Heeelllppp

Up until now, Nat has been tooth-free. But now, not so much. He's been teething the last two nights and it's making all of us a little crazy. So here's the deal - he's totally happy and cheery and fine during the day. He's still napping just fine. But when it's time to go to bed at night the last two nights, he has just fuh.reaked.out. Like, majorly. This is after trying to put him down 5+ times (usually, we put him down once and he's out cold within about 3 minutes). Last night, he slept in basically 30 minute stretches (in our bed, finally, which meant that I barely got a wink of sleep). We were so concerned that we took him to the pediatrician today since it is just SO atypical for him (he's usually a 7-7er). The pedi was very nice in humoring us but basically said to do Tylenol and ibuprofen and...yeah.

Problem is, we've done both and neither is doing one bit of good. We've tried baby oragel. We've tried letting him suck on ice. We've tried teething rings. We've tried propping his crib mattress ever so slightly (the doctor said some fluid was getting back to his ears and may be causing him pain, although he doesn't have an ear infection, thank goodness). And he just will. not. settle. down.

Seriously, I do not know what to do. And no sleep = one very cranky mama. Any brilliant suggestions? Pleeeease?

21DC Day 13: Neutrals with a Pop of Color

I kind of think I deserve a gold star for managing to get dressed at all this day, considering all we did was scour the entire house (including fridge/freezer!) while a hurricane blew through.

Yellow dress: Target (remix item x3)
Houndstooth pleated skirt: thrifted
Yellow heels: thrifted
Gray cardi: Gap
Red bangles: India
Yellow cowboy hat: Brasil

21DC Day 12: Jazz up Jeans

(Feel free to ignore the blurriness...sadly, this was the best photo of the bunch.)

This was maybe my favorite outfit thus far.

White button down: H&M
Red blazer: J.Crew
Skinnies: H&M
Belt: old
Necklace: Forever 21
Gray suede wedges: Target
Bag: Zappos

21DC Day 11: Skirt or Dress

Yes, it was definitely the first day home from vacation and it rained the entire day and I reorganized the whole kitchen and didn't bother going outside. And it shows. Is it weird that I felt a sense of relief that I could just throw on a dress (and that this was way easier than the jeans prompt)?

Dress: Target
Necklace: old

21DC Day 10: Closet Orphan

When I saw this challenge, I knew I had to bring out this dress. My mom had it made for me when we went to India in 1998...yes, that would be 13 years ago. I've almost gotten ride of it about a kazillion times, but forever reason, keep hanging on to it.

I still felt mildly frumpy, but I think the belt and tee helped. It was also super comfortable on as 5-hour bus ride home from New York, so there is that. I'm still on the fence, though - what do you think?

Shirt: H&M
Dress: India
Belt: from another dress
Sandals: Payless

21DC Day 9: Monochrome

(We were out of town, so a little catch up is forthcoming.)


I was so tempted to go for gray or something on this one, the color challenge had me try something else. Thanks for pushing me out of my comfort zone, Kayla!

Color of choice: aqua
Blouse: Banana Republic
Skirt: Banana Republic
Belt: from another dress
Sandals: Payless

21DC Day 8: Mix Fancy & Casual

Blouse: Banana Republic
Undershirt: Shade
Shorts: cutoff American Eagle jeans
Heels: Payless

21DC Day 7: Layered Accessories

With a sick baby at home, I was feeling a little uninspired on this one. Confession - I wore this outfit to church and then promptly pulled it off after this picture was taken. This skirt catches like crazy, and I had no desire to have snotty nose rubbed on it, too. I did manage to play a musical number on my violin while wearing them, so there's that, at least.

Both pearl necklaces worn as bracelets: Forever 21
Skirt: Banana Republic
Cardi: J.Crew
Heels: Payless

21DC Day 6: Unconventional

I was kind of really excited about today. I knew I wanted to tuck a dress into a skirt to be a top, but I wasn't sure how exactly to do it. I also thought it would be fun to use a sari, but those things are dang annoying to keep on for a whole day, and I don't know if you've heard, but DC is HOT in August. So I settled on using an Indian shawl as a skirt and tying it like a sari.
I really loved the colors in this outfit. I never ever in a million trillion years would've thought to put all these together, but I think it was pretty cool. I kind of felt like a weirdo at first, but then I managed to go out for the whole day in the outfit and my confidence progressively increased. I didn't even get any strange looks. Success!

I also unintentionally managed to incorporate aspects from all of the 5 previous days' challenges into today's outfit. Yes!

Yellow dress-turned-shirt: Target (remix item)
Blue shawl-turned-half sari/skirt: India via my mom
White cardi: Gap
Inner belt (into which the shawl is tucked): H&M
Outer headband-turned-belt: H&M
Brown necklace-turned-bracelet: Forever 21
Gold earrings: Brasil
Watch: Fossil
Yellow flats: Target

21DC Day 5: Belt It

I like belts, as is probably evidenced by the fact that this is the 4th belt in 5 days. So the challenge here was to do something a little different. I'd belted over a shirt, shorts, and cardi/dress. So I heeded Kayla's belt inspiration post and decided to try belting over a scarf.

