Weekend Style | Under $40 + Anthro Sale!

Happy Saturday!  This morning we are off for a fun photo shoot for Frances Moon and then I am headed to the Lumineers concert with some girlfriends tonight, I can't wait!  

I wanted to share some recent purchases.  They are all under $40 and perfect for now and into Fall.

Leggings | Tee Shirt | Scarf

First of all let's discuss my pants which are actually leggings but they look like pants.   That is winning right there.  I wasn't sure I would love them because sometimes stuff from the Juniors section is iffy but I really love these leggings.  I think I am going to order the black too.  They seem to run TTS, I have a small.  Best part is they are high rise.  They have a band at the top which helps streamline and suck everything in, which as a mom is always a bonus.  They come in olive, burgundy and black.

Moto Leggings

This scarf is another pleasant find from the Juniors section.  It is huge which I really like.  I feel like the bigger the scarf the more options you to wear it differently.  The fabric is really nice too and I love the colors for fall.

Scarf

I have mentioned this tee shirt on here a million times.  It is my go-to tee shirt of choice.  I love the loose boxy fit.  I went with a size medium for an even looser fit.  It is currently 40% off and only $20.  I also own the black and green that is how much I love this tee.

Side note and this has only happened to my white tee but as I have washed it, it has faded some and is partially see through.  It doesn't bother me but I do sometimes wear a tank under it. 

Burnout Tee

So many of you asked about this tee from instagram and it sold out quickly in the navy/white stripe. 

 It is now back in stock in a navy/red combo.  

You can't beat the price for $19!

Stripe Tee

One more item I just ordered and will report back if the quality is good and it is cute is this cape.   I love the colors.  I always like a loose, boxy sweater like this because they pair well with leggings or jeans.   Also under $40.

Poncho

I wanted to share this stripe and peplum tee I found at Loft this week.  I am sucker for stripes and I loved the fit. It is made of a thicker tee shirt material and under $40.  I bought a small.  I might could have worn an XS but they did not have one in the store and I figured it would shrink some as I washed it.

Stripe Tee

This dress is currently 30% off right now.  The colors are so pretty for Fall.  it looks great with booties or flats.  

Babydoll Dress

Also this weekend you can use code FALLPERK to save 20% off at Anthropologie! 

I highly recommend this black dress, it is on back order but they always ship quicker than what they say.

Black Dress

This white blouse is another top pick!  I am wearing a size XS, and it comes fully lined with a white tank.

Another white blouse favorite- can you tell I love a white blouse?

Blouse

This is in my basket!  I love the fall spin on an off shoulder blouse.

Off shoulder Blouse

This embroidered blouse is so pretty! 

Happy Saturday and Happy Shopping!

Parenting The Heavy Stuff

Parenting.  Nobody warns you how hard it truly is.  You go into it blindly because people don't tell you that kind of stuff, kind of like nobody tells you hard it is to truly get your body back after a baby.  You get pregnant and have this sweet innocent little baby.  You worry if they are eating enough and meeting milestones and you are tired but life is good.  Then they start moving and talking and all hell breaks loose.  

If you really sit and think about the enormity of raising a child it will stress you out.  

As both Sterling and Frances get older it has started to hit me even harder.  I am fighting constant battles with both of them and it is hard to know the right thing to do.   I want to raise them to be good kids but man it is hard.  I wake up every morning and think today is the day I am gonna be the best mom ever.  I won't lose my temper, we will play and do fun stuff, I will savor every little moment and it will be glorious.  Then the kids wake up and Frances immediately starts crying,  whether I gave her the wrong cereal or forgot one of her animals from bed she is easily offended and upset in the morning.  Then Sterling has a melt down over what to wear to school.  Then we are running late because he refuses to get dressed because his favorite shorts and apparently the only ones he wants to wear are in the washing machine.  Then they both start fighting and I lose it.  My perfect day is shattered all before 7:05am. 

I know I will miss these mornings, I truly know that but sometimes being in the actual moment it is hard.  I constantly teeter between wanting to savor the moment and not wish time away to counting down the hours til bedtime.   Then I lay in bed at night and rethink the whole day and question what I could have done better as mom that day.  I beat myself up a lot questioning what I could have done differently that day.

