Friday, November 29, 2013
High Five For Friday
Happy Friday! This has been a great week and I am so thankful for oh so many things. Here are the top five moments from the week.
1.) My parents came up to visit last weekend and I so enjoy watching them love on Baby K. They clearly love to get in their baby snuggles and kisses.
2.) While my parents were in town, Tolar and I got to go out on a date! We went to go see The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and had a blast. We may have been the oldest people waiting in line (well, besides the chaperone for the five teenagers in front of us).
3.) Baby K is really enjoying eating these days, she loves her rice cereal.
4.) Tolar’s parents came into town for Thanksgiving and they also got to love on our girl. She sure gets a ton of attention with all of these loveable grandparents around.
5.) We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It started out with a 5K Turkey Trot (our Thanksgiving family tradition), then we watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, took naps and went out to eat for dinner (maybe I’ll cook next year). A perfect day!
I hope you had a great week and a fantastic Thanksgiving. I’m linking up again with Lauren Elizabeth for this High Five For Friday.
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Happy Thanksgiving
Wishing you and yours a fantastic day today. I pray that you are surrounded by loved ones and are able to count many blessings in your life. I am so thankful for all of you, my faithful blog readers, who follow along each and every day. I hope you have a very Happy Thanksgiving! I'll be back tomorrow with my High Five For Friday and I know its a good one - because man, what a week this has been!
[image source]
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Trying Out This Whole Bootie Thing
I love a good tall shoe; I appreciate the height it gives me and the length it adds to my leg. I’m almost always willing to give any shoe a try that promises to lengthen my legs. However, the first time I tried on a pair of booties, even though they had a heel, I felt like they cut my legs off and made me look even more stubby than normal. So I decided that booties probably weren’t for me. But oh there are so many fashion blogs that have girls sporting booties every single day. And I loved every single look. I desperately wanted to find a pair that worked for me.
So what’s a girl to do? Why, go to my favorite shoe store of course. Yep, that would be DSW. I scoured the many aisles checking out all of the boot and bootie options and my eyes found these beauties from Kenneth Cole. And you know what, they actually looked pretty good. I love the buckles on the side, such a cute detail. And the best part? They are oh so comfortable; they are like wedges for winter.
I think these booties are a bit too casual to wear with a skirt or dress, but I like the look with jeans. And yes, I had to cuff the bottoms because I still haven’t found the perfect pair of jeans. One day. But until that day comes, I’m enjoying my cuffed jeans and booties.
Pants: Old Navy.
Purple Tank and Grey Cardigan: New York & Company.
Booties: Kenneth Cole via DSW.
Necklace: gift from Tolar and Baby K.
I’m linking up with Style Elixir for Style Sessions, The Pleated Poppy for What I Wore Wednesdays and Because Shanna Said So for Random Wednesdays.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Happy 5 Months Baby K!
Here we are, another month has passed us by so quickly and I suddenly find myself the mother of a five month old. Baby K is getting so big and is quite fun right now. It’s awesome to see her change and to watch her level of interaction increase with each day. I have a very curious girl who loves to check out her surroundings and look at everything.
Stats: 14.6 pounds. We don’t go back to the pediatrician until Baby K is six months old, so we had to weigh her at home.
Development: Baby K is pretty close to being able to sit up all by herself. Right now, I use the Boppy pillow as support behind her but it is just a matter of time before we no longer need it. She is also getting the hang of how to jump and march in her jumperoo. And when she’s relaxing in her bouncy seat, she often tries to pull her body up. I hope she doesn’t tumble out!!! We also tested out real people food and gave her pureed green beans. She made such funny (read: awful) faces, but she did keep eating the green beans each time we offered them to her.
