Last month the lovely folks at Isabella Oliver offered to send me a maternity dress! After browsing their site, I fell in love with the Betty Stripe Maternity Dress. A few days later it arrived on my doorstep! I've worn in several times already... to celebrate my 30th birthday, for a date in Portland with girlfriends, and for maternity photos. It is so comfortable and so chic. The quality is great and I feel really pretty in my new dress. I love that it's form fitting and shows off my growing bump. The maternity clothes on their website are fantastic because they are simple and flattering, and the best part is that many of their clothing items are designed to be worn during and after pregnancy! How great is that? I usually cringe when I buy maternity clothes because I think, "I'll only wear this for a few months!" The fact that the fantastic collection from Isabella Oliver is so flexible for during and post pregnancy wear makes it a great investment. I highly recommend their beautiful clothing!

Photos by MKM Photography

Sometimes in the dark winter days you've just got to throw on some bright pink lipstick and accessories. It's rainy and cold here (but at least the rain is washing away the ice and snow that's been lingering)! It's misty and the days are pretty dark... nothing a little girliness can't remedy. I love this outfit on G... we call it her Welsh fisherman outfit. I also love these Hunter boots. I bought them when we were in Scotland and I wear them almost every day.

On me:
T-shirt: Target
Sweater: Shae
Leggings: H&M
Boots: Hunter wellies in violet
Necklace: vintage

On Gigi:
Sweater: H&M
Jeans: Mirtillino (made in Italy)
Boots: Carter (boys)
Hair Clip: CocoPenny

*These photos were taken just before Christmas so my bump wasn't really showing yet! I'll share some bump photos later this week! It's really starting to show!

We've had a heat wave around here. I have to admit I'm ready for the cold winy days of fall to come to stay for a while but until that happens we're enjoying the long extended summer. Usually this time of year means rain on the windows, cozy socks and lots of hot chocolate. But this September and now running into October we're enjoying warm evening walks and barefeet. I've been throwing on easy dresses, rompers and sandals in an effort to get a bit more wear out of my favorite summer things before they get locked up for the winter.

Romper: Saturday Sunday from Anthropologie
Gladiator Sandals: The Frye Company
Necklace: made by a friend

On Gigi (she wasn't really intended to take part in this one but the sweetie is glued to my side lately)
Onesie: Gerber brand
Socks: Babylegs
Shoes: Toms

This morning we woke up to a very chilly house. It would appear that fall is creeping in. Fall is, without a doubt my very favorite season. But I will miss the light breezy clothes of summer. I have a feeling this will be the last time Gigi will be wearing this cute little outfit sent from from our family in Paris. She somehow managed to wear two summers in a row! It's my favorite outfit she has so I will be sad to put it away...

While I'll miss the late summery nights and the barefoot walks to get the mail, I'm looking forward to warm socks, cozy coffee dates and bundling up with my favorite little gal for walks to the park to find the prettiest leaves. Happy fall everyone!

This might just be my favorite photo I've ever taken of her.

Me:
Shirt and Skirt: H&M
Shoes: Repetto

Gigi:
Top and Bloomers: Sergent Major (from France)
Shoes: Toms

On Thursday I went to the salon with this photo of Emma Watson. I love her chic super short pixie cut.

I left the salon looking like this...

I absolutely love it! It's incredibly short but it still feels really feminine.

My hair stylist is Patricia. She's fantastic.

Lately, my style has been simple and easy. I've been doing so many little house projects and organizing that I find it easiest when I'm in something comfortable and effortless. I scored these cropped Sanctuary pants at a local boutique for only $50 and I've been wearing them constantly, they're definitely my favorite clothing item for summer. I love throwing on a bright lipstick and some heels to liven things up. Now... as for the Marvelous Miss G, she has fallen in love with a little pink dress. My stepmom bought it for her when she was just a tiny thing, but now she's almost grown out of it. Every morning we go to her closet and I'll let her show me what she wants to wear. I try to give her a couple of choices, this dress is usually one of them, and it always wins. She points to it and nods vigorously before letting out a resounding, "YYYYEEEEEEEAHHHH!!!" I love seeing her personality come through in her choices... it is understandably concerning to her Daddy.

On me:
Tank top: The Gap
Sweater vest: LA Made
Pants: Sanctuary from Parts+Labour
Shoes: Corso Como from Plenty

On Gigi:
Favorite dress: Mini Shatsu
Apparently we forgot her shoes.

