The Sloan Fit Pants

I've been a fan of Banana Republic's Sloan fit pants for quite some time now. I have a black pair as well as a deep forest green. When I saw these rugy stripe Sloan fit slim ankle pants in a mailer BR sent out, I knew I had to have them.

The thick stripes are so fun and the fit is really flattering. You can't really tell in these photos because the lighting sucks, and even with a filter to lighten them up, it doesn't show the stripes well---so I added a photo from BR's website so you could really see the stripes. 

I paired the pants with a simple dress shirt and a beautiful sawrovski crystal necklace from Melissa at The Modern Siren.

Pants- Banana Republic | Shirt- Aritzia | Shoes- Nordstrom | Necklace- The Modern Siren (?) | Sweater- J.Crew

I really miss sharing outfit photos. Sometimes I'll wear a cute outfit and I'll wish I had taken photos. I think we finally figured out a way to snap a few photos outside like we used to as I left for work. I'll have to test it out someday this week and see if the lighting outside is decent enough at that time. 

I hope you have a great week!  

Our Weekend..

On Friday, our daycare held a little pow-wow for the families in each class to hang out and get to know each other and spend more time with the teachers too. It was a potluck so I picked up some fresh-baked cookies from Tiff's Treats. If you've never had them and you're in Houston, Austin or Dallas, I encourage you to order some, post haste! You will thank me. Plus, they deliver still-warm cookies right to your door...so they basically win at life.

It was fun to spend time with the other moms and dads and our babies. We don't always run into each other since everyone has different drop-off and pickup times so it was nice to get to know everyone better. All of the babies got these little hats too! Harper wore it for approximately 2.5 seconds the next morning. Then she wanted to eat it.

In other news, Houston, we have cold weather!  It was cold and rainy Saturday so we scrapped our plans to go on a nice long stroller ride and just enjoy some relaxing time at home (I also had grand plans to put the tree up, before Thanksgiving, and I'm judging myself, so no worries if you are too).

Kevin got me the new iPad mini as an early Christmas present so we ventured out to find a case for it, since I'm prone to dropping things. I had been using my iPhone more than ever when I started exclusively pumping, since there's not much else to do for those 25-30 minutes, and my optometrist told me it made my vision worse to look at such a small screen and recommended getting a larger screen if I was going to use it so much. I love useful gifts :)

I ended up finding this Kate Spade case at Nordstrom:

I like how sweet the graphic is and the pink is a really cute shade too (KS seriously has the best pinks when it comes to handbags and accessories). Also, I can totally see Harper using this case one day because it could basically be for a child, let's be honest.

I ended up returning that shirt I bought at Madewell last week as well as the gray blazer from Zara. The gathered shoulders just looked a little ridiculous on me when I tried it on at home. The only other items I picked up were a pair of black, pointed-toe heels from Nordstrom (I realized I didn't have any simple black pumps anymore since my Kate Spade pumps as well as my Zara ones were both destroyed).  I also got a few pairs of underwear from Gilly Hicks. Listen, I know I'm way too old to shop there, and truth be told it's so dark in there that without my glasses on, it's a miracle I even made it through the maze of rooms to the cash register area all the way in the back, but their underwear is cute and I like the way it fits...and it's cheap- 7 pairs for $26.50.

Okay so the shoes---hard to see the bow, but they are Halogen brand and so darn comfortable. I would say they fit pretty true to size...though that's a tough assertion to make in my current state. My feet grew about a half size after pregnancy and since most shoes don't come in a 10.5, I was buying 11's and using an insert to make them smaller. Fortunately, these pretties did come in a 10.5 and they're perfect. I would venture to say they might even be a teeny bit on the bigger side, but the 10's felt snug and I didn't want to chance buying heels I would dread wearing. These Steven by Steve Madden bow heels also come in black (I have them in nude patent) and are on sale for $75 down from about $150. Both styles are lovely so it really comes down to preference. I will say the Halogens have a slightly shorter heel, so they feel a bit more comfortable on.

We grabbed some Mexican food for lunch and then when we got home I couldn't resist snapping some shots (okay, maybe like 100) of Harper in her cute little outfit. 

