Nordstrom Half Yearly Sale Picks

If you like comfy, easy clothes as much as I do, you're going to appreciate my picks from the Nordstrom Sale! I'm all about a flat shoe, a knee length hem line and cute jeans. A fun novelty top isn't going to hurt either. You know I also included some lounge wear because what can I say, I like to lounge as I'm sure you do.

I'm obsessed with the clear Kate Spade Umbrella with the eyes on it! I used to have a phone case just like it and it was a huge hit with my students so I'm sure they will appreciate the umbrella! I'm definitely getting those kelly green Zella leggings. That price and color is too good to pass up. I so wish I didn't already have two pairs of Hunter boots because that pink pair is calling my name.

Happy shopping. All you have to do is click the image to shop it!

Top 5 Tips For Getting Out With A New Baby

Top: Old Navy (lots of cute options linked at the bottom of this post) // Jeans // Boots: Zara (sold out) 

I often think about how my experience of being a mom would be different if I were still living downtown Chicago. 

Would Athena know how awesome nature is? Would I take her out and about as much as I do now, considering driving and parking in Chicago is an event itself? How the heck would I get myself, bags and a tiny human up and down the stairs every time we needed anything while parking blocks away from my apartment?

Luckily, life here in Utah is a bit easier. We have a driveway, guys! It's the first time in 15 years I could drive up to my house and leave my car somewhere... for FREE! 

I made it a point that after Athena was born, we got out of the house. Daily if possible. She had her first Target trip at four days old, her first hotel stay at five days old, and first hike at six days old. Keep in mind I had her in the thick of winter too. So if you're a new mom feeling like getting out is too hard, here are my tips! Keep in mind I'm no expert but I AM an organization freak.

1. Get out of your own head. Most moms I've talked to say they are afraid to go out because they are nervous that the baby will cry and then they will be THAT mom with the crying baby. Well guess what? Babies cry. It happens. It will happen. But guess what? You still need groceries and a Target run, so do it! You will all live to tell the tale.

2. Be prepared but not weighed down. Andrew and I keep a grab-and-go gallon ziplock bag with a diaper, small pack of wipes and a pacifier ready to go for quick trips. We keep it in the fully-stocked diaper bag so we know where it is if we want to take the little pack and leave the full bag. You don't always want to carry around the whole giant diaper bag so feel free to leave it in the car and if a disaster erupts it's nearby. And if you do need to carry the whole diaper bag, might I recommend a backpack-style diaper bag. Hands free FTW! I've had my eye on this dusty pink one and we have this one and love it!

3. Know your timing. This is so hard when they are between the newborn, nap-anywhere phase and the two-nap-nap-a-day-with-nice-spaces-in-between phase. You can start to feel like a prisoner when you can only get out for an hour between naps, but do it! But get that list ready, no browsing. Get your business done and get out. You will be surprised how accomplished you will feel picking up toilet paper as your big event for the day! And if you know your babe will sleep like an angel in the car, plan it so that's where their nap is as you sit in traffic.

4. Pack the car when the baby is sleeping. Most of my errands involve returning something or bringing things to the post office. Probably because I order everything online! If I can ship it to my house, I do. It's super hard to carry the baby, the diaper bag and the stuff I need for my errands. So as soon as that kid is napping, pack the car with whatever it is you or the baby is going to need that you know you won't have the hands to carry when you are trying to get out the door. And leave anything you will need to take on the way out the door RIGHT BY THE DOOR so you wont forget on the way out.

5. Keep water in the car. If you need to make formula on the fly or you are just mega thirsty because the baby is peacefully sleeping in the carseat and it's the first time you've had enough time to think about your own needs and you realize you haven't had a drink of water all day long! While we're at it, toss an energy bar in the glove box too. You probably need to eat something too!

Photos by my brunch date Sandy at Publik Kitchen. And can we all appreciate how full and awesome my hair was before Athena (pictured at about 3 months) figured out how to rip it out of my head by the handfuls. Now I just have tiny weird regrowth bangs. 

Strange Tales of Motherhood

This coming Sunday marks my very first Mother's Day as a real mom! In years past, my school babes used to bring me Mother's day gifts because I was, as they would say, their school mom. Gosh, I miss those pumpkins.

But now, I'm a mom to my own sweet girl. But because I'm not the mushy type and because I know you love it and will commiserate with me, I'm sharing some of my most ridiculous and not so glamorous mom moments from the last 6 months. Most come from the brain-scrambling weeks post-baby when my hormones were straight up CRAZY!

1. Crying in the shower. I like to listen to pandora on my phone when taking a shower. In the first few weeks after having Athena I heard "If I Ain't Got You" by Alicia Keys in the shower and sobbed for a solid 15 minutes. People who know me know I'm not a cryer so this was WEIRD! Later that week we started listening to a lot of the Disney station on Pandora with Athena and anything from Dumbo or Cinderella made me cry too. A. MESS.

