Summer Lovin'

Once Memorial Day hits and the pools open, it feels like summer has officially begun. I love everything about summer. Sun-kissed skin, and pretty sundresses, long days at the pool, ice-cold beer on a hot day, warm nights on the patio, popsicles, sprinklers in the yard...I could go on and on...

I have a few summer products I am loving right now too that I thought I would share...

Summer calls for fun, colorful makeup! I just recently purchased Laura Mercier's "Camellia" Lip Glace and it's the perfect shade of pink. It's much more sheer than how it looks in the bottle, but it still gives you a great pink lip. $24 at Nordstrom

I am not going to lie, I love the sun. But, I am REALLY trying hard not to spend as much time tanning myself as I used to. In order to prevent from being completely pale this summer, I enlisted the help of a new self-tanner. A friend recommended this product and it's the BEST. You can get a fabulous tan in just 3 days. It has to be applied pretty carefully, but overall the streaking is not bad and it actually smells decent! I bought the medium-tan, and it's really given me amazing color.

 This new Ginger and White peach body wash by Aveeno is light and refreshing...it smells almost good enough to eat!

Jonathan bought  me this dress for Mother's Day and I can't wait to wear it. Sundresses are always my summer go-to. They are the only way to stay cool when it's 90 and humid in Kansas City!

You know that I love a good bargain; I recently scored these wedges at Old Navy for $12.99. I can't wear really high heels when carrying the baby and chasing after a crazy toddler. I searched everywhere for a lower heel and finally stumbled upon these. They also come in a fun citron yellow.

I don't own these (YET), but wouldn't these be the perfect summer earring? They are Kendra Scott's new Skylar earring in Chalcedony. I adore this color, I feel like it could go with anything!  

Lace it up

One item that I have been on the search for is the perfect lace top. I have tried a bunch on, but nothing is just right. I scoured the Internet and found some cute options ranging from under $20 to of course, the over $200 Diane Von Furstenberg. I think an item like this would be worth the investment because it's timeless...and how cute would it be back to all the colored denim this spring?

Madewell

By DVF

Banana Republic

J.Crew

by Sabine

Forever 21

  

Thank You Bar Method!!!

Top: J.Crew (similar HERE)

Jeans: Mossimo at Target

Shoes: Harolds (OLD!)

I cannot tell you how happy I am to not be wearing anything elastic waist or full-paneled. Bye-bye maternity clothes, hello new spring wardrobe!

At 5 weeks post partum, I am back in my regular clothes with only 3 pounds to go. I am shocked, honestly...this is not normal, right? With my son it took me a very long time to get my body back. With my first pregnancy I gained almost 40 pounds and it probably took a year to feel normal again.

Getting back into my skinny jeans is no miracle; I have to give credit where credit is due. The Bar Method is THE miracle worker.  I started taking the classes before I got pregnant and then 3-4 days a week throughout my entire pregnancy. I even happened to take class the day before I went into labor!

When you are pregnant, it is definitely hard to stay motivated to workout. There were days I had to force myself to go, because I was either too nauseous or just plain tired. But once I got to class everything changed...I felt rejuvenated, strong and so relaxed afterwards. The stretching part of the workout did wonders for my body. It felt so good to stretch my muscles that are working overtime while pregnant.  I never had the bad aches and pains of pregnancy either, which I really attribute to the Bar classes as well.

To celebrate losing the weight, I got a few fun things for Spring. One of the items being the red skinny jeans (shown above) from Target. They are a phenomenal fit for only $24.99. They are Mossimo Fit 4 and they come in Red, Mint Green, Peach and Turquoise. I stalked 4 Targets to get the mint green and I finally found them!

And another great Target find...Dolce Vita knock-offs! Only $14.99 and they come in neon Pink, Black and Turqoise. A total steal!

Mom of 2...

Well folks, we have survived our first month with a newborn and a toddler. Truthfully, I am enjoying this so much more the second time around. Yes, it's challenging. Yes, I am sleep deprived. And yes, I still don't quite feel like myself, but I am trying to just enjoy the little moments with my daughter. The times she naps on my chest and how peaceful she looks when she sleeps.

I adore watching my son interact with her and how he is already showing signs of protectiveness. Like today at Target when he told some stranger that she couldn't touch his sister ( I have to admit, I was impressed...he already has her back!). He wants to snuggle with her constantly, and he has a neverending amount of kisses. This was a photo taken today during tummy time...he didn't like that she was crying and so he got right down there to comfort her. 

