Little Black Maternity Dress

Maternity Dress (love this casual dress or this dressier option if you aren't pregnant!) - Amazon / Coat (also available in other colors/sizes here - how pretty is the green?!) - J.Crew / Scarf - J.Crew Factory / Flats (these are my fav, so comfy!!) - Sam Edelman / Bag (similar here and here) - Sezane / Earrings (I couldn't find anything similar, but love these little bow studs!) - Charming Charlie

Okay, so you know how I said I wasn't going to buy any maternity clothes?

Yeah, I lied.

I was trying to decide what to wear to the baby shower my sister and mom hosted for me last weekend, and while I had a few shift dresses that would have worked, they didn't really show the bump! I mean, really, the point of a shift dress is to skim over your midsection, and when I wear one I barely look pregnant. Which, you know, is so not the point at your own baby shower!

So I decided to head to Amazon to see what I could find on the cheap, and landed on this dress! It was black, so it's super versatile, and the side ruching really shows off that baby bump. I initially was anti ruching on pregnancy clothes since they're so obviously maternity (i.e., harder to wear after baby) but really, they just make that baby bump look good! Plus I somehow still have a waist with ruching - it's like magic. I recently stocked up on a few ruched maternity tees too, and I love that they make me look actually pregnant! Unlike the oversized sweater I wore to the doctor two weeks ago where two different nurses didn't realize I was pregnant.

I thought I'd just wear this dress just for my shower, but I've already ended up wearing it a couple other times too - it's come in so handy for all of the holiday events we have this month! The styling options are basically endless too since it's such a simple black dress - you can pair it with a scarf, a cardigan, a faux fur or sherpa or puffer vest, a wrap, or even a flannel button up! No one will ever know that you're an outfit repeater. Well, except for me ;)

Maternity Dress (love this casual dress or this dressier option if you aren't pregnant!) - Amazon / Coat (also available in other colors/sizes here - how pretty is the green?!) - J.Crew / Scarf - J.Crew Factory / Flats (these are my fav, so comfy!!) - Sam Edelman / Bag (similar here and here) - Sezane / Earrings (I couldn't find anything similar, but love these little bow studs!) - Charming Charlie

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Little Black Dress

Dress - Kate Spade / Heels (similar here, here, and here) - Ann Taylor / Bag - Tory Burch / Earrings (similar) - LOFT / Lip - Maybelline

Chances are, if you're in your 20s or early 30s, you're heading to a couple weddings this summer. Jeff and I are finally out of the thick of weddings for our friends, but we still have a couple of friends tying the knot this year. While it's always fun to buy a new dress, it can get super expensive, especially if you're invited to a lot of weddings or need outfits for rehearsal dinners and showers and bachelorette parties too! 

For the past couple of years, I've been using Rent the Runway for weddings and big work parties and I freaking love it. This isn't sponsored at all by the way. It's great because you don't end up buying dress after dress, but still have something new to wear. Plus the rental fees are so much less than the cost of purchasing a new dress, but allow me to wear brands that I normally wouldn't be able to afford. 

Now let me just tell you - renting for the first time is nerve racking!! I mean, the dress gets delivered a day or two before your event and you have no idea how it's going to fit! I have a couple pieces of advice to help.

Advice for Using Rent the Runway

The first is to make sure you always have a back up dress in your closet. When I first started renting I probably only actually wore a third of the dresses I rented because of bad fits. They will give you store credit if you return the dress fast enough so you can always send it back, and if you have enough time they'll send you a replacement dress. But really for ease of mind, I always make sure I have something in my closet I want to wear, just in case. 

The second tip is to know your body. If you think something won't work on you, it likely won't. Those dresses I got that didn't fit? Yeah, I basically always had a clue they wouldn't work ahead of time. Just because there are lots of positive reviews, if something is built for a small chest it just won't work if you have a large one. 

And then finally, I say look at the reviews with photos, but do a sort for reviews that have a similar body type or size. That way, you can see what the dress looks like on bodies that are similar to yours! I've become a little crazy about looking at the photos, and actually haven't had a problem with a dress not fitting in the past year. 

The Little Black Dress

Little black dresses can be pretty basic, but are the perfect canvas for dressing up with different accessories. I freaking love this one - the sleeves are so fun, and I love the pearl button on the back! Plus, the a-line shape is super comfortable but still flattering, and great for dancing. And really, the biggest selling point was the ability to wear a regular bra! You guys know I'll wear a strapless bra when necessary, but if I can find a special occasion dress that doesn't necessitate one I'm a very happy camper.

Dress - Kate Spade / Heels (similar here, here, and here) - Ann Taylor / Bag - Tory Burch / Earrings (similar) - LOFT / Lip - Maybelline

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Big Girl Pants

Dress (currently on final sale, fits TTS - until 10am today take an extra 50% off with code FLASH!) - LOFT / Bag - Rebecca Minkoff / Heels (similar block heels here and here) - Sole Society / Necklace - Stella & Dot / Earrings - Sugarfix by BaubleBar

I don't know about you, but I've been working in a casual office space for so long now that being asked to dress up throws me into a tizzy. (Did I just use the word tizzy?!) But seriously though. I manage to get myself dressed every other day of the week with no problem, and am usually more dressed up than everyone around me. But ask me to find something business casual in my closet and I freak out.

