I inherited a trait from my mother that creates a little extra urgency around events such as birthdays, family visits and family vacations. It's the impulse to make these events deadlines for new projects! Hand designed birthday invitations, room remodels, or (most often) new handmade clothes! I think it's not a bad thing because many of these projects wouldn't get finished without the pressure of a deadline. When it comes to family vacations, I enjoy taking photos of my children so much I can't resist the lure of an atypical location as the backdrop for shooting something I've sewn for them. But it does add to the stress of packing and getting things organized.
When we were getting ready for a Spring Break trip to San Francisco I was turning over sewing ideas in my head and realizing I wouldn't be able to pull off Easter dresses plus casual clothes the time our flight left, so I was excited when Kohl's sent me a gift card to shop for Spring Break at their store. I could prioritize some things to sew, and then shop for a few essentials we needed for the change of seasons.
It was a lot of fun to shop with the girls at Kohl's. It was especially great when Audrey found something she wanted to wear since she is the most difficult to shop and sew for, and the first to need new things. I found that Kohl's had some really affordable basics coordinates and a lot of current trends for girls including digital photo print tee shirts and preppy/Palm Beach prints. Some of my favorites!
And I found a new pair of sunglasses for myself! I embraced the comeback of gold with some Simply Vera Wang Vented Lens Sunglasses.
We found cute, casual sets for the girls to run around in when we visited Pier 39 (I love watching the seals!), along with a stop at It's Sugar candy store (fun!), Ghiradelli Square (ice cream!), and China Town (so many tourist trinkets!) on our first day in San Francisco.
Girl's clothing provided by Kohl's:
On Tess: Sonoma Satin Front Tee in Ivory Flamingo and Jumping Beans Lace Trim Leggings in Antiqua Aqua
On Audrey: Mudd Hi-Lo Ringer Tee in Egret Palm and SO Jogger Capris
On Scarlett: Sonoma Satin Front Tee in Ivory Butterflies and Jumping Beans Jeggings
(They are wearing their own jackets and shoes.)
In addition to some of the tourist "musts," which were fun for our girls, we managed to fit in some of my favorite things: food and fabric shopping. I loved visiting the Ferry Building shops and some old lunch spots from the days when I worked at a dot-com in San Francisco. We had a breakfast of chocolate croissants, almond croissants and croques at the mounthwatering Tartine.
(photo from my Instagram feed)
And I had the treat of going to Britex Fabrics with Audrey. I love that store! I purchased bridal lace for my gown there years ago and though we only had a few minutes and a few dollars Audrey and I found some great pieces in their remnants section.
(photo from my Instagram feed)
Our trip coincided with Easter and it's a little strange to be away from home on an important holiday. Luckily we have family in the Bay Area so we spent the bulk of the time with cousins. We attended an Easter fair and egg hunt with them which was a real highlight for the girls.
Games, facepainting, horseback riding and bouncy houses are hard to beat, no matter the other local attractions! It's good to have a balance of things like this on a trip with kids. (Remember when we visited a bouncy house in Italy?)
I used my Game Day Jersey pattern to make some new things for the girls. I'm working on a pattern extension for the straight tee-shirt dresses Scarlett and Tess are wearing with Jumping Beans leggings, Audrey is wearing the Game Day Jersey Tee with 3/4 sleeves and SO Utility Shorts from Kohl's.
It was a fantastic trip! And I confirmed for myself (again) that it always makes sense to give up some of my handmade ambitions in favor of sanity and more time with the people I love, whether I'm getting ready for a party or a trip.
We saw some great sights in San Francisco, but the thing we really loved was the chance to spend a few days with our family. Cousins are where it's at!
Girl's clothing provided by Kohl's:
On Audrey: Mudd Hi-Lo Ringer Tee in Egret Palm and SO Utility Shorts (her own denim shirt)
On Scarlett: Sonoma Printed Sooter in Blue Boats and Jumping Beans Lace Trim Leggings in White (her own t-shirt)
On Tess: Jumping Beans Printed Side-Tie Te in Royal Flowers (her own skirt, leggings and jacket)
