Inspiration Monday - Hedgehog Heaven

Happy Monday!  Another weekend gone by too fast, amiright?  To get back in the swing of the week I'm participating in two birds Inspiration Monday today.  Today's look is a fun casual outfit from Victoria Justice (who dat?  I'm not up on these things lately).

My look here is from Friday - I shared on Instagram and received a bunch of sweet compliments, so I decided that this look worked as an inspired look for today!  Fun animal themed graphic t-shirt?  Check!  Instead of boots I wore some fun heels with my jeans though - it was warm on Friday!

So right now, Kohls has a bunch of these slub t-shirts with fun animal prints on them and my mom was sweet enough to grab this one for me when she picked up that floral jacket I wore last week.  Hedgehogs are delightful aren't they? I have this cute pinecone hedgehog family that sits on the half wall in the entry way of my house - one hedgehog has actually gone missing though.  I am betting the thief has four paws and black fur and answers to the name Pippin.  I'm guessing if I look under the couch I'll find the missing hedgehog.

Anyway, I love that there are different patterns on each of these guys on this shirt.  I think I could dress up this shirt too with a nice pair of pants and a blazer.  There's another one in this set that has foxes on it - I think I may have to go back and get that one.  Cause you know me and foxes.  (Where did I even get that addiction anyway?)

Shirt - Sonoma (Kohls), Jeans - Old Navy

Shoes - Steve Madden (consignment), Bag - Merona (Target)

Bracelet - Stella and Dot, Necklace - clothing swap

Anyway, me and my fun outfit didn't do much of anything exciting on Friday besides work and dinner at my parents followed by a movie at home with Nate, but I still loved wearing it all day!  The rest of our weekend was pretty good too - we played disc golf and got to go apple picking at a local orchard - more to come on those things this week in separate posts!  For now this post is long enough, so I shall end by telling you to check out the two birds blog for other Inspiration Monday outfits!

TIGF - Remembering my GD journey

Hosted by Ashley, Nay and Laura

So yeah, this might seem like an odd thing to celebrate on Things I am Grateful For Friday.  Just go with me here.  
A year ago today I was just entering my third trimester in what had been a dream pregnancy.  I had never been sick, I hadn't had any major issues, it had been a breeze.  But, as those of you have been pregnant know, at the beginning of your third trimester you go through the Gestational Diabetes testing.  I naively thought that because everything else in my pregnancy had been so easy, I'd come through that with flying colors.  Turns out I was wrong.  A year ago today the bottom fell out from under me when the sweet nurse (who happens to be married to my cousin, so that helped a little) gently told me "unfortunately you are going to have to go in for diabetic counseling."  I was devastated.  I had taken such good care of myself leading up to that point, I made sure I was eating well, taking vitamins and keeping up with my exercise - how did that happen?  I remember I kept it together long enough to talk to the scheduler about getting into a diabetic class and her even commenting "wow, you are handling this news really well." Yeah lady, I wear a good mask.  I got into my car and called Nate and seriously broke down.  Looking back it was the dumbest things that I was upset about too.  I distinctly remember sobbing about "I can't have pie, I can't have cookies, I can't have my latte!!"  And of course, good hubby Nate talked me off the ledge.  
We got through it and I became the model gestational diabetic patient.  I was lucky enough that just monitoring my diet was enough to keep it under control.  And we figured out a way for me to still eat a lot of good things that I loved.  And you know what?  Those last three-ish months went by the fastest of my entire pregnancy.  It was not the end of the world.  Looking back, I almost feel it was a blessing in a way.  And that is why I'm discussing this as something I'm grateful for today.
I had seen an article on one of the Mom groups I follow on Facebook that of course I can't find now about a mom who was saying she was thankful for her Gestational Diabetes - and she was actually attacked quite a bit in the comments.  Now I get it - not all moms who end up with GD have it as easy as I did.  Yes there are risks to your unborn child and it leaves you at a higher risk of developing Type II diabetes later in life. So yes, I can understand why people would question being thankful for this type of health issue.  But like the mom in the article, I found many positives to the situation.  I received more monitoring at the end of my pregnancy, including getting to see Oliver in a late ultrasound and that was pretty neat.  I ended up not gaining as much weight at the end thanks to my diet and the weight came off easily after Oliver was born.  It actually brought Nate and I even closer together - he was such a HUGE support and champion for me.  He is the main chef at our house and he worked hard to make sure I was eating right and keeping my sugars under control.  He just looked at it like it was another fun cooking challenge.  He worked to find recipes that would be lower in carbs and as a result we tried some fun new dishes. I actually didn't mind the testing of my sugar - yes there was a needle prick involved, but I got used to it.  I actually was a bit of a nerd in that I liked tracking my numbers, it was sort of entertaining to me.  So in the end, it really wasn't that bad.
Once you deliver your baby, you are GD free.  Oliver arrived safely and was healthy and of course I am thankful for that.  I'm thankful that we have modern medicine practices that can catch issues like this that develop in pregnancy - without it, Oliver could have grown much larger and we both could have been in danger when it came time for him to be born.  I would happily deal with the testing and diet again to ensure a healthy baby.  So yes, strange as it sounds, I am thankful for the day a year ago that I heard those awful words because in the end, they weren't so awful.  And this little man is worth every second I dealt with it.

