Spring Summer Dresses

March weather here is certainly up and down even one day to the next. The ups have me dreaming of Spring and Summer. One thing I absolutely love about warmer weather is wearing dresses! It's an outfit all in one piece that is easy to accessorize.

Here are six lovely dresses perfect for your Spring and Summer wardrobe that I found. The good news is that each one is less than $45. I love color and it's great that wearing lots of colorful pieces is in style!

I created the "set" below using Polyvore which is a free site you can sign up for to browse clothes and other items and create sets grouping things to your liking. I figured since this is a lifestyle blog, why not also do posts about style/fashion every so often :)  This was really easy to create so you will definitely see more style related posts in the future from me!

Which one is your favorite? My vote goes to the last one, the zigzag dress.

Now, come on warm weather so I can break out all my dresses!

Spring Summer Dresses 2013 by emilylaforce

Pattern dress
shopruche.com

Maxi dress
target.com

Sheer high low dress
target.com

H M pattern dress
$20 - hm.com

Sheer dress
modcloth.com

Old Navy floral dress
oldnavy.gap.com

Western Caribbean Cruise: Cozumel

After our Sea Day, we had our first port of Cozumel. Eric and I booked a 3 reef snorkel excursion through Eagle Ray Divers after much research and debating about what port to do snorkeling in.

Our ship from the dock.

That morning we left the boat and headed to catch a taxi to the marina as instructed. I have always wanted to see Cozumel and it was a gorgeous day!

We waiting around for about 45 minutes after getting to the marina for everything to get squared away and all the employees to get everything ready. Things were a little slow getting going due to it being New Year's day so we left a little late.

The boat we were on had 7 adults and 2 kids. It was a small boat and not anything like the catamaran we went on in Barbados but we knew this going into it. Apparently Cozumel doesn't really do catamaran snorkeling excursions. The guide gave us an overview of all the hand signals he would give us for what he saw underwater like making hand signals like a trumpet = trumpet fish. He went over many different fish, sting ray, octopus, eel, lobster, shark (don't worry they don't bite or so he said) and sign of the cross = big shark... that one was just a joke I hope.

We got to the first reef and got jumped right in. The water was a little chiller than my liking but not terrible. We did some great snorkeling there and at two other reef stops after that. I think the last reef was the best. Here are some shots from snorkeling.

Baby shark do do, do do do do

 

Hundreds of sleeping fish. This was crazy to see.

We knew that a lunch was included with our excursion but since we started late I was beginning to wonder if we would have time since we didn't want to cut it close. Well the boat docked at a little open air restaurant. Our guide asked for our orders and we literally had 15 minutes to eat. The burritos were amazing and HUGE so I wish we had a little longer to enjoy them and the restaurant.

We grabbed a cab from the restaurant back to the cruise ship dock with enough buffer time. And as soon as the cruise was over we got an email from Eagle Ray wanting to refund our trip due to the delays and disorganization at the beginning. It wasn't anything we were upset about but this really showed us how much they pride themselves in  perfect service. So we got a free excursion and I would definitely use them again!

We just did some relaxing once we were back and talked with my parents about their excursion, Salsa and Salsa (making a bunch of different kinds of salsas and margaritas and learning the salsa dance) which they loved.

Then we got ready for dinner.

 

And ate some delicious food!

Seafood pasta.. yum!

Cheesecake... one of my favorite desserts.

Then we played some games and hung out around the ship and admired our cute towel dog.

Next up is.... Belize!!

Wedding Registry Recap

After a coworker getting married this upcoming summer talked to me about registering for wedding gifts, it dawned on me that a lessons learned about a wedding registry would be really helpful. Hey I would have loved seeing something like that before we registered. So here are my thoughts broken into 3 categories.

