Windy Days

You guys. I want to move to Florida. We just moved to Charlotte a year ago, but palm trees on the horizon are calling my name! I think we may just have to plant palmetto trees on the borders of our yard here for now ha!

We had so much fun visiting family for a few days in sunny Florida. Although, it was warmer in Charlotte then it was there for those few days. We were battling some serious wind. I don’t think I really even needed to apply sunscreen, because I was constantly in a jacket or wrapped up in a towel. But Hallen had a blast playing with all of her cousins! And luckily they were inland just a bit, so no crazy wind.

Our drive down, Hazel was a hot mess! It turned into a 12 hour trip, and both of the girls only slept for maybe an hour of that! Luckily, Hallen could just watch TV. Hazel just hates the car. On the way back, I ended up pumping a couple times and just bottle feeding her in the carseat. It made it a lot more bearable!

Both of the girls were completely worn out the entire time. Naps ad bedtime were just nonexistent. But Hazel slept her first 7 hour stretch while we were there. She should have after staying awake for 10 hours in the car, right?! And she slept poolside a couple times in the “nice” ocean breeze!

Look at those sweet lips!!

And I basically lived in this dress from Bun Maternity while I was there. It was so easy for nursing on the go (since we always were going somewhere). It has snaps on both shoulders, so you can just pull it down from the straps, and there’s still a small panel underneath, so you feel covered!

Hallen’s cute dress is from a small shop that I adore, Gentle Adeline. She kept twirling and twirling! And of course, she had to wear her Mini Melissa Mickey & Minnie shoes. She loves that she can put them on all by herself (Ms. Independent)!

But she was also sassy as heck while we were down there! Hence, that last photo haha! Toddlers aren’t always sweet and cute if that’s what you were thinking. She definitely gives me a run for my money! Y’all…how do you make it through this sassy phase?! Some days, she literally wakes up with an attitude! Before I asked her to take a photo with me, she was running around having fun, but as soon as I asked her to hold my hand…you would have thought I took away a bowl full of chocolate!

BUT … all that to say, we had an amazing time. Love my sassy, independent toddler! And there’s definitely more to come from our time in Florida 🙂 Happy Friday Eve, friends! xxx

 

Dress//Similar sandal here & here (both under $50!)

One Month Ago

First of all, HAPPY ST. PATTY’S DAY!! You may be going out, drinking green beer, and wearing a shamrock on your cheek with beads around your neck. Definitely not what I’ll be doing, so I’ll be living vicariously through your adventures tonight! Maybe I’ll at least put a shamrock sticker on my cheek. Hallen would probably like to wear one at least. We’ll actually be celebrating Hazel’s one month “birthday.” Or rather…one month ago I pushed Hazel out of you know where au natural, so I deserve a little celebration! Maybe a glass of wine…or to get real crazy some wine AND ice cream!

Little Hazelnut is a growing bean. She’s now 8lbs 80z and 21 inches long. Still figuring out her personality, but she’s definitely more feisty than Hallen was at this age. She sleeps well once you finally get her to sleep, but there’s a lot of rocking and butt patting involved. She only wakes up about two times a night, which is AWESOME! And she’s already fitting into her 0-3 month clothing. Wah! Growing up too quickly for my liking! She’s definitely a mama’s girl, which is a little tough for Hallen right now, but Hallen loves to kiss and hug on her 24/7.

It’s hard to know what to celebrate when there are two occasions on the same day. All I know is that I’m glad I’m not in the hospital pushing another baby out, and I’m happy to be back in my normal jeans without a hair tie around the button.  I still love that I can shop at my favorite maternity shops since they have great women’s wear and nursing options as well. I always hate having to part with a store after I fall in love with it. That’s why I adore Ingrid & Isabel. I’m still able to wear some of their clothes that are maternity/postpartum clothes. They don’t look funny…you know…like you should be pregnant to be wearing a certain top. The clothes just look normal.

This handkerchief tank is perfect! Perfect for this season, perfect fit, and perfect for a nursing and postpartum body. Ingrid & Isabel nailed it with this one. I also have the long sleeve version if you remember it from this post. I think it’s also a must have. They’re both long enough to wear with a pair of leggings, but also perfect for jeans and shorts.

I paired it with my new favorite color of the Rockstar skinny jeans from Old Navy – the mint color, but today I’m calling it light green just so you can’t pinch me. Because this  IS my St. Patrick’s Day outfit!

How cool is this adorable little creperie we finally got to eat at?! I think it’ll become a staple for us just because of the name!

So, happy St. Patrick’s Day! We’ll be partying it up with these two spring chicks!

