Picking Out Family Photo Outfits

I couldn't come up with a catchier title. But it's what I'm going to be talking about today. We are going to be getting family portraits soon and I've been thinking a lot about what we're going to wear. We hardly ever get portraits (the last one being at our wedding, two years ago) so I want to combine as much as I can in the one setting. Because we waited so late in the year we'll be adding Holiday portraits as well.

Story and I have a lot of clothes, and we like to get dressed up. Jordan on the other hand, is really picky about what he wears and the result is not an extensive wardrobe. I kept that in mind when picking the outfits. I didn't want to get him anything new, or force him into an outfit that he would be uncomfortable with. We worked around his clothes. Luckily for me, he has a few key pieces that were pretty easy to work with.

This is the first outfit I came up with. I know it's still August but fall is right around the corner. I wanted this outfit to be somewhat fall inspired without going all out in the traditional fall colors of browns, reds, oranges, and tans. I also took into account where we will be placing these photos. Our home color scheme revolves around the color blue, so I wanted the outfits to match in with that as well.

Jordan's -- black button up- Target. jeans- Kohls. shoes- I have no idea.

Story's -- white knit hat, rain boots- Walmart. purple sweater- gift. pink tee shirt- Target.

Faith's -- chambray top, black skirt- Forever 21. black sweater- Old Navy. purple tights and boots- Target.

For the second outfit I worked more so around Story's clothes. She almost always wears a skirt and a fun top. Jordan happened to have a neutral shirt that would go with these pieces. And her sweater is one of my favorites. I want to have it in our family photos. My outfit is really basic and neutral. I wanted Story to be the center of attention.

Jordan's -- grey button up- Old Navy. 

Story's -- entire outfit is from Target. the pieces were all purchased separately over the past two years.

Faith's -- striped sweater- H&M (recent purchase) jeans, flats- Target.

This next outfit is our Holiday outfit. Because it is still August, I haven't really thought much about Christmas and Story's dress. These are things that we had at home that I felt were still festive without going all out. I might change my mind about a few things here before we actually take Holiday photos.

Jordan's -- white/black striped button up- Kohls

Story's -- leopard print sweater, shoes- gift from Nina. black jeggings, brown headband- Target.

Faith's -- top, pants- H&M (recent purchase) flats- Target. necklace- handmade. bracelet- gift.

I wasn't sure I wanted to do four outfits. But the more I thought about the more I liked the idea of having a casual, every day look. So, most of the items here were pulled out of the dirty clothes hamper. They really are every day staples.

Most days Jordan is in some type of black tee shirt. It normally has something on it regarding the Cavalier's or music. I thought the basic black tee would be better though. He also normally wears a pair of brown cargo shorts. Soooo, his is kind of every day wear, but toned up down a bit.

Story's -- panda tee, rain boots- Walmart. floral shorts- Target.

Faith's -- green tank, blue pants- H&M (recent purchase) flats- Target. white blazer- Wet Seal (recent purchase) As you can tell, these leopard flats are my favorite shoes. They seem to go with almost everything I own.

My best advice for picking out family photos is try and find things that you feel comfortable in. Pieces that you wouldn't mind looking at for the rest of your lives :) Also, try not to be too matchy matchy. Find personal style for each family member and then pick items that work well together. 

Hope this helped. I can't wait for our photo session. Will post those pictures too :) :)




Linked --  Two Thirty- Five Designs

What I Wore

I have a few weeks worth of these. But still, not that many. I went shopping with my Mother- In- Law on Saturday, and I must say it was one of the best days ever. Not only is she one of the greatest people I know, she's also apparently my good luck charm. I finished the day with arm loads of stuff :)

dress- Charlotte Russe. cardi, flats- Target

terrible picture quality. For the life of me, I couldn't get good lighting. 

dress- H&M. boots, belt- Target

better, accidental, shot of the pattern and accessories.

tank, skinnies- H&M. flats- Target.

blazer- Walmart (old). shirt- Dollar General. skinnies- H&M. flats- Target.

a pretty good look at my life :)

Linked ::  The Pleated Poppy
Rolled Up Pretty
 

Some Exciting News

We have a pretty exciting event happening here in the Pike household. As you all know we've been having a bit of trouble with our upstairs neighbors. We've been in talks with the apartment management, and they've pulled through for us. We are moving to a top floor apartment in a different building!!!!!!!!! This is some of the best news ever!!! And, we get to move in on our anniversary. Can't think of a better gift. That means we have a little over three weeks to prepare. It's not a gigantic move, not like moving to a new state or anything, but it's a move regardless. We won't have to pack every little thing but we will have to box up our lives again. I'm not looking forward to that so much, but I am so thankful we are getting away from this building. Management has been wonderful through all of this. Those ladies are real life savers. I plan on putting together a thank you basket for them.

