Summer tops

I love this Topshop top! It comes in so many great colors.  It's $30 and you can find all the colors at Nordstrom or the Topshop site itself. I tried on the orange one and fell in love with it. But I also really like the green or navy stripe (not pictured).

Some of my other current favorites.

1. JCPenney 2. LMae Boutique 3.LMae Boutique

Trends to Try

As a big fan of the 90's, I'm pretty excited about some fashion trends coming back in style! When I think of fashion from the 90's, I think of 90210 and Saved by the Bell. I think of crop tops, high waist jeans, choker necklaces and body suits. I'm pretty excited to wear these trends again!

Trends to try

Tops

• Crop Tops- While I probably won't wear anything too revealing or belly baring, I think a shortened top with a high waisted bottom looks great! Bonus points if the bottom is matching!
• Off Shoulder - Off shoulder tops are literally everywhere. It's an easy trend to get on board with because of the many options available anywhere you may shop.
• Bodysuits - great when pair with high waisted bottom.

Bottoms

• Culottes - I think culottes are a nice option for work pants. They are cute paired with a heel and blouse for business and crop top or tank for fun!
• Mom Jeans/high waisted pants - now that I have a sweet mom bod, I love mid or high rise pants. So comfortable and realistic for chasing a toddler. I'm pretty pleased this is a trend at this point in my life.

Accessories

• Chokers - go easy with a basic choker or fun with bow choker like this one from Bauble Bar
• Neck scarves - break out your mom or grandma's vintage scarves. Would look great with an off the shoulder top.

Some other looks from the 90's coming back in style are white tee's under sundresses, overalls, satin tops, Birkenstocks, floral skater and maxi dresses too! What do you think? Will you wear the 90's trends again? Do you have any of your clothes from the 90's?

Tie front dress

Do you ever get obsessed with something or an idea and can't stop thinking about it? For the last few days I have been trying to figure out how I can make this style dress. I can't stop thinking about it and envisioning myself in it. I even have a fabric picked out. The problem is, there are no sewing patterns for this style. I have even tried looking for vintage patterns. I have found a few crop tops and skirts that I could possibly attach to create a dress, but I am coming up short of anything that would really work. I have discussed it with my mom and I think we are going to attempt to create our own pattern. I may even order one of these dresses to use as a pattern and see if I like the style before making my own dress.

I love the idea of the small triangle cutout in the front, not showing too much skin. I also really like the style with the buttons down the front of the skirt. I can't wait to get started on this project. Hopefully I will get the time soon and have a cute new dress to show you!

Mommin' Ain't Easy

For real. Mommin' Ain't Easy. This shirt says it all. Being a mom is more challenging than anything I have ever done. Every day is different and some days more challenging that others. But as everyone says, it's worth it. I recently told a newly married friend without children how having kids is unlike anything she would ever feel (love). And that's true for me. I have never felt the love I feel for Roman before. It's be best feeling ever! I truly love being a mom and have so much appreciation for my own mom and other moms in the world.

I don't think I could put into words how much I appreciate my own mom and I try to tell her often and especially on Mother's day! I usually like to celebrate my mom by giving her all her favorite things, pjs, sweets, flowers, wine, and other little odds and ends that I know she likes. We like most of the same things, so it's usually pretty easy to shop for her.

Here's a mix of my favorite things, that I know both my mom and I would love.

I actually received the Kate Spade initial necklace last year for Mother's day and wear it often. The only thing I asked Dan for this year is the Swell water bottle. He has one and it keeps water so cold. I have used his a few times and want my own now. I have been wanting Chrissy Teigen's cookbook for awhile too. I love these PJ's from Target. And, I have been meaning to blog about it, but I can't get enough of this chap stick. Fresh Sugar tinted lip treatment. I have the Tulip color and I wear it almost every day. It's SPF 15, which is awesome but also has great tinted color. I am not a huge fan of lipstick, so this is a great alternative for me! You can find it at Sephora or Nordstrom.

Happy Mother's day to all the moms out there!

Life

It's been a crazy month! I went on a girls trip with my college sorority sisters to Hilton Head Island and then went to Vegas for work within 2 weeks. I like traveling, but I could go without layovers and running through airports for a while. While I was gone, Dan got some one on one time with Roman. I missed him so much, but it was good for them to spend time together.

We have had some really nice weather mixed in with some cold and rain, but any chance we get I like to take Roman outside. He is obsessed with the neighbors playing basketball and anyone mowing their lawn. He says lawnmower all day long, but it sounds more like momo. He even has his owner mower and loves to push his broom around.

Except for the toddler tantrums, I really love this age. Roman is 16 months and every day he says or does something new. I love all of his new words and dance moves. It's so exciting as a new parent to watch him grow and develop his own personality!

Here's a bunch of random and recent pictures from our adventures over the last month.

My niece Rye, because she is the cutest!

We have been grilling out every chance we get. Grilled romaine is a favorite of ours. Directions and dressing recipe. HERE.

 

 Roman is finally into reading books. He still eats them, but will actually sit and let you read a book to him now.

 Sunrise on HHI. I took a yoga class on the beach and it was delightful!

 

 While I was gone Dan taught Roman how to hit off a tee. I have a really cute video of him hitting on my facebook page.

 This was my first time in Vegas and I had quite a bit of alone time. I spent my time walking up and down the strip, shopping, eating, drinking and just a little bit of gambling. My favorite hotels were the Venetian and Wynn.

We take Roman to get donuts pretty regularly. We love General American Donut. They have a little kids table for coloring that Roman enjoys.

DIY Leather Clutch with Tassel

I bought this leather in San Francisco 2 years ago on a trip that Dan and I took. I just love the color! I knew I wanted to make another clutch, but was held back by how difficult the last one I made was. I set a goal for myself to have this done by my birthday, which I failed to do, but ended up making it the weekend after.

My mom has several sewing machines and I knew I would be better off using one of hers rather than mine to sew through the leather, so I went to my parent's house to make the clutch. Sewing leather is very difficult on a standard sewing machine. It requires a special needle and a nylon thread. The leather does not pull through the machine very easily and it causes much frustration. Also, unlike most sewing projects you cannot pin leather nor can you remove stitches and start over.

Leather is expensive and I knew I didn't want to mess this up since I couldn't just buy more. My mom helped me with her industrial sewing machine and I am pleased with how it turned out. I used a couple different DIY tutorials for sizing and instructions on how to sew the zipper and lining. I also looked to Pinterest for help making the tassel, which was rather easy.

I'm happy with the final look, but probably won't be making any more leather projects in the future.

Monday picks

I had a chance to go shopping last week while out of town and picked up a few things in Zara. They have some super cute stuff right now! My favorites are the striped dress above, cold shoulder dress and striped top. I actually bought the top and can't wait to wear it! Some other recent finds above. I'd really love the pink espadrilles! And the striped wedges are only 15 bucks!

Striped dress - Zara
White dress - ASOS
Cold shoulder dress - Zara
Striped/ruffled crop top - Bloomingdales
Striped top - Zara
Off shoulder top - ASOS
Striped wedge - Amazon
Pink Espadrilles - Sam Edelman