Life Lately

Hey, the weeks are flying by and I'm going to have a baby next month!  Yikes!  Things are going generally pretty well.  A few highlights from recent weeks:

• I spent my first overnight away from Mr. Baby!  We figured we needed to have a practice run before baby2 arrives.  Pretty sure it was harder on me than on him!  Plus we stayed in a hotel downtown, which was probably a mistake.  The barhoppers were loud at 2am, and then a trash truck was loud at 6am, so my big dreams of sleeping extra weren't necessarily a reality!
• Mr. Baby and I started swim lessons.  I use "lessons" pretty loosely, but hey, it's an excuse to go to the pool and play around.  Plus I look really cute in a swimsuit at 8 months pregnant (I'm joking, I look ridiculous).
• My mom has been in town for the last week or so.  We've gotten quite a bit done. We made a bunch of freezer meals.  John and I are getting close to done with baby2's room.  Plus Mr. Baby is having fun with an extra grown-up around to play with him.  

This outfit is from mid-May, so I'm not quite a month behind at this point.  Maybe I'll even get my act together and post twice this week!  No promises though!  

Cardigan: JCF
Dress: Younkers
Belt: Gap
Shoes: Target

Copycat Aunt

So, this is my niece.  She's awesome.  You may remember her from the last time I shamelessly copied her outfit.  What can I say?  The girl has great style!  Anyway, she recently sent me these pics of her in a super cute outfit, and I thought it would be fun to do another copycat post.  I wore my version out to dinner with my 2 favorite guys, and then we walked around the duck pond.  Somehow, taking outfit pictures turned into copying all of the poses that E did.  

Tree hugging isn't my forte, especially since there was a spider on the tree.  I also sadly didn't have a red hairbow!  

There also weren't any fancy benches at the park we were at, so I had to settle for this boring green one.  

 Thanks for the inspiration, E!

Cardigan: H&M (similar)
Tee: Gap (similar)
Skirt: Banana Republic (eyelet option that I have been tempted to buy!)
Shoes: Target (similar)

Accidental Matchers

Mornings have been tricky, because our child is a night owl like me, and then sleeps later in the mornings.  So we hadn't been to morning church in a few weeks.  We finally made it last week, and I accidentally wore a combination of what my two favorite guys were wearing.  In our defense, I was getting dressed while John was getting himself and the baby dressed, so I didn't realize we kind of matched until we were heading out the door, and it was too late to change.  

Church went pretty well.  Baby Smith slept for the beginning of the service and then woke up about halfway through the sermon, so we ducked out.  Then he fell asleep again for Sunday School.  

He's not really into outfit pictures!

Cardigan: JCF 

Dress: banana republic factory

Belt: gap

Sandals: target

Due Dates and Squirrels

Well, today is my due date.  Not that that means anything to my baby.  He's just chilling and doesn't seem to pay any attention to the schedule.  Babies are notoriously inconsiderate of timelines.  There are a bunch of old wives' tales about how to get labor started.  I'm just making up my own, like eat a giant bowl of ice cream every day.  I'm 100% sure it will work eventually, and I will be like "See, I ate a giant bowl of ice cream, and within 24 hours, I went into labor!"  (unless I have to get induced, and then the my theory will be unproven)

Other than being roughly the size of a whale (baby is the size of a watermelon or pumpkin, allegedly), I had a pretty good weekend.  John and I mostly just tried to make the most of our time as a family of 2.  So, we went out to eat, watched a movie, took a long (sloooow) walk around the neighborhood, had dinner and played cards with his parents.  And I tried to sleep a lot.  The goal is to be well rested at all times.  

On Sunday after church, we took these pictures.  So this is what I actually look like at 40 weeks pregnant.  We saw a squirrel in the tree, and of course, my photographer was distracted by it.  I was doing my normal poses, and noticed that the camera was pointed much higher than usual, and I was like "Are you taking pictures of the squirrel??" and John was like "what?!" but the evidence doesn't lie:  

Anyway, here's hoping I have a baby this week!   

