Sunday, March 31, 2013

easter bonnets (and fascinators)

I did it! I wore my big floppy hat to church for Easter - the only remaining acceptable hat day. And Jaina wore a headband with a bow so big it's basically a Duchess of Cambridge style fascinator.

We're some pretty snazzy ladies.

It was such a blessing to celebrate our Savior alongside our friends today. We raised the roof and nearly busted the seams of Hanover Middle School this morning! A combination of observing Lent for the first time (none of my alone tv watching), reading through the book of Luke, planning my own Passover Seder for the first time, and going through our church's super inspiring/convicting/exciting sermon series on worship really helped prepare my heart for Easter this year. I don't know about you, but I usually don't get that rush of excitement for Easter the way I do for Christmas. This year was very different, and it was such a joy. All I can say is:


Amen and hallelujah, am I right?


Tuesday, March 26, 2013

family shopping day and my husband: the ikea champ

Whew! Back after nearly two weeks. Zach's schedule gave him a lot of daytime hours at home last week, and we were enjoying some great family time. We also went to our favorite store, Ikea!

 
We're becoming pros at the Ikea cafeteria. I used a tiered tray cart for hands-free food selection, we got Zach free coffee with our Ikea Family Pass, and we snagged our free jar of baby food. I saw on the way out that there were paper bibs that said Ikea on them. Next time.

This girl loves her daddy so much.


Ikea Swedish Meatballs
Whatever, haters. They're delicious.

Ikea shopping is fun cause Zach genuinely likes it. Ladies, you know how it is to shop with a guy who is not enjoying himself, even if he's trying really hard. We had so much fun that I forgot to take any pictures. I need to get better at that. You can't be a blogger and not take pictures during shopping trips. ; )

I sat right down in the outdoor furniture and fed Jaina while Zach went to hunt and gather our loot. 

After checking out and sharing a frozen yoghurt, Zach went out to get the van. He came back with a really serious face, and I freaked out cause I thought he locked in the keys.

"We brought the car."

"Yeah?.... I don't get it."

"We brought.... the car."

We brought our our little Pontiac to pick up two six-foot-high shelving units. (My former retail coworkers are rolling their eyes at me, I'm sure.) But my MacGyver husband came through for us, and within a few minutes we were loaded up and on our way.



Impressive, no?

Thanks hubby, for driving us, fitting everything in, for putting the furniture together, and for being on board with what I wanted to do in the living room. Baby, you're the greatest.

Update on our shopping finds soon. I'm so stoked about all of it!

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

pinspiration

Just trolling the internet for mind candy.



How cute are these Princess Aprons from Vessel Handmade's Etsy shop?



I never met a vintage cart I didn't like.



via Emily Henderson. Wig form turned lamp.
We saw three of these come up at an auction a couple weeks ago! 
I wanted to get one, but they climbed well over $100 within seconds.



 via Demco
I've loved booktrucks ever since I spent my college years working in the library. 
I feel like they would be very useful around the house and a new way to display books or dvds. 
Plus, as my husband would tell you, you could slap wheels on just about anything and I'd fall in love.
Who knew they were so expensive, though?! $300 is a bit steep for me. It comes in 20 colors, though. 
Lots of punchy ones, too, not just gray and taupe.




Zach scored some great weathered planks for free last weekend, 
so we're gonna tackle our own dining room table soon!
I keep coming back to the Jefferson Loveseat from Thrive Home Furnishings.
I love how comfy our couch is, and of course how red it is, but it is waaaaay too chunky for our little living room. It would be much better in a basement or rec room. This one is just so cool, and would fit the scale of our room a lot better. 




I love this print from Hand & Eye.
Do you get it?



It's "Tutti Frutti" by Little Richard!



And, finally, how cute is this Matryoshka carafe and tumbler
From Fred and Friends, of course. Their stuff is hilarious.

Sunday, March 10, 2013

dressing this new body

"Wow, you are ALL BELLY!"

Awesome to hear when you're 8 months pregnant. Not an awesome reality when you're 8 months postpartum.

While I'm only 1-2 pounds away from my pre-baby weight, there's a lot more of me in front than there used to be. (I like to blame three months of bed rest, the c-section, and a husband's schedule that makes it near impossible to work out.)

So, after the better part of a year of fighting with myself, here's what this clothes-loving girl has come up with.


Rules for Postpartum Dressing: Fall Edition

1. NO KNITS
This means no tees, no sweaters, and NO knit dresses. You can be bummed out about it or you can pack them up and put them deep under the guest room bed like I did. You look at tshirts on clearance at Target, you think, maybe I'll just get some in a larger size. They look so comfy. But then you try one on, and instead of looking like this:


You look like this:

Wear them to wrangle your baby, wear them to work out, wear them to sleep, but just don't in the outside world.