We went to Sterling's school yesterday to watch him run a fun run and as I watched all the first graders line up, I got teary eyed.  They are all so sweet and innocent and I just wanted to freeze time.   Sterling was smiling and waving at us and he was so proud and happy we were there at his school.  We are still cool for the moment.  I try to volunteer and eat lunch with him as much as I can because I know soon there will come a day when he will say Mom leave me alone and not really want me around.   I dread that day.  

He was sweet at school but that night as we sat down to do homework the attitude emerged.  When he is mad he is mad.  He frequently tells me I am a bad mom and that he wishes he never had a family.  The kind of stuff that tugs at your heart strings.   You try to brush it off but it hurts your feelings.  You want to say fine get out of time out and give him a hug but you have to stand your ground and that is the hardest part of parenting.  Sometimes it is so much easier to just give in to what they want so they will be quiet.  But in the end that is what will make them troublesome kids so you have to stand your ground no matter how hard it is.  He threw a pencil at my head that night- it did not hurt but it caught me off guard.  I sent him to time out and early bedtime and then went to my room and cried.  I cried because being a parent is hard as shit.   I expected the teenage years to be hard and filled with lots of attitude but not at 6. 

Sterling doesn't like one single team sport.  We have tried soccer, lacrosse, and flag football and he hates them all.  I am talking we get to practice and he screams and cries and refuses to play.   At age 6 it gets to the point where it is embarrassing.  I watch all these other kids excited to get out there and play and think why doesn't my son want to play?  Now I can't entirely blame him as I never liked any sports either so maybe he gets it from me.  How do you know when to give in and let you child quit or keep pushing them to try.  I don't want to raise a quitter but I also don't want to keep forcing him.  It seems innocent enough but these are the choices that will mold him as an adult and that scares me. 

Frances Moon is full on terrible twos.  She is almost violent sometimes.  When she gets angry she lets out an almost primal scream and then she flails herself to the floor.  If Sterling has done something to offend her she gets so mad she claws at him.  Sometimes it seriously scares me and amazes me that this 2 year old has this much emotion and anger.  She makes Sterling cry way more than he makes her cry.  

Frances is impossible to get dressed in the morning.  She runs and hides from me.  Then when I find her she curls up in a ball so it is impossible to get her pajamas off.  If I pick the wrong dress she cries and screams.  The struggle is real every single morning.  Same with changing her diapers, she runs and hides.  I can tell she is gonna be hard to potty train because she will just sit in a dirty diaper and not care one bit. 

A few weeks ago at the gym I picked her up after my barre class and she was in time out.  I asked why and they said she had taken off her princess shoes and hit another child in the head.  They put her in time out and said she could get out if she said she was sorry.  Well Miss Frances Moon is stubborn much like her daddy and she doesn't say sorry so they said she sat in time out almost 45 minutes waiting me for to get done.  We had a long talk about hitting kids and she is no longer allowed to wear princess shoes (they are hard as crap) out of the house.  Now every day when I pick her up from school the first thing she says is " I did not hit anyone today." Like she is so proud of herself for not hitting.  

Every single day I think about 16 years from now when the house will be empty and they off at school and how much I will miss these days.  I know these are single handedly the hardest and the best days of my life.   So today I just needed to vent and take note of this time in my life.  It's exhausting, and it's hard but it's fleeting.  It is much better to have noise and chaos than a quiet house:) 

Happy Friday.  Hope you have a Winner Tonight.

Style File Vol 19 | Mad For Plaid

I am not typically a big plaid person but this Fall I have seen so many plaid things I am loving.  Case and point this blouse.  I immediately fell in love with the colors.  I also liked it because it was silk and not flannel like most plaid shirts.  Fit wise it runs TTS, I am wearing a small.

Blouse | Necklace | Jeans (similar) | Shoes | Purse (for less under $50!)

These shoes are the best and under $70!  They come in 8 different colors.  I am tempted to get the chestnut color as well.  They are comfortable too which is always a bonus.
Lace up Flats

Some other plaid pieces I am loving for Fall.  I tried to denote the items that were under $100.