Loves: She loves to talk! Every morning on our way to Miss Gina’s (where Baby K stays during the day), she carries on a conversation with the bugs hanging from her carseat. It is adorable to listen to and such a sweet sound to hear. The only thing she loves more than talking is sucking on her hands, which she sometimes does while talking. It’s hilarious to hear the muffled sounds escape from her mouth! We also discovered (in an attempt to get her to laugh when she was upset) that she likes being thrown up in the air. I love to see her giggle and smile each time we toss her about. Don’t worry, she barely gets out of our hands – it’s not real tossing.
Dislikes: This hasn’t changed from last month; our girl is just like her parents with the fact that she hates being tired. She really only cries if she is sleepy, but her crying goes from 0 to 100 in 2.5 seconds flat! And just like all babies, when she is hungry she does not like to wait!!!
Sleeping: We stopped swaddling Baby K at night and switched to using Baby Merlin’s Magic Sleep Suit. She is rolling over more and has often looked like she is going to roll over while swaddled which scared me – I certainly didn’t want her rolling over in her sleep and getting stuck there. And just like it was meant for me to find it, I saw my buds Ruthie and Chandelle talking on twitter about the suit. So I decided to buy one and we love it. I was concerned that Baby K would have some sleep regression and not give us the 11 hours a night that she previously did while swaddled, but that wasn’t the case. She sleeps like a champ in the suit and I don’t have to worry about her getting cold at night as the suit is very thick and warm. She looks like an astronaut in the suit – it’s quite funny.
Diapers: Still in size 1 Pampers, but we are close to switching to size 2. And lucky for us (and not so much for Miss Gina), we don’t have to change that many dirty diapers, only wet ones. Sorry, hope that wasn’t TMI.
Eating: Our girl is definitely growing and needs more at each feeding than she previously did. I hope I can keep up! We still follow the Baby Sleep Solution, so she eats four times a day, ever four hours. She still exclusively gets breast milk, I hope I can continue to produce enough to last her this entire first year of life. And like I said above, we started adding some real food to her diet. Maybe this week we will give her some rice cereal.
Clothing: She is definitely growing and primarily wears 3-6 month sized clothing. It is so crazy how the same size even within the same store can vary. Since the weather has gotten colder, I realized that Baby K needed more long sleeve shirts and pants. So I bought several things from Old Navy in size 3-6 months. The onesies that I bought are great, bordering on being a little big, however the pants I bought in the same size are very snug. They get tight on her tummy, especially after eating. I will probably be back at Old Navy in the next week or so buying pants in a larger size.
Miscellaneous: I finally feel like we are in a good place with this whole parenting thing. I don’t feel as overwhelmed or stressed out anymore. When Baby K was first born, I was constantly stressed out in every situation because I had no clue how she would react to things and was always so nervous that she would cry at any second. But now we are in a great routine, we know her cues and she knows that she can trust us. It’s so awesome to pick her up when she starts crying and have her immediately settle down. I love that my daughter knows she is safe with me and Tolar. We are also having a blast interacting with her and watching her smile and giggle. It seriously is the best thing ever to have your child’s entire face light up the second she sees you.
Monday, November 25, 2013
Save Some Time During The Holidays
This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™ and Cottonelle, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #CottonelleHoliday http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO.
The Holidays are upon us – time for parties and family visits and lots of good cheer! And with those parties and family visits come the cleaning and prep work to get your house ready – who’s with me?
It is no secret that I like a clean house, just check out the post that Tolar helped me create last week – he calls me out on it. But what I don’t like is having to spend a ton of time cleaning and straightening and setting out the essentials for my guests. With a new baby, down time is precious and I certainly don’t want to spend all of my down time preparing my house for visitors. I’ve had to get serious about my schedule and find ways to simplify my housework routine to still achieve the end result I love so much.
Since Baby K arrived over the summer, our house has had a revolving door of guests. We have been so grateful for all of the extra visits from our family (maybe we should have a baby more often? J) and have really enjoyed watching everyone interact with Baby K. However, with all of those guests comes the need for me to clean our house very regularly to prepare for each new person. Normally, I don’t always have to clean our guest bedroom and guest bathroom because they aren’t always in use, but man have they been since June!
