Monday Snapshot: Zoey Wears Vintage Edition

Hey Everyone! Happy Monday!

Isn't this mushrooms-and-flowers romper my mom made for me back in the '70s the cutest?!? This might be the last of the baby clothes I have from my childhood for Zo to wear...sniff, sniff...

Hope everyone has a fabulous week!

XOXO

(This post is part of PAIL's Monday Snapshot series...click here to check out this week's contributors.) 

Monday Snapshot: How's My Crawling?

Got out without the kids yesterday...lunch with my husband and a friend of ours, a little shopping in Wash Park. Got a sparkly New Years Eve-y type dress, looks vintage, it's very cool, and the cutest shoes for each of the kids...Sissy's are skater shoe style...black-and-white striped with bubble-gum pink skull-and-crossbones on them. They're a little big...actually one has fallen off and Luke is chewing on it right now. But the coolest part about them is the sole...I didn't even see the

"How's my crawling? Call 555-MinM"

text until I put them on Zo and she started crawling away. Hilarious.

Hope everyone's getting a good start to their week.

XOXO

P.S. Thanks for the kind words on my "Overwhelmed" post. Helps so much to know I'm not the only one...

This post is part of PAIL's Monday Snapshot series...check out this week's installment here. 

Mommy Style: Using Pintrest to Help Make My Wardrobe Fit My Life

I've always loved clothes, something I think my paternal grandmother, who trained to be--wanted to be--a costume designer in Hollywood but ended up in Seattle raising three boys, gave me. (I really like my mother's style and she always looks great, but she has no great love of fashion.) I always feel so much better about the day when I'm wearing something cute.

But my closet is all California-surfer-girl-slash-advertising-professional-circa-2003. And I live in Colorado now. And no longer surf (although maybe I will again someday). And work almost exclusively from home vs traveling to work onsite at ad agencies. And I've got two kids. And am almost 10 years older. I gained weight starting in January 2009 with the whole fertility drugs/pregnancies thing, too.

But now I am just a few pounds from my goal weight (back where I was before all the IVF stuff started), and am starting to think about updating my wardrobe. I was inspired by Too Many Fish to Fry to do a Pintrest board for the fall/winter, and that's been so fun, putting a lot of pictures together, trying to figure out what works for my life now--you know, the dream life that involves hanging out with the kids indoors and out, doing some work in my home office, a weekly date night and maybe a day or two on the mountain snowboarding here and there. :)

You can check out the full board here. Oh, and here's a button if you want to follow me on Pintrest:

Happy Thursday!

XOXO

Mommy Style: The French Bulldog Ring

Hi Everyone!

So, this blog is never going to become a fashion blog...noteworthy might have been my thing at one time (kind of mandatory when you're a "creative" in a big-city ad agency), but I'm a long way from that life now. But, I thought it would be fun to occasionally share some of the cute things I've discovered that work with my work-at-home/new mom life.

In general I have to say, you have to approach clothes differently when you have little ones. We're getting ready for a garage sale, and a lot of my computer bags are going. And office-appropriate clothes...some things I'll keep for date night, but in general, since I'm not really traveling or going to an office anymore, I really don't need these things.

This is probably obvious to a lot of people, but I didn't realize when you have babies, everything you wear is probably going to get spit up on or worse over the course of the day. And necklaces and dangly earrings are not safe in the vicinity of little hands.

But one thing that seems safe--rings. And I'm such a dog lover, and stumbled upon this the other day...it's out of stock which of course makes me want it more, but how adorable is this?

How about you guys? Do you even try to stay cute and stylish as a mom? Any tips on how to do it?

XOXO

Image credit and shopping info: ModCloth.

Shortlisted: Bibs & Booties

I love Etsy.

Two things I'm currently lusting after--bibs and booties. Cute, right?

Happy Labor Day!

XOXO

Photo Credits (and shops to visit!):

Bibs: HazelLove

Booties: Bobka Baby

Zoey Wears Vintage (And Finally, Finally Goes Down for a Nap)

This smock was mine when I was a baby...love being able to use some of the things my mom saved for me. :)

In other news, my kids sure don't nap easily. Zoey fights it and fights it and fights it. And then sleeps like a little angel...

Happy Monday!

XO

Baby Sweater

Hi Everyone! Happy Tuesday!

Here's a picture of the sweater I recently finished for our boy. It's from a pattern in a book called Essential Baby, except with their sweater, the weave is much tighter/smaller...I'm not that experienced a knitter and by the time I figured out I wasn't making it "right" it was too late to turn back.

I like how it turned out, though, although it definitely looks handmade. My husband calls the things I make that don't look perfect "made with love," as in: "That pie you made tastes awesome, but as far as looks...well, let's just say it was made with love." This sweater definitely falls into that category, but I am totally OK with that.

I'm making an identical sweater in bubble gum pink for our girl. They'll be part of their going-home outfits...can't wait. :)

XOXO

Dilemma of the Day: What's a Pregnant Girl Supposed to Wear to a Rock Concert (or, How Much do Pregnancy and Motherhood Change Your Life?)

So I'm going to see the Foo Fighters this weekend...so excited! :)

(By the way, when I Googled to check the general thinking re: if it was safe to go while pregnant, the consensus was an occasional loud rock concert isn't going to do any damage. Although someone pointed out that I should probably avoid the mosh pit.)

But here's my dilemma: I have absolutely no idea what to wear. I'm fine with jeans and T-shirts around the house. And I have a fancy dinner out Saturday night that I'm sure I can scrounge together a pretty maternity outfit for. But how to look hip and cool and young--you know, rock concert-ish--while pregnant? That I'm not sure how to pull off.

And I care, first because I always want to look good for my husband, and also (ahem) because my celebrity crush is Dave Ghrol (the band's lead singer), and what if he wants to meet me...I don't want to look all frumpy, right? (Hey, it could happen. When I lived in Santa Barbara, I took guitar lessons from the brother of one of the band members [quirky guy...loved him]. So maybe he'll [the brother] be at the show and he'll see me and he'll be like, "You have to come backstage with me!" and Dave Ghrol will be there and, you know...)

What I used to wear on nights like this would be something along the lines of heels, tight jeans and black T-shirt, very loud rhinestone belt, leopard print cowboy hat. Yeah, my rhinestone belt stretches about halfway around my waist now. And I don't feel like I can pull off any of that.

But this isn't really about what to wear on Sunday night (I'm sure I'll figure it out. There's always big-city shopping). It's really about the shift in my identity with this whole pregnancy/impending motherhood thing.

I can't figure out if I'm going to turn into an entirely different person with this stuff, or I'm still going to be me, just with a couple cute kids as part of the package. Or something in between? I'm certainly not going to be going to rock concerts every week, but in reality I haven't done that since I was 24 and living in Austin, TX, (oh, man, the music scene there was unreal). I'll still be able to go to concerts every once in a while, right? Like I do now? And once I get my body back, I can do it in some great outfit. 

Until then...pregnancy is temporary...the rest of my life is not going to be like this. I just feel so not me...it's the not getting to snowboard (I usually go 2-3 times/week in the winter, going to miss it so much), or take hot baths, or have a glass of wine, or travel like I usually do, or look sexy going out to a concert with my husband, or have just one day where I'm not lying on the bathroom floor at some point, ready to puke. All these pregnancy restrictions are just temporary. And so, so worth it.

And besides, who knows? Maybe Dave Ghrol has a thing for pregnant women. :)

XOXO

It's My Birthday!

Yay! I love birthdays! 

This morning, my husband gave me the loveliest gift--the horseshoe necklace, above. It's tiny, tiny, tiny...the horseshoe is about half the size of the nail on my pinkie...perfect for me, as I don't generally wear flashy jewelry. We saw the necklace shopping in Seattle a few weeks ago...I tried it on and my husband shook his head and said, "Don't like it." So I put it back, and he secretly went back later and got it to surprise me. Love him...he does so awesome in the gift department. A good luck symbol is such a perfect gift right before our FET, too.

After that had a massage...lovely.

Then went to the bookstore and got a big stack of books (love going to the bookstore. And I'm going to need something to entertain me while on bedrest...a girl can only watch so many episodes of The Bachelorette, you know?)

And later, we're going to the Morrison Inn to have Mexican food with my brother, and then to Red Rocks Amphitheater (above) to see a local band and a screening of the movie Twilight. What's not to love about vampires that sparkle?

XOXO

Photo Credits: Twist; Red Rocks Online.

Wedding Shoes

So a lovely friend of mine is getting married in July and asked if I would give her shoe suggestions. Yay! I love weddings and I love shoes! Shoe shopping was a perfect little project for me today, too, as I'm pretty nauseous and tired and just want to rest vs get up and do anything. My friend's dress is strapless and white and long and very classic. She's getting married in a park in Southern California, so I was trying to keep practicality in mind, at least for some of my suggestions.

First the classic bridal shoe...you really can't go wrong here.

Kate Spade, $275

Some other options...like the idea of the wedge in the park, although not sure the ivory would work with the white dress. The shoe bottom left is a flat. And I'm really liking the idea of color...my friend and the setting are so bring and summery and happy. And every bride needs something blue...

J. Crew, $185

Kate Spade, $225

Badgly Mischka via Nordstrom, $215

Kate Spade via Nordstrom, $275

Some other options...I'm also really liking the idea of gray...

Badgley Mischka via Nordstrom, $119

BHLDN, $310

BHLDN, $310

J. Crew, $265

And finally, my idea of the perfect shoe for such a fun bride in the most lovely, summery setting. Unfortunately, at over $700 I’m sure this would blow the budget (and stilettos in grass: not the most practical), but I couldn’t resist including.

Manolo Blahnik via Nordstrom, $775

So there you go, miss Jewels! Hope you find something to fall in love with!

XO

Digital Frames: Cottage Arts.

Ugh…None of My Clothes Fit! (And the Limbo of Going Through Multiple Rounds of Fertility Treatments)

Advice from this January's issue of Vogue.

So I was reading Vogue on the plane last week (I own almost nothing designer, but dream about having a closet full of those clothes), and January Vogue says new clothes are coming, it’s time to clean out your closet and get ready for them. And I so want to do just that (I love buying clothes…it’s my weakness), but it’s impossible in the middle of fertility treatments. Does anyone else have this issue?

First, the IVF cycles I went through last year led to weight gain. It’s only five pounds (OK, seven), but enough that some of my clothes are tight in the hips, and if I planned on staying this size, I would get rid of them, buy something new. But I don’t plan on staying this size. But I can’t lose the weight at the moment, because I’m in the middle of another IVF cycle.

Second, IVF hormones/prescribed herbal supplements (of which I took a ton) have made my boobs huge. I went from a B cup to a DD cup last year, and I have no idea how long that’s going to stick around (so far the DD is here to stay). My husband loves it, and I guess I don’t mind (although I was never one of those women who lusted after bigger boobs), except that it makes it so a lot of my tops and dresses (not to mention all my pretty bras) no longer fit, which is annoying. But I can’t get rid of all that stuff, because I don’t know what my body’s going to do in the end. I don’t want to buy new stuff for the same reason (although I had to buy new bras, there was no way of getting around that).

Third, hopefully, hopefully this current IVF cycle will work and by next month I’ll be pregnant! Yay! Which means soon nothing’s going to fit (which would be unbelieveably wonderful…I’m one of those women who have always wanted to be pregnant, I do not dread the changes to my body in the slightest). But even if I’m not pregnant with this cycle, I’m  probably still going to be in that limbo place where there are more procedures coming…

Bottom line: Very few things in my closet fit. And I don’t know what the future holds as far as pregnancy/further IVF treatments/getting to the end of the line where it becomes clear I’ll never be pregnant and then working out like crazy to get my body back to where it was before all of this madness started.

What to do? I guess I should box up everything that doesn’t currently fit, reevaluate those clothes when my body is back to normal (whatever normal turns out to be). I have enough that works to get by. Maybe buy a few things in my current size if it looks like I’ve got more fertility treatments ahead of me. Pray that soon I’ll be buying maternity clothes, and this limbo will be over.

It’s the limbo I’m hating right now--the clothes are just a place to focus my frustration and anger and fear, emotions I’m trying to suppress, but today are apparently bubbling to the top. Please, God, either get me pregnant, or let me know this isn’t going to happen so I can get my body and life back and get off this horrible fertility merry-go-round. I’m tired of being in limbo.