FIVE

It's been 5 years since I started this blog!  Crazy how much life has changed.  I had been thinking of starting a blog for months but kept talking myself out of it.  John had his friends over on a Friday night and I was bored and finally went for it.  I thought I'd have more sewing projects and more book reviews, but it's mostly just been outfits.  Nothing groundbreaking, although I am known to wear floral in the fall.  And the last couple years have been pretty weird since I stopped working and had all these babies.  Clothes have been a strange assortment of maternity and post-maternity and days I actually get dressed are rare, much less take pictures.  Sometimes I think about quitting all together,  but it's still a fun outlet for me when I find the time.  

I had been thinking I should do something fun for my blogiversary, but time just got away from me, as it does when small children run the household.  Anyway, happy 5th anniversary, blog!  It's been fun!  

Dress: Old Navy

Jacket: JCF
Shoes: Target

Police Encounter

I'm pretty much a rule-follower, so I haven't gotten into very much trouble in my life.  Whenever I think I might be in trouble with an authority figure, I kind of panic, frequently cry.  A few years ago, I got pulled over for not stopping long enough at a stop sign (I stopped, I am 100% sure he was just bored), and the conversation went something like this:

Police Officer: Miss, are you crying?
Me:  *sniff sniff* NO *sniff sniff*   yes

Another time, I got caught at a checkpoint because my registration had expired over a year prior, but the reminder thing got lost in the mail, and I never thought about renewing it.  Oops!

So you can see my run-ins with the law have been pretty rare and pretty lame.  Until this past weekend...  (dun dun dun)

We went to dinner and it's always a bit of an ordeal getting all the kids and the bag and our to-go drinks into the car.  As I was backing out, there was a police car that looked like it was waiting for my spot, but then they were motioning all crazy to me, and I totally panicked.  I didn't know if they wanted me to go or stay or what.  I just pulled back into my spot, while John was like "what are you doing??"  The cops pulled up further and hollered at me "There's a drink on your roof!  That's a party foul!"  Ohhhhh, that makes sense.  My life of crime continues.

(this is what I happened to be wearing that day)

Shirt: Old Navy Maternity
Jacket: JCF
Shorts: Loft maternity
Shoes: Sperry

Standard Activities

You'll never guess what I did the day I wore this outfit.  Oh wait, it's the same things I do most days that I wear something remotely blog-worthy!  Lunch with John and then a doctors appointment for Mr. Baby.  Only on this particular day, it was even more exciting, because apparently my slip was showing out the bottom of my dress, and my collar was unintentionally popped.  Never a dull moment around here, you guys!

Dress: Lilac via Bella Gravida
Jacket: JCF
Shoes: Target

Orange Blouse

Well, I'm still about a month behind on posting outfits.  This was from early April when we went out to dinner with John's mom and grandpa.  I, of course, took the opportunity to wear one of my maternity box clothing items.  I don't love this orange blouse, but it was something different to wear. Plus we went to dinner at my favorite restaurant, so that was fun!

ETA:  I'm totally cheating and linking up with Third Thursday Threads, because I can't be trusted to pay attention and actually post the theme on the proper day.  But white jeans from last Friday seems recent enough, right?

Jacket: JCF
Top: Lilac via Bella Gravida
Jeans: ON Maternity
Shoes: Target

Red dress

I'm a good 5 or so weeks behind on outfit posts, but I'm going to try to post them somewhat in order.  This was from late March.  I think I just wore it to run a few errands with Mr. Baby and meet John for lunch.  This is my $4 dress from Gap.  I'm sure it's not the most flattering, but it is comfortable, and sometimes that's all you need as a pregnant lady!  

Jacket: JCF

Dress: Gap

Shoes: Target

Doctors and Duck Ponds

I wore this a couple weeks ago for my big exciting ultrasound.  John and Mr. Baby came with, and then they went and ate lunch at the duck pond nearby while I had my appointment.  And then I got lunch and found them.  Incidentally, these shoes are not that comfortable for walking around a duck pond.  

Ultrasounds are so weird and so incredible.  We got to see Baby2 doing all his crazy moves, and he stubbornly kept his legs in front of his face so our 3D face  pictures look like he has toes growing out of his forehead.  The tech assured us he doesn't. 

FYI, I won't be posting any ultrasound pics.  I guess I just feel like photos taken of the inside of me shouldn't be on the Internet.  Even though u/s pics pretty much all look the same!  

Jacket: JCF

Tank: ON maternity

Skirt:   Via Bella Gravida

Shoes: ON

Blogiversary Quatro

Has it been 4 years already?  I don't know whether to be proud or ashamed that I've kept this up so long.  Anyway, I figured it would be a good time to share my new favorite dress. I picked this up at Loft last week to replace the birthday sweater that didn't fit right.  You know, not that I needed a new dress, but isn't it pretty??  And I've already worn it twice!