Photography Dear November Photography

Shop this look and similar items below

Women’s Ingrid & Isabel Handkerchief Hem Maternity Tank

Mid-Rise Rockstar Pop-Color Skinny Jeans for Women • Old Navy

Galaossi Pointed Toe Wedge Bootie • Sole Society

Women’s Cristabelle Long Wrap Choker Necklace

Women’s Bp. Velvet Wrap Choker • BP

Free Press Cord Pave Ring Wrap Choker

 

Hallen & Hazel’s pieces

Shorties – Little Nugget Knits

Rainbow bib/scarf – Little & Luxe Shop

Headbands -Charlotte’s Webtique

Months & Holidays blankets – Batz Kids

Fur booties – Brave Threads

Onesie – Trendy Cactus

Fox Mary Janes – Gracious May

Bunny  – Hudson Heart & Co.

Blush is the New Black

I’m seeing blush everywhere this season! It’s everyone’s favorite shoe, top, pair of pants, accessory, and bag. And I have to say…I’m in that crowd. It’s such a sweet color and it’s a great neutral. Blush is such a nice change from the winter black (not that spring is taking my black from me), and a better transition color than just tan.

I can’t think of one skin tone that it doesn’t compliment and look good on. And this zipper blouse from Pink Blush is a great staple piece to start with. It’s nice and relaxed, so you can pair it with any bottom…and for you nursing moms, the zipper makes nursing  your babe easy! That’s always something I’m looking for in tops now.

A zipper detail is always one of my favorite things on clothing. Whether its a large zipper on the back of the dress, side zips on skinny ankle jeans, or a small zipper on my top. It just adds a little bit of chic to your outfit.

You may be seeing this top more than you want to in my spring wardrobe. It’s so soft and light weight. I just hope our spring weather comes back soon! I am glad to be in the south so that the snow we got this week melted by the afternoon. All you northerners had to deal with FEET of snow. Yikes! Maybe you just need to wear some blush to feel like it’s springtime…or drink some rosé in your rose colored glasses!

I paired this top with some crisp white Joe’s Jeans and some wedges. The perfect spring outfit. I even stayed comfortable pushing our new Baby Jogger double stroller around without breaking a sweat (it could be because the winter winds started coming in, but I’m going to attribute it to the stretch in all the fabrics, and ease of the stroller of course)! Review of the stroller coming soon and why we chose it!

Hazel’s carseat is all snuggled in my favorite carseat cover from Trendy Treehouse. So many fabrics to choose from to customize it for you and your sweet babe.

Photography Dear November Photography

Shop this look and similar items below

Pink Zipper Front Top – Pink Blush Maternity

Joe’s Jeans The Charlie Skinny Jeans with Raw Hem, Hennie • Joe’s Jeans

Women’s Lucky Brand Latif Espadrille Wedge • Lucky Brand

MICHAEL Michael Kors Damita Wedges • MICHAEL Michael Kors

Made In Spain Espadrille Leather Sandals

Baby Jogger® city select® Single Stroller in Silver/Black • Baby Jogger

Nursing Anywhere Uncovered

When I first had Hallen, I was super nervous to nurse in public. I mean…when you’re a first time mom, you never know what the heck you’re doing. You especially don’t know what you’re doing when you’re trying to hide under a cover, lift your shirt up discretely, and make your newborn with a bobble head try to nurse. I had so much anxiety! I don’t think I nursed in public for AT LEAST two months. A couple months in, I found my favorite thing ever! The Undercover Mama tank. I bought three of them after I fell in love. It’s basically a tube top that has a little hook and loop to attach to your bra. You wear it under your top so that when you lift your top up to nurse, your tummy is still covered, and you hardly show anything. It doesn’t even look like you’re nursing once your little one latches on.

This time around, I was lucky enough to be able to try another one of Undercover Mama’s products…their nursing shirt. It’s a cute and simple stripe. It has the same hook and look to attach to your bra, and then you lift a panel of the top to nurse! Super simple, and if you feel comfortable enough, you don’t even need a cover. It’ll look like you’re just cuddling your sweet baby.

You never know when or where you’ll be nursing (pulling over on the side of the road is reality with a newborn…hence nursing in a field ha)! And this is seriously the most simple way to feed your baby as quick as possible. There’s no fuss, and you know as well as I do that when your sweet baby starts wailing, you want to start nursing ASAP!!

It’s also a really flattering cut for any shape…while you’re pregnant and postpartum. The bodice isn’t clingy, and the sleeve length is perfect!

When I had Hazel, I instantly felt more comfortable right at the beginning nursing her, because I’d done it before, but I’d never been comfortable without a cover. Now, when I wear this shirt, I don’t feel like I need to cover. I feel like I’m already being discrete enough. And although I do want women to feel like they can nurse anywhere, however they want to. I don’t care if you’re using a cover or taking your whole shirt off to feed your baby…I like to be somewhat covered. I don’t want everyone seeing my stuff. That’s what makes this shirt perfect.

The next piece I’ll be trying of theirs is the nursing dress. It looks just like the nursing top, but it’s a maxi!

Photography Dear November Photography

Shop this look below

Striped Nursing Shirt – Undercover Mama

Undercover MamaTM Strapless Lace Nursing Tank in Black

Pixie pant • J.Crew

Galaossi Pointed Toe Wedge Bootie • Sole Society

Night Night Baby Sleepers In Pure Organic Cotton

Personalized Leather Cuff – Sweet Peas Stamping

Design History Dress & a Small Apology

So, I feel like I need to take a step back from my last post, and apologize. From comments that I received, even from friends, it felt like I made some of you need to defend yourselves with your growing families. That’s definitely NOT what I intended to do. I didn’t ever intend to make you feel bad if you had a rough transition from one to two children. I know it can be rough! A few of my friends said it correctly…we just need to be there for each other as women…empowering each other, and cheering each other on as we do life! And, although it may be hard at the time, hard is not the same as bad (thanks for that one, Lauren).

Sometimes my words come out harshly, because it’s what is on the tip of my tongue. My emotions spill out onto a screen. I didn’t mean to “mom shame” anyone or discount your experience! I want to be as uplifting as possible. If you had a rough transition from one to two or from four to five, I KNOW it’s not because you aren’t doing everything possible in your parenting capabilities for those babies. Children have different personalities and react differently to certain situations. I love mom-ing out with all my mom friends…watching them parent, and hearing their stories and insights. This was more geared towards strangers who felt like they needed to tell me how terrible my life would be…especially since we were having ANOTHER girl! The horror!

Anyways…I’m sorry. You’re doing a great job at being a mom. It’s a tough job…not for the faint of heart. And I know you’re doing the best you can. Everyone also says going from two to three is pretty easy…it probably won’t be that way for me! We’ll see in a couple years 😛

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Apology at the forefront…and hopefully you know I’m sincere, I’ll share a little bit about the start of week four with our two little gal pals!

There were several days this week where we just couldn’t make it out of the house. Naps didn’t line up, and Hazel is awful at falling asleep herself, so once I get her to sleep, I definitely don’t want to move her!

We finally got to go out as a family on Friday afternoon. Kevin came home a little early so we could spend some family time together. Didn’t venture far, but it doesn’t take much to make a toddler happy…and car rides always make a newborn fall asleep (so happy she likes the carseat)! So a little stroll was all we needed.

All the spring weather we’ve been having started turning chilly, though 😦 And the onset of snow in March is enough to make any southerner cry about now. So, we didn’t las long in our warm weather outfits! We turned around not long after we went out just to go home and turn on our fireplace!

But, I’m so excited to wear this fun dress from Design History more in the springtime! It’s a midi length, which is really in right now, and the lining only comes to my mid-thigh, so the bottom is nice and flowy , and slightly sheer. It makes it nice and light! It’s also a great dress for us nursing moms. Undo a couple of buttons, and your set!

I paired the dress with a nice nude heel, a slim belt, and my favorite new leather cuff from Sweet Peas Stamping!

I love it! You can put whatever message you want on it, and really personalize it just for you.

Hope everyone has been having a good weekend (and not getting snow)! We’re taking it pretty easy while I catch up with all of you and on the blog! I don’t want to go out much in this cold weather anyways! Hallen had a blast in her “dancing outfit.” She’s showing you her “dancing man (you know…that inflatable that’s in front of every new store opening)” moves below!

Photography Dear November Photography

This dress is sold out, but some of my favorite midi length dresses for the spring are below:

Women’s Billabong Wrap Me Up Print Midi Dress • Billabong

Women’s Astr The Label Lace Midi Dress

Women’s Wayf Blouson Midi Dress • WAYF

ASOS Embroidered Mesh and Lace Midi Dress • Asos

Alice + Olivia Sleeveless Midi Dress • Alice + Olivia

FOREVER 21+ Skinny Faux Leather Belt • Forever 21

Style & Co Rhinestud 2-for-1 Skinny Belts, Only at Macy’s • Style&Co.

Wild Pair Women’s Wild Pair Kisme Platform Patent Leather Sandals

Leather Platform Sandals • Halston

Steve Madden Kaiden patent platform sandals • Steve Madden

Hallen’s Look:

Floral Leotard – Brooklynn and Grey

Knee Highs – Little Stocking Co.