It's the little things...

Last night, the power went out in our neighborhood for about five hours. Considering what people in DC and the surrounding areas have been facing these last few days, I realize that I am incredibly lucky it was only out for five hours, because things could always be much, much, MUCH worse.

Perspective. I have it.

However, no amount of understanding could prevent me from swearing loudly at the tree that fell on our lines at 6:30PM or at Georgia Power for not having our power back up and running in an hour and a half, because do you know what happened to me last night?

I MISSED THE BACHELORETTE HOMETOWN DATES!!!

Perspective. It's hit or miss with me, really.

T-shirt: Target

Cardigan: Gap (outlet)

Skirt: Motherhood Maternity

Shoes: Nine West

Necklace: J Crew

Bracelet: Macy's

I hope you all have a safe and happy 4th of July!

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)

Not so flattering...

While I absolutely adore the pattern on this blouse, something about it just doesn't seem to look right on me, for some reason. I think the style of the shirt maybe makes me look a little more...let's call it well-endowed...than I actually am, and if I'm being honest here (and also, really obvious, because it's not like I can hide it), I really don't need the help in that area.

And I don't think leaving it untucked with work, either, because without the waist definition, things just get worse.

I'm not ready to give up on the shirt entirely, since I've worn it all of one time, but it's going to take some thought to figure out how to get it to work on me...

Good thing I'm always up for a challenge.

Shirt: Lucky Brand (outlet)

Skirt: Calvin Klein (Macys)

Boots: DSW

Bracelets: Mango Tree

The last reserves...

I had a ton of pictures stored up from right before Christmas that I never got around to posting, and I figured I could hang on to them to post at a later date, on one of those days where I just didn't feel like getting out of my sweatpants. And now I'm down to my last one. Apparently, I've been lazy these last couple of weeks...

This was my shout-out to the Georgia Bulldogs, the day they lost to LSU in the SEC championship game. We were heading out to meet some friends to watch the game at a restaurant, and since Steve's brother and sister both went to UGA, I thought I should probably show my support somehow. Sadly, the one Georgia t-shirt I own has some bizarre black stains on it, so red shoes were the next best option.

Actually, red shoes were the first best option, if I'm being honest, but I was afraid they might kick me out of the game watch for mentioning that...

Sweater: Loft

Jeans: Gap

Shoes: Kenneth Cole (outlet)

Wristlet: Macy's

Bracelet: Lucky Brand 

Monday Blahs

It's cloudy and cold and Monday, and while that seems like it should be an absolute bummer, it's also full-on Christmas season, and Brigid and I have spent the day listening to festive music and watching DVR'd holiday specials and eating some of the various holiday treats lying around the house, so it's actually been a pretty pleasant day.

It's also Inspiration Monday at Two Birds, so that always helps, too, because if it wasn't for those ladies, I'm pretty sure I'd be sitting around in my sweats all day, and the fact that I'm wearing pants with an actual waistband is the only thing that's kept me from eating ALL of the holiday treats in the house.

And that's never a good feeling...

Anyway, the inspiration:

And, the outfit:

 T-shirt: Gap

Sweater: DKNY Jeans (from Macy's)

Jeans: MICHAEL Michael Kors (from Macy's)

Shoes: Steve Madden (from Macy's)

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.

Gray Day

For other neutral ideas, you can always visit Megan Mae Daily to see other participants!

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Tuesday's Neutral Week challenge prompt is gray. Should be easy, right? I have a TON of gray clothing in my closet!

And yet, I absolutely missed the boat on this one, because throwing a gray sweater on does not a gray based neutral outfit make. But I'm going with it, anyway. I couldn't really find any gray bottoms that looked ok with the sweater, and I really wanted to wear the sweater. So, there you have it. My dressing logic...

Kind of frightening, getting a glimpse inside my head, huh?

 

Button-up: Land's End Canvas

Sweater: Gap

Skirt: Calvin Klein (from Macy's)

Shoes: Nine West

Tights: Hue (from 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.

Where does the time go?

Can y'all believe tomorrow is Thanksgiving? ALREADY?!?!

I swear, it seems like just yesterday I was celebrating New Year's Eve. Time really does fly when you're having fun, I guess...

Here's to a fantastic holiday weekend for everyone, filled with family, food, fun, and maybe a great shopping deal or two :)

T-Shirt: J Crew

Sweater: Macy's

Jeans: Gap

Boots: Bear Trap (from DSW)

Scarf: Land's End


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.

