county fair

 We took the kids to the county fair this weekend. Even though the temperature was in the 90s and low-100s during the day, it cooled down enough in the evening where we were able to have some fun. My husband rode on the merry-go-round and the bumper cars with our two older kids while I stayed with our 2-yr-old and the stroller.

 

 My son was so excited because he won this game against his sister and another little girl. I explained to him that he had to play many times to trade up to a Smurf prize, and that it would take lots of money. He was glad to have won a red stuffed rose. I tried to encourage him by suggesting that it looked like one of the flowers on his Mario Bros. games.

We didn't use up the tickets on Friday night that I had bought in advance at a discounted rate. We returned Saturday to use up the rest of the tickets. The kids enjoyed going on the slide with woolen bags on both nights. 

Polarn O. Pyret and Tea Collection sale hauls

 Flower Power Twirl Sundress, Tomato color, and matching Three Quarter Summer Leggings, Tomato color, both by Polarn O. Pyret (PO.P). I caught a flash sale at PO.P the other day and ordered some outfits for my 4-yr-old daughter. She is about 39" tall (99 cm) and at the end of size 2-3 (98 cm) in PO.P so I ordered these is size 4-5 yrs (104 cm) for her to wear to school this Fall and/or Spring/Summer 2013. It covers her knees and you can barely see the matching leggings. My daughter is such a monkey so I really need her to have something underneath. The fabric is knit cotton and is super soft. She has already worn this dress a couple of times and has gotten lots of compliments. It's still just a little bit long and slightly wide in the torso area. Other than that, this is a winner!

Back view.

 Flower Power Twirl Sundress, Peacoat color, and matching Three Quarter Summer Leggings, both by PO.P. This dress is as stunning as the Tomato version. But, I have already noticed that the printed area is going to have the same problem I have with all of PO.P's dark printed cotton knits, which is that they get this weird faded, fringgy, pilly look after a few washes. I wash all of our clothes in cold water and hang them to dry. The striped part doesn't have this problem because they're solid knit colors, not printed.

Blurry closeup of this fun dress.

I also ordered the Butterfly Floral Dress because I thought it was really clever how there are hidden parrots and butterflies in the print. But since the fabric is poplin cotton, not a stretchy knit, this dress was very wide and roomy with huge arm holes. I thought my poor daughter looked awful in it. And it didn't feel special like most PO.P dresses do. It reminded me of some of the $15 dresses I've seen at Target. I sent it back. It didn't occur to me to take photos of my daughter wearing it because I just wanted to put it away without it being damaged. I had planned on using the Tomato red leggings that I bought for the Flower Power Twirl Sundress.

 Lotus Flower Playdress, Mineral color, and matching Skinny Capri Leggins, Loganberry color, both by Tea Collection. I also ordered from Tea Collection's annual summer clearance sale that started a couple of weeks ago. The selection in my daughter's size wasn't that great, but I managed to find a couple of outfits. I ordered size 5 for her and everything is still a bit big in general.

 Lotus Vines Dress, Mineral Color, and matching Skinny Capri Leggins, Loganberry color, both by Tea Collection. The same pair of leggings match both dresses.

Side view of Lotus Vines Dress.

Anthropologie, Express and Nebraska Furniture Mart

The kids and I went back to Kansas City on Saturday to go to the art museum and for some returns and shopping. I got some more basic clothes to build up my pathetic "stay-at-home-mom wardrobe." We went to The Plaza and hit up Anthropologie first.

 These outfits aren't really my style, but I know that others always enjoy seeing "inspiration outfits" from Anthro.

 We saw these really cool cacti all over the home section at Anthro that appear to be made of canvas. I think I might rip off the design to make some for my own home.

 I wanted to try on the Scalloped Stripes Dress, Anthropologie, again to see if I needed Medium or Large since I'm watching for this to go on sale. It doesn't have any buttons or zipper. I couldn't even get the Medium on. This is Large and fits me really well. I got the tops in the background, which were both on sale, but I didn't photograph them because the kids were starting to act really crazy.

 We walked over to Express after Antro and enjoyed an amazing reggae band that was playing outside in the blazing heat. Despite that, there were a lot of people who had stopped to enjoy the music.  I tried on the Ruffled Raglan Sleeve Pleated Chiffon Blouse in size Medium. It's see-thru so you have to wear a black cami underneath. It's $50 full-price so I would only get it if it was on sale.

 The Scarf Print Banded Bottom Dolman Sleeve Blouse, Express, is the same idea, but with a slightly different cut. Also, see-thru-ish so it requires a layer underneath. Both $50 and size Medium...will wait for a sale.

 The main reason we went to Express was that I wanted to try on the Ruffle Front Elastic Waist Dress, which is on sale now for $47.94. This is a very forgiving dress due to the elastic waist and flowy fabric. But since I have put on stress weight around my middle area since having children, I hated the way I looked...so boxy. My son told me I looked beautiful in it and I should get it. I guess I'm my own worst critic. I didn't get it, but it's still available online in my size if I change my mind.

Lastly, I dragged the kiddos across town to do some returns at The Legends shopping area from my previous shopping trip a couple of weeks ago. But, first we stopped at Nebraska Furniture Mart because I wanted to put some L-shaped, sectional sofas on my mental wish list and get an idea how much we'd have to save up, since we like to pay upfront for furniture and appliances so we don't owe anything on them. When we were heading out, I saw this swanky leather version of the other L-shaped sectionals I liked. It's from the Roxy collection by Lane.  I really liked that it's made by Lane because they make their furniture here in the USA and it makes me feel good to support American manufacturing. I don't know if I can talk my husband into this set because he has something against leather furniture. He claims he gets stuck to it or something. I think it would be ideal for the kids since we could easily wipe up any messes they make. I would not get the huge ottoman shown because our house is small and we need the extra walking space.