2. Say hello to blouses
Barf, I hate that word. It either sounds old-fashioned or skeezy. But they're the best! Button-downs are your new best friend, and, thankfully, they're in right now. I'm not talking ugly striped office shirts here. There's chambray, chiffon, flannel, and you can't go wrong with a fitted denim shirt (a modern one - no embroidered Winnie the Pooh, please). Personally, I think patterns camouflage the best. If you've been wearing all knits since high school now's a great time to grow up and check out all the sweet button-downs out there (I just can NOT call them blouses).

 Gap



Urban Outfitters - though I would suggest black jeans, NOT neon hot pants ; )



 Kohls - I wore this in teal to Jaina's dedication, and felt really good in it.  
This pic makes it look pretty lame.



Insider's tip: You can also raid your husband's closet for some fun flannels. Roll up the sleeves a little, and pair these with skinnies or leggings.

Insider's tip #2: Button-downs are the BEST for nursing.

3. Get yourself a killer haircut
If you're still taking prenatal vitamins for nursing, chances are your hair is still pretty gorgeous. Take advantage, girl, and rock some locks. Invest in a cut that does the work for you so you don't waste precious child rearing hours primping. It's a lot easier to be "just okay" with you're clothes when you're "yeah, baby!" about your hair.

Now's also a great time for new glasses, maybe a nose piercing, or mastering a new makeup technique.

4. If you're not thrilled, add a scarf
Scarves cover a multitude of evils, and, again, they're super in. They both bring attention to your face and camouflage the belly. Recently, I've been into head scarves. My husband just shakes his head, but I like it, so whatevs. (He's shaking his head at "whatevs" as well.)


5. Embrace the funky pant
They're everywhere right now, and they're my surprising new staple. Expect to buy all new pants after your first kid cause your actual bones have moved. There's no working that off. And since you're buying new ones anyway, why not make them fun? You can go for some bright, funky colors:


Or, if you're really daring, florals or polka dots.




Anything to bring attention to the ends of you (and not the middle) is a good thing. Which brings me to...

6. You will wear a lot of flats, make them nice to look at
During my pregnancy, I couldn't wait to wear heals again. Then I realized, once the baby's out, you're still carrying eight or more pounds around, close to 20 if you add the car seat and diaper bag! So my heels still wait patiently for me. (I might rock some wedges come spring, we'll see.)

I've gotten a lot of wear out of my Toms and Chucks this fall. I took a quick cruise though DSW's flat selection. Here are some beauties:

7. Just buy the Spanx
This is one of the only items I bought for myself since she was born. Everything else I found in my closet or I asked for for Christmas and my birthday. It was not cheap, but it is so worth it. I tried on a few cheaper brands, and there was a very noticeable difference in quality. I got what's called a High Waisted Brief (such a sexy name, right?), and I think it's way better than the bike short style. The Spanx version has contoured elastic to keep your butt the right shape (I think some flatten you out completely. We're looking for stomach flattening, not butt). Get it in black, not that creepy "flesh tone". Then you can pretend you're a vintage pin-up or something.

Insider's tip: go to the bathroom first cause it is not easy to get on and off.

Here's just the link to the one I got cause no one wants to see that.


Some final thoughts:

The boxy crop top is not a good trend to participate in right now. Just don't do it.

The one style of dress I've found that comes the closest to minimizing that pesky belly is the peplum dress. I got one of these for my birthday dinner, and after layering control-top tights and my squeezer (that's what we call Spanx), I looked pretty good.

Most books and websites will tell you that your maternity wardrobe will get you through postpartum, but that just isn't true.Yes, your maternity clothes will fit, but they highlight everything that you don't want to be seen. All of those cute tops and dresses that showed off your bump will just look really awkward. You'll get a lot of strangers looking confusedly from your belly, to the baby in your arms, then back at your belly, then awkwardly looking away once they realize they're staring.

Just remember, you don't have an annoying body right now for no reason. It's for this very cute squishy reason!




Lord willing, in a year from now I'll have a very inspirational post about exercises to get rid of post-baby belly! We'll see.

Saturday, March 2, 2013

jaina in the movies

We've decided to really work on her acting career. ; ) Can you guess all of these?





"Je ne suis la belette de personne."
("I am nobody's little weasel.")






"We went to a museum, we saw priceless works of art! We ate pancreas!"






"Oh, fiddle-dee-dee!"