Fave Five

Baby no show socks here

I had serious doubts about the functionality of these when the salesperson was trying to convince me. Baby no shows? Will they really stay up? And then the poor baby can't even say anything when the sock is down at their heel and it's uncomfortable! Ha. But I got them anyway, and I am SO GLAD I did! They totally work! And they make all her shoes look a ton better. Lydia's current favorite shoes are her white converse (she brings them to me every morning), and now with these no shows there isn't a huge bulky sock sticking out the top! They look cute under all of her tennies and we even just put them on her around the house when it's cold. Good invention!

Trish McEvoy perfume here

I used the same Flower Bomb perfume for years, but then everyone started finding out about it and we collectively all smelled like an overpowering heard of roses. I switched a few months ago to this Trish McEvoy blackberry and vanilla musk perfume, and I really like it! It's not nearly as strong as Flower Bomb, aka strangers won't stop and ask you what you're wearing like they did before, but it's super unique and it makes me happy every time I spray it and that's all that matters right?

Hair extensions here

K so I know hair extensions get mixed reviews. Plenty of girls wear them and love them (and they are generally the ones who we always think of as having amazing hair!), whereas a lot of other people (my husband included) say, "Why would you put on fake hair every morning? Your hair looks great just as it is!" Thanks babe :). But I've tried and tried to grow my hair out for years, and it seriously just doesn't get passed a certain stopping point. I've taken prenatals for years in hopes of it helping, I've taken biotin, fish oil, etc. I've tried not putting lots of heat on it, I've tried trimming it more frequently, I've tried not trimming it for months and months. And none of it really makes a difference.  My hair just kind of stops right in the middle of my chest. Boo. So I'll never get those gorgeous full braids or those amazing mermaid waves. Enter... $9 hair extensions from amazon!! I freakin love amazon. I read like 50 reviews before choosing these extensions, and I'm so happy I did! It's all one piece, so you don't have to mess with clipping in 15 different sections (I did that a few years ago - pain). And the best news is that it looks pretty dang real! The color is spot on for me and I actually cut it so it's not SO ridiculously long. I'm so happy with how they look! And you can't beat that price tag for hair extensions.

Boogie Wipes here

Sick season is upon us - grrr! And Lydia has already gotten a cold twice. I've started her on a good probiotic that seems to be helping and this natural infant medicine, but a fantastic thing to always have in my car or diaper bag is these boogie wipes! They're gentler than always just rubbing a baby wipe on her face and you never know when your child will have massive disgusting boogers dripping down her face and you don't want to be caught empty-handed.

Spray paint, ha!

It is bizarre how happy spray paint makes me! I LOVE spray paint. I love taking something ho-hum around the house and turning into one of my favorite pieces! And by this point I've accumulated a nice little collection of colors (gold, mint, black, pink, etc) so basically at anytime I can just run out back and change something! Michael would probably tell you I'm a little too spray paint-happy ;). But I mean look! This lamp used to be all black and really boring and now it's adorable!

Basic taupe felt hat here



I'm throwing in a Fave Sixth today because I guess spray paint doesn't totally count as a product, more of an activity ha. I found the perfect (reasonably priced) hat for fall! Great neutral color, slightly smaller brim than most of the huge floppy hats I own, goes with everything, love. (Also love the grey color it comes in!)

There's a few of my favorite products this week! Anything you've been loving lately that I should know about??

I Got Dressed {Matchy Matchy Maroon}

Please tell me I'm not the only one who frequently walks out the door and realizes they 100% match their kids.

I promise that the majority of the time Lydia and I match, it's not on purpose. 

Except I am totally pro matching, so I'm always secretly really happy when it works out like that.

And this is my I-just-got-out-of-the-shower-so-what-do-I-do hair.

And Lydia now refuses help putting on her sunnies so... there's this lovely picture for ya ^^^ :).

This outfit comin at ya features all sorts of comfort. It is like chicken noodle soup for your body. K I guess chicken noodle soup is  for your body, arguably way more than clothes are. Chicken noodle soup for your... appendages? That sounds disgusting. ANYWAY.

Cozy roomy autumn-y and sponsoring my all-time favorite fall color - burgundy. (Maroon? Burgundy? Marsala? What really is the difference here my Pantone aficionados?) 

Dress - Target maternity (I caved and bought it from this post!)

Cardigan - Thrifted, similar here

Socks - J.Crew

Booties - Old, similar and cuter!) here

It's A Boy!!!

We're having a boy!!!

