5.30.2014

Five on Friday: Life, Lemonade, Eleven Months, Etc.

TGIF!!!!   This week has been a long one.  Kyle's been out of town all week and single parenting is not for the faint of heart, needless to say I'm ready for him to be home and hopefully for the sun to come out this weekend.  



1. Life
  

2. I have an 11 Month Old
- As of May 27th I have an 11 month old.  That means there are only four weeks until my baby's first birthday.   I have so many mixed emotions about this day.  This has been the greatest and fastest year of my entire life.  I am so happy to see my baby grow up to be a little boy but I am so sad to be losing the baby in him at the same time.  It seems that he learns something new everyday and grows up a little bit more.  He has made me slow down and appreciate the little things in life so much and I try to cherish these moments as much as I can. 

 He likes to tell stories while he eats and Layla plays watch dog waiting for a piece of food to drop.

 3.  Lemonade Love
-Unlike my first pregnancy I have had very few cravings and food aversions.  The only thing I've been loving is lemonade.  I seriously cannot get enough of it.  It doesn't matter the flavor just as long as it's lemonade.  I decided to try not to bring it into the house and save it as a treat when I'm out to eat.  (we will see how long that lasts) To curb my cravings at home I've been drinking lemon water.  It isn't the same but it does the trick (for now).  Anyone else crave lemonade while pregnant?
 Strawberry lemonade from The Greene Turtle was so good. 

4. Meeting Bloggers in Real Life
-I've had the pleasure of meeting a few bloggers in real life and just recently met Meg of Boo Boos and Briefcases. If you don't read her blog yet you need to check it out- she's a mom to two adorable girls and is about to make the move from Maryland to North Carolina with her family.   I'm so sad we didn't meet until right before her move because we had such a good time at lunch!  If I wasn't on a schedule set by my little guy I think we could have sat there for hours talking, it was like having lunch with an old friend.  She was such a sweetheart and I can't wait to follow along, via blog, on her new life in NC.

5. This Shirt 
I'm loving this shirt from Anthropologie and it looks bump friendly.  It's apparently in stock at my store so I'm going to try it on today. 

Hope you all have a great weekend!
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5.28.2014

Bump Style: Mid Week Muse

 First of all I want to THANK YOU for all of your sweet comments on yesterday's post.   I will fill you in on more details later this week about baby #2 but for now let's talk trying to look fashionable while pregnant.

For my last pregnancy I was working and I felt awful for majority of it so I spent most of my time in maternity work clothes or pajamas.  I can guarantee you that I rarely looked good last pregnancy.  I bought a lot of maternity clothes and unfortunately most of them are work clothes that don't really transfer over to staying home and sitting on a floor with a baby.
This time around I feel completely different and my goal is to buy very few maternity clothes and try to work with what I have in my closet already and buy non-maternity items that I can wear now and post baby.  I'm not sure if this will work or not but I'm going to give it a try.

In the mean time I'm trying to get some inspiration for dressing the bump cute since it popped out so.much.faster. this time!!

As much as I kind of hate Kristin Cavallari, you have to admit she has great maternity style... 




 Of course Reese always looks chic, baby bump or not...



I have a feeling I'm going to be wearing a lot of dresses this summmer.

So tell me what's your favorite bump style?  Any suggestions for where I should look for chic maternity clothes?  Thankfully oversized is in these days so I should be able to pull off quite a few non-maternity items this summer. 

Linking up with Pampers & Pearls and Ann Elliott 
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5.27.2014

Surprise!

So I've been keeping a kind of big secret from you all for the past 17 weeks...

I'm pregnant!!

Baby H #2 is due to make his or her appearance in November 2014!   This was a bit of a surprise but we are are very excited and feeling very blessed.  Yes I do feel a little overwhelmed at the idea of two babies under two but I know that a lot of people manage to do it so I think we'll survive :)



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5.23.2014

Happy Memorial Day Weekend

We have friends in town and a full calendar of events this weekend!!  Will be back on Monday or Tuesday. 

