Wear it Wednesday {Spring Fashion}

When I was teaching, I used to live for "Wear it Wednesday" ~ each week we had a different theme and as long as we wore something that fit the theme we got to wear jeans! I know, that's probably not that exciting to everyone, but for a teacher. jeans are EVERYTHING!

With Spring fast approaching (okay, I know it's only February, but the forecast here in Texas for the next several days calls for temperatures in the 70s, so to me it's Spring) I thought it would be fun to do a little shopping. And yes, jeans are always on my list, so I'll start there!

I have been living in my 7 for all Mankind skinnies (probably because they finally fit again - it's amazing what a difference 5 pounds makes!) so I decided to pick up another pair. I wanted to get a pair that is a little more distressed, so I went with these. My other pairs are a much darker wash, so I'm excited for these. Something about a lighter wash jean just says Spring to me. My jeans last me years, so I feel okay spending a little more money on them, but I linked similar pairs below that aren't quite as pricey (has me rethinking this purchase, but I ordered them from Nordstrom which has free shipping both ways so if I decide to return them it's easy).

Spring is all about layers, so I ordered some v-neck tees from Gap. They're vintage wash so I'm hoping the fabric is soft.  Don't get the ones from Gap. I stopped in the store and tried one on since I was out ~ they're really short, and I'm not at all long-waisted. I also found a few on Target's website (linked below), so I'm going to run there this weekend to see if those are any better. I'll let you know what I find!

I went to grab a cardigan from my closet the other day and noticed that I didn't have a navy one, so when I saw that JCrew was having a sale I snapped one up!

That's all I've gotten so far, but I have my eye on a few other things so I thought I'd share those for fun!

Journey Home {Our Adoption Story}

For as long as I can remember, I wanted to be a mom.  And before I wanted to be a mom, I wanted to be a big sister. I was the baby in the family. Growing up, I always wanted my mom to have another baby. When I realized that wasn’t going to happen, I focused all of my attention on being the best mom I could be to my doll Susie Q.

Fast forward to June 1, 2002. My wedding day. Michael and I had been together since November of 1996. We graduated from high school together, went away to college together, and now were ready to start our adult lives together. Shortly after getting married, we packed up our belongings and moved 1600 miles from home. Michael had been offered a one year internship at the FASB that we couldn't pass up. We said goodbye to our friends and family and began married life in a new state. It was summer when we arrived and I had yet to find a teaching job, so when Michael was at work, I was home by myself. I was lonely. I began hoping and wishing for a baby, but this time it wasn’t a brother or sister I was wishing for, it was a son or daughter. Michael wasn't ready (what 22 year old guy is?), so I had to settle for a puppy.

In November of 2002, we began looking for a dog. In December, we traveled home to Texas for Christmas and came back to Connecticut with a 6 week old Golden Retriever we'd named Bailey. The first few months we got to experience what it might be like to have a new baby. She would wake us up in the middle of the night and we’d have to trek outside in the snow so she could use the restroom, and then she’d cry when we tried to put her back to bed. One of my good friends who had two kids would listen to my stories and tell me it was just like having a baby. Well, almost.

We stayed in Connecticut for a year and then it was back to Texas. We built our first house, I got a teaching job at the same school as my sister, and Michael began his job at E&Y. In 2006 we finally decided we were settled enough to try to have a baby. I had been taking birth control pills for several years to regulate my periods, so when I stopped taking them it was a bit of an adjustment. After we started trying I did what every girl does, I went out and bought pregnancy tests. Month after month the results came back negative. My sister and her husband had struggled to get pregnant, so they were able to share their experiences and advice with us. We called the fertility specialist they'd used and made an appointment. We tried clomid. It didn't work. Michael went in for tests. Before we got the results of his tests we started talking about adoption. My sister and her husband had researched adoption prior to getting pregnant with twins, so we were once again armed with information. I had submitted our initial application to the Gladney Center for Adoption prior to Michael's appointment, and we received confirmation that we were approved to attend their information seminar before we went in to get the results of Michael's tests. We talked and kind of felt like God was leading us in the direction of adoption, that our path to a family would be different than most, but still ours. When we went to Michael's appointment we found out that he would need to have a procedure done at the same time I was going through in vitro. There was no guarantee it would work, but that was the route we were offered. This only served to confirm the decision we'd already made: we were going to adopt! 

