Fall Stripes

Tee (similar here and here) - Halogen / Sweater (similar here and here) - Madewell / Leggings (or these are my fav non-maternity leggings) - BLANQI / Shoes - Birdies / Bag - Tory Burch

Remember when I told you my pregnancy uniform would be a cardigan and leggings? Yep, looks like we're already there! To avoid buying all of the maternity clothes that I'll never wear again, I'm trying to buy tunics and cardigans instead, in the hopes that I'll be able to wear them throughout my pregnancy and after. This tunic tee was actually already in my closet and it turns out has a ton of space for that growing bump. I love stripes with a cardigan as they give a little more visual interest, and rolling the sleeves of your sweater so that your tee sleeves show is another little trick to make your outfit look a little more styled!

I may not be going for maternity tops, but there's no compromising on pants! These leggings are 100% maternity. They're really comfortable, long enough, and not see-through, buuuut they started pilling almost immediately. So close but not quite there. Of course, I'm still wearing them (see reasons 1, 2, and 3) but if you have any better suggestions for maternity leggings, I'm all ears!

Since I hear that pregnant ladies have a hard time with shoes, I thought I'd snag another pair of mules (which of course, I'll probably only be able to wear for another month #chicagoprobs) and these are actually slippers so they're super comfy! I told Jeff I had ordered some slipper shoes, and when I pulled them out of the box he said, "well those are something." Boy code for, "oh no no no." But then I wore them out a couple of weekends ago, and immediately got compliments from four separate elderly women. So there, Jeff! These babies may not be man-approved, but they're definitely old lady-approved ;)

Tee (similar here and here) - Halogen / Sweater (similar here and here) - Madewell / Leggings (or these are my fav non-maternity leggings) - BLANQI / Shoes - Birdies / Bag - Tory Burch

Linking up with Style Me Wednesday, How I Fall.

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This Weekend...

This weekend I...

...was supposed to go to Ella Elli for a little date night with Jeff, but ended up having to cancel for a stay at home and watch movies night instead since he's been sick. It's funny because something ends up happening every time we've tried to go there! Maybe we'll never get to try all of their different kinds of toast haha ;)
...drove out to the burbs for a bachelorette dinner for my friend Tracy at La Voûte in Homewood! It was so fun, and the food was amazing too (I had the Coq au Vin). I ended up ordering these cute wine tumblers as favors (customized of course!) and they were adorable in person. Now in five months I'll have something (semi) subtle for my wine when I walk the baby around the neighborhood ;)
...donated a ton of stuff to make some space for the baby. I swear, I don't know where half of it came from! We literally found a DVD player in one of our closets when we were cleaning them out (the new closets are gorgeous BTW!) and neither of it think it was ours. And since we dropped everything off to donate, we've already started filling up more boxes to donate!
...met Jeff's parents out for brunch at Somerset, which is freaking adorable (even their website!). I swear every little corner is cute! Plus the food is amazing too - I think the winner at the table was the duck hash burrito! And pregnant me had to order a chocolate croissant and a hot chocolate as a starter too haha. We basically rolled out of there ;)

Here's hoping you had a good one!

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Friday Finds

one / two / three / four / five

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My Favorite Fall Jacket

Top - Socialite / Jacket - J.Crew / Jeans (these are maternity!) - Old Navy / Booties - TOMS / Bag - Tory Burch

Okay so I know this jacket is super popular and that a field jacket is nothing new, but you guys, this particular jacket is the best. I mean, it's popular for a reason. I held off on buying it for a long time because I thought it was above my budget, but I'm so glad I finally caved during a sale last year. 

What makes it so great? Well first, I love that it comes in a tall size, and that the tall size still has sleeves that are long enough for me to cuff! Let me tell you, as a tall person, I'm always jealous of all of the sleeve cuffing and pushing you short girls get to do. Little details like rolling a sleeve make your outfit look a little more intentional, planned and put together.

I also love the coating on the jacket. It makes it mostly waterproof, which is great for drizzly Chicago fall day. It also means if you spill something on yourself, it just rolls right on off. Oh, and it's surprisingly packable. I repeatedly shoved it in a backpack or suitcase while I was traveling last week, and it came out no worse for the wear. 

And then the adjustable snaps at the waist are great too - they make the jacket flattering whether it's open or zipped up, and let me get a little more room when I wear a thick sweater. Or, you know, when this baby bump really starts to make its presence known. 

Top - Socialite / Jacket - J.Crew / Jeans (these are maternity!) - Old Navy / Booties - TOMS / Bag - Tory Burch

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September Budget

Every month I post about my clothing budget. My budget per month is $350, which may seem like a lot to some and a little to others, but feels just right for me. You can read my thoughts on my 2017 budget here.

Yay, all the fall things!! I said yesterday that my pregnancy dressing philosophy is going to be lots of cardigans and jackets and vests, but I guess that's not entirely true - I've also been buying anything that's drapey and long so that I'll hopefully be able to wear it for the next couple months and post-pregnancy. My goal is to maybe buy a few maternity tees as well as jeans/leggings, and then find regular clothes to fill the rest of the holes. I did decide I will not be counting maternity wear towards my monthly total, as like workout clothes / pajamas, underwear, it's stuff I need versus stuff I want. So far I've only gotten leggings, one pair of shorts, and a couple pairs of jeans (from Old Navy, they offer long sizes!!) and returned a loooooot of things haha.

