Our Weekend!

Once again, I sat down to wrap up the weekend and realized I am a failure at taking pictures. I swear I used to take an obscene amount of pictures, but I suppose trying to keep up with an almost one year old will do that!

Linking up with Meg, Biana, and Ashley today!

Friday was started off quite nice. As I was getting ready for work, I heard a CRASH, thump, thump, thump. Yep. Baby stood up, pushed over his gate, and rolled down the stairs. I was convinced he was going to be so hurt, but we escaped with nothing besides a little rug burn on his nose. Does anyone know how to keep a baby gate in place without drilling holes into the wall!? He seriously LOVES standing up against it, and no matter how I try I can't keep him away!

Aside from that, we survived the work day and went out on a family dinner Friday night to Boulder Tap House. Great food, but we did agree we might be entering the phase of not bringing our little guy out to dinner. Loud, messy, and squirmy makes for a distracted and rushed dinner for mom and dad!

Saturday Mike had to to do some work at my in laws place, so Jax and I did our usual weekend morning run, and went into town to make some returns and run a few errands. I actually made it away with making returns and NOT buying more, which had me impressed with myself ;-)

The afternoon was set aside for going to Mike's cousin's grad party. It was fun to see all of the extended family. Everyone has little kids, so it is just crazy to see how much they have all grown and let our little guy interact!

Sunday, we snuck out on another morning run before the humidity got to be too much. Seriously, how do you people down south do it!? We usually get 3-4 weeks in July and Aigust every year with 80-90 degree temps, and I hate it. Give me 60 degrees, boots, a sweater, and a pumpkin spice latte all day, every day. To beat the heat, we spent the afternoon at the in laws and just lazed around, played with the kiddos, and even snuck in a nap. My sister in law showed up and we also did some planning for a baby shower, which I am already excited for, it's going to be so cute!!

I also realized I had $40 in Gap rewards so I scooped up a few goodies, with the star being these jammies. 

And my actual bill was $1. Win!

Sunday night we had a longgg battle to get the little guy to bed, so we were in bed right away after that. Babies are exhausting!!

This week will be busy, because next weekend is someone's first birthday party!! I really need to get on top of things and make sure it all is in order! How was everyone else's weekend?

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Friday Favorites

T.G.I.F. is all I have to say. Some weeks are long, but this one was longer. Usually I am thrilled to have a career and get excited about where I am goin, but I caught myself dreaming of being a stay at home mom more than once this week. Sometimes trying to do it all just gets hard. I don't see life slowing down anytime soon though.m, so we just keep rolling with it! On another note though, as always I have some new things I am digging. I am linking up with the ladies below today!

Five on Friday // Oh Hey Friday! // Friday Favorites // Friday Favorites

1. Sparking Pink Grapefruit Smirnoff Ice.

If you are into fruity, crisp, and light, this is the drink for you. I am all about grapefruit, and this is seriously my new favorite treat at night. These are absolutely delicious.

2. Fringe Scarf

I didn't go crazy at the Nordstrom sale, but I did pick up a few items, and this was one of them. I just received it, and absolutely love it. It has me feeling all sorts of excited for cozy fall weather so I can wear it. It is lightweight, soft, and such a nice color. And you seriously cannot beat the price. Scoop it up while the sale is still happening!

3. Wayward Pines

I think I have talked about this show before, but OMG I love it. I am so sad that it is over, I was enjoying ending my Thursday nights with it. I don't think it was picked up for a second season, but it was left wide open with a bunch of what ifs, so we will see! But summer series wrapping up is semi exciting because that means new shows are starting, which means the fall lineup isn't far off, am I right!?

4. This dress

As many of you know, Old Navy has been killing it all year. Last week my cardholder status earned me 40% off and I scooped this dress up. The color is so bright and fun, and the dress looks great with a skinny gold belt. Love love love it.

5. Clingy Baby

Ok not sure if this is a 'favorite', but I am my baby's favorite person. This means I no longer shave my legs or dry my hair because little hands bang on the bathroom door as cries are bellowed until I emerge. Me time is literally nonexistent lately. At least he gives good cuddles...

That's it for me this week, have a great weekend everyone!!

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Workwear Wednesday

I realize my blog begins with style, and I rarely, if ever, have actually documented my fashion. Woops. My bad. I am so busy snapping adorable pictures of my little man that to be honest, any photos of myself have fallen off of the radar. However, I have decided to try documenting some of my workwear, because this is what I am in 90% of the time. And because workwear is what I am usually forced to wear, nearly every clothing purchase made must pass the 'can I wear this to work' question. A tank top might be adorable and catch my eye, but if I can't wear it to work there is a good chance it will make it out of my closet once every few months, at best. Workwear that can be turned into weekend wear is where it is at!

White jean jacket (Gap Factory, similar here) // dress (Hatley, old) // shoes // red belt (old, similar here)

I bought this dress last summer to wear to my baby shower, to match my little man's nautical nursery theme. I expected to wear it pregnant, but due to my party crasher, I wore it one week post baby, and it worked well that way too! 

