Atlanta has been really mean with the yo-yo weather and spring taunts, but this weekend made up for all of it! We lived outside and my little ones have sun kissed cheeks to prove it. Now how to survive a week of rain ahead? I have an idea…
If you are local to the Atlanta area, I would love to have you come hang out Saturday night! I will be at Lou & Grey at the Avalon from 7-9pm. We will be having wine, appetizers, styling fun, and even making some wine charms you can take home with you!
I got a peak at the spring line, and as you know, I love pieces that can work well with a wardrobe over time. They are the perfect affordable pieces to build a closet with. I will be there to help you have fun mix and matching and styling a good look for you! Of course, if you only have time to come in and say hi, I’d love that too! AND they are giving away gift cards to sweeten the evening. There are a slew of fun things to do at The Avalon before or after the event too! Grab dinner, a movie, or hang out on the lawn. So call your best gal and come for a visit!
This is our second project with Valspar as part of Ace Hardware’s 31 Days of Color launching at The Paint Studio! Each blogger on the panel was given a color to use in a space, and I received Sun Sparkle. It was a fun challenge to figure out where this would best fit within our home. Since this shade is such a bright and inviting color, I realized I needed it in my laundry room. You know, the place you really dread entering in and discovering what has been sitting in the dryer for a few days…. VIEW FULL POST
Both my sister and dear friend are getting married in May! The weddings are 6 days apart, and they will be the highlight of my year since they are two of my favorite people.
Two weddings at 7 mo. pregnant. You can imagine this induces a little bit of angst and anxiety over the what to wear part. I actually love wearing dresses when I am pregnant, but it’s the battle of FINDING the dress and committing to it…
Here are the problems I tend to run into:
1) Dresses are so short that if you bend over you have revealed your underpants to France.
2) There is more tugging, pulling, and adjusting than its worth wearing. Easy and comfortable is what I am after!
3) Finding bold color without becoming a bold painting. (I love color, but finding prints that flatter can be tricky.)
Here are a few dresses I have found that I am contemplating for my friends Wedding and my sister’s rehearsal dinner. The yellow print is my favorite, but would involve a long slip and a cami.
Your vote? Honest opinions? Picture them with a baby bump and several more pounds than these models;) Thanks in advance!
Anna
P.S. Shopbop (a sponsor of IHOD), is having their semi annual sale if you want to take adavantage! Use code: BIGEVENT15 for up to 25% off your order!
WARNING: This post is long and thorough! ….
I get asked quite frequently how I grew IHOD, when I started offering advertising and why, how do you make money from blogging, etc. I wrote this post in answer to all of these questions and a hope to shed some light on a topic that is hard to dig up answers about:)
When I started blogging, it was at a time when I was just using it as an outsource for creative inspo and support of my accessory shop. Since I was a graphic designer, it was a way to practice my daily design per say. It was also at a time when blogging was spreading rapidly, but it hadn’t quite exploded yet. It was a good time to start, as the blog world was still somewhat small, instagram didn’t yet exist, and you visited each other’s favorite blogs on a frequent basis. It was a wonderful community for me, a new mother who had just moved to a very small town in the midwest and was feeling the isolation. Blogging allowed me to open up my creative voice and try new things, while also getting to know a wide range of women in different phases of life across the globe. It was fascinating, encouraging, and ultimately helped define my creative path.
As my work as a freelance designer was going in full force, my blog somehow was growing each month, and opportunities presented itself that had me considering for the first time if it was something I could do as a part time job. I will explain below what helped me begin that process. Having blogged for over 5 years now (what?! wow that went fast), I have dabbled in many different sponsorship and monetization options to try and figure out what was the best fit for me, my family, and staying true to the desire to be an authentic space. I had good and bad experiences of working with brands, and ultimately found a place I am happy to sit and stay a while. SO, some things to consider…
I wish I would have written more in my first few months of pregnancy. I wasn’t feeling up to much of anything except eating and sleeping of course, but I know I will regret not recording more of this flash in time…….the time when I get to carry my child so close inside.
Did you keep a baby journal? I have kept one for each of my children, although poor Max has the least entries as I know is a result of just being the third child among a busy bunch, but I am resolving to do better! I thought I would share a debriefing of my first trimester. It went something like this…
Surprise.
Peace.
Seasickness.
Drowsiness.
Sushi please.
Coffee repulsion.
Insta curves.
Pass the fries.
Baby cheek daydreaming.
Let’s nap.
What is motivation?
