Monday, September 29, 2014

Ruche Sale

It's been a little while since I have done a style post. Most of the reason is because it's hard to find cute clothes that flatter my preggo body. I've managed to find a handful of pretty "dressy" clothing pieces, but for the most part, when I shop for maternity clothes, everything seems frumpy or just plain looking. I will say, it's all extremely comfortable, but just doesn't always fit my style. 

So, when I saw this amazing floral sweater on Ruche a few weeks ago, I just had to snatch it up! It's been too hot lately to wear it, but it was finally cool enough yesterday (at least in the morning) to put it on. Yay! Aside from the lovely pattern, the best part of this sweater is that it has just one button at the neckline, leaving space for my baby bump to be free! 

I'm not sure if this sweater is still for sale on the website. I think it was a "final sale" when I bought it, but Ruche is having a pretty sweet sale going on right now. There's lots of things on clearance and all full price tops and bottoms are 40% off! It doesn't get much better than that. 

Sweater // Top - local boutique // Pants & Bag // Shoes

Friday, September 26, 2014

Paper Crafting for Baby

easy scrapbooking ideas
I've started my second scrapbook! Earlier this year, I made a lovey dovey marriage scrapbook that you can take a peek at HERE. This time, I'm making one for our little guy. I just started it last night so I still have a lot of work to do. I'm pretty sure that this one is going to be a work in progress for at least the next year. I want him to see all of the fun stuff we've been doing while he is in my belly and before he can form his own memories. 

I love using cute stickers and Becky Higgins - Project Life colorful cardstock to add extra excitement and color to my pages. Since I started scrapbooking (back in February) I find myself buying scrap paper, stickers, and other random crafty things all the time. I just love it. Hobby Lobby and Etsy are definitely my BFF's.
scrapbooking for baby
smashbook diy
baby boy scrapbook
Have you started a scrapbook? I have to say, they're quite addictive!

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Gender Reveal: It's A....

Gender reveal ideas
It's a BOY!! 

Yaaayyy! I had my 20 week ultrasound the other day and everything appeared to be perfectly normal and healthy. He weighs almost a pound now and is moving around and kicking like crazy. I can't believe I'm halfway through now! The first half flew by so fast. I want to enjoy all of the little moments of pregnancy, but I also hope the second half flies by just as fast. I can't wait to see my sweet baby boy! 

Gender reveal party
Gender reveal
Its a boy - gender reveal
Gender reveal ideas for a boy
gender reveal boy


Monday, September 15, 2014

ModCloth - Up to 70% OFF Sale

One of my favorite things is happening online right now... another ModCloth (up to) 70% OFF sale! Unfortunately for me, I can't fit into very many of these dresses with my growing baby bump, but that just means more for you! So hurry and stock up on some super cute styles before they're all gone! I'll just stick to the cute shoes and accessories.

Click the banner below to shop this amazing sale.

Saturday, September 6, 2014

The Skinny On Having A Body-Positive Mentality




I was inspired by one of my favorite bloggers, Elizabeth of Delightfully Tacky, to share my  body positive story. My story isn't like most that you hear with negative body image issues. I never wished I could be as thin as the models in all of the magazines...because I was as thin as they were. I had the thigh gaps. You could clearly see my ribs.

Growing up, I was always naturally very skinny and underweight. Don't get me wrong, I ate and still do. I just never gained weight. I didn't really have curves and I couldn't fill out my clothes. In the photos above, I was 17-19 years old, 5'7", 95lbs, size 00. I know what you're probably thinking, "I'd kill to be that size!". I never felt that way though. When all you hear growing up are things like, "Omg, you're like a stick!", "You'd look better if you put some meat on your bones", and "You look sick", it doesn't do any favors for your positive body image. One time, at a restaurant, I even had a friend who casually said, "Oh, when you went to the bathroom, I just always thought you were going to throw up your food...". 

It could seem like this too-skinny issue was a good problem to have, but in my mind, it was just as bad as larger girls being called "fat" and being told they should lose weight. It's no different, it's just the opposite side of the spectrum. 

