If Only We Could Play Games Every Friday

Sweater Dress and Jacket: swapped; Cords: New York & Company; Boots: Kohl's; Belt: Luci Boutique

Yesterday for a team holiday celebration, my boss treated us to a trip to Dave & Buster's, which for those of you who don't know, is like a grown-up Chuck E Cheese's. I was a little skeptical at first, but it was a lot of fun! Deeefinitely not a bad way to spend half of my work day on a Friday.

I went with a more casual business casual outfit with two of the items I picked up at the swap last weekend. This blazer is A-line and swingy, so it's a little hard to style. I think next time I'll keep it really simple with jeans, a white T-shirt, and some accessories. A pencil skirt would probably work, too, but I have yet to find a suitable one for myself.

Racing the Sun

T-shirt: Target; Cardigan: Wet Seal; Jeans: New York & Company; Shoes: Mr. Shoe; Belt: Kohl's; Scarf: gift; Hat: H&M

This outfit is actually from a few weeks ago. It was my second attempt at recreating an outfit from Girl with Curves. This was also the day when my boss mocked my giant yellow scarf, haha. Men. Obviously I didn't wear the hat to work.

I was determined to use natural light for these pictures, so I raced home after work, glancing at the setting sun as I drove. Pretty sure the sun won--I had to lighten these pics up quite a bit. And one of my neighbors drove by as I was taking these, so the last couple shots were of me darting towards the camera. High five to you guys who do your photos in public.

Anjolee Jewelry Review

Sweater and Necklace: Kohl’s; Skirt: New York & Company; Thigh-High Socks: American Apparel; Boots: Target; Belt and Hat: Forever 21; Ring: c/o Anjolee

Since I’ve been with my husband, I’ve started to understand the value of quality and the longevity that comes from having something of quality. His motto in life is “Go big or go home,” and his weakness is electronics. He’ll only buy the best. And if he can’t find the best, he’ll make it (in the case of speakers).

Of the material goods that interest me, I notice a big difference in how long bags and jewelry last when I spend a bit more money. That’s not to say inexpensive things are always bad. I’ve had these affordable black boots for a couple years now, and they’re the most comfortable pair of boots I own by far. But I can think of many specific examples when I bought an accessory and it fell apart in no time. A couple New Year’s Eves ago, I bought a statement ring to go with my ensemble, and before I even wore it, the ring part came detached from the band.

I’ve never really been into fine jewelry in the past because my tastes change, and I tend to like bigger statement pieces. But now that I have a kid, I like the idea of having something valuable and sentimental to pass on to her. The center stone in my diamond wedding ring was my grandmother’s, and it originally belonged to her grandmother. Hopefully I’ll have some nice things to give to my children and grandchildren, maybe anniversary rings some years in the future to add to my bridal set.

Having said all of that, I was pretty excited when Anjolee contacted me to review one of their products. I chose the Millgrain Edge Diamond and Gemstone Eternity Ring because I may or may not have gasped a little when I saw the picture of this one. I love the look of the eternity band, and I thought the red was festive. And by the way, the ring also came in a gorgeous box. This particular ring is the cubic zirconia version, but I could see getting a diamond one maybe with yellow down the road to complement my engagement and wedding rings.

I'm also linking up with wear*it Wednesday on 12/21: How to Wear Holiday Inspired Outfits hosted by la boutique verte.

Disclosure: Although the ring was given to me for review purposes, all views and opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Twelve Month Stats

Height: 31 inches (96th percentile)

Weight: 21 pounds 15 ounces (66th percentile)

Head Circumference: 17.5 inches (34th percentile)

Food: Table food--fruit and veggies are still her favorite, but she also eats toast, waffles, muffins, scrambled eggs, pasta, and crackers. We'll have to start working some more milk-based products in now like yogurt and cheese.

Drink: Her pediatrician recommended going cold turkey with no more bottles, so we switched her over to whole milk in sippy cups last night. She's doing fine with it, but she doesn't chug it as fast as she chugged bottles.