This was obviously shot before I chopped off all my hair and went back to blonde. But, like I said, I'm a bit behind on things after my trip to LA. Kyle and I love to grab a drink after he wraps up work on Fridays. Since he's a brewer, it's quite often that we just meet up at the brewery and have a pint. But, every once in a while we like to head to one of our great local restaurants for a cocktail, or glass of wine. I like to think of these little outings as mini-dates... usually Gigi comes too and it's a nice way to relax and play as a family after a long work week. I like to keep things comfortable and simple, but I still like to feel a little dressed up. Adding fun heels to a simple jeans and t-shirt look is perfect for me. These Corso Como heels are one of my favorite pairs.

T shirt: Target Tissue T
Jacket: thrifted
Jeans: Free People
Heels: Corso Como

I should be editing photos, backing up my computer, and starting to pack for Los Angeles. But instead I'm dreaming about how I'm going to spend the clothing money I got as a Christmas gift. I'm planning to do my shopping while Gigi and I are in LA. Now that I have a pixie cut I'm finding that I'm drawn to dresses and skirts and all things girly.

This modern striped maxi dress...

and this classic one.

This fantastic romper....

and this cool one.

This colorful pink blazer...


and this schoolboy one.

This classy Kelly green dress...


and this fun pink one.

This sweet striped dress...


and this feminine one too.

Okay, time to do some work. Happy Friday.

It's been about six months since I went from blonde to red...

While I've loved being a redhead, it's kind of a pain to maintain because it fades really quickly. The idea of going back to blond seemed a bit daunting since red is the hardest color to get out of your hair.

I've always wanted a pixie cut, especially after seeing Emma Watson in US Vogue (left) and Vogue UK (right) shot by Mario Testino.

So, I started searching for the perfect cut...

Then I came across this fantastic spread of Michelle Williams in Hobo Magazine. What's so great about it is that it showed the cut from all different sides.

I headed to the salon armed with the images and my hairdresser (Patricia at Foils for those of you in the area) did a wonderful job color processing and cutting my hair to match.

Before...

...and after.

The cut is still really fresh and I'm definitely still getting used to having such short hair and learning how to style it but I love it. It felt so great to chop off all my dyed, damaged, weird-grow-in-from-post-pregnancy-hair-loss hair! It will take a couple of weeks for the color and cut to "settle" a bit, and it will take another month or two to get it back to blonde but then I'll really feel like myself.

Gigi and I love a "Frock Friday". We like to get a dolled up on Friday afternoons and go out for lunch on the town. Kyle's Mom bought G this sweet dress with the Peter Pan collar a while ago but it finally fits her! We had a wonderful little lunch date. I love feeling a little dressed up but really comfortable, and this is the perfect outfit for that.

This morning I woke up to fresh coffee (from Kyle) and yummy almond croissants (from my Dad) and snuggles in bed (from Gigi). I said to G, "If you want to be my Valentine give me a BIG HUG!" She leaned in and gave me the best. hug. ever. Then she gave one to Daddy too. There's a lot of love happening in this house.

With all the (much needed) relaxing over the past few days, the house is a complete disaster! Gigi and I are spending our day being cozy, ignoring my homework, and getting the house all cleaned up for Kyle. That man loves nothing more than coming home to a clean house. We're going to have Butternut Squash Soup for dinner and Hot Fudge/Salted Caramel Sundaes for dessert.

We are spending Valentine's day in our sweats, but here's a little stylish shoot from a couple weeks ago...

On me:
Sweater: H&M
Jeans: Free People
Boots: The North Face
Bracelet: gift, made by my brother's friend

On Gigi:
Dress: Jillian's Closet
Sweater: H&M
Tights: H&M
Shoes: gift, made by Poppy's grandma

I don't know about where you live, but here it has jumped straight into winter.  It's about forty degrees every day and it's rainy, cloudy, grey and stormy.  Our snow from Wednesday melted overnight, and with it, all excuses for pajama days.  We needed to get out of the house so we decided to go for a rainy afternoon wine tasting.  We bundled up and headed for the hils.  The drive was nice and queit and we listened to Audrey Hepburn's biography on cd while we drove.  Luckily, it wasn't dumping rain so we snapped a few outfit photos along the Columbia River.  Kyle happened to be looking rather dapper so I made him play along...