In November of 2006, we attended an all day adoption seminar at the Gladney Center. At the end of the day we left feeling confident that we were meant to adopt, and we knew everything that went along with it. We were pretty sure we wanted to adopt through Gladney, but we decided to attend another adoption seminar to see what other options there were. A few weeks after attending the Gladney seminar we attended a seminar at Catholic Charities. We came in full of adoption knowledge because of all that we had learned at the Gladney seminar, and we left feeling like we knew more than the ladies who were facilitating the seminar at Catholic Charities. Don't get me wrong, Catholic Charities does amazing things, it just wasn't the agency for us. We immediately began filling out our application to adopt through Gladney. It was a long process filled with home visits, trainings, and lots of paperwork, but finally in July of 2007 we found out that we had been approved to adopt! Once you're officially approved it's like you're officially expecting! Except in the case of adoption, you don't know how long you'll have to wait to hold your precious baby in your arms! At the Gladney seminar we went to, they said the average wait for domestic adoption is anywhere from 4-14 months.

Once we were approved, we began working on our adoption profile. It's basically a scrapbook of your life to share with potential birthmoms. In early August we handed copies of our profile to our caseworker. We decided it was time to start getting a nursery ready (again, when you're adopting you never know when the baby will be coming, so it makes sense to at least have furniture in the nursery). We ordered the furniture and it was delivered on September 8, 2007. 

On September 12th I received a call from my caseworker. There had been what's called a "drop in" ~ a birthmother who says she has chosen adoption after giving birth. A baby girl was born on September 9, 2007. Did we want our profile shown? Um, yes!! Try as I might not to get my hopes up, I hung up and told a colleague, "My daughter was born on September 9th!" I knew it didn't make sense for her to pick us since it had only been a month since we'd given our profile to Gladney, but my heart was telling me she was ours! We waited nine days for the call. Finally, on September 21st when I was a Red Robin for happy hour after work I received a phone call. I squealed, "Are you serious?" and quickly dashed for the exit (Michael wasn't with me, my sister and friends were, and I wanted him to be the first one to know). Our caseworker gave me all of the information I needed and I called Michael. Since the birthfather was not around to sign away his rights, they had to put him on a paternity registry, which meant we had to wait thirty days before we could meet her and bring her home. Torture! They did send us one picture of us that night. Look at those cheeks! 

We decided that even though we had a few weeks to get ready we needed to get to Babies 'R Us that night to register, buy bedding, etc (my sister and friends immediately started planning a baby shower). I called my parents and they met my sister, Michael, and I at BRU to start shopping! We bought bedding and other essentials and registered for the rest. 

The next day our caseworker called with the name and number of the transitional care home that she would be staying in while we waited. Momma Angela and her husband Kevin were amazing! She called me daily with updates and sent plenty of pictures. It made the wait a little easier knowing she was in good hands.

As hard as it was for us not to bring her home right away, the thirty day waiting period allowed us to have three baby showers (one with Michael's coworkers, one at the school I taught at, and one with family and friends). We were overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and generosity of our friends and family, and were ready to bring our baby girl home! 

On October 15, 2007, we went to the Gladney Center for placement. Both sets of grandparents and Michael's sister joined us at Gladney. When we arrived they brought us to one of the placement rooms. We sat down and waited for what seemed like forever (in reality it was probably only 15-20 minutes). Finally Kevin walked in with Sophia. It was love at first sight! He handed her to me and Michael and I just stood there staring at our beautiful daughter, Sophia Renee.

We finally moved to the couch so she could eat, and after spending some time with Momma Angela and Kevin we took a family picture and headed home. 

When we arrived home she was ready for a nap, and of course Michael was too! This soon became her favorite place to sleep!

Fast forward a year to her first birthday. We started to talk about adopting again. Cost was a factor, and we were pretty content with our little family of three (four if you count Bailey!). We knew we eventually would want to adopt again, but we were having too much fun with our little toddler and it just wasn't the right time. We decided to wait to resubmit our application.

On July 5, 2009 I received a call from our caseworker at Gladney that changed everything! Sophia's birthmother had given birth to a baby boy on April 8th. Did we want to bring him home? We were in the car and Michael was only hearing my end of the conversation, so I told her I'd talk to him and call her back. It took about three minutes for us to call her back and say yes! We had a son! 

Because we hadn't submitted an application to adopt a second time we had to go through background checks, fingerprinting, trainings, home visits, etc before we could bring him home. Again! This time we got to meet him before placement. It was love at first sight!

We were also provided with lots of pictures of our sweet boy!

On July 21st we did placement at our house. Sophia was in love with her baby brother, Carter Michael. We all were! 

