i dream of pencil skirts

some of my favorite dreams are about clothes. or flying and then diving in water and then pushing off the ocean floor and flying again. or a shopping spree. or a shopping spree where i am flying. i haven't been shopping at all lately though. i was at homegoods/marshall's looking for baby stuff today and i picked up several items for myself and then i realized, i'm pregnant! like somehow i'd forgotten over the last 31 weeks and all this heartburn and swelling is just for fun. wah wah. even if i am eventually the same size, it doesn't mean everything will be in the same place. it happens with each baby. clothes i once loved may not necessarily flatter postpartum. now this paragraph has transitioned from dreams to nightmares. *note to my sister who is due 3 weeks before me with her 1st baby- EVERYTHING WILL BE IN A DIFFERENT PLACE. you need to know this.*

recent mom style:

denim jacket- gap

cardigan- garnet hill

t shirt- target

pants- old navy

sandals- bakers

i do not like the boots with this outfit. no gracias. they look tight on my calves.

tank- tjmaxx

vest- marshalls

button up- JCP

skirt- destination maternity(it WAS painful. thanks for asking.)

boots- gianni bini

cardigan- kohls

blouse- thrifted

jeans-old navy

shoes- target

scarlett:

vest- target

dress- consignment

boots- old navy

band aid- hello kitty

there is no injury underneath that hello kitty band aid. this was purely fashion statement. this outfit received zero fashion direction from me.

i dreamed of a green pencil skirt a few nights ago. it was wonderful until i woke up and didn't own it. 

but here's some stuff i am lusting for in the worst way possible.

jcrew

jcrew

my fave. i want curtains and a couch and a rug and a house and a car in this print: 

jcrew

and i am already planning my baby blessing outfit. i want to pair this skirt with a simple white popped collar oxford shirt a la carolina hererra with turquoise jewelry and turquoise shoes. 

downeast basics

does anyone have any input on the sizing of this skirt? i want this color in size medium since it''s supposed to be stretchy but that's not an option. either large or small. small post baby sounds pretty much terrible and soull crushing but i don't want the skirt to sit on my hips and i worry that will happen with the large. hmmm. quelle dilemma! 

the end.

stuff i don't want for valentine's day

i went to lunch with my valentine today. i wore red shoes and ironed my shirt. definitely a holiday. 

this is me in front of thomas' home office:

blouse- thrifted by deb! from jcrew!

jacket- target

maternity pants- old navy

shoes- steve madden via tj maxx

this is me in front of my home office(the heartbeat and inner sanctum of my household):

i have big plans for this office. but it will require my staple gun and a shelving unit. i do already have the fabric to recover my cork boards. i would also like to find a nice colorful map of my hometown of kansas city, MSSOURI and frame it. start holding your breath.

and things i don't want for valentine's, in no particular order:

giant teddy bear. i do not like stuffed animals. they are lice and filth incubators.

http://www.giantstuffedanimals.com/
  the gift that says i hate you

pajama gram- i heard john boy and billy talking about them on the radio and that about did it for me. 

behold the hoodiefootie:

which i actually wouldn't mind owning, but i don't want it for valentine's day. maybe groundhog day.

matching pillowcases-

matching tattoos:

unless it is a giant cat. that seems perfectly reasonable and romantic.

plus, thomas would look simply darling with a nice cat tattoo on his forearm

what i really want for valentine's day is to put on my swimsuit coverup and a sweatshirt because everything else on earth is so uncomfortable and then sit on the couch and watch E! grammy awards fashion wrap and then battlestar galactica on netflix whilst battling my restless leg syndrome and drinking tons of water with copious amounts of crushed ice. sitting next to thomas=heaven.

i'm every woman

i've been pretty torn up about whitney houston. i haven't been crying like one of those weirdos who thinks that they really "know" a famous person and i won't be buying a commemorative t-shirt(you know they will be at wal*mart in just a few short weeks. i love capitalism.) but i was really really sad when i heard the tragic news last night. whitney was the best and i really wanted to see her overcome her personal struggles. her version of "do you hear what i hear" is the only version of that song i will tolerate. this morning while i was getting ready for the day i was singing all my favorite whitney tunes at the op of my lungs(everyone loved it! my talent has always been appreciated.) and i mentally cataloged(i googled that spelling, thank you very much) my personal whitney memories. 

1. dancing in my neighbor's garage to "i wanna dance with somebody" whilst wearing acid washed shorts and an artfully paint splattered t-shirt.

2. attending and performing in a piano recital in 1987 where there were no fewer than 4 simplified piano arrangements of "the greatest love of all". my mother made me stick to the classics. so boring.

3. having a crush on the guy with the locker above mine and thinking that "i want to run to you" would definitely be our song. if i could simply open my mouth and talk to him.

4. being SO JEALOUS that, andrea young, got the bodyguard soundtrack from her very serious 8th grade boyfriend, nick wallar, on valentine's day, 1993. that was true love.

5. listening to whitney houston- the greatest hits nearly non-stop during the summer of 2000. when i wasn't listening to that i was watching "she's all that" with my cousin jen. all we had was a VCR that summer, no cable or local programming. a VCR is an ancient recording device that used to play video cassettes. video cassettes are what the Bible was originally written on.  

6. about a month ago i was running errands all my by lonesome and "i will always love you" came on and i was singing like i was on stage and kevin costner was my thinning-haired, mouth-breathing boyfriend/bodyguard. i was so into it that by time i arrived at my destination, i had tears running down my face. in my defense i am pregnant and my kid's simply don't appreciate the volume of my vocalizations. 

it is a sad day when you are old enough that multiple of your childhood idols have passed on. michael jackson. whitney houston. corey haim. alf. who's next?

i love this picture. too bad it's blurry. like a cackling witch. or as my dear mother would say, "you laugh like a hardended woman."

the end.

mothers and daughters

since i am the mother of one girl and i'm about to have another, the topic of raising a daughter has been on my mind a lot lately. being a mother of a son has made me want to be a better person, being a mother of a daughter has made me want to be a better woman. if i were to compile a list of things i wanted to cover in raising a girl, near the top would be proper skin care and not picking at your face(this one took me a LONG time to master) and choosing your friends wisely. i've been blessed with some really incredible friends and then i've encountered my share of duds. scarlett is only 4 1/2 and we've already seen both sides of this equation with her little friends. i think the hardest thing is trying to explain to her why someone would be mean to her. unfortunately, not all people outgrow this and you have to encounter it for the rest of your life. in my own life i've developed the philosophy of:

you don't have to be everyone's friend, you just have to be polite

it's better to be alone than to deal with people who don't truly care for you.

what do you think is some of the most important advice you could give to your son or daughter? or what's the best advice your parent gave you?

learn to budget? study hard? shop with a grocery list? forgive? eat healthy and exercise? pray? definitely pray. 

you know what is really fun? watching scarlett put together her own outfits. she definitely has her faves and is not opposed to some unexpected layers and bright color combinations. and surprising poses!

you can see her fairy wings that she wore to church last week that were surprisingly not a distraction. at all. miracle of miracles. 

and i think my proportions on this outfit were off. but, i was super comfortable for church and that's nice. whatev. 26 weeks.

skirt- gap

sweater- tjmaxx

shoes- target

scarlett

sweater-target

skirt- gapkids

shoes-target