stripes + maternity

I hope you all are having a wonderful December:)  I've been busy, busy, busy!  There is so much going on this month between the holidays, baby prep (baby is due 1 month from today!), and work, that it seems like I can't keep up some days.  All of that on top of growing a baby makes for one exhausted lady.  I'm trying very hard to prioritize and take good care of myself in the midst of the chaos. I just got home from a prenatal massage and a chiropractor visit.  Ahhhhhh, I'm feeling very relaxed and hoping that I will actually be able to sleep tonight.

Here are a couple of outfits I've been meaning to post. The first one is from 6 weeks ago, and the second one is from a week or two ago.  This striped skirt from Gap maternity has served me well.  I found it on sale for about $10 bucks.

Skirt:  Gap maternity
Top:  Gap maternity
Cardigan:  J. Crew Jackie
Jacket:  J. Crew
Necklace:  Anthropologie
Tights:  Assets maternity tights
Shoes:  Dansko

Skirt:  Gap maternity
Top:  Loft maternity
Tights:  Assets maternity tights
Necklace:  Anthropologie
Boots:  Born Raisa 

Beach OOTD

Here is a quick OOTD from our beach trip.  Getting back into the swing of things this week has been tough.  I'm glad I had a few days after we got back to recover and relax, but Monday morning still came too soon.  Sunday was my birthday - it was nice and quiet:)  I stayed in my PJ's for most of the day, then Ben and I went out to dinner.  I consumed lots of birthday cake and ice cream and took a few naps.  It was perfect! Ben got me tickets to go see Chris Thile, so we will have a more proper celebration then.

Dress:  Anthropologie
Cardigan:  Jackie
Sandals:  Chacos
Necklace:  Betsy and Iya

Hope you are having a great week!

Size up

I haven't updated as much as I would like just because I've been busy, tired, and slightly overwhelmed with all things pregnancy/baby (in a good way of course, but overwhelmed nonetheless).  All is well - we went for the ultrasound last week and it was amazing!  It was so neat to see him rolling around it there:)  I'm working on a detailed pregnancy update, so I'll share more then.

My mom gave me this dress last year form my birthday.  It's a size bigger than my normal size which means it is fitting perfectly right now, with plenty of room for my bump!    

Dress:   Calvin Klein
Cardigan:  J. Crew Jackie
Shoes:  Born
Belt:  Unknown
Necklace:  J. Crew

Fluttering Flora

I hope your weekend is going well!  Mine has been nice.  We recently made a list of a few (well, more than a few) household things we need to take care of before baby gets here.  Instead of waiting until the last minute, we are trying to accomplish little bits here and there.  As we clean out our spare bedroom, which is currently home to Ben's musical equipment, records, clothes, and transformer collection (hope our little guy likes transformers because we seriously have hundreds of them), we are discovering that we need more storage space in our tiny house.  Yesterday Ben scored big time on Craigslist.  He found a huge, solid wood, vintage bookcase for our living room for $50.  It is wonderful!  It has a couple of drawers, enclosed shelves, open shelves, and even a little pull down desk area.  We have been rearranging, cleaning out our book collection, making trips to goodwill, and just generally trying to get things sorted out.  I feel like we are at least making some progress!  Yesterday also included lunch out and a trip to Salt & Straw ice cream, so it wasn't all work:)

I found this dress on ebay for $20!  I remember reading on Consume or Consumed that this dress is pregnancy friendly (here), so I thought I would give it a try.  It is so comfy!  I think it will definitely work well for a little bit longer, but I don't think I will be wearing it quite as long as Jess did because I'm tall and as my belly grows, I can see this dress becoming too short fairly quickly.  Also - yes, I'm wearing tights in August.  I know it seems crazy, but it was a cloudy, cool day.  Plus, I think these lavender tights are kind of summery, no?

Dress:  Anthropologie Fluttering Flora Dress
Cardigan:  J. Crew Jackie
Tights:  J. Crew
Belt:  Taken from another anthro dress
Shoes:  Anthropologie Olivia Cutout Oxfords
Necklace:  Etsy

Summer Pears

Here is a quick OOTD from a week or two ago.  I found this top at the J. Crew clearance store a few years ago.  I love it - it's perfect for summer.  You can't really tell from these photos (and unfortunately my camera died after only a few shots), but the print is tiny little pears.

I hope you guys are enjoying the summer!

Skirt:  UO
Top:  J. Crew Clearance Store
Cardigan:  J. Crew
Necklace:  Etsy
Shoes:  Gee WaWa

Striped Day

I adore this dress.  I picked it up  last month and have worn it quite a few times.  It is terribly comfy and so easy to wear.  I think the pattern of the stripes  makes the dress interesting and flattering.  I initially went into the store to get the white and black version, but when I saw that the navy version had mint stripes, I quickly changed my mind.

I hope you guys are having a great weekend!  Today was a little hectic, but I got a lot of things checked off the list.  I am planning a very quiet, relaxing day for tomorrow (starting with a massage:).  

Dress:  Anthropologie Striped Day Dress
Cardigan:  J. Crew Jackie
Tights:  Anthropologie
Belt:  Anthropologie
Bracelet:  Gift
Shoes:  Chie Mihara Loti

Since google reader it biting the dust, don't forget to follow me via feedly or bloglovin!

Summer

Hello!  Sorry to be away for so long.  It's been a busy month:)  I have lots to update you on, but let's start with a recent outfit.  I'm so happy it's time to bring out the summer dresses!

Dress:  Anthropologie
Cardigan:  J. Crew Jackie
Shoes:   Chaco
Necklace:  Etsy

I will save some of the bigger updates for later, but here are a few highlights from the past month or so:

I had the pleasure of  seeing the Dalai Lama in person.  He spoke at the Environmental Summit here in Portland.  It has always been a dream of mine to see him in person and it made my heart so happy!  I took the day off work and enjoyed every minute of it.  

I won a $50 gift card to Shabby Apple over at The Dea Diaries.  I never win stuff like this.  So exciting!  I'm thinking of getting one of these dresses (the one on the left is "Eye Candy" and the one on the right is "Papaya Perfection").  Thoughts?

  

Summer is here!!!!  What more can I say? 

What have you guys been up to?  I can't wait to catch up on blog reading!

Yellow + Blue

I had an exhausting but good weekend.  I was on call this weekend, so I was woken up numerous times Friday and Saturday nights and I ended up spending quite a few hours at work yesterday.  However, I was also able to squeeze in lots of fun this weekend, so it balanced out for the most part (except for that whole sleeping thing).  I met up with a friend for a pedicure (time for sandal-safe toes!), went to a neighbor's house for a BBQ, celebrated a friend's birthday over brunch, and enjoyed the beautiful sunshine as much as I could.      

This outfit made me feel cheery:)  There is something about yellow and blue together.

Dress:  Anthropologie Two-Wheeler Shirtdress

Cardigan:  J. Crew Jackie, of course

Tights:  J. Crew

Shoes:  Gee WaWa

Belt:  Anthropologie

Necklace:  Botanical Bird

The Anthropologie Two-Wheeler Shirtdress also worn

Here

and here

Pink

Pink is not one of my favorite colors, though for some reason, I had the urge to wear pink today.   As you can see, I was not shy about it.  It's not quite time for bare legs here in Portland  (though I really could have gotten away with it today), but it is nice to pull out some of my summer dresses.      

 Dress:  Anthropologie Botanical Stroll Dress
Cardigan:  J. Crew Jackie
Tights:  J.  Crew
Shoes:  Gee WaWa
Belt:  Anthropologie
Necklace:  Forever 21

I hope your week is going well!  I'm off to squeeze in one more episode of Call the Midwife before bed.  I'm hooked!

Burnout Lace

Oh how I love lazy Sundays!  I started my day off with a relaxing acupuncture session and now I am on the couch,  enjoying a Call the Midwife marathon.  I'm only 4 episodes in, but I think I found a new favorite show to obsess over!  This paleo dish is in the oven and smelling delicious.

This outfit is from last week.  This skirt has been on my wishlist since it popped up on the website.  I somehow missed it when it went on sale, but that turned out to be a good thing, because I was able to find it on 2nd cut.  I love the color and print - it's quite comfy too.  I think it's going to be a great piece for my work wardrobe.

Skirt:  Anthropologie Burnout Lace Pencil Skirt 

Top:  Anthropologie Raccoon Rumpus Blouse

Cardigan:  J. Crew Jackie

Tights:  Hue

Shoes:  Camper

Necklace:  Gift

Vappu

As spring slooooooowly makes its way to Portland, I'm finding myself reaching for brighter, lighter pieces.  The Vappu dress hasn't seen the light of day for awhile.  Time to take it for a spin!  I think I'm going to try to make an effort to rotate through all of my (weather appropriate) pieces over the next couple of months and then do a closet purge once I see what doesn't get worn.

After hearing JG rave about this Purple Velvet Torte recipe, I had to give it a try.  It just came out of the oven a few minutes ago and I have to say, it is delicious!  It is very rich and chocolaty.  If you eat paleo/gluten free/etc. (or if you just want an awesome way to sneak some beets into your diet), I highly recommend giving this a try. 

Dress:  Anthropologie Vappu Dress
Cardigan:  J. Crew Jackie
Tights:  B. Ella
Belt:  unknown
Necklace:  Kate Spade "Hang In There" Necklace
Bracelet:  Anthropologie Astrological Maps Bracelet

Striped Empire

I picked this dress up a few weeks ago during the 20% off promo.  I wore it for the first time today and I love it!  It is TTS, extremely comfy, and cut in a simple yet flattering way.  I think it's a great spring/summer dress.

 Dress:  Anthropologie Striped Empire Day Dress
Cardigan:  J. Crew Jackie
Shoes:  Anthropologie
Necklace:  Anthropologie
Belt:  J. Crew Clearance Store

The backdrop to some of my OOTD photos may be a little more exciting now that our house got a little face lift.  The new paint job was finally completed a couple of weeks ago.  You may remember that we started this process months ago, back in December.  I'm so relieved that it is finally done.   Our house is definitely the brightest on the block, but I wouldn't want it any other way:)  The first day I saw it with the blue paint, I was a bit shocked and I  admit to doubting our color choices for short time.  After I got used to it and especially after the trim/accent colors were added, I knew it was perfect.  We wanted something bright, fresh, happy, and not boring.  

 BEFORE

DURING

AFTER!!!

Now, I'm off to watch Game of Thrones!  Hope you have a great start to the week:)

mint + red

Here is an outfit from this past weekend.  I am loving these mint tights I found in the sale room at Anthropologie!  I thought it may be a challenge to incorporate them into my wardrobe, but they seem to be fitting in just fine:)

Dress:  J. Crew Tea Stained Dobby Dress
Cardigan:  J. Crew Jackie
Tights:  Anthropologie
Belt:  J. Crew
Shoes:  Gee WaWa oxfords


Here are a  couple of previous outfits featuring this dress: