sometimes

Skirt: Gap, Belt: JCrew, Top: Gap, Scarf: Zara, Hat: Urban Outfitters, Watch: Gift

You know how sometimes your husband comes home from work and your baby is crying and dinner is slowly drying itself to jerky on the stove because you started it too early? And then you sit down to eat that gloriously dry dinner and discover your vegetables strongly resemble something that's crawled up from the salty dead sea and died on your plate? {Because hey, why use less salt when you can use MORE?!} And then after dinner, your glaringly bright computer screen has your name written all over it, right along with other fun words like "deadline"and "do this right now or I'm coming over there to kick your bum" {emails to yourself are normal}. So you settle in to work right? And your husband goes upstairs to change the baby while you secretly laugh to yourself because the baby saved that particular gem of a diaper just for him.
And then some time goes by and your husband is sitting on the couch with your baby, who's now dressed in clean pajamas and smells like bath soap and apricots, when suddenly you realize that you haven't even given that man a kiss yet. Not even a little "how was your day" peck, because well dang ... you were too busy serving up a masterful dinner of jerky and dead vegetables while your mommy brain was on repeat, "Baby is crying. Can't think. Must calm baby." So you drop that computer mouse like a hot potato and you go over there and blah blah blah mushy stuff. And the work continues to pile up, and cold cereal is supplemented and sleep evades you as always. But hey. There was still like 10 seconds of mushy.

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P.S. click HERE to see more ways to wear this skirt during the winter!

on a sunday walk

We can't get enough of this unseasonably warm weather or this little boy. {Plus his baby lips, that I will tell you are pretty perfect for kissing squarely on the mouth}.

Happy Monday to you! We're probably going to spend ours wishing it was still Sunday

mama's boy

Excuse my absence yesterday. I spent it in bed with my little man, reading books and talking. Absolutely nothing got done and it was marvelous.
Anywhoo.
We're noticing a little shift around here in this little guy's personality. Since he was born, Everett hasn't really ever shown a preference for who's holding him. When fed and comfy, he's cuddled us equally and smiled at us both whenever the mood happens to strike. Then this week happened {week 12}, and suddenly he's starting to show a bit more preference for mama. {By way of his tremendous vocal chords, which have officially made their presence known. Welcome, you piercing things you} And it's a strange feeling. On one hand, it's a little sad because Tys loves holding his little boy more than anything {plus he's amazing with him on a level that I wasn't expecting at all}. On the other hand, it is crazy rewarding that this little tiny person who has stolen my heart wants ME. He's fed and changed and warm but he's still crying because he wants to be with me and look at my face and hear my voice. And try as I might, I can't describe with words how incredible that makes me feel. But it does put this uncomfortable little lump in my throat that threatens to simultaneously push wet stuff out of my eyes.
Will I ever not be one big ball of mush?

last friday night {hey katy perry}

For date night, Tys surprised me with a little picnic in Everett's room. Complete with a favorite old school game, bubbly, a love note, and a few ridiculous chick flicks. It was, in a word: sweet.

Also, Gosling and McAdams were there.

{Which reminds me ... you guys remember this moment? Still leaves me feeling all giggly on the inside}

it looked different in my head

Shoes: Target, Dress: Thrifted, Denim: AE, Blazer: Thrifted, Belt: JCrew
OK. It's time for this sista to get a full length mirror. Because this is horrible.

Also, when you ask your husband if an outfit works, and he says um. gooooooooood .... with kind of a vocal question mark at the end ... it doesn't look good.

if you've ever wondered what I'd look like with wild and bushy chest hair ...

Boots: Vince Camuto, Pants: Target, Coat: Zara, Belt: JCrew, Faux fur: F21, Watch: Gift, Hat: Walmart

... now you know.

Today, Everett and I are goin' to the library together to get our read on. Hope your Monday rocks too! 

a little announcement

I am so excited to announce that I'll be writing a little weekly style column over on the Washingtonian Shop Around Blog! Click HERE to read more {and to find out where to send your style questions!}

five

one :: the little face that lights up my whole world

two :: a toasty tuna sandwich lunch in my sweats

three :: the pretty white dishes that have replaced my old mismatched ones

four :: a slouchy orange top

five :: the best little book from my lovely friends at Ruche

Have a happy weekend!