And more guests in the house means that we are going through more toilet paper than normal. And with FOUR bathrooms in our house, that’s a lot of rolls to change! Being the Southern lady that I am, I certainly don’t want my guests to be in need of anything; I always want to make sure each bathroom is well stocked. So I am constantly checking under each sink to make sure I have extra rolls of toilet paper in place or changing out rolls to prepare for the next guests. It actually can be very exhausting! Well Cottonelle has the solution to keep me from having to change so many rolls – a TRIPLE roll of toilet paper. Now that’s a serious roll!
 |
| Double roll vs. Triple roll |
The triple roll is awesome. It lasts a really long time, allowing me to focus on actually talking to my guests and enjoying their company. Since I started using Cottonelle Triple Roll, I don’t have to constantly run to the basement, grab extra rolls of toilet paper and go around to all four bathrooms restocking. Nope, I can relax, knowing there is enough toilet paper to last through several visitors. With the first of the holidays happening THIS WEEK I can relax and focus on the important stuff – like spending quality time with family. Because seriously, even though I like a clean house and like to make sure my guests are taken care of, I really like hanging out with them and laughing a whole lot more. Thanks to Cottonelle Triple Roll, I get to do just that.
I purchased my package of Cottonelle Triple Roll from Target (only the best store ever!). And I have a coupon to share with you if you want to get your own package of from Target. Just click the below link to get a FREE box of Kleenex when you buy a Cottonelle Triple Roll 12 pack or larger (while supplies last). The coupon only works at Target, so make sure you go there!
Coupon link:
Then you can relax too, knowing one other chore is taken care of during this busy holiday season. Because really, we have enough chores to worry about with shopping and baking and wrapping and packing – changing out toilet paper rolls shouldn’t be one of them. Not that shopping is a chore, but you know what I mean!
Friday, November 22, 2013
High Five For Friday
Happy Weekend everyone!!! Can you believe we are so close to Thanksgiving? Where has 2013 gone? I know I will probably be saying that for the rest of my life, but seriously this year has flown. And because of that I always love joining Lauren Elizabeth for High Five For Friday. This way I get to remember all of the small things that bring me joy each and every day.
1.) I might have gone just a wee bit crazy in the kids Christmas section at Target, I’m so excited for Baby K’s first Christmas.
2.) Thanks Dunkin Donuts, I definitely found joy in my toasted bagel and hot chocolate! Yum!
3.) We gave Baby K green beans this week, her face says it all. We are starting slow giving her foods, this is going to be fun.
4.) Look at my big girl, holding her bottle all by herself! Starting real food and holding a bottle??? Oh my gosh, I’m not ready to handle her growing up.
5.) I found one of the funniest sites, all about bad engagement photos. This gem made me do a spit take. (Hey Dad, Tolar said it best when he said that Beckaroo has nothing on this photo!)
Thursday, November 21, 2013
What Happens When I Ask My Husband To Help Me Think Up A Blog Post
This is quite the busy week for me, including a very late night at work last night so my planning for my blog got just a little side tracked. When I realized that I didn’t have a post planned for today, I asked Tolar to help me.
A few nights ago while I let Tolar wash all of Baby K’s bottles (that’s right, while I let him – I’m a keeper that’s for sure!), I decided to ask him some questions and see what came out of his mouth. There were only two rules: he had just 15 seconds to answer and he had to keep everything clean.
What you will see below is exactly what I live with on a daily basis…and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
 |
| That's apple juice, not beer - because Tolar is hard core like that! |
What Should I Blog About? Why people don’t call it Peen uhl lope. (As in the name Penelope)
What Do You Think of My Style? Put together.
Name a food. Wings.
What about a drink? Root beer.
What do you think about when I say vacation? The last vacation we went on (our Baby Moon), although as I say that I realize I’m lying, I’m thinking of Hawaii.
What is your ideal day? Wake up, play video games, get kisses from my wife, more video games, make fart noises at Baby K, play some music.
