Working mama update

I've now made it through 2.5 weeks of working full-time. It has been a difficult adjustment but I was happy that the first week was so crazy busy because it caused me to really jump back in with both feet!

I love coming home to this though each day!!!!

I call my mom as soon as I leave the Pentagon.. she opens the front door and Hunter is always standing there waiting for my arrival! He is such a cutie!

Stitch Fix #2

Yesterday when I got home this was waiting for me...

I was so excited to get my monthly Stitch Fix Box!!! As I opened the box I saw pops of color peeking out of the edges of the tissue paper and I just knew that this was going to be a good box!

Here is the note from my stylist of the month...

I had a different stylist for this box which I have mixed feelings about... I read on a few blogs that people have the same stylist over and over which I kind of like because they can really get a feel for what you are looking for and what your comfort level is.. but I guess it is also good to mix it up because you get a fresh perspective and something new...

The box included a necklace, jeans, a dress, and two tank tops...

Here they are on... please excuse the horrible photos! I clearly fail at selfies!

Dress- 41Hawthorn Yellow Lex Textured Floral Knit Fit & Flare Dress

The color is very neon yellow with a gray pattern. Matt liked it a lot but I'm thinking that I'm too pale to pull this one off. The fabric also is a bit odd and doesn't hold it's shape very well. Kind of looks cheap. Not a fan.

Jeans - Kensie Tall Skinny Jeans 

Tank - Eight Sixty - Kalea Watercolor Print Zip Detail Blouse

I also tried the tank with a skirt for work

I'm a HUGE fan of the jeans!!! love love love!!! They are just a little too tight at the moment but I'm still in the process of shedding the pounds so I"m not too worried. I like how they are so long and bunch a little around the ankles. 

I also like this top a lot. the zipper will make it easy to feed and I love that it has so many colors so it will go with ANYTHING. Casual or dressy I think this is a win.

Jeans - Kensie Tall Skinny Jeans 

Tank - Kut from The Kloth- Cranston Cross Front Razerback Blouse

Necklace- Bay to Baubles 

Jeans are the same as above... 

The White Tank seems a little too boxy for me but I do like the crossing of the fabric in the front. Matt loves it sooo... 

Necklace seems super cheap and I've gotten nicer from Target recently 

Breakdown... 

Necklace: $34
Jeans: $88
Stripe Tank: $78
White Tank: $58
Dress: $74

TOTAL: 332
 I'm for sure not going to get everything... I know that I am going to pass on the dress and necklace but I will purchase the jeans! 

What are the votes on the two tank tops?

Want to try Stitch Fix??? I highly recommend Here is some additional Info

Stitch Fix #1

July Goals

How is it possible that the year is already halfway over???

Here are my goals for the month:

Loose 5 lbs... want to loose another 5 lbs through better eating habits and moderate exercise.

Run 3 miles w/out walking... Still plan on doing the Army 10 miler in October!

Finish Gibson's Room... poor guy still sleeps in a crib without custom bedding... It is practically child abuse.

Throw a baby shower for my girl Krista! Cannot wait to throw a shower to celebrate the pending arrival of little Elijah. I'm also helping with the design of his nursery.

Birch Event and Design Website... hope to get this up and running. I have the site designed and language written. I just need to go through photos and get those loaded.

Get Emma ready for Camp... Emma will be heading off to camp for two weeks mid-month and I have a TON that will need to get done before she departs for GA.

FINISH THE FREAKING PLAYROOM! So this is on the list AGAIN to complete... I swear I will get it done by August! I will not let this room defeat me for an entire year!!!

Finish Basement Bathroom. Need to just do crown molding and tile in here and it will be done!

Work out at least 4 times a week.

Paint Upper level doors... We replaced all of the doors in our house about 2 years ago and they have remained the off white color that they come in... I REALLY want to get them all painted by the baby shower for Krista.

Finally take some family photos... it is really sad to think that Gibson is 3 months old already and we do not even have ONE family photo as a family of 5! Hope to get done soonest!



