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It's my second mother's day, and I'm so excited! Last year Jesse woke up early and made me a huge feast for breakfast (see the post here). The year before that we still celebrated because I was pregnant, and I bought myself this bag (because I needed an excuse). Ha!
This year, I treated myself to some goodies (some of which are in this guide). Jesse got the day off work, too, so I'm excited to be able to spend the entire day together as a family.
Read MoreSwell & Solis is a children's brand based in Australia, and we are in love with everything they make. Pictured here is the Dune Romper in baby pink. It's a little big on her so I twisted the straps in the back to make them shorter. I love that it can work in the winter with a long sleeve shirt under, and I cannot wait for her to wear it in the summer to show off those cute toddler legs and back. We also got the White Periwinkle Pinafore, which will look adorable for the summer as well, it's a little too big now.
Read MoreI love love love finding small boutiques with unique items, and Thistle & Finn is just that. You can't find what they carry anywhere else.
In the photos below I put together three different outfits featuring three of their pieces.
Read MoreAnother trip to Utah.
We didn't get to see my family for christmas this year so we had to plan a trip a couple weeks into january. Plus, we were waiting for my sister to have her precious baby boy.
It worked out perfectly, as it always does, and my extended family was able to travel south to see us, and we did our whole chirstmas thing together.
Read MoreWe woke up bright and early because of daylight savings, and found ourselves with so much time before church. So we decided to take Ever to see her beloved airplanes that she loves to watch take off from the airport near our house.
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If it rained every day, I would be one happy girl. I've always wanted to live somewhere that it rains a lot, but alas I've chosen to live in two of the most deserty places in the country, Southern Utah and Southern California.
But, every now and again my rainy day dreams come true and it makes me want to drink hot chocolate and watch Netflix all day.
Instead, I taught my baby barre class, babysat my boss's daughter, then we went to IKEA and Trader Joes, came home, and I'm currently drinking hot chocolate while writing this post and watching Lord of the Rings with my hubby while the babe sleeps.
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A random sunday afternoon, and we decided to head to LA to our favorite museum: The Getty. We got there at 5 (they close at 5:30), just long enough to wander around outside and take some pictures. Such is our life. Late everywhere, but we always manage to get a million pictures somehow.
Read MorePlaid + deep cool tones + a fun shoe = drool out of my mouth. Casual, but not your average casual.
Fall is approaching, although some days feel more summery than others, and I'm getting more and more excited to pack up the tank tops and pull out the sweaters. This is a good transitional outfit. A tee for the warmer part of the day, and a flannel for when it cools off later. Also, no boots yet. It's definitely not cold enough yet.
Read MorePink 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:
Olive Bamboo Lace-Up Back Dress
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.
Read MoreLove 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.
Read MoreI 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.
Read MoreMom 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."
Read MoreSaturday morning loungin' with some watermelon water that tasted of summer (that Ever desperately wanted to try).
Another thing that has me so ready for summer is this dress from Pink Blush. Pink Blush is an online women's boutique. They're known for their maternity wear, but they have non maternity items too, and this dress happens to double as both. It's also nursing friendly, despite the high neck, because the arm holes are stretchy enough to pull open for easy access.
Ever was so fascinated by all the plant life.
She kept screaming at the plant.
Bring on the summer!
I'm constantly on the hunt for shirts that are nursing friendly, and I definitely scored with this one!
Minted Em Boutique is the cutest little online boutique with a ton of options for a nursing mama, and at an amazing price!
This top is the Oatmeal Babydoll. The fabric is so light and flowy I feel like I could fly, but also lay down and sleep because it's so comfortable.
The fit is obviously loose, but not frumpy looking, the way it lays is very flattering. And I'm even thinking, "maternity shirt for baby #2??"
Literally the perfect shirt. Comfortable ✔️
Flowy ✔️
Afforable ✔️
and nursing friendly ✔️
Laughing because she literally almost spit up into my mouth. But I dodged it.
And, of course, I can't have a post without the spotlight on Ever at some point 💁🏼. So, here she is.
Minted Em is offering my readers 20% off with code MORGANFAITH until Sunday April 24th at midnight!
Ever's outfit:
June Park shirt and leggings
Hadley Girl bow
Wild Explorer shoes
I'm probablyyyy a little too obsessed with Jean & June. The witty sayings, the minimalist design, the fact that I can twin my baby, it's just too much goodness.
My shirt says "stay golden" and Ever's onesie says "golden child". So cute and clever!
I promise she loves me...
Same outfit, different day. Duh.
Recently, I've been utilizing Ever's nap time and the millions of bounces I have to do to rock her to sleep, to get a mini workout in. No, it's not going to burn a thousand calories, but it will definitely build some muscle. Try it!
In a second position (heels in, toes out, legs wide), I plié (lower down) and lift. That usually doesn't put her to sleep, so I pulse it down. These tiny pulses trigger the small muscle fibers in your quadriceps, giving a long lean look instead of a bulky.
I also pulse and rock at the same time.
Staying in a low plie, pulse to the left straightening the right leg, and then pulse to the right straightening the left leg. Repeat.
Most of the time, she falls asleep after this one, but sometimes I move on to some different moves because my thighs can't handle it anymore.
Like, calf raises in first position (heels together, toes out), parallel (feet parallel, hip distance), and toes in heels out.
I'll also try out some lunges.
Lunge and lift. Then pulse it down in a lunge.
If she's still not asleep at this point, I go back to my plie pulses and rocks in second position (which you can also do in first position, but second has a greater range of motion).
And she's out.
This post is the first of a series I'm super excited about! I'll be highlighting different pieces from different brands that I've found that are perfect for a nursing mama.
After I had Ever, it didn't take long to realize that over half of my wardrobe wouldn't work for nursing, and every day I'm frustrated because I have nothing to wear. Of course, you can pull any shirt up, but that's just annoying because it falls back down as you're trying to feed. I much prefer something I can pull down, with easy and quick access.
So, today I'm highlighting this amazing romper, The Sylvie by Eva Jo Rompers
First of all, have you even seen this gorgeous color before?? I'm in love. And all the other color choices they have are gorgeous too!
Second, it feels like I'm wearing pjs. The fabric is heaven. So so soft and comfortable. I definitely see myself wearing this every week, if not multiple times a week. If not everyday...
Third, it's nursing friendly, of course, without being intended for nursing. There's a snap in the front for easy access to those milk makers. Mama's happy because she's not fussing trying to pull a t shirt up or a collar down and baby's happy because she doesn't have to wait very long to get what she wants!
And fourth, it's super versatile. I'm wearing sandals in these pictures, but it can so easily be dressed up with a pair of cute heels, or dressed down with some converse or birks.
Not a mama? Fret not. They have plenty of other rompers to choose from that are just as cute, comfy, and versatile. Support small business and shop small!
If you're a small business and think your products would be perfect for this series, contact me at letterstoeverjoy@gmail.com, I'd love to collab with you!