The main problem is those dress pants. I mean, really you guys, the only pair I have and like I bought over five years ago and are a skinny black pant. So really, they're basically a pair of leggings. (I think it's actually this pair, but mine seriously are from 2012 so who knows if they've changed something.)

As soon as I look past the dress pants option, I always end up realizing I have a closet full of things that would work for business wear, including this adorable dress I snagged on final sale at LOFT. Normally I wouldn't advise buying things on final sale online, because duh, you're stuck with whatever you buy even if it doesn't fit. But I had actually tried this particular dress on in a different size a month or two ago, so I was pretty confident that it would work. Winner winner chicken dinner. If you really want this dress, I keep seeing sizes pop in and out of stock - I'm wearing a 12 here (my normal dress size at LOFT) and would say it fits pretty TTS for a shift dress.

So what did I have to dress up for? At the last minute, my boss asked me to step in for him and give a presentation at a conference last week! Now, I actually did a lot of theater in high school so I like performing, but public speaking is a whole different animal. It's one of those things I don't think I'll ever feel fully prepared for, but I went up and did it anyway, and you know what? Once you start talking, it's not so scary anymore! Oh, and it helped that the session I gave was only for about 75 people ;) And to the sweet reader I met at the conference, thanks for saying hi! It was so fun to meet you!!

Dress (currently on final sale, fits TTS - until 10am today take an extra 50% off with code FLASH!) - LOFT / Bag - Rebecca Minkoff / Heels (similar block heels here and here) - Sole Society / Necklace - Stella & Dot / Earrings - Sugarfix by BaubleBar

Linking up with Trend Spin Linkup.

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The Cutest LBD

Dress (sizes keep popping in and out of stock so keep checking! I also love this one and this one) - Felicity & Coco / Heels (these are surprisingly comfortable, I also want them in black!) - Sole Society / Earrings - BaubleBar / Clutch (similar and budget option) - Target (this is the insert from another bag)

How did we get to Thursday again?! I swear, the weeks go by so fast these days - not that I'm complaining that we're almost at the weekend. I get Monday off of work for President's Day (which was a surprise to me - I just realized it haha ;) which means three day weekend!! Jeff doesn't get the day off so I'm planning on using it for a lot of me time - hopefully a barre class, a mani pedi, and a little organizing are on the menu.

I think part of the reason why this week felt so short was because of Valentine's Day. Jeff usually works from home most weeknights (and I'm usually busy freelancing or blogging!) so our weeknights usually follow a pretty standard routine. It was so fun to break up that routine with a mid-week date night!

Let me tell you, I heard so many people complaining this year about how they didn't want to go out to dinner for Valentine's Day because of the crowds and the prices, but that was not the reality I experienced. Seriously, the restaurant we went to wasn't even full (and you usually need reservations even on a weeknight!) and didn't have a fancy special menu. Maybe all of the Valentine's Day haters out there helped us out because we ended up having a great night (thanks in part to that bottle of wine we shared ;)

I don't usually dress up for Valentine's Day - Chicago is seriously so casual that I really only ever see people dressed up for New Year's. I decided to go for it this year though, because, you know, dressing up is fun. Plus, I managed to snag this pretty bell-sleeve dress on sale - it was initially sold out, but I stalked it obsessively enough to notice when my size was available again and jumped on it. The dress is really just a simple black shift, but the pretty lace-trimmed sleeves make it! Paired with some pretty blush accessories (would you believe that the clutch is actually the insert from one of my work bags?!) and I was Valentine's ready. Well, my hair helps too ;)

Dress (sizes keep popping in and out of stock so keep checking! I also love this one and this one) - Felicity & Coco / Heels (these are surprisingly comfortable, I also want them in black!) - Sole Society / Earrings - BaubleBar / Clutch (similar and budget option) - Target (this is the insert from another bag)

Linking up with Trend Spin Linkup, Friday Fab Favorites.

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Go-to Wedding Outfit

Dress (similar) - Ralph Lauren / Bag - Michael Kors / Heels (similar) - Shoe Mint / Bracelet - BaubleBar

I don't know if I mentioned it (except for, like, a billion times) but we had two weddings last week. Work has been crazy lately so they both kind of snuck up on me. When we first started getting invited to a lot of weddings, I put a lot of thought into what I was going to wear, how I would do my hair and makeup, what accessories I would choose, and then would sometimes spend hours getting ready. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm a girly girl so spending hours getting ready is fun for me and I love planning outfits, but I don't always have that kind of time. For the wedding we went to in Chicago last week, it was really nice to be able to throw on my go-to little black dress that I know will look good and works for just about every wedding occasion, heels that I know I can last through a wedding in, and a bag that I know will hold everything I need and be ready to go. No second guessing or last minute "nothing to wear" freakouts to worry about!

I've had this dress in my closet now for over five years now (you may have seen it waaaaay back in the early days of KDTI), and it works for cocktail hours and charity dinners, winter weddings and summer weddings, and everything in between. Do you have a go-to wedding guest outfit? If not, I rounded up a couple of cute, classic options that will last for years to come:

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