the shift dress.

shift dresses are one of my favorite dress styles, because they're like a blank canvas. you can belt it, or not. add a blazer, or not. accessorize it, or not. layer it, or not. and best of all, because of its straight cut, there's no pressure to hold in your gut. that's right...wear these to breakfast buffets and thanksgiving dinners...no loosening of the belt or

unbuttoning of the pants required.

these JustFab Boa heels have great texture and details,

but its neutral color doesn't distract from the dress.

(JustFab Boa heels c/o)

mini-he built and painted his bird house.

the finished product.

in another tree, four baby cardinals are waiting for food. if only mom and pop knew there was tons of food in our bird house!

*     *     *

enter the giveaway to win firmoo sunglasses!

a week of animals. woof blurp and an oo-oo-ah-ah.

fooled ya!

different kind of animals today. no outfits, just fun pics of some of our recent pets and such. hope you enjoyed the week of animals. i'm finishing off the week tomorrow with a great giveaway, so don't forget to check back.

got pets? tell me about them.

baby fox at the pet store...i was sold.

ducks at ho'omaluhia gardens.

baby fox, finally ours.

catching crabs at the tidepools.

sister's baby bear.

turtle that swam up to us at the beach.

foxy brown and [sister's dog] lola. (rip lola)

feeding goats at the pumpkin patch.

[sister's dog] jonah...aka big jo. (rip jo)

our fish...

mini-he and [sister's dog] paka.

mini-he watching over a sick bird we rescued.

big bear.

our bobo. (rip bobo)

the foxxxxx.

and a monkey swinging in a tree.

in case you missed it:

monday's zebras and deer

tuesday's horses and dogs

wednesday's owls bear and cat

quack quack.

our long memorial day weekend began with mini-he's school graduation. he still has one more year of preschool, but we were there to congratulate his classmates who were moving on to kindergarten. i'm still very proud of the progress he made this year...as one who had a difficult time transitioning to preschool, he's come a long way.

on saturday, we visited ho'omaluhia botanical garden for the first time. it's a huge park tucked up against the mountains on the windward side of oahu. i love coming to this side of the island because it is so lush and green. there's a lake full of fish and ducks to feed, small hiking trails, picnic tables, and lots of lawn space so you never feel crowded. on weekends, you are even allowed to fish (catch and release). the area in my photos is just one part of the garden. according to the map, there are several more areas like it if you keep driving back. with a permit, you can even camp there. on this day, i met up with a friend and his kids, but i brought my parents back a couple days later. more photos from the rest of the weekend

to follow.

mini-he said, "mom, i'm not a graduate. i'm an undergraduate."

don't forget your bread for the ducks and fish!

every tree/plant is labeled.

last weekend in photos.

i'm really behind in these weekend posts.

will eventually get around to last, last weekend's part two.

last weekend was all about animals and nature.

took a stroll in the park in my sister's neighborhood.

the minis enjoyed exploring the the stream, finding fish, lizards, and a whole lotta ducks.

then we headed to the humane society to look at the dogs.

the ducks were in the shade under the bridge.

so many cute dogs that needed homes.

funny trees.

these were almost horizontal.

this guy wanted to come home with me.

fragrant smells as you walk past the community garden.

the stream was flowing pretty fast...this poor duck had to work so hard just to get across. so cute.