Bring on the spandex!

I am hitting the big 33 this week. Oh yes, I am quickly approaching mid-thirties. We did a lot of celebrating in Napa, so I won't be whooping it up too much this weekend. Just a nice dinner at a great Italian place that makes my favorite coconut cake.

I told my husband that if he wanted to get me anything this year, all I want is Lululemon. I would take anything...a jacket, their pants, even a great tank. I just LOVE their stuff and now that I am in full workout mode, I would like some gear to look good while doing it. Thankfully we just got our first Lululemon store here in Kansas, so I have been able to peruse some items in person.

Here is what I am loving...

this jacket is spectacular! I am really digging the longer length and the hood is perfect for rainy/snowy days. We have a great fall here in Kansas City, it would be ideal for our climate! I am thinking black, is that boring?

The Wear With All jacket, $98. 

My friend Annie has these, and they are awesome! I have a cropped version similar to this, and I think I want the full length going into fall.

The Wonder Under pant $78

These tops are SUPER flattering. They slim out your entire torso and give the"girls" a good lift. 

Scoop Neck Tank $52

oh and Jonathan, if you are reading this...I would love to add this to my Tracy Anderson collection. Thank you!

I've got my eye on you...

HURRAY for boots and leggings/jeans weather! It's hard to believe how warm it has been, so to finally feel 60 degrees is glorious. After busting out my old boots this week, I am feeling like I need an update. Not that I need something new immediately, but these might be nice to put on my Christmas list this year. I am definitely thinking riding boots (I need style AND comfort). I don't need a lot of bells and whistles on my boots, just something classic.  Here are some of my faves...

Totally simple, but great color. Even better price, $198 by Corso Como on Piperlime

I am not sure what color I would get, they come in black too! Amazing price $149 by Hive & Honey on Piperlime

This is classic and I don't think i would ever tire of this color. In fact, I bet they get better with wear. By Frye on Piperlime $318

LUST, LUST, LUSTING over these Paul Green's $376 on Zappos

A major splurge, but I love the zipper and buckle detail. Burberry $995 on Zappos

Just give me earflaps

Why is it that when there is a slight crispness in the air, you immediately take inventory of all the things you need for fall? I should have been thinking about this months ago, and now coat/hat weather is just about here!

Thankfully we have the coat situation covered (thanks to my dear friend Heather who found an adorable Appaman puffer coat for a crazy deal) But now we need to think about hats. Julian has a huge melon, poor kid. So the best looking hat on him is a tight knit style with earflaps. I love this style, on boys and girls alike.

Not sure which is cuter, the model or the hat? 

But, I am DYING for this one, $23 by Heart Smiles

This flower version is organic cotton, and you can pick the colors! $28 also by Heart Smiles on Etsy

Great colors in this one by Karlys Closet on Etsy $21.50

For your double trouble... Only $32.50

I am not much into "animal" style hats, but these monkey ears are pretty adorable. By Cite Fuzz on Etsy...

$28

$28

$28

Not an earflap, but equally as sweet. By Lovely Knits on Etsy $21.96

Loving this color combo, also by Lovely Knits $23.95

M.I.A

I am not sure how you go from this...

pure heaven in Napa

to the crazy last week we have had...it almost feels as though our vacation never happened...

So, a brief summary:

Monday: took my darling mom to the airport (after watching Julian for 4 days) and all seemed well. We were still in our post vacation bliss.

Tuesday: all hell broke loose. First our computer dies. Not my sweet 6 year old mac, but the sparkly almost new HP of my husbands with very important documents and all my new Canon photos. FREAKING OUT. Thankfully our toothless computer guy (yes, he's toothless,but he's a genius) was able to save our files. I spent 2 1/2 hours with the guy, not my idea of a great fall afternoon.

Wednesday: Seemed like a normal day until around 10:45 when I felt like someone was shoving 50 knives into my abdomen. The pain was close to that of labor pains. 

Thursday: After hours at the Dr. I find out that I have ruptured a cyst on my Ovary. sorry if this is TMI, but 99.5% of my readers are female and I figure some of you may have had this happen to you? Any advice would be appreciated.