Plaid Blouse (under $80)

FP Plaid Blouse

Plaid Boxy Tee ( under $100)

Plaid Jacket

Drop Waist Dress

Plaid Poncho Wrap

Plaid Dress (under $100)

Plaid Silk Blouse

Off Shoulder Blouse (under $100)

Plaid Silk Tunic

Plaid Shift Dress

Lounge Cardigan and Legging Set (Under $70)

Plaid Scarf
I love the colors in this scarf and it is only $29!

I also like this infinity version, also only $19

So many great options for Fall all at Nordstrom!   Don't forget Nordstrom price matches and always has free shipping and returns too.

You can shop my look below.

Thanks to Nordstrom for partnering on this post!  

Photos | Athena Crofts

Chinese Five Spice Turkey with Zucchini Noodles + Neutral OOTD + Twine and Twig Marketplace

Major love for this recipe, y'all.   I first saw this on Pinterest but after reading the ingredients I knew it needed more spice.  It looked so good but just sounded a bit bland.   I have a handful of Asian ingredients that I always keep on hand and highly recommend for your pantry : Sesame Oil, Soy Sauce, Rice Vinegar, Sesame Seeds, Minced Ginger (I buy this is the squeeze bottle, so much easier than grating your own) and garlic.  I can't tell you how often I use these ingredients.   They are pantry staples and what I used to jazz up this recipe.   This dish is not only healthy but full of flavor.   I have been trying to limit my carbs so this was a perfect low carb dinner.

Don't cook the zucchini noodles too long because they get soggy quick.  I don't cook with meat often but when I do I always try and buy organic, so I really recommend doing that.  You can cook the meat and spiralize the noodles ahead of time and then just heat it all up before dinner to save time.

Several of you wanted to know what spiralizer I use and it is this one.  I use it all the time, once you get one you will be hooked.  It is super easy to use and clean! 

Enjoy!

|| F I V E   S P I C E   C H I N E S E   T U R K E Y  +  Z U C C H I N I   N O O D L E S ||

adapted via

- 1 lb organic ground turkey

- 3-4 large zucchini

- 3 tablespoons soy sauce

- 4 tablespoons rice vinegar

- 1.5 tablespoons brown sugar

- 1 tablespoon hot sauce (sririacha)

- 1 garlic clove minced

- 2 greens onions sliced

-1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

- 1/2 teaspoon Chinese 5 spice

- 1 teaspoon sesame oil

- 1 tablespoon peanut or canola oil

- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

Spiralize the zucchinis and set aside.   In a large skillet add the peanut oil and sesame oil and heat over medium heat.  Add in the green onion, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes.  Cook about 3 minutes.  Add in the turkey and cook until browned.  

Add in soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, Chinese 5 spice, and hot sauce.  Stir all together and let simmer 5-10 minutes over medium/low heat.  Add in the zucchini noodles right at the end and toss over the heat.  Let them cook just a minute or two to slightly soften.  

Garnish with sesame seeds if desired!

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I think by now you all know my love for Twine and Twig Necklaces.  They are my go-to daily necklaces.   Did y'all now they also sell serving pieces now??  If you go to their website and look under Marketplace you can view all the serving pieces.  The spoon pictured above with my recipe is part of the collection.  The pieces are all unique and not crazy expensive.  I think they would make fabulous gifts.

A few other favorites, can view the whole collection here

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Yesterday's OOTD.  I am obsessed with these gray jeans.  They are the perfect transition into Fall color.  My top is now on major sale.  I am wearing the blush color which is almost sold out but it is still available in stone which is a really gorgeous gray.  I am wearing a size small.

Top also Here | Jeans | Sandals | Sunglasses | Necklace

Here is what the stone gray looks like.  I love my blush one so much I am very tempted to snag the gray as well.

and I just noticed my leopard sweater was reduced again is now almost 60% off!  Snag it while you can!  It runs large size down, I have an XS.  Trust me you will wear this all Fall/Winter.  

Sweater