Weekend Slip-up

So, this weekend was my first real weekend since I started my shopping detox, and while it wasn't a complete success, it was better than it could have been.

See, it was sale weekend at the outlet mall. And my sister-in-law asked me if I'd be interested in going up with her. And my mother-in-law wanted to go, too. And my father-in-law wanted to hang out with Brigid at the outlet mall playground.

It was a family event all around!

I went. And I shopped. But after hitting a couple of stores, I realized that I just wasn't in a shopping kind of mood. In fact, I was actually disappointed in myself for giving in so easily. So, I ended up getting out of there for about $40, and that included a couple of Christmas presents and a dress for my sister's wedding in March (because the wedding is on a beach, and I have a feeling that beach wedding dresses are going to be in short supply come March...).

I guess you could say I'm a work in progress, anyway...

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It's Inspiration Monday over at Two Birds, and today's inspiration is Kelly Ripa:

For the second week in a row, I loved the inspiration outfit so much, I pretty much copied it piece for piece. Except for the scarf, that is. The scarf just felt like too much,with the ruffles on the shirt, so I scrapped it in favor of a simple necklace. 

Not a bad look for a Monday...

Tank Top: Gap (outlet)

Blazer: The Limited

Jeans: Gap

Shoes: Steve Madden (from Macy's)

Scarf: Land's End


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 Mondays need some inspiration...

I don't think Two Birds could have picked a better day to host their outfit inspiration link-up, because Mondays, in general, are no fun. So of course, a little dress-up plan helps things out immensely...

Today's inspiration is Pippa Middleton, and seriously, this girl is one stylish Brit. If I could find a way to become the third Middleton sister, just so I could raid the closets of the other two, I totally would.

Except that I am not a size negative-two, so most things probably wouldn't fit me, anyway. Oh well...

Happy Monday!

Dress: F21

Cardigan: Macys

Boots: Bare Traps (from DSW)

Who is ready for Christmas?

I love Halloween. I swear, I do.

I love costumes and candy and I'm starting to recognize the fun in creepy decorations. I love It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and I love that Brigid is now old enough to curl up on the couch next to me so that we can watch it together. I love that we were able to take her trick-or-treating this year, and she was old enough to understand that chocolate is AWESOME!

And I definitely love that while she's old enough to appreciate the holiday, she is still young enough for me to eat all of that awesome chocolate she collected, all in the name of being a responsible parent.

Toddlers only need so much candy, after all. Helping her eat it is the least I can do, right?

But Christmas...well, it will always be number one in my heart. Christmas music starts November 1st, and runs through January 1st. Christmas decorations go up as soon as I can get the Halloween decorations down. And Christmast shopping is basically a year-round event in my life.

So, I get very, very excited when Style Lush posts the annual Holiday Gift Guide, because anything that offers a collection of amazing gifts at under $25 each is kind of perfect, in my book. If you're looking for gift ideas for anyone in your life, you can probably find something awesome on this list. Just at first glance, I see about 8 things, at least, that I want to send my husband the link for...

(And item #3 on the Style Lush list? The scarf? I can TOTALLY vouch for how amazing it is, as you can see below...

I absolutely plan to ask for it in green this year!)

T-shirt: Gap

Scarf: Land's End

Jeans: MICHAEL Michael Kors

Shoes: Cole Haan

First Impressions

Last night, I went to dinner with a group of moms from my neighborhood that I'd never met before. Well, I'd met one of them before, obviously, because a group of moms from my neighborhood wouldn't just invite me to dinner if I didn't have some sort of 'in', I guess.

I mean, I am awesome and amazing, of course, but you can't tell that just by looking at me. It only comes out when I talk.

(And by it, I mean the insane amount of social awkwardness that actually makes up my personality. And the fact that one glass of wine with dinner is all it takes for me to start talking and NEVER SHUT UP AGAIN. So...who wants to hang out with me now?)

Anyway, it was fun. The women were ridiculously nice, they told funny stories, and all were work-outside-the-home mothers, so we could commiserate on those lovely days when you see your kid for all of fifteen minutes because of some work related disaster or another. And not one of them gave me anything remotely resembling a side-eye for the unshowered mess* that I was, thank goodness.

Not that this means they weren't judging me for it, of course. It just means they were very, very skilled at passing that judgment in secret. Which is a skill I can get behind, you know?

I just hope I made the cut for next month's outing...

Tank Top: Target

Sweater: Loft

Jeans: MICHAEL Michael Kors (via Macys)

Shoes: Nine West (via ShoeWoo.com)

Bracelets: Mango Tree

*As mentioned on Twitter last night, Steve was out of town on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Unfortunately, this meant that when I turned my alarm off in my sleep on Thursday morning (which happens more than I'd care to admit these days), I didn't have his alarm going off an hour later as my back-up plan. And that, in turn, meant I didn't get up until a full two hours later, when my mother-in-law showed up to watch Brigid. So, I left the house, showerless, to get to work. I thought I could squeeze in a shower between work and dinner, but that didn't really happen either.

Do I know how to do first impressions, or what? Seriously...you totally want to hang out with me, don't you?

Channeling SJP?

It's Monday, which means you should head over to Two Birds for Inspiration Monday! Today's look is courtesy of Sarah Jessica Parker:

This is, by far, one of my favorite inspiration looks, because it is absolutely perfect for spending the day running around with Brigid, which is exactly what I did when I wore this to the zoo for the ridiculously fun Boo in the Zoo this weekend.

And if that's not the longest sentence ever typed, I don't know what is...

Hope you all had an equally fabulous weekend!

Tank Top: Target

T-Shirt: J Crew

Sweater: Alfani (via Macys)

Jeans: MICHAEL Michael Kors (via Macys)

Shoes: Cole Haan

Big Plans

For some reason, pink and yellow worn together never fails to make me think of strawberry lemonade, which just screams SUMMER!! to me. And with the previously mentioned 47 degree mornings that I've been waking up to lately, it is most definitely not summer in Atlanta. But with the black and gray of the outfit, I thought I needed something a little happier to offset the dreary neutrals.

Because I have been one big dreary neutral, lately, and I am bound and determined to cheerfully dress myself out of my funk. This is my favorite time of year, and work stress aside, I plan to enjoy it.

On the list this weekend? Pumpkin patching, apple picking, county fair fried food eating, and patio drinking. While watching football, of course. Seriously, how could you not love fall, right?

So...what are you looking forward to for the weekend?

Top: Style & Co (Macy's)

 Cardigan: Target

Skirt: Calvin Klein (Macy's)

Belt: Target

Shoes: Nine West

Mayhem

So, last week, the Missoni for Target craziness happened. And while there was definitely some cute stuff in the collection that I wanted to pick up, I did not want to brave the stores at the crack of dawn to get any of it. So I waited until my lunch break to make my visit, and basically EVERYTHING was gone, except for the shoes, and most of the sleepwear.

Luckily, it was a pair of shoes that I was after, so it all worked out in my favor

(Oh, also, there was a dress that I wanted, and I didn't think that was going to happen, but I managed to be standing at the rack (possibly on purpose) as a woman (that I had maybe been slightly cart stalking around the store) returned one in my size. So, well done me, I guess?)

Sweater: J Crew

Skirt: Calvin Klein (from Macy's)

Shoes: Target

Bracelet: Kohl's

Dog Days...

Random story of the day: My little* dog, Peyton, is such a neurotic mess that she can't stand being separated from us for longer than five minutes at a time, especially if she thinks we may be having fun without her. And while I usually find it funny that she has to be right on top of us, this has started to become a problem when Brigid's bedtime rolls around.

See, we always keep B's door closed because we don't want the cats to get in there and make themselves comfortable in the poor kid's crib. Cats shed, and it's kind of gross. And if we leave the door open for any period of time, they will come in and hide under the crib, until they can make their move.

They are sneaky little things, my cats.

So, at night, Steve and I head upstairs, with Brigid in tow, and confine ourselves to her bedroom for a good hour at a time, while B gets a bath, and we all dance to Gaga for awhile. And Peyton CAN'T STAND IT!

But...well...she's found a way around all of this, because, it turns out, Peyton can open the door. Granted, it's a lever knob, and B's door does open into the room, so all the dog is doing is doing is pulling down on the lever and leaning, but still...

My dog can open doors. And she's gotten really good at it, too.

They're readying themselves for a takeover, I can feel it. We're outnumbered by the animals, and they're going to win. If I disappear from this space any time in the future, at least you'll all know what happened to me.

Unless she also knows how to type, too. Then you'll never even know that I am gone...

*It should be noted that 'little' is a relative term here. Yes, she's smaller than our 50lb dog, but she's getting pretty close to the 30lb mark, herself, so she's a little tubby. Someone needs to stop eating two different dinners every night, I guess...