Harper is now sitting on her own (!!!!!!!) A few weeks ago, Kristen posted a photo of her baby girl Ellie sitting and since our babies were born a few days apart, I was texting her asking when she had started to do that, thinking that babies somehow get into a sitting position on their own (oh how wrong I was). She told me to have Harper sit using her hands in front of her to form a little tripod. We did that for about a week or so and she started to get better and better at sitting up straighter, not using her hands all the time and sitting unsupported for longer periods of time. She also stopped throwing herself backwards like she did in the beginning (we always supervised and had a pillow behind her---we still supervise because though she can sit on her own for a long time I worry she will throw herself back at some point thinking there's always something soft there). It's amazing how they can go from just learning a skill to acting like it's no big deal and doing it so well in the matter of a week or two.

Saturday night after Harper was sound asleep, I ran to Target to browse and pick up some Christmas stuff. I like to go at night by myself so I can take my time looking around and taking in the Christmas awesomeness.

I also tried a few things on but nothing was something I couldn't part without and I'm saving myself for J.Crew's Black Friday sale (which I hope is good). Here's what I wore that night:

vest- j.crew (on sale!) | jeans- gap (on sale!) | flats- gap (similar) | sweater- gap (similar) | bag- kate spade | necklace- t+j designs, c/o

Today we stayed in for the most part, save a quick grocery store run.  In the morning Harper hung out on her new playmat while I decorated her very own christmas tree. It's from Target and the best $8 I ever spent! I will snap a shot of it in her nursery soon. I even got tiny LED lights for it!

I haven't had our cleaning ladies at the house in a month, I don't know what the heck is wrong with me. I always intend to text them on Monday and they usually come on Friday but I always forget and then they are all booked up. When I first went back to work, we intended to have them come every two weeks, but they have never come that often :( every 3-4 weeks is more like it, and I'm just doing some maintenance cleaning on the important stuff in between. 

So I cleaned my entire second floor and vacuumed the stairs during Harper's nap this afternoon and even had the time to do this:

Garland, c/o Project Paper on etsy- This garland is just precious! It feels very festive with the metallics and I love the way it brings a little holiday cheer to the kitchen. I may move it to Harper's bookshelf one day too...

I've also added this burlap print with gold polka dots to my kitchen:

Megan from Hello Newlywed Life sent it my way to celebrate the opening of her Etsy shop DolceAve! These prints are so fun and perfect for the holidays---mine is in an IKEA Ribba frame (comes with the mat).

Before I go, I wanted to mention that I was honored to have Harper's nursery included in an article on SheKnows.com about stylish girl rooms!  Go check it out here if you're interested...

Wishing you a great week---time for me to wrap up because I've nodded off a few times while writing this...which I'm just now realizing may be apparent if you're reading it...hopefully I managed to sound somewhat coherent.

Happy Friday + Pretty Girl Ruffle Onesies from Happiness Lives Here!

I have been absolutely smitten with Etsy for a long time. I've purchased things for our wedding, for our home and personalized items. In fact, I almost always go to Etsy first when I'm looking for something for Harper. I just find that the designs offered on Etsy are more unique and modern than you'd find on conventional websites and in typical baby stores and boutiques.

I really love to support Etsy businesses because a lot of the women running them are moms who are helping to support their families. It's really inspiring how successful some of the businesses have become.

Sometimes my readers contact me about checking out their Etsy shops and if I like what I see I always want to help promote their businesses.

Jackie has a shop called Happiness Lives Here and she makes adorable anthropologie-esque little onesie dresses with layered ruffle aprons for baby girls. She also makes hair bows and other cute baby items.

(Harper checking out her outfit- 

her leggings are from Baby Gap and her headband is from Pretty Little Elm)

...and here is another one of her designs with an adorable pink polka dot giraffe!

Jackie is offering 10% off of your order on anything in her shop---just use the code HARPER at checkout! How cute is this Halloween design? Simply adorable! I'm also loving this scalloped cream bow, this pink headband and this adorable floral headband.

Before I go, thanks for all of the well-wishes many of you have sent. I have been home since Wednesday afternoon. I came down with a really brutal stomach virus and then this morning I saw my doctor because I also came down with a really painful sinus infection. I'm on antibiotics now and praying things start to feel better soon!