I AM SO EXCITED! So this whole pregnancy I've been kind of thinking boy, but I didn't want to claim "maternal instincts" because with Lydia I was convinced it was boy too, HA. Wrong-O. But really, every time I pictured this new little babe, or pictured my two kiddos running around playing blocks together, it was always Lydia and a boy. I never pictured two little girls! But all of my family and most of my friends were convinced I was having another girl, so I really had no clue! Literally as we were walking into the ultrasound Michael said, "I'm 99% positive it's a girl." 

Also, I was WAY calmer finding out the gender this time around than last. With Lydia I secretly wanted a girl so badly that I was really nervous for how I would react if I found out it was boy. I know that is pathetic and if Lydia was a boy I would've loved him to pieces, but I just really wanted a little girl first! Don't judge. But going into this ultrasound I was totally split 50/50. I truly wasn't leaning one way or the other, so I just felt calm walking in. I laid on the bed while the ultrasound girl squirted warm gel all over my belly, and Michael tried to keep Lydia calm but she was not having it, ha. I woke her up early from her nap to come to the appointment so she was pretttttty unhappy. The ultrasound tech hurried to the gender so we could find out before Lydia had a complete meltdown. 

The tech asked us, "Are you ready?" I told her our guesses and then she looked at me and said, "Well you're right! It's a boy!" My heart immediately stopped and for some reason my eyes welled up with tears! I had been expecting them to say boy from the beginning, but to hear it out loud that it was truly a little tiny boy in there just made me so emotional! I think it was a mix of excitement and exhaustion and actually a bit of scare - I know nothing about boys! What am I going to do!? I only have sisters and a daughter, I don't know the first thing about raising a little boy! Even though I'd been happily waiting for this news for months, I still got a little panicked. Of course right then is when Lydia was freaking out, so we didn't have much time to celebrate before Michael had to leave with her so our tech could finish the ultrasound. So I laid there in silence just processing it all to myself. A boy!

I am now officially 100% thrilled. I have been up till 1am every night since we found out looking up all sorts of adorable boy things - blue decor, simple clothes, itty bitty boy moccasins, striped beanies, reading all the articles on mom and son bonding - I am so stoked! We all are.

Just kidding, Lydia still has zero idea what's about to rock her world in a few months! Ha ;).

Fun fact, last year with Lydia when we were heading to the ultrasound Michael and I made a deal. If it was a boy, we were going to get dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings afterwards. If it was a girl, we were going to Bombay House (our absolute favorite indian restaurant, also where I told Michael we were pregnant - see here!). So of course last time we celebrated at Bombay down in Provo! 

This time we wanted to keep the tradition alive and we invited a few friends! We told them plan on dinner at 5 but we're not sure where it will be yet, ha! And good thing it was Buffalo Wild Wings because with all the TVs going on in there it was perfect for the kids. Don't think we would've lasted at the whisper-quiet Bombay. It was all meant to be :).

Daddy-Lydi kisses!

Those eyes kill me.

I was planning on getting those ginormous letters balloons to spell out BOY, but turns out Zurchers only sells the giant numbers! Boo! So instead we opted for this 3' round balloon that literally almost didn't fit in my car! Ha. It's amazing. And still floating around my living room if anyone's kids want to come play with it. Best entertainment ever.

Also huge thanks to our friend Mat for taking these pictures as we waited for our food! He also became the pro at Boomerang videos since we made him take like 20 in order to get this instagram post ;). We owe you.

Prepping for all things BOY coming in 5ish months!!!

Top - Target maternity
Denim - Really old Walmart that I cut myself! HA
Boots - Bought in Nantucket, but I've seen them floating around Roolee and Piper & Scoot instagram shops!

Imaginary Closet

Welcome to my imaginary closet - bump edition! (For any new readers you can see an explanation of my imaginary closet here.) It's hard to spend a lot of money on clothes when you are a couple sizes bigger than normal. Ideally I purchase flowy things that can work for the next 5 months of pregnancy and then still work after, just with a little looser fit. My mom actually spoiled me in AZ last week and got me two amazing Free People tunics that fit the bill. Flowy, gorgeous, and great with or without a bump. So far I've been sporting lots of oversized tees (which are luckily a thing right now) and loose flannels/chambrays. I went to City Creek today to return a few things and couldn't help but try on some Madewell pieces! Their stuff kills me.

PS I linked all of the pieces for you!

First off their classic v was on sale for $11 with all the discounts! I have this shirt in two other colors and love it. Good sleeve length, super soft and lightweight but not see-through. I am wearing a medium in this pic because bebe.

