Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Want it Wednesday-Urban Outfitters

Urban Outfitters has long been a shopping staple for me because of their huge selection and great sales. I love their hip clothes that usually require at least some sort of guts to wear. I also have to give mad props to any store that lets their consumers rate the individual pieces of clothing-it's so helpful! I started this Want it Wednesday at Urban Outfitters and found so many pieces that I love that I decided to use only their clothing for this post!



Lucca Couture Colorblock Tunic Tank Top

urban outfitters-$44

BDG Cigarette High-Rise Jean - Black
urban outfitters-$44
View Product
urban outfitters-$89
View Product
Urban Outfitters-$48
View Product
Urban Outfitters-$64

Staring at Stars Frida Skull Oversized Tee
Urban Outfitters-$39

Mineral Pendant Necklace
Urban Outfitters-$29



Happy Shopping!!
XoXo,

L

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Toddler Tuesday: A Mother's Intuition

So, I've often heard talk of this 'mother's intuition'-the all-powerful natural ability to know what is best for your child. In the past, especially when the G baby was a newbie, I felt like when it came to the natural ability to know exactly what he needed and when, I was definitely not blessed with it. Truth be told, I don't know exactly what is best for my child. Am I disciplining right? Am I feeding him enough of the things he needs? Is he getting enough sleep? When it comes to the tough questions, I am ever-questing still for the answers. It's scary. I remember my mother-in-law telling me a bunch that she used to go to bed every night and pray to God that she didn't do anything that day to damage her children. At the time, I got what she was saying but thought that sounded a little over-kill. I didn't see how there was that much that I could do during the day that would affect the little sleeping bundle in my arms that much.
But now that Gabriel is older, I understand. Did I explain the difference between boys and girls (when he asked) in an appropriate way? Should I have put him in time out every single time today that he told me 'no!!' when I asked him to do something? Was it okay to let him out of time out before he served his whole two minutes to go potty because he said that he really really needed to pee? Did he see something on t.v. that he shouldn't have? Did I look too angry when he accidentally head-butted me in the lip while we were playing cars? Did I explain about accidents right? Did I explain why it's important to tell someone you're sorry if you say something mean in a way that makes sense?
You just don't really know, and they say you have to go with your gut. Well...what if that said gut is not really piping up and telling you what to decide?

But last night around 3:45 a.m., I realized that I do have Mother's intuition. As I quietly and gently pulled wet peepee pajamas and undies off of my sleeping almost-three-year-old and recovered him with a fresh blanket, I realized that for me, it's just an even more magical and inexplicable force than a gut feeling about what your child needs. It's waking up in the middle of the night and somehow knowing to check to see if the little guy that hasn't wet the bed in a week has wet it in the middle of the night for the first time (he usually only pees in the morning). It's waking up a minute before he does and realizing that you forgot to turn the baby monitor on. It's your body knowing when to taper off your nursing supply at just the right time because he's ready to stop nursing. It's picking him out of the crib and knowing immediately that he's sick. It's putting him down a couple days later with a smile because you know in the morning he'll be feeling better. It's not having all of the answers. But it's a special tie that you and your child share and share alone.




Here's some pictures of my G baby playing in the sand. We've been at the beach for a couple of days but it's been so windy that he has been kind of afraid, because he hates the wind. We're hoping it will die down some so we can get him in the ocean : )


XOXO,

L

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Swimsuit Wish List

So today I am leaving for the beach!!! Therefore...the blog posts might be fewer this next week (or not...I will be taking a very tired toddler up to the beach house mid-day for naptime, so I will probably have plenty of extra time while he catches his Zzzzsss).
In honor of my beach trip, (and the fact that I only allowed myself to purchase one new bathing suit this season, due to my bathing suit buying craziness that ensued before my honeymoon last summer) here are some suits that I am lusting over...

Michael Kors Michael Kors Wrap-Around Belted Mailot Swimsuit
source

MICHAEL Michael Kors Michael Kors Hammered Halter Swimsuit
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 Cynthia Rowley 2m Wetsuit - Roxy
source

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Happy Swimming!

XOXO,

L

Outfit of the Day: Shhh...don't tell

So...this dress that I am wearing below may or may not be leftover from my stash maternity clothes that I wore while pregnant with the G baby...and I may or may not make it a habit to wear my preggie clothes still because they happen to be extremely comfortable...shhh...