What is your dream job? Touring musician.
What do you think about when I mention JoJo? That he is a half second away from death. (This is so true and oh so sad for us…our poor JoJo will be 15 next month and the poor pup is declining. I don’t mean to put a damper on anything, we are so grateful that we still get these precious moments with JoJo)
What comes to mind when you think of old people? I’d like them to attempt to do something about their stench.
If you could have a useless super power, what would it be? The ability to not smell someone’s plopper in a public restroom (“I’m so juvenile”).
What is the biggest thing that having Baby K has affected? The size of my midsection. (says the man who did NOT carry the baby in his body for 9 months)
What do you think of my blogging? It would be more relevant if I were a girl.
Pretty Little Liars, what do you think about it? Worst. Show. Ever.
Would you rather I spend money on… NO!
Name a color combination. (pause) Is that like sunset orange?
Name one idiosyncrasy that I have that you wish I didn’t. Your compulsive cleaning. I could literally live in a bubble and you’d be in there trying to clean that s%&t.
And there you have it everyone. Anyone out there in need of a new blog post idea, I’m happy to lend you Tolar.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
The Great Jean Search
I’m convinced I have a really weird body shape and length. I seriously have never been able to find the perfect pair of jeans. Yes, I did just blog last week about this great pair of black denim pants that I love and yes the pants are awesome. But they aren’t perfect (what you didn’t see was the bottom of the jeans rolled up inside of my boots)!
Regular jeans are always way too long for me. I never realized just how long my jeans were until I started wearing flats more regularly. I used to live in heels because I seriously despise my legs. I wore heels in hopes that my legs would appear longer and leaner. So I always bought regular length jeans because they were always the right length to pair with my heels.
Then I decided I was too old to wear heels daily and actually embraced the fact that you can really look cute in flats. But none of my jeans worked with flats; I had about four inches of material that needed to be rolled up and that isn’t a look I’m going for. So I purchased jeans in the short length and you know what? They are a tad too short for me! Seriously! I look like I’m waiting on a flood.
I’ve heard of people buying jeans they really like and paying a tailor to fix them. I’ve never done it, have you? Had any luck? Until then, I guess I will keep wearing really tall heels and shoving my too long, rolled up jeans into my boots. Hey, its worked up to this point anyways.
Jeans and Striped Tank: Old Navy.
Cardigan and Necklace: New York & Company.
Shoes: DSW.
Earrings: Target.
I’m linking up with Style Elixir for Style Sessions, The Pleated Poppy for What I Wore Wednesdays and Because Shanna Said So for Random Wednesdays.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Thankful For An Experience
Have you ever made a decision that you KNOW affected the
rest of your life? We are faced with decisions daily that may or may not alter
the course of our life, but every now and again life changing decisions and
experiences come about and it’s awesome when you get to see them come to
fruition.
I am so incredibly thankful for a decision I made and
an experience I encountered back in February 2009. I didn’t know then that one
simple leap of faith would drastically change my life – in more ways than one.
But let’s step back a little before February 2009.
I take you back to December 2007, when my childhood
best friend and I made a HUGE decision to leave our lives in Roanoke, VA and
move to D.C. Moving to a new city meant starting over with EVERYTHING and this
included the need to find a local church. Admittedly, I didn’t get really
serious about finding a church right away, I was still trying to figure out my
new job at the theatre and spent time getting acquainted with D.C. on the
weekends. I wish I would have started my church search earlier, but had that
happened this story might not end up quite the way it did.
I grew up attending both Episcopal and Methodist
churches, so I started out by visiting some Methodist churches close to my
apartment. At almost every church, I was the youngest single person there by at
least 20 years. Yes, there were several people there that were my age, but they
were all married and had children – that wasn’t my life yet. I wanted to
connect with people walking through similar situations in life.
