Happy hump day, friends! I’m chillin’ out in Orlando with Ryan. I tagged along so that I could get away for a couple of days while he attends conferences. My mom is keeping Hampton for the first time for a couple of nights and I am missing him so much. It’s nice to have a break and rest, but not having my little munchkin around is tough. I have been able to lay by the pool, catch up on my favorite blogs and read. A lot. It has been so awesome.

Since I’ve been away, this has basically been my wardrobe. Lately, I’ve found this to be my go-to weekend look as well. Simple with a little pop of color. I know I know…already dreaming of the weekend. I can’t help it. I am obsessing over these accessories from Charming Charlie.

Earrings here // Wristlet here // Sandals here // Oversized top here // Jean Shorts here // Bracelet here // Necklace here // Essie polish here

Linking up here and here.

What are some of your wardrobe staples? What do you wear on a casual weekend?

In 1916, French artist Edouard Lefevre leaves his wife Sophie to fight at the Front. When her town falls into German hands, his portrait of Sophie stirs the heart of the local Kommandant and causes her to risk everything – her family, reputation and life – in the hope of seeing her true love one last time.




Nearly a century later and Sophie’s portrait is given to Liv by her young husband shortly before his sudden death. Its beauty speaks of their short life together, but when the painting’s dark and passion-torn history is revealed, Liv discovers that the first spark of love she has felt since she lost him is threatened…




In The Girl You Left Behind two young women, separated by a century, are united in their determination to fight for the thing they love most – whatever the cost.

I’ve been contemplating it for quite some time, but I had to close my eyes, and hold my breath when it happened. I love my hair. I’ve worn it long for many years. I have curly hair but it is easy to straighten. Because of it’s natural body, I’ve always preferred to wear it long. Plus, there was the whole I have to get it in a bun thing #ballerinaproblems.

Something happens to you when you have a baby. Lots of things women don’t warn you about. One of those things is you apparently lose your hair at alarming rates. I’m talking hand fulls in the shower every morning, and cleaning out your brush every day. Sometimes multiple times a day to the point where you almost become depressed about it. Definitely self-conscious. It makes sense because your hair thickens while you’re pregnant, so I guess when your hormones balance back out, you lose that extra hair? I don’t know. That’s my theory. Anyways…add that to my 6 month old pulling out my hair a thousand times a day (rough estimate) and I was fed up with it.

I talked to my cousin at her wedding a couple of weeks ago and she was telling me that she was going to cut her hair and donate it to Locks of Love once she got back from their honeymoon. I thought, wow what a great idea! I have thought about donating my hair since my sister did it several years back. Because I wanted to get my hair chopped any way, I thought why not donate it? So I did.

I went all Miley and got my hair chopped off.

When I was sitting in the chair, I had to literally close my eyes and hold my breath while Abbey (my friend and hair-stylist) cut my hair off. Turns out, I kind of love it. It is so much easier to deal with and Hampton hasn’t grabbed it as much. It is a huge change, but I’m enjoying it. So, this is the new me…at least for now. I’ll probably grow it back out, but for now, this is a nice and welcome change.

Do you ever get tired of dealing with your hair?

I’ve been wanting to run a 5k for a while now, and if you follow me on Instagram, you know that I ran my first 5k race on Saturday after having a pretty rough stomach virus. I struggled and came no where near my personal record, but considering I was still debating on whether or not to run the morning of the race I’m just happy I completed it.

Ryan was a sweetie and ran it with me the whole way while pushing Hampton. Normally I’m the one pushing him because I’m more used to it that Ryan is, but he pushed him the whole way for me. I was so thankful for him encouraging and pushing me along the way. I definitely couldn’t have done it without him under the circumstances. Sure my time was a little embarrassing, and I was beat by two 60+ and  70+ year old men. Who’s keeping tabs any way? I will do better next time. There will definitely be a next time and hopefully soon! I really enjoyed it and I’m sure I’ll enjoy it even more when I’m feeling better and not fighting dehydration. Thanks to all of my TIU girls for encouraging me and cheering me on. It was a great experience.

Of course I’m still a little ticked that my 6 month old beat me…HA! (little stroller humor for you).

Have you run any races this year?

I’m so excited to be linking up for the first ever #TotalSocial with Helene and Sarah! Even if you do not have a blog, you are welcome to participate on any social media! Use the hashtag #FirstsTotalSocial. Read more about it here.

Here are a few of my firsts:

Today I’m going to Instagram my first ever IG post from my personal account. Most of you have never seen it. Be sure to check that out today!

