What?!? Look who’s blogging again. Yep, this girl. Look at me go. Aren’t you proud? I just can’t quit you and especially outfit posts. They’re where I started and it’s just so deeply ingrained in my blogging mind. I laugh at myself though over the stupid outfits and locations we would go to for pictures. Don’t worry, there is totally a WTF (or maybe WTHeck, sorry Mom) post coming soon. We’ll all be able to bask in the ridiculousness of the outfits I used to put together. I love it though! It’s so funny. At least today, this is legit what I was wearing. And I am for sure taking the pictures in my house because it’s freakin’ freezing out and I am too old to care about taking them outside on a street corner with a cute bag with flowers in them. Let’s just all look at this picture and shake our heads at poor, young, cold Jen from yesteryear (it was literally negative numbers in this picture. I remember because I was FREEEEEEZING!!) Bahahahhah! Oh blogging, you’re so funny!
the girls always want to get in on the pictures.
and one peaceful little corner picture for the bunch too!
OUTFIT DETAILS:
Peplum Plaid Shirt: Joe Fresh/Old (similar here, here and here)
Grey Wash Skinny Jeans: LOFT
Boots: Timberland (similar here and here)
I’ve always been a bit of a fitness hopper. Never really finding a perfect match that I felt super passionate about. Yes, I run (ran) a lot, but it’s mostly just to complete races. I love the accomplishment of finishing a race. I love that medal, but the training is always challenge. I would feel so exhausted by the running schedule, that I wouldn’t put any other effort into cross training. My legs would feel strong but nothing else. After Orion was born, I really wanted to find something that helped me feel like my best self. I didn’t have a weight goal in mind but just wanted to feel healthy and strong. In between my pregnancies with Finley and Orion, I started going to a hot yoga studio. I had enjoyed it but hadn’t been very consistent. I figured I would start there!
Guys! I can’t not express how much I LOOOOOOOOOVE going to my yoga classes. You can totally do yoga at home but there is something so rejuvenating about getting out of the house by yourself, to a dark, hot room and sweating it all out. Ahhhh my soul! I count down the days until I get to go again. It’s been such an awesome journey to work towards. At first I know it can feel so awkward! You don’t know the names of the moves or the flows and you may feel super inflexible (hand held high here!) or even the teacher may not be a great fit. I challenge you to stick with it! To ttry different classes, teachers, etc… till you find something that fits. Every week I am trying to step forward, to dig deeper, to stretch further (I want to do the splits!) to be open to correction and to learn more. Step by step, right? I love it so much that I’ve even been thinking about taking my instruction training certification.
No matter what the scale says (I say we all throw our scales out!) if you feel strong and healthy on the inside, I promise it just oozes it out of you. Confidence flows into every part of your life. A bonus for me is that I can model joy, passion and a healthy relationship between food and exercise to my girls.
Where are you trying to #StepForward in your life? Exercise? Eating? Organization? Minimalism? Patience? Generosity? There are so many areas we could all be working on. I would love to hear about it in the comments below or over on the Famous Footwear Instagram
I kind of thought this day would never come!! Buuuuut at the moment, I am siting at my kitchen island watching the girls through the window play… Star Wars! Yes!!! I am so much more of a Star Wars fan than say, Sofia the First. So this is a pretty exciting day. The neighbor boys are over as well. We have Yoda, Rae and the Bounty Hunter all running around with lightsabers. It’s pretty stinkin’ cute. What are you guys going to be for halloween? Do you do the family costume? I love themed family costumes.
So here is an outfit. hahahah! I love posting outfit photos but I never really have anything profound to say about them. I woke up, I got dressed and this is what I wore. Inspiring huh? It was a very warm and lovely fall day and I was glad to get to wear these mules another time before I’d have to put them away for the winter. Can you believe they’re Toms? Way to go Toms!
Outfit Details:
Jacket: Older from Abercrombie (similar here or here)
Mock Turtleneck: Madewell It’s on sale and then another 40% off!!
