Maxi Dress Loving + Natural Balance Board

Today's Obsessions post is all about Maxi dresses.  I am a huge fan of the maxi dress.  It is such an easy Summer staple.  Charleston summers are so hot and a maxi dress is such an easy outfit to throw on and look effortless. 

I recently got this Snakeskin Maxi from Piperlime and I am obsessed with it.  It is a great price and such a cute dress.  I have been wearing mine with flats but it would be so easy to toss on some heels and fun jewelry and wear this for an event.

\\ Eight Sixty Snakeskin Maxi Dress

Ray BanAviators | Alexix Bittar Bracelets

I love that it has a built in necklace.  It also has adjustable straps, so you can make it as short or as long as you need.  The colors are even more vibrant in person.  It is a loose fitting dress and runs on the large side, I am wearing an XS.  This would be such a fabulous dress pregnant because it has plenty of room for a growing bump!

 

 Ever since I started doing my outfit posts Sterling always wants to jump in the picture with me and I love it:)  Special photos of me and my sweet boy.

If you are a Banana Republic, Gap, or Old Navy card holder you can get 10% percent off your order today with code TUESDAYS.

A few of my other favorite maxi dresses.

|| Madewell Embroidered Maxi Dress ||

I have been loving anything and everything embroidered for Summer. 

|| Splendid Drapey Maxi Dress ||

A great everyday neutral dress.

|| Ella Moss Bondi Maxi

Love the drape top and color scheme.

|| Born Free Marni Maxi

I love the pattern on this maxi and proceeds go to HIV research.

 || Parker Cassie Maxi Dress ||

This dress comes in three fabulous patterns.

|| Gypsy Tie Maxi ||

I have been all about tie dye lately.  I actually own a few Gypsy Maxi dresses and love them.

|| Line and Dot Maxi Dress ||

Another great pattern-  Can you tell I love patterns?

|| Parker Nikko Print Maxi ||

I am loving the gorgeous watercolor print on this maxi.  It would be perfect for a Summer wedding.

|| Soft Joie Maxi ||

This is a great casual Maxi.

Shop all my favorite maxi dresses below.

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Lastly I want to give a shout out to our good friends who started the Natural Balance Board Company.  I knew Brook in Charlotte and now she lives in Charleston right down the street from us and does a lot of our family photos.  She and her husband started the company Natural Balance Board and it is such a cool product.  It is fun for kids and adults.  It is great for balance, exercise and toning.   The board helps minimize the risk of injury while working and strengthening the core.  Sterling has played on ours non-stop.  I use it often for stretching after I workout.   Check out their website HERE.  If you are local Wonder Works carries their boards so stop in there too and help support a local company and local friends!

It is a great product for surfers too to help with balance.  Matt is a big surfer so he was pretty excited about this board. 

(side note that is not Matt below, it is Brook's husband demonstrating how to use the board) .  So check out the Natural Balance Board, it is a pretty sweet product!

Life Lately

I hope everyone had a fabulous Mothers Day whether you are a mom yourself or were celebrating with your mom.  I was lucky enough to be in Charlotte for the weekend so I actually got to the spend the day with my mom! It was a special day.

I tried out a new juice recipe that is amazing.  After all the crap we ate last weekend I told Matt we needed some green juice each day to start our day off right.  I swear I have more energy the days I drink my green juice- may just be in my head but either way its extra energy!

We decided to add a jalapeno in per my sisters suggestion, she had just finished a juice cleanse and loved the jalapeno juice.  It gave the juice a perfect spice.

Just juice kale + spinach + 1 organic Fuji apple + 1 baby cucumber + 1 lemon + 1 inch piece of ginger peeled + 1 jalapeno seeded and sliced in halve

I have been wearing my tassel necklace from Furbish Studio nonstop.  I love it.

 \\ Tassel necklace also in light pink | yellow | blue

Miss Frances Moon finally rolled over.  Not gonna lie I was starting to get worried since we are approaching the 6 month mark, but she finally did it! 

We celebrated my soon to be third nephew this weekend in Charlotte with a baby shower for my sister in law.  I am so excited for my brother and her.  They will be such awesome parents!  

We snapped this picture before we left of me, my mom, and sister.

We didn't plan to all wear animal prints but somehow we did- great minds think alike.

Taylor's  Dress | My Dress

 

Here we are with my sister in law who is the cutest pregnant person ever.

I enjoyed my first martini since before I was pregnant.  My dad makes the absolute best martinis and he hand stuffs the blue cheese olives.  Pure heaven I tell you!