Hope you all have a safe and happy holiday!!

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5.21.2014

Lilly Pulitzer: Mid Week Muse

So I have to admit I have a love hate relationship with Lilly Pulitzer.    I go through phases of either loving everything they're carrying that season or hating all of it.   I have found that over the last few years her dresses/patterns/prints/colors have gotten less offensive, meaning it doesn't necessary scream "OMG I'm in a Lilly dress!" and you can't wear it to more than one occassion per year. 

Ever since I picked up my Elsa blouse two weeks ago I can't get these other Lilly items off my mind...











Are you a Lilly Pulitzer fan or no?   I know most people either love it or hate it.  







Linking up with Pampers & Pearls and Ann Elliott 
 
Feel free to join along if you want!  
 
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5.16.2014

Four on Friday: Sales, Shapewear, and Sizes

TGIF! It sort of feels weird to look forward to the weekends now that I'm home all the time but the weekends usually mean Kyle is home and I can get a little break.   
We are heading up to see Kyle's the family this weekend for his brother's college graduation.  I'm excited to see how Miller interacts with his cousins now that he's a little bit older.


 Linking up as usual with these lovely ladies...  April, Darci, Natasha, and Christina 

I wanted to share some sales and answer a few questions that people had for me this week!

1. Tory Burch Seasonal Sale & Nordstrom 
http://api.shopstyle.com/action/apiVisitRetailer?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.toryburch.com%2Fsale%2Fclothing%2F%3Fj%3D35382776%26e%3Dnataliekhenderson%40yahoo.com%26l%3D1215881_HTML%26u%3D400173318%26mid%3D10342737%26jb%3D0%26et_cid%3D35382776%26et_rid%3Dnataliekhenderson%40yahoo.com%26utm_campaign%3D20140515_US_Sale%26utm_source%3Dexacttarget%26utm_medium%3Demail%26code%3D&pid=uid1936-24454956-13

 I just found out thanks to Ashley that Nordstrom matches the Tory Burch seasonal sale pricing! If you type "tory burch sale" into the search box all the TB items they have available for sale pop up.

I decided to take advantage of it and picked up a pair of the fuschia Miller Sandals.  Since I wear a lot of black I thought this would be a fun pop of color.




2. Shapewear
After my post on the Tildon dress on Wednesday where I mentioned wearing spanx a few people asked me what kind of spanx were my favorite.  
I think spanx vary for everyone depending on what you're trying to hide/smooth out.  For your reference I gain most to all of my weight in my butt and thighs so I tend to get Spanx with the leg shaping part and I'm not always as stressed about the tummy flattening.   I also do not really like the skirt/dress spanx as I hate having my thighs rub together, so I go for the shorts. 

Here are my go-tos:

 I wear these underneath of short dresses/skirts. These will suck you in but are short enough that they won't peak out when you sit down.  They aren't the tightest but do a great job with smoothing everything out.

Spanx In-Power Line High Waisted Shaping Sheers 
When I'm looking for more control/shaping I turn to these.  I actually wore these all last summer after I had Miller.  Since I ended up with a c-section they really helped with holding my incision in place and I credit them for getting my stomach back down by 8 weeks postpartum.   When I bought a pair postpartum I sized up so that I wouldn't be smushing my incision too much. 
 
Spanx Power Mama Maternity Power Panties
I lived in these during my pregnancy.  I cannot thank Spanx enough for making a maternity pair.  These just made me feel so much better about myself, especially at the end when I was huge and living in maxi dresses.  I wore these all the way until the end.  I wore my regular size which is what was recommended.

3. Sizing 
A few people asked me about sizing for the Tildon dress and the Lilly Pulitzer Elsa top. 

I'm about 5'9 and I am thinner on top and carry most of my weight in my thighs/butt.  I'm usually a small/medium in shirts and a 6/8 in pants/shorts (depends on the brand for both). 

