Thursday, September 26, 2013

Pumpkin Spice

First, please note my keys in the doorknob. Great photo prop, yes? 
I've taken notice of my boss' style, at work, and we're very similar in the sense that we like to be comfortable, but visually interesting and creative. She is a master layerer. Er er er. Er? I'm big on cardigans for the cooler months so that I can still wear my tanks and shells, but thought I'd take her lead and try layering something under a shell for a change. I'm really loving how comfortable this outfit turned out to be and how I didn't have to worry about getting too hot with a sweater and then bearing my arms. I'm not one for tank tops in a teaching environment, but that's just because I'm not comfortable with my upper arms. I just picked this top up at Target last week for $16.99. I'm really loving the gorgeous, rich pumpkin spice color. And it's just long enough that I'm comfortable wearing some thick leggings!
My favorite thing about this top, other than the color, is the contrasting fabrics (show on right). There's a rayon panel in the middle of the polyester. It's all surprisingly soft and breathable, but I guess fabric has come a long way since the 70s. I hear polyester was hot and itchy back then. I wouldn't know, though. Heehee.
I'm definitely looking forward to more fall colors and doing some more layering for the cooler months. What do you think about this way of layering a sleeveless top? Would you do it? Have any other suggestions?

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Happy 30th Birthday, My Love

Ten years ago, we took a trip from Longwood to Virginia Tech, to celebrate your 20th birthday. We hung out with friends, went to the UConn game, and fell even more in love. It was only two months into our relationship and I don't know about you, but I was completely head over heels, 100% positive I'd be marrying you. Remember this? I bet you'll never have anything with an artificial apple flavor, again. Hah.
We continued dating, falling more in love, and somehow, I convinced you that marrying me would be a good idea. I'm still not exactly sure how I got so lucky. You're really the best. Do you know that? So, we rented a little apartment. And then, we bought a house.
And then, I used my smooth charm and convinced you that we should have a baby. Somehow, I was lucky enough for you to agree. So, Sadie joined our little family.
 And right from the start, you were a soft and safe landing place for our baby girl.
 You made sure to teach her the utmost importance of Hokie Football from a very young age.
 ... And that reading the Toys 'R Us ad right before Christmas time is pretty much the best thing, ever.
 You made her feel like she was on top of the world.
When Sadie was almost three, we decided we hadn't been alone in a long time, so we took a fancy little vacation for our five year wedding anniversary. You treated yourself to an orange Camaro since we'd be celebrating your birthday in the mountains, as well. We had such an awesome time, visiting museums, eating delicious food, playing mini-golf, having surprise bear sightings, taking selfie shots, and you reminded me several times that this was not a vacation for baby making. You knew what was on my mind.
Our anniversary dinner was courtesy of my sweet brother and we went to the Melting Pot for the first time. While we waited for the bus to come pick us up at the bottom of our mountain, this photo sesh happened. Looking at these goofy shots just brings so much joy and reminds me of why we're such a good team.
I obliged to the vacation rules, but shortly after, I finally convinced you that baby #2 was a great idea. So, Norah joined our family.
And you got to be the first one to formally introduce our babies to each other. I can't imagine how proud you were in this moment.
And just like Sadie, Norah has a soft and safe landing place, right on Daddy's chest. With you, our girls will always feel like they are protected.
You have blessed me in more ways than I can possibly keep track of. You're a hardworking, loving, dedicated, committed, and passionate man and I am the luckiest woman in the world that you chose me. Thank you for creating this little family with me and for doing everything in your will to protect, provide for, support, and love us. You are the center of this home and we surround you with love, gratefulness, and adoration.
Happy 30th birthday, my love.
Those things I said were jokes, by the way. I don't want to trade you in one bit!
Can't wait to celebrate our anniversary on Monday!



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Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Clean, Bright, Happy Smile - Colgate SlimSoft Review

If you know me in real life, you know I am an oral hygiene freakazoid. Example: My 21st birthday, I stumbled into my dorm, in definite rare form, but couldn't go to sleep until I flossed, brushed, and swished. True story. And it's been that way ever since I can remember. I'm also one of those super hard brushers, so I have receding gums on the bottom front. All that, add two pregnancies and a failed root canal, well... I have a super sensitive mouth and I'm tough on it. This mouth doesn't miss a brushing, flossing, whitening, rinsing, swishing, cleaning. In the name of cleanliness, it's all taken care of. Unfortunately, even the soft bristled toothbrushes can leave my gums bleeding and create a lingering discomfort in the very back of my mouth where my molars are quite crowded from having a small jaw.

