Straw and Circle Bags

This really is the biggest trend I've seen in a long time. And like any good trend it will pass. so why not grab an affordable option of this new circle bag trend instead of investing the big bucks?

I'm telling you now, these will sell out! Many already have and some are even on Pre-order only! Almost all of these are under $75 so scoop one up fast and be ready to rock this trend when the weather warms up. Ready? Go!

Floral Midi Dress Under $35

Dress (only $33!) // Shoes and similar // Bag // Sunglasses // Belt (mine is a faux but this is the real deal)

Coming to you very quick as I write this on a school night. My Family was in from Chicago and we had a busy but fun weekend in Park City. I think I have the energy to even write this at all because Athena slept for 17 hours last night! I'm not exaggerating! We took her with us tubing and I think we wore her out. I'm not complaining.

I'm starting to get really excited about spring for obvious reasons but the other is that I'm FINALLY loosing some weight. It's been a really hard battle to figure out what works for me since having Athena. After always being pretty successful eating mostly whole 30 recipes, and then it not working for me AT ALL post baby. I realized I'd make a recipe that needed vegetables added to complete it and then I'd wind up just eating the protein part and not have time to cut up and prep all the veggies. Anyone who's done a whole 30 knows the prep work is a beast. 

Finally my doctor suggested just using all that I learned from Whole 30 like what foods make me feel bad and then just counting calories. And after a month it's working! I'm down about 14lbs! I use the My Fitness Pal App and it's super easy! I'm not where I want to be yet but I'm going with slow and steady for now.

So as I said I'm excited for spring because of bare legs and pretty dresses like this one here but also for buying clothes in smaller sizes and shopping my own closet of things that used to fit prebaby! I even went and exchanged a bunch of stuff for smaller sizes today and it felt so good!

This dress and all others at Target are buy one get one 50% off so if you want to get some new cute dresses for spring, now is a great time to do so. 

Have a great Monday all!

Winter to Spring Style

Moto Jacket: Old Navy// Loafers: Coach (these ones are on sale for $97. I love the olive!) // Linen pants: Free People "Wild Coast" pants (sold out but similar linked below) // White Sweater: H&M

Well hi there! It's been awhile. I feel like all my posts in the last year seem to start like that. Time escapes me every day so I'm pretty darn happy that my pal Sandy and I could meet up (with the kiddos at daycare) and take some outfit photos. Guys. It's been too long. I pretty much forgot how to smile, walk and look at a camera.

This is the look I wore to school yesterday and it was mighty comfy. I picked up these linen pants last summer at the Shopbop sale and haven't worn them much since, until today. I must have gotten 5 compliments on them at school so they are teacher approved.

I think my most worn pairs of shoes are my driving loafers and I'm partial to my Coach loafers that I have in white and gold. I remember being so hesitant about buying both pairs but years later they are still my go-tos for comfy on-my-feet-all-day shoes.

This knit moto jacket looks like suede but happens to be really soft stretchy knit material. It was so popular last Fall that they re released it in 7 new colors! Great price point as well. I may need to pick it up in another color. Bonus that it comes in tall sizes as well.

Splurge-Worthy Shirtdress That Packs a Punch

Dress: Boden Sybil Shirt Dress // Shoes: Banana Republic // Purse: Dagne Dover Petite Tote

As you may have seen from My Instagram stories, I was talking about making a conscious effort to not buy clothing so haphazardly this year. When I find something I truly love I will hold out for a little bit and make sure I'm 100% positive and maybe even wait around for the best sale I can find. You might know this is true because I haven't posted any new outfits really since the beginning of January when I told you about that fantastic sweater jumpsuit! This dress is basically my second item worthy of purchase this calendar year!

I saw this Boden Sybil shirt dress and was instantly full-on love. It's one of those pieces that seemed to be yelling my name. Perfect for teaching and momming alike! I know mixing 3 different patterns in one dress isn't everyone's cup of tea, but it is mine. I tried waited a few days but couldn't get it out of my mind, but when I saw that they were having a 20% off sale on dresses I decided to pounce. It comes in a blush colorway as well that's just as beautiful but more understated and feminine than this bold number. The quality is incredible, it drapes perfectly and is fitted in all the right places. 

I added in  a 4th pattern with my cheetah mid-heel loafers and wore it all to School for our Open House yesterday afternoon. This outfit got a ton of compliments along the way!

So there you have it. My latest item worth spending some hard earned bucks on. This dress will pack a punch for years to come. The shirt-dress style will ensure that it remains a closet classic too. 

Shop some other bold choices I've rounded up for you below!

5 Things for the New Year

Jacket: Zara (old out but similar here) // Jumpsuit: Madewell (on sale for an extra 30% off the sale price right now) // Tee: Target (2 for $18) // Boots: Zara (old) Bag: Dagne Dover petite tote(part of the end of season sale making it $89!) // necklace "5" charm

Five things for the New Year:

Bed is my bestie! I love my bed, my beautiful king-sized bed. Always have. But now I dream of it. Count down the hours and minutes 'til I get to dive in there and close my eyes. It's my own little slice of heaven. That is, until the alarm goes off at 5 AM. Ugh.

Have good friends who get it and get you. Don't waste your time on anyone who doesn't think you are awesome, wonderful, smart and special and you think the same of them. I love my friends and think they are pretty much the coolest people around and I'm lucky to have so many women I look up to and can count on.

Being a working mom is hard. Like, really hard. I feel like I hit the ground running for hours even before the baby is awake and then I'm go-go-go all day until well after she goes to bed. And moms who teach little children is like next-level momming, in my opinion. You leave your own kid to go care for 30 other kids, and then go back and get your kid. It's a whole day of various children in need of your constant guidance and attention. It sucks you emotionally dry in a way I can't explain. Luckily, I love being a teacher or I would find myself a job where I got to sit down for more than two minutes at a time.

Comfort takes on a whole new meaning. There are sweatpants, and then there are your comfy pants. You know what I mean? The ones you would pick over all the others. They may even be really ugly (I know mine are) but sometimes you need to take it up a notch to mega comfort when your days are nonstop movement, and you want to come home and put on your best and coziest. I am kind of a snob about my lounge wear this year and as you may have seen on my Insta stories, adult onesies are my jam. Two pieces that topped this list this year are these two variations of the same thermal shirt, crew neck and cowl. I may even be wearing one right now. Shout-out to my Ugg slippers that are ugly as eff but so comfy I sometimes accidentally wear them out in public.

I have enough stuff. This is one I have been working on and plan to continue working on. We really want Athena to not grow up in a house full of clutter so we do a really good job of limiting her toys and the amount of new stuff we bring in. I want to work on this for myself too. I am at a point where I kind of have all the things that I really need, so as for new gadgets, furniture and even clothes, it feels unnecessary. I am trying to be really thoughtful of any more clothing purchases I make. It does make blogging a little harder because I won't have a bunch of new clothes to show you but when you do see me buy/rave about something, you know it's something I really value. Like this sweater jumpsuit I'm wearing in the post that I literally wore out of the package!

On that same note, THANK YOU to everyone who reached out to me this year about appreciating how real and honest I set out to be. I really do value my integrity as a blogger and will never sell you on something just to make money. I love that you guys trust my recommendations because you see me using the things I recommend day in and day out and know I actually stand behind them. I love this space and I'm so happy you all come back for more, even if it takes me a month and a half to put up a new blog post. Thanks for being real right along side me!