Dress: Loft (exact - on sale and extra 40% off!)
Jacket: JCF (similar)
Shoes: Old Navy (similar)

Birthday Lunch Dress

Only about 3 weeks late, here's what I wore for my birthday lunch.  This is one of the dresses I bought at The Limited before our October wedding, but didn't end up wearing it.  But I liked it enough to keep it.  I figure it can be dressed up or down, and should work in all seasons of the year.  The blue belt came with it, but I'll probably switch it out for a black one so I can go crazy with all my different colored cardigans.  

Dress (and belt): Limited (similar)
Jacket: JCF (similar)
Shoes: Target (exact without captoe)

Rehearsal Dinner

On Friday, we loaded up our car and drove down to Topeka, KS for our friend Ben's wedding.  You may remember him from the Montana trip.  Anyway, it was a crazy and fun weekend celebrating with him and his new wife!!  Mr. Baby added some complexity and a whole lot more stuff!  Our car was pretty full for a 3 day trip, and not just because I brought 5 pairs of shoes (and only wore 3 pairs).  

John was a groomsman, so we went to the rehearsal dinner on Friday evening.  Of course, I had to figure out what to wear.  My plan was to stock my Letote with 3 dresses and hopefully be able to wear one for the rehearsal and one for the wedding.  I also picked jewelry that I thought might be cute with the dresses.  Here's what I got:

The black dress was too short.  The geometric one was too short and too bodycon (but I love it so much, I was tempted to wear it anyway.  I might request it again during tights season).  The windowpane dress was too low cut, but I fixed that with a cami.  It was cooler in the evening, so I threw on my denim jacket and pink shoes because I always need some color.

We took a couple pictures at the dinner and then in front of the Kansas Capitol building, but I completely spaced on a full outfit picture until we got back to the hotel and I was already in my pajamas.  Blogger fail!  Anyway, I decided to try the "lay the outfit on the bed and take a pic" trick.     

Don't worry, I remembered to take a real picture of my wedding outfit. But more about that later.

Jacket: JCF (similar)

Dress: LeTote (sleeveless, sleeveless, cheap)

Shoes: Target (similar)

LeTote Green Dress

After a few years of thinking about it, I finally signed up for LeTote.  I'm at a weird place right now with my closet, so I figured it was a good time to try something different.  This dress was in my first tote and I knew it wouldn't work for church, because the front was a little short, and the top was just a wardrobe malfunction waiting to happen when carrying a grabby baby.  So I went for the "overdressed housewife meeting her husband for lunch" look.  Is that a thing?  Let's say it's a thing.  

Anyway, the dress was a bit too large, and a bit too short, but it was fun to wear.  I think I dressed it down enough that it wasn't too weird for a random weekday.  

If you aren't familiar with LeTote, it's basically Netflix for clothes.  Monthly subscription, they mail you clothes, you wear and mail back.  Repeat.  You can either let them pick out what they send, or request specific things.  For the first one, I just went with their picks based on my style profile.  Each tote has 3 clothing items and 2 pieces of jewelry.  Here's what they sent me:

I actually didn't wear all 5 items from the first box.  I just wore this dress and the bird shirt and sent it back.  The jewelry was cute, but I didn't have any reason to wear it, and was anxious to send the box back to get my next one.  The striped drapey cardigan thing just isn't my style, plus the weather wasn't conducive to long sleeves last week.  

For the second one, I chose specific things.  I tried to pick a dress I can wear for church, and picked jewelry that should work with the dress and with Mr. Baby.  I just got that box, so I'll be wearing all of those items and sharing my thoughts on it soon!  

So far, I think it's a fun way to get new clothes without buying new clothes and cluttering up my closet.  It's also nice as I'm between sizes and hopefully changing sizes.  I wish there was an option to just get the clothes and not the jewelry, because jewelry isn't something I need to wear right now.  I also wish you could send things back one at a time, like you can with Netflix, instead of each tote coming and going as one.  I'd like to wear the dress, and send it back right away, rather than waiting until I've worn all of the other items.  There are rumors of a maternity line coming soon, which I think would have been totally awesome!  

If you are interested, you can get half off your first month by using my referral code.  It will also give me a $15 credit, so YOU ALL SHOULD DEFINITELY DO IT! 

This post wasn't sponsored by LeTote, although I wish it was.  When exactly do companies start sending me free stuff?  I'm sort of joking, unless you are a company that wants to send me free stuff.  

Jacket: JCF (similar)

Dress: LeTote

Tank: Gap (exact)

Belt: Madden (exact)

Sandals: Target (similar)

New Hairstyle: The Frun

In the last month or so, I keep hearing about the "hun" hairstyle, which is just a half-up bun.  But sounds stupid and disappointingly has nothing to do with Attila.  So I invented a new, even dumber sounding and looking hairstyle, called the "Frun."  It's a bun, but with SO MUCH FRIZZ!

