Luck of the Irish?

My St. Patrick's Day outfit, sponsored by my favorite maternity skirt, which I ABSOLUTELY intend to keep wearing as long as the elastic holds up, and a pair of Spanx, which I also intend to keep wearing as long as I can still pass for slightly pregnant anytime I wear anything that isn't loose and flowing.

The tank top is a maternity find, too, from Target, and I would kind of like to keep buying every color that they make, because I love how long they are. But also? I would very much like to quit wearing maternity clothes because, you know, I do own other clothes that I would like to wear again someday...
Skirt: Motherhood Maternity Tank Top: Target Cardigan: Banana Republic (outlet)  

(The cardigan! The cardigan isn't a maternity item! That sort of counts, right? Even though I was wearing this cardigan at the end of my pregnancy?)

 

(Whatever. I'm getting there. There are more non-maternity clothing items that fit me now, compared to where I was at the start of the year. I just really wanted to wear jeans and boots to the St. Patrick's Day festival we went to on Saturday, but that wasn't an option. I'm tired of it not being an option, that's all...)

The Belly is Back

Nothing like writing a really depressing post, then disappearing for a week, huh? I do want to thank you for the sweet comments and emails after my little 'Brigid doesn't like me' meltdown. I know I'm being just a bit ridiculous and over-reactive to the situation, but this parenting thing, man...it's tough. Kids get pretty good at tearing your heart out when you least expect it at a very, VERY young age, apparently.

COMPLETELY related, I feel like I need to go back and apologize to my parents for everything I ever did when I was growing up that may have hurt their feelings, because goodness knows they deserve something from me, now that I know how hard this whole thing is.

Also completely related, maybe you could send some sunshine and rainbow thoughts my way starting tomorrow, when Steve leaves us for a four night trip to Denver, if you have any to spare? I don't want to get beaten by a three-year old again, if I can help it.

On a more positive note, a lady at the gas station told me I looked cute today. So I've got that going for me, which is nice...

T-shirt: Target

Cardigan: Banana Republic (outlet)

Skirt: Motherhood Maternity

Exponential Growth

Do you see that belly, right there? That is a 34 week pregnant belly in size, at only 30 weeks of pregnancy. I weigh less than I weighed with Brigid, and yet...34 week belly. This is impressive, no?

And did I mention the part where I am going to be a bridesmaid in the wedding of one of my lovely former roommates from college on November 3rd? I'm going to see her this weekend for her bridal shower, and I am FULLY expecting her to take one look at me and say, 'Nope. I take it back. You're out.' Not that she would, or anything, but...holy aesthetic destroyer, batman. I am going to request that I stand behind EVERYONE during that photo session...
 

T-Shirt: Target

Cardigan: Banana Republic (outlet)

Skirt: Motherhood Maternity

Belt: Land's End Canvas

Bracelet: the beach

Shoes: Nine West

Another Week

Last week was a week, and I didn't get around to posting anything at all because I was too busy dealing with doctors and croup and 'roid rage in a two-year old, but I'm determined to make up for it this week.

THIS WILL BE A GOOD WEEK!!!!

And just to start things off right today, I went into Hobby Lobby with a list of two things that I needed, and left $70 lighter. Today? I'm counting that as a win.

Happy Monday!

Dress: Motherhood Maternity

Cardigan: Banana Republic (outlet)

Boots: DSW

Optimism Is a Good Thing

Unfortunately, the purple top on this dress just does not photograph well, at all. And that's too bad because honestly? That pretty purple top is the only reason I bought this dress in the first place. But you know what IS nice about this picture?
A black skirt, a blurry iPhone camera, and a slimming mirror.

If you need me, I'll be over here ignoring EVERY OTHER MIRROR in my life that is trying to tell me that I look much, much bigger than this. Welcome to my happy place, friends :)

Dress: Motherhood Maternity

Cardigan: Banana Republic

Belt: Land's End

Shoes: Target

On my mind...

Tomorrow, I go in for my second ultrasound, and if all goes according to plan, I should know if baby number two is going to be a boy or a girl. And it is LITERALLY ALL I CAN THINK ABOUT TODAY.

I should just go home and go to bed until my appointment tomorrow, right?

Dress: Motherhood Maternity

Cardigan: Banana Republic (outlet)

Shoes: Nine West

Jewelry: Kate Spade, Gorjana, Charlotte Russe

I'm Melting...

