1. Quick Look: Feeling Neutral

Suede and Shearling Coat: Zara (old, similar on sale HERE!) | Grey skinny jeans: Motherhood Maternity (and a non-maternity pair of my faves here)| Grey booties: Tibi (old, sold out) | Suede and Leather bag: Chloe Faye | Tissue Thin turtleneck: J. Crew

2. New In: Grown Up Uggs: Zara Sale Booties!

Don’t get me wrong, there will ALWAYS be a place in life for UGGS…but sometimes you just want to feel a tad more sophisticated and pulled together– enter these suede and faux fur booties from Zara (originally over $100, picked up on sale for $50 HERE!)

3. Date-Night Look: Fur and Floral

Fur Jacket: (faux), Zara (on sale now HERE!)| Dress: Urban Outfitters (from summer) | Black leather booties: Zara (on sale here as well!)

In an effort to keep date night alive and well, (before the little guy arrives in May!), we’ve been trying to do a mid-week dinner out together– I remixed one of my fave summer dresses, this 90s floral number I wore ALL THE TIME this summer (from Urban Outfitters)– I’m sure you guys have something similar in your closets! To winterize it, I paired it with black tights, pointy toe ankle boots, and a faux fur topper.

4. Grey Menswear Inspired Coat

So what I have on here is your basic “I’m too lazy to actually get dressed/it’s pouring out” comfy outfit– leggings, a Nike hoodie and sneaks– but somehow, I felt way more pulled together topping it off with this long grey, menswear inspired coat from Forever 21– linked HERE. I kinda dig the juxtaposition (English teacher alert!) of the formal, minimalist coat, with the sporty vibe of the rest of this “outfit” (gigantic LOL).

5. 6 Month Bump Update!

So this week we hit the 6 month mark– honestly, this whole pregnancy has just flown by!!! A lot of mamas have told me to “savor every moment” of the 9-10 months of carrying– but to tell you the truth, I kind of can’t wait for it to be over.  Obviously, I’m excited for the little dude to get here, but I’m also a person with ZERO patience, especially for inefficiency and not being 100% myself– I can’t wait to be able to run up stairs two at a time again without being winded; I miss my regular old skinny jeans; STOMACH SLEEPING has never seemed so far away before! Not to be complainy– I always feel guilty for not being one of those “I LOVE being pregnant” people– but I’m just not! Overall, I can’t really complain– it hasn’t been that bad– headaches and cramps the first trimester, dealing with clothes not fitting normally and the frustration of finding maternity jeans that work (post to come on my current faves– the Topshop “under the belly” ones seem to work best so far!)– but really, the second trimester has been all it’s cracked up to be– 90% of the time, I feel like normal self, just get tired more easily.  It’ll be interesting to see what the final three months hold for me!

Have a great week guys!

xo, ❤

Christine

 

 

As I’m sure many of you do, I have a collection of more than a few pairs of black boots and booties (which each serve a different purpose, we swear, right!?).  Sometimes, though, you need a pair in the brown/camel/tan or in this case “rust” (fancy word for “brown with reddish undertones” lol) for pairing with dresses and bare legs when you don’t want such a stark contrast with the paleness of your fall/winter/early spring legs, or when you’re just not in the mood for black (rare, yes, but it happens). For these exact reasons, I’ve been wishlisting these exact Aldo booties, which are now marked down to 50% off from the original $120 price! Get em’ while they last! Linked HERE.

Enjoy!

xo, ❤

Christine

Gold Flecked Body-Con dress: Forever 21 | Black booties: Zara (sold out online, but a few pairs left in stores!)|Crossbody bag: Gucci Soho Disco|Moto Jacket: Mango (old)

Happy 2016 everyone! Hope you all were exactly where you wanted to be last night, with exactly who you wanted to be with. I know that I was– we went out to an early dinner (where I wore this look), then came home to snuggle up for a Harry Potter marathon– and I have to say, it was really nice NOT feeling hungover on New Year’s Day for once! Cheers to pregnancy!

Totally excited to see what this coming year brings us; I’ve always believed that life is half what you’re dealt, and half what you make of it– and that we need to develop a strong set of tools and life skills to make the best of every situation that comes our way.  So here’s to starting 2016 (the year we BECOME PARENTS!!!) on the brightest of positive notes<3

xo, ❤

Christine

1. The best cookies I’ve ever had in my entire life:

Look no further for the most delicious, crusty on the outside, gooey on the inside cookies and colorful macaroons galore (not to mention a mean cup of coffee) —The Bakeshop by Woops in Williamsburg, Brooklyn is THE SPOT!!! Adorable white tile and distressed brick everywhere are also a major (and highly instagrammable) plus.

