Teething has hit us hard over here the past few days. Crying. All day. Wanting to be held. Then wanting to be put down. Then crying because I put her down. I'm exhausted, as I'm sure she is too. I can't imagine the pain she's in.
Last night she woke up more than usual, and wouldn't nurse back to sleep like she normally does. Only once or twice I was able to get her to nurse, all the other times she woke up she just needed to be pat back to sleep or if that didn't work I let her lay there and she eventually fell back asleep. But she was obviously uncomfortable and in pain.
There was me. A lonely wandering soul who eventually found him, another wandering soul. And just when we thought it couldn't be more complete, there was her. And suddenly the picture made sense. There were no more missing pieces.
Laia Baby is an accessory shop full of so much organic goodness including headbands, bandana bibs, socks, swaddles, and pillows. Everything is dainty and gorgeous, with a slight vintage feel.
And, what makes the products even more beautiful, is the mission behind them. Laia Baby empowers mothers in South Korea through work creation, including resettled North Korean refugees, enabling them to dream again and provide for their family. You can read more about their mission here. Every purchase made directly impacts these mothers, so you can buy with confidence knowing your money is not only buying something of great quality, but that it's going to the good of another mama.
I looooove when I find shops that aren't your typical children's wear. No tutus, very little pink at all, and unique in every way. That's Arq. Everything is meant to be played in, adventured in, dirtied in, all while looking stylish and beautiful.
Our 2 year wedding anniversary was quickly approaching, and, like with every other special event, we didn't even notice, let alone make plans. So a couple days before the actual day, we very very last minute and spontaneously decided to spend the night in Palm Springs. We found a hotel, booked it, packed up for the night and hit the road.
We invited Jesse's mom along so she could babysit Ever while we went on a date that night. Which didn't end up happening, but I'll get to that later.
Pink Blush is well-known as a maternity boutique, but many don't know that they carry non-maternity as well! Also, most things can actually work for both maternity and non maternity. There are so many unique-to-the-brand pieces that you won't find anything else. I was asked to choose three pieces to style, and it was such a hard choice! But I narrowed it down to these three:
My husband picked this one, and I loved the color of this dress, it will transition perfectly from summer to fall. It's so comfy, and I love that I can just throw it on without much thought for accessorizing. The color and fabric is perfection, and the back detail is just the cherry on top.
Love Winnie James is an online boutique carrying women and children's apparel. They carry the cutest and trendiest styles, including this amazing floral dress. When I saw this dress it reminded me of gloomy beach days, so naturally we had to take some photos on the beach. I love the floral pattern, the low neck for easy nursing, and that it's so flow and flattering. It's also easy to dress up or dress down. I also got Ever these little oxfords, and they're our new favorite shoes.
I gained 37 pounds during pregnancy. Which, I understand, is not a ton, but it was 37 pounds that my body was not used to. I felt huge. I felt tired. I felt slow. And most of all, I felt ugly. And then the stretch marks came because of that extra weight (plus my uterus apparently is suuuuper forward. I was huge. And had a 6lb baby), and I was devastated. All over my belly, my inner thighs, hips, boobs, you name it. I honestly thought I would never be happy with my body ever again. I looked up pictures online of women's bellies with stretch marks postpartum and cried thinking of what mine would look like. Then I looked up pictures of women with stretch marks that had six packs and felt even more discouraged because I have too much of a sweet tooth to ever look like that. So I thought my bikini wearing days were over.
We started solids with Ever shortly after she turned six months old. She was obviously ready. She had been grabbing at our food and watching us eat and drink with awe for quite some time, but we wanted to wait until six months anyway.
I've quite enjoyed the benefits of exclusively breastfeeding for the past six months (such as weight loss, and natural birth control, to name a couple ;)), and breastmilk will continue to be her main source of calories/food. Beginning solids is simply a way of teaching a baby how to eat like a human, getting them used to different flavors and textures.
Mom life. The hardest and best job I've ever had. And even though it's 24/7, I never get a break, and I'm highly underpaid, it's so worth it. This shirt by To: Little Arrows sums it up perfectly. "So cool. So crazy. So worth it. Mom life."
First of all, we had so much fun with this shoot. Who would have thought that a grocery store would be such a great setting? Evvie didn't quite understand what was happening but she seemed to have fun nonetheless.
Imperishable Clothing Co. is a faith based company that carries t-shirts for all ages, with a wide range of sayings. Their mission is to start conversations with their shirts, so that the gospel is spread throughout the world.