For work, I throw on some wedges and a jacket and call it good to go. This outfit is perfect for more casual office days during the summer months when the heat kicks in and being comfortable is my (let's me honest) top priority!

Stop back next week for more of my work wardrobe and ways that I transition pieces to work on the weekend, too!

Linking up with Holly today!

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Our Weekend: Summer Lovin

This weekend, like all others, seemed to just fly by. It was a pretty busy weekend for all of us, but a lot was accomplished and it was definitely a good one! Let's jump right into it with some link ups to Meg, Biana, and Ashley today!

Friday for work we filmed a safety/active living video. It was great..minus the humidity. Of course we filmed the scene that they asked me to be in, 3 hours of 100% humidity in my hair later. I can't wait to see how cute those parts of the promo video look...note the sarcasm. The kids we worked with were just adorable, and it was a lot of work, but fun. I love having a job that gets me out and about doing different things. Due to another week of funky hours, I was able to head home once the shoot wrapped around 1pm, and I enjoyed a HOT walk outside with little man and my parents. The rest of the night we hung out at home, until I left to meet my FUTURE sister in law for dinner and drinks. It is still so crazy to realize a friend I have known since high school is the one ending up as my sister in law. It was a fun dinner of wedding talk, dress talk, and family talk. I am grateful she is the girl Jeff has brought in to the forever family :-)

Saturday, we had a home showing so we were up and out pretty early. We ran to Old Navy to grab some goods for later in the afternoon, and then me and the little man went for a run in town around my parent's neighborhood. My parents moved my brothers things down to Iowa over the weekend (and retrieved my hijacked work computer--yay!), so I was at their place to let the dog out for a bit, and my friend Ally was up from the cities visiting, so we grabbed lunch, sat by Jackson in his kiddie pool, and enjoyed chatting. Of course between the dog and a baby I seriously felt like 'that mom' who was half distracted the whole time. Mom problems, for real. To all of my friends who don't have a clingy baby glued to them 24 hours a day..I apologize!

Saturday afternoon, we met up with my favorite girl Amanda for some one year/family pictures. And, Jackson was a grouch, just like the last time. Regardless, the girl is a rockstar and I am already swooning over the sneak peak images she sent me. I am getting as many casual sessions in that I can before the girl makes it big and is booked solid, she is so talented! Amanda Baloun Photography is getting better and better, and I am so happy to have this girl capturing the special moments in our lives.

A teeny sneak preview, because I couldn't resist!

Sunday Mike went fishing and me and the babe lazed around half of the morning. I had been debating getting Jackson a My First Chair from Pottery Barn, and I got an email saying they were all on sale, plus I had a 10% off code. To top it off, the navy color only (which is the one I wanted) was marked down to $30, from what is normally $89. That is the biggest markdown on them I have ever seen. I pulled the trigger without blinking. And now am so excited for it to arrive!

After eating some chocolate chip pancakes and watching some cartoons, we headed to Target for our weekly grocery and errands run. We followed that up with swinging by for a visit with my sister, where baby napped away on the couch while we chatted and watched Say Yes to the Dress. Two (three including my sister!) of my favorite things.
We eventually headed home, had some lunch, and went for a super long walk around our neighborhood and to the gas station so I could cool off with an iced coffee on the last half mile home while baby took another long snooze. 

We finished off the evening with lasagna, a bath for baby due to making a mess with said lasagna, chocolate banana smoothies, and checking a few work e-mails. It was a busy weekend, but a lot was accomplished and we are ready to go with this week! I have big plans, mostly including finalizing the details on my little mans first birthday and getting going with planning on my sister in laws baby shower! Life keeps happening, and I swear I can barely keep up!

What did everyone else do this weekend??

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Friday Favorites

This week was a short work week for me, but I am sooo thankful for the weekend. After having Monday off, work Tuesday morning was met with the realization that my father packed my work computer into my brother's car for his move to another state. Enter hysterical me here. Fortunately my employer is awesome and hooked me up with a temporary computer this week, and also fortunately my parents are moving the rest of my brother's things down to Iowa this weekend so I will have my computer back come Monday. Still, this weekend is welcome and I am excited to have some time to recover from a hectic week!

1. The Nordstrom Sale

Obviously as a non-cardholder, I am late to the game, but you can bet I stayed up late to pull the trigger on a few purchases now that it has opened to us [non cardholder] peasants. This and this made it into my cart. And now I am all sorts of excited for fall. We haven't even had a true heat wave in Minnesota this summer, but I am already wishing away the 80 degree weather. Sunny, breezy, and 60 year round would make my heart so happy. If any of you know where I can mo0ve to make that happen, I am all ears!

2. Water bottle theft

This week this guy discovered my water bottles and decided they are superior to his sippy cups. I really don't want to share but my gosh is he adorable!

3. Long Tall Sally

I have never tried this store (yes, I am 6 feet tall and have never checked out the tall girl store). This past week though, I finally took the time to check out their website and found these babies on clearance for $29! They are on their way to my house right now :-)

4. These pretty earrings

I have seen a number of other bloggers post about these and just received them in black and pink yesterday. I love them, and I also love the price tag. Blogging has brought me to so many new trends and items I woudl have otherwise not found. So, thank you all!