My first trip to NYC

May 13th is a special day for my family. This year, we celebrated my brother’s 24th birthday and my oldest nephew’s 2nd birthday. They were both born on Mother’s Day. How special is that? Last night, we celebrated my brother’s birthday with nachos, cookie cake and lots of laughter. These moments with family are so precious to me. We have so much to be thankful for. Our health, a roof over our head, money to pay the bills, we have everything we need. We are so blessed. We will be celebrating our nephew’s birthday this weekend with Ryan’s family and I can’t wait. Little kid birthday parties are so entertaining. It is always fun. Plus there’s cake…

Happy Birthday, Bub and T-man!

I am obsessed with aztec print. I loved it for fall and winter, and guess what? Apparently it’s in for spring and summer this year! I learned about stitch fix through several other bloggers and my eyes got really wide and I signed up immediately. The waiting list was long at the time and so I just got my first fix in the mail a few days ago. I kept this tank top but returned the other items.

So what did I think?


Pros:
I was very impressed with my first stitch fix box. The clothes fit me perfectly and they were exactly my style. I couldn’t have been happier with the choices they picked for me.

Cons:
The prices. I wasn’t expecting everything to be so expensive. If I bought all of the items, I could pay $219.00 but if I bought them individually or just two, etc. it was much more expensive. All of the items added individually were $318.00…so that’s how they get you. I didn’t want all of the items in my fix, so it was a bit of an expense to purchase the tank by itself, but I didn’t want my $20 processing fee to be wasted, so I paid the difference anyway.

I was pretty disappointed in the prices and probably won’t be doing it again. Although I loved the clothes, I just don’t want to spend that much money on a box of clothing every month. Maybe I’m cheap? I don’t know. I just don’t like spending much on my clothes. I mean, after all I am a girl and the styles change so much every year. I don’t want to invest a ton of money in something I may only wear one season.

Linking up here and here.

Have you tried Stitch Fix? What are your thoughts? How much do you spend on clothing each month?

My first Mother’s Day was such a blessing. Hampton and Ryan brought me roses in bed and Hampton gave me a clay print of his tiny little hands. It was the sweetest most thoughtful gift I’ve ever received and I will treasure it forever.

We went to lunch with my mom and spent some time with my family yesterday afternoon which was also a huge blessing. I haven’t spent time with my whole family like that in a while, so it was nice to have everyone together.

While I’ve got you here, feel free to enter this giveaway that I’m a part of hosted by Shana at Organized Chaos. 🙂

How did you spend your Mother’s Day?

Being a mother has been the biggest blessing of my life. Even through the tough moments, I look at Hampton and still can’t believe he is here. He is all mine! It is bizarre. This little tiny human is my precious baby boy. He brings me such joy. He makes me smile many times a day. My heart has been so full since the day I met him. Being a mother is the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but it’s the best thing. I feel like this is what I was meant to be. This is the journey God meant for me. Motherhood, there’s nothing like it.

Hampton, I will never forget the way you hold my finger while you are eating your bottle, or the way you look up at me with those big brown eyes and smile so big and bright. You melt my heart. I hope I will always remember you as you are now. You have such a kind and gentle temperament and I love to watch you play with your toys and discover new things. You are growing so fast and are so curious. I love you to the moon and back. You are my biggest blessing. I’m so glad God chose me to be your mommy.

Happy Mother’s day to all of the mothers out there! To those expecting their first child, enjoy your day. To those who are trying to start a family and have been unsuccessful, my heart is with you today. Don’t ever give up.

One
I’m pretty excited, guys! I am running my first 5k race tomorrow! I talked Ryan into running it with me as well. I wasn’t originally planning on running one this weekend, but I was having lunch with a friend and she mentioned that her and her husband were running in this one and talked me into it. I’m kind of nervous, but mostly excited. Side note: I am still weak from having the stomach  virus so I’m hoping by tomorrow morning I’ll be back to 100%.

Two
I’m loving this warm weather. I have had the opportunity to lay by the pool a couple of afternoons this week, and it has been so nice and relaxing.

Three
Ryan and I are getting ready to go to Orlando in a couple of weeks for his second conference of the year. I’m excited, but not as excited about the one in Chicago next month! Yep, that’s right! We are heading to Chi town! We just got the email! I’m beyond excited!

One of my check-ins from this week

Four
We are two weeks into the Tone It Up #BikiniSeries. How is everyone doing? I’ve completed all the workouts so far, but I am struggling with my diet. Confession: I ate pizza one night this week and had an ice cream cone. I’m pretty sure that’s not TIU approved. Oops. I haven’t lost any weight yet, but I can tell a huge difference in my endurance.

Five
I’m heading to a wedding tomorrow night for a friend of mine that I used to dance with. She is marrying my mom’s best friend’s son. Small world. I’m so excited for them. This will be my second wedding in the last month. You can read about my cousin’s beautiful southern wedding here.

Wish me luck on my first race tomorrow and be sure to follow along on Instagram because you know I’ll be posting pictures!

How are your fitness goals coming along this year? Have you run any races? Are you attending a wedding this weekend?

Linking up with April today for Five on Friday.