Tank: Target

Cardigan: Macy's

Jeans: Michael Kors

Shoes: Cole Haan

Casual Friday

Ok, so I've used this post title before, but now it actually applies to me in an office setting, instead of a stay-at-home kind of setting, so it's totally being recycled today.

Due to my previously mentioned schedule change, I am now off on Mondays and in the office on Fridays. And Fridays in our 'new' office (where I spend most of my time these days) is a casual day, a lesson I learned the hard way the one other time I had to go in on a Friday, and I was the only person in the complex not wearing jeans, with the exception of the investment banker types we share the office building with.

I've done the banking thing, thank you very much. I don't want to be confused with those types...

So, jeans it is!

Tank Top: Gap

Cardigan: NY & Co

Jeans: Michael Kors (from Macys)

Shoes: Steve Madden

Casual Monday

I've been remarkably lucky with my work schedule since Brigid has come along, as my company allows me to manage my full-time schedule over four days instead of five. I was using Friday as my flex day, but due to a scheduling change on Steve's part, I've shifted my off day from Friday to Monday. And I am kind of looking forward to it, actually, because Monday's are terrible, terrible days. And now I get to spend them at home.

WIN!

On a completely unrelated note, do you ever get dressed and think, 'I don't think my mom wore something like this when she was my age...'?

Sometimes, I think I am younger in my mind than I am in reality. I have a hard time reconciling the two, you know?

T-shirt: INC (from Macy's)

Skirt: J Crew

Shoes: Cole Haan

Change is Good

When I started my new job a couple of months ago, I knew it was going to mean spending a significant amount of time at our recently acquired suburban-area office, and much less time working downtown. And that made me sad, because I like working in a downtown area. My favorite office location ever was when I lived in Cincinnati and worked right on Fountain Square. Plenty of food and shopping options all within walking distance of my office? Sign me up!

But the new office started to grow on me when I realized I could cut 10-20 minutes off of my commute every day. And this is especially true now that school is out, since the only spot of congestion I ever had to deal with involved the drop-off lane of a nearby elementary school backing up into the street and causing all sorts of traffic delays every morning.

And then, I started thinking about how even our downtown office wasn’t really ‘downtown’ enough for my liking. There are very few options in the area if you want to walk to lunch, and really, who is walking anywhere when it’s 100 degrees out, anyway? And the closest shopping area, if you have a quick errand you need to run on your lunch break, is at least 15 minutes away, when you factor in traffic and parking garage navigation.

So I started exploring the areas around the office, and wouldn’t you know it? The mall is a five minute drive from my office. FIVE MINUTES! Sure, it’s not the most fantastic mall in the Atlanta area. And it’s not quite as convenient as it would be if it were, say, located between my office and my spot in the parking garage.* But still, it’s more than I’ve had going for me in the last few (or seven, I guess…) years. And when you also factor in the Target, located five minutes from the office in the other direction, I’d say this new location will suit me just fine.

Now, just watch them pick us up and move us all back to the downtown office within the next month, right?

*Seriously, Cincinnati had it out for me. That wasn’t really the greatest mall, ever, either, but wanting to shop, and then being able to do so in the time it took me to ride the elevator to the 2^nd floor and cross the skybridge? That may have been the birthplace of my shopping habit, right there. THERE WAS A SAKS, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!

Also, this was before I developed a taste for online shopping. Obviously.

Worn to work Tuesday, 5/24

Blouse: Style & Co (from Macy's)

Sweater: J Crew Outlet

Skirt: Target

Shoes: Nine West 

Friday, revisited...

Editor's Note: This was scheduled to post on Friday, but Blogger didn't post it. Go figure...

But since I didn't write anything on Monday, and then I spent all of Monday night catching up on reading other blogs instead of coming up with something for my own, I figured Tuesday was as good of a day to re-post it as any. Hope everyone had a fantastic holiday weekend!

Happy Friday, friends! Who's excited for a long weekend?

Steve and I are heading up to his parents' house to dog-sit for them while they go to a wedding in Tennessee on Saturday, and I am kind of looking forward to a few days of doing nothing but swimming with Brigid. And it's a good thing that that's how I want to spend my weekend, since there's not much else to do in Georgia when the temperatures start to top 90 degrees.

Helloooooo summer!

Worn to work on this past week

Sweater: NY & Co 

Skirt: Calvin Klein

Shoes: Steve Madden (from Macy's)

Purse: Kate Spade (So, apparently, posting a list of things you are coveting right before Mother's Day sometimes leads to you being gifted one of those things that you are coveting...thanks, honey! You really are the best!)