A Lifestyle Blog about Marriage, Parenting, Fashion and Fitness
We had a long week last week. Ryan was out of town and Hampton was really sick. We spent the week in and decided to rest. We were all looking so forward to the weekend and trying to get better in time for our little nephew’s pumpkin patch birthday party! Luckily, Hamp is feeling much better now. We were able to enjoy our fun weekend with family and celebrate our sweet Waylon!
Now that September is here, it is officially fall, right? At least, it is in my book! I honestly cannot believe that I haven’t pulled my pumpkins out yet, but that may have to change this weekend! I’m definitely in the mood to decorate for the changing season! Lately, sitting down to blog has not come easy, but I promise I’m not quitting on you. I have been sort of thinking about which direction I want to go from here as well as adjusting to our new schedules and figuring out some office hours has been a struggle. I’m still working it all out, but I am definitely going to make more of an effort to write more because I miss talking to you guys and writing in general.
After the Labor Day weekend and searching through the sales, I honestly didn’t take advantage of many, but I found some great new arrivals that have been added to my wish list! I ordered a few things and will be sharing on my IG stories over the next few days. Nordstrom is also having a great sale on some fall things and I will be sharing those as well, so be sure to follow along on Instagram!
I love nothing more than comfortable and cute clothing. As a SAHM/WAHM (whatever you want to call me), it is essential that I have comfortable clothes that I can run around in all day and go from cleaning to changing diapers to meetings at Starbucks. I have picked out some of the best cozy fall favorites! I have only chosen brands that I know and love and even own a lot of these myself. Others (like the UGG boots) are on my Christmas list! Any of these would make wonderful gifts for your wife, mom, MIL, sister, friends, etc. I tried to choose something for every woman at every stage of life! Tell me what your favorites are in the comments!
This post is sponsored by Cuddl Duds at Macy’s! Thank you for supporting brands who support me!
If you’ve been around my blog for a while, you have heard me mention my Cuddl Duds leggings from last year. They are amazing and I still wear them all the time. They are so soft and comfortable and go great for a day on the town or cuddling up on the couch to watch Netflix! To say I was excited to receive some new leggings last week is an understatement! I also received this adorable cowl neck tunic that is long enough t wear with leggings! Y’all ask me all the time about shirts long enough to wear with leggings that cover your hineys, and this is a great option! It is so soft and cozy and even has thumb holes – which I love!
Happy Monday, friends! We have had the craziest week! Ryan was out of town last week, I have STILL been sick and poor Pippa is still at the vet. She is improving, but she is very sick. My kids threw my laptop and it has not been working right (since my lack of posting over the last few days) and our house is disgusting after Pippa’s sickness. Not to worry, we have carpet cleaners coming. Until then, I am wearing shoes in my house. All the time. We also had the boys’ Lumberjack party at the pumpkin patch this weekend! THAT was my highlight and saving grace of the entire week. Spending time with friends and family and getting my mind off of all of the craziness of the week was just what the doctor ordered.
I love me some cardigans. In fact, I have become a bit of a..umm… cardigan hoarder. Cough cough. Really though, there is nothing better than warm and cozy neutral cardigans during the fall (and winter if you’re in the south) months. I recently purchased the oversized chocolate brown cardigan because I am drawn to dark browns and warm hues this time of year. In fact, our dishes we registered for at our wedding are dark chocolate. I just love it! I fell in love with the sleeves on this one and love how long it is. It is a great one to wear with leggings and it is so cozy!
Cardigan // Top (similar)// Jeans // Leopard Shoes // Bag // Necklace
I feel like I haven’t done a life update in forever! I’ll be honest, I’ve been struggling lately with how much is too much to put on my blog. As I’ve grown, it has been something I have had a harder time with. Putting yourself out there for the world to judge can be difficult, but ultimately, I don’t care about myself as much as I do my kids. I did promise myself that if I wanted to continue blogging (which I do) I have to be open and honest with y’all. So, these are just a few things going through my head. I know a lot of other bloggers who struggle with this, and you can’t be too careful these days. I am also thinking of doing a post on ways to keep your family safe as you blog through life. Would you guys be interested in seeing that? Let me know! It can be tricky when your life is your work and your work is your life. They intertwine for me and it is hard to not show my kids because they ARE my life. At the same time, it gets scary sometimes. If you’re a blogger, how do you deal with it?
Anyways…
If you’re like me, having regular family photos taken is important to you. As mothers, we tend to want to freeze time (sometimes ;)) and making sure to capture our babies’ faces at every stage is precious to us. I love taking family photos this time of year because 1. Christmas cards. and 2. The weather is amazing and fall fashion is so fun! I love playing with textures and patterns and love all the layers (as you can probably tell by now). I mean, there is nothing cuter than a little girl in a sweater dress and a little boy in a plaid button down. Can I get an amen? Coming up with the perfect family photo outfit for each member of the family and making it all flow can be a little challenging. As a personal rule, I don’t like to be too catchy catchy, and I like to stick to neutrals because light neutrals consume the palette of our home and I like the photos to go with our house.
You should definitely think about how thy are going to look on your walls and what type pf frame you will be placing them in. Our house has whites and light grays throughout. That is why I tend to stick to creams, grays and light colors. If you are planning to put these photos on a Christmas card, think about colors and what type of card you want. What color schemes are you drawn to? Personally, I like classic styles (like sweater dresses, boots and heels). Choosing a timeless style will help you not feel embarrassed by bold choices you may have made otherwise later down the road. Just a few things to keep in mind when choosing your family’s outfits!
Here are some of my favorites for the entire family. I hope this helps you and inspires you for your own family photos!
I love this time of year. It really makes me reflect on all of our blessings and helps me refocus on what really matters in life. Family, our health, jobs, and YOU. I am so thankful for you, friends. Every year I am continually humbled by how many of you stop to read, comment or like my posts. You encourage me daily. For every troll/ ugly comment that I receive, there are 20 of you that fill me up with encouragement and good. Without you, I wouldn’t have found my passion. I wouldn’t absolutely love my job, and I probably wouldn’t be at home with my babies.
In the spirit of the season of family, friends and thankfulness, I wanted to share some of my favorite bible verses on thankfulness to hopefully encourage you today. Also, there is a little giveaway if you make it to the end! 😉
I am loving that new Instagram Stories Poll! If you follow me, you are probably already annoyed with it, but you have no idea how helpful it is being able to ask you guys what you want to see and you actually telling me! It makes life so much easier. Last night, I polled you on what you wanted to see today, and the October Wish List won by a landslide, so I guess the family photo outfits post will have to wait until later…
I love seeing what other people are swooning over and if you are doing some early Christmas or birthday shopping, these wish lists can be helpful. You may notice a trend with my wish list this month. That’s mainly because I am already a very leopard print obsessed human, and now that it is super popular and EVERYWHERE this year, I must have it all. Okay, not really, but I can swoon over all the things. So, if I were to buy one of two things from this list, it would be the leopard fur mules… because they’re practical, obviously. AND the Zella leggings. They are my favorite leggings and quite a few of you purchased the all black version during the #Nsale the year! I love the color blocking and the camel color on these. They are so stinking’ cute, to me! I also really love the white swing sweater. I think it would be really cute with a statement necklace or with a vest over it. The last thing I would for sure buy is the Free People Scarf. I know this is going to sell out like it did last year and I would love to snag one before they do. I love how chunky it is and it comes in so many great colors.