Well, now, that was a...warm...weekend, huh? Steve went to some pub/anniversary/beer celebration on Saturday, and I couldn't get Brigid interested in doing anything other than playing games in her nightgown, so Saturday was a complete waste of time. And then on Sunday, we attempted a trip to the pool, but that was a bit of a failure, because the water couldn't have been cooler than 95 degrees, which is slightly less than refreshing.

But, I had power all weekend (except for a random three hour window early, early Monday morning, around the same time we lost power last weekend, too, oddly enough, but that doesn't count...), which is more than a lot of the east coast could say, so I'm not complaining.

Still...It could cool off any day, now.

T-shirt: Motherhood Maternity

Cardigan: Banana Republic (outlet)

Skirt: Motherhood Maternity

Bracelets: Target

Shoes: Francesca's

Summer!

GUYS!! IT'S THE FIRST DAY OF SUMMER!!!! WOO!!!!

Well.

That didn't work at all.

I'm trying to get myself really excited about this season, because really, I LOVE the summertime. But I mostly love the summer because it means outdoor beer festivals and jet skiing on the lake and not changing out of my bathing suit for days at a time.

But this year, there is no beer. And there is no jet skiing. And as I have yet to find a maternity bathing suit that I actually like, well...there's not much of that, either. At least, there won't be once the ruching gives out on my Land's End non-maternity swimsuit, anyway.

(Please join me in a silent prayer to the powers that be at Land's End: For the good of my sanity, just let that suit last me until my vacation is over in September. That's all I need. Please. Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease.)

And, you know, winter will be bringing a baby with it this year, so I'm kind of in a hurry to get to that part of things, too.

Only six more months to go!

(Haaaaa. ONLY six months. That's, like, forever in baby-waiting years...)

Dress: Motherhood Maternity (also a Brigid-era purchase)

Cardigan: Banana Republic (outlet)

Shoes: Nine West

Belt: Target

Is it Friday, yet?

Between last weekend at my parents' place in Indiana, and this weekend at my in-laws' place on the lake, I think I have built up a pretty sizable sleep deficit. In fact, I might need to go to sleep this coming Friday evening and not wake up until Sunday afternoon, just to make up for all of those lost hours.

Steve would totally buy into that idea, right?

Related: I am TIRED. Blergh.

It's a good thing that my too-sleepy-to-dress-myself uniform of a cardigan and dress translates well into maternity wear, eh?

 Dress: Motherhood Maternity (from the Brigid days)

Cardigan: Banana Republic (outlet)

Shoes: Nine West

Jewelry: Banana Republic (outlet)

Hippy

I fully intend to do nothing but reverse mirror shots throughout this pregnancy, as that mirror makes me look much, much, MUCH more skinny than I actually am in real life. And what better time to flatter myself than right now, right?

Seriously, I had someone tell me today that she thought I might be pregnant because she thought she could see it in my hips. Not in my stomach, which currently looks like I am about 5 months pregnant, instead of the three months that I actually am (which I'm pretty sure I can thank Brigid for...and don't think I'm not adding that to my guilt stockpile for when she tries to out-brat me as a teenager...), but in my hips.

IN MY HIPS!#$!%*!

I knew this, of course, because I have a couple of stretchy skirts that I thought would get me through the earlier stages of my pregnancy, but which started to do a weird, pulling thing across my butt well before I was ready for it, but still...

Nobody wants to hear that, you know?

 

Blouse: Banana Republic (outlet, probably? It was a gift from my MiL when I was pregnant with Brigid)

Sweater: Gap

Skirt: Motherhood Maternity

Shoes: Nine West (from Macy's)

Human Valentine

I'm pretty sure that when I was growing up, the 'don't ever wear pink and red together' rule was right up there with not mixing black and brown as a fashion requirement, to be followed at all times.

My inner child is weeping for me, right now.

(Then again, my inner child wore a school uniform until she was 12, so we don't necessarily trust her style judgment, anyway. PINK AND RED, FOREVER!)

Sweater: Gap

Cardigan: Banana Republic (outlet)

Skirt: Banana Republic (outlet)

Necklace: Old Navy

Shoes: Missoni for Target

Hello, Monday...

It's Inspiration Monday over at Two Birds, and since today's plans included registering Brigid for preschool in the fall (I am already calling 'not it' on taking B in for her first day, ok? DO YOU HEAR ME, STEPHEN??? NOT IT!!) and taking her to the aquarium on my mother-in-law's membership guest pass, the timing of today's inspiration couldn't have been better.