And it looks like it would be long enough for at least a few more months!

Next I tried on an array of cozy cardis. This longer flax cardigan physically felt the nicest, but it was a little blah for such a hefty price tag.

PS please note Lydia's enthusiasm. 

This amazing sweater is as gorgeous as it is expensive. Love.

I think this grey sweater was my favorite though! SUUPER soft with slouchy pockets that add some interest and a slightly more fitted cut.

In some alter life I would love to rock vests like this black stripey sale one! The V back is fun.

This colorblock tee had lots of potential but definitely works better on the hanger than on my belly!

Same with this black tee. I loved the longer sleeves and scoop neck, though!

Lots of heart eyes for this cute henley! With the longer sleeve, lower neckline and formed fit this would be good for my (non pregnant) body type.

And someone needs to do me a favor and go by these fantastic fringe clogs for herself right now!

On my way out of the mall I passed through Nordstrom and this ALLSAINTS backpack caught my eye! I've been on the lookout for a cute backpack big enough to fit all my baby stuff, and Fawn Design is out of all the colors I like. This one is way too nice to carry baby wipes/spilled snacks/toys, but pretty cool.

Oh Target, how I love you. This classic flannel popover is not maternity (the maternity flannel fit really really really bad), but I sized up to a large and I think it's cute! 

This oversized plaid tunic is everything my pajamas-yet-socially-acceptable dreams are made of. SO. SOFT.

This maternity mock turtleneck sweater dress was cutesy, not sure if tight stripes are the best for my booty though.

Loose stripes, on the other hand, I am all for!! Really loved this basic swing dress. The sleeves are slightly longer, and even though it's maternity I feel like it would work just as well after the baby.

And lastly, Target always pulls through with their dollar section. I was thisclose to walking out a proud owner of a witch's hat ;).

AZ Trip and Some Pics from My High School Days!

Last week Michael had finals, so Lydia and I flew down to Mesa for a few days! We figured since he'd be busy studying anyways we'd go have some fun with my family :). Flying with this girl has gotten a LOT more complicated. When they're babies they just sleep the whole flight or cuddle on your shoulder - now she just wants to run up and down the plane aisle so it's more of a 1.5 hour silent wrestling match with way too many treats involved... ha. Luckily I downloaded a new show for her on our ipad and saved this new baby iphone for half way through the flight! New toys on flights are the way to go.

Anyways - Mesa!

It's always so much fun seeing friends down there! Jenna and Karlee are two of the very best people on earth.

And of course I had to see my gorgeous friend Sarah's 10-day-old baby Londyn! Is she not perfect??

Lydia is really into trying to feed herself these days. It's going.... okay? Ha. Baths always.

We picked an awesome time to visit AZ since it was Mountain View High School's Homecoming! My sister Isabel was one of the four nominees for royalty and... she ended up WINNING! Homecoming Queen 2016!

She is one of the nicest people out there - everyone loves Isabel! Or as my grandma likes to say, "She specializes in socializing." LOL. It was so fun to watch her get crowned! She's a dime.

So flashback to 7 years ago, I was one of the Homecoming nominees. But not nearly as cool as Isabel to actually win! :) Want some really high quality photos from my senior year?

This was me and one of the Homecoming King nominees in the parade. HA we got the Princess Diaries wave down.

And of course with our Route 44oz sodas. (I do not want to even admit to how much soda I drank in high school. Any amount of soda I have now is like ten steps better than what it used to be...)

I know I have way more high school pics somewhere but these were all I could find and screen shot off Facebook!

And couldn't leave you without a few goodies from my junior year when I dated Michael... ;)

The matching yellow was for a day activity at the zoo! In January. Isn't Arizona weather fantastic??

This was Winter Formal! So funny how the dresses have changed! We all used to wear the big poofy ball gowns and get updos for our hair. Nowadays I feel like everyone's dresses are short and sleek and no one wears their hair up. Aka none of my little sisters wanted to wear any of my dance dresses ;).

Hence another long dress and an updo at Prom :). Please note the super fancy corsage he got me! 

And closing out with a pic from the last day of school. Class was totally pointless, so we ditched the entire day and went golfing, ate at Paradise Bakery and then snuck into a resort swimming pool and hung out all afternoon! Hahaha. Good times.

I wish I could dig up more photos! These are all from basically my junior/early senior years, but I have some fantastically awkward ones from earlier on. Maybe next time I go home I'll have to scan some. Or maybe I'll just keep those all to myself ;). HA.