I truly believe that everything leading up to the moment we brought them both home was all part of God's plan. We are their parents because He wanted us to be. We are truly blessed! We often get asked if we will adopt again, and our answer always is, "It just depends if the phone rings!" If it's in His plan, then we will. But we leave it in His hands.

XOXO,

Thursday Thirteen {A Baker's Dozen to Help You Bring Valentine's Day into Your Home}

Last week I shared a Valentine's Day gift guide for men. I considered sharing a gift guide for women this week, but (most) women are easy to shop for: jewelry, perfume, a cute handbag.....nothing new. Instead, I decided to let you tag along with me while I browse my favorite shops on Etsy looking for Valentine's Day decor.

1. I am a big fan of styling with signs (I'll be posting about how I styled my house with signs soon), so I'll start with this Love Sign with lovers gps coordinates from East Plum. Okay, so if you got this for your man he may not swoon, but if he got it for you....totally swoon worthy!
   
2. This Kissin' Booth sign from Down Grace Lane on Etsy is super fun (at the rate I'm going I may need to start charging Michael for kisses so I can pay for my new decor items, so the sign may come in handy! LOL).
   
3. I am in love with all three of these signs from My Trusted Treasures! The 14 is fun and whimsical, and the Love One Another and Deeply signs would be perfect bedroom decor year-round!
   
4. Love these wooden arrows from East Plum. Bonus: if you don't get pink or red you could leave them up all the time!
   
5. These cute little LOVE blocks by Creations By L. Love would be adorable sitting on a bookshelf!
   
6. Love is All You Need. Enough said. But I will add that you can buy it from Hello Sunshine Home Decor!
   
7. This tea towel by Kitch Studios is precious! 
   
8. This love tea towel by So Vintage Chic would be a perfect pair to the love birds towel!
   
9. So Vintage Chic also has pillows! This pillow would be a fun addition to your couch (and since it's black and white you could leave it out past Valentine's Day)!
   
10. If you're crafty you could try to make a pom pom garland for your mantel, but if you're not, you can order this adorable garland from Our Burlap Bungalow.
    
11. How perfect would this heart banner from Olivia's Sweet Lullaby look with the pom pom garland?
    
12. This painted mason jar from Pretty Simple Studio would be so pretty with some white hydrangeas on your kitchen table!
    
13. How cute is this glitter tumbler from Drink Bliss? It's doesn't exactly qualify as Valentine's Day decor,but it's pink and there's glitter, so I had to make it my number 13!

I think I may be in trouble because I want to order one of everything! Which is your favorite?

XOXO,

Most Used January

I don't know about you, but I sometimes get stuck in a rut when it comes to hair & beauty products. I like trying new things, but it's hard to justify spending money on something that I'm not sure I'll like. I used to wear the least amount of makeup possible. Part of that was because I didn't like the way makeup looked on me, but it was mostly because I didn't know what products to buy or how to apply them. Pinterest and YouTube changed that for me! I am by no means an expert on applying the products, and won't be doing a tutorial anytime soon (I'll leave that to the pros), but I do feel like I have some knowledge about the products and I have a drawer full of makeup, so I decided to start a monthly feature on my most used products. It will mostly include hair & beauty products, but I'll also throw in few other things for fun.

I'll start at the top! I am always looking for the perfect hair styling product that will add volume, smooth, add shine, do everything! The Living Proof Perfect Hair Day 5-in-1 is the closest thing I've found to that. I use about a dime sized amount on towel dried hair and style as usual (in my case that means blow drying and straightening with a flat iron). Some days I want to add a little texture to my look, so I use the Living Proof Instant Texture Mist after blow drying, but I've started using it before blow drying and I'm really loving the look! I have a lot of flyaways and baby hairs, so I use Maybelline Great Lash Clear Mascara to smooth them down. I'm sure there is a product out there that is designed for that, but I haven't discovered it yet and the mascara works. I usually "paint" it on and then brush through it so it doesn't look crunchy.

This picture is kind of awkward, but it gives you an idea of the flyaways I'm talking about and how the mascara helps tame them.

Another blogger I follow raves about the Clinique Acne Solutions BB Cream so I decided to try it. I love it! It's very thin and liquidy, so you have to move fast when applying! I shake the bottle, pour some onto my fingers and quickly rub them together and put it all over my face. After I've done a good job spreading it out (not sure if that's the right word ~ kind of makes it sound like I'm spreading butter!), I go back with a flat Kabuki brush and blend it out. I follow up with the Laura Mercier Matte Radiance Highlight powder and a tapered face brush. I don't put powder everywhere, just my cheekbones, the bridge of my nose, and my cupid's bow.

