10-ish Graphic Tees I'm Loving

I can't resist a good graphic tee. I love the versatility and effortless vibe (since I typically err on the side of trying way too hard, ha). But it's surprisingly hard to find ones that A) don't say something embarrassing and B) aren't completely sheer. I've rounded up a few of my current faves that work for moms and kids alike! (My fashionista college sis approved of all these. ;) )

1. The PLAYFUL RAINBOW TEE I'm wearing here is currently less than $5! Run!

2. Always a fan of foreign phrases like SALUT because I don't have to worry about their meaning, ha.

3. I'd take this casual cotton NEWPORT TEE or the THERMAL version.

4. My mom and I used to blast '8 Days a Week' while driving her old convertible, this BAND TEE brings back all the memories.

5. It doesn't get more ICONIC than Levi's, also in REPEAT style.

6. I have this FRENCH SLOGAN tee and wear it weekly.

7. Also a fan of THIS and THIS for some French (I'm pretty sure?).

8. Can't tell if this BRIGHT SIDE tee is depressing or inspiring but I like it.

9. Really loving this sweet and simple HONEY tee.

10. And finally, FRIDAY can never come soon enough. (Just kidding it's all the same in medical school. ;) )

TEE // PANTS // BASEBALL HAT (similar) // VANS // BAG

Spring Stripes & Summer Schedules

This week was chock-full of one of my favorite activities - scheduling! I love anything involving intense planning (events, traveling, etc) and always joke to Michael that I would make a KILLER personal assistant. Few things in life bring me as much joy as writing on our giant wall calendar. Even scheduling out my gym classes for the week makes me SO HAPPY! Haha. I think I like the possibilities. I could do Monday body pump and Tuesday spin? Ooh or I could do Wednesday spin and Tuesday barre? It's about as mathematical as I get these days, trying to plug in everything ;).

So we're heading into Michael's final year of medical school (already?! finally?! mixed feelings here...) and we've been spending lots of super romantic late nights standing around the wall calendar, trying to coordinate board exams, family trips, multiple away rotations, babysitters, birthdays, preschool breaks and so on. And GUESS WHAT I LOVE IT. Give me alllllll the blue pens and let's make some plans baby! (Not to be confused with baby plans. None of those quite yet.)

And as you can tell by my white legs we are DESPERATELY ready for dress weather!! Bring it on, Spring!

DRESS // SHOES

Where I Shop for Kids Clothes

Pretty sure it's science that anything shrunken down is 10x cuter. Baby leg rolls? ADORABLE. Mine? Questionable. Same goes for skinny jeans, tiny pretend Birkenstocks and miniature puffer jackets. I love dressing toddlers! Today I'm sharing exactly where I buy Lydia and Cannon's clothes, when I buy them, how the sizing differs for each brand, etc.

Also I'm trying to be better at kid capsule wardrobes! So now I only buy them each 6-8 outfits that I LOVE and they just repeat them every single week instead of having drawers stuffed with clothes.

Here's the breakdown:

TODDLER GIRLS

Tops - Zara for tees/blouses/sweatshirts. I always buy Zara during end-of-season sales and stock up for the next year! You have to guess a bit on sizing but it saves a TON of money. Generally I've found Zara girl TOPS run shorter so size up.

Leggings - Cat & Jack LEGGINGS from Target. So many colors, cheap, durable. True to size.

Jeans - The only DENIM I've found that fits Lydia's thin legs are H&M. Makes sense since their women's clothes are sized for barbies.

Dresses/Rompers - For church dresses Target and then once a year I splurge on a fancy ($20-30) dress from Zara. PLAY DRESSES are really cheap at H&M or Old Navy. At Old Navy always buy up a size (or two!).

Jackets - H&M and Old Navy for PARKAS, Gap or Zara for warm puffer jackets.

Shoes - Old Navy! Cutest STYLES at the best prices. And if they get hammered at the park I won't cry.

Underwear - If you need tiny sizes, H&M panties start at 1.5-years-old. Old Navy's are the thickest, Carter's UNDIES are the all around best quality. Target undies don't start till size 4. (Can you tell we've had way too many poop accidents.)

Pajamas - Walmart for $4! Because who cares what they sleep in and I actually think some of their sets are pretty cute?! And BONUS Cannon fits in a 2T and Lydia's in 4T so I make them match. :)

TODDLER BOYS

Tops - Zara's boy tees are DARLING. Buy during sales. These run more true to size than the girls but when in doubt buy up. Target for BASICS.

Leggings/Shorts - Old Navy! Cheap and BASIC.

Jeans - The only JEANS that are truly skinny on Cannon are from Zara (where else, haha). BEWARE their sizing is way off. Cannon is 13 months, average sized and currently wearing both their 6-9 month and 9-12 month jeans. Weird.

Church Clothes - Pants from H&M, DRESS SHIRTS from Gap or H&M.

Jackets - I got Cannon his bright yellow amazing PUFFER jacket on sale from Zara for $17 with free shipping! Literally he wore it every. single. day. this entire winter. Best purchase ever. True to size.

