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

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

Easter

When we planned our trip to Richmond, the best week to go happened to fall over Easter weekend.  Sunday ended up being kind of cold and rainy, but we still had a great day.  We went to church, had a delicious lunch, and then an indoor Easter egg hunt.  The kids found all but 3 eggs, and the grownups couldn't remember where else we had hidden them, so I suspect my sister will find them someday.  Then we put some cheerios in bigger eggs for Mr. Baby and hid them in the middle of the room.  He loved it!  Of course, he was more excited about shaking them to make fun noises than opening them to eat the treat, but that's okay.  Plus he got a big chocolate bunny which I graciously volunteered to eat for him.  

My niece was coaching me on model poses during outfit picture time.  I think I should listen to her advice more often, because I look SO COOL.  

And then I convinced her to join me.  It wasn't very hard.  

And then we lured everyone else out (except my brother-in-law) for some more pictures.  

Cousins!

Girl picture

Smiths

My dress is from Bella Gravida.  It was definitely my most favorite item when I was adding things to my wish list, so I was pretty excited when I got the notice that I'd be receiving it just in time for Easter.  It fit kind of weird up on top, but nothing too noticeable.  I was hoping it would be perfect and I could wear it to my other sister's wedding in May, but alas, it was not.  My search for the perfect maternity dress continues.  It's frustrating, because you can be tall, or you can be pregnant, but good luck if you are both!  

Cardigan: JCF
Dress: ASOS via Bella Gravida

Shoe: Old Navy (similar)

Winter Floral

Oh hey, it's this dress again!  I just really love it, so I'm pretty much wearing it any time I need to dress up.  Or any time I can get away with dressing up.  This was for a friend's baby shower last weekend.  It's hard to believe that less than a year ago, I was having baby showers and opening presents that I had no idea would become daily necessities!  And now everything my friend opened I was like "aah!  You will use that all the time!!" Okay, crazy mommy Andi, just calm down a bit.  

Plus, I was just excited to wear my hair down, since Mr. Baby stayed home to have father son bonding time with John.  

Cardigan: JCF (similar, similar)
Dress: Loft (exact)
Belt: Madden (exact)
Boots: Madden (exact)

Off to See the Wizard

Last week, I went to see the Wizard of Oz musical.  It was so much fun.  The crazy thing was people kept saying "oh, I didn't know Wicked was in town!" and I had to explain, "No, just the regular old fashioned version where good is good and bad is bad!"  

Fun fact: even though I am from Kansas and generally love musicals, I have only watched the Wizard of Oz movie in it's entirety one time.  I had never seen it until I was in high school and had my wisdom teeth out.  I got to rent movies to watch all day and I grabbed it from the grocery store video rental place.  Remember when that was a thing?  So that's the only time I have seen it.  There was an occasion in college where some friends tried watching it with Dark Side of the Moon synced up, but we stopped after about 15 minutes.  It was just weird.  Although, the munchkins dancing to Money was pretty cool.

Another fun fact: people think it's funny to call you Dorothy and say "we're not in Kansas anymore" when they meet you and find out you are from Kansas.  If you meet someone from Kansas and want to make this joke, just be warned.  They have heard it a million times and probably don't think it is funny.

Anyway, the show was great, and I was happy for another excuse to dress up a little bit.

Cardigan: JCF (exact in various colors)
Necklace: F21 (similar)
Dress: Loft (exact - on sale and extra 40% off!)
Belt: Madden (exact)
Boots: Madden (exact)

Thanksgiving Eve

Here's this fall floral dress again.  I would wear it every day if I had a reason to.  I actually wore this outfit a couple weeks ago for a Veteran's Day celebration at my MIL's elementary school.  I was overdressed, as usual.  

Anyway, happy Thanksgiving eve!  We are staying in town this year and celebrating with the Smith side.  It should be a pretty nice day hanging out with the family.  

I hope everyone has a lovely day celebrating with family and friends and not getting too caught up in Black Friday sales.  Every year, I say I won't go out, and I usually end up going somewhere.  I think Mr. Baby will be a good influence on me staying away from the stores!  

Dress: Loft (exact - on sale and extra 40% off!)

Cardigan: Gap factory (similar)

Belt: Gap (similar)

Boots: Madden (exact)

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)

Third Thursday Plaid

September is flying by, which means it's already time for Third Thursday Threads with Bri!  This month's theme is plaid, because people like to wear plaid in the fall.  I don't wear much plaid, which I've previously explained is probably due to my high school uniform involving a hideous plaid skirt.