Jeans: Urban Outfitters (I added the rips)
Toms Mules: Zappos
Glasses: Bonlook
It’s back to school season! I love this time of year. I’ve always, always felt like this is the real “new year” more so than January 1st. Anyone else? I love the buzz in the air, the school supplies, the change in season and of course… back to school shopping! We are starting a new homeschool journey this year with the girls. We couldn’t be more excited about it!! So even though the girls don’t necessarily have a actual need for back to school clothes- Everyday this summer I’ve looked at them like “how in the world are you guys this big? this grown up?” Crazy! Rowan put on a pair of her jeans the other day and I swear they barely even came to her shins. Everyone needs new clothes for fall. For me, ease is key to shopping for the kids, and that means shopping online. I love when shopping can be easy!! Anyone with small children knows that going to the mall can be a disaster waiting to happen.
We teamed up with Gymboree today to share their new easy to shop, back-to-school bundles. Each bundle was handpicked by a expert stylist, making it easy to find pieces that work well together and cover all the bases on your shopping list. I love seeing the girls styles emerge as they get older. I let them look around the bundles and pick out the outfit they wanted. Finley is always looking for poofy skirts or dresses. Anything pink or purple with glitter and sparkles. Rowan on the other hand is growing in to a much older style. She has ditched the pink and purple and seems to go for denim and blues/greens. So cute!
Make sure to head over to Gymboree and shop all these cute pieces!!!
(p.s. omgosh you guys! If these aren’t the cutest dang pictures of my kids to date!!)
First and foremost… HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAURA!! I LOVE YOU.
Ok, now on to a good ol’ outfit post. Thank you to everyone who left a comment on the post the other day. I love all you guys! and I love hearing from you all. I don’t plan on stopping blogging anytime soon. This has become our family journey and it will always hold a special place in my heart. Not sure what is up this week but I’ve been bitten by the blogging bug. 4 Posts this week so far?? Who am I?
I wore this outfit to church on Sunday and decided to take some outfit pictures when we got home. I wasn’t planning for the girls to be in the pictures but they love the camera (or should I say the remote) and wanted to jump in. I can’t say no to some pictures with my girls. I can’t help but look at Rowan lately and think she is just so grown up! I mean first grade soon?!?! That is crazy. She is so smart, artistic and funny. Love her!
I’ve been trying to only really invest in quality clothes lately for myself. I don’t buy a lot but I buy a few nice items every season. It ends up being the same expense as buying a ton of random things every time I go into old navy, target or forever 21. Most of that stuff doesn’t last and doesn’t fit me great. I am starting to see the value in doing that for the kids as well. The only clothes that are in the boxes downstairs to save or pass on to younger kids are the clothes I spent a little more money for. I search the sale section of Tea Collection, Hanna Andersson and Boden like whoa! Hahahahah. Love a good deal and love the quality of all their kids clothes.
p.s. loving a more straight leg cropped jean this summer!
Guys, I did something crazy. I took away our tv. Like completely got rid of it in the living room. It’s been something I’ve been thinking about for a while, but have always felt too scared to go through with it. How would it go? Would it be too exhausting to entertain the kids alllll day? Would they whine about it? How would I watch the bachelor? I had been having this heavy guilt about it though for about 6 months. Our kids didn’t ever watch a ton of tv, but it was there and when I wanted to get stuff done, I would use it as a tool to give me space. I wholeheartedly believe there is nothing wrong with that- Mom’s need a break too. However, it just wasn’t sitting well with me anymore (again, just for us). I don’t know why? It all the sudden just felt like it was more of my problem then theirs. It was too easy to rely on I guess and I felt like I wanted to change that. I love the idea of letting kids get bored. When the girls would say they were bored, they would ask to watch tv. Like that is what you do when you are bored. I hated that the tv just sat there in the living room staring at them when they were playing. I wanted to create a space that was warm, welcoming and not where the tv was the center of the room. I wanted them to know that if they felt bored and Mommy was doing stuff, they had to figure something out themselves to do. Go color, go build blocks, go ride bikes, go dig in the dirt. I don’t care what it is but they have to figure it out themselves though. It’s a balance because I make sure I am there most of the day to play with them together, but I want them to learn to use their own creativity the other times when I am cooking dinner or nursing the baby or whatever.
