Did you hear?

I announced it on my family blog and on Twitter yesterday, but if you aren't following either of those, then you might not have heard that we found out baby number two is, in fact...


A GIRL!!!

My husband is in for such a world of trouble around here, isn't he?

Dress/Belt: Motherhood Maternity

Cardigan: Gap (outlet)

Shoes: Nine West

Bracelets: Mango Tree

Overactive Imagination

I thought I was dying of some crazy, stomach-on-fire disease this weekend, but it seems as though I just have indigestion.
So...I've got that going for me.

How was your weekend?

(And, uh, week, too, I guess, since it's Wednesday now. Seriously, how is it Wednesday already?!?!)

Dress: Motherhood Maternity (from Brigid's time)

Shoes: Nine West

Bracelets: Mango Tree

Baby Bump: Milk Duds and Pizza

High Expectations

Did you know H&M does maternity clothes? Because I didn't, until I was in there a few months ago looking at the children's clothing for Brigid, and I came across the maternity section right there in the corner of the children's floor. So, I told myself that when I got pregnant again, I would most definitely be hitting up that store to spice up my nine-month wardrobe as much as possible.

And then I got pregnant again.

And you know what? That maternity section, at least in my store, was a massive disappointment. I managed to find a $17 blouse that I liked, but nothing else. And I had such high hopes! Unfulfilled shopping expectations are such a bummer...

Blouse: H&M

Skirt: Motherhood Maternity

Shoes: Nine West

Bracelets: Mango Tree

Scenes From a Bathroom

Hey! Look!

I STILL WEAR CLOTHES FROM TIME TO TIME!!!

Ok, you caught me: I still wear clothes all of the time. I'm just not nearly as creative with them as I used to be. No shopping and no daily outfit post will do that to you, I guess.

But, you know...I'm adding it to my list*. So I HAVE to be creative now.

Well, after today, anyway...

Sweater: Loft

Skirt: J Crew (outlet)

Boots: DSW

Bracelets: Mango Tree

Earrings: Kenneth Cole (Easter gift)

*(And by adding it to my list, I mean, I'm going to force myself think along the lines of Jess's own Project Wearyoshit, and rely less on pencil skirts in the black and gray varieties to get me through the day...)

(Wear. Yo. Shit. Get it? Ha! I am amused by the simplest things, I swear.)

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

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)

Neutrals Week!

Since I'm all involved in this self-imposed shopping ban in December, I'm looking for ways to inspire myself to wear what I already have in different ways, instead of looking for that inspiration in new clothes.

(And honestly, if you saw my closet, you'd wonder why I'd have such a hard time being inspired by what I own. Because, let's face it, I own much more than I really need to own...)

(Hence, the shopping ban, I guess...)

So I decided to participate in the Neutrals Week challenge, which you can read all about over at Megan Mae Daily, if you're interested... 

 

The neutral for Monday is black, which makes up most of my closet, anyway, so it wasn't really a bad place to start for the week. Hope your week is off to a lovely start, as well!

Dress: Ella Moss

Sweater: Gap

Boots: DSW

Tights: Hue (from DSW)

Bracelets: Mango Tree 

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.

Back to Work

I left work at 2:30pm last Wednesday, and I haven't been back. Until this morning. Woo!

Where are my lottery winnings hiding, so I can do this whole vacation thing on a permanent basis?

------------------------------

With November rolling to a close, now seems like a good time to update you on the self-imposed shopping ban I'm under right now. It's...well, it's kind of going.

I spent some money last weekend at the outlet mall, because I'd already told myself that I could, but even that didn't have the thrill for me that it normally does. Sure, I found some things that I wanted (I always find things that I want), and I picked those things up. But towards the end of my trip, I was tired of shopping.

WHO AM I, AND WHAT HAVE I DONE WITH MYSELF?!?!

Generally, I do not get tired of shopping. But all I could think, as I wandered the mall, was 'do I really need another sweater? another skirt? don't I already have EVERYTHING that this place is selling?'. And do you know what?

I kind of do.

So, December is almost upon us. And it's time for me to buckle down, and save some money. No shopping. No spending. No nothing.

Let's do this.

Worn to work last week (before the temperatures dropped again...)
Dress: Gap (outlet)

Belt: Target

Boots: DSW

Bracelets: Mango Tree

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.

Never happy?

