I’m working on a few little somethings for this space, but for now… how about a little style post? I collaborated with Fashionable for a neat project. One might have figured out by now that I ain’t no fashion blogger, but I had fun and I’m happy with how it turned out. In addition, they’re offering readers a sweet incentive to do some fall shopping. For two days only, y’all get a 15% discount on Fashionable products! Enter RACHFAVES at checkout. Enjoy!
I don’t share affiliate links on here often, but this sale needs its own blog post.
Today only, this beauty is only $48, down from the usual $78! I’m a big fan of handbags, and this leather clutch is no exception. It’s handmade in Ethiopia by empowered, employed women… women whom you support when you purchase from fashionABLE. In fact, this piece is called the Tigist for a reason. So between now and Friday at midnight, try to find a little room in the budget! You won’t regret it.
We re-did Lucas’ room for his birthday this month, and I used this tutorial for a t-shirt garland to hang on his walls. I bought nearly thirty tees at Goodwill, so I was left with quite a few intact sleeves…
Enter the perfect circle scarf – or bib! Simply roll the sleeve evenly around the neck, or rotate them so that the longer portion hangs down the front, like a kerchief. All four of my kiddos are currently running around the house with one of these as we speak, and the baby goes through one or two per day. They are perfect for mopping up baby food and other goodies from her cheeks. Play around with different sized tees to get different looks.
I was obviously sticking to a theme with color and texture this time, for the sake of the garland project. Next time, though, I’ll try out some different shirts and look for some fun prints. Any sort of no-sew project is right up my alley, so I’ll be keeping this in mind for next winter’s wardrobes… myself included!
Well, here we are… halfway there!
Is it too early to say I’m ready for July?
Because I’ve been ready for July since about… December.
I haven’t posted weekly updates or a lot of bump photos, pretty much for the same shameful reason. I’m embarrassed to answer the how have you been feeling question. It’s bad, y’all. I’m not sure why, since I’ve never dealt with these specific symptoms before. I also never thought a pregnancy could more difficult or uncomfortable than the sisters’. I was very, very wrong.
For starters, I’ve had a cold since the first week of January. Not my typical pregnancy congestion issues. I’ve got a full-blown cold, and it hasn’t let up at all. I’m also having some wicked painful circulation problems in my legs, complete with varicose veins and numbness and throbbing. I’ve never struggled with this before, and it literally takes up chunks of my day… I brainstorm ways to make my legs stop hurting and what in the heck am I going to wear this summer if I can’t show my legs? And then just this week, the itching started. I wake up each morning with scratches on my arms from the night. I’ve started sleeping in long pants and long sleeves, which only makes the sweating worse.
Glamorous, right? I told you, it’s bad. I’ve always prided myself on being a hardy pregnant woman. I made it full-term with both Ames and the sisters, while working full-time. I’ve been blessed with straightforward pregnancies, the kind that progress normally without complications. Puking my brains out and soaking my soreness away in the bathtub are literally the extent of my gestational woes. This time, I’m licking my wounds and feeling a bit down in the dumps, like my body and my spirit are failing me this time around.
I know that I’m busy with a lot on my plate, and that I’ve been pregnant a lot in a short amount of time, and that every pregnancy is different. That doesn’t make the suffering any easier. So for the sake of flying my usual blogger banner of being transparent and vulnerable, I’m letting y’all in on a bit of what my husband sees every day. I’m discouraged. I hate complaining and feeling ungrateful. I’m ready to feel better, inside & out. I promise, this is the first and the last of my pregnancy lament!
To jumpstart myself out of this funk, I’ve given myself a little thrifty threads challenge…
no buying new clothes for Momma in 2013.
I toyed around with the idea back in the fall, after reading about friends’ and other bloggers’ similar quests. But then I thought about how much self-control that would take, and what will it look like if I go back on my word to the whole Internet? But January came, and I made it a month. And then another month. And then I gave in and went shopping for leggings at two stores, to no avail. I stopped by the thrift store on the way home and promptly found two pairs. Thanks, Jesus! I can totally do this.
To get through the rest of this pregnancy, I’ll combine my current wardrobe with thrifted pieces, Instagram shop goodies, and my friends’ hand-me-downs. After that, I’ll just sort through what I have and make things work while my body does its postpartum thing and the year comes to a close. I’m excited about the time and money this will free up for the ever-changing wardrobes of these growing kids of mine. It will also inspire force a bit of creativity on my end, something that doesn’t always come naturally to me.
Send me your IG shop links!
Send me your pregnancy relief stories!
Happy Monday.
I finally located the camera in a moving box, buried safely in a crib sheet. Thanks, whichever sweet friend of ours did that on moving day! When I got it plugged it in, I couldn’t help but smile at the photos from the evening we closed on the farmhouse. We brought all of the kids over to hang out while we entertained guests – a chimney inspector, a security system sales rep, a cleaning crew, and our realtor.
These shots of Ames Emmanuel were my favorite, by far…