Weekend Snaps...

Today I'm blogging from my husband's laptop because my MacBook Air is so messed up that I made an appointment at the Genius Bar tomorrow. Despite deleting most of my photos, it still says my startup disk is too full and now I can't even use it (all of the icons are gone and I'm guessing the weird, grainy screen is Apple's version of "the blue screen of death.") SOS!

Today before heading out for some sushi (yum!) we went to GAP so I could return several pairs of pants I had ordered online (I order tall sizes a lot online and ended up preferring J.Crew's minnie pants so I returned most of the ones I got---but I did keep these ones). It turns out that basically the entire store was on sale today (30-40% off most items) so I exchanged the pants I had purchased for some fall goodies.

 Top Row: Always Skinny Jeans- GAP |  Leopard Flats- GAP 

| Legging Cords in Navy- GAP |

I have to say that GAP's always skinny jeans and their legging pants fit incredibly well. I absolutely love them!  This is the first pair of cords I've owned in probably 10 years and I love them so much I kind of want to get them in more colors. For reference, the regular length fits me well in both the jeans and the cords. I could get the tall length but I prefer them not to bunch at the ankle so the regular length is perfect. I also like to roll them up a bit sometimes.

 Bottom Row: Polka Dot Sweater- in GAP stores (similar, similar)| 

Leopard Flats- GAP | Racerback Bra- GAP

I also stopped in at Right Start in Rice Village and picked up a few things for Harper.

Nose Freida & Filters- we already have one but need another for on-the-go | Bella Tunno pacifier clip | Caterpillar toy | Sassy bear toy (similar)

Also featured in the above photo are these gorgeous headbands from Ryan&Wren on Etsy.  I discovered this amazing shop using Etsy's search function (I think I typed in "modern baby headbands").  How cute are they? Harper wore one of them for her 4 month photos today and I just love them on her!

I hope you're all having an amazing weekend!

Recent Purchases...

• White towels from Marshall's Home Goods---$7.99 each! We pretty much only use white towels at home and some of ours were getting ratty so it was time for a couple of new ones.
• Ikat Polka-Dot pillow case from Etsy shop Fighting for Joy.  I'm slowly updating some of our couch pillows because I got kind of tired of seeing the same ones for the last four years or so.  I still love the purple ones so much so I intend to transition them to our bedroom/the guest room eventually. I went with gray and white patterns because they go with everything but I also plan to incorporate some color when I find the right print/pattern.  I had originally ordered some beautiful peacock green colored printed pillows from C-Wonder, but their website was messed up and it basically cancelled everyone's orders because they claimed the items were not available when they were listed as available. So that was frustrating but whatever,  it's just pillows.  Anyway I love this pillow because it's long and skinny and complements the square shaped pillows nicely. It adds a little dimension to have varying shapes and sizes of pillows on your couch.

• Blue & White printed bowls from Marshall's Home Goods- $3.99 each!
• Valerie Bertinelli picture frame from Marshall's Home Goods- $6.99
• New gray and white print pillow cases- I scored these for an astonishing $7.99 a piece from GroopDealz.com and I am still kicking myself for not ordering like 7 of them. The quality is EXCELLENT and they have zipper closures and the fabric is awesome. The next time these go on sale I am buying many, many more. For that price, you just can't lose. I went to West Elm recently and their pillow covers were $40 or more! These ones are just as beautiful for 1/4 of the price.

• Cool Racerback Tank from Lululemon- I am obsessed with these tanks and when I saw this color combo, it was a must-have.  I pretty much wear these tanks every time I work out and my OB just cleared me to start exercising again so I have an excuse to wear it too!
• Go with the Flow Bag from Lululemon- A friend recommended that I purchase a separate diaper bag to use for Harper's daycare---to carry extra clothes, her bottles and anything else we need to bring. That way I can just leave it there and get it at pickup time. It's more lightweight than my Marc Jacobs diaper bag. I also totally plan to use it as a gym bag one day :) 