Wedding Registry Lessons Learned

source

What we ended up loving and using (or already had and use):

-Silicon tools and other cooking utensils
-Silicon whisk - small and large
-Our white dishes - We got nice white bone china for everyday dining. It goes with everything and is very sturdy. Ours are by Tu Studio and have never cracked and still look great 3 years later.
-Peelers - We have a set of 3 that are good for different kinds of fruits and vegetables. One peels peaches like a dream.
-Regular can opener - Not electric, didn't want that sitting out.
-Pizza cutter
-Nice cutting knifes - I talked about that here along with knife skills.
-Nice pots and pans - Don't skimp on these since you use them all of the time. We love our calphalon.
-Basic baking stuff - Pans, baking sheets, rolling pin... you get the idea.
-Stand grater
-Cooling racks - The stackable kind are great
-Mixing bowls
-Tupperware containers
-Toaster oven - Don't need a toaster when you have this and you can easily warm up leftover pizza or rolls without using the big oven.
-Dutch oven - We don't use this a ton so it almost fit into the next section but it has come in handy several times so it's nice to have.
-Wine glasses
-Various pyrex with lids and the pyrex warm/cool carrying case
-Queen size air bed - great for visiting others or for when a bunch of guests stay
-Crock pot (already had this)
-Measuring bowls, cups, and spoons
-Colander
-Bottle opener
-Towels
-Tray tables
-Ironing board (already had this)
-Food processor (already had this)
-Hand mixer (already had this)
-Plenty of silverware - we use up spoons so quickly
-Paper towel holder
-Spoon rest
-Oven mitts
-Trivets - to place hot dishes on
-2 tiered wire fruit basket - We easily fill this up every week after grocery shopping

 

What we could have skipped or glad we didn't register for:

-Ice bucket - We have used this once maybe. When we have small get togethers people just use the ice on the fridge and when it is a large get together we always have a cooler of ice so this isn't really needed.
-Just okay vacuum - You should not get a middle of the line vacuum.. it will be perfectly fine for a year or so but then not so great. I will be glad to get a new vacuum when we move.
-Just okay iron - Again you should read reviews and get an iron that will do a great job.
-Fondue pot - used this once so probably not necessary unless you know you make fondue a lot.
-Waffle maker - Also used this only a couple times. Definitely underestimated how often we would make waffles with just 2 of us so this probably could have waited.
-Spice rack - This one may surprise you and while I have used about half the spices in my spice rack, the others are not as common and it would have just been better to buy the spices we like and as we needed others for recipes and put them on a turn table thing or rack in the cabinet.
-Soap dispensers and toothbrush holders - We got these and it was what I thought I wanted but once we were in our house I wanted something different so we exchanged them.
-Napkin holder - We registered for this and didn't get it and never purchased it. We either set the table with napkins or just get them out of the pantry. No need for a holder to sit on the table.
-Tea kettle - We have just used this a few times so doesn't seem worth it since you could make tea without it
-Toaster - Didn't need to get due to toaster oven
-Sheets other than white
-Pillows
-Picture frames
-Home decor
These last 4 were all things that are really personal taste and I feel are best purchased on your own and not in the rush of registry when you end up exchanging or returning them later.

 

What we wish we had added (and have since purchased or plan to):

-More dishes - We originally got enough for 12 but have since purchased more so we have 20 settings.
-Really nice vacuum - See above comments about the "Just okay vacuum". If anyone has suggestions we will be vacuum shopping soon. Update: Email from hubby a month ago while at work "So I bought a vacuum..."  I would be less than thrilled about this not being a 2 person decision if  A) it wasn't a top notch vacuum brand with just amazing reviews and  B) it wasn't a killer deal. So far we love it.
-Really nice iron - See above comments about the "Just okay iron"
-More cutting boards - I had one and we got one but we have since purchased like 4 more plastic ones since we are always needing a few at one time for different things.
-Grill pan
-Dish Drying mats
-Canisters for flour, sugar, etc.
-More tupperware - Containers to fit a couple servings of something are perfect for leftovers.
-More chip/bag clips - These get misplaced easily
-White sheets - Great for a guest bed and goes with anything.
-Folding table and chairs - We use these when we have too many people over to fit at our dining table and the table is great at tailgates.
-More dish towels - These get worn and you can always use more.


Many of you may have totally different thoughts on these items which is great. This was just reflecting on what we learned base on our lifestyle.

Hope this helps some future brides and grooms! What are some of your favorite items from your wedding registry?

LaForce Likes #31: Lego Table

I saw this on Censational Girl's blog and it immediately went onto my Pinterest Kid's Board. Although I'm pretty sure my husband would like one of these right now!

The lego mat on top is really neat too. The table is made out of IKEA furniture. I love how it keeps everything so organized and would be quick to clean up when kids are done playing.

Could definitely see myself making one of these if we have lego loving kids!