Enter #Influenster and my recent VoxBox, the Colgate SlimSoft toothbrush. Seriously, there wasn't a better product for me to review. Influenster might secretly know too much about me. The VoxBox included my new SlimSoft, Colgate Total Advanced Whitening toothpaste, and Colgate Total Advanced Pro-Shield mouthwash. Imagine a kid in a candy store and that was my excitement! The most awesome thing about the SlimSoft toothbrush is that its bristles are 17x smaller than the average leading toothbrush's bristles. They clean BETWEEN my teeth that are lined very tightly against one another. And, bonus? I swear that brushing my teeth feels like silk on my gums. I can put 100 million strength pressure on this toothbrush and can hardly feel it on my gums at all. Extra bonus? The sumer tightly packed, soft, tiny bristles work up a killer lather and a little toothpaste goes a long way. I mean, I brush my teeth for two minutes and usually run out of a good lather by the last 30 seconds to minute. Not with this thing! So, bye-bye, all the other toothbrushes I've ever used in my whole life. I'm buying like 100 SlimSofts so I never run out. And I'm probably not going to share, so you'll need to get your hands on your own.
Who's going to get theirs? My mom is!

Disclosure: The Colgate SlimSloft VoxBox was provided by Influenster for review. All opinions are 100% my own.
Disclaimer: I've had two sick kids over the course of the past four days. My awesome looks are brought to you by said events.



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Monday, September 23, 2013

Striped Working Girl + FundayMonday Link-Up

dress: Old Navy (similar), tights: We Love Colors c/o, boots: Soda
The lack of photos is due to the fact that my little Beaners has been super sick since Saturday. She stayed home with her daddy, today, while I took Sadie to school and... WENT TO WORK. Yes, I am a working woman, again! I meant to come back and announce it on Friday, but things got busy. So, first thing's first. Hubs took this picture of us as he was flying out the door to get to work for the second half of the day. Little Miss Sicky Pants (literally... gross diapers over here) couldn't bear to be put down for two seconds. So, voila. She is in my one and only outfit photo for today!
Onto the job thing. If you're friends with me on Facebook, you saw my announcement on Friday. I am so excited to tell you that I have been offered (and have obviously accepted) a teaching position at Sadie's school. It's 8:15am - 12:30pm, Monday through Friday, and I'm teaching 18 months to Kindergarten at a local Montessori school. Hello, Dream Come True. I only have God to thank, because left to my own devices, I wouldn't have started applying for jobs until next year. And I would never have found anything this perfect on my own! The hours are great, Sadie is adjusting so well to having me in her school, Norah has amazing childcare from a dear friend of mine that I met through our church childcare program, I am contributing to the family income a little bit, and I'm doing what I love. Praise. Praise. Praise. I taught all of last week and cannot say enough wonderful things about the children, teachers, and work environment. I'm just fulfilled and happy and so grateful that things worked out in God's time. 
So, join me on my new journey! And guess what, friends! I have to get dressed every day, again! I can really wear whatever I want- from yoga pants to a ball gown. The dress code is very flexible, but I'm just happy to be creative with my wardrobe and hopefully set a good example of self care for my students. Can't really think of something more fun than all of that for #FundayMonday! Now, if Beaners could be on the mend (she's taking her second nap of the day- which is unHEARD of), things would pretty much be nearly perfect.

still being [molly]



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Thursday, September 19, 2013

Mixer

 cardigan: New York & Company, blouse & shorts: Old Navy, cami: Rue 21, shoes: TOMS
Sometimes people say, "Work with whatcha got." Well, when my 4-year-old takes iPhone pictures of my outfit in our babysitter's front yard, this is what I've got. After sleeping on wet hair, I heated my flat iron up, but decided I was kind of digging the bed head. I did pull my bangs back with a bobby pin, but this outfit was overall chosen for ease. And I still hate shorts.

Stay tuned for some exciting news tomorrow! And NO, I am NOT pregnant. :)



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Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Endearing

top: Old Navy, jeans: Charlotte Russe, sandals: Old Navy, watch: tourist shop in Gatlinburg, TN, necklace: gift from Hubs
Saturday morning, I had a meeting that called for a casual, but put together look. This is what I came up with and it was a fantastic, comfortable outfit that translated from morning meeting to evening church, and then to a much needed girls' night out with my friend, Alida. I'll talk more about my meeting at a later date, but exciting things are ahead! Woo! Alida and I went out for coffee, got junk food from the dollar store, stocked up on a giant bucket of popcorn (which we barely dented), and saw the movie, "The Family." Holy intense, Batman. These adorable shift tops are on sale for $12 at the local Old Navy, buddies. You're welcome.

My husband always captures the most endearing photos. I was doing The Carlton in the middle of our street, and... well, I have no words.
High five if you caption my crazy! Hope you're having a great week so far!


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