2. Iguana Legs. While we are on the topic of my sobbing fits, let's talk about my favorite one. Two days after we came home from the hospital, Andrew wanted to show me this cool viral video from Planet Earth of an Iguana being chased by snakes (Watch if you dare! Super high anxiety!). Neither of us thinking this would be anything but interesting or entertaining, we watched the clip. After getting to the one minute mark, my eyes filled up with tears and I looked at Andrew and said "I don't want my baby to die" then continued to cry. Apparently the tiny scurrying Iguana legs reminded me of Athena's tiny baby legs and made my brain react in this insane emotional way. Andrew was so very confused at my reaction, he just went and got the baby and handed her to me to show me that she was ok! I held her and cried for about 5 more minutes. Totally normal, right?

3. Really dumb questions. So I only know this story because Andrew told me I did it. Late in the middle of the night, I popped up from a deep sleep and very seriously asked Andrew "Where's the baby's leg?" Andrew told me she was sleeping in her crib. Very unsatisfied with this answer, I asked him again, "No, where is her LEG?" A very confused Andrew then decided it was best to just SHOW me the video monitor, so he held it up to my face, I looked, nodded in approval, and feel right back asleep.

 4. I was peed on. I'm not talking the cute little while-I-was-changing-her-diaper-she-peed-on-me kind of thing. This was after maybe her second bath ever and I was fond of wearing just my enormous pink fleece robe around the house. She got out of the bath and was so cold I tucked her into my robe onto my chest for some skin to skin to warm her up. Well it must have been very soothing for her because she peed all the way down inside the robe.  Thank goodness we don't have carpet where this happened!

5. Night sweats. Right after I had Athena, I thought this was going to be my life forever. I'd be so happy I finally got a chance to take a shower and then I'd wake up with half a head of sweaty curly hair and the other still nicely blown out.  So happy that went away after a few weeks but man, were those blowouts a waste of time!

Ok, now I know I'm not alone! Share with me one of your embarrassing crazy or strange mama moments. Don't leave me being the only one who sounds like a crazy woman!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mamas and soon-to-be mamas out there!


And just for added cuteness, here are some sweet pictures my friend Sandy took of Athena and I from when she was only about 2 1/2 months old. I remember being so proud that we made it out of the house and both still looked cute and were not covered in spit up.

My dress // My Jacket: Sold out Zara (options here) // Sneakers // Diaper bag: Jujubee Legacy BFF Backpack

 Athena's outfit here

Hot New Releases From ASOS

I don't know about you but every time I go onto the ASOS website I hit the new releases first. Even if I looked the day before, I swear, there are a million new items added each day. Lucky for you, I sorted through them and found 12 hot items that may just be sold out in the blink of an eye...cause thats how it goes usually with these affordable finds. Everything below is $79 bucks or under! Just hover over the item to see the price and click to shop!. Get to shopping, and FAST!

Rainbow House

Top: Victoria Beckham for Target // Leggings: Victoria's Secret // Scarf (vintage) // Sneakers: Superga classic in Navy // Diaper bag: Jujube Legacy Backpack // Stroller: Baby Jogger City Mini GT // Sunglasses: Sold out but these look-alikes from BP are only $12

Good morning and Happy Monday! Today I've got a fun day of waiting on plumbers and distracting a teething crawling baby! How about you? 

Man, this crawling thing is no joke. It's like Athena went from a sweet little curious baby to a mobile moving machine overnight. She has been scooting for weeks now (first backwards) but to our surprise Saturday morning she full on CRAWLED at high speed with the motivation of my lime La Croix. She loves all of our beverages, especially trying to get her hands on (*mouth on) our coffee or cans. Aslo as of this weekend she outgrew ALL of her shoes. She changes so quickly every day, I can barley keep up.

So a little backstory on this house in these pictures. I was on my way home from a fabulous facial with my friend Jade (go see her!!) over at the beautiful new Basalt Spa, and I drive past this house. I was so in shock I had to turn around and make sure I wasn't imagining it. It's so strange because all the houses in our area have a lot of old charm and character so this stuck out like a bright rainbow sore thumb! I wanted to know so much more! No one was home when we went by, but who are you people? Why did you do this? How did you do this? It looks expensive. Haha! Can't be good for resale value!

I went home and told Andrew I saw the craziest house but I didn't tell him what it looked like, just that I'd take him and he had to see it for himself. We went for a family walk one day to see it and naturally, with my love for pretty walls, we had to take some pictures here. It's pretty cool, huh? Like cool to see, but I certainly wont be doing this to my house anytime soon kind of cool. Glad it's someone else's house!  

This top is also from the Victoria Beckham line at Target that people were going bonkers over. Honestly, I totally forgot about it but I was at Target buying diapers on release day and I saw an abnormal amount of women gathered around in the clothing section and got in on the first day dibs on lots of the stuff. Sizing ran kind of weird but I bought this top because I though it would be a great teacher shirt for the upcoming school year. Btw, it's so exciting to think about teacher clothes again! I'm looking forward to dressing like a professional person again. Pjs are great, but don't really make you feel stylish or pretty. So anyway, I got this peplum top and this orange romper. Athena got this cute scalloped stripe set and this light weight outfit as well. Everything is already on clearance so if you missed it, check it out now at great prices!