Name game.
Sore muscles.
Teenager breakouts.
Anticipation.
Hibernation.
Joy. The real good, can’t stop smiling kind.
Pretty much my first trimester in a nutshell folks. The pregnancy is flying by because I have three other rambunctious and scrumptious little ones to distract me. I told Gabe he could decide if we should find out the gender or not. I think we both are feeling impatient, but ultimately love that surprise delivery room moment of meeting him or her.
We have a few names narrowed down for both boy or girl, and love discussing the topic over a good coffee date (did I mention I no longer am repulsed by coffee now that I hit my second trimester? Praise God!). We like to see the face of the baby first before naming them, but I have some favorites taking the lead. Gabe lights to guard these names with the utmost secrecy in case they be snatched out of his hands by who knows who. He makes me laugh…
What were your favorite things to get you through your first trimester? The things that added a little spring in your tired step, or calm to the dizziness? Here are a few of mine:
Electric Blanket– Frivolous I know. My mom gave me one for Christmas a few years ago and I have used it more than any other throw (and I am a blanket hoarder). It was so comforting for sore backs and muscles, and super plushy soft. I think mine was by sunbeam.
Night Mask – Holy chicken pox! My skin really suffers my first trimester. As in, I breakout worse than I ever did my teen years. I read a cool article on helping your skin on Mother mag, but the Julep oil wash and night mask have been extremely helpful.
Loose leaf Tea Blends – Since coffee was out of the picture I clung to my warm brews to settle my stomach in the morning and evenings. Yogi teas are really good for pregnancy, and the Teavana blends always hit home too.
Blanqi leggings– I have talked about their several times, but have newly discovered their leggings. WOW. Good support for back and belly, and smoothly flatters growing curves. (Hi hips! It’s good to see you again!) I didn’t have the desire to get dressed most days, and jeans were extremely uncomfortable as the waist line got tighter. I would just put these on, fold over the top (will probably keep unfolded for some outfits), and throw on a large comfortable sweater. I usually have a no leggings as pants rule for myself but it when you aren’t leaving the house, why not?
Foot cream – Gabe’s new years resolution was to give his pregnant wife more massages. He was semi-sarcastic, but me gifting him with this hand cream to use on sore feet has helped him keep his resolution. Resourcefulness.
Vitamin B6– In addition to pre-natals I like to take Vitamin B6 for help with the seasick phase. It really kept it bay for me.
Peppermint and Lemon Essential oils – A few of the smells I could tolerate that were really soothing behind the ears to help you doze of to sleep when the nausea won’t let you. Also good in tea, and body butters. (If you don’t have a place to pick them up, you can get them from my friend Lesley!)
I’d love to hear your first trimester pregnancy essentials or any trimester as I still have months to go!
Cheers to the great adventure of growing a baby,
Anna
Thank you Kathryn McCrary for these photos! Hopefully will be better at pregnancy photos too for my little one’s sake. I tend to want to avoid pictures, but what a cool thing those photos are to look back on for them. I really value the pictures of my own mother expecting.
Americans are currently spending over 200 Billion dollars a year on retail merchandise (source). And every day, there are thousands of workers in sweatshops across the globe making just $1 to $2 to provide for their whole family. There are very harsh conditions in sweatshops across the globe, and many of deaths occur as a result.
Ever since I was a teenager I have bought my own clothes. I worked various jobs, and was taught at a young age the value of earning your own dollar. My style changed and evolved, but I usually frequented the same shops. I never gave much thought to buying higher quality ethically made clothing. I never really had the option to buy high quality prices since I was working my way through college, and after that, I was getting married and saving for our family. Every dollar was hard earned, but I never thought much about where that money was going when spending it on clothing…..
Today I get to kick off my partnership with Valspar paint! So excited to be on its Blogger Panel this year; and share some really cool projects and color stories with all of you. The challenge for today’s post was to find a flea market piece to make over with Valspar’s Chalky Finish Paint.
Sprucing up flea market finds has been one of my favorite hobbies since I was in college, so couldn’t wait to tackle this mission. We have been discovering some of the great antique and flea markets Atlanta has to offer. Saturday Gabe and I made a date of it, and we went on the hunt for some possible subjects to make over…
We started at Lakewood Antique Market. Lots of good pieces ready for some love. The Fiestaware always calls my name. Paris on Ponce and Scotts Antiques are two other fantastic places to play treasure hunt, but since we were already up north we ended up at Queen of Hearts…. VIEW FULL POST
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