Last week, we had a nice little overnight freeze that killed off the one plant I have on my back porch that I've managed to keep alive for longer than a month because I wasn't expecting the freeze, so I didn't get the poor guy in before it happened. It was so cold, the temperature inside our house had dropped to 61 in certain rooms, because we had the thermostat set on 63.

Cold. Yuck.

But yesterday? It was 71 outside. And our house was 76 degrees as a result. The only way to cool it down at all would have been to turn on the AC. In November. Which is definitely not happening.

So, if you need me, I'll be over here, wilting away in the heat, like the delicate little flower that I am. And if you want to come back next week, I'll be sure to complain about the icebox I'm living in when the temperatures return to normal levels.

I'm sure you can't wait...

T-shirt: J Crew

Sweater: BCBG

Cord Leggings: Gap

Shoes: Cole Haan

Bracelets: Mango Tree


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)

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?

Travel Day!

Greetings from Omaha, NE!

We flew out at the crack of dawn this morning,* and, since we weren't planning to check any bags (an my carry-on was already remarkably full), the big camera didn't get to make the trip with us. So...trusty iPhone pictures it is!

Also, I've spent my whole vacation day WORKING, so...haggard iPhone pictures it is!

Happy Friday :)

*Ok, not crack of dawn, exactly...but 8am is early enough for me.

T-shirt: Gap

Cardigan: Target

Jeans: Gap

Boots: DSW

Scarf: Land's End Canvas

Bracelets: Mango Tree

The one where the Internet proves to be smarter than I am...again.

Um, guys? I have a confession to make...

I'd never even THOUGHT about hemming that darn skirt from yesterday. And yet, it kind of makes perfect sense. Y'all are geniuses, obviously.

(Also, I need to start making sure that the cat is OUTSIDE of the bathroom before I take any pictures. He looks like he's plotting my eventual demise, doesn't he?)

Sweater: Gap

Pants: The Limited

Shoes: Nine West

Bracelets: Mango Tree

Blame Game

Ok, one last outfit left over from last week, and then I officially start my parade o' pink tomorrow. I'd say I've never really considered myself a pink kind of person before, but as I was looking through my closet to get a rough idea of what the October wardrobe might look like, I realized that I have a LOT more pink in there than I thought I did.

Who knew?

I blame blogging, of course. Actually, I think blogging is to blame for my closet growth in general, as everything I see on this here internet somehow needs to come home with me RIGHT! THIS! MINUTE! and the pink explosion is just a by-product of all of that shopping.

But as the mall (and the online shopping part of the internet) and I have decided to take some time apart these days, I'm going to need you all to tone it down on the style for the next couple of months, ok? My closet, my budget, and my husband (but not the local economy) all thank you immensely.

Sweater: Banana Republic

Skirt: Forever 21

Shoes: Nine West

Bracelets: Mango Tree

Maybe this can be used to describe me, too?

The weather forecast for this upcoming weekend in Atlanta reads 'sunny and pleasant' for two straight days.

Sunny and pleasant, my friends. Sunny and pleasant.

I am beyond excited by this, since we're having Brigid's birthday party on Saturday, and we're heading to a fundraising festival at Oakland Cemetery in downtown Atlanta on Sunday.* It's going to be an awesome weekend to be outside, and since that's probably just what I need after feeling cooped up in the office this week, the timing couldn't be better.

Now, if only I could fast forward through Thursday and Friday... :)

*If you ever make it to Atlanta, call me up and I'll take you to the Oakland Cemetery. It may sound like a creepy place to spend the day, but it is gorgeous. There's a field dedicated to Civil War Soldiers, a corner reserved strictly for important Atlanta mayors, and countless amazing mausoleums. Margaret Mitchell and Bobby Jones are both buried there, and it's maybe one of the most peaceful places in the city. I highly recommend stopping by if you ever get the chance.

Blouse: Banana Republic

Skirt: H&M

Belt: J Crew

Shoes: Nine West

Bracelets: Mango Tree

Too Big

I'd been on the hunt for a new pair of white shoes for months, when I finally came across this pair at the Nine West outlet a couple of years ago. And even though they were a size too big, and therefore RIDICULOUSLY IMPOSSIBLE TO WALK IN, I bought them anyway.

Because they were the only pair that the store had, and I lose all sense when faced with pretty shoes.

Lucky for me, they make shoe inserts that sort of cover for that kind of impulse shopping, so the shoes are still wearable.