Friday: Back to the Dr. for a sonogram to make sure that all is o.k. They discover a mass on my ovary. It is another golf ball sized cyst. Just when I thought I was in the clear! And on top of all this, our son comes down with a really bad cold. The green snot, coughing kind that makes them super cranky and not easy to deal with. Oh and my husband is in a wedding which keeps him busy both Thursday and Friday night. Thank God for help from friends and family...I couldn't have done it without them!

So, hence my absence and lack of posts last week. I think the dark cloud over our house has lifted...on to a brighter, less stressful week!

Super Dooper

Julian just had his 2nd birthday. It's time to discuss the inevitable. And let me tell you, I am not looking forward to it....

although this song just might make it more fun! Emily, if you are reading this, I can totally see your family singing this on a regular basis...



Are you laughing? Because I sure am!!!!!

Genius

I really didn't intend to go to Wine country and return with a toy for my son. But there was the most charming kids store in Yountville, CA called Lemondrop Kids and I couldn't help but look for something for Julian.

 It was a store chock full of great toys. Rare finds, not the stuff you see in Toys R Us. The knowledgeable owner geared me to some perfect toys for our now 2 year old. We decided to go with  Pop Rocketz. $12 for a "air popper" and 3 foam rockets. It says for 4 plus, but the lady assured me that 2 plus can work this toy.

Sure enough, we have now had hours of fun with the Pop Rocketz. Even my nieces and nephews ( 6 years plus) had a blast playing with the popper.

Not to scare you with the word Christmas (we still have 3 months to go) But wouldn't these be a great stocking stuffer?

Did you know?

That Tracy Anderson's first book, The 30 Day Method, hits bookstores today?! I am kind of excited to see what it is all about, considering I am so obsessed with her DVD workouts. I am thinking this diet/workout plan in her book would be a good kick start (if you need it) or even a good way to get your body back after a baby. I might go to the bookstore tomorrow to check it out and report back. Any loyal followers who pre-ordered it already?

PS-our trip to Napa was a DREAM! A post with pictures is to come...

Fashion and Feds

Mid September means 2 things; U.S. Open Tennis and Fashion Week. I am pretty much obsessed with both.  Spring Fashion is always a favorite of mine, and I love to see what will be looking forward to. And as far as Tennis goes,  my DVR is backed up just because that is all we have been watching! I love it though, it's such a fast paced game and one of the easiest sports to watch on T.V. It also doesn't hurt to have this to look at...

I mean, really, how cute is Roger Federer? He also scores major points for his humble and sweet demeanor. His wife is one LUCKY gal!

Apparently I am not the only one who has a crush on Roger...

Oh Yes, Ms.Wintour is a HUGE Federer fan! She has even been known to give him some fashion advice on and off the court. 

She is hard to miss in the stands with that iconic hair and those sunglasses...

And guess who is always seated next to Mrs.Federer?

Don't you love when fashion and sports collide? I certainly do!

Anna Wintour, Blake Lively and Roger Federer at Fashion Night Out: The Show, picture via HERE

I love a bargain!

I have gone back and forth about what sort of "foundation" I should go with this fall. I had tried the Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer. I liked it, but didn't love it. The coverage was almost too thick for me. Then I had tried the Bare Essentials 3 step system. Again, I thought it looked great but I could tell by the end of the day that it had really lost it's coverage. 

So, I asked my friend whose skin always looks so "even" what she was using. I couldn't believe it when she said Cover Girl! Not that there is anything wrong with Drugstore brands, I just have a hard time buying something I can't try first. She swears by the Aqua Smoothers Tinted Moisturizer. 

I promptly went to Target and was thrilled by the price ($6.99) and even more excited with the results! It goes on super smooth (no sponge/applicator needed) and it is so sheer that it goes on very even. You will not have that line on the edge of your face, but it has just enough color to give you natural looking coverage. 

If you are looking for something with a lot of coverage, this probably isn't for you. But if you want something quick, easy and light weight, it is the perfect product! I do have to say, I have to put some powder on after to get rid of some shiny spots, and then I always use a bronzer. But, overall it's such an easy application that doesn't take much time. It's also SPF 15, which is a huge plus!