Stitch Fix #3

So you may remember earlier this year I jumped on the Stitch Fix bandwagon.  I thought it was a lot of fun and really enjoyed the fixes I received.  It is expensive, but it is a nice treat every now and then and I loved having someone else pick out clothes for me - especially while Ollie was much smaller and harder to take out shopping.  I decided for the summer to put Stitch Fix on hold and scheduled myself a date in September, figuring I'd cancel it if I decided I didn't want it.  And I fully intended to cancel it because I really truly am trying to save money - but then I forgot to go in before they shipped it.  Oops!  In the end I'm glad I got a fix this month and I actually really, REALLY struggled with what to keep and what to send back as I really did like most all of the items, but decided even with the 25% discount to keep everything, I still had to make some choices.  So, here is what they sent and what I kept/returned.

Kensie Breydon Twisted Seams Polka Dot Sweater:

At first I was really not a fan of this sweater, but the more I wore it around it did grow on me.  I liked the style suggestions of wearing it with black leggings or dark jeans and I thought it even looked cute with my red jeans here.  It's a bit of a blouse meets sweater and is a nice "dressy" alternative to a regular sweater.  In the end, I decided even though I did like it that I would send it back.  I have two polka dot blouses that are similar to the silky portion of this sweater and a black cardigan and I think I could sort of duplicate the look that way.
Verdict: Returned

Papermoon Arthur Embroidered Pocket Striped Knit Top:

I loved this one right out of the box actually.  I love the stripes, the colors, the fit, everything.  But it is extremely similar to another top I just thrifted on Labor Day and I decided in the end, I do not need two shirts that are SO similar.  It was a tough choice though, you know I love my stripes and the cute pocket on this one was a fun addition!
Verdict: Returned

Loveappella Maila 3/4 Sleeve Button Drawstring Dress:

I can't resist a good dress - especially when it fits well, it's comfy, it's totally me and it will work well for nursing as noted by my stylist (love that she paid attention to those details!) While I may only be nursing Ollie for a few more months, I still think this dress will go pretty far for me.  It will be super cute with a jean jacket and boots.  Love, love, LOVE.
Verdict: Kept

Street Level Parvin Reversible Hang Tag Detail Tote:

This was another HARD choice for me.  I love bags. We all know that.  I specifically requested a bag in this fix because I've been seeing them in other fixes and I thought it would be fun to see what kind of bag they'd send me.  My stylist chose this one because it is the ultimate carryall and would be great for day to day and even double as a baby bag.  She is definitely right about that.  I love the color, the removable zipper pouch and the fact that it is reversible - you can turn it inside out and make it purple instead of blue.  In the end though, I am not a tote fan.  I like hobos, satchels and crossbody bags so much more.  Any tote style bag I've ever used ends up frustrating me.  It's just not my style.  I really appreciated the thought my stylist put into picking this bag out, but it just wasn't meant to be.  I'm getting very picky about my bags and really my style in general, so I couldn't justify keeping it just to see if I'd end up liking it.
Verdict: Returned