The best thing about this move (other than the obvious fact) is that it gives me a chance to really set up the apartment. When we moved into this unit we had only seen it through pictures. Now that we've lived here for a few months we really know what we want out of the spaces. It was like a trial run apartment. An issue that we have with this unit, and I'm assuming they are all the same, is that there are long base board heaters that are on every major wall. We didn't think much about it when we moved in, but now that summer is nearing the end (already!!!!!) We do have to take into account the heaters. I expect there to be furniture changes in the new unit.

These are just a few ideas I've had.

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I really like the color of this bathroom. Ours is small, but I think this color, along with a gallery type, would add a bit of drama to an otherwise boring space. 

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When we moved the last time we finally had a space where we could add a few bookcases. I really like the storage they've given us, but they are so dark.... I really like the idea Diane came up with, by adding fabric wrapped cardboard to the back of the bookcases. The idea is not that different from my bathroom redo. I think adding a lighter fabric will really make all of the accessories pop. 

 

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I really want to paint our front door. I haven't decided on the color yet. I guess it would depend of the furniture placement, because I want to paint stripes on one of the living room walls.

 

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And stripes in Story's room. She really wants them to be blue.

 

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I want to add a loft bed in Story's room. I think it would add a lot more playing space for her. 

So, these are just a few things I'm hoping to add the next time around. I'm going to start packing this week, and I'm not too thrilled. Before I do, I have a few other projects I completed that I haven't had a chance to photograph. The lighting has been strange around here. 

Wish me luck! :)

What We've Been Up To

Oh wow.... I can't believe it's been this long since I've blogged. That's probably the longest break I've taken. We've been pretty busy these past couple of weeks. It's been great, but I'm ready for the summer to be over and to be back on a somewhat normal schedule. My work has been crazy good, and is only going to get crazier and better. Jordan has been working an almost consistent 40 hours (which is a big deal at Target). We are almost back on our feet. The move put us pretty far behind in our finances. Further than we anticipated. So we've spent the past three months just trying to get on top of everything again. (That's part of the reason I haven't been blogging as much. Nothing extra to spend on house stuff.) But all of that is changing. So, if I can get my act together, be on the look out for house posts, and fashion ones as well. (cause I went to H&M for the first time!! :) )

The past few weeks we have spent with family. It's been a lot of fun. Even though we live in the same state, we don't see them as often as we'd like. All of our schedules are jammed packed.

First we had a visit from Jordan's Grandma and cousin. They came up to spend the afternoon with us.

We had lunch at Uno Chicago Grill. Story got to make her own pizza. She was really excited about it. Jordan and Grandma split a deep dish pizza. Though not as good as a real Chicago deep dish, they still liked it. I had a Gluten Free pepperoni pizza. I've had better, and will probably not order it again.

After lunch we went back to the apartment to enjoy an afternoon swim.

Later in the week we went to visit them all.We went after Jordan got home from work, so it was a late dinner and game night. We ended up spending the night and leaving first thing in the morning.

 The kids playing outside while dinner was finishing up. Then after our meal and dessert we all got out the cards and played a couple of rounds of Hand and Foot. It was my first time playing.

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We wrapped up  the family time by taking a two day mini vacation in downtown Indy. Jordan's family from Virginia were visiting. So everyone decided to stay in a hotel near us so we could spend as much time together before they had to head home.

On Thursday we went to the Indianapolis Zoo. We all had a blast! It was Story's fist time ever to a zoo and my first time at this one. There was so much to see and do. I swear we were there for close to seven hours. We all took a bunch of pictures.

c/o Nancy Pike

Story was the map reader for most of the visit. But we didn't exactly follow her directions. Mostly because she can't read, and all she wanted to do was go see the bats. Not sure where the fascination with bats came from, but it stayed all day.

c/o Nancy Pike

c/o Nancy Pike

c/o Nancy Pike

Story was tall enough to ride on the coaster. It was her first time on one. She sat in front of me with Jordan. He said she really enjoyed it. 

c/o Nancy Pike

c/o Nancy Pike

c/o Nancy Pike

c/o Nancy Pike

After the Zoo we all went our separate ways to get cleaned up. We then had a late dinner at The Greek Island Restaurant. We were too busy eating to take any pictures. We ended the night at the hotel playing cards.

Then on Friday we went to visit the Indianapolis MotorSpeedway Hall Of Fame.

c/o Nancy Pike

c/o Nancy pike

After the museum we had a late lunch at Weber Grill. It was an okay restaurant. I got the Kettle Burger with a Gluten Free bun. Not my favorite. And because there are so many other restaurants in that general area, I would probably not go again. It was a great location for us, we were able to visit the Circle Centre Mall. We had an hour time limit so I wasn't able to do much damage, other than get a few things at H&M (can't wait to show you!!) 

That rounded out our mini vacation. Things are getting back to normal around here. It was so much fun getting to spend that much time with so many awesome people. Really wish we were able to see them more often. 

Next on our list of summer fun is a visit to the Indiana State Fair and hopefully a trip to DCI Finals. And maybe a visit from Dad and Diana thrown in there (if they ever get here ;)