During my church search, I saw tons of signs near my
apartment advertising a church that met in a movie theatre. I didn’t ever give
it much thought because it just seemed so strange to meet there. How can you
have church without an actual building? However, while I continued to search
for a church home, I visited one of my college girlfriends in Fayetteville, NC
and attended her church that met in a middle school and I loved it! It was a
contemporary service with an awesome worship set and a pastor that seemed so
real. I was so jealous for something like that in my life. When I returned to
D.C., I continued my search and found myself at another Methodist church.
Unfortunately I didn’t connect with the message or any of the congregation.
Nothing against any of the churches I visited, I just needed something
different in my life and I so badly wanted to connect with people – I didn’t
just want to show up at church on Sunday morning and that be it for
the week.
While driving home from this last Methodist church, I
again saw a sign for DC Metro Church, the one that met in a movie theatre.
Taking my experience from the church in Fayetteville, I decided the next
Sunday I would give DCMC a try. And I’m so glad I did. Upon first entering
the theatre, I was immediately greeted by friendly faces from people who wanted
to talk to me and not just say hello. And oh my goodness, the congregation was
young! There were so many people my age there, just so full of life. I was so
excited to see what this church was all about. The worship set felt like a
concert, I loved every second of it and immediately felt the presence of God
(who thought that God could show up in a movie theatre?). The message was
actually preached by the Pastor’s wife that Sunday and I remember it
so well (I even remember what she wore – because the woman can dress!). Pastor
Taryn preached on getting interrupted by God and finding the blessing in those interruptions.
My first visit to DC Metro Church was such a great one
and I left that day knowing I had just found my church. I immediately began
getting involved; I joined a serving team (Guest Services, so I too could greet
people and make them feel welcome just as everyone did for me) and also joined
a women’s bible study. The messages that were given each and every Sunday were
so relevant to what was happening in my life. I often joke that I feel like our
Pastor is spying on me because his messages always line up with situations I am
walking thru. He has an amazing gift straight from the Holy Spirit. The weekly teachings
from Pastor David’s messages and the relationships I started to make by serving
and joining different groups have totally changed my life.
Before joining DC Metro Church, I never knew what it meant
to have a REAL relationship with God. I didn’t understand talking to Him on a
daily basis and I certainly didn’t grasp the concept of loving Jesus more than
anything else. But DC Metro Church has been a catalyst in growing my
relationship with the Lord. I understand His unfailing love and I came alive
because of this church. Also, prior to DCMC I never thought about introducing
hurting people to Jesus. To me (at that time), if someone had been a drug
dealer or in prison or some other bad thing, they were just that, bad, and had no
place in the church. But DC Metro church
has taught me to love ALL people, regardless of their past. Give people what
they need, not what they deserve. Jesus loved all people and it is our job here
on earth to seek and save those that are lost. (Luke 19:10)
Because of DC Metro Church, I also met my husband. Yes, when
I first joined the church I had a thought in the back of my head, hoping to
meet someone to date. Never did I imagine that I would actually meet the man of
my dreams. It was so comforting to me to know that I met someone with the same
passion for Christ and the same values as me.
Because of DC Metro Church and my husband’s example of faith when
nothing seems possible, my relationship with Christ has grown. I will always be amazed at what God did in our lives to bring us together in His house. I could go on
and on about how amazing my church is and how much we have flourished by planting
ourselves in the House of the Lord (Psalm 92:13). God is so good. It’s as
simple as that. His blessings are poured on us every day. And I have DC MetroChurch to thank for introducing me to a daily walk with Christ.
 |
| Picture from my Baptism, July 2011 |
(I’m participating in the DC Ladies Thankful Project through
this post. I’m a little off the schedule, but I really wanted to write about an
experience that I am thankful for. Click here for full details on the Thankful
Project.)
Monday, November 18, 2013
The Warmest Scarf Ever & Funday Monday Linkup
It’s no secret I love scarves, I might even have a slight obsession with buying new ones. I just love scarves because I feel like they help increase my wardrobe options by changing an otherwise boring ensemble. And I love all kinds of scarves; silk, cotton, pashmina, infinity, fashion, functional, whatever the use if it’s a scarf, I will wear it.