Yellow seersucker dress: made by me with an old shirt
Blue scarf: Gift from sister (from Peru)
Braided belt: H&M
Necklace-turned-bracelet: Gift from sister-in-law
Bangles: India
Watch: Fossil
Green flats: Payless

Classy Kate

Maybe I've got fashion on the brain because of the 21DC, but I seriously think Kate Middleton is one classy lady. I love that her idea of fashion doesn't involve baring it all for the world.

(Via)

(Via)

I mean, seriously?? Could that ball gown BE any more gorgeous? Are not the silhouettes on the two right middle gray dresses just so lovely? How do I get my hands on the lace dress? And the yellow one - well, let's just say that I've worn yellow in some form 4 days out 5 so far.

Kudos, Kate (and to your stylists).

21DC Day 4: Color Block

Today's prompt was to "color block," or have large blocks of solid colors. Since it was raining, we initially took the photo under an awning, but then I realized, it's color day! And the umbrella is red!
Gray silk/cotton dress: Downeast Basics
Peachy pink cardi: Gap
Belt: came with dress
Necklace: Forever 21
Earrings: Shabby Apple
Yellow heels: thrifted

21DC Day 3: Mixing Patterns

I really loved this challenge - except it is so hard to decide when pattern mixing opens up so many possibilities! I actually initially tried on this outfit...

But then I decided that it was a little too easy (I think I may have even worn that combo before) and I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone a bit and branch out from yellow (seriously, what is with all my yellow lately?). So I did some more digging and came up with this...

I never would've put these two together before, but I'm kind of loving it. I think this has been my favorite challenge thus far because it's me think of pieces in a new light. It makes my wardrobe seem a whole lot bigger!

(Uh also...these were obviously my self-photo attempts. Seriously, how do others do it? And Dan took the nice camera with him today, so this was shot with the four-year-old one. Classy.)

Also, I can't decide if I like it with or without the headband...the overachiever in me likes the 3rd pattern, but my pragmatic side thinks it's maybe too much...

Shirt: Forever 21
Skirt: Ann Taylor
Heels: Payless
Pearl necklace: Forever 21
Pearl earrings: Shabby Apple
Headband: old

21DC Day 2: Tuck it In

Day two's prompt was "tuck it in." I've previously debated the virtues of the tucked in look, and developed a deep love for shirts tucked into skirts. So for the prompt, I decided to branch out a little and tuck into some bermudas. I also tried it with a little white cardi, but it is just too dang hot here to wear any more layers than necessary.
Oh, and that baby of mine? He's pretty cute. And likes to point at things he likes (Daddy, in this case). And we match, sort of.

Ruched sleeve stripey shirt: Zara
Khaki seersucker shorts: Gap (from several years ago, before the brand went downhill)
Belt: old
Necklace: Forever 21
Yellow flats: Target

It's the little things

I don't think I'm a picky eater. Yes, I'm a vegetarian, but excluding meat, I eat most anything. I've never met a vegetable I didn't like, and I love all kinds of dairy (mmm cheeeeese). I love fruit and bread and even pretty much anything "healthy."

Dan often says that I'm picky, though. I think this is mostly because the one category about which I am (really really) picky is sweets. Before we got married, Dan could not have cared less about the quality of the dessert, just the quantity. He's since, for better or for worse, become quite a bit more discerning (read: snooty) about treats.

This is all a very long story to say that I pretty much avoid any and all gummy candies. Except for and only the red Sour Patch Kids. I don't know what it is about those chewy little high fructose corn syrup-laden candies, but I'm embarrassed to say I love them.

We had a little baggie of candies on our way back from my cousin's wedding this weekend, and it included a few red SPKs. Although Dan insisted the green ones are his favorite, I'm fairly certain he actually likes the red ones best, especially with his newly-discerning taste buds. (Because the green ones? Ew.)

But then, I guess maybe he doesn't remember that the red ones are his favorite, too, because he refused to eat a single one. All the while insisting that he loved the green ones.

That husband of mine, he sure is a good one.

21 Day Challenge Day 1: Remix

I'm so excited that the 21 Day Challenge is here! Yay! Today's prompt actually extends over a period of time - the challenge is to choose an item and use it in 3 (or 4!) different outfits over the course of the challenge. I chose this mustard yellow dress and am excited for the possibilities.


Aaaand...you can just go ahead and excuse the terrible quality of that second photo. It was late.

Dress: Target clearance rack
White button down: H&M from years ago
Shoes: Forever 21
Necklace: no idea
Watch: some online dealio
Wedding rings: husband via Jewelers' Row in Philadelphia (must include Philadelphia plug at every opportunity)

Kayla's 21 Day Challenge

So I'm kind of really excited about this. I've considered a few times doing a daily outfit type challenge, but never actually got on it. This was the perfect motivation. Come join in!