Shoes - Again, Old Navy is the BEST.

Underwear - HA just kidding we're not potty training him till he's 12.

Basically this whole post was an ode to Zara and Old Navy but for me it's helpful to break it down by item! Kids clothes add up FAST since they outgrow them every 6 months but I try and stick to a few quality pieces that I won't get sick of, only buy on sale, and then wear the heck out of them!

Lydia's Outfit - TOP (similar) // LEGGINGS // SHOES

Cannon's Outfit - TOP // PANTS // SHOES

My Current Favorite Accessory

What do I do if I need to look magically look pulled together in thirty seconds? BANDANAS friends. Instant outfit upgraders. Bulky scarves always feel too complicated for me. Do I loop it? Twist it? Wear it open? But simple kerchiefs are sly and mighty! A basic tee and jeans suddenly becomes pinterest-worthy, and my mom adds kerchiefs to polish off her sweater/chinos/ballet flats combo and always looks very Audrey. See how versatile? I'm obsessed. 

A few of my favorites: 

1. I'm a sucker for anything in this  COLOR. 

2. How sweet is this  EYELET for spring?

3. I may have to get this darling  BEE print for my mom for mother's day!

4. Love the larger size of this  FLORAL one.

5. I have this in  RED, the  BLACK is cute too. 

Dress similar  HERE,  HERE, OR  HERE //  BANDANA //  HAT //  JACKET //  SHOES

(Everything I'm wearing is thrifted or sold out so here are similar options!)

WE'VE ARRIVED.

You guys - IT'S HERE.

The day I never thought I'd ever see.

We finally have a handle on two! TWO KIDS. And we're all a l i v e .

It's literally taken me 11 months and 18 days to reach this point of peace but who's counting?

HA. Two kids 19 months apart was a TRIP. Anyone who says otherwise either has a ton of family support or is lying. (Or has angel children I guess.) My two, as much as my whole heart loves them, are not exactly cherubic. They are darling and hilarious and creative, but they're also destructive and hangry (always?) and crazy. Literally as I'm typing this my two-year-old is throwing an entire box of crayons on the ground as I nag her to stop. But my level of caring is like a 2.4 and I'd rather type than fight so the crayons keep coming. Also Cannon just started crying because the crayon bombs woke him up an hour early. Lovely.

But this is actually an enormous improvement! ;) Haha. For a few months there I told everyone we were done having kids. I was losing my mind as well as all memories of cleanliness and I was just done. But fast forward a year and we've hit some sort of happy spot and it's actually - dare I say - fun! The huge bonus of having a one-year-old and a two-year-old simultaneously is the friendship. They truly are best buddies. Lydia wakes up in the morning immediately asking if she can run into Cannon's room yet. (Since she is finally allowed out of her room at a whopping 6:00am this is always a "no", ha.) And when Lydia is at Joy School, Cannon just walks around the house looking for her. He breaks into a huge toothy smile every time he sees her. They really do love each other and watching that develop has been my most favorite thing ever. That and Trader Joe's dark chocolate peanut butter cups. They scurry downstairs to the basement and play kitchen together. I'll spy on them jumping on the bed together, laughing their hearts out. Literally my little monkeys. They chase each other through our hideous IKEA tunnels for like thirty minutes straight on the daily (BEST PURCHASE TO DATE). I never want to forget their little messy faces at lunch playing peekaboo with each other, or the other day when I walked in on Lydia quizzing Cannon on his animal noises and correcting him when he wanted everything to be an elephant.

So for as many times as my mental vocabulary has been quite colorful (kidding Mom!), or as many times as I've shouted, "JUST EVERYONE STOP CRYING!" as I cry, or as many times as I've pinky promised Michael to never have two kids this close again - I am finally at the point where I not only appreciate their closeness, but I love it. So even though there is most definitely going to be a massive break in kids for now, I wouldn't be surprised if I have a stroke of amnesia in four years and want another set of close little best friends :).

(Also I think this photo alone qualifies me for every free eyebrow microblading and lash extension giveaway ever don't you think?) 

Team Alfalfa.

So in love with these people.

Imaginary Closet {Old Navy is Killing the Game}

Welcoming back the Imaginary Closet series! I think my last one of these ( here) included a tiny newborn Cannon - so it's been a while. I was at Old Navy looking for shoes for Cannon (he outgrew his one pair in all of 3 minutes), but got a little side tracked by the amazing women's stuff going on right now! I've been on the hunt for timeless sweaters - I have 7 million tees and 2 sweaters? But I can't justify the Madewell price tag even though my heart does YEARN. And what do you know, Old Navy is SO on point this season. Here are my faves:

ALSO don't look at this face/hair/acne situation. It was a rough night with the babes.

(And chipped nail polish is really in these days right?) ;)

The lilac sweater ( here) is so sweet! I like the subtle raglan sleeve and it's the perfect length. I sized up to a medium here, but I'm wearing a small below and feel like they fit basically the same.

Same sweater in burgundy ( here) in a size down.

This ribbed knit sweater ( here) is fantastic. SO soft, not too heavy but still warm, and a cool brownish tone. I would throw this on all the time in place of a tee.

