Falling off of the wagon...sort of

I went shopping again today, and that just makes me sad, because after months of doing an excellent job of practicing my 'just say no' technique, I feel like I've really failed at what I set out to do this year. (What I set out to do this year was not shop, in case that needs clarification...) But, at the same time, the shopping has been kind of necessary, too, so I keep trying to focus on that.

(Well, the shoes weren't really necessary. In fact, those were not even anything remotely CLOSE to necessary. So that was a big fail. But we'll ignore that one for now...)

See, when I was pregnant with Brigid, I wasn't too concerned with what I was wearing to work everyday, because I was on my own. I was kind of out of the way in the office, I kept a low profile, and I just wanted to be comfortable. I am 99% sure that I wore the same skirt every day for the last three months of the pregnancy, just because I could.

But this time, it's different. I'm in a management position, now. I'm in meetings and holding interviews and participating in presentations. I have people looking for me all. of. the. time, and I don't think I can get away with wearing the same skirt for three months straight, anymore.

Plus, I've discovered fashion/style blogs since Brigid was born. So if I did try to wear that same skirt that often? I'd develop a serious case of Internet induced guilt. And NOBODY wants to see that...

So, I had to build up my maternity-fitting, work-appropriate, wardrobe. I've added another maternity dress to the three that I already owned. I've picked up two pencil skirts and two non-pencil skirts, so I could retire the lonely, ratty black skirt from Brigid's days. I still mostly have t-shirts as tops, but I've added a couple of blouses. And THAT'S IT! That is ALL that I am buying.

(Um, with the exception of one or two more blouses, maybe. I just think I'm going to need something more than only two nice tops and a bunch of t-shirts, as fabulous as I think those t-shirts might be...)

I've also got a couple of pairs of shorts and a jean skirt to throw into the mix, on the casual side of things, so I'm kind of excited about this pregnancy-as-fashion-challenge thing I'm cooking up for myself. It's like I'm doing a Kendi-style remix, with a maternity flair.

And real pictures. At some point, I promise, I will go back to real pictures...

Cardigan: Gap (outlet)

T-shirt/Tank Top: Target

Skirt: Motherhood Maternity (outlet)

Belly: Chick-Fil-A chocolate shake

Good Intentions

Things I plan to do (Internet-wise) in the very near future: start posting more on a regular basis, start adding outfit posts back in now that I'm not hiding the giant elephant in the room (that elephant would be me, by the way...pregnancy does not look so fabulous on a 5'2 individual who also happens to be kind of well-endowed...it all tends to start running together in one big lump very early on in the process...), start reading the posts in my Google Reader, again.

Things I don't plan to do: I don't know...sleep, maybe? I would like to add a few more hours to my day. Who do I talk to about these things?

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Things I am grateful for today:

1) Target. They carry the greatest maternity t-shirts, ever, and I now own six of them, two in black and one each in red, purple, gray, and orange. There is also a really pretty blue one that the store didn't have in my size that I will now Internet stalk, because I should probably own it. I love these shirts.

2) Target, again. They also have corresponding tank tops, which is awesome. I just might have six of those, too, in gray (*coughTWOcough*), white, blue, mustard, and fuschia.

Layering. It's where it's at...

3) Kate Spade. For having a 75% off surprise sale, right about the time I decided I would reward myself with a new diaper bag for kid number two, since I will have a lot more to carry around, now.

4) My neighborhood. Steve and I bought our house right after the housing market in our area started to tank, so while we didn't pay as much as some people we know, we definitely paid more than the house is worth, now. But even with that, I couldn't be happier with where we live, because our neighborhood is awesome. Two weeks ago, we started Saturday off with Brigid on the slides at the neighborhood playground and finished it up with the next-door-neighbors at the neighborhood pool. And then I got to go to bed early without feeling guilty, because the neighbor came over to drink a couple of beers with Steve, meaning my entertaining presence wasn't necessary. And his wife is pregnant, too, so I have an ally in the process. That's always nice...

5) My in-laws. They live on a lake, and they're fun people to hang out with, so long weekends are pretty awesome around these parts.

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Don't forget to enter my eShakti giveaway before tomorrow night...odds are pretty good that the winner could be you!

Shoe Shopping!

So, since I'm officially all pregnant and whatnot (Thank you guys so much for all of the sweet thoughts and congratulations, by the way!!), this means that even when I do get the urge to lift my shopping ban for something fun like the Memorial Day sales at the outlet mall, there's not much I can buy at this point in time.

But, do you know what fits, even as my stomach gets bigger?

Shoes!

Especially $14.99 clearance rack shoes at the Nine West outlet...













(Ok, that last pair wasn't on the clearance rack. But I love them anyway. Plus, at $70 for three pairs of shoes, I'm not going to argue with that...)

Hope you all are enjoying this lovely holiday weekend with your families and friends!

PS: Don't forget to enter my eShakti giveaway by 5/31!

Support for a Friend

Some of you are probably pretty familiar with Kimberly and her blog, but for those of you who aren't, she's trying to raise some support for a family friend and police officer, who was injured in the line of duty.

Please head over to read the story of Officer James Winslow, and if you can, keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers as he recovers from his injuries.

Want to hear what EXACTLY has been going on with me, lately?

Then, might I suggest you head over to my family blog right now, to see today's big announcement?

(Hint: It's probably just what you think it is...)

Eshakti Giveaway Announcement!

A few months ago, I was contacted by the fantastic people at eShakti to review an item from their collection, which I posted about here. That skirt was, is, and probably will be for a very long time, one of my favorite pieces in my closet because the silhouette is so flattering, and flowers will never, ever stop making me happy.

So, you know, it's hard to top something like that.

For those of you that aren't familiar with the company, they are an online shop that offers a wide range of items in both standard and custom sizes, meaning if you have trouble fitting into standard sizes (like I do,sometimes, because of my short *ahem5'2ahem* stature), you can submit your measurements for a dress made to your specifications. And even if a standard size does work for you, you still have the option of choosing the length that best suits you, all for a $7.50 customization fee.

Anyway, eShakti has recently updated their website, with a new range of styles and items that they wanted to share, including these new favorites of mine:

(Ok, ok...I have a lot of favorites. This is just the tip of the iceberg, my friends.)

And the best part of this springtime renovation is that not only do they want to share these styles with you fabulous people, but for a very lucky one of you? They want to go ahead and give you your choice of item, too, with choices that include the custom-sized/custom-styled options. Really, how can you beat that?

The rules of the giveaway are simple:
1) Go to eShakti, and let me know which item you would pick, if you won.

2) Follow eShakti on Facebook and Pinterest.

and

3) Leave me a comment on this post when you've done 1 and 2.

That's it! That's all you have to do...

For an additional chance to win (please leave a separate comment for this one):


1) Tweet a link to the contest (and follow me, if you'd like, although that part isn't really mandatory...just make sure you include your Twitter handle in the comment so I can check it out!).

The contest is open to all residents of US and Canada, from 5/21to 5/31, and I will be picking a random winner on 6/1.

Good luck to all!!

Bright Side

You know what I hate? When real life (the boring, stressful, adult side of real life, not the fun, 'let's go to the park and eat ice cream!' side of real life) prevents me from playing on the Internet as much as I want. I haven't written anything good on my blog(s) for weeks (or even followed a consistent schedule), I haven't been reading or commenting on other blogs, and I've been the WORST email corresponder in the history of email corresponders.

And when I have had time, like my home-alone weekend that just passed? I've been too drained to do much more with myself beyond lying on the couch, watching terribly cheesy movies and Gilmore Girls on DVD.

(I wish I could properly convey to you the struggle I had with myself on Sunday over whether I should actually get up to go to the basement to get the DVDs or just remain content with whatever crappy television was available to me by remote...but I fear you would lose whatever slight respect you might have for me at this moment.)

(The trip to the basement won out, though, so...that counts for something, right?)