Size: 18 months in clothes, 3 in diapers, between 2 and 3 in shoes

Teeth: We can finally see two on top and two on the bottom beginning to poke through. We're hoping that explains her crankiness at night as of late.

Milestones:

• Starting to understand how shapes fit through things.
• Mimics actions in her environment--holding her hand up to her ear if someone is on the phone, trying to comb her hair with a comb, waving bye if someone says bye, or clapping if someone starts clapping or celebrating in some way.
• Walks around with help.
• Pulls up on everything.
• Likes to climb on things.
• Super fast crawler.
• Babbles a lot, can say mama, dada, baba, nana, duck (I think the only one she knows what it means though is “duck”).

All bundled up, wearing my hat and mittens from when I was a baby.

Natural Light is Neat

Striped Shirt, Hat, and Boots: Target; Long Sleeve Shirt: H&M; Cami: Old Navy; Pants: New York & Company; Scarf: gift

I happened to have my camera in my purse these last couple days, so I decided I might as well try to get a couple outdoor shots in.  Although I love the lighting a lot more than the lighting in my kitchen, it's always awkward trying to get these without someone walking by.  And you can totally see the awkwardness on my face today.  Tyra would not be pleased.

Speaking of Tyra, tonight is the America's Next Top Model season finale!  Woohoo!!!!  At this point, I'm hoping Allison will win; I wouldn't mind if Angelea won; but my guess is Lisa is going to win it all although I REALLY don't want that happening.  So we'll see.

Not a great shot, but I wanted to be sure to include a picture of my sequin shoulder.

This week's wear*it Wednesday theme is winter hats, and it's being hosted at its new home, For the Birds.

Happy 1st Birthday, Bridget!

Today, my baby girl is 1-year-old! We're headed to her 12-month appointment this afternoon, so here are some pictures from her birthday party this weekend. We had six kids total ranging from less than a month old to almost 3-years-old, and then maybe 10-15 adults.

The theme was rubber ducks, and I found all the decorations on Amazon. I kept it pretty simple with just a centerpiece, plates and napkins, garland, and mini ducks as party favors.

I'm kicking myself because these rock star and fairy tale ducks were supposed to be party favors, but I forgot to hand them out after the second family left. This post-baby memory loss really is crippling sometimes. "Crippling" may be a little dramatic, but it's definitely annoying.

Bridget could not get enough of all the ducks around! She kept saying "Duh! Duh! Duh!" and pointing.

As for Bridget's party outfit, the dress is one I made this summer but never actually put her in it. Since it was probably the most complicated thing I've ever sewn, I couldn't let it go unworn. The crown I bought at Target. There's a matching tutu, which I put her in to go to school today.

Before:

After:

As you can see, the cake eating was quite anticlimactic besides the goofy goatee she gave herself. Hopefully she'll put more of a dent in the birthday cupcakes I sent with her to daycare today.

Sweaters and Shopping

Sweater: Target; Striped Shirt: Old Navy: Pants: Gap; Boots: Mr. Shoe; Belt: Luci Boutique

I love sweater dresses. I'm not sure if this was sold as a dress, but it's definitely a sweater tunic on me. But I still love it, and it served me well while I was pregnant too, as I'm sure you can imagine. I wore this to work of course, and then while running some errands. During my shopping trip yesterday, I forgot to pick up flannel sheets, which was on my list I never actually looked at, so I went back to Kohl's to look for those with a 20% off coupon in hand.

Gotta love Kohl's eh? They always have good sales, and having coupons on top of it makes them even more affordable. Speaking of, someone working with Kohl's contacted me and invited me to share some discounts with you! Since I'm there so often anyway, it was definitely an offer I felt compelled to share in case you have some holiday shopping (presents or festive outfits for yourself!) left to do.

Take an Extra 15% Off Fine & Sterling Silver Jewelry
Enter Promo Code SPECIAL15 at checkout
Valid: 12/6-12/7

Take an Extra 20% Off your Kohls.com Purchase
Enter Promo Code BIGGESTSALE at checkout
Valid: 12/8-12/11

Disclaimer: I received no compensation for this promotion; I'm just a fan of the store.