Now, if they'd just make something to remind me not to buy shoes in the wrong size, I'd be all set...

(worn to work last Thursday)

Dress: Banana Republic (outfit)

Sweater: Target

Shoes: Nine West (outlet)

Bracelets: Mango Tree

Stripes

After a couple of weeks off, I'm back for Two Birds' Inspiration Monday posting! I've kind of missed playing along, because I like to be pushed in a direction that I wouldn't normally take, and finding inspiration in another person's outfit can be harder than it looks.

This week's inspiration? The Project Runway hostess herself, Heidi Klum:

 

(Speaking of PR, is everyone else as excited as I am that the new season is starting soon? I need me some Tim Gunn in my life, you know?)

Now, if this isn't the most mom-friendly outfit, ever, I don't know what is. It would have been perfect for our weekly trip to story-time at the library...if I hadn't decided to keep my recovering fever baby home for the day, instead of risking spreading the disease to a roomful of unsuspecting toddlers. But I wore the outfit around the house, which totally counts for this, right? And I really liked it, so it will make a showing out of the house at some point, I promise.

Top: Banana Republic (outlet)

Jeans: Gap

Necklace: Banana Republic (outlet)

Bracelets: Mango Tree

Shoes: Cole Haan

The nearest exit may be behind you...

Does this outfit remind anyone else of a flight attendant? I really do like this combination, but I can't get past that little hang-up. I don't know if it's the fact that the bow looks like an awkward scarf, or if it's the neutral skirt paired with the navy blue sweater, but I felt like I should be passing out peanuts and soda in this one...

(Full disclosure: I ended up wearing the cardigan unbuttoned all day, and it seemed a little less uniform-ish that way. Also, I'm currently posting this from my iPhone while driving to my parents' place in Indiana. Technology, huh?)

Blouse: Banana Republic (outlet)

Skirt: Banana Republic

Sweater: Gap

Shoes: Nine West

Bracelets: Mango Tree

Blergh

I think I might be in a bit of a style rut this week, as evidenced by the return of my 'nightgown in dress form' dress to the rotation. That's never a good sign...

Don't get me wrong, I love this dress because it's super comfortable, but I'm never really happy when I try to dress it up for work. I'm not entirely sure it's really something that is meant to be dressed up, actually. And then I walk around feeling under-dressed for work all day, because I'm basically wearing a belted nightgown. And nobody likes that feeling, right?

Assuming, of course, that other people have walked around in a belted nightgown, I guess...

Although, now that I think about it, that's probably just me, isn't it?

I am totally falling back on my pencil skirt tomorrow...

Dress: Gap

Belt: H&M

Shoes: Nine West

Bracelets: Mango Tree

Earrings: Charlotte Russe

PS: I posted about my favorite summer lip balm over at Style Lush yesterday, if you want to check it out. And even if you don't care about my favorite summer lip balm? You should stop by anyway...there's always tons of good things going on over there!

Mango Tree

You know how I know I made the right decision when I decided to marry my husband?

I mean, beyond the whole loving him and wanting to have his babies thing?

I have the best in-laws. Ever.

Case in point?

My mother-in-law watches the Today's Show every morning, and every so often, they have a segment on called Jill's Steals and Deals. While the deals aren't always something to write home about, every so often, they throw in a really, really fantastic one. And a couple of weeks ago?

My  mother-in-law called with one of those fantastic ones.

Mango Tree bracelets are hand-carved, hand-painted, and made of organic mango tree wood. They usually price at $18-$22/each, but through the Steals and Deals, they were offering three for $20, and I, of course, jumped all over that. Unfortunately, the limit was also set at just the three (well, for the deal anyway...I'm sure I could have bought as many as I wanted at full price...), which was sad, because the website?

So. Much. Fun.

Seriously.

There are a ton of colors, in three different shapes, and they have an arm feature on the site where you can "try on" the bracelets to pick the combination you like best. I head over there on my lunch break when I'm bored, and plan the combination I want next, if they ever go on sale again.

(And yes, I realize I sound like a walking advertisement, but I can't help it. One of my favorite purchases, ever. I want one in every color! I just don't want to spend $20 a pop...

I'm definitely adding these bracelets to my 'when I win the lottery' list.

Oh, who am I kidding. I'm totally getting more when Lent is over...)

Sweater: Loft

Skirt: Banana Republic

Boots: Something from DSW

Bracelets: Mango Tree