sunday at hyde park

Today we went to the first hour of church at the Hyde Park Ward. Since our plane got in at 7 am this morning and I slept about a total of 2 hours on the plane, it made the day a long one. Luckily after church mom and I went to Hyde Park (the park, not the church) and took a nap on the grass. It. Was. Amazing. We only slept for like an hour but it was just what we needed. It reminded me of siesta time in Spain when a group of us would find a park, cuddle up en-mass and sleep for an hour or two before going back out into the city. Siestas were one of my favorite things in Spain and, even two years later, I still miss them.

Today was also the first official day of my 6 Items or Less experiment. I first read about this experiment in The New York Times and was especially impressed with how one of the founders, Heidi Hackemer, was able to make so many different looking outfits with only 6 pieces of clothing and wondered if I could do the same. I find that I normally wear pretty much the same thing all the time anyway, the same t-shirts and same jeans/shorts, so even when my closet is still full it seems like I have nothing to wear. I figured this would be a good way to stop fighting my inner impulse to wear the same thing all the time and see if I could really cut down on my wardrobe in a real way. Since I am moving the day after we get back from out trip, it would be nice to get rid of some of my clothes instead of dragging them half way across the country with me where they will still remain unworn.

I decided that this vacation would be an ideal trial period, seeing as we have to pack small bags anyway. Besides, it's better on trips to plan simple outfits and it's easier not to worry about what you're wearing too much since you're doing so much other stuff. After some deliberation I chose to bring 1 pair of jeans, 6 white v-neck shirts (which count as one item since they're all the same), 2 black shirts (ditto the white shirts rule), 1 scarf dress, and 2 cardigans, one turquoise, one gray. I also brought an assortment of scarves and jewelery to switch things up a bit. Here's my first day outfit:

Remember, it was church day, so the dress or skirt was essential. The cool thing about the dress though is that it can also be a skirt or a shirt, so it's a good, versatile piece of clothing to have. It was a little chilly, so I was glad to have the cardigan, and I wore a dress slip underneath too so that added some warmth as well. As an added bonus, the dress was actually comfortable to wear pretty much all day, despite the fact that I normally change out of my church clothes asap. All in all, day 1 was a successful one! At least, in terms of The Experiment.

while the parents are away

So my parents are out of town for 10 days. There! I said that one thing that children are never supposed to tell strangers: I am home alone. Well, I'm not really home alone, my 3 brothers are here with me and they could totally beat you up if you tried to break in! Two of them are black belts in Tae Kwon Do, you know. Just sayin'...

While the parents are gone I am in charge of making dinner and so far it has been a breeze! The first day we all just snacked so when dinner time rolled around no one was hungry, then Saturday night we got invited over to a friend's house, then today at church someone else invited us over! The fates have been smiling upon us (well mostly me, I suppose). But seriously, how nice of people to invite us over! They totally didn't have to, didn't necessarily know that our parents were gone and we had to fend for ourselves, but they listened to the spirit and went outside of themselves to offer some service. Pretty great.

Tomorrow my friend Katie, who I haven't seen in for-ev-er, is coming over for dinner and she is going to help with the cooking of...whatever it is I decide we're going to have. Garrett is going to show us how to make corn on the cob by cooking it in bbq coals and I am pretty excited about it. I love corn! Also Katie.