Awkward and Awesome Thursday!

Shoes: Nine West Martina, Skirt: F21, Top: c/o Chicwish Necklace: Kohls, Jacket: c/o Hatch Collection, Lipstick: NARS Heatwave

Awkward:
- Going to the gym with a friend who knows her way around the equipment, when I definitely do not. WHY WON'T IT PULL DOWN? Oh because you're backwards Syd... again. And the front desk staff laughs.
- Stretching my body to max capacity at a stoplight, trying desperately to stay buckled, with one eye on the light while retrieving a pacifier for a sad Mister Everett that has somehow fallen again into the dark recesses of the binky-eating abyss that is my back seat.
- Slip-sliding my car over a fresh dirty diaper in the Babies R Us parking lot. While I do understand the abomination that is a dirty diaper remaining in your car ... the parking lot people?
- That moment when another driver dangerously comes into your lane without checking his blind spot and your motherly instinct rants and rages at the man, "Don't you know there's a baby in this car?! Look at me you turd! I'm shaking my fist at you and shooting fire with my eyes!" But he doesn't look. Doesn't even give you the satisfaction of noticing what he did. And you're left sitting there talking to yourself.
- A post-baby bladder that does NOT mess around. Definately TMI, but it's not called awkward for nothin' people.

Awesome:
- Coming into the room in the morning and being met with a smiling baby face. He knows me!
- Running to the grocery store for some baby Orajel ... looking like a hot mess {that's an understatement} and actually not running into anyone I know. This. Does. Not. Happen.
- POM Wonderful. Best grocery store impulse buy I've ever had
- The way Tys lights up and kisses me and sings my praises when what I made for dinner really hits the spot. This should give you a clue as to how often my dinners actually do that.
- The microscopic fuzz on the top of Everett's bald head that I can spike with baby lotion. Also, I'm pretty sure when he actually DOES have hair ... it's not getting cut for a very. long. time.
- Everett's face and cherry flavored Orajel. That is NOT milk mama!
- And congrats Baked and Wired, you have officially created the best cup of hot chocolate in the world!

mama beauty

Getting ready these days sometimes means throwing on a favorite sweatshirt and brushing my teeth. Other days, it means putting on a little lipstick and a pretty top. Motherhood can be a strange personal transformation. Sometimes I feel like a complete baggy-eyed zombie and other times I feel unexpectedly more feminine and womanly than I ever have before. Right now, these few items are my favorite for taking five minutes during nap time to embrace motherhood and the rest of life with my best foot forward.

one:: L'Occitane pure shea butter:: I swear by this stuff. During my pregnancy I used it every day to prevent itchiness and stretch marks and now continue to use it every night on my dry winter lips.

two:: Chanel Chance:: Tys got this for me two Christmases ago. It's my absolute favorite {so I try to use it sparingly} and smells amazing

three:: Revlon Grow Luscious mascara:: really great for making my barely there lashes look thick

four:: Dream Mouse Blush:: love this stuff cause it creates such a light peachy sheen

five:: Sephora highlighter:: for the top of my non-existent cheekbones

six:: Bare Minerals foundation and brush:: good for your skin, looks natural, takes two seconds to put on

seven:: Korres Lip Butter in jasmine:: for non-lipstick days; super moisturizing and just the right pink tint

eight:: Nars Heat Wave:: this is my absolute favorite lipstick. I consider it to be even better than my old go-to MAC Ruby Woo, which is saying something.

three years old

Boots:Vince Camuto, Skirt: Banana Republic, Top: c/o Frock Candy, Belt: JCrew, Necklace: c/o Winsdor, Lipstick: Maybelline Fuchsia Fever

Tys and I have the opportunity to teach the three-year-old's in church on Sunday. And yesterday was our first real go at it. "Oh what a breeze it will be! No sweat." said we. And that's when the three-year-old's laughed.

