Budget Rewind - January 2015

Well, last January I mostly bought maternity clothes.  But I can still say whether or not they were smart purchases, even if they were only relevant for half of the year! 

Good:  
Loft Maternity Paisley Print Shorts: $4 I love these shorts and wore them a ton, both during and after pregnancy.  Seriously, I was wearing them for a few months post partum, because they were so comfortable.  
Loft Maternity Navy Dress: $14 - I forgot this dress was so cheap!  Another one that I wore a lot.  
Old Navy Maternity Black Polka Dot Ponte Dress: $16 - this was my other favorite maternity dress.  My only complaint is that the dots are kind of velvety, and they attract fuzz.  I don't think it's noticeable from far away, but it kind of annoyed me.  

Medium
Gap Maternity navy sparkle tee: $6 - this tee is cute, but the glitter is kind of scratchy.  I thought I'd wear it after baby arrived, but it was too scratchy.  
Loft Maternity Floral Jacquard Tee: $16 - I really loved this the first time I wore it, but it didn't hold up well in the wash.  
Old Navy Maternity Black Pixie Pants: $32 - I got it into my head that I needed black pants, because I wanted an option for work that didn't involve tights.  I liked these, but probably spent more than I should have on them.  
Gap Camo shorts: $2 - these have been nice lounge shorts for around the house.  I think they are meant for wearing out in public, but I don't think I ever will!

Bad
Gap Gray skirt: $8 - not a maternity skirt, just a size too big.  So I liked it while I was pregnant, but then it doesn't fit my normal self.  I can't decide if I should try to take it in a bit, or just sell it.  I don't wear skirts as much anymore, so it might not be worth the effort.  
Loft Maternity Foil Layering Tee: $12 - this seemed like such a perfect basic tee, but I think I wore it twice. 
Old Navy Maternity Black Paisley Top: $13 - pretty top, but the sleeves are randomly tight at the opening, so it's kind of awkward.  I only wore it a few times because of that.  


So all in all, not terrible.  Even my bad purchases aren't too embarrassing.  Honestly, maternity shopping is super awkward, especially since I ordered almost everything online.  And then you get it and it's like "well, I can put it on... guess I will keep it!" instead of the normal idea of wanting things to fit a certain way.  And then the things you really like have an expiration date, and then you box them up to maybe wear again some day.  It's so weird.  

January shopping (and girl talk)

January wasn't a very big shopping month.  I did get some presents, though!

The Old Navy sweater was a Christmas present and I love it.  Most of my sweaters are getting kind of old, so I am getting rid of some and am happy to have a fun new addition.

The shoes were a birthday present, but they were back-ordered and finally arrived, just in time for it to be way too snowy and cold for flats.  I love them so much, even if they are probably fancier than I need at this point.  I am still in need of some more casual black flats.  I think these will be great for fancy occasions when I don't want to wear heels.

**Dad, if you are reading this, stop here.  I'm going to talk about bras**

My main shopping endeavor was the always complicated search for a good bra in the proper size.  This is way more complicated than it should be.  Several months ago, Nicole wrote about her bra sizing adventures, and shared this reddit that I ignored because I was so sure I had the right size bras.  Then I ordered a couple more of my favorite brand and was horrified that they changed the design and I no longer like them at all!  (it's like when your favorite shampoo and conditioner get discontinued... NOOOOOO!).  So I referenced back to that reddit and according to them, I've been waaay off on my size.  And as I read it, I realized yeah, my bras really don't fit properly at all (shoulder straps all falling off, uncomfortable, etc).  And guess what, my new size is not really something anyone has ever heard of before and is only available online.  So I ordered a few options to try out.  Of the first 3 I ordered, only 1 seems to work, so I returned the others.  After wearing the new one a few times, I have realized it's so much better, but still not perfect.  So the quest continues.  If Tom Cruise want an impossible mission, he should try being a lady on the hunt for a perfect-fitting bra.  But seriously, go to the reddit and measure yourself.  It will probably surprise you!

So as far as budget goes, I just spent $30 on the one bra that I am keeping.  I've ordered a few more, but will count them to February if I keep them once they arrive.

As always, linking up with Franish.

The Coldest Day Outfit

So here's an outfit from a week ago Sunday.  It was the super most freezing day ever (church was cancelled because of the cold), but we had lunch plans for my MIL's birthday, so we ventured out in the frigid temps to a new barbecue restaurant in town.  Mr. Baby was in head to toe fleece and was wrapped up in a blanket as close to me as possible.  This is what I wore, mostly because all of my normal jeans were in the laundry.  And miraculously, I didn't get any BBQ sauce on these!

I bought this shirt back in March, and this is shamefully the first time I have worn it.  I thought a printed chambray would be a fun addition to my closet, but I am learning that I don't know what to wear with it.  Sure, in my working days, it would have looked pretty cute with my red pencil skirt, but now?  I don't like the denim on denim look too much, so normal jeans are out of the question.  I guess it will probably be a "bad" purchase when I get to the March rewind.

Shirt: Loft 
Cardigan: JCF (similar, similar)
Jeans: Old Navy (similar)
Boots: Madden (exact)

Errands Outfit

Well, happy Friday!  Here's a super casual outfit that I wore for running errands the other day.  This is a sweatshirt from LeTote, which I really like, except why the 3/4 sleeves??  I just don't know what kind of weather would make a 3/4 sleeve sweatshirt necessary.

Also, vests.  I really don't get winter vests.  If I need a coat, I want it to have sleeves, thanks.

Sweatshirt: LeTote
Jeans: Gap
Shoes: Converse

Book Review - Dad is Fat

After reading Food, I had to pick up Jim Gaffigan's first book, Dad is Fat.  I liked this one even more!   He's a comedian with 5 kids, so he's got some witty insights about all the craziness that comes along with parenting.  I was laughing out loud at several points.  I'm curious if most of this is just carried over from his standup, but I've never watched any of it, so it was all fresh for me.

There were several sweet moments in the midst of the humor, as well.  Which is exactly how parenting works.  One second, you are like "I WILL BUY YOU A PONY IF YOU JUST GO TO SLEEP!" and the next you are like "I'll snuggle you forever because you are the sweetest baby in the whole world ever!"  I can only assume it gets worse as they get older and actually have opinions.

There were many quotable quotes, but my favorite was in the middle of his rant that people always have a million opinions about when you have kids, how many kids you have, how far apart they are, etc.

People would never even ask a friend, let alone a stranger, when they plan to get their hair cut, for fear of offending, yet for some reason the “How many children are you going to have” question is fair game.

Yep, that's pretty weird, society.  Stop doing that!

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)

Giraffe Sweater

I'm pretty jealous of Kate's giraffe sweater.  I've never seen a similar option, but this one from  LeTote was close enough for me to request.  On their website, it looked more black than gray, so I was surprised when I got it out of the box.  As with everything from them, it was a little short, so my tank tops get to make a little appearance.  Cute enough, but I'd still love a striped version like Kate's.

This has been the first normal-ish week in awhile.  December was just crazy, and then I had a terrible cold and John was out of town the first week of January.  So it's nice to be somewhat back to normal.

We even had some above-freezing weather this week, so the boy and I went to the zoo!
Ironically, given the title of this post, we did not make it to the giraffes.  I'll be honest, I love the giraffes, but they are down a pretty steep hill and I didn't feel like pushing the stroller back up it.

This sweatshirt cardigan thing is also from  LeTote, but I didn't take official outfit photos, because I was at the zoo, and babies are terrible photographers.

Sweater:  LeTote (closest option I could find)
Jeans: Gap (exact)
Boots: Madden (exact)