2. In with the new; out with the old:

As hoarding is basically my worst nightmare, I love nothing more than purging my life and the contents of my home and getting rid of any extraneous items– after Christmas, when you acquire lots of new things, Tim and I always make it a point to clean out our closets and get rid of old clothing and accessories  that we don’t wear anymore.  Instead of just donating, my favorite place to bring my (slightly used, good condition, decent brands, current trends) old clothing is to Buffalo Exchange.  Lots of iterations of this kind of used clothing resale store exist; I like Buffalo Exchange because they let you donate any clothing they aren’t going to buy from you, and will pay you cash 30% of what they will resell your items for– we banked $170 this past trip! Call or check out their website before you go to see what they are most interested in buying currently.

3. Currently reading (and LOL-ing to):

I read Mindy Kaling’s Is Everybody Hanging Out Without Me? years ago and loved it– so I knew to ask Santa to drop her follow up Why Not Me? in this year’s stocking.  By far, the best of this “kind” of female, semi-autobiographical, comedic non-fiction (sorry Tina, Amy, and Chelsea!)

4. Furry Zara jacket on sale!

I’m obsessed with adding this unexpected topper to otherwise casual looks like the one above– and this is the best time of year to score a piece like this on major sale! Shop my exact one above here.

5. Coveting (for Valentine’s Day?!!?)

This Mansur Gavriel simple, candy colored crossbody is just good enough to eat! The designer’s clean, minimalistic designs caught fire with their take on the bucket bags of last season– this crossbody is too good to pass up on!

6. (I usually do 5 items in my “Round-Up”; this time a 6th is pretty justified):

My thoughts on having a BOY:

I’ve never been one of those women or girls who feel like their purpose in life was to become a mother.  I don’t swoon over my pregnant belly and tear up at the thought of decorating my nursery.  Although I’m a teacher, and a pretty good one at that (in my humble opinion!), I don’t have a very strong maternal instinct– I feel like the sarcasm, tough love and dry humor that work so well on my 8th graders, may be lost on an infant or toddler…

But once I found out that I was pregnant, I did get excited– excited at the thought of having a fashionable little mini-me to hang out with, another girl to watch my sweet, amazing husband dote on.  I looked forward to “us” outnumbering Tim, kindly torturing him with all sorts of girliness. Plus I am a girl (duh) and I know how girls operate pretty darn well– I grew up extremely closely with my younger sister, and had THE BEST TIME with her.  I have lots of close girlfriends, who I treasure.

So when the sonogram technician pointed out a now pretty obvious part of the picture on the screen, I smiled, laughed and showed excitement on the outside, but on the inside, I secretly, (actually not so secretly– I shed a few tears at home to Tim that night!) was really sad that it was a boy–and no amount of hard work, effort, care, wishing or hoping would change that.

I felt disappointment, coupled with the then guilt that followed, because doesn’t it seem like nowadays, more often than not, women have trouble conceiving, lose unborn babies, and bear and raise children with all sorts of physical and mental challenges?? Shouldn’t I just have felt grateful to be carrying a healthy baby– to be carrying one at all??

I’ve always craved honesty– so I’m putting it all out into the open here: I’m still a little sad that I’m not having a girl.  I see pics of mothers and baby girls all the time and think meh! Why do I get to have to block my face from pee while changing a diaper?! But, like most things in life, every day I accept it (and am happy about it) more and more.  Lots of my friends have baby boys– and obviously they are just as in love with them as any mom of a girl would be.  Other comforting thoughts on this subject include:

• There are so many cute, fashionable options for boys now– not just limited to the typical blues and greens.
• Boys, according to all the boy moms I’ve come across, “are just easier” (remains to be seen!)
• I get to still be (for now) the only girl in the house!
• There are plenty of boys I like and love, who are great role models and examples for my future son- Tim, being the greatest ❤
• and the best advice, from a good friend who is also expecting- I now have the job of raising a man who I would want for any girl to meet, love and spend her life with– a gentleman who is masculine and sensitive, tough and kind, smart and polite, funny and adorably awkward, athletic and nerdy and rowdy and messy and all of the awesome things that boys just are.  Or whoever, or whatever he turns out to be.  However he turns out, he’ll be our little man, and very, very loved.

Have an awesome week guys!

xo, ❤

Christine