Rizzo Skinny Ponte Pants:

This one was a matter of price for me.  I love them, I love the fit, I could stand to have another pair of black leggings, but these were just so spendy and if I was already returning so much of the fix, it would just be too much to spend for both these and the dress.  I love the dress more, so I chose to just keep that.  I am pretty sure I can find another pair like these at Old Navy or Kohls.  

Verdict: Returned

Overall, while I did choose to send pretty much this entire fix back, I thought the stylist did a great job.  She studied my Pinterest boards which I really appreciated.  She took my feedback from my old fix into consideration and she really did pick items I enjoy.  The problem was simply trying to budget and trying to not duplicate items in my closet too much.  I have decided to schedule another fix around my birthday and I am requesting the same stylist, I think she did a great job.  It was a lot of fun to try all these things on even if I decided to not keep most of them!  Do you think I made a good choice?

Just a friendly reminder if you haven't tried Stitch Fix yet and would like to, I'd love it if you used my referral link here: https://www.stitchfix.com/referral/3528162.  If you have tried Stitch Fix, did you get one this month?  What was in yours?

A Thrifted Pinned It Spinned It

If you've been following my blog for awhile now you know that I participate in a weekly Thrift Style Thursday challenge.  This week I'm sitting out on it though, the theme was Asian Inspiration and try as I might, I just couldn't make it work and I didn't want to go shopping for one item I might not actually wear again.  It's nothing against Asian inspired style - it's just not me.  So instead, I am still sharing a thrifted outfit today that I love quite a bit - my look for yesterday's Pinned It Spinned It on Instagram. Here is the Pin:

And here is my spin:

I was pretty excited when I saw this pinned look in the calendar for this month - pink and leopard?  Sign me up!  I knew it would be a great opportunity to wear this skirt I thrifted on Labor Day.  Bonus, it even warmed up a bit here in Minnesota yesterday so I was able to have bare legs and not freeze my behind off!

Jacket - White House, Black Market (consignment), Tank - Gillian O'Malley (Target)

Skirt - LOFT (thrifted), Scarf - two birds garage sale

Bag and shoes - Target 

This look easily transitioned to the Mom's Night Out event I attended last night that was put on by the Twin Cities Moms Blog crew.  A friend of mine and one of her friends went with me and we had a blast!  It was held at Pinstripes in Edina for you locals - what a neat place - they have bocce ball, bowling, food, drinks and a very nice upper balcony overlooking Centennial Lakes park.  It was a gorgeous evening to sit outside! My friend and I also each took advantage of getting an eyebrow wax done, that was a nice treat!  And the swag was probably the best part, I can't believe all the free things we received!  It was nice to get out for a little bit with some other moms.  I think I owe Nate a "dad's day off" one of these days pretty soon, he's been a rockstar lately taking on Ollie on his own so I can go off and do some things!  I'm looking forward to quality time with both of my boys this weekend though. 

Child Passenger Safety week and Amazon gift card giveaway

I'm excited to be joining up with Bloggin' Mamas for a really important cause today - Child Passenger Safety week.  This is timely information to me as we're just starting to look at transitioning Oliver to a new carseat.

Did you know that motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death for children age 1 to 13 in the USA? The fatality rate could be reduced by about half if the correct child safety seat were always used.

   

Bloggin' Mamas is supporting the Ad Council and The Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) by sharing the word about Child Passenger Safety Week this week (September 14-20). One of the goals of Child Passenger Safety Week is to encourage parents and caregivers to visit SaferCar.gov/TheRightSeat to determine if their child is in the right seat for his or her age and size and to locate a car seat check event in their area. Additionally, parents and caregivers should be sure to register their child’s car seat with the manufacturer so as to be informed in the event of a recall. Safety seats, if used correctly, dramatically reduce the risk of fatality or injury to children. However, research shows that three out of every four car seats are not used correctly, meaning the child is not in the correct car seat for their age, height and weight, or the car seat is not installed correctly. In 2012, over one third (37%) of children killed in car crashes were not in car seats or wearing seat belts.

Resources

- Installation Resources: If a car seat is not installed correctly, your child's safety could be in danger. Every car seat has different installation instructions. You can find resources and tips here to help you get “the right fit” on your car seats: http://www.safercar.gov/parents/RightFit.htm
- Free Car Seat Checks: During Child Passenger Safety Week, there will be more than 600 events in 45 states across the country, where certified child passenger safety technicians will inspect car seats and show parents and caregivers how to correctly install and use them. In most cases, this service is free of charge. Locate a car seat check event here: http://www.safercar.gov/cpsApp/cps/index.htm?

  Car Seat Safety Tips:

• Find a car seat that fits your child. As children grow, how they sit in your car will change. Make sure the car seat you purchase is designed to fit your child’s current size and age.
• Not all car seats fit in all vehicles so test the car seat you plan to buy to make sure it fits well in your vehicle.
• Before putting your child in a car seat, read the manufacturer’s instructions so you know how your car seat works.
• All-in-One car seats offer you the advantage of using the same seat for the following positions: rear-facing, forward-facing with harness, then booster. These seats typically have higher height and weight limits for the rear-facing position, allowing you to keep your child rear-facing for a longer period of time.
• Remember, the best car seat is the one that fits your child properly, is easy to use, and fits in your vehicle correctly. The information here can help you choose the right seat for your child. Keep in mind that: - Your child under age 1 should always ride in a rear-facing car seat. - Children ages 1-3 should be kept rear-facing as long as possible.- Keep your child in the back seat at least through age 12. Be certain you've installed your car seat correctly by having it checked at an inspection station or by a certified child passenger safety technician. Bring the Car Seat Instructions AND the Vehicle Owner’s Manual with you to a seat check appointment! 

Check out this Infograph to help you check if you have #TheRightSeat and join @NHTSAgov on 9/17/14 from 3p-4p EST for a Twitter Chat where you can ask questions you might have about your car seat.

   

And to make sure you have #TheRightSeat, Bloggin' Mamas is giving away a $100 Amazon giftcard so you can buy one!

Giveaway begins September 17th, 2014 at 12:01 am and ends October 1st, 2014 at 11:59 pm EST. Open to US residents age 18 and older. Winner will be selected by Random.org and be notified by email. See Rafflecopter widget below for full terms & conditions
. a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclosure: I am sharing this post on behalf of Bloggin' Mamas. I was not compensated for this post and am not responsible for prize fulfillment. For questions concerning prize fulfillment, please contact Bloggin' Mamas directly.  

Fall Floral

I liked my outfit today so I decided to share it.  It's a loosely based interpretation of today's Pinned It Spinned It on Instagram.  Ok it's a VERY loosely based interpretation.  So I really spinned the Pin I guess!

I love this adorable jacket.  My awesome mom (hi mom!) saw this at Kohl's this weekend and thought it would be something I'd like so she picked it up for me.  And she was right, I love it!  It's perfect for early fall days, it's not super heavy, but still warm enough for a cool day.  I love all the colors in it, my photos here do not do it justice.  I know I'll get a lot of use of it for sure!

Jacket - About A Girl (Kohl's), Cami - Zulily

Pants - Old Navy, Shoes - Merona (Target) 

I haven't really set foot in a mall in months due to my shopping ban, but according to my mom I am not missing much.  She went looking for colored pants at both Macy's and JCPenney this weekend and was quite disappointed in the selections and how picked over both stores seemed.  So, I guess right now, Kohl's is where it's at for fall goods!