5. Seasonal Baby Jams

I have made it pretty clear I am all about the baby pajamas. On Monday when we made our way to the Mall of America I couldn't resist picking these jammies up in Carter's. First off, I have been missing the footie jams and the fleece jams. Second, both are all about the sports and have me so excited for some lazy Sundays watching football and eating soup, chili, and hot dip. Have I mentioned that I LOVE fall??

6. Photoshoots

We are having family portraits taken tomorrow because we are coming up on little man's first birthday in two short weeks. I am so excited to document our little family of three. Things are always changing and who knows where we will be at next year at this time. Another baby? A new house? Perhaps exactly where we are with little changed? Regardless, there is something so special about taking the time to capture how wonderful our lives are in this very moment. I am crossing my fingers that the weather cooperates and we don't get rained on!

What is everyone else loving this week? Is anyone else as excited for fall as I am!?

Five on Friday // Oh Hey Friday! // Friday Favorites // Friday Favorites

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Coming to Terms with an almost-Toddler

We are less than three weeks from his first birthday. Three weeks. Being pregnant sometimes seems like a lifetime ago, but other times I swear I blinked and the swing and bassinet were just packed away yesterday. I can say this because the feeling of heartbreak tearing down the bassinet, even when my baby was still so little, was so powerful I about lost it. Knowing the baby days are coming to an end breaks my heart into a thousand little pieces. Watching a baby grow is truly the most bittersweet experience there is. While it hurts like nothing else to know your baby will  never be as little or innocent as they are right now, watching them meet milestones and learn to think is like watching a miracle unfold. How did that little person who couldn't lift his head progress to a babbling, crawling, slobbery kiss giving little person. When did we exchange angelic coos for silly giggles? It all runs together and you think nothing of it. And then one day, that sweet little noise they used to make no longer comes out. I distinctly remember in his first month, every time Jackson would cry it sounded like he was laughing. We called it his 'joker laugh'. When did he stop doing that? I honestly have no idea. Even those moments you sometimes wish away do end up being something you miss once they are gone.

How can this much change in one little year??

Something about the first birthday just hurts. It hurts really bad. I have spent a good deal of this first year with a not so good sleeper telling myself rough patches are only a phase, and that one day I will sleep again. But sometimes I reflect and wish I had just enjoyed those sleepless nights more (of course I still have time with this one...) of course that is MUCH easier said than done. I can't wait to see all of the things my baby boy learns in the months to come, but I kind of want to lock us in a room together and cuddle and giggle and watch him sleep while breathing in his sweet baby smell. I think babies take 18 years to reach adulthood because we literally would not be able to survive if their independence wasn't gradual and if it happened all at once. I have also come to realize that he will forever be my baby. Always. I will hold him when he cries and laugh at his jokes and make him his favorite foods forever, just so I can see his perfect smile as the result of something I did for him.

So having an almost toddler. I'm doing it. Whether I like it or not, my baby is growing up, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't sad about it. Yesterday we were out to lunch and he met another little baby girl. And as adorable as it was, I died a little inside knowing one day he will walk away from me and to another. For now though, this baby boy is mine and I'm loving every second of his almost toddler life.

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Our weekend: hot hot hot

Is there any better weekend than when Monday rolls around and it is still your weekend?? I think not! I am super excited to head down to the Mall of America with my mom and sister today for some shopping and girl time. I purposely picked today as our outing to reward myself for surviving school..only one semester to go! Our weekend was pretty simple but time off is always good time in my book.

Friday I had gotten extra hours in and snuck out of work in the early afternoon. I went to pick up my little man, and I was faced with the decision whether to go home (which is nearly half an hour out of town) to let him take a nap or kill time in town and hope he would nap in his stroller before meeting my sister in law and nephew for dinner. and I am pretty sure I chose the wrong option. We went in Barnes and Noble to check out some baby books and split a vanilla bean frappe, and then went to some other stores but the kid just refused to sleep. 

This all resulted in a grouchy little boy at dinner. And my chicken sandwich arrived raw. Legitimately undercooked, still translucent and pink, raw. Needless to say that got sent back and I ended up picking off of Jax's breakfast plate because I didn't want to wait for a new meal. Sigh. At least we got 20% off our order! 

After dinner, we came home and played, watched cartoons, and after over two hours finally went to bed. Some days having a baby boy is exhausting!

Saturday we woke up and cleaned our house, and I was able to sneak out for a run before it got too hot and humid. Then, my sister and I had a sister date with lunch and some window shopping. I just love spending time with her, I am so lucky to have a sister. 

The remainder of Saturday was spent cleaning and enjoying a grilled dinner. 

Sunday we cleaned some more, and booked out to my in laws so we could have another (unsuccessful) open house. I absolutely despite the home selling process, by the way. It was sooo humid and muggy, with storms forecasted for Sunday night, so it was really just a kind of gross day weather wise.

Sunday evening was low key, spent whipping up some fettuccine alfredo and spending way too much time wrestling our little guy to bed, per the usual.

How was everyone else's weekend?! Hopefully more pleasant weather!

Linking up with Meg, Biana, and Ashley today!

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