This is a LONG list but it involves a lot of help from Matt... He will be the one to spray the doors and when he does so I'm also going to have him do the crown molding for the bathroom and book ledges for the playroom... He will also play a BIG part in getting my website up and running. Fingers crossed he has a productive month as well

June Re-Cap

It is time to hold myself accountable... and let me just say up front that I didn't do well for the month of June.

SUCCESSES:
Loose 5 Lbs-  YAY! I did meet this goal!
Return to work... Started back June 23rd to a CRAZY week! Gibson and Hunter seemed to make the transition really well and Hunter is loving spending time with his NaNa again.

Visit family in Savannah... Spent almost a full week in Savannah with Family. I was so happy that we were able to go down and I hope to visit again with the kiddos soon.

Get my car Inspected... I was 9 months late but I've finally gotten my car inspected and I'm looking forward to no longer getting tickets when in D.C.

Learn to post items on eBay... Happy to say that I have done this one and I'm so excited to get ride of all the STUFF that we no longer have a need for and make some extra money. The app on my phone makes it SOOOO easy to post items on-line! I'm having a hard time with the shipping costs though and a few times I've Just broken even...


FAILURES:
Run 2 miles without walking... so I didn't run very much this month... I made it up to 1.5 miles without walking. I know that I could spew a bunch of excuses like... I traveled, things were crazy starting back at work, or it has been so hot out... but the reality is that I didn't truly make this a priority.

FINISH the freaking playroom... I have a reading nook that I want to complete and I really need to get the spare bed out of the room... work in progress.

Sew Gibson's Bedding... and fail... I cut one of the fabrics incorrectly and tried to reorder on-line but they were sold out... So I'm back to the drawing board.

Take the Virginia Real Estate Broker exam... Just have not had the opportunity to study for the state exam... things have been crazy and my focus has been on other areas in my life.

Nursery for Baby Elijah



I'm so excited to share a mood board that I recently made for my good friend Krista. She is expecting her first child in August and I am so hapy that Gibson will have ANOTHER boy around to play with! It is so neat that so many of my firends were pregnant as at the same time that I was and I just feel so blessed that we were all able to go through these experiances together and that our little men will all be able to grow up with one another!!!

 

ANYWAY... back to the point of this post... the nursery! Krista and Elizar just had a new home built for them and in fact closed on the home this last Friday! With Elijah's birth right around the corner we knew that we would be making his room the first priority!

 

Krista's vision for the little guy included grays, blues, stars, and a "few" cowboys items (daddy is a fan). So this is what I came up with...

 

Bedding, Crib, Rug, Cowboys Artwork, Star Mobile, Star Hooks, Wooden Letters, Dresser, Light, Overlays

Favorite Things Friday

1. I love this bookcase. I'm always a sucker for an IKEA hack!
2. Cannot wait to try  O'verlays for a nursery I'm designing! I've wanted to use them for years!
3. Obsessed with Mini Trader Joe's Ice Cream Cones! YUMMY and just the right size.
4. While I did pass on the $65 Stitch Fix tank I did purchase this one from GAP! At $17.46 it was a great buy!
   
5. Want to do book ledges in the playroom.

Thrifted Thursday #2

Guest what I found at the thrift store for only $3.99???

Yup some ugly green in-boxes for my desk at work... what you wouldn't want to have these dirty things on your desk???

Well after some scrubbing and a few coats of gold spray paint they are looking chic!

I took them to work and they give my desk a bit of individuality... which if you know me, I'm all about. In fact, here is my desk...

I covered my plain tan cork-board with left over fabric from our sun room. It adds a fun pop of color in an office where all of the work spaces look the same... brown brown and some more brown... not for me!

I also put up some cute instagram photos. Makes me smile all day to have so many photos of my family to look at! AND bonus their small size allows me to have so many without taking up a large footprint.

Between the photos and fun colors, my desk really makes me feel at home and my new gold accent is just icing in the cake! Whenever you see something at a thrift store I challenge you to thing of a way to revamp it to make it into something that would make you smile!