Maternity Outfit for Baby #4

While I don't have the time or inclination to go back to style blogging, I do want to try to get in maternity outfit photos throughout this pregnancy just to journal my progress, watch my body grow in photos, keep me finding creative ways to dress the bump, and be able to compare to my previous pregnancy photos. 

So here I am at 15 weeks. I wore this today for church. Wednesday is my 16 week appointment. I feel like the weeks are going by pretty fast already. It will be the second week of February soon and I'll be finding out the baby's gender!

Dress - Ann Taylor - hand-me-down (thanks Lalia!)

Scarf - c/o www.morethanalive.com

Boots - Jessica Simpson - c/o eBay

Sweater - Gap Maternity - Goodwill for $4

Besides the huge appetite I wish I didn't have (hello 6 extra pounds...and counting!), I am really having an amazing pregnancy. My morning sickness continues to be almost completely nonexistent in the mornings and doesn't creep in until around noon. During the afternoon the sickness is very manageable and sometimes I can get relief by just taking ginger root capsules. By the evening I am definitely nauseated, but still not finding myself outright sick. If I go to bed by 10PM I can usually sleep through the worst of the nausea and by 5AM it's gone. I feel so very lucky to have it so easy this time around!

Outside of craving carbs for my first and third pregnancies, the only odd thing I've craved was refried beans in my second pregnancy. I craved it so badly that I ate it cold with a spoon right out of the can! This pregnancy I'm fitting right into the stereotype of pregnant women having weird cravings. In my early weeks of pregnancy I really just wanted beans and salad - nothing too crazy. But by week 11 I was craving mustard, hot dogs, olives, pickles, horse radish, salami, and summer sausage - which I ate all together. Since then I've just been craving steak, hamburgers (which I have yet to indulge in), refried beans, cheese, spicy foods (medium salsa has been cutting it so far), and lately I'd really love a huge slice of lasagna!  

So any guesses? Girl or boy?

I thought I'd get a few new headshots to show off my chopped hair. My decision to chop had nothing to do with trying to look better. Let's face it, I think I look best with long hair and that's why I've always kept it long. But I'm turning a new leaf and trying to focus less on how I look. It's just hair and it grows back. For now having less hair means I don't have to wear ponytails that give me headaches, it takes half the time to curl, and I no longer have to get annoyed with pulling hair out of coats or out of baby's hands. It was the right time for this. I thought I'd look forward to growing it out right away, but I'm actually just enjoying the ease and the way it looks and not even thinking about growing it out yet.

Mod Bangs

 I decided to chop off my bangs and now they're falling where I want them. Change is fun!

The "Mom" Cut

Had a hair appointment Tuesday night and decided just before that I wanted to get rid of my highlights and take off a few inches. Being sick all the time with morning sickness and headaches means I need a lot less weight off my head.

 

 

Pretty plain and simple, but definitely more practical.

Spring has finally arrived in Northwest Ohio! I bought a training-wheel-less-bike for my son earlier today to celebrate the weather, and he just now learned how to ride it. We're pretty excited over here!

My Faux Bob

Every so often I get the urge to try something different with my hair - I'm never brave enough to actually go through with my ideas, but I finally decided to at least experiment with a faux bob.

 

To achieve this look, all I did was gather a loose pony at the nape of my neck and then turn the tail under with pins.

 

For some a great tutorial on the faux bob, go here.

Outfit Post: Green

This morning I decided to take the kids to the movies. Our local theatre has free showings for children at 10:00 on Wednesday mornings. So these are the photos I got straight from the shower, before I fixed my hair and as I was rushing out the door. Last night when I got home from the salon, my hair looked smooth and perfect like this.

 I know, very blurry photo. Gone are the days when I have the time to actually use a real camera. Droid camera photos are all I take these days.

After the theatre I was able to curl my hair (gasp). Something I haven't done in ages it seems. I just curled the ends of a few pieces since I am again on the run for more outings today. Here are the lovely headshots of my new haircut. Now, you are all probably not seeing any difference whatsoever. But bear with me. The last time I stepped foot in a salon was 7 years ago. While I've always had my hair done by a professional, it was always inside their home, so I haven't had the full wash treatment in quite a while. I felt completely pampered for two and a half hours last night and can't wait to go back. It may look the same, but it feels totally different. I am a new woman I tell you.

This green dress I won a long time ago from a blog giveaway. It's from Target. The leather belt is from my trip to Florence, and the shoes are Nine West. The faux emerald cuff and earrings are vintage and gifted.