I love classic cable knit sweaters!! This navy one ( here) is timeless. Even though I try and pull off Vans and mom jeans and Free People, I feel like in my heart-of-hearts my style is totally preppy, so this speaks to me. Funny story, I found a muy oversized navy cable knit sweater at DI my sophomore year of college, and I was OBSESSED. Wore it twice a week. But it also was four sizes too big, and coupled with the Freshman 15 it just was not my best look, haha. (Like truly soooo bad.) This is the good version of it!!

Supersoft thin sweater ( here). Can someone PLEASE direct me to a place where white shirts are not see-through and I will buy them all. This was darling in the other colors though!

This ribbed-knit top (  here) is perfect for layering! Heavier than a tee but not quite a sweater. Also a really good cut - not skin tight but still fitted!

And finally these two-tone pants ( here) stole my heart but not my money! Yay self control. But I also recognize I'm not 15 and I'm not Amber Fillerup so I probably shouldn't attempt to pull these off. Nonetheless, chewed hem and all I'm in love.

EXCEPT let's be real this back-side view is terrible. HA.

Honorable mention goes to ALL the cozy cardigans they had staged around the store and the perfect flat leopard booties I didn't even try on because I knew I'd want them. 

Good work O.N.!

Fave Five (or Nine!)

Oh hiiiiiiii!

It's been a hot minute. 

Wish I could tell you I've been working on some incredibly time consuming project (like getting my masters - seriously think about this EVERY. DAY. Someone tell me I should do it already). 

But in reality I've just been swamped with life; momming, church, weddings/baby blessings/events. So many events?! Tis the season I guess - and we're barely at starting line of the crazy sprint down Holiday Lane! I secretly love that time flies because I'm a big planner. But then again I'm like CANNON SLOW DOWN because I ain't havin another baby anytime soon so you've gotta stay little.

Anywho. Fave Five! 

There have been SO many awesome products I've been using these last few months so I felt guilty not sharing with errbody.

BROOTS Woven Basket ( here)

Have you ever seen a cuter basket?? I AM IN LOVE. Perfect for blankets, toys, you name it. Comes in three amazing colors and pretty much makes my day every time I pass by it. PLUS the owner hand delivered this to my door and she's a gem. Run people.

MAC Brow Pencil ( here)

Got this pencil by mistake and avoided using it for a couple months. MY MISTAKE. It's amazing. Because it's so dark (I'm wearing taupe) I put about 5 strokes on each brow and I'm good to go! Brows are no longer the most dreaded part of my makeup routine.

Paper Source Calendar ( here)

My all-knowing sister got this for me for my birthday (she understands my need to plan) and it's perfect. Growing up we always had a massive family calendar in the living room where we could all see it - so this makes me feel all-grown-up and like I have important things to do! ;)

One Bars ( here)

Found a new favorite protein bar! 1g of sugar, 20g of protein, tastes like a candy bar. Does life get better. Personal favorite is Birthday Cake but really they're all delish.

DIY Kids Pom Pom Shoes

K I had so many questions about these when I posted them on my instagram story so I thought I'd share the deets! I saw adorable Nordstrom kid shoes like this but couldn't justify $50. I literally went to the boys section of Walmart and got these sneakers for $5, and then found a package of pom poms for $1 at Michael's (also sold at Walmart, Target, etc). I hot glued them on and WAZAAM. Adorable girly tennis shoes! And so far the glue has stayed put.

Mauve Sweatshirt ( here)

I wore this the other day and at least 6 people stopped me and asked where it was from. Yay Target! I'm all for something that feels like pjs but looks fashionable. (PS it runs big - size down.)

Land of the Wee Towels ( here)

Land of the Wee sent us these adorable coordinating boy/girl hooded towels and washcloths and they are SO LUXE. Like the truly feel amazing - super soft - almost stretchy? - and really big! Which I love because Cannon's grown out of his baby towel (kid's got muscles). Moment of truth: I've actually used Lydia's twice since getting it on Saturday. Thank you Wee People!

Letter Quiz App ( here)

I'm always on the hunt for educational apps for Lydia. These kids are going to be around technology whether we like it or not, so I figure it's better to work with it than against it. This phone app is awesome. See those letters? She wrote those! (Well traced them, but I'm counting it.) Can't remember if this one was free or like $2, but either way worth it. It's a fun way to teach her to recognize letters, trace them, match upper case to lower case, etc. 

Bath and Body Works 'Leaves' Candle ( here)

I think I'm the last one to realize this - but the same store our 14-year-old-selves went to hoard hand sanitizer and sample terribly fake lotion happens to be the home of the WORLD'S BEST CANDLES.  Their 3-wick candles smell phenomenal, even when they're not burning! 'Leaves' is my current obsession - makes my entire house smell like hot apple cider even if I just light it for two minutes. (PS cheaper on Amazon.) Fall is in the air! 

So there you have it - nine things I'm loving these days. 

Annnnd I really am going to try and get back to blogging regularly. Hold me to it, k??