Because, this?

Well, this just translates really well into an outfit that let's you crawl through the penguin tunnel, to the plastic bubble thing in the middle of the penguin pond, where you can stand face to face with those darn penguins!

(which probably would have been a lot cooler, if penguins didn't have beady little creepy eyes right in the middle of their faces, but whatever...I have bird issues.)

 T-shirt: Gap

Sweater: Banana Republic (outlet)

Jeans: Gap

Boots: Hunter

EBEW: Black and White!

Well, if this month's EBEW challenge wasn't right up my style alley, I don't know what is. When I looked in my closet to plan today's outfit, I counted no less than EIGHT!!! black and white dresses staring back at me.

That is a lot of black and white, friends, and when you consider the fact that this doesn't even come close to taking into account the various blouses, sweaters, and skirts I own that also belong in the black and white family...

...well, let's just say that this is why I can't be trusted to shop these days.

Guess it's a good thing I'm taking the year off, then, huh?

 Dress: White House Black Market

Boots: DSW

Bracelets: Mango Tree/Lands End Canvas

Necklace: Banana Republic (outlet)

Catching Up

I am still working my way through the last couple of weeks of blog posts in my feed reader, but I will get there. Even if I'm not commenting on the posts, I hate leaving them unread...it's part of the anal retentive side of my personality, I think. So, I keep trying.

I had even managed to pull the number of unread posts under 100 on Tuesday evening, while watching The Bachelor episode that I'd DVR'd, but then...

Well, then I started The Hunger Games. And it is so good. And now I have to read all three books before I can do anything else. Because that's how I operate.

So, maybe I'll see you all again after the weekend?

Shirt: Gap

Sweater: Gap

Jeans: Gap

Shoes: Cole Haan

Necklace: Banana Republic (outlet) 

Old Navy

Hey, look...today's neutral is navy! This might just be my favorite look of the week. I LOVE this dress! For other navy ideas, you can always visit Megan Mae Daily or Keely to see the other participants!

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I am so happy that this week is finally over. Except for the fact that I have a crazy deadline on Monday, which is supposed to be my day off, but I can't really expect my team to have everything into me a day early, since we're already operating on a shorter calendar than we need, so I will be trying to juggle work and Brigid on Monday.

So...that's something to look forward to, I guess.

Next week. If I can just get through next week, we'll have hit most of our year-end deadlines, and things can start slowing down a bit. 

And then I can concentrate on packing lots and lots of layers for Christmas in Indiana...

Dress: Banana Republic (outlet)

Cardigan: Macy's (from somewhere in the Juniors section)

Tights: Loft (outlet)

Boots: DSW

Don't forget, eShakti is offering $20 off of any order through the end of the year, when you use the promotional code NOTAHOBBY0811.

The discount code is not case sensitive. Only one gift certificate can be used per order. The code can be used any number of times until the validity period. This discount code is not applicable on our Overstock category. This cannot be combined with any other offer / discount that may be active during this period.

Also, you can find my post about the skirt the company sent me to review here.

Human Again

Do any of you have the extended edition of the Beauty and the Beast DVD that includes the extra song Human Again? And do any of you have a toddler who is obsessed enough with the movie that you know the words to this song by heart?

If you answered yest to both of those questions, you are welcome for getting this song stuck in your head for the rest of the day. If not...then just feel really, really bad for me because I don't think I will be able to stop singing it any time soon.

This, of course, is just my long, drawn-out way of telling you that I woke up this morning, and I didn't feel like I would keel over from the plague the minute I got out of bed! Yay, me!

Of course, the end of the plague also means I woke up starving, because I haven't really eaten a solid meal in two days, but whatever. If you need me, I'll be in the corner all day, eating all of the food.

All of it.

Dress: Banana Republic

Blazer: The Limited

Shoes: Nine West

Necklace: Banana Republic (outlet)

Don't forget, eShakti is offering $20 off of any order through the end of the year, when you use the promotional code NOTAHOBBY0811.

The discount code is not case sensitive. Only one gift certificate can be used per order. The code can be used any number of times until the validity period. This discount code is not applicable on our Overstock category. This cannot be combined with any other offer / discount that may be active during this period.

Also, you can find my post about the skirt the company sent me to review here.

Let's see what I can do...