For under my eyes, I alternate between the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circle Concealer + Treatment in Shade 160 Brightener and the MAC Prep & Prime in Radiant Rose. Both work well, it just depends which one is closer. I usually use the applicator to put it under my eyes and then blend it out with my fingers.

My favorite blush this month has been my Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Ethereal Glow. It's actually down to the bottom of the pan, so I need to pick another one up soon!

I got the Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette for my birthday it November, and it's been the only thing I've used since! The variety of colors allows me to do everything from a neutral eye look to a dark smoky eye. I always use an eyeshadow primer prior to putting on my eyeshadow ~ it really does help keep the shadow from creasing and I find it gives it more staying power. Lately I've been using the Nars Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base. For eyeshadow, I used to use the cheap brushes that came with my eyeshadow (you know, the foam teardrop brushes), but a few years ago I asked for some nice brushes for Christmas so Michael got me a Sigma Essential Kit (that should probably read: I ordered the Sigma Essential Kit and told Michael it was from him). I have three favorites which I've linked to below, but the one that I think everyone has to have is a great blending brush. It's great for blending out colors, and fixing mistakes! If you don't have a good blending brush you should definitely pick one up!

I was never very good with eyeliner until I discovered the Kat Von D Tattoo Liners. The brush tip allows for easy application (it's like a thin marker). I have both Trooper and Mad Max Brown, but this month I've been reaching for the brown more often. It gives a softer look. I finish my eyes with Maybelline Colossal Volume Waterproof Mascara. I've tried a lot of mascaras, both drugstore and high end, over the past few years and I always come back to Maybelline. It adds volume without looking or feeling clumpy (I used to pick my mascara off when I was younger because I couldn't stand how it felt, so this is important).

For my lips I prefer a gloss. My favorite is still MAC Lipglass in Explicit, but on days when I want something a little more pink, I wear Buxom Full On Lip Polish in Celeste. Warning: it's a lip plumper so it kind of tingles.

My favorite perfumes are the Elizabeth and James Nirvana Black & White fragrances. I occasionally wear them alone, but I prefer mixing them. I didn't realize when I bought them that Elizabeth and James is owned by Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen ~ who else is bummed they aren't going to be on Fuller House?

My most worn clothes.....The shirt I keep grabbing for is my ruffle-front blouse from Banana Republic. When I saw it in online I wasn't sure how the ruffle from wrist to wrist would look, but I decided to give it a try. I am so glad I did because I LOVE it, and it was perfect for our family picture! I actually ended up ordering a printed one in navy and a solid black one too, so I have some options. :)  My 7 for all Mankind skinnies are my most worn jeans, and they look great with my Toms Desert Wedge Booties, but I also love them with my Frye Paige Tall Riding Boots (pictured here)!

Accessories...I'm notorious for taking my jewelry off in random places in our house and temporarily losing them. That happened with both my Fossil two-tone watch and my gold initial necklace, so I've been wearing them a lot since finding them again. I'm trying to work out again, so I usually wear my Fitbit Charge HR as well ~ every step counts, right?

Well, there you have it! My most worn and used products for January! Hopefully this gives you a few ideas of some new things to try. What are your most used products?

XOXO,

How to Avoid the Pineapple Principle

You probably read that post title and wondered what in the world I'm talking about. Well, since you're here I'll tell you! ;)

Wayfair

The pineapple principle is a phrase I coined a few years ago when I passed on buying a ceramic pineapple at Home Goods. To be honest, when I saw it I wondered who in the world would ever put it in their house....and then I went home and couldn't get it out of my mind! After looking it up and realizing that the pineapple is a symbol of warmth and welcoming, I decided that I had to have it! Well, guess what? When I went back to Home Goods the next day it was gone! Grr!

Since that fateful trip, I've adopted some home decor shopping rules: 

1. If you are shopping somewhere like Home Goods, TJ Maxx, or Hobby Lobby where products are often scarce, buy it! It's a lot easier to return something if it doesn't work than it is to go back to buy something that isn't there anymore.

2. If you're shopping somewhere like Pottery Barn, Target, or Pier 1 where products are restocked often, take your time! Hobby Lobby often fits into this category, but with their sales it's usually a good idea to grab things while you can. 

Simple, I know, but it took me missing out on something I'm still not even sure I really wanted to figure it out.

Just for fun, I thought I'd find some pineapple themed items to share with you ~ in case you are inspired to bring a little pineappley goodness into your home! :) I haven't gotten my ceramic pineapple yet, but one may be making it's way into my home soon!

XOXO,