I am not sure we could have gotten through the month without my Mom's help. She is an angel for coming for that long. It's certainly not easy to sleep in a bed that's not your own, and be out of your normal routine for that long. She entertained Julian when I was too tired to, she changed more diapers than I can count and folded never-ending loads of laundry. Mom, I owe you BIG. We will always be grateful for your time here, we miss you already!

I feel grateful for this time tonight to write, because I miss blogging! I promise I will get back to writing about the fun, frivolous, fashion stuff again soon. But, right now, this is where my head is at. I am sure you understand...

have a great night everyone!

Pardon my absence...we've been quite busy over here!

Yes, we have had our hands full...Vivienne Rose arrived 2 weeks early!

I went into labor on Friday the 13th. At around 11:00PM ( 8 cm dilated and ready to push), my Dr. broke my water only to find out that this little lady was breach. So, I was rushed to the O.R. to have a C-section. Definitely not what we had planned, but we just wanted to get her out safely. And also, much to my pleasure she was born on the 14th at 12:30 AM, instead of Friday the 13th.

She was a peanut, weighing in at 6 lbs, 11 oz. and 19.5" long. We adore her...especially her big brother who can't give her enough snuggles and kisses.

Because she was breach, they had some concerns about her hips. She is wearing this brace as preventative measures so that she doesn't develop hip dysplasia. It's definitely a nuisance...not fun when you have to change about 30 diapers a day. It doesn't seem to bother her, but we will be happy to get it off of her in another 3-4 weeks.

She is constantly sleeping, but occasionally we get some bright eyed, curious moments like these...

So, if my posts are few and far between the next few weeks, you will know why. I am spending every moment I can with this sweet girl...

Where she sleeps...

The nursery is finally completed! I am excited to share it with you all, as it has been a big project of mine ever since we found out we were having a girl. I wanted to do something unique, not so "baby" (like I did in my sons room) and I knew I definitely wanted to include some things that I made to complete the room. Thanks to Pinterest I got some great ideas and was able to organize all of my design ideas.

I am sure most of you have seen this light fixture on one blog or another. It is from Ikea and the moment I spotted it, I knew I had to have it. I was on a tight budget for this room, so the $50 price tag worked just great for me. It was a pain in the ass to assemble, but worth every minute!

I used the old curtains from my son's room (cheapies from Target!) and added hot pink pom trim (Hobby Lobby) with a hot glue gun. I LOVE the way they turned out. I am kind of obsessed with pom pom trim right now...

The hot pink mirror was one I found at Vintage Market ($35!) in Kansas City and my mom and I used acrylic paint to make it hot pink.

I desperately wanted to do a sheepskin rug in the room, but I didn't want to eat up my budget with a $300-$400 rug.The $74 Chevron option from Urban Outfitters will do the job and I liked the idea of using a bolder print on the floor.

The majority of my budget went into the wallpaper. I knew I wanted to do this on the crib wall, it was just a matter of finding the perfect print. I decided to go with this dainty metallic silver leaf print from Thibault. It is very feminine and I think a print that we will not tire of.

I re-purposed an old pillow with this fun pink and ivory floral print and the white pillow with pom trim as well as the JellyCat Giraffe is from Lauren Alexandra Bebe Boutique in Kansas City.

The diaper caddy is from HomeGoods

Shelf is an old purchase from Pottery Barn (we painted the insides hot pink)

My mom and I made the artwork on the shelf

The tiny boudoir chair was my Granny's that I had recovered with fabric from Calico Corners. The whole chair was $180 to re-purpose. I love it and hope our little girl will too!

This print from Etsy inspired a lot of the colors we used in the room. By The Wheatfield

I am obsessed with these Grey Baby Bloch shoes that were given to me at my baby shower!

Dress by Toni Tierney at Lauren Alexandra Baby Boutique

Amy Butler Lark Print pillow by Pillow Mio

Turqoise and white Flower Pillow from Hobby Lobby

Little Giraffe Hot Pink Blanket

For more details on the nursery and all of my resources visit: Projectnursery.com

Barefoot and Pregnant

This baby is coming any day now! I am almost at my 38th week and the days are flying by. Surprisingly, I am still feeling pretty comfortable. Outside of the expected tiredness in the evenings and occasional back pain...

 I am just so over my clothes right now. I am pretty much living in leggings and long tops which seem to be the most comfortable option!

Top: Isabella Oliver

Leggings: Hue Wide Waistband (still wearing these...after 8 months!)

Scarf: My new favorite pom trim scarf from Old Navy (on sale for $9)

barefoot...because my shoes feel terrible right now!! ugh!