• This sweater from J.Crew caught my eye as soon as I saw it in the store. It's lightweight and I love the pattern and colors---the light pink, light blue, navy and hot pink really play well off of each other. It's just a really fun piece and I loved it when I tried it on.  I paid full price for it in store as there was just one medium left (thanks to my mother-in-law who got me a gift card for my birthday!) and then when I was searching for the link to write this post I noticed it was reduced in price online. I called the store and they added the difference back to my gift card, no issues whatsoever. Now that's customer service! Thanks J.Crew.
• The "H" initial necklace is from the daily deals site VeryJane.com.  I absolutely love layering it with other necklaces I own. You can see me layering it with my Tiffany "H" initial heart necklace here:

Thank you for reading and I hope y'all enjoy when I share my purchases on my blog as I know a lot of people have requested that I start making haul videos again---but I just won't have the time to maintain my YouTube channel when I go back to work, unfortunately. 

Stay tuned next week where I'll share some Baby Gap items I picked up during the GAP family and friends sale happening right now :)

Worth It: Bag Organizers

When I purchased my Louis Vuitton Neverfull GM I immediately ordered a bag shaper/organizer for it.  Why?  Because the bag is such a big investment and it's such a shame to see a pricey bag that's meant to last a long time sagging because an insert wasn't used.

The inserts provide pockets for organization---but more importantly, they reinforce the bottom of the bag and give the bag more structure, which helps prevent sagging over time.  I can't tell you how many women I see carrying an LV bag that has a sagging base (especially Neverfulls and Speedys).

I carry a lot in my purse so for me, the organizer/shaper was essential.  It's my everyday bag and I definitely make it fairly heavy with all of the stuff I have in it.  I ordered my shaper from DivideAndConquer on Etsy.  The customer service was excellent---I messaged the shop owner about my bag and she recommended the best bag shaper/organizer for the LV Neverfull GM.  If you have a different bag, I encourage you to message the shop owner to get the best fit for your bag.  One incredible feature of the one I have is that the sides are flexible so that you can still cinch in the sides of your bag for a different look---make sure to ask about this because some of the ones in the shop have flexible sides and others don't.

Here's my Neverfull with no insert in it:

And here is the DivideAndConquer bag shaper/organizer that I ordered---note that the color perfectly matches the red lining of the bag:

...and here it is, empty, inside of the bag---a perfect fit:

Here is what the Neverfull looks like with the shaper/organizer inside and full of my belongings---you can already see how much more structured it looks.

What I keep inside of my Neverfull:

Car/house keys

2 lip glosses/1 lipstick

Coupons

J.Crew zip pouch to hold receipts, coupons

Glasses

2 Pairs of sunglasses in cases

Kate Spade wallet

Bobble water bottle

Tea bags

Nutrigrain bar

Work papers

Hand sanitizer

A couple of pens

Blotting tissues

I highly recommend purchasing a bag shaper/organizer, especially if you have a bag that doesn't have a very strong/structured bottom.  It would also be a fantastic option for anyone that has a purse that doesn't have a lot of compartments to it or a bag that's a tote-style.  I can't imagine carrying my Neverfull without all of those extra pockets---everything would just get lost and jumbled together at the bottom of the bag.

Do you use a bag shaper/organizer? Let me know in the comments below and thank you for reading!

FTC: I purchased both the bag and bag shaper/organizer with my own money and am not being compensated to write this review.

Stripe Addict

Sale alert! The J.Crew top I'm wearing in this photo is final sale plus 30% off!  Get yours here. I absolutely love stripes. They can really add fun dimension to an outfit and are totally office-appropriate.  This wider stripe is a fun change from my typical skinnier stripes.  When it comes to stripes, variety is key.  Otherwise, you just look like a weirdo with a stripe addiction.  At least when your striped tops have stripes of different widths, you're throwing people off a bit.

Top- J.Crew (buy it here, on sale!)

Skirt- J.Crew (buy it here; cute option for $21; kind of obsessed with this one)

Necklace- Regina Pieralini 

(please email Regina if you want a clover necklace, they are special order)

Bracelet- c/o Amour Couture

Shoes- Zara (similar)

Do you own too many striped clothing for your own good?  Stripe lovers unite in the comments below!

PS- sorry the photo quality is off in this post, I am still learning to use iPhoto.