On me:
Sweater: Shae (from Parts+Labour)
Glasses: Christian Dior
Camisole: Odd Molly (from Parts+Labour)
Jeans: Free People
Boots: Frye Engineer (from Plenty)

On Kyle:
Shirt: Vintage Cowboy shirt
Jacket: The Gap
Jeans: Nautica
Boots: Frye Rogan Engineer (yes, we have matching Frye boots)

On Gigi:
Sweater Suit: Hanna Andersson

And with that... I'm off to spend the whole day cleaning and prepping for our early Thanksgiving.  We are working on a new nap schedule with Gigi so we'll see how much I'm actually able to accomplish!  I hope you all have a great weekend!

After my beautiful drive a couple weeks ago, I couldn't wait to take Kyle along for the drive to show him how beautiful it was!  I was also missing my Pop-Tart so I called up her parents and we picked her up and she came along too!  First we visited Draper Girls Country Farm and picked up some amazingly crisp apples and sweet pears.

Then we headed to Packer's for some coooooooookies!!!!

Finally, we headed to the pumpkin patch.  The pumpkin selection was a bit sad since we are on the very late end of the pumpkin pickin' season but it was still really fun to see everything and to walk through the corn maze.



I had such a fun time with my honey and my girls.  According to the weatherman, the cold, rainy weather is heading our way so we are enjoying the last sunny fall days before winter sets in.


On me:
Glasses: Christian Dior
Wool Dress: Icebreaker
Leggings: LA Made (from Parts+Labour)
Boots: Hunter (from Zella)
Earrings: made by me

On Gigi:
Sweatsuit: Carter
Socks: Trumpette

Today I've got lots of little things to do... I need to clean the house, run errands, edit photos, prepare some promotional materials for my photo business, backup my computer, go to the bank, answer emails, get organized and hang with Gigi.  One thing I love about fall is throwing on a pair of jeans and a sweater, putting my hair in an easy ponytail and being cozy and comfortable.  It's not so cold out that you need full on winter-wear yet and I love just having on minimal layers.  I've had these jeans forever... like, for six years.  The zipper isn't a sure thing and they are still a tiny bit snug post pregnancy but thank the Lord they have a lot of stretch to them!  I decided that G and I needed a jeans and sweaters day.  Here is what we are wearing...

On me:
Cashmere tank top: Michelle DeCourcy (from Plenty)
Sweater: Forever 21
Jeans: Free People
Boots: Hunter (from Zella)
Necklace: Jewelry by Cari

On G:
Long Sleeve Skull Onsie: The Gap
Cardigan: Carter
Jeggings: Carter

Thanks for all your wonderful comments and emails yesterday about the new hair color!  I am getting used to it and really enjoying it!  Now on to the closet... I love going through my closet and purging out all the clothes that I don't wear anymore.  Post pregnancy this proved to be more drastic than ever.  I am back to my old size and I can actually fit back into my old pre-pregnancy jeans which is great but a lot of the clothes I have feel like they are from a former life... in a way they are!  I haven't worn most of my clothes for a little over a year now.  Between pregnancy and getting back in shape I've had a long time "away" from all my clothes.  This time, unlike in the past, I had no sentimental attachment to any of my clothes.  I only kept what I know I will wear and what I love.  It was a great feeling to pull out so many clothing items to pass onto my sister.

Before...As you can see the closet had become very messy and disorganized (the main reason is the little monkey in the corner... although, to be fair, I have a hard time staying organized with or without a baby).


Everything had become a huge cluttery mess with lots of things I couldn't, can't or don't wear.

One day during the remodel, there was a ton of noise and dust so Gwyn and I were stuck in the back bedroom all day.  Before I knew it I was attacking the closet.  Now it looks like this!

After...
I got rid of shoes, coats, tops, pants and I loaned my maternity close to a friend.  I also organized everything by cut AND color!

Now I have so many empty hangers!  If only we had the money with which to restock my wardrobe.  I have been working a lot with photo jobs but with my nannying coming to an end we are relying on every last penny to pay the bills.  As soon as we have a few spare bucks I'm going to hit up H&M, Forever 21 and Target and see what I can get for cheap.  I hate shopping at those places but Anthroplogie, J.Crew and the like are completely out of the question... at least for now.  It may be a month or two until that happens but luckily the new hair color is making many old things look new again and I'm hoping to find new ways to wear them.  I'll start sharing some outfit posts again and I'm going to start making little "what I wish I was wearing" ensembles to share with you.