Anyway, this is one of my only plaid items, and it doesn't exactly scream FALL!  But that's okay, because it's still pretty warm here.  And I don't really love fall colors, so I'll continue to wear my brights as the weather cools down.

Shirt: JCF (this year's color)  
Jeans: Gap (exact)
Shoes: Old Navy (similar, similar)

Labor Day

So, this is what I wore on Labor Day.  I was pretty excited to fit into these shorts!  I've hardly worn them in the last 2 years because they were a little too tight, but I tried them on just to see and they fit!  Hooray!  

We spent the day with the Smith side of the family, just eating good food, and hanging out.  We played Clue, which is so stressful (especially when I was only half paying attention due to the adorable baby I was also playing with).  My MIL found the game at an antique shop, I think, and it's missing several pieces, so the revolver is just a black bead, and Professor Plum is a marker lid.  It's pretty funny.  I did not win, but I was right about Mr. Green.  You can tell just by looking at him that he's likely to murder someone in the billiard room.  I already forgot what the weapon was.  

And we're trying to be good about taking family pictures, so I lured the boys outside while I had my camera set up.  I promise you our baby is quite happy most of the time.  He just looks hopeless in photos.   

Cardigan: JCF (exact)
Tank: Gap (option, option)
Shorts: Loft (navy option, )
Shoes: Sperry (similar)

Weird Week

Happy Friday that doesn't feel like Friday!  It's been a super weird week.  Yeah, I'm not working anymore, but weekends are still different, because John is home!  But this week was crazy because we spent Monday hanging out with his family, and then he had a work conference thing, so was gone earlier and later than usual Tuesday and Wednesday.  And usually, I have some sort of plans or appointments a few days a week, but I didn't have anything going on!  It was actually kind of nice to stay home for a few days.  And next week will be busy again!  I think I have some sort of plans every single day.

Anyway, this outfit is from last Friday, or maybe Thursday?  Yeah, Thursday.  The boy and I went to meet John for lunch.  I feel a little awkward when we meet for lunch, because he's in his work clothes, and I'm just so casual.  But I felt a little fancy in my pretty top.  

Top: Kohl's (dress refashioned)
Shorts: Old Navy (similar)
Sandals: Carlos Santana via DSW (similar)

Bill Grogan's Goat

Who wants another weird goat story??  No one?  Oh, well.  This is going to be awkward then, because I'm telling the story anyway.  

When I was telling my husband the riveting story about the Three Billy Goats Gruff, he was like "wait, wasn't there a train?"  No no no.  Silly husband!  That would be Bill Grogan's Goat.  With very little encouragement, I started singing, and made him repeat each line, because that's how the song goes: 

Bill Grogan's goat was feeling fine

Ate 3 red shirts right off the line

Bill gave that goat a great big smack

And tied him to the railroad track

(Something something something)

He coughed up the shirts and flagged the train. 

I couldn't remember a couple lines in the middle, so I consulted Google, as one does.  This is what I found.  My memory was about right for the beginning of the song, but while my version ends with the goat getting the train to stop, the real version continues.  To summarize, the engineer sees the goat and cuts his throat.  If that wasn't horrible enough, the goat goes to heaven (headless) and St. Peter is like "hey goat, where's your head?" and the goat is like "no one knows..."  I'm sorry, WHAT?  How is this a children's song?  I'm about 95% sure the goat didn't die in whatever version I knew as a kid.  Or maybe I just blocked out the bad memories.

And I think that's my last blog post about goats for awhile.

Cardigan and Top: Gap factory
Shorts: Gap
Sandals: Target

Summery Third Thursday

It's the Third Thursday of the month again, so I'm linking up with Bri for summer style!  Since I'm not working anymore, I wear shorts most of the time this summer. A fun floral tank and sandals make an easy outfit.  I added the cardigan because I was meeting some of my old coworkers for lunch and restaurants tend to be freezing.  

These shorts are probably going to be done soon.  I can pretty much fit into my normal shorts now, but I don't have a mint pair and still have ideas of how to wear these.  But I'm starting to feel weird about wearing maternity stuff, so we shall see.  

Top & sandals: Target

Cardi: Gap

Shorts: Loft Maternity 

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

Another Week, Another Visitor

So I mentioned that my sister and nieces were visiting last week.  The day after they left, my mom came out, so she and I are hanging out this week.  I've recruited her help with my long list of tasks to accomplish before baby arrives, so we will be doing some sewing projects and prepping some freezer meals.  I'm pretty excited that she was able to come out for a few days.