Dress-Old navy (maternity, hehe)
Belt-forever21
Sandals-Wal-mart
Threaded earrings-Old navy (and a gift from my bff)

Happy comfy dress wearing!
-L

Momma Go Round

Friday, July 22, 2011

Need some Nude


This post is for my BFF Lauren. She's not a shopper, in fact, when I remember back to our high school/rooming together in college days, I seem to feel like there was a lot of dragging her by the hair anytime I wanted to go to the mall. So when she comes to me with a 'hey yo, I really want to buy a nude-colored dress, where can I find one at?' I am gonna get on the ball.
I love the idea of a nude dress...they're classic and chic and they BEG for you to show off your brightly colored shoes and accessories. So...if you are also in the market for one, or are reading this post thinking, 'hey I could use one of those' then....here's my picks!

Serendipity Mocha Brown Dress








ASOS Pencil Dress with Tulip Skirt
Asos-$51.72

Image 1 of Vero Moda One Shoulder Drape Hip Dress
Asos-$31.01


                                                          Shop Akira-$56.90






Walk In Closet Boutique-$50

Toga dress
J. Crew-$99.99 (But extra 40% off)

Silk serenade dress
J. Crew-$49.99 (Extra 40% off)


Happy Shopping!!!
XOXO,


L

The Easily Dunn Braid

Here is me, rockin' THE braid. I got this hairstyle from Jamie, over at an amazing blog I follow called Easily Dunn.

To get this super-easy-cool summer hairstyle, check out Jamie's tutorial over at Easily Dunn RIGHT HERE YOU GUYS. I don't make it look as awesome as she does, but I tried. I have a feeling I am going to be rocking this look a lot next week at the beach!


Hope everyone has a great weekend!!!
XOXO,

L

My new favorite eye makeup for evening!

So the other day I showed you my favorite daytime makeup look. HERE is a tutorial for how to do my new favorite eye makeup look-a bronze and gray smoky eye. I actually saw this makeup on the web on a celebrity...don't freak out when I tell you who it is...Kanye West's ex-girlfriend Amber Rose! I know I know...not the best fashion icon. But her makeup on this occasion looked AMAZING, and I had to try it-just trust me.
Here are some pics of the finished product-and to check out how to achieve this look for yourself, check out my video!


I also wore this makeup during my blog post about Bliss here.


XOXO,

L


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Thursday, July 21, 2011

Why can't you love me?

Christa over at the blog  Young and Restless has written a post about why we as women love to hate ourselves that you have to read. I kind of touched on this subject before in my post Burlesque, and it's a subject that is near and dear to my heart, because like most women-I am my own worst critic.
Christa has organized a link-up calling for everyone to share the things that they LOVE about themselves. I want to support her and join in on this. Sitting down and coming up with a few things that I love about me is so hard, and it makes me wonder-WHY? Why is it so hard for us as women to love and appreciate the same things in ourselves that we cherish and recognize in our friends, sisters, and mothers? As I've gotten older, I realize that it's more about habits. You have to consciously try to make it a habit to build yourself up rather than tear yourself down. We're getting older ladies-it's a fact of life. The only thing you can do is take a deep breath, look in the mirror, and focus on the good that you've got going on, instead of the same-old same-old things you don't like and can't change.
So, here goes-

I love my ability to forgive those who wrong me. God has blessed me with the ability to meet hurt and pain with love and understanding. I often can't really explain or understand how I can let some stuff go, I just know in my heart that I have, and am thankful for it.

I love my legs. They're long (since I'm tall) and I like that, but I also love how strong they feel. When I help my husband work on the house and lift something heavy using the strength in my largest muscles (thighs, baby!) sometimes I think...'I am a beast', and I feel pride.

I love my perseverance. Sometimes I need to be pushed-but I'm a survivor and I know it.

I love my lips. They're full and pretty, and I'm glad they're mine.

I love that I am chill. I am not really outgoing, but I like people and I am easy to get along with. I enjoy peace. I like good music. I'm just...chill.

I love that I have sacrificed for my child. I love that I nursed him for a year even though it was TOUGH being solely responsible for his nutrition and never being able to be away from him for more than 4 or 5 hours (and much less than that at the beginning).

It's not a long list right now, but it's a start. Share your own self-love below!!





young and restless

Thrifty Thursday

Crystal Dye Short Dress
M Fredric-$38

These are my best finds on the web this week-Happy shopping!!

XOXO,

L