Ok, so raise of hands…how many of us have like 30 pairs of jeans sitting in the closet, but realistically only wear our current five favorite pairs over and over again?  Guilty!  Whether it’s the cuts that are “in” or just the ones that fit best at the moment, it’s so easy to have our go-to jeans…but what about the rest?  They’re getting lonely!

Give your old jeans some love and use this little trick to get them back in the rotation again this summer.  You’ve probably seen the “no-hem” jeans on your fave instagram fashionistas or your most frequented boutiques…they’re everywhere right now.  They are SO easy to make on your own though!  Just grab an old pair from the back of the closet and I’ll walk you through it.  It works for any style, even flares, but it does add around 1-2″ of length, so a cropped pair is a great place to start.

Here’s all you need, your jeans, a seam ripper, and an iron:

Uncuff them if they are rolled, and flip the bottom up so you can see where the hem is stitched:

Using the seam ripper, start pulling out the stitches, ensuring that you don’t poke through the actual jeans.  At the side seams, you may have to pull out some extra stitches where it is sewn down so the leg doesn’t taper in.  If you’re working with a flared style, you may even want to move up the outside seam to give it a “vent” so that it will continue to flare out.

Unroll the hem length all the way down and pull out any loose threads that remain.  Then iron the hems front and back until they lie flat on their own.  You will have some “fringe” hanging down – you may want to trim any extra long pieces, but be sure to leave at least a little as this adds to the character of the unhemmed look!

And voila!  In under 30 minutes, these jeans are back in your top 5 rotation!

xoxo, Monica

Spring is definitely in full force here in the Carolinas.  With warmer weather I always get cravings for tons more fruit in my diet…refreshing, healthy, and soooo good!

I love making a big fruit salad for the family.  The three of us can make one disappear pretty quickly, so I love having great fruit salad recipes on hand.  This one is one of our favorites – definitely on the sweeter side, so it’s also a great dessert alternative!  I adapted this from another recipe years ago, and have added my own twists over time.  It’s crazy easy to make and many ways to change it up…enjoy!

Get started with your cream cheese and sugar (the good stuff!).  I use the 1/3 less fat version of cream cheese to up the “healthy” factor…aka, so I can get away with calling this fruit salad rather than dessert.

I use my mixer, though it can be done by hand, because well I really just love my mixer. I add in the lime juice halfway through mixing, scrape down, and mix some more.

Then fold in (gently) your whipped cream or whipped topping.  I use Lite Cool Whip if I’m in a hurry, and to cut back some calories.

Grab your berries of choice – make sure they are fresh, not frozen, as frozen berries will ruin the fluffiness of the cream and become a soupy mess.  You can take my word for it.  I sacrificed and did the testing for you on that one.

Once you fold in all your berries, its ready to serve!  You will have swiped a few (dozen) cream-covered berries at this point.  So try to resist just grabbing a spoon and keeping it all for yourself – it’s very pretty in simple glass bowls/cups if it makes it that far!

Berries and Cream Fruit Salad

6-7 c. assorted berries (more if you want it to be heavier on the fruit than the cream)

8oz. cream cheese

1/2 c. sugar

2 tsp. lime juice (key lime juice is especially tasty)

3-4 c. fresh whipped cream, or whipped topping

INSTRUCTIONS:

Prep all your berries by rinsing, chopping, etc. and set aside.  Mix cream cheese and sugar in mixer on medium speed.  Once all sugar is mixed in and mixture is smooth, scrape down, add lime juice, and mix completely.  Fold in whipped cream by hand.  Fold in all berries and mix fully.  Can be chilled for 15min prior to serving depending on desired consistency.  Enjoy!

xoxo, Monica

Clearly I’m doing this all wrong.  I’m not a twenty-something….in fact, I just celebrated my 33rd birthday a few days ago.  Gasp!  I know, in blogger years, I’m pretty much ancient.  Luckily, my hubby, who celebrated his 36th bday two days prior, assures me that I’m still his hot young thing.  So I can live with that.

I also don’t live in Southern California…anymore…actually moved away from beautiful sunny San Diego about three years ago.  Or New York…don’t live their either. We’ve set down roots in a suburban Carolina neighborhood and actually really like it – I know, suburbs, gasp again!

So what business do I have starting a blog??  Well here’s the thing.  I’ve done a lot of reprioritizing lately in life/career and it’s given me a chance to observe a view that many of us women have.  We’ve grown up…we’ve established our place in the world with “successful” career paths…we’ve established homes for ourselves with spouses and children that we care for daily.  We’re doing what we’re supposed to do.  We are older and wiser, and so we go through our routines because that is the responsible thing to do.  We don’t quit our jobs to chase some dream, spend hours learning how to have “instagram brows”, or jet off to some tropical land rather than taking the kids to Disney for our Summer escape.  Right?

Actually, as I’ve looked around at my friends, my colleagues, myself…YES, yes we do!  In the midst of our grown-up, get things done because no one else will, kind of days…we are still the cool kids and gypsy souls that we used to be.  We are allowed to be the hot moms in the carpool lines.  We can chase our dreams.  We can most definitely still fall on our knees and pray through the days we just can’t adult anymore.  We are the haute wives, and I want to share how we live life to the fullest.