Has anyone else tried this product? Thoughts?

So Grown Up...

When does age 2 suddenly seem like age 6? We got Julian all ready to go this morning for his first day of Mother's Day Out (pre-pre-school) and as I packed his lunch I felt like I was sending him off to Kindergarten! He had a bit of a rough day. Apparently it started out great, but when he realized I wasn't coming back for a while and that he had to nap there he got kind of upset. I think it was on and off tears all day.

I picked him up to find a very tired, but still pretty happy guy withn a big smile on his face. 2 is tough, they don't quite understand everything yet and in their eyes 7 hours way from mom is a long time! I missed him like crazy, but I got a MILLION things done. I am hoping it just gets easier from week to week.

On a lighter note, we did celebrate his 2nd birthday (early) because my parents decided to visit for the long weekend. We had an impromptu, very casual, but very fun celebration. It was so gorgeous this weekend, we spent a lot of time outside.

it's always hard to get a toddler to smile...

how sweet is this pic? His twin cousins are the best!

a new car to add to the collection with some help from his Pappy

slightly overwhelmed by all the excitement

Our very "tidy" son didn't want to get his hands dirty in the cake. So mom and dad showed him how it was done...

yep, that's how you get your toddler to eat his cake!

We had an amazing weekend, and I hope you all did too!

one of each please!

As I was catching up on some blog reading tonight, I came across Ayofemi Jewelry on Dilly Dallas' blog. I gasped and grabbed my husband. The words out of my mouth were " I want all of them"! He was too distracted by U.S. Open tennis to even notice what I was talking about, and he pretty much ignored me. Even as I was squealing over all the pretty bracelets. Her prices are unreal, and wouldn't these be pretty layered with all the other bracelets I have been mentioning lately?

I am in love with these dainty gold dipped bar bracelets...only $18!

such a gorgeous color...Chrysoprase and Gold stone bracelet $42

Beaded bar bracelet in ivory

these beaded bar bracelets are great for layering

and the modern friendship bracelet. I just love these!

You could be lucky and win a set of her friendship bracelets via Dilly Dallas blog...although I am not sure why I am telling you all about it...yours truly is hoping that lady luck is on her side for this one!

Prepping

We have a busy next few weeks, first on the agenda is getting our son to his first day of Mother's Day Out. He turns 2 in a few weeks, and as a first time mom, it's hard to believe how fast the time has gone!

We have the little backpack, all personalized and ready to go!

$32 on La Plates.com

and THEN, at his orientation yesterday they reminded us that we had to label everything. I TOTALLY forgot about the labels. yikes! So as soon as I got home I surfed the internet trying to find something cute. I wanted some waterproof labels for sippy cups, and some iron on for clothing and small stickers for his utensils and each diaper has to be labeled too (a lot to think about, right?!). Thankfully I came across the most adorable labels, customized to your liking. 

NameBubbles.com has EVERYTHING. From daycare packs, to school packs, and even stuff for camp. It's a one stop shop! 

Aren't these fun? Any other items I need for MDO that I might be missing? 

It's all about the shoes...

A very good friend of mine contacted me about putting together an ensemble for a rehearsal dinner. She has these amazing shoes from Anthropologie and couldn't quite find the perfect cocktail dress to go with them. Aren't these just beautiful?

Anticipation Heels $168

My friend has an incredible figure, a model figure to be exact. She could totally do something that is body hugging. Also, since the shoes have big bow detail and a thicker heel, I think doing a dress that is more simple would be a perfect complement to the shoe.

$128 Factory by Erik Hart

$295 by Vince

$324 by A.L.C

but I am loving something in a silk fabrication too. This Navy one is my favorite...

$209 by Parker

you should see this one from the back, beautiful detail...$264 by Anlo

and since the dresses are solid and simple, do some sort of bold necklace. Forever 21 has amazing big statement jewelry right now...

Vintage Peacock necklace $8.80

Floral Bib $16.80

Floral Draped Necklace $7.80

To all my Scout readers, if you ever need ensemble ideas, please let me know! I am always up for a project, Just email me!