Through the Grapevine

Mr. Fantastic's family is hosting an engagement party for my brother in law and his fiancee in a few weeks.  Yesterday, my in-laws and I went to do a site visit and get the venue secured.  The party will be held at a local vineyard and winery.  I wore a grape colored top as a nod to the vineyard.

Camisole: H&M (old); Top: Saint Tropez West (old)

Skirt: Trina Turk for Banana Republic

Sunglasses: c/o Toms

Necklace: Express (old)

Bracelets: c/o Y&I Boutique in Dallas

Bag: Rebecca Minkoff Amour (gift from Mr. Fantastic) 

Shoes: Manolo Blahnik Sedaraby (old)

The Trina Turk for Banana Republic collection really blew me away this summer.  So many of the pieces were fun and versatile and I ended up with more pieces than I initially anticipated.  I really blame the blogging community for my uncontrolled spending. ;)  I loved the way Kelly styled this skirt over the summer and I was happy when I found it on sale in my size last month.  I've worn it a couple of times, but never had my camera with me.
Initially, I thought I would wear a pretty cocktail dress with nice heels and clutch to the party.  After the site visit, that is out the window.  The parking lot is all gravel, the walkways are sloped and uneven, and we will all be sitting outside in the grass.  Heels are definitely out.

Any ideas for what to wear? I want something a step above casual, but definitely comfortable.

Balloon Festival

Over the weekend, we made a big family trek out to the Plano Hot Air Balloon Festival.  Our teenager kept asking to go and I had always wanted to go, but we'd never had the time.  Of course, I didn't realize it was a big ploy by our teenager to have a date with his girlfriend! Yes, I feel VERY old saying our teenage son has a girlfriend...Mr. Fantastic was traveling for work this week so we decided to go on Saturday morning to view the sunrise launch before he had to leave to the airport in the afternoon.  The wake up call was at 5:30 and I was shocked (and a tad embarrassed) when my sister in law and her daughter showed up promptly at 5:30 and we were all still stumbling around in the dark.  But we made it! We picked up the girlfriend and my father in law met up with us and it was wonderful!

I don't suggest the sunrise launch for people with children.  When we arrived, there were two balloons assembled for what is called the "glow" and even though the website stated that the launch was at 7AM, it was well after 7 before the first balloon took off and the others started being assembled.  This caused some restlessness among the kids who were now alert, hungry, and not entertained.

Once the launch was underway, it was incredible!  The cost of hot air balloons must be prohibitive because almost every balloon was sponsored, but the balloons for the kids were fantastic and fun to look at!  The best part was that once all the balloons had launched, everyone was allowed onto the flight field and you could go inside and have a look at the inner workings of the hot air balloons that were not going to launch.

We had a wonderful time and were already at breakfast by 9AM.

What are cool events you recommend for a family with a pre-teen and a teenager?