And I actually found a scarf that is both functional and fashionable. If you can believe it, I bought this gem at Old Navy! Besides being one of the softest scarves around, this is also the warmest scarf I have ever worn. Since it is oversized, it helps block wind, keeping me all warm and snuggly. I know once winter rolls around, I am going to be so happy I have on such a huge scarf along with my coat. This baby gets the job done!
But until winter arrives, I am enjoying wearing the scarf as part of my outfit selections too. The warmth of it adds just enough of an extra layer to keep me warm without needing a coat. And I love the honeycomb stitch; it’s such an interesting pattern adding an extra bit of style to my ensemble.
I bought this scarf in both the green that you see pictured and in grey. I just know I will get a lot of mileage out of these babies this winter. You can wear scarves so many different ways with so many different clothing options. How do you like to wear scarves?
********************
I’m thrilled to be co-hosting the Funday Monday Linkup this week, with two of my favorite bloggers: Carly and Molly!
A few of our favs from last week:
/ Annie Jean Apparel / Cheesy Pigs in a Blanket with Honey Mustard / Cobalt / Vest Layers /
The Rules for #FundayMonday Link-Ups:
1. Follow your hosts Molly @ still being [molly] , Carly @ Lipgloss & Crayons , and your guest hosts for the week Stephanie from Mrs D's Corner and Lindsay from Pursuit of Pink!
2.Grab a button and / or post a link back here in your BLOG POST (NOT your blog’s main page) so your readers know what all the #fundaymonday-ness is about. We love you guys linking up and we do go through and read all your posts… so if you do not give credit, we will have to remove your link. That’s no fun, right? Right. So be nice and share a link! Pretty please?
3. Link your blog post up using the linky tool below! It can be ANYTHING! An outfit post, a giveaway, a story, a recipe, whatever. Why? Cause it’s #fundaymonday!
4. Visit a blog or four that you’ve never been to before and leave a #fundaymonday comment – you never know, you might “meet” someone new that you will lurve! 5. Have fun! Cause it's Monday!
Want to cohost #Fundaymonday? We are currently accepting weekly cohosts..........please email us at carlybrydon@gmail.com for more info!
Friday, November 15, 2013
High Five For Friday
Jumping right into it, here are my top moments from the week…
1.) My sister in law came in for a visit and I think it’s safe to say that Baby K simply adores her aunt. All weekend long it was smiles and giggles for her Aunt Wee.
 |
| All smiles with the exception of this photo, but at least she's looking at the camera! |
2.) Also, my dear friend Jessy and her family came up for a visit. It is always so good catching up with my girlfriends, picking right back up where we left off. I just love that Jessy’s sweet son instantly took to Tolar as his new buddy! Oh and he loved on Baby K a lot, such a sweet boy.
3.) Someone is kinda on the move! I laid Baby K down on her activity mat the proper way (which would be perpendicular in this picture), went to wash some bottles and came back to find that she had turned herself 90 degrees. It’s only a matter of time before the baby proofing of our house will begin.
4.) Heart melted from this picture. Look at Baby K touching her Daddy’s face. Seriously such an amazing moment to capture.
5.) Tolar had to work in Baltimore this week and was going to pass by my work on his way back so he stopped and had lunch with me. What a treat to have a brief day date with my husband (and we got hot dogs!!!).
 |
| Check out that sweet No Shave November Beard! |
I hope you had a good week and that your upcoming weekend is amazing!
Linking up with Lauren Elizabeth for this High Five For Friday post.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Hi Friends!
Get Decocrated
Click the picture to Shop! LINDSAY15 gives you $15 off your first box.
Featured Post
About Me
- Lindsay @ Pursuit of Pink
- Welcome to Pursuit of Pink. I'm Lindsay and I'm so glad you are here. I believe a positive life is a happy life. Join me as I try to walk that out daily - in life, motherhood, style and more.
I BELONG TO