To The Hair Salon

I called my husband the other day to tell him I was going to make an appointment for a hair trim. I normally have my Mom cut my hair, but I won't have the opportunity to have her cut it until Thanksgiving and am too impatient. His response was that I should do something different if I was going to go to a salon. He didn't want any drastic color changes and nothing short. I don't see how I can really do anything different with those restrictions, but this is my idea for the color:

 Some caramel/honey hues added to my hair with reddish undertones.

 For the cut, just the same cut I always get. Lots of face framing layers.

If my husband didn't care I think a bob with lots of layers might be fun. Maybe one day. 

The First Trimester Bloat, New Bangs, and An Outfit Post!

All of the sudden, two days ago, my morning sickness subsided. It didn't go away, it just became manageable. Even still, I didn't bother to post an outfit. I just hung around the house tired and lazy. The day after that, was good too! I really have no excuse not to be posting.

Yesterday wasn't so bad either. Until the evening. Not only did I start feeling really sick again, but I got this huge urge to chop my hair all off. How one can feel this way amidst feeling like their head is going to explode out of their body, or while it feels like the insides of their stomach are being churned into butter and they might throw up, or while they are so fatigued they can barely stand up, I have no idea. But I'm proof that it is possible.

Instead of chopping my hair all off, I just chopped my bangs off. Sick and all, I took a picture of them. Aren't I lovely? ha ha!

On top of feeling sick and scissor happy, I also noticed my belly portruding from underneath my shirt! No, this is not the baby showing...this is what happens when you regain your appetite for a couple of days after having spent the last couple of weeks having a hard time eating at all.

I decided to post this as my first belly shot, though. Why not? After all, I'm almost 11 weeks anyway. But don't let that smile fool you - I collapsed into bed straight after the picture (and it was only 9PM).

So today it doesn't matter whether I feel good or not. I'm posting an outfit. I have a family Birthday dinner party to go to tonight, so I want to look halfway decent.

My stomach hurts so much, I needed to wear a loose top, even though everything still fits. I thought this top needed a belt, but I used the scarf instead so that it would be soft and not hurt my stomach as badly as a leather belt would. I like how it turned out, and my stomach is thanking me for it.

And I know, it looks like I'm wearing a maternity top already - but I promise I'm not! See - my belly's still somewhat flat underneath all of that fabric!

Top - Kohl's - gifted

Scarf/belt - gifted

Jeans - Express - $19

Espadrille wedges - Target - $6

Shell earrings - Target - $1

Oh, and THANK YOU so much for all the congratulatory comments on the baby! I am really super excited! I very much appreciated all the blessings, prayers, and well wishes!

Fashion Haircuts

When I get the urge to try a new haircut, I just sit down and draw a bunch of styles that I'd never have the nerve to try, but admire on other people.

New Haircut!

Here is the before picture of my hair...it was air dried, no product, and no styling...so completely au naturale in all its frizzy glory! lol!

Here's the fabulous cut! I love it! It doesn't overwhelm me, but it is still long and flowy. When my stylist finished the cut, she didn't even need to blow dry or style it - it looked fine as is! So yes, this is my hair without blow dry, hair product, or any styling! I hope to keep my hair this cut for a long while - it's so easy!

And the outfit:

Pink knit top - Banana Republic - $6.99

Trouser jeans - Express - $9.99

Green jacket - hand-me-down

Pink shell earrings - gifted

Nude pumps - Target - $6
Bag - hand-me-down

My new hair cut

Here are some self taken shots of my new hair cut. I like it a lot, but I think in a few weeks when I go in for a trim I'll have the gal go a bit shorter with the style. For now, this is good though!


Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Hope you all have a fabulous holiday!

My turn to want to cut my hair

So I really loved my hair when it looked like the below picture. It was so easy to style (or not style), it took like 5 minutes to blow dry, a few more minutes to run a flat iron through and then a quick fluff with product. I also thought I looked "cute" with the short hair style and felt like a fashionable mom.
So I've been telling myself I'll keep my hair long until I have baby number 2 (not that I'm pregnant or anything). My reasoning...None. So, why not go ahead and get it cut again?

So I'm gonna mess around and see if I can find other short styles that I'd like to try. We'll see if I end up cutting it or not.

Follow up on "finding my style Part III"

I've been reminded that some people can't do a short cut based on their hair texture (thank you Jules)! I thought I would mention that I meant to say short-to-medium cuts. Even then, I'm sure girls with spiral curly hair also like to keep their hair long, and yet, they don't have to straighten or curl their hair for it to look styled.