I admired my mom's peony bushes all weekend.  It has inspired me to want to plant my own- anyone know if they will survive and thrive in Charleston like they do in Charlotte?

Crazy story.  This week marks the one year anniversary of my grandfather's death.  You may remember the story of how my mom found a frog in her kitchen the day after his funeral.  Well she has not seen a frog again until this weekend Sterling spotted one on their patio. It looks exactly like the frog she saw on her table a year ago.  We all knew it was grandfather back to tell us he was OK (and probably sneak a peek at Frances too since he never got to meet her) we were all laughing and in tears.  

Sterling was so excited.  and yes those are Christmas decorations we cleaned out from my grandfathers house he wanted to keep.  I think that was probably the original elf on the shelf. Christmas in May!

Mothers Day we went to church which was nice but chaos with the three kids!

Then my dad took us all out to brunch to celebrate Mothers Day.  I had the most amazing lobster Cobb salad- I am still thinking about it.  It was from McCormick and Schmicks, and actually all our meals were excellent.

Ended the day thankful to spend it with these two precious babies.

I am one lucky Mama.

 

Have a great week!

Last Minute Mother's Day Suggestions

This is basically my wish list (haha).  These would make great last minute gifts for any mom or yourself!

|| Gigi New York Cross Body ||

The perfect cross body bag.  The sand color is my favorite it is such a great neutral.

|| Kate Spade Studs ||

The best everyday earring and it comes in like 10 different colors.

|| Kate Spade Perfume ||

I recently got this perfume and love it!! Such a fresh and light scent.

|| Tory Burch Ricki Flip Flops ||

I love all my TB flip flops.  They hold up well and are so comfortable.  Love the stud details on these and they are under $100.

|| Plum Pretty Sugar Robe ||

I was gifted one of these robes after I had Frances and let me tell you I just adore it.  The patterns are so pretty and feminine and the robes are super soft.

|| Plum Pretty Sugar PJ Set ||

I love the idea of the matching pjs and robe.  Such a lovely gift. This is great idea for a new mom too.

|| ARCHIPELAGO BOTANICAL DIFFUSER ||

My mom has one of these in her bathroom and it smells amazing.  The bathroom always smells so fragrant. She has the gardenia scent and it is so delicious. 

|| Gucci Sunglasses ||

I just recently found out about the Coastal website.  They have great designer sunglasses for great prices.  I love these Gucci ones.

|| Christina Jervey Cage Ring ||

I am a huge fan of Christina Jerevey and her designs.  This ring is pretty much awesome.

|| Bob Basics Ibiza Tote ||

A great straw tote never goes out of style!

Happy Mothers Day to all you Moms!!  I hope you all have a very special day.

xoxo

Living Life to the Fullest

This week started off like it normally does a whirlwind.  Trying to take care of the kids and get everyone fed and ready.  Sterling was being difficult arguing about what he was going to wear to school, he is so darn opinionated all the time.  I felt myself getting annoyed thinking why is everything a battle him.  

Then while I was home feeding Frances I was looking on my phone and read about Ryan, his mom is a blogger and writes the blog baby boy bakery.  Now I don't know this family and have never read her blog but this story hit close to home.  Ryan was outside playing and ran in the street to catch a Frisbee and was hit by a truck and killed.  It struck me that this could happen to any of our kids.   I was looking at Ryan's pictures and he reminded me so much of Sterling, so full of personality and life and that life was tragically taken away.  I cried sitting there thinking about how petty it was of me to be annoyed with Sterling about getting dressed in the morning.  I cried for that sweet family and the unimaginable loss of their son.  I can't even begin to imagine the pain they are feeling. Then I read about two more sweet boys who passed away this week.  Then just this morning I learned that our friends in Charlotte whose daughter had been battling leukemia passed away yesterday.  My heart is so  heavy thinking of the loss of those children. Children are just not supposed to die before their parents. Life can be so hard and unfair sometimes.