I heard a song on the radio when I was in the car with my husband the other day. The song was meant to be about having a positive body image mentality for girls with extra curves. She was celebrating the fact that she wasn't one of those stick figure girls. Basically, she was teaching the listeners that thin is unattractive and we should all be proud of having larger, thicker bodies. In part, that's perfectly all right. If that's how your body is, you should be comfortable with it. After hearing that song, I asked my husband, "What about those girls (me) who are/were thin and can't help it?!" How is that supposed to make us feel about our bodies?

I think people have fought against the glamorization of thin-ness in the media so much, that they neglect to think about the women who are naturally underweight. It's forgotten that some women are actually that size/shape and are perfectly healthy. Obviously though, if you're not naturally that way and you force yourself to lose weight in a harmful way or completely fake it with Photoshop (like magazines and media tend to encourage), yes, that's bad. Also, if you teach people that there's only one size or shape to be, that's not right either. 

positive body image
When I was around 21, I decided that I wanted to try to gain weight. Maybe 15 pounds or so, just so I could fit in the "normal" or "average" category, and possibly take the shape of what society says a woman's figure should look like. So I started eating even more and packing on the protein and carbs. I just wanted to be a normal size person in society's eyes. I didn't want to hear anymore back-handed compliments about how skinny I was. 

I got up to 125lbs... still thin, but closer to average. Since I wasn't entirely used to this size, I often had moments when I felt fat or thought I looked fat. I knew I definitely wasn't, but it was not normal for me. I had to make myself this weight. It didn't come naturally for me. 

Nowadays, I'm generally comfortable with my body. I enjoy being thin. I don't like what society did to my self-esteem when I was growing up, but I have learned not to find my confidence in society's opinion. God didn't make a specific cookie cutter shape for all of us. We are all unique creations. Every shape and size. 

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Favorite Fall Colors


1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9 // 10 // 11

It's not quite autumn yet, but as always, I'm already excited about it and window shopping for it. However, with my baby bump, I can't fit in to some of these pieces right now, but it doesn't hurt to look and share them anyway! There are two colors in particular that I'm excited about for this fall.... emerald and mustard. These cozy and classic colors are perfect paired together or worn separately. I love the deep, rich green and funky, retro yellow hues. They remind me of the leaves changing and falling, and the weather getting cooler. I really hope to see more of these shades in this upcoming fall season. 

What fall colors are you looking forward to wearing?

Monday, September 1, 2014

Laborious Labor Day

For Cody and I, Labor Day was full of.....well, labor. By choice, though! And no, not the baby kind of labor. I've got another four months before I have to endure that. The labor we were involved with today consisted of me moving into a new salon, and then helping Cody build a table for our dining room.  

Tomorrow, I will be starting work at Options Salon. Yay! I'm pretty excited about it. The people there seem very nice. We moved most of my stuff in this morning, but I have yet to situate or organize much of it. I guess I'll finish that when I go in tomorrow. 

After we moved my things in, we hopped over to Sonic and got some delicious beverages. Cody got a cherry-vanilla Dr. Pepper, and I got a strawberry lime-ade (extra strawberries). I'm always between that and Ocean Water. Yummmm.

My husband is such a handyman. He's quite the perfectionist too, so he's very thorough with his projects. We've been working on this table for most of the weekend and still have a long way to go. Cody decided to make it out of concrete and wood. So you can imagine how incredibly heavy it's going to be! It's going to look so awesome when we're finished with it. I can't wait to show you!

Most of my helping with the table consisted of watching.... or over-seeing the project. With a belly like this, that's nearly all I can do. I'm not even huge yet, but it's already becoming a chore to bend over, crouch, and lift things. I'm nearly 5 months now, and I can feel my little critter moving and kicking around inside. It's really strange, but also incredible. There's a living creature - human - in my belly! Ahh! We'll be finding out what it is within the next couple of weeks. Soooo close!

 Labor Day has come to an end with a little extra fun and relaxation. I played with Harper in the back yard, then cooked a delicious quesadilla dinner. Now we're lounging on the couch, watching Best of YouTube videos as I type this post. 'Twas a good day. How did you spend your Labor Day? 
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...