I swear I am awake

Good morning friends!  Back at it on a Monday.  I look sleepier in these pictures than I am - I blame allergies.  I actually was quite rested this weekend even if it was a hair on the busy side!  It's been nice and cool at night and that really aids in sleeping I've found!

Saturday I went to the baby/kid/maternity/etc consignment sale with my mom.  We got to the sale right about the time it opened.  I tell you - I got a few more items for myself to get through the rest of the pregnancy into winter - but I also got a bunch of outfits for baby boy and the stuff was SO cheap!  There will be another one of these sales in my area about three weeks before my due date and I think if I'm up to it I might have to go back!

Pink shirt - Ruff Hewn from friend

Gray shirt - Liz Lange, consignment

Skirt - Old Navy

Shoes - Rampage, DSW

Necklace - Maurices 

Sunday I had my first baby shower with my mom's family - it was really nice.  It was a rainy cool day so there was no better way to spend the time honestly!  And we got some really nice stuff for our little man, including the stroller we wanted and lots of clothes - in varying sizes which is awesome.  I was worried we get all newborn things, but we have stuff that may take us up through the first year.  One of my cousins was also sweet enough to get a couple of things for me - some nice pajamas for after.  She worked in OB for years though, so I guess she gets it!  Overall it was a nice weekend!  How was your weekend?

Weekend stuffs

Good morning friends!  Happy Monday!  Did you all have nice weekends?  Thanks so much to those who left such sweet comments on my post on Friday.  I'm adjusting to my new normal and it's not so bad so far. The worst has been missing my morning orange juice and not splurging on my weekend latte, but that's been about the hardest thing!  The positive things?  Sugar free butterscotch pudding is really tasty and Crystal Light makes a margarita flavored drink mix.  I think I can rock this thing ok!

Lots of baby stuff this weekend, we took our childbirth preparation class.  Nothing makes this entire thing more real than that, let me tell you.  It was pretty awesome though - the Pants Monkey's aunt is a childbirth educator and ended up being the one teaching the class.  You might think that would be awkward for us, but actually it was really nice.  She's unbelievably awesome and makes you feel so at ease.  We learned a lot and had some great conversations about what we want when the time comes.  I'm glad we did it as early as we did so we have plenty of time to plan.

Shirt - Motherhood Maternity, consignment

Pants - Simply Vera, Kohls

Shoes - Rampage, DSW

Necklace - Vintage Pearl, gift from a friend 

Sunday we slept in, then I met up with Lori and we swung into Amanda's fantastic Tandem Vintage sale. Sad panda, she had so many pretty plaid skirts that I'd love to wear this fall, but there is no way the bump will fit at this point!  That's ok though, I found some fun kitty cat earrings and a rather ridiculous cat wall hanging that I'm going to put up with another cat picture a dear friend gave me. Crazy cat lady FTW!  After the sale we went to Target so Lori could help me pick out makeup.  I definitely have some better ideas of what to do with my face now!

I headed home, had a wonderful dinner out on the deck with my Pants Monkey and then settled in to watch the Emmys - what a GIANT disappointment!  I had a mild panic attack because our TV was acting up and we don't have cable so I was worried I wasn't going to be able to watch - yeah, I don't know that it would have been the end of the world to miss this year's show.  It felt like everyone was rushing, struggling to read the teleprompter, the "In Memoriam" spotlights seemed like a good idea but were poorly executed.  And I adore Modern Family, Breaking Bad and Jim Parsons - but at the same time, spread the love a bit on the winners.  I didn't find anyone's dress all that stunning besides maybe Claire Danes - she's always a class act though, that wasn't much of a surprise.  But the show overall was just yuck.  Anyone else watch?  What did you think?

Rainy day

It was raining this morning, so pictures had to happen inside.  I've had my fill of rain after this weekend I tell you.  As I mentioned yesterday, we bailed on our garage sale on Saturday due to rain.  On top of that - it was COLD.  Weirdly cold for July.  I had a sweatshirt and jeans on and was still freezing.  Today it isn't as cold, but it is rainy.  And I wouldn't necessarily call it warm!  Such an odd summer we're having.

After all the garage sale madness of Thursday through Saturday, I treated myself to a "me day" on Sunday.  I started with a haircut, it was shaggy and gross again.  It doesn't take much, but of course those darn pre-natal vitamins don't help (though they sure do not make my nails grow more!)  I'm back to my spiky pixie happy place again with my hair.  After my haircut, I meandered a bit.  I hit up World Market because they have good coffee and I needed some for home.  Then I hit up Gordmans.  I had read online that they sell Motherhood Maternity brand for cheaper.  Sure enough, they had a rather large department.  And a clearance rack.  The deals weren't as good as what I've found via consignment or at the thrift store, but I managed to find a couple of things that were decent - including this tank top.  It's actually a nursing top, but it fits my expanding bump nicely too and it's nice to know it'll be a good shirt for after the baby is born too.  I just loved the colors!

Shirt - Motherhood Maternity via Gordmans

Skirt - Hang Ten, from friend

Sweater - Mossimo, Target

Shoes - Rampage, DSW

Bag - Jenna Lou Designs

Necklace - Stella and Dot

If it was warmer I'd go without the sweater.  I'll just have to do that on another day!  Honestly though, I don't mind this cooler weather.  I have a friend who is further along than I am - she is due next month - and I know she's been miserable in the warmer weather, so I appreciate this weather for her sake if nothing else!

Thanks for all the congrats on my little man yesterday too!  A couple of you asked if I suspected I was having a boy - the answer is yes, I actually was pretty sure, so I guess my mother's intuition has kicked in a little bit!

Card shark

The weather has been pretty yuck this week as I've previously mentioned.  And many nights the Pants Monkey and I just zone out to TV shows after dinner (or sometimes even while we're eating dinner - eek).  Lately though, we've been trying to break that habit and do more things together since things will be changing in a big way in a matter of months.  So last night we decided to play cards for a half hour instead of watching TV.

The only problem is our card repertoire is somewhat small.  There aren't that many two player games to begin with and the few we do know we get bored with after awhile.  I love cribbage, but sometimes I need a break or I'm making 15's in my sleep.  Last night, the Pants Monkey found the rules for 10 Card Rummy.  So we played that.  And it was a lot of fun!  We've played 5 card and 7 card Rummy before, but the rules are a little different for 10 card and also you are able to keep score too, so that also makes it more interesting.  Of course, I ended up pretty much winning which always makes it more fun too, not going to lie about that!

Dress - Motherhood Maternity via Clothes Mentor

Jacket - White House Black Market, thrifted

Bag - Lulu's

Necklace - S&D

Shoes - Rampage via DSW

We eventually had to stop because it was getting late, but we really enjoyed ourselves!  We're going to try and make this a habit.  And if summer ever gets here, we'll move our card games out to our deck at night as long as the bugs don't bite!

Do you like to play cards?  Anyone have any other good two player games they'd recommend?

Spring!

Shh...don't tell anyone...but I think spring is finally springing!  Long overdue.  Not quite ready for bare legs and sandals today - but sandals may be making their debut tomorrow.  Of course saying that out loud might jinx it!

I swear this is the latest into spring I've gone without wearing sandals at least once!  No joke.  It might be just as well, my feet are in desperate need of a pedicure.  I don't know how I can make that happen before the wedding I'm attending this weekend so I may just have to do a selfie.

 Top - M2M, via two birds garage sale

Skirt - Old Navy

Necklace - S&D

Shoes - Rampage, DSW

Flower barrette - C. Jane Create

It feels good to finally be whining about things like pedicures though!  I'd much rather be complaining about my unpretty feet in sandals than continuing to smooth them into boots!

Cozy, chic and simple

Sometimes the most simple combinations result in the most compliments.  I wore this on Tuesday, in the midst of the snow, because I wanted something simple and warm.  I had more people tell me how cute they thought I looked!  Unfortunately, I only got one good picture, because I didn't take the time to take any at home with the snow, so I made do at the office real quick.

T-shirt - Old Navy

Sweater - Banana Republic (from Amanda)

Pants - Maurices (very old)
Necklace - Charming Charlie

Shoes - Rampage, thrifted

I'm glad I had a chance to wear this sweater again, because I hear there is a chance we're going to hit 50 in just a couple of weeks. Spring is coming!  Bye bye heavy sweaters and boots - bring on the sandals and bare legs!!

Are you getting spring fever?

Dogging it

Today called for a warm sweater and a scarf.  It's getting colder again and they're using the "w" word again too (windchill).  I decided to take this scottie dog sweater for another spin.  It's warm and cozy and who doesn't want to wear scottie dogs to the office?

Sweater - thrifted

Thermal shirt - F21

Pants - Worthington, JCPenney

Scarf - World Market

Earrings - Cookie Lee

Shoes - Rampage, DSW 

So you all know I'm a crazy cat lady, but I do like dogs quite a bit as well.  In fact, Mr. Monkey and I would love to have a dog in addition to our two kitties, but we're just not home enough right now to make that really worthwhile.  The cats are independent enough that if we're not around it's not a big deal, but a dog would be unhappy.  Especially because we'd love a golden retriever and they are fairly social.  We have the best yard ever for a dog, so I believe it will happen someday though!

Until that day comes, I'll just keep loving on my kitties and getting my dog fix through shirts like this one!
Are you a dog person, a cat person, both or neither?

Dressy and cozy

I can't believe I haven't worn this shirt yet - I picked it up at the two birds garage sale at the beginning of the month.  I love it, it's comfy, almost like a sweatshirt and yet it is dressy enough for work thanks to the fun ruffles.  It sort of feels like I'm cheating and dressing down!  I love clothes that are deceiving like that!

Shirt - M2M via two birds garage sale

Pants - Tangents, Maurices, old

Shoes - Rampage, DSW

Necklace - gift from the Pants Monkey 

So there are just seven more days until Christmas!  The countdown is on!  I need to start wrapping gifts, I tend to wait until the last minute because of the kitties.  Fortunately everyone in both of our families are cat people and are pretty understanding about their gifts having nibble marks on them, but I still wait as long as I can to try to keep them looking relatively nice!

Love...peace...

Big day yesterday.  History was made in my glorious home state of Minnesota.  Love is stronger than government.  I'm proud of what we did, I'm proud to be a Minnesotan.  I chose to wear purple today as a symbol of pride, in celebration for many of my good friends and hope for what this could mean going forward.

Beyond that, while I'm happy with the outcomes, I'm happy the election is over!  No more ugly ads on TV.  Probably some grumbling and debate on social media for a few more days and then we'll move on.  At least I hope so.  Love is stronger than hate.

Speaking of love, how much do I love my new blog layout designed by the fantastic Laura Go?  She did a wonderful job, thanks for all the compliments so far - she deserves all the credit.  I could not be happier with how this turned out.  THANK YOU to Laura!!

Shirt - Donna brand, from cousin

Skirt - East 5th Street, thrifted

Sweater - Mossimo, Target

Shoes - Rampage, DSW

Necklace - S&D with MMD buttonflower

Bag - Coach via Ebay

I know that there are people who are hurting today because the election didn't go the way they wanted.  I respect that.  I hope you all can respect my happiness. In a spirit of peace as we move forward, I am leaving you with a quote from Jim Henson that was read at his memorial service in 1990, it seems very appropriate today.

Please watch out for each other and love and forgive everybody.  

It's a good life, enjoy it. - Jim Henson

A "super" bad choice

It was a little dark outside while I was taking these pictures this morning but I just went with it.  I think it's still better than when the sun completely washes me out!  Going to be warmish today in the ole MN, possibly even warm enough for bare legs, but I was a lazy girl this morning and didn't want to shave so I took the easy way out in a maxi skirt.

So one of the questions I asked in my blog tag game yesterday was "What's the worst movie you've ever seen?"  There was a good reason for that question.  On Sunday, The Pants Monkey and I decided to be completely lazy considering we'd thrown a huge party the night before, so after our brunch we thought, let's be bums and have movie day at home.  So we stopped at our favorite video store on the way home and picked a couple of movies out.  We tend to gravitate towards independent movies a lot and Sunday was no exception.  We selected a coming of age type movie called Goats and another one with an all star cast called Super.  Super was an after thought but as we read the synopsis and saw all these awesome people were in it we thought we just had to have it.  And that is the movie we chose to watch first.  Oh man.  BIG mistake.

I have never been more misled by a movie's synopsis than I was on this one.  Basically it is described as a movie about a guy (Rainn Wilson, The Office) whose wife (Liv Tyler) leaves him and he decides to become a super hero to try to get her back with the help of the comic book clerk (Ellen Page, Juno) he befriends.  It just looked and sounded like a happy little silly romp.  Yeah no.  Not even a little bit.  It is dark and twisted - Rainn Wilson comes off as a schizophrenic or psychopath, Ellen Page is more like the character she played in another very disturbing movie called Hard Candy then like her sweet Juno type person.  Kevin Bacon is also in the movie and plays a horrible person that is making me fear him now (I need to watch Footloose stat, that'll get him back in my good graces).  And the ending isn't very uplifting or happy at all.  The whole thing was just awful and we both felt dirty after watching it.  I do not recommend!

So after an hour and a half of our life we'll never get back, we ran to get some tasty barbecue for dinner and came home to watch Goats - a much, MUCH better choice and my faith in the independent movie industry was restored.  Moral of the story - it is a true statement that you can't judge a book (or DVD) by it's cover!!

Gray shirt - Mossimo, Target

Sweater - Herbergers

Skirt - Old Navy

Necklace - S&D

Shoes - Rampage, DSW

Bag - Jenna Lou Designs

Pink Friday

I am lucky to work in a department that lets me have casual Friday every week, but other departments in our clinic facilities don't necessarily get that option.  Today however, if people wear pink for Breast Cancer Awareness, they can also wear jeans.  So even though I can wear jeans anyway, I decided to wear pink like everyone else, also because breast cancer is a cause dear to my heart as I know too many women affected by the disease.

Speaking of breast cancer - does anyone watch Parenthood?  They're tackling this topic this year and it's been an emotional roller coaster already and they're only a few episodes into the season.  Might have to buy some stock in Kleenex, no joke.  After this week's episode, the Pants Monkey said to me, "how about neither one of us ever get cancer?"  I hope so babe, I really hope so.  Ladies - no matter your age, make sure you check your "girls" regularly.  It's not a joke that it could save your life.

On a lighter note, I'm off early today and I'm so happy about it.  We have our annual Oktoberfest tomorrow and I just have so much to do to get ready.  And my boss goes out on a six week medical leave next week so I cannot take any time off through November, so I figured I'd better squeeze a little time in while I can!  Hope you all have wonderful weekends - wish you could all be at my Oktoberfest.  Someone needs to invent teleporting, for real!

Pink shirt - JcPenney

Sweater - Old Navy

Jeans - Gap

Shoes - Rampage, thrifted

Necklace - Maurices

Lighter

Well after such a dark colored outfit yesterday I thought I'd lighten things up a bit today.  Which is especially helpful since it was raining this morning.  We haven't had much rain at all, we're totally in a drought, but I kind of wish it wasn't raining.  We've been working on sealing and staining our deck before a big party we're having this weekend so this is not working well with my plans!  Oh well, my lawn will finally be happy!

Today I'm wearing my "changing with the light" pants.  The picture never reflects the fun colored lines in these pants.  Still, they are one of my favorite pairs and if you saw them in person I'm sure you'd see why.  They go with nearly everything.  Also thought I'd give a close up of my shoes because I don't think I did the last time I wore them.  These are my new favorites because they are plaid!

And that's about all I have today!  Super exciting I know!  I do want to point you all to Sheila's blog, she has a post up with all the party dresses from her virtual birthday party and it's a ton of fun to see.  Thank you all again for your sweet comments on my sassy little number!  It's a fun dress and for those wondering, yes, the Pants Monkey loves it!

Sweater - American Rag (thrifted)

Shirt - F21

Pants - Herbergers (very old)

Shoes - Rampage (thrifted)

Necklace - S&D

Inspiration Monday - Back to life, back to reality

Hello friends!  I'm back from a lovely weekend away with my Pants Monkey.  More about that in a minute.  First up, here is this week's Inspiration Monday model - Louise Roe....um, who is she?  She's pretty enough.  I love her fun printed skirt and shoes.

I went for a slightly different look - same silhouette, but different color scheme and a much tamer skirt and shoes unfortunately as I didn't have fun shoes like that or even a super fun printed skirt.  I still like the result of my outfit though!  The Pants Monkey even said "well you look all sorts of cute today!"

So speaking of the Pants Monkey, as I said, we just got back from a little weekend getaway.  We had bought a Groupon type deal for a bed and breakfast in Duluth, MN - one of my favorite places in the world - and finally had the chance to use it this last weekend.  It was so nice and very relaxing!  The owners of the B&B were very friendly, the other couples that were staying as well were also nice and the breakfasts were super yummy.  We had a chance on Saturday to go to one of my favorite state parks and wander even though it was a bit chilly outside (in fact, to all you Twin Cities girls, I found snow!).  We stopped and got some amazing smoked fish and cheese and a bottle of wine for an afternoon snack and then later had dinner at our favorite brewpub up there.  We also played a lot of backgammon and I finally beat him in one game!  He usually beats me!

So now I'm playing catch up.  I haven't had a chance to read others thoughts on the remixing concept from Friday's FBFF topic so I hope to do some of that today and catch up with the rest of you as well.  It was a wonderful and much needed weekend, but as the song says now it's "back to life, back to reality."

For other Inspiration Monday looks or to play along yourself, head on over to the two birds blog here.

Outfit rundown:

Shirt - F21

Skirt - INC Concepts (thrifted)

Shoes - Rampage, DSW

Necklace - Maurices

Earrings - Charming Charlie