Give me some bling!

I realize as my kids get older they outgrow their clothes.

I understand this is a fact of life.

This is NOT so much how it used to be when they were little. It seemed their clothes lasted FOREVER. Sometimes, I could actually use a winter coat, or a pair of snowpants, or shoes from one year to the next.

This is not the case anymore. At ages 9 1/2 and 10 1/2, it seems we need whole new wardrobes every 6 months. No joke. Since August, Grace has grown another 1 1/2". That makes 3 1/2" just this year. She's outgrown all her pants (in height, not around the waist...she's a skinny minny), her shoes, her winter coat, her long-sleeved shirts, and just recently, her winter hat.

Evan needed all new pajamas, jeans, church pants, and some long-sleeved shirts as well. Good grief! I can hardly keep up anymore!

Now, as for the hat, I bought Evan one last year at the end of the season, and that one is ok. But gloves, give me a break. For some reason, the Bermuda Triangle for gloves resides at our school. I can send Evan with a pair one day, and by the third day of the week, they are gone for good. And to ask him to retrace his steps and remember where he put them, is just too frustrating for both myself and him.

So, anyway, Grace needed a new hat. Her only request when I went shopping last night was that it needed to be chocolate brown. (Our new favorite color in ALL things.) I looked at the girls/teen hats, and they just weren't practical in warmth or fashion. So, I headed over to the ladies department, thinking SURELY she could wear this hat for more than ONE year!

I saw an ADORABLE one that looked like someone crocheted it and put a flower on it. $8. I know, to some this may not be a lot, but when you're possibly replacing something like this more than once during the season, it can add up!

Well, I put the $8 hat in my cart and walked around for awhile until I saw this.

It might not have been miss popularity, but it would definitely win the miss congeniality contest.

At only $3, I could see myself buying it, and adding a flower myself. I've got the sewin' skills, I could give it that little somethin' somethin'. PLUS it was fleece, so I knew it would keep her head warm on a cold Indiana day.

I bought it, and came home and got right to work.

I had the creme colored doily thingy already, and the button, and some pink, I don't even know what you call it, and I DON'T remember why I bought it, but I think it's for trimming out a pillow. Doesn't matter, it was never used, and I knew just what I would do with it.

All this was done while she was in bed, so she didn't see the hat till morning. She loved it, and I can't get her to take it off. When we got home from school, her coat and gloves came off, but the hat remained on.

(NOT her best model look, but it was early morning people.)

Anyway, a little bling (the non jewelry kind) can ALWAYS do the trick!