Necklace: F21

Cardigan: Old Navy

Dress: Loft Maternity

Belt: Madden

Sandals: Target

So Cliché

I'm pretty much a walking cliché right now.  You'll find me waddling around with swollen ankles, probably eating ice cream.  So why not be even more basic and stand by this sign?   Seriously though, I'm pretty grateful for the close parking right now!  More stores need to get on that (I'm looking at you, Target).  

Anyway, halfway through April and I'm still hanging on with the Top 10 Remix Challenge.  We will see how long I can last.  Go check out Sarah's blog to see how everyone else is doing! 

Cardigan: Gap outlet

Necklace:F21

Dress:Old Navy Maternity (top 10 remix item)

Belt: Madden

Shoes: Target

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

All That Shimmers

You can't really tell, but this shirt is all golden shimmery.  I bought it back in January, and haven't worn it at all so far.  Oops!  But now that I'm running out of things that fit over my giant belly, this tee might get a little more action in the next (plus or minus) 6 weeks.

Can anyone even believe it is almost April?  Or am I the only one in denial that the year is 1/4 over?

Cardigan and Shoes: Target
Tee: Loft Maternity
Jeans: Old Navy Maternity

Spring Mix

Everyone thinks of floral print in the spring, right?  And stripes just seem to go so perfectly with florals, right?  I was planning on wearing my coral boyfriend cardigan with this outfit, but apparently I got rid of it (or lost it??), so the pink one was an emergency substitution, as I was running late (pretty typical) and didn't have time to think of anything else to wear.  I was also planning on wearing my navy shoes, but they are feeling a little tight lately (thanks swollen feet!), so the gold flats sitting by the door seemed like a decent option, and I snagged my gold chain necklace to make them match better.

I felt pretty great in this outfit, and specifically very "great with child," because this tank top is a very fitted maternity style.

Weekend update?  Well, it the weather was about as perfect as possible, so John and I got takeout on Friday night and found a park bench next to a duck pond.  Pretty good date.  Saturday was spent getting the baby room mostly in order.  I just have to do a few more little projects, but all the big furniture is arranged.  Sunday, I was exhausted (this is becoming a trend), so I was kind of a bum between church services and got just a few things done.  Late pregnancy and rheumatoid arthritis are not a great combination for efficiency.

Cardigan: Gap
Necklace: F21
Tank: Old Navy Maternity
Skirt; Macy's
Shoes: Target

Legs for One Day

On the most glorious of all January days, the temperature actually topped out at 61 and I was the happiest girl in the world.  I took advantage of the opportunity to wear bare (bear) legs, and normal shoes (not boots!).  It was so great.  And John may have called me crazy, because the low was still in the 40s, and it was pretty windy, and I didn't see anyone else in bare legs.  So maybe I am crazy.  But you know, I'm glad I got one day where I didn't have to wear boots or tights.  And then it snowed like 2 days later, so it's a good thing I took advantage of the nice weather!

Dress: Younker's Maternity
Scarf: Calvin Klein
Jacket: Target
Shoes: Target

Happy Post-Christmas Day!

Happy day after Christmas!  I hope everyone had a great day.  If I had to guess, I bet I had a pretty good day.  But I'm writing this a few days early, because we are spending the week in New Mexico, so I don't really know!

I think this is the last time you'll see these jeans for awhile.  The belly band trick just isn't going to cut it anymore.  Hopefully I can fit into them again next fall/winter.  And hopefully red skinny jeans are still acceptable.  Wait, are red skinny jeans even still acceptable now?  I mean, I like them, so I guess I don't really care!

I'll be getting back home this weekend, so hopefully I will be able to share a Christmas week wrapup soon!

Cardigan: H&M (similar)
Top: Target (similar)
Necklace: F21 (similar, similar)
Jeans: Old Navy (similar)
Shoes: Gap factory (similar, similar)

Dress as a Skirt

Oh, look!  It's my maroon dress pretending to be a skirt, and not paired with leopard print!  See, I can learn new tricks!  Honestly, I don't love this outfit, but it was sure comfortable!

Sweater: H&M (british version!)
Necklace: F21 (similar, similar)
Dress as a skirt:Loft Outlet (option,option)
Tights: Target
Boots: Steve Madden (exact)

Blazer Week - Coral Stripes

Let's just jump from yesterday's most expensive blazer to today's cheapest.  This one set me back $7, and honestly, I probably should have left it, because I haven't worn it much in the year since I got it.  It was right around the time when it seemed like every blogger I knew was buying that coral blazer from Gap and I loved it!  But I wasn't going to spend that much, and then I saw this one and thought it was close enough.  But something about it being coral and striped just makes it harder to style.