So I needed to follow up that last style post with the point that I think every woman needs to make sure her hair looks styled. A styled cut usually means a shorter cut, as styling shorter hair is easier than styling longer hair. For this reason, I think shorter is better to achieve a polished and stylish look. For those of us with wavy or full-bodied thick hair (like myself), or for those of you with super curly hair, you may never be able to wear your hair short! Nevertheless, you can keep it layered to give your hair shape and body, and as often as you can keep it looking styled, (whatever that may mean for you) keep it styled!

Finding my style Part III

The next style issue I've had to address recently is that of a hairstyle. A woman's hair is the best accessory she owns. It is oftentimes the first thing someone notices about her, and really says a lot about her personality. If you, like me, are looking to polish your look and define your style, then after clearing out your wardrobe and determining what colors look best on you, a haircut should be your next step.

With the short cut being so trendy right now, I've really wanted to cut my hair. I've used virtual makeover sites to see which short cut would be the best on me, and have come very close to calling a hairstylist to make an appointment to cut it.

The bottom line is the shorter to medium-length cuts are almost always going to make a bigger style statement than long hair. Why? Because, most women with long hair don't do much with it, besides throw it in a ponytail. With a shorter cut, your hair looks instantly styled with minimal effort. Shorter hair frames your face, allows for bounce and movement, and keeps your hair healthy, which will give it extra shine. Longer hair can end up with split ends, leaving it dull and lifeless. Long hair can weigh so much that you will have no bounce or movement. And more often times than not, long hair is worn either pulled back from your face, or hanging in strings far below your face.





After analyzing photo after photo of really great short cuts...









I've come to the conclusion that everyone should wear a stylish short cut...UNLESS they are willing to take the time and effort to keep their long hair styled. If you have the time to wear your hair either perfectly coiffed, curled, or straightened, then by all means...keep it long! But if not, get a smart cut that will give you that instant style oomph!

But for those of you whose style is romantic (like mine), and if you are willing to pay the price, there is certainly nothing wrong with keeping your hair long...







After much thought over what my signature look should be, or maybe already is, I've decided that I just wouldn't be "me" without my long hair. I know at some point I'll cut it short, but for now I'm going to stick to my old look and just force myself to keep it styled so that it will look like a "style!"


And yes, the photo above is from our family photo shoot we had on Saturday.

Follow up on cutting your own hair

I originally posted about this here and promised pictures - which I have only recently obtained! Below I have cut and paste the 6 steps I posted earlier, but included corresponding photos. The model is a friend, so I'm not actually cutting my own hair here, but hopefully it will give you a better idea than when I first posted about this. Being that I was cutting the hair, and also taking the pictures...I'm not sure that these pictures are really that helpful, but it was the best I could do. Hope it helps!
.......................................................................................................................................................................

1. I started with freshly washed hair and then combed it through. I parted it down the middle and put each side over each shoulder. Then I brushed half of her hair forward onto her face and cut an upside down "U" shape around her face, keeping the shortest edge to right about her lip.

2. Then I pulled the sides forward and cut a vertical line framing the face. This is what creates the layers that shape around her face.

3. After that, I took sections of hair from behind her ears to her forehead and pulled them straight up above her head and cut what would end up being a U-shape with all the sections I pulled up.
4. If you were cutting your hair yourself, you would then comb all your hair over your head and bend over. In my case, I cut an inch off the handful of all my hair that was combed across my head and onto my face. I cut it about six inches away from my forehead.

[I forgot to take a picture of this step since my technique is different when cutting someone else's hair. Shoot. Sorry!]

5. The last step was combing her hair out and again parting it down the middle. In my friend's case, I just cut a U-shape in the back in small sections, starting with the under layer of her hair and working outwards. If you cut the bottom layer slightly shorter and gradually make each outer layer longer, then you will cause the hair to bend under at the ends, instead of the blunt cut, which would cause the hair to lay straight (if you have straight hair). If you are cutting your own hair, you pull half your hair over one shoulder, and the other half over the other shoulder, and then cut however many inches off the length you desire. When you brush your hair back, it will have a nice U-shape.

6. To make sure it all blended I just combed sections away from her face and trimmed any stray hairs as I brushed it out and matched the length on either side of her head.

[with my friend, I also pulled bangs forward and brushed them to the side before cutting them around her face.]
And the finished product.
I used Nioxin hair volumizer and texturizer and CitreShine shine serum before I blew it dry with a vent brush. Lastly, I just touched up the ends with a curling iron.
Let me know if you have any questions!