It has really made me stop and think about how short life can be.  It has made me hug my kids a little tighter, and cherish every moment with them.  We all face struggles everyday and in the moment they seem real and hard but they are nothing compared to what these families are going through.  I am trying to have more patience with my kids especially Sterling because he is 4 going on 15. He is such a smart mouthed boss these days and as much as it exhausts me, you know what,  I love that about him too.  He is so strong willed and certain it will serve him well later in life.  I forget that he is only 4 sometimes.  I walked into this scene last week and it literally melted my heart.  He has such a sweet soul and I want to savor these moments.

and Frances is growing up faster than I imagined.  With the second child it just whirls by. I can't believe she is 5 months, I know her one year birthday will be here before I know it.  I think about the struggle it took for me to conceive her and I am so grateful for her and my heart aches for others going through the same struggle.  I got my baby but some women can't get pregnant or lose their babies.  I feel sad just thinking about that struggle when you so desperately want a child.  Frances has the sweetest personality, she is always smiling and so laid back.  I am so thankful for her sweet light filled soul.

Yesterday this elderly woman walked past us in the grocery store, Sterling was hitting Frances and I was trying to get my groceries as quickly as possible.  I was on the verge of tears because I was tired and my patience was running out and we still had two more errands to run.  She stopped me and said I remember those days well, they seem tough but you will look back and think they are the best days of your life.  The thing is I know she is right,  it is just sometimes hard to enjoy it when you are in the thick of it.  In light of all the events I read about this week I want to try hard and not be stressed out and enjoy these years.  I am lucky to have these children in my life.

Today I am praying hard for all these families and the unimaginable loss and void they are filling in their lives.  I ask you all to do the same.  Prayer helps comfort in times like this.  I am also working hard to be in the moment with my children and not be consumed by my to-do list.  I just want to love them and be present with them.  I am also thanking God for my healthy babies,  when so many others have such uphill battles right now.  I know this is a somber post for Friday but I want to acknowledge the loss of these families.  It just isn't fair.  Lets be there for them in their darkest moments.

Please keep all these families in your prayers right now as they are going through the unimaginable.

NDM Style: Easy Summer Dress + Saks Sneak Peek Sale

I love easy Summer dresses.  Ones that I can wear during the heat of the Summer and still look put together and cute.  Dresses that are lightweight and cool are key down here in Charleston.

 This is me laughing at Sterling acting a fool.  I am no model that's for sure, but Sterling is a great photographer's assistant always making me smile.

But back to the dress.  I bought this dress two years ago in gray and wear it all the time.  When I saw it was back in new colors this year I knew I had to have it!  It also comes in navy which would be a great neutral color too.  I am partial to green though so I went with the olive green color.  I think it is such a flattering color on everyone.

Madewell Dress |  House of Harlow Sunburst Necklace | DV Daffodil Sandals | Gucci Tote | Ray Ban Aviators

For those curious I am 5'10 and yes this dress is on the short side.  I am wearing a size extra small.  I still have some baby weight to lose so after that it will be a bit of a looser fit for reference.

The front of the dress is a touch shorther than the back.

And as you can see I am still wearing my DV Daffodil Sandals all the time.  They are so comfortable and on super sale right now (also available at Thera M locally if you want to try them on)

\\ DV Daffodil Sandal  also in black here

The Gucci Tote is what I bought 5 years ago to be used as my diaper bag for Sterling and I am still using it.  I think it was my first purchase after I found out I was pregnant. I strongly believe in spending a little more for a nice purse that you will like and love for years.  I rarely buy new purses and this one has held up so well!  

\\ Gucci Tote 

We can't forget the arm party.  I wear this trio often.

Alexis Bittar | Banana Republic | Alexis Bittar 

If you live here in Charleston you will see me in this dress often!

You can shop the whole look here:

And don't miss out Saks is having a two day sale with some awesome stuff!.

A rounded up my favorites,  use code FREESHIP for free shipping on all orders!

Summer Staples: Get Em Now!

A few days ago I posted this picture on Instagram of my new favorite Summer outfit and I got a lot of requests for details.  If you are on Instagram and see the #liketkit hashtag- which I am sure you see everywhere, it just means you can get all the outfit details emailed to you with links to shop.  All you do is visit liketoknow.it and enter your email address.  Then if you "like" a blogger's outfit on instagram a few minutes later you will receive an email with outfit details and links to buy.  Its pretty easy and pretty genius.  

I am wearing The Rag and Bone Boyfriend shorts.  They are pretty much awesome and I know I will be living in them all Summer.  I paired them with this cute silk blouse from Madewell that is on sale.

I am wearing a small in the blouse for reference and the jeans shorts run on the large side so definitely go down a size!

Madewell Blouse (on sale) | Rag and Bone Jean Shorts  also here | Theodosia Necklace | Joie Gladiators (on sale)

and these Joie sandals have been my favorite pair this Summer.  They are on sale at Saks but only a few select sizes!

\\ Joie Gladiators

Shop the whole look: