Hi friends!

It’s been a while since I’ve posted so I wanted to pop in and give some quick updates. I love my blog so much even though maintaining it takes up more time than I seem to have these days, but every time I think about letting it go, I just can’t do it. Life feels pretty routine lately and I doubt anyone is interested in hearing about the monotony of our days, weeks, months, etc. so I haven’t had much to write about–although I have toyed with the idea of doing a day-in-the-life post. What do y’all think?

Anyway, through the monotony, we’ve still had some cool things happen so I’ll share what we’ve been up to lately for those who are interested.

It should come as no surprise that someone who enjoys putting together cute outfits for herself so much that she started documenting them on a blog in grad school would also enjoy putting together cute outfits for her kiddo. When I was pregnant, I had little daydreams of dressing Sebastian up like the little kid models you see on Pinterest, and doing these cute little mommy + me outfit posts. Obviously that didn’t happen because, like most new moms, I barely had time to shower after Sebastian was born, let alone time to plan fun and elaborate outfit posts.

But then S got a little bit older and entered the “I DO IT” independence phase. This is a great milestone for him and crucial for boosting his development, self-esteem, and independence. And one of the things he has started to do is dress himself. First it started with him independently putting on the clothes I picked out for him and has slowly morphed into him picking out the clothes, too. While I sometimes feel a little disappointed about not always getting to put together cute outfits for him, I have learned a lot from my almost-4 year old about what it means to wear clothes and get dressed. And I’m appreciating a whole new word of cute!

Jammies and sneaks

Last Friday, Sebastian turned three years old! He’s turned into such a character and I just love his little personality. He’s sweet, silly, and energetic. He loves to run, which makes playing soccer his favorite. He likes putting together puzzles and reading books. He  has also started embracing his sassy side, becoming more defiant than usual but that’s life with a threenager!

Hi, dear readers! I didn’t mean to disappear for a month, but life has been hectic. Between travel, work, toddler needs, and life, time just got away from me. Let’s catch up, shall we?

Travel

At the end of September, Nick and I traveled to California. It was a dual-purpose trip: My best friend was getting married in Carmel-by-the-Sea and asked me to be in the wedding on September 29th, to which I couldn’t say yes fast enough, and then, because her wedding was two days before our own wedding anniversary on October 1st, Nick and I decided to head up to San Francisco for a few days to celebrate our own wedded bliss.

The wedding was stunningly gorgeous. I’m so jealous of how beautiful everything was but I’m honestly not surprised because it simply matched the beauty that is my best friend, both inside and out. I was so busy helping with and prepping for the wedding that I didn’t get to take many photos, but I can’t wait to see the photos that the photographer took. I have a feeling they’re going to be top notch. In the meantime, here are a few that I managed to snap when in the little bit of downtown we had.

Big Sur, California. This was basically the background of my friend’s wedding!

Happy bridesmaid!

Obligatory Golden Gate Bridge picture

Fashion

In North Carolina, we had about a week of “false” fall in mid-September where the temperature cooled down to a beautiful 68-75 degrees, but then quickly heated up again. In California, it was “true” fall with temps in the 60s-70s every day. I think that was my favorite thing about California aside from the wedding. Anyway, NC’s false fall allowed me to wear a few fall-like outfits, which was exciting. You can find them on my Instagram and I shared them on Nikki by example’s Facebook page, but here’s a recap.

Fall outfits, finally!

Outfit 1: Blouse: Loft Outlet | Cardigan: via Stitch Fix | Jeans: LOFT | Shoes: H&M | Necklace: Old Navy 
Outfit 2: Sweater: ModCloth | Jeans: Wit & Wisdom via Stitch Fix | Shoes: Banana Republic (old) | Necklace: J. Crew Factory
Outfit 3: Sweater & Trousers: Banana Republic (old) | Shoes: H&M | Jewelry: Target | see outfit post here.
Outfit 4: Sweater: ModCloth | Jeans: LOFT | Shoes: Madden Girl | Necklace: J. Crew Factory | Belt: Target

Family

In mid-August, Sebastian started potty training and he’s really been rocking it! We’ve gotten super lucky in that many of his friends at preschool are also potty training so I think he picked up on it really quickly from seeing them go to the potty at school. He’s very good about peeing on the toilet on his own and is slowly overcoming his fear of pooping on the toilet. This is pretty common with kids from what I’ve read and heard. I feel like it has been incredibly easy learning/training process, and that for that I am eternally grateful! This kid is truly the best.

The “baby potty” as Sebastian calls it.

Work

I just accepted an offer to work as a research coordinator in the Department of Population Health at one of the large universities in the area and I start next month. It’s a welcomed change that will come with more responsibilities and more pay, so I’m really excited to start this new career journey. I will miss working in adolescent sexual health but the time has come for me to move on and move up in my career. And don’t worry – the building also has a big mirror in the restroom so you’ll still get regular outfit updates 😉

I will soon be a university employee

I think that’s it for now. Lots of stuff going on and many changes to work through, but overall, life is great! I hope all is going well for you, too.

We’ve reached a big milestone in our house. Sebastian is sleeping [mostly] through the night in his own bed in his own room!

via GIPHY