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.
My first birthday as a mother was yesterday. And while I didn't feel much different about it being my birthday, I felt different about me. So maybe it's being 36, maybe it's being a mom, or maybe it's just a new me but a lot has changed.
1. I don't really care what people think anymore. Really I feel like I have always prided myself on this characteristic of my personality but as of lately, I find myself doing things with only two motivations: Do I personally find value in it; and does it help me spend time with my family. Those are really the only two things that matter to me. This pretty much leaves me time to teach, clean my house like the neat freak I am, shop because I still love cute clothes, and spend time with my family.
2. I have lost my mind. I have noticed this since being pregnant that my memory has gotten worse but oh boy, after being a mother and going back to teaching and trying to remember things like changing class schedules or times for random school events, I'm wrecked. I feel like the minutia of the day's schedule at school is last on my list of actually committing to memory. Let's all just thank our lucky stars that I have a big whiteboard right in front of me with times for class periods all day. Also, sorry students, sometimes I just straight up blank on your names. They are in my brain somewhere.
3. I'm not eating "perfectly." I used to be pretty hard core on the no sugar, no junk food, home-cooked lifestyle, and it was totally doable back when I had just myself to cook for (Andrew never cared much for my Whole 30 cooking) so it was pretty easy. Now I feel like I have cut myself some slack because I now realize that if I prep meals for breakfast and lunch all week that's pretty great, but dinner may end up being a Lara Bar, or a handful of chips, nothing at all, or literally whatever I can find in the house because I'm too busy taking care of Athena. I know I could try harder with that last "meal" in the day but honestly, it's just not as much of a priority anymore. I like getting my workout in at 6am, having a healthy breakfast and lunch, and letting life happen after that. I feel like that's the best kind of balance I can make happen as a working mom with a very active toddler.
4. I'm more forgiving of what I look like. I think part of the Whole 30 eating and tons of working out I used to be very strict about really did work for me. I liked it even. But now, I can't make it to hot yoga 3 times a week with Bar Method every day because I simply don't have time to recover from hot yoga, which means showering and blowing my hair back out. I like taking my Pilates class for the same reason I've always loved Barre classes. They are a great workout but you don't get super sweaty and look destroyed afterwards. So maybe my hair is dirty and in a ponytail but I choose that over having to start this whole body from scratch daily.
5. I choose fashion based strictly on function and comfort. When I look back on some of the things I've willingly worn that were scratchy, tight, or just plain hard to move in, I cant believe I actually spent money on those things! There is simply no way I'd be wearing those things anymore. My rule of thumb now is if I can sit on the floor at school in it or play with Athena wearing it and it won't drive me crazy, it's worth my money. It's kind of a fun challenge to find functional, comfortable and stylish clothes that can be worn in a professional setting now too.
This jacket fits the bill for #5. It looks like suede but is the softest stretchy knit moto jacket. No tight arms and inability to bend your arms here! This Evereve dress allows me to look professional too but keeps me covered at school. It even has long sleeves too. And to top it all off, my new super-functional bag in my Dagne Dover collection, the Petite Tote in Warm Dust. They really killed it this season with their fall/winter colors and as per usual, the interior pockets are smart and easy to organize all your items.
As you can see I'm still getting away with as many non-maternity tops as I can. I love this Old Navy swing top that can work now and after pregnancy. The only things I'm actually spending money on that are true Maternity pieces are staples, and I haven't even gotten many of those. I got these boyfriend jeans on sale at Macy's in their Motherhood maternity section but everything else is non-maternity. I've also bought 1 pair of maternity jean shorts and that's about it. The rest is just regular flowy tops and dresses and a few maternity tank tops! Thank goodness for saving some money!
By the way, how cool is this mural we found?! Between my husband and I it took us about 20 mins to find it. We had both seen it out the corner of our eye before and thought we remembered where it was. Well 20 minutes later we realized we both had one of the the streets right and it was on the intersection of them!
We head home from Vegas soon but then we will be off again! This time to Chicago where my awesome friend Amy is throwing us a baby shower! I'll be out there for a few days and then I think I'll be staying put in Salt Lake and hibernating in my house and hiding from the heat until this baby is born!
I remember buying this Old Navy denim dress right around the week 8 mark in my pregnancy thinking this is huge, but is it too big? And now in my 25th week I'm surprised how little room there is left. Everything just expands so quickly! Lesson learned, only buy stretchy dresses to accommodate a growing bump.
This pineapple pin has been getting alot of use lately. In the summer I find wearing heavy necklaces to be too hot and annoying so fun pins are an easy substitute. I found this one and this bee one on sale in Banana Republic and have been attaching them to all sorts of solid color basic tank dresses all summer long. And they always gets tons of compliments.
We are off to Las Vegas today to meet up with my side of the family for vacation! I'm super excited to see my niece and nephew and hang out for hours in the pool. But for real though, I have a question. How do pregnant women tan their back sides? We cant lay on our big bellies so I've been walking around with this uneven tan for a few weeks. Any ideas?
This 80's inspired wall has been taunting me for two years now whenever I leave my Bar Method class in Wicker Park. I always want to shoot in front of it but any time I'm over there it's either pre or post workout which leaves me alone or sweaty. Neither make for a pretty blog post.
This particular day though I had my friend Amy and her baby (off to my left, out of the picture in her stroller) meet me to do this shoot really quick. Finally, success!
You guys, flares are BACK! One of my favorite stores, LOFT, sent me over this pair to try out and I was instantly transported to my highschool days. I also forgot how insanely long flare jeans make your legs look too! Nice bonus.
After I got over the shock of the time hop, I realized that these pants were pretty useful pants indeed. They almost look like tailored work pants, especially if you pair them with a nicer button down top. I could even get away with wearing this dark wash to work!
Have you tried the flare trend yet? Will you go for a dark wash like these or a lighter wash?
This weekend was spent enjoying family fun all over the Chicago-land area! Saturday, we had a day of fun at Maggie Daley park along with a sleepover with my niece and Nephew. Sunday we went to Arlington Race Course for my dads birthday! I took some photos while there of the kids with my dad and I'm so bummed that while importing the photos the computer crashed and deleted most of them and a few other outfit posts which is always such a bummer. I was able to recover a few from the track, which is what you see above. Not the best quality photography, but the best I could do with what I had. If it makes you feel any better, I was wearing shoes, but they are sold out anyway, so that would have just been teasing you anyway.
This dress is however, on sale right now for $15 and extremely easy to wear. Get it while you still can!