I'm also pretty excited that baby is 37 weeks now, which means he wouldn't be considered "premature" at this point, and might not even have to visit the NICU.  That makes me really happy.  And I think we have most of the necessary items for him now, too.  Carseat is installed, bassinet is put together, and I've got a drawer full of diapers and wipes.  So pretty much this kid can come whenever he's ready now.  Of course, I am aware he'll likely take the full 40 weeks or longer, but it's nice to get to a point where I wouldn't panic completely if I went into labor.

Cardigan: JCF
Necklace: F21
Belt: Chinese Laundry
Dress: Loft Maternity
Shoes: Old Navy

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

Another Floral Scarf Look

Well, I should have just waited and done a Threefer Thursday with this scarf, because I wore it again.  This time I paired it with my neglected neon pink and gray striped sweater (not to be confused with my different but the same pink and gray striped sweater).  I really like both of these sweaters, but I neglect both of them, and they are very similar, but I can't decide which one I like better, so I keep both of them.  For now, I'm probably just putting all my sweaters in storage, and I will see what works for me next winter.  Closet downsizing has been tricky during pregnancy, since I don't know what clothes will fit my new body, and what styles will make sense with my new lifestyle!

Add this to the list of outfits where I don't look pregnant from the front!

Scarf: F21
Sweater: Gap
Pants: Old Navy Maternity
Shoes: Old Navy

Happy Green Day

Yeah yeah, I'm not wearing very much green in this outfit. If you look closely, there are leaves on the flowers on my scarf.  And that's the only green outfit I had in my queue for this week, because I wasn't thinking about St. Patrick's Day when I scheduled Sunday's post.  I'm probably wearing green in real life today, even though I'm not Catholic, so I should probably wear orange.  But green is one of my favorite colors, so I like any excuse to wear it.

By the way, I'm all of a sudden feeling hugely pregnant.  Not in a bad way, just in a "there is no question anymore" way, which is kind of nice.  But rumor has it that this kid is going to double in size in the next 6 weeks, so I expect my belly to expand quite a bit as well.

Jacket: Target
Scarf: H&M
Sweater: Kohl's Maternity
Skirt: Old Navy
Shoes: Target

Twofer Tuesday - Floral Scarf

I've somehow gotten way behind on outfit posts again, which is why I'm sneaking in some two-fer posts.  I tend to neglect this scarf for 6 months at a time, so I went crazy and wore it a few times in a row recently.  The jeans outfit was for work on a Friday, the dress was for church on Sunday.  And I actually wore the scarf again to work a few days later, but "Threefer Thursday" doesn't have the same ring to it, so I'll leave that outfit for another day.  

Here's your free and very obvious fashion tip for the day - a bright floral scarf is a good way to pretend it is spring when it it still super freezing outside.  (and I should note that this week is all of a sudden beautifully springy!  So I can wear actual spring clothes instead of just brightly colored winter clothes).  

Outfit #1: 

Scarf: F21
Cardigan: Gap
Dress: Loft Maternity
Belt: Chinese Laundry
Tights: H&M
Boots: Steve Madden

Outfit #2:
Scarf: F21
Sweater and Jeans: Old Navy Maternity
Boots: Steve Madden

Copycat Orange and Green

This outfit was 100% inspired by this pin.  I think the original version looks a little bit better with a mostly white top that has orange dots on it.  My mostly orange top with the green sweater just made me feel a little bit too much like a Miami fan.  Isn't that annoying how perfectly good color combinations are ruined by team colors?

Cardigan: Gap outlet
Blouse: Gap Outlet
Necklace: Old Navy
Jeans: Old Navy Maternity
Boots: Madden

Neglected Plaid Popover Ideas

Well, it hasn't quite been a year since I blogged this shirt.  I'm sure I've worn it a handful of times, but I guess not as much as I should.  I bought it as a replacement for this one, which I loved, but then it got too tight.  The first one just had colors that played better with the rest of my closet.

As part of my plan to wear certain items more, I've been building Polyvore sets with outfit ideas.  Here are 4 of my ideas for this shirt.  Confession - I actually wore the navy cardigan option over Thanksgiving, but didn't take a picture.  Help me out - how else would you wear this top?  There have to be ideas other than jeans and white!

Cardigan: JCF
Shirt: JCF
Jeans: Old Navy Maternity
Boots: Madden