Today is also the Third Thursday of the month, which means it's time to link up with Bri.  Her theme this month is Fall Footwear.  I'm pretty sure Nebraska has decided fall is SO LAST SEASON, and we are firmly in winter.  But I did wear this particular outfit when we were having lovely fall weather.  I know some girls jump at the first slightly cool day as an opportunity to break out the boots, but I cling to my non-boot footwear as long as I possibly can, because I know my boots will start to feel boring when I have to wear them on repeat for 4 months straight.  So I wore my gold flats, which you can't really see.  But it was fall, and I had footwear, so it counts, right?

Blazer Week continues below!  Link up your looks and be sure to check out the other links!

Blazer: Jones New York via TJ Maxx
Shirt: J.Crew Factory (exact)
Skirt: Gibson&Latimer (similar, similar)
Shoes: Target (exact)

Gold Skirt Remix

I think it's time to say goodbye to this skirt.  It's been a good skirt and I've worn it a lot over the last 3 years, but the overlay is getting more snags in it, so I have to let it go.  But not without a remix collage first!  So without further ado, here are 23 ways I have worn this skirt in the last 3 years:

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8
9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16
17/18/19/20/21/22/23

I remember when I bought this skirt in the summer of 2011, and thinking "how am I going to wear a gold skirt?" but I loved it and it was like $10, so I went for it.  I'm so glad I did, because I quickly learned that it's basically a neutral!  And I know I've worn it many other times, so I definitely got my money's worth.  I'm sad that it's finally going to the Goodwill pile, but it was a much-loved and frequently-worn skirt for a few years! 

And it's Tuesday, so I'm linking up with Laura for Confident Twosday!

Cardigan: Gap (similar)
Top: J.Crew Factory (exact)
Skirt: Gap (similar)
Shoes: J.Crew Factory (exact)

Unexpected Visitor

I wore this outfit to church a few Sundays ago.  After lunch, we ventured into the backyard to take pictures.  John was trying to get me to go over by the tree, but I was freaking out because there was an uninvited guest that had made the tree home: 

I'm guessing this cat belongs to one of our neighbors, because it looked a little too fat and fluffy to be a stray.  We went ahead and took pictures, but I was nervous the whole time that this cat would jump out and tackle me.  I really don't trust cats. 

Cardigan: Loft
Tank: Gap (similar)
Necklace: F21 (similar, similar)
Skirt: Macy's (exact)
Shoes: Old Navy (option, option)

Fall Maxi Skirt

I'm not sure maxi skirts really make sense in the fall/winter, but I really don't want to put this skirt away for the next few months, so I'm going to keep wearing it.  I'll be honest, I really like this outfit, but I hate how my bun hair looks when I have to take pictures against a blank wall.  I should probably buy some hairspray to deal with those wispy frizzy pieces.  You read that right, I don't own any hairspray.  Hashtag curlyhairproblems?  Or is that just me?


Cardigan: J.Crew Factory (similar)
Tee: Loft (similar)
Skirt: J.Crew (exact)
Belt: Old Navy (similar)
Shoes: Target (flat version)
Necklace: F21 (similar, similar)

Skirt Week - Leopard

Happy Skirt Week!  I'll be honest, after sharing some feelings last week, I'm excited to have an excuse to talk mostly about clothes this week.  And skirts are one of my favorite categories!  

I have apparently been neglecting this skirt all summer long. I have no idea how that happened, because it's one of my favorites.  But it does work year-round, so I was probably giving my summer-specific skirts more attention.

As you can tell by my tank top, I'm desperately holding on to summer for as long as possible.  We had a bit of a cold front in early September, but this weekend was back up into the 70's, so I'm hoping winter won't show up for another month at least!

Link up with your skirt looks after the jump!


Top: Loft (similar)
Necklace: F21 (similar, similar)
Belt: Old Navy (similar)
Skirt: J.Crew Factory (similar, similar)
Sandals: Target (similar)

Confident Twosday

It's Tuesday, which means I'm linking up with Laura for her Confident Twosday party.  And this week is extra special, because she asked me to co-host!  Whoo!