With the house remodel completely underway my Post Pregnancy Style Makeover got totally put on hold!  But now that we are this close to finishing the kitchen (I am planning to post the full reveal on Monday!) I am getting back to the business of creating new personal style that fits my Mama life.  With the end of my nannying, I feel even more motivated to create a working wardrobe that can transition from time with Gigi to photo shoots to meetings, auditions etc.  I've been craving a drastic change.  I considered a pixie cut...


but decided that would take way too long to grow out and invlove all kinds of awkward in-between/headband moments.  So I decided against the chop.  I've played around with the idea of having red hair for ages.  Like, years.  Just ask my sister who has sat through dozens of should I/shouldn't I conversations, emails, texted images and waffling.  I have chickened out at the salon quite a few times.  But this time I went armed with images and the resolve to do it!  The inspiration is Emma Stone's deep auburn.  I recently read an interview where she said that she was a natural blonde so I thought, hey, if she can pull it off maybe I can!?!?  (Many phone calls with the sister ensued).


Because we were putting color onto my super blonde hair it will take a few visits to get it just perfect (she likened coloring blonde hair to painting glass) but I think my hairstylist pretty much nailed it!  She used temporary color just in case... Even though it's gonna take a few showers and few days for me to get used to, I'm really loving the change!  I'm proud of myself for not chickening out again! 

Before....


After...

I'm sure I'll be back to my blonde self before too long but in the meantime I'm going to enjoy my fall as a redhead.  p.s. all of those little tiny flyaways are actually new hair growing in to replace all the hair I lost after giving birth!  I actually have little one inch long hair growing in all over my head!  Weird.

I have my closet purge to post tomorrow followed by my favorite looks from Spring 2012 Fashion Week!  It's gonna be a stylish week!

Signs that you are getting older.  First of all, having to get my eyes checked in the first place was a sign.  Then, when I got to the eye doctor's office, I couldn't remember how old I was.  I actually had to get out my phone and use the calculator to do the math. 2011-1983... oh duh.  I'm 28.  So the result of my exam is that I need glasses.  All my long hours on the computer and behind the camera are adding up and I've been getting really bad headaches in the evening (after editing for hours).  But, if I have to get glasses, they better be cute!  I'm thinking I might need these...

  And with that, I'm signing off for the weekend.  I'll be back on Monday with updates on the kitchen remodel!  Although I'm not sure how much will get done.  I'm shooting a wedding tomorrow and an event on Sunday evening and Gigi is moments away from crawling!  She has figured out how to wiggle and spin across the room.  With no flooring in place that means a lot of "baby relocation" happening.  In the time it took me to write up this little post, G has put my eyeglass prescription, my gladiator sandals, Kyle's mouse, my CF card reader, my slipper and the corner of my laptop in her mouth.  Oops and she doesn't have a diaper on.  Guess it is time to go!  Have a great weekend!

To start off analyzing my mama-style, I looked through my old style images from a couple years back and discovered that my style hasn't really changed very much. I'm still drawn to the same aspects of style.  I want my clothes to be: comfortable, chic and am continually drawn to styles that are tomboyish, antique feminine and, occasionally experimental.  I would say, if anything has changed, it's that I am less inclined to experiment.  Being a full time mama, there are a few new considerations. They are: I have to be able to breastfeed in it, I have to not care if it gets spit up on and dirty, I have to be able to move around easily in it.

I browsed through my favorite celebrities photo galleries on People and started grabbing images left and right.  I found myself drawn to...

Varying styles of jeans with comfortable, flattering tops and a good sweater or blazer.

I also love these looks with great pants that can be worn with the same comfortable, flattering tops/sweaters/blazers.

And of course, I love leggings with dresses and comfortable, flattering tops/sweaters/blazers.  (starting to see a pattern!)

I also discovered that I looooove separates.  I love a cute skirt and ... say it with me... comfortable, flattering tops/sweaters/blazers.

When it comes to dresses, I like things that are simple, comfortable and easy to wear.  I love the belted-dress-look too.  Ones with stretchy fabric and buttons are great options for breastfeeding.

And, finally, I love these simple, easy maxi-dresses.

