break Swim

WhatiWore: You guys! I am going on Spring Break for the first time in my life this year! In grade and high school we never did a family trips during the school year and in college I was broke as a joke and my parents were not about to finance a booze cruise for me. But that’s alright… this year I am really looking forward to our extended family trip to Florida.

I like to pick a theme when I go on vacation. For our anniversary trip to Belize I picked out a few swimsuits that had an Aztec kind of vibe. Neon bohemian? For Florida I have plans (and fabric!) to make some 50s style dresses and I bought some retro style sunglasses. So I’m thinking I might grab a new vintage inspired swimsuit too. I tried on some of my retro styles from years past before our last trip and they still didn’t fit in the bosom, but if they do, I probably won’t get anything new. BUT! If I do, I really like these options! I don’t like for my lower stomach to be exposed (except for when I was pregnant! weird!) so I’ve sought out one pieces or high rise bottoms. Help me choose! 

Above: Blue and Purple One Piece, Pink and Black One Piece, Green and Black Two Piece  Below: Polka Dot Two Piece, Orange Blue and Purple Two Piece, Yellow and Pink Two Piece.