Last week, a friend mentioned that her spending was getting out of control. And she wasn't just talking about shopping for clothes and accessories, but also make-up and nail polish and Starbucks and household things that she just didn't need. And to 'reset' her habits, she had decided to begin a year-long no-spend adventure, starting November 1st.

And, well, I was impressed by this. Inspired, even.

You see, I have a job that I like well enough. And working in this job leaves me with some disposable income that I like to spend on useless stuff. But, despite mostly enjoying what I do, I still have it in my head that at some point in the next couple of years, I would like to be a stay-at-home-mom. And to do that, I need to make sure we can make ends meet as a one income household, which we should be able to do, if I can manage to cut out the previously mentioned useless stuff.

So, I'm doing just that.

I'm too scared to commit to the full year that Christina is taking, but I'm going to use these last two months of this year, when my shopping is usually at its worst (I am a 'one for you, one for me' kind of Christmas shopper, sadly...) to see what I'm made of.* I need to see if I can rediscover the line between what I actually need and what I just really, really want, because I know it's there, but I've lost track of it. And then, just maybe, I can officially declare 2012 the year of no-spending.

Wish me luck!

*Also, it should be noted, I'm already failing in my attempts, because I'm making a pre-established exception for Black Friday. We're talking a midnight trip to the outlet mall, and I just don't want to miss it. But other than that? NOTHING!

 Dress: Loft

Cardigan: Banana Republic (outlet)

Boots: DSW

Bracelets: Mango

Earrings: Banana Republic (outlet)

Flattery

I wore this outfit to work last week, on the day that I happened to have a dentist appointment in the afternoon. In addition to telling me that I looked 24 (which, I don't) and that she could tell I flossed every day (which, again, I don't, unless she meant flossing every day in the week leading up to a dentist appointment, which I totally do...), the hygienist asked me if I worked in fashion. Because she'd never think of pairing polka dots with a red skirt, so she was really impressed that I had.

And all I could think, in addition to thinking this might be the nicest, most over-the-top-enthusiastic dental hygienist I'd ever encountered (which I think might be saying a lot, because I've met some really enthusiastic dental hygienists in my day...but this one gave me TWO tubes of travel toothpaste AND a small sample bottle of Lysterine, in addition to the typical toothbrush/floss combination, so she totally wins), was that I needed to introduce this poor woman to some fashion blogs. Because pairing red/black/white/one pattern is nothing compared to some of the amazingly awesome ensembles I've seen across the internet.

But hey, a compliment is a compliment, and I'll take it. I just need to make sure I'm on my game when I head back in six months...

I don't want to disappoint her, after all.

Blouse: H&M

Cardigan: Express

Skirt: Banana Republic (outlet)

Shoes: Nine West

Bracelet: Francesca's

Don't forget, eShakti is offering $20 off of any order through the end of the year, when you use the promotional code NOTAHOBBY0811.

The discount code is not case sensitive. Only one gift certificate can be used per order. The code can be used any number of times until the validity period. This discount code is not applicable on our Overstock category. This cannot be combined with any other offer / discount that may be active during this period.


Also, you can find my post about the skirt the company sent me to review here.

All in...

While Steve and I were flying to Omaha this past weekend, we saw an older lady boarding the plane in Atlanta who had dyed the tips of her gray hair pink, for, I assume, breast cancer awareness.

And that, my friends, is commitment to the cause.

I wanted to high-five her and ask to take a picture, but I'm a complete chicken when it comes to approaching strangers, so I stuck with a mental fist bump and called it a day. I still wish I had a picture, though...

Sweater: Banana Republic

Skirt:J Crew

Shoes: Nine West

Bracelet: Kohls

Midi

I feel like a broken record these days, but once again, I'm up against a crazy week.

Today involves spending the morning at one office, meeting my mother-in-law at the pediatrician for B's two-year check-up, then spending the afternoon at the office on the other side of town. Wednesday is full of meetings. Thursday is another split office day, with an eye doctor appointment thrown in for good measure. And Friday, I'm flying to Omaha for a friend's wedding.

Am I exhausted just thinking about it? A little. But then again, I guess I'd rather be busy than bored, so there's that...

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Question: How do we feel about the mid-calf skirt length on someone who is all of 5'2? I really do love this skirt, which I've had for awhile now, and I know the length is supposedly very much on trend for this year, but I'm still torn. 

So, what do you think? Yes or no for me?

 

Sweater: Banana Republic (outlet)

Skirt: Banana Republic

Shoes: Nine West

Necklace: Old Navy