For this dress I'm wearing a medium and I thought it fit really well. The chest area was a little big but nothing a nice padded bra couldn't fix ;)

I'm wearing a small in the Elsa top.  I think most of Lilly Pulitzer runs big but I think the Elsa tops run especially big.  Considering it was the perect length and size on me I'm not sure how someone smaller than 5'6 could wear one of these!

4.  Does this happen to anyone else on Friday night?   

 Usually I'm the offender but lately it's been Kyle. 

Sorry I just couldn't muster up the energry for a fifth item.   Happy Weekend y'all!
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5.15.2014

Naptime Confessions

I haven't done one of these in awhile so here goes...

- I'm not sure what happened to my sweet little baby but this week he has been possessed with angry little demon with an attitude.   Can 10 month olds really have temper tantrums?   I let him go to bed the other night with a hair brush because the crying and screaming that happened when I tried to take  it away was just ridiculous.  I thought I still had some time before this kind of stuff happened.

- Can I add that I'm also lacking in patience this week.   I don't know why but everyone is just on my last nerve.   Trying to have an attitude check myself.  

- Sometimes I leave Disney Jr on and catch myself still watching the shows after Miller is already in bed.  Sophia the First might be my favorite.

- Why is it when the seasons change  I suddenly hate everything in my closet and want to go on a $5000 shopping spree?  Because obviously everything I fall in love with online has to be the most expensive item possible. 

- Speaking of seasons changing it seems we went from winter straight into summer.  Besides yesterday it's been in the almost 80s all week with lots of delicious humidity.  

- Also my hair has suddenly gotten wavy.  If I don't blow dry it right away it will be really wavy and I will have to take the time to straight it.  Well today I blew it straight then took the dog and baby for a walk and the waves are back!! I'm so not used to this I have no idea what to do.  Curly haired friends- please advise. 

- I only have 6 weeks until my baby turns 1.  Officially freaking out. 

- I'm dying to take a tropical vacation somewhere with just Kyle especially after seeing Annie's pictures of Turks and Caicos, but I'm not sure I could leave my baby for more than 1 night :(

- I've been trying to cook more and find recipes online to try.  I usually hate it but I have to admit the other night that I actually really enjoyed the process and I was quite proud of myself when I was finished. 

- I made the mistake of buying a big thing of peanut butter cookies on Monday.  The box is almost gone.   My sweet tooth is out of control.  At least I'm actually sharing this box with Kyle and not hiding it like I've been known to do with some sweets. 

- Sometimes I hate even writing these out because they're all such #firstworldproblems

So I leave you with this that I came across on Pinterest.... 

 via

  
Anything you want to confess this week? 



 


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5.14.2014

Summer Dresses: Mid Week Muse

There is nothing I love more in the summer than dresses.  I'm not sure how practical they will be with a baby this year but I'm still hoping that I can make them work in some way.  

I've been meaning to post this since I wore it two weekends ago,  I couldn't get the best picture at my parents so bare with me.    It's the Tildon racerback dress that I posted about here
Also I hope you love my crooked mirror selfies because I will not be modeling for you all anytime soon.  #tooawkwardtoposeforsomeone


The dress is a lot more plum in person than it appeared online. At first I wasn't sure but my options were limited so I went with it and I'm so glad it did.   For $48 I think the quality is great and it's not see through at all.  It was also super comfortable since it just hangs and doesn't grab anywhere.  I did wear spanx underneath to help keep it all sucked in, but I pretty much wear spanx all the time now.  Maybe one day when I'm in shape again I won't need them :)
I paired it with an old pair of Via Spiga open toed nude heels and a fun neon necklace that belonged to my mom. 