So here's the damage for September:

Abercrombie Sweatshirt Dress - originally $58, on sale $34.80. TBH, I only added this to my cart to qualify for free shipping, but it really is super cute and comfy. Fall dresses aren't all that practical in Chicago as it's usually either too hot or too cold to get away with one, but I'm hoping to get a couple of wears out of this! It really is cute in person and very bump friendly.
BP Sandal (sold out!) - originally $34.95, on sale $13.98. And these I bought only because of the price! I figured I'd return them if the quality was bad, but they actually are surprisingly comfortable. I'm digging them now as a good transition piece - they feel a lot more fall-appropriate than most other sandals. Also figuring I'll get a lot of use out of them next year!
Abercrombie Sherpa Pullover - originally $68, on sale $40.80. After loving my Abercrombie pullover from last winter, I decided to go for it with this one once it went on sale. It's so cozy and warm, perfect for fall!
Old Navy Knit Vest - originally $36.99, on sale $27.20. Shared this one yesterday and I love it! Wearing a large here.
Gibson Tunic - originally $54.00, on sale $36.18. I actually ordered this last fall and ended up returning it, but for some reason I decided to try it again and like it now! Just note that I am never wearing it off the shoulder like it's pictured, it can also be a cowl neck which is much more my fall/pregnancy style haha. The length is great too, very bump friendly.
Madewell Cardigan - originally $98, on sale $58.80. This was actually on my wishlist during the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, but I didn't end up grabbing it then because I bought too many things. Well, after returning a ton of stuff I felt like I could justify this again, and I'm so glad I did! It's very soft, a great length, and I love the color for fall. As I'm typing this it's out of stock, but if you want it I would keep checking as I keep seeing colors and sizes popping up.
Lush Tunic - originally $42.00, on sale $27.90. I've considered this for a few years but was always worried it would be too low-cut on me. Turns out it's not! This is such a pretty color for fall too.

Total Spent: $239.66
Total Saved: $152.28

Very happy with everything I got this month!! I basically already spent my entire budget for October over the weekend though (whoops) so trying to rein things in for the rest of the month.

Did you score any good deals in September??

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Easy Fall Layers

Tee (similar here and here) - Halogen / Vest - Old Navy (I also love this one!) / Leggings - Blanqi (these are my favorite maternity pants so far, if you aren't preggers these are my fav regular leggings) / Flats - Sam Edelman / Necklace - Stella & Dot / Sunglasses - Amazon

I've determined that since the rest of my pregnancy will be during cold months (I'm due at the end of February), I'm just going to go for all of the cardigans and wraps and ponchos and vests. Add in a basic tee (or probably a maternity tee at some point) and leggings and I'm calling it a day. I've been so motion sick so far this pregnancy that I've mostly been working from home rather than torture myself on the train every day, so leggings and easy layers are where it's at. 

I was a little unsure of this vest online, just because it looks so drapey on the model, but as soon as I opened the box I was sold. It's so soft and cozy, the perfect layer over a tee, sweater, or even a blouse like I wore it in San Francisco for work last week. Just know that it isn't the most smart thing to pack if you're trying to pack light, because it took up a ton of space in my suitcase! Whoops. Definitely not a travel item unless you're planning to wear it on the plane. 

Oh, and yes, I bought another pair of Karen Walker dupes. I loved my pair from last year but the finish eventually completely peeled off and would leave little bits on my face, so I had to throw them away. I saw someone on Instagram with this pair from Amazon so I decided to give them a try, and so far I'm really happy with them. I'm not the kind of person who takes great care of my sunnies, so dupes like these are my best bet for when they inevitably get lost or end up broken at the bottom of my bag. 

Tee (similar here and here) - Halogen / Vest - Old Navy (I also love this one!) / Leggings - Blanqi (these are my favorite maternity pants so far, if you aren't preggers these are my fav regular leggings) / Flats - Sam Edelman / Necklace - Stella & Dot / Sunglasses - Amazon

Linking up with Style Sessions.

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This Weekend...

This weekend I...

...Flew back after a looooong week in San Francisco! I was out there for a conference that basically my whole work year leads up to, so now I'm in the free and clear this week. It's great to have the weight off my shoulders! While I was there it was crazy and I mostly was in bed by 8 and wide awake at 4am every day, but I did manage to get dinner at Botellon (eh) and Mission Rock Resort (so good and a beautiful view).
...Went to see Avenue Q with Jeff at the Mercury Theater. I've loved this musical since college so I was so excited to finally see it live, and the production was so good!! Seriously, I would really recommend it unless you are super conservative (the people next to us were not happy) as the show is hilarious. What was really amazing though was to be in the second row, as opposed to way up in a balcony like we usually are when we see shows downtown. If you're thinking of going, the tickets are all the same price so just book a week or two out for the good seats! After the show, we went to grab a pizza at Coalfire (so good!!) and ended up meeting up with some friends for drinks. Well, for me it was a Shirley Temple. Just living my best life over here!
...Got a bonus in my paycheck (yaasssss!!) and did all of the online shopping during some weekend sales haha. Whoops. Let's see... these sneakers, this cardigan, this cardigan, this wrap, this sweater, this scarf, this flannel, and these boots.

...Got our house prepped for some new closet buildouts that are happening this week, which basically means our living room is now full of stacks of coats and clothes and wedding china and old Halloween costumes. Someone send help.
...Went to see the Cubs play on Sunday afternoon - they won by a lot but since we are so close to the playoffs we were nervous basically the whole time. It sounds like we're probably going to another game this week, which really just means more hot dogs for me!

Here's hoping you had a good one!

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