I'm not in a funk, necessarily. I don't feel down at all. In fact, I'd actually say I'm in a pretty good mood. I just feel tired and scattered. And uninspired. And unmotivated.

I'm going to have to work on this...

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And I'll start with the things that are making me happy today:

1) Brigid and Steve come home today! Even though Brigid told me last night she didn't want to come home because she doesn't like me, I am still pretty excited to see her. The brat.

2) I worked on Monday (my normal day off) because Steve and Brigid were out of town, so I'm taking this Friday off, instead. FOUR DAY WEEKEND, Y'ALL!!

3) I think I have the chance to make some people happy at work this week. And that's always a good thing.

4) Kate Spade is having a surprise sale today, on some select items, and I may have been enticed by the prices to pick up a couple of things. But, I bought some gifts, too, so I'm making EVERYBODY happy!

5) The Bachelorette started on Monday. I...yeah, I've got nothing to justify this one. I'm just a big fan of terrible tv...

Friday Round-Up

Happy Friday, everyone! The sun is shining, the temperature is not of the sweltering variety, and I treated myself to a little bit of caffeine at lunch.

It's a good day all around, is what I'm saying.

I hope your Friday is treating you just as wonderfully sweet as mine is...

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And now, for the things I've enjoyed around the Internet this week...

I want the last pair of shoes in this post. I would almost go so far as to say I NEED the last pair of shoes in this post, but I'm sure, given the price, my husband would vehemently disagree. And I'm trying to stay on his good side, since he's giving me a few days of rest and recovery to myself this weekend, while he handles toddler duty at the beach. But still...pretty, pretty, PRETTY shoes.

Jen is a packing genius. Seriously. GENIUS.

How do we feel about this yellow floral dress (the last one in the post)? Because I'm torn between absolutely adoring the heck out of it and thinking it's too stepford-ish for my taste. But with those coral accessories? I kind of want it all. I don't know. I"M SO CONFUSED!

This just makes me smile. It's an outlook on life we should all have, I think...

Then there's this, which is kind of all about poop. But it makes me smile, too, because, well, LIFE. It's just what happens, you know?

And finally, surviving IKEA. Because it's a lesson we could all use at one point or another.

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And then, of course, you should check out my latest Style Lush post, if you have the time. And maybe weigh in on the large wooden mustache, if you're interested? Because I think it's awesome, and I need to find somewhere to put it, so I have an excuse to go buy it.

(I totally hooked you with 'wooden mustache', didn't I?)

Birchbox, for the win!

I have to say, I was a little worried about my Birchbox subscription when I first signed up for it. I'd heard such good things for such a long time, when I received my first box, I was a little disappointed. But, then I started hearing from people that my first month had been a disappointment across the board, with very few people happy with what they'd received.

So, I decided to reserve judgment until the second month. And I was rewarded for my patience with a dry shampoo sample that excited me more than anything of that sort should excite me. This was followed, in the next couple of months, with samples of tea, perfume, nail polish, eye shadow, and facial cleanser/moisturizer that absolutely made my subscription worth it.

Then this month rolled around. And I am officially in love.




 

You see that unassuming, shiny pink tube in the second picture? 

That is Fresh's sugar rose tinted lip treatment, and I am obsessed with it. I haven't stopped putting it on my lips every five seconds since it showed up on my doorstep, and I have no intention of ever doing so. It's tinted. It has SPF included. It smells so lovely.

It's a keeper. 

Bright Side

Today, I get to give some not so great news to someone that doesn't really need any not so great news in her life right now, and I am most definitely not looking forward to it. At all.

So, join me in ignoring that looming dark cloud o'doom in favor of some prettier and shinier thoughts, mkay?

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1) Remember that pretty bag I was lusting over last week? Or two weeks ago? Or whenever it was I was doing the lusting? Guess which awesome husband bought it for me for Mother's Day...

That's right. MY awesome husband. He is very, very good at this whole gift giving thing. And also at this whole 'read my blog in the weeks leading up to a holiday to see what I might be indirectly/passive-aggressively asking for all over the Internet' thing.

He's a keeper, that one.

2) It's a little gloom-and-doom outside of my window right now, so I celebrated the afternoon with chicken soup and hot chocolate. Because nothing fits in with a gloom-and-doom type day better than chicken soup and hot chocolate.

3) On my upcoming home-alone weekend, I am treating myself to a pedicure and frozen yogurt. It's a testament to how boring my life has become that this excites me beyond all reason, I think. But, excite me, it does, and that's all that matters.

4) The drugstore was running a 'buy one, get one half off' sale on vitamins today. See: boring life, above.

(But, I'm not apologizing for this. DO YOU KNOW HOW EXPENSIVE VITAMINS ARE THESE DAYS?!?!?!?)

5) We booked our flights to Indiana last night for my youngest sister's HS graduation, and they were much less expensive than I thought they would be. After what I spent to fly up to my middle sister's bachelorette party in February, I was expecting bad, bad things. Apparently, they charge you more to fly to Indiana in February than they do in June? Have they NEVER BEEN to Indiana in February?

I think somebody has their wires crossed, is all I'm saying...

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Anything in particular that's keeping you going on this lovely little Wednesday?

Friday Round-Up

So...yeah.

I realize that it's actually Monday, not Friday, but last Friday, I was in meetings from 9AM until after 6PM, and then I did nothing productive this weekend, outside of laundry and a trip to Costco.

Which means, I'm posting my favorite links from last week a few days later that I normally would.

Luckily, this is my blog, and I'm allowed to change the rules if I want to...

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Such a lovely, lovely take on body image from one of the first bloggers I ever started following...

Also, Amy posted a fantastic thought on personal power and its role in her weight loss progress.

This post by Kimberly was just such a heartwarming and wonderful take on pregnancy the second time around, I think I've read it five times, but I still haven't been able to come up with a comment that does it justice.

This. This is why I am so. tired. every. single. day. (Also, try not to laugh about it, I dare you...)

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I hope you all had a lovely weekend, and I promise I'll do my darned-est to be around more this week!

Bright Side

Did I ever actually specify that I've decided to make Wednesday my bright side day o'the week? Because Wednesdays, for some reason, are always the toughest day for me to get through, and focusing on what I'm actually happy about tends to leave me feeling a little less moody than I might otherwise feel.

And I am ALL ABOUT combating the moodiness these days, because NOBODY likes to feel down in the dumps, you know?

This week's list...

1) My younger sister's birthday is this month, which means that I get to go shopping for her. If I'm not going to shop for myself, this is definitely the next best thing.

2) There's this yogurt place. Right by my house. That has orange creamsicle flavored frozen yogurt. At 85-ish calories a serving (ignoring the fact that it takes at least one and a half servings to make me happy, because this is still not a bad deal...). Who could be unhappy about this?

3) I'm going back to Indiana in a month for my youngest sister's high school graduation. It's always nice to go home for a little bit.

4) Steve and Brigid are going out of town for a long weekend, without me, because I have to work the weekdays they'll be gone. I would be bummed about this one, but I'm choosing to focus on all of the bad tv I can watch without Steve playing couch commander and all of the naps I can take without Brigid expecting me to, you know, parent her.

Kids, man. They just expect so much sometimes, you know?

I also plan to eat a lot of frozen yogurt that weekend.

(Also, in case it's unclear, the parenting comment, above? Totally joking. I promise...)

5) It's a sunny, sunny day. I REFUSE to be unhappy when the sun is shining.

At least for today, anyway...

Have a great Wednesday!

Dream a little dream...

I have enough purses to satisfy any normal person, but that doesn't necessarily stop me from lusting after the new ones that are released each season. I've gotten much better about not just going out and buying a new one every time the urge hits, but that doesn't mean that I don't WANT to do just that...

The latest addition to my wishlist?

The Kate Spade Cobble Hill Straw Small Leslie. The pretty blue color, the crossbody strap AND smaller, handheld straps, the straw for spring...what's not to love?

Now, who wants to volunteer to be my Kate Spade sponsor for 2012?