Every since I bought this dress I've been itching to do more summer dress shopping.  Here are a few that are on my list...
Loving how flowy and comfortable this one looks but still somewhat dressy because of the material 

Love this dress- I feel like you could really dress this one up or down and could probably pull it off for work (I know I could have at my old job)

I pinned this last week and can't stop thinking about it.  I have a dress similar to this that I bought in Rhode Island 5 years ago that is on it's last leg so I'm thinking this might need to be the replacement.

This just screams comfortable and relaxing and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't look stupid at the park in this dress.  It's also on sale right now with 30% for only $39.50 and comes in hot pink and white. 


I blogged about this Splendid maxi two weeks ago but I found this one that I like so much better- this is the drapey version which just looks much more loose and comfortable.  If you can't tell already I don't really like things to be "grabby" on me- I prefer flowy dresses and tops :)

Do you wear a lot of dresses in the summer?  Do you prefer maxi or short dresses?  Anyone have advice for wearing sundresses with a baby?


Linking up with Pampers & Pearls and Ann Elliott 
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5.13.2014

My First Mother's Day Weekend


I hope you all had a great weekend, I'm running a little behind this week already!  If you're not a mom yet then I hope you had fun celebrating your own mom, mother-in-law, or mother figure in your life.  Now that I am a mom myself I appreciate all mothers, especially my own and my mother-in-law (who had 5 boys!!), so much more.  Being a mom is the best and hardest job I have ever had.  Words cannot even explain how thankful I am on a daily basis that I have the opportunity to be a mom.

My first Mother's Day weekend was wonderful.   Kyle had to travel to Detroit for the day on Saturday so he took Friday off so we didn't feel like we were losing a weekend day.  My boys did such a great job making me feel special and celebrating me all weekend long.

My Mother's Day started on Thursday with Kyle coming home early (before 8pm!!) and cooking dinner for us...

I had planned to make the Shrimp and Fennel from Barefoot Contessa Foolproof but Kyle was totally turned off from the Fennel so we substitute onion and it was just as good. 

On Friday morning I got a much needed pedicure.  It was amazing to sit there with nothing to do and have someone rub my feet.  I also got to catch up on magazines I've had sitting around.   


We then headed to downtown Annapolis to eat some Mexican food and shop. It was a little cooler than expected but we still had a great time. 


My new rug from RugsUSA came on Thursday night and we got it set up on Friday.  So far I'm really liking it.  I hadn't planned to go this dark but with a dog and baby it makes sense right now.  Plus I was able to nab it for 55% off so that works for me :) 



Saturday Kyle had to fly to Detroit for the day for work so I got to man the house alone.  Of course it was complete chaos from the minute he walked out the door.  I think both Layla and Miller know when it's just me so they raise hell on purpose. 

 Anything to get a couple of minutes to wash dishes

There was screaming and barking going on in this picture 

I heard some banging the other morning and then I loud thud so I ran into Miller's room to find this.  When I got in there he had this hands on the elephant picture but scooted over to the other side of the crib when he saw me.  When I asked where the picture went he looked back for a few mintues- it was pretty hysterical. It was like he was trying to tell me he wanted to redecorate.  Thankfully he dropped the picture behind his crib and not on his head. 


Sunday was a picture perfect day as far as weather goes and an even better first Mother's Day.   I got to sleep in until 7am and was treated to donuts and iced coffee.  After a long family walk we then headed down to my parents house and the spent the afternoon laying by the pool.    We finished it with dinner at my parents where we got to celebrate my Mom and Grandma too so it was extra special. 


My Mother's Day gift was this blouse.  It's my first Lilly Pulitzer Elsa Top and I have to say I'm in love.  The quality is great and I love the way it hangs on me.  Plus it's long which is always a plus for this tall girl.  


Here it is in brighter lighting 


My handsome little man checking out the pond. 

 Trying to escape off the deck



   

My mom snapped this picture with my phone when I was wasn't looking and it's my favorite.   Words cannot even express how lucky I feel to be this little boy's mama.  Even when he's being wild and crazy or cranky and stubborn he's still the best little person in the world.   





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