It’s taken some getting used to on all parts. And there is definitely a detox period. It worked out that we were in Florida for 2 weeks and were super busy out doing stuff pretty much everyday. The girls hardly watched tv at all while we were there, so when we came home I knew it was time. I didn’t want to fall back into old habits so out the tv went. I rearranged the living room, made a small play area off the kitchen and brought up a few toys from the basement (blocks, legos, doll house) and that was that. No more tv. So far so good. The girls have been playing so well together. Their attitudes are better overall and it has been awesome seeing what they come up with when they play. Rowan ended up creating all these birthday cards the other day, that Finley and her went door to door to sell around our neighborhood. Hahaha. Kev was such a good sport, he went with them. They knocked on all our neighbor’s doors and made like $7 bucks. We sure have some sweet neighbors! It was so cute. Rowan worked really hard and spent her time coming up and executing the whole thing and we wanted to honor her creativity. That’s what makes my heart full, seeing them use their little imaginations!
I will say that it does make more of a mess not having a tv. hahaha. Playing and finding fun makes much more of a mess than sitting in front of the tv. It’s a small price to pay though, right? Don’t get me wrong, it’s been an adjustment for me as well. I’ve never been someone who loves to watch tv but it’s been an adjustment to not turn it on for the kids. There are moments when I want so badly for everyone to stop touching me, asking me questions or fighting and I want to turn the tv on for them so badly. It’s an exercise for myself as well. To work on being the kind of Mom I want to be. I loved this post a while back on Monica’s blog about expanding. It’s true. I think when we get to the point where we think we can’t take anymore, if we stop, take a deep breath, pray a little and move forward we can expand a bit more for our children. I know I have a shorter fuse with them then say a friend. Why is that? Anyway- this is a chance for me to look at my own short comings and expand as well. In full disclosure I didn’t throw out the tv. It’s up in our room for maybe a movie on the weekend or special occasions like the Olympics, but day to day during the week there is no tv allowed.
Annnnnnd Spring/Summer is here guys! This makes life sooooooo much easier, am I right? Who needs a tv when the warm weather is here. Long days outside in the sun does the soul good. We love heading out and finding fun wherever the day leads us. We teamed up with Zappos and Crocs for this post and are loving these super comfy jellies for all our summer adventures. Like these are seriously the most comfortable shoes I own. I’ve never owned a pair of Crocs before! I was pleasantly surprised by how many different styles they have to offer. I also got this pair for Kev for when he hikes and cliff jumps up in the Adirondacks, and this pair for myself for gardening!
Finley:
Denim Top: Carter’s (similar)
Skirt: Old Navy
Crocs Isabella Jellies: Zappos
Sunglasses: Carter’s
This post was sponsored by our friends at Zappos and Crocs. Love the Zappos’ promise of fast, free shipping, 365 day return policy, and world class customer service. Thanks guys!
Soooooooo I wear pretty predictable things. I am ok with that. I know what my style is and I stick to it. I like a more laid back, classic type style with a little bit of edge I guess. Hahah does that even make sense? Skinny jeans, a denim shirt and Vans are where it’s at people. I swing very far from the boho style- I always look at sites like Free People and love how beautiful everything is though. Sometimes I even order stuff but I try it on and then I end up returning it because well, it just doesn’t feel like me. So I was very intrigued when Marshalls approached me to challenge myself to try something new. It could have been with anything and maybe it was the fact that we were on vacation or the fact that everything has been about Coachella recently but I totally tried to go with that boho, flowy sleeve, loose dress sort of thing. Love that you can try out new styles with out breaking the bank. I picked this dress out and wore it on a date night with Kev when we were in Florida. He was very sweet and commented like 100 times on how much he loved the dress on me. It was such a surprise to me that I loved this boho style dress just as much as he did. When I pulled it out of the rack my first thought was that it was beautiful (loved the colors and embroidery) but that there was no way I was going to like it on. When I tried it though, I feel in love with the ease and comfort of it. Set the perfect vibe for a date night by the beach. Maybe it’s good to surprise yourself sometimes. Keeps ya young, right?
What new style would you challenge yourself to try out?
Welcome to my personal lifestyle blog. It features topics such as motherhood, family life, fashion, cooking, and all sorts of adventures. I hope you enjoy what you find!