Seriously, I didn't realize how bad my hair looked until we took pictures.  This is a risk you take when getting yourself ready at the same time as a 4-month-old.  I thought the bun was higher, and less frizzy.  More like this one.    I'm sure taking pictures in front of the white garage door made it worse, too.  Maybe in a few years, I'll be able to wear my hair down all the time again.  

Anyway, it's the next big thing!  Tell all the movie stars and bloggers!  A quick google search assures me no one else has invented this hairstyle yet, so I'm pretty sure I'll be famous.  I also learned that Frun is the definite singular way to say lady or wife in Swedish, and is also a Star Wars thing.

Necklace: Limited (similar)
Top: Loft outlet (similar, fancy)
Jacket: JCF (similar)
Skirt: Macy's (similar)
Shoes: Old Navy (similar, similar)

Third Thursday Denim Jacket

It's the Third Thursday, and Bri has once again picked a theme I can work with!  My denim jacket is a frequently worn item, but I haven't worn it at all in the last 6 weeks.  Partly because it's been warm outside, and partly because I think the buttons might be awkward when I'm trying to hold my baby.  I've been wearing things that are softer without much hardware.  

On Tuesday, I had a dentist appointment, which meant I was on my own for a little bit, and the dentist office tends to be chilly, so it was a good time for a jacket!  

This tank top is a new hand-me-down from my mother-in-law.  She bought it and then didn't like it because it "made her look like she'd just had a baby."  And I was like "well, hey, I did just have a baby, so I can look like that!"  It is a kind of awkward shape, but I love the stripes, and the high neckline is ideal right now.  I don't want to buy new stuff until my body sort of settles into whatever size/shape it's going to be after pregnancy, so I'm happy to have a new shirt to wear in the meantime!  

Jacket: JCF

Tank: Target

Shorts: Loft (maternity)

Sandals: Santana  

Waiting and Waiting

This outfit is from a couple weeks ago, but I guess I never posted it.  I don't have anything interesting to say today.  It's been a long week, as I not-so-patiently wait for baby to arrive.  Every day, I think "this would be a great day to have a birthday!" but he doesn't agree.  

Anyway, happy Friday and happy weekend!  Be extra nice to your moms on Sunday, especially if you were born after your due date!  

Jacket: JCF

Scarf: H&M

Tee: Old Navy Maternity

Skirt: Old Navy

Shoes: Target

Elephants

Well, apparently I'm really into animal prints right now (I may have ordered this tee shirt from Loft, too).  Here's my elephant scarf.  I unfortunately don't have a picture of myself feeding elephants to share (mostly because I don't think I have ever fed elephants).  So it will just be a boring post of outfit pictures.

It's May!  That's crazy!  I'm supposed to have a baby in May!

It also means the April Top 10 Remix is over, but since I'm always about a week behind on posts, I'll continue to share the outfits that I wore in April with the remix items.  But Sarah is recapping and doing a link up today, so I wanted to mention it.  This challenge was super easy, but I think helped me get dressed in April when I was feeling sort of blah about my options.  And since I didn't really do the real challenge, I'm tempted to try it for real in a few months.  We shall see.

Anyway, happy Friday and happy weekend!

Scarf: gift
Jacket: JCF (top 10 remix item)
Tee: Target Maternity
Pants: Old Navy Maternity
Shoes: Target

39 Weeks

Well, I'm officially 39 weeks pregnant, and while I know most first time moms go past their due date, I really can't believe I'm at this point.  I was so paranoid about having this baby super early.  According to my super helpful produce comparison app, that means he is roughly the size of a Crenshaw Melon.  If you don't know what that is, it's a type of Musk Melon, which I am also not familiar with.  Either way, we're talking close to 7lbs.  Totally ready to be born, right?

Oh, so weekend stuff!  Friday was my half-birthday, and since it's my last half-birthday before becoming a mom, John took me out for a nicer dinner.  I mean, you only turn 30.5 once, right! Might as well get some steak!  On Saturday, we finished up some little projects in the baby's room, like hanging the art I had made, and I'm still organizing things.  Then Saturday evening, our friends had a party, which was lots of fun, and then kind of awkward as we were leaving, like "so... next time we see you, we will have a baby..."  Sunday, I felt like I had been hit by a bus (RA + Pregnancy = not awesome), so I skipped morning church and slept as long as possible.  12 hours of sleep helped, but I was still feeling pretty rough, so mostly took it easy in the afternoon and then went to evening church.  And maybe got Dairy Queen.  It's difficult to say for sure.

How was your weekend?

Jacket: JCF (top 10 remix item)
Dress; Gap
Shoes: Target

Threefer Thursday

Normally, I wouldn't even bother with these 3 outfits, but in the interest of fully doing the Top 10 Remix Challenge, I wanted to make sure I was documenting everything I leave the house in, and make sure it includes one of my items.  So, here are 3 outfits that I wore on random days running errands.  

#1 - I wore this for a day of running around with my sister and nieces.  You can see the top part of the outfit above in a photo of our traditional Krispy Kreme outing.  After eating too many donuts, we did some shopping, met John for lunch, and saw the Cinderella movie.  It was a pretty great day!  

#2 - I wore this outfit on one of the days my mom was in town.  We did a big grocery store trip and then spent the rest of the day making freezer meals.  Believe it or not, this is a different mint t-shirt than the one in the first outfit.  

#3 - This outfit is from Monday, when I was running errands on my own, and then had lunch with John.  It was a little chilly, so I took advantage and wore my new hoodie.  The stripes make me look extra pregnant!


Outfit details:
#1
Cardigan: Gap factory
Tee: Target maternity
Jeans: Old Navy maternity
Shoes: Sperry (top 10 remix item)

#2
Jacket (top 10 remix item) and Tee: JCF
Shorts: Loft maternity
Shoes: Converse

#3
Sweatshirt: Gap factory
Jeans: Old Navy maternity
Shoes: Sperry (top 10 remix item)

Black and Tan Dress Remix

I think it's time for a little remix collage action featuring one of my oft-worn maternity dresses.  I added this dress as an afterthought to my order of this navy lace dress (worn here) and this blue printed dress (worn here).  They were both too short, and awkwardly proportioned on the top, so I only wore them a couple times.  But this other dress, that I was unsure about even ordering has turned into my favorite of the three.
*I'm getting slightly out of order on posts again.  These are from April 2nd.  So, a few weeks ago!

I'm sure I wore this more than 5 times, but here are the different ways I wore it and actually thought to take pictures.

1/2/3/4/5

I'm not sure, but I think this dress might work pretty well as a non-maternity item, as long as I don't feel weird wearing maternity clothes when I'm no longer pregnant.  I mean, no one would know unless I had a blog where I told everyone these things.

Jacket: JCF (remix item)
Dress: Younker's maternity
Necklace: Old Navy
Belt: Madden
Shoes; Payless

Swiss Chard

That's how big my baby is at the moment, allegedly.  Or at least how long/tall he is?  I guess he weighs about 6 pounds, which doesn't sound like a lot until you are carrying it around in your belly.  Pregnancy is so weird, you guys!

Anyway, I have my last baby shower tonight, so that should be fun!  Plus my sister and nieces have been keeping me busy for the last couple of days, so I may just sleep for 48 hours straight when they leave.

Jacket: JCF (top 10 remix item)
Sweater: Old Navy Maternity
Jeans: Old Navy Maternity (top 10 remix item)
Shoes: Target

Easter

Easter Recap!  So, normally we spend Easter with John's family, but this year his parents were out of town and his sister was with her fiance and his family, so we were on our own.  It was actually really nice to have a super relaxing day (as our last holiday before baby arrives).

We went to church, and then came home and made ourselves a little Easter feast.  I think it turned out pretty good!  It was also a completely gorgeous day, so we sat out on the deck for a little bit and just enjoyed the afternoon.  For me, in my current state of hugeness and exhaustion, it was the perfect holiday!

And I wish I would have belted the dress, because I just really think that would have looked better.

Jacket: JCF (top 10 item)
Dress: Loft Maternity
Shoes: JCF
Necklace (not that you can see it): Limited

First Grade Inspiration

My youngest niece is in first grade, and is a little fashionista.  Sometimes she asks her mom to send me pictures of her outfits.  Sometimes, I post them on the blog (here and here).  When my sister sent me a recent outfit picture, I just felt like I had to copy it.

I don't think I've ever worn my denim jacket over a chambray shirt, and I thought it was a fun idea. Plus I was anxious to wear my new maternity chambray top.

I even searched on Pinterest to see if this was an obvious combo I have missed, and couldn't find anything, so my niece is officially the pioneer of this idea.  As with any denim on denim, I think it's important to make sure your blues are different enough to provide a little contrast.  And if you are really cool (like the 6-year-old), a printed chambray and embellished jacket help keep things interesting.  If you aren't that cool (like me, for instance), maybe add a necklace and belt for a little shine!

I can't tell you where most of E's outfit is from, but her jacket is from the Annie collection at Target - I know this, because I bought it for her at Christmas.

I think my version would be a little better with my regular chambray popover, but it doesn't fit at the moment.  This maternity top is just a little too billowy and I think the proportions look kind of goofy.  I mean, I felt fine all day, but then looking at my pictures, I felt like it looked a little weird.  Also wrinkly, but this is real life!

Jacket: JCF
Chambray: Loft Maternity
Belt: Chinese Laundry
Skirt: Gap
Boots: Madden