Yes, the familiar lyrics. But this shirt by Cheerily means something different to me.
I'm a dancer. I grew up dancing, majored in dance in college, and now I teach tiny dancers. It's my passion. I always wanted to be a professional dancer, but life happened, and I wouldn't have had it happen any other way. But I miss dancing like crazy, teaching 3 year olds is not really dancing. I miss the feeling when you're throwing your body around the room in ways you never would have imagined possible. You feel so free, so unstoppable, and so beautiful all at the same time.
Leia Roux! Oh my goodness, the things she makes are so beyond gorgeous. I got Ever this lavender stripe romper and we are in love! The fabric is stretchy, but it doesn't lose its form after a day of wear.
Jesse's day off, my day off, and we didn't want to do anything. I woke up with a stomach ache, so Jesse took Ever to go vote while I stayed home a took a hot bath. They gave Evvie her own sticker! And I thought I couldn't vote because I wasn't registered, but we realized at the end of the day that I sill could have. Whoops.
Anyways, we just wanted to be lazy all day. Then we caught Ever staring at the trees outside the window, and it was such a gorgeous day, so we grabbed a blanket and went outside on a little patch of grass in our apartment complex. Ever was fascinated by our neighbor's American flag he has outside, as well as by all the trees. She loves to be outside, and I don't blame her. We tried to get her to watch the airplanes as they took off (we live by an airport), but she wasn't super interested, just wanted to stare at the flag.
I love me some minimalism. I love me some neutrals. I love me some modern.
Littles Collection pulls at all my simplistic heart strings. Seriously the most gorgeous and minimal apparel for kids. Made in LA, your babe will look like that's where they belong.
This is the updated version of their so loved romper, complete with hidden snaps at the bottom for easy changing.
The straps can be tied as a halter, or brought behind and tied into loops on the inside of the body. I crossed them behind and tied them inside. This makes it versatile as well as gives the romper a longer span of life, because you can adjust the straps to your needs as baby grows. The neck is high enough, as well, that as you loosen the straps it won't go too low to show off that baby cleavage.
A mutual day off for all of us, including our friend Angel, aka Uncle Angel, and what do we do? Go to LA of course.
We love LA. It's only an hour drive from Orange County (where we live), and there's so much to explore. You'll literally never see it all.
This time we decided to explore the Arts District. There's a cool new "museum" that we saw the last time we were here, but didn't have time to check it out.
Of course, picturesque walls galore. What I didn't take any pictures off however, were alllll the walls with super cool abstract murals. But, you can never go wrong with a white brick wall.
Second stop: The Line Hotel. This hotel is home to The Comissary restaurant (you've probably seen it on Instagram. The restaurant that looks like a green house). We've eaten here before so thought we would go again because we loved it. But, we were a little early for dinner, and decided nothing on the dinner menu looked good so we took pictures and walked (because we thought we wouldn't be able to find parking but when we got there the restaurant had its own parking. Whoops.) 15 minutes to Beer Belly. Definitely a good choice.
We bought Phoebe Fawn in NYC on our babymoon, and I was so excited to witness their friendship. I know, it sounds a little weird to call it a "friendship", but I remember truly seeing my dolls as friends when I was a child. I loved nothing more than sitting with my dolls, all their clothes spread out across the floor, setting up their little house, and playing to my hearts content.
The animals are hand made out of organic cotton, with the cutest accessories you ever did see. Different clothes are available for purchase, as well as matching outfits for your little.
Ever already loves her Phoebe Fawn and Lucy Owl, she'll grab them above any other toy within reach, and hug them, kiss them, roll around with them and throw them. Yep. True friendship.
Happy almost Father's Day! There's still time to get something special for that special baby daddy, so I did a little roundup of gift ideas for the minimalist fashionisto (not positive that's a word). I am always scrambling at the last minute for a gift, so buying something off the internet is usually out of the question. So this year I'm keeping my eyes open for some goodies early on so I don't miss out like I always do, this being my husband's first Father's Day, and all.
Everly B is a shop dedicated to handmade goodness for mom and baby, with the cutest tees, dresses, and rompers (oh my!). Run by a mama of 3, she knows what a kid needs to be comfortable.
Ever is wearing the Criss Cross Playsuit. This fabric is organic, so it's super soft, and I would actually love one in my size but I'm not sure it would look as cute.
I basically want everything in her shop, but this little playsuit stuck out to me above everything else. I love the flutter sleeves and criss cross back. So different than many other rompers on the market.