Here's what we learned:
- 4 three-year-olds feels like 40 three-year-olds.
- When one announces that they have to go to the bathroom, suddenly everyone has to go.
- Why walk down the hall with your arms folded, when you can RUN!? And even better, HIDE!
- The 15 minute activity planned to draw pictures of our bodies in actuality, lasts about 5 seconds.
- Three-year-olds still need all of your attention, even when your two-month-old rears back and cracks his head on the wall.
- 1 round of the ABC's is not enough; 6 rounds of the ABC's is not enough
- Three-year-olds say the most adorable things.
- They like sitting on your lap.
- And can produce the most expert drawings of spiky hair.

one minute and twenty-four seconds of what my mornings look like right now

Happy Weekend!

Awkward and Awesome Thursday!

Shoes: Nine West Martina, Dress: c/o Hatch Collection, Blazer: F21, Belt: JCrew, Lipstick: NARS Heatwave

Awkward:
-Trying to have a conversation with my doctor as I sit pants-less on the patient table, feeding a slightly fussy baby and failing to maintain any form of decency as my ridiculously small toilet paper sheath slides slowwwwly off my lap. I'm having a marvelous time doctor, really I am. Let's keep talking.
- Tys requesting that I grab E's binky from the counter for him. So I do. Only to bring it back and proceed to try and stick it in his mouth. TYSON'S mouth people! Actually wondering for two seconds why he wasn't taking it ... until I noticed him looking up at me with his lips clamped shut like, "alright, well it was nice knowing you when you were normal".  And that, my friends, is how you know it's nap time.
- That moment when your sweet Everett lets one rip like the man-babe that he is. And you think to yourself, "There is NO WAY that just came from that tiny child", only to look around the room and realize that everyone is thinking the exact same thing.
- What they don't tell you about after birth: First, there's those really fab undies that you get to wear. And just in case you haven't had this particular delight in your life yet, just picture a large, highly stretchable, mesh {mesh!} diaper. If that's not enough of a visual for you, there's of course the matronly nursing bra, some truly artistic bedhead and numb epi noodle legs that require you to be whisked off to the bathroom in aforementioned attire, on a miniature chariot. Basically, it's your shining moment.
- Reaching up to turn off the baby monitor like it's an alarm. Shortly followed by a, "get it together man!" pep talk in the bathroom mirror.

Awesome:
-  I mean, he kind of said it all.
- The older woman who came up to me in the store, convinced that we had been friends years ago. I tried to tell her that I would have been 7 at the time, but she wasn't having any of it.
- The fact that I spent literally all day running four errands {not the awesome part} and my little buddy Everett was a gem the whole time. Back seat diaper changes and not a single pee incident. MAJOR.
- Yes, our Christmas tree is STILL up. We're having a hard time parting from the glow
- Getting to teach the three year olds in church together.
- Mamas who have pretty painted nails. WHEN guys? Tell me whennnnnn
- My one true love and my little love ... doing anything together. Does fatherhood look good on that guy? YES. That's a big yes.

family pictures that we took at the cabin

miss them

read

Boots: Target, Pants: Current/Elliot, Top: YesStyle, Hat: Urban Outfitters, Lipstick: NARS Heatwave

We've been doing a lot of reading lately {impressively sticking with new year's resolutions all the way through early January!}. Sometimes we'll read aloud to Everett, which doesn't get us very far considering we stop periodically to coo at him all gooey like and tell him the meaning of certain words. To which he responds with a binky wiggle and a hiccup. Code for "Wow. Your mouth looks huge from this angle".  Or sometimes we'll just read quietly to ourselves, which doesn't get us very far either considering both of us will indefinitely laugh at certain parts in our books, only to have the other say "what?". This followed by a sharing of the "funny" excerpt, usually met with an anti-climactic "oh" from the other. We have different senses of humor. {Read: my book is funnier than his.}
Either way, it's been nice. A bed doesn't get much cozier than when it has two books and a baby in it. And sometimes two very large bowls of cheerios.