I've been thinking about confidence, since that's the whole theme of the linkup.  I've never considered myself to be a super confident person, but I pretty regularly have people tell me I must be confident to wear whatever bright colors or crazy patterns.  That may be a back-handed compliment, but I'll take it.  The more I've thought about it, I guess I agree with them.  I don't walk around feeling super confident all the time, but I also don't spend very much time worrying about my flaws.

It seems like there's a trend recently towards celebrating different body types, and I think that's good.  What I don't like is that it sometimes swings too far, and we get into the "real women have curves" type comments.  So I would like to say that yeah, sometimes real women have curves, and sometimes real women have angles, and sometimes we are short or tall or medium, or whatever.  I don't buy into the "everyone is perfect" thing.  I'm more on the "everyone has their own set of flaws" side of things.  We've all got to work with what we've got.  So I probably need to lose a few (well, more than a few) pounds, but right now I'm a little bit fat.  And that's okay.  

And here's a SUPER HELPFUL definition of "self confidence" from Merriam Webster: confidence in oneself.  Wow, I never would have guessed that.  Isn't there supposed to be a rule that you can't use the word to define itself?  Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of defining things? 

Anyway, link up below!  And I'd love to hear your thoughts about confidence! 

Cardigan: H&M (similar)
Dress: Loft Outlet (option,option)
Belt: Steve Madden (similar)
Necklace: Old Navy (similar)
Shoes: Target (exact)

I do deClaire (Bloglovin) | Just Another Smith (Bloglovin) 

An InLinkz Link-up

20 Things You May or May Not Know (or care to know) About Me

Well, if you want to know 20 random things about me, today is your lucky day!  You can thank (or blame) Brynn for tagging me.  She made a cool video, but I wasn't up to that challenge.  At first, I was just like "no, I hate seeing myself on video" and then I was like "Oh yeah, and I actually wouldn't even know how to do one anyway, so it doesn't matter."  So if you want to know what my voice sounds like, you'll just have to come visit.  I'll take you to the zoo.  Or maybe I'll figure out how to vlog someday.  It's not likely.  

Anyway, here are the questions and my answers.  