Wow, I'm impressed with how informative this style analyzation was for me!  I don't even think I need to do the "creating a uniform" step of the makeover.  I think I've found it in comfortable tops/sweaters/blazers (man if I read that one more time in this post...), some good jeans, pants and leggings, cute skirts and a few easy dresses!  All I've gotta do now is sort and organize my closet (and make a giveaway pile) and make a great wish/shopping list!  Woohoo!  I love a good closet purge!

I've been putting off doing this post because I've been pretty frustrated with my style options post-the arrival of Gigi...

Anyway, post pregnancy, most of my clothes either don't fit or don't work for breastfeeding!  My old shirts haven't fit over my new enhanced bust line and my old pants don't fit over my new hips!  Did you know your hip bones actually spread out?  Yep, they move and they don't go back to "normal" for at least a year!  A fascinating fact... not so great for the ol' wardrobe!  This means that, even though I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight, my clothes still don't fit!  Case in point... 

At least there's leggings!  My main issue is dressing for breastfeeding.  My milk has adjusted so I have a less pornographic silhouette but, let me tell you, most clothes are not breastfeeding friendly.  My closet is full of clothes that I can't wear.  A friend of mine suggested that I hold out on the makeover until I'm done breastfeeding but I plan on breastfeeding for as long as possible.  And, if we have a second baby then I'll be back in the same position again!  Basically, I'm needing a little Mama Makeover.

Thank you all so much for your suggestions!  I got a few votes for keeping it blonde, a few for the light brown and a few for the strawberry blonde.  I decided to go with a warm brown with little bit of red.  In case anyone is interested, she foiled my whole head (and I have a lot of hair) alternating my starting color, a dark red and a bright blonde.  Kind of a mix of my blonde and these two photos...

So basically, I took ALL of your suggestions!  I actually would have loved the change to be a bit more dramatic but but my hairdresser said she couldn't do straight to the dark from my bright blonde because it's like trying to put color on clear... there's nothing for the color to stick too.  In fact, the red will fade out within a couple of months and I'll be back close to where we started from!  But she said next time we can go darker/richer if I want!  She's such a great hairdresser because she keeps the big picture in mind, the grow out, the transition and the maintenance.  It's so fun to have a change.  It's just what I needed and now that I've done it once I won't be such a chicken about doing it again!

Okay!  I've had it!  I am in need of a makeover of Gary Marshall proportions! (See below):

Not that I think I look like a prostitute... you get the idea.  Financially speaking, I think the best place to start is a hair makeover. (I'm doing wedding photography in trade for hair-doing)! I haven't gotten my hair cut for 5 months!  I am loving the length I have now... 

It feels like it took years to grow it out from this...

I have no interest in doing a drastic cut.  So... if I'm not going to chop it all off, how about a different color?  I've never colored my hair before and am a little nervous but, as a good friend said to me yesterday via email, "It is one of the most fun things in life to color your hair." (Thanks for the advice.)  To be honest, I'm a little afraid about dying my hair. I've been feeling the itch to do something a little fun and fearless!  I've always been blonde...

My mom used to call me her "little toilet brush" because I was skinny and my white hair stuck straight up.

Maybe it's time for something new...

A nice light auburn/strawberry blonde?

Golden brown?

Rich red?

Super blonde?

Deep brown?

I'm headed to the salon tomorrow morning!  I'd love your thoughts and suggestions!!!

I love Anthropolgie and spent a bit of time pursuing their "At Home" department and lusting over their items... some of which are actually reasonably priced.  Here's a glimpse at the thing I was drooling over. 

Tea and Crumpets Apron

Trousseau Apron

April Fools Apron

Ladies in Waiting Dinner Plate

Monogrammed Mug Missus

Painter's Stripe Mug

Farmer's Egg Crate

Cirrus Bedding

Hanging Garden Shower Curtain

Bustled Shower Curtain

Florence Flask Ring Stand

Italian Campaign Canopy Bed

Ordinal Dresser

Bewick Cupboard

Muted Gleam Curtain

Violette Knob

One-Lump-Or-Two Lamp

Menlo Lamp

Camera Club Lamp

Halo Chandelier

Blazon Gleam Pendant

Edison Bulb (Slim)

C'est Magnifique Wallpaper

Collected Memories Mirror

Springing Sprigs Candelabra

Oversized Zinc Letters

Alphacritter Mousepad

Tea and Toast Butter Dish

Juxtapose Dishtowels

Tea Service Cookie Stand

Laguiole Steak Knives

Tapestry Dishtowels

Flats: