Jumping back in

Here is a quick OOTD from last week.  It is definitely a repeat, but oh well.  Since it's been so long since I posted an OOTD, I really just wanted to jump back in and get started.  Because I was pregnant last fall and couldn't wear most of my clothes, everything feels new again.  Score!  This was the first outfit this year that kind of felt fall-like, which is really exciting to me.  I love tights!!!

Top and Skirt:  Anthropologie

Cardigan and tights:  J. Crew

Shoes:  Gee WaWa

Check out my new ring!  I saw it on Usha (her blog) and she told me about the cutest little etsy shop ever, Apple Latte, where I purchased the ring from.  They sell a few other honey comb items that I definitely have my eye on:)

Speaking of fall, I am enjoying a nice warm cup of pumpkin spice chai tea this morning.  So good!

Jewelry

Ben, Hugo, and I just got back from visiting family in North Carolina.  Hugo did great on the plane, mostly sleeping and nursing, and we had a really nice visit.  It was so fun to see my family meet Hugo for the first time!

This is just a quick OOTD from a couple of weeks ago.  I feel like my clothes are a little awkward right now.  I'm not quite fitting into my pre-pregnancy jeans yet, but my maternity stuff is too big or not quite fitting right either.  I mostly wanted to show off a couple of pieces of new jewelry.

 Jeans:  Gap Maternity

Tank:  Target nursing tank

Top:  J. Crew

Shoes:  Chaco

 Ben got me this Betsy and Iya ring for Christmas.  I couldn't wear it at the time because my fingers were so swollen (lovely pregnancy side effect), but I'm wearing pretty much all of the time now.  Definitely one of my favorite pieces this spring.  I'm loving all things Betsy and Iya right now, especially this cuff and this necklace.  

I picked this necklace up recently at Union Rose.  I'm so glad I discovered this store!  They sell clothes/jewelry from a large variety of Portland designers. I loved the colors in this necklace.  I feel like it adds a little pop without being over-the-top.  

gray and black

Happy Holidays!  I hope you all are having a wonderful week:)  I have to work part of the day tomorrow - after that,  I'm planning on doing some baking, watching Christmas movies, and relaxing at home with Ben and our pups.  Ben's brother is coming over on Christmas morning for brunch.  We are keeping things pretty low key this year as we prepare for baby to get here.

I wore this outfit last week.  I received 4 different comments from total strangers about how big I am.  One lady who works in the same area as me said, "every time I see you, I just can't believe you are still pregnant.  When is your due date?".  Ummmmm, I still have a month to go lady!  I told her my due date is 1/16 and she apologized.  Ha!  The other people were a little more tactful, but at the end of the day I was definitely wondering if I was looking especially huge in this outfit or maybe I just looked as exhausted as I felt.

On the bright side, I've noticed that most people are so much nicer to pregnant ladies.  People smile at me all of the time.  They open doors, hold elevators, and offer to carry stuff for me.  A random person in the elevator at work today told me I looked beautiful.  I think the good outweighs the bad most days.  

Dress:  Gap maternity

Tights:  Assets maternity tights

Shoes:  Born Raisa

Belt:  J. Crew

Necklace:  Anthropologie

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 

Baby Shower!

My friend Jessie threw me the loveliest baby shower this past weekend.  I was blown away by how much thought and effort she put into everything and by all of our friends showing up to support us and celebrate with us.  It was such a special day for Ben and I.  My heart is overflowing and I feel so lucky that our little guy will have such awesome people in his life.

I'm sure you could have guessed the theme!

Isn't this cake amazing?  I cannot even tell you how much I love it!  It made me so happy.  I didn't want to cut into it, but I guess people expect cake at a baby shower:)  It was vanilla with raspberry cream filling.  LOVE!

Hot apple cider and mulled wine.  

Ben and his brother compete in a diaper changing race.  I'm happy to report that Ben won all 4 rounds.  I think he's ready!

And of course I have to show off my outfit!

Dress:  Motherhood Maternity
Cardigan:  J.  Crew
Belt:  J. Crew
Shoes:  Anthropologie
Necklace:  Betsy and Iya
Brooch:  Bhldn

OOTD and anniversary celebration

Hope you all are enjoying the weekend!  This is a recent OOTD featuring a maternity dress I got from Shabby Apple.  I won a Shabby Apple gift card many months ago and couldn't decide what to spend it on.  Once I found out I was pregnant, I decided that this would be a great, versatile dress to have.  So far, so good!  It is comfy, light weight (which is great because I'm always hot), and has plenty of room for my belly.  I love the sleeve length because it covers my tattoo, so I don't have to wear a cardigan over it to the office.  The neck tie ads a little something, so it's not just a boring black dress.  

Dress:  Shabby Apple maternity line
Tights:  Assests maternity tights
Belt:  J.  Crew
Shoes:  Anthropologie Olivia Cutout Oxfords

Ben and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary earlier this month.  We kept things low key and ended up having a wonderful day together.  We spent the morning at the pumpkin patch (my favorite!), then we took a little day trip to Mount St. Helens to explore a bit and have a picnic.  Here are a few pictures from our day.

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!