• How tall are you?  5'9"
• Do you have a hidden talent?  If so, what?   I don't think so
• What's your biggest blog-related pet peeve?  Probably just the weird rat race to get followers.  Sure, I'd love to have 1000 followers (although saying that makes me nervous, maybe I wouldn't love that at all).  I think I've mostly stopped following people who seem caught up in that.  But even now, I will get people who link up for a theme week and they aren't even remotely close to the theme.  I should delete them, but then I feel like a jerk if I do.   
• What's your biggest non-blog-related pet peeve?  Oh, where to even begin?  Probably grammar and spelling errors, especially online.  I know I'm not perfect, but seriously, the computer has spell check!  You should not be making these stupid mistakes! (and now I'm extra paranoid that I have stupid mistakes in this super long post!)
• What's your favorite song?  It's impossible to choose a favorite song.  I can't even pick a reasonable number of favorite songs to put on my iphone.  My favorite artist is definitely Ben Folds.  That man is a musical genius. 
• What's your favorite Etsy shop that isn't yours?  No idea.  I'm not into Etsy.  
• What's your favorite way to spend your free time when you're alone?  If I'm in a lazy mood, I will be reading or binge-watching Netflix/Hulu.  I also really like to shop by myself.  
• Do you have a pet or pets?  If so, what kind and what are their names?  Nope.  I really want to get a dog, specifically a Great Pyrenees, but the timing hasn't worked out for us yet.  We just aren't home enough.  
• What are your number one favorite nonfiction and fiction books?  Again, I am really bad at picking favorites.  I mean, I had 6 favorite books from just one year!  So, my 2 favorite fiction books from 2014 so far are The Rosie Project and Ready Player One.   I don't read as much non-fiction, but I really like Malcolm Gladwell's books.  
• What's your favorite beauty product?  I've been using Pantene Curl Defining Mousse for the majority of my life.  Other products just don't get the job done.    
• When were you last embarrassed?  What happened?  I do embarrassing things all the time, so these moments don't really stick with me as much.  So, I can't think of anything specific that has happened recently.  
• If you could only drink one beverage (besides water) for the rest of your life, what would it be?  This is tough!  I think I have to pick milk.  I drink a lot of milk, and I don't think I could do without it.  But I'd really miss drinking soda.   
• What's your favorite movie?  Ugh, why are there so many questions about favorite things??  I like lots of movies!  Probably the movie I've watched the most is Waiting for Guffman.  It's just so hilarious.  I really need to watch it again - it's been awhile.  Every time I watch it, I notice something new.  
• What were you in high school: prom queen, nerd, cheerleader, jock, valedictorian, band geek, loner, artist, prep?  Well, I went to a pretty small Christian school, so most of the groups overlapped quite a bit.  We didn't have a prom queen.  I was smart, but I think about 30% of the class had a 4.0 at graduation.  I kind of wanted to be a cheerleader, just to teach them that doing the "we're #1" cheer isn't appropriate when we are losing by 50 points.  I was definitely not a jock, band geek, loner, or artist.  And we were all preps, because we literally went to prep school, uniforms and all.  So, have I answered the question?  No?  Well, I don't know what I was.  There were a lot of things I didn't like about my high school, but I think the social dynamic was pretty good.  I honestly think I was friends with almost everyone.  Does that make me sound like I was actually friends with no one?  Longest non-answer ever.  
• If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?  I would want to live on the beach!   I always joke about moving to Puerto Rico, but I should probably pick a place that mostly speaks English.  So maybe we should move to Hawaii?  
• PC or Mac?  I've always had PCs.  
• Last romantic gesture from a crush, date, boy/girlfriend, spouse?  Our anniversary was just at the end of July.  John sent me flowers at work, and bought me an opal ring.  So that was pretty nice.  Otherwise, we tend to be silly rather than super romantic.  
• Favorite celebrity?  I'm not super interested in celebrities.  The first person that comes to mind is Jimmy Fallon, just because he seems like such a nice guy, and appears to really love his job.  I remember loving him back in the day on SNL, because he couldn't get through a sketch without giggling.  Most celebrities seem like jerks, so my favorites are the nice-seeming ones!  
• What blogger do you secretly want to be best friends with? I don't think it's a secret that I want to be best friends with Kate and Danielle.  Well, and a few others of you.  You should all move to Nebraska and we can hang out all the time!       

Top: Kohl's (refashioned from a dress)
Cardigan: J.Crew Factory (exact)
Skirt: Gibson&Latimer (similar, similar)
Shoes: Target (exact)

Currently

Today I'm jumping in on the "Currently" linkup with Anne.  So here's what I'm currently:

Writing:  pretty much just blog posts.

Anticipating: October is birthday month for both me and John, and this is a big year for me as I will hit the big 3-0.

Missing: family that lives far away!  After spending the weekend with my parents, sister and nieces, I just wish I could see them more often.  And of course, I wish I had been able to see my other siblings and nieces/nephews.  (And I wish there was a word to describe all of my siblings' children, without having to say "nieces and nephews" all the time).    

Wearing:  All my summery clothes that will be unwearable in a month or so.  I'm in the end of summer panic where I want to wear shorts, sandals and sleeveless things as much as possible!  

Craving:  A relaxing vacation, preferably to the beach.  I've traveled quite a bit over the last few months, but it's all been pretty busy travel.  I'm ready for another lazy vacation!

Necklace: Old Navy (similar)
Dress: Banana Republic outlet
Sandals: Target (similar)

#17 - Lady Plume

For the majority of my life, I have had one hairstyle - parted in the middle, long, air-dried curls.  Recently, I've been pinning the middle back like in these pictures, just for something a little different.  John calls this hairstyle "Lady Plume." I searched on Pinterest to see if this is really a plume hairstyle, and it's really not.  Maybe if I added a feather.  But then I'd probably get even more Pocahontas comments.    

Posting every day for the 30x30 really has me throwing out some weird stories, huh?

Sweater: Loft (similar, similar)
Dress: Target (similar)
Necklace: F21 (similar, similar)
Shoes: Old Navy (option, option)