Striped Shirtdress

Dress - LOFT / Sandals - Target / Earrings (similar here, here, and here) - Vineyard Vines / Bag - Clare V

Oh heyyyyyy! We've been so busy lately, it's been hard to pop into this little space!! I'm not even sure where to start.

My brother's family is in town for just a couple more days (they currently live in Asia so they typically do marathon summer visits) so we've been trying to squeeze in as much family time as possible. We had everyone over dinner at our house on Monday and I ended up grilling everything by myself since Jeff was at work! Grill master over here haha. Really, what happened was it was so windy that the flame went out without me noticing so I just had meat sitting on a cold grill for ten minutes - whoops! I did manage to relight it and get everything going again without blowing myself up so I'm considering it a win. Did you ever read the comic Foxtrot? Well the dad was always singeing off his hair and eyebrows, and that's what I was picturing for myself while I was lighting it ;) I also whipped up some watermelon frosé (from my favorite food blog!) which was so good and surprisingly easy to make. Such a fun night! Mia and I also drove up to the suburbs yesterday and last week to hang out with everyone, and we're heading up again tonight for one last dinner.

We've also been going a little crazy over here because Mia is starting daycare next week. I swear I cried a little bit typing that. The daycare situation in Chicago is a little crazy - you put down (non-refundable) deposits at a bunch of places just hoping that one of them will have a spot open up around when you need it and that there aren't 10 other babies in line in front of you. I was starting to get worried Mia wouldn't actually get into any of the daycares and we'd have to scramble to figure something else out. But, two weeks ago we ended up getting a call that there was a spot opening and she needed to start right away to hold the spot! I ended up negotiating that back a little, so she will be going part-time for the next month until I go back to work. I'm super sad about it - partially because she's starting so much earlier than she needs to, and partially because I don't really want her in daycare at all. I just can't quite imagine that someone else will be with her all day, and I'll just see her for an hour before bedtime. Seriously going to cry just writing about it. I know it's what makes sense for our family right now though, so we are at least going to try it and see how we do. I'm sure Mia is going to happily fly right into her teachers arms every day and I'll be the only one freaking out ;)

The Outfit 

So, anyway, should we talk about this outfit a little bit?

How freaking cute is this little dress? I added it to my cart on a whim, thinking it was most likely going back, but the second I tried it on I knew I had to keep it. The stripes and the cut are just so flattering! And it's not often that I find a button down dress that works on my figure without pulling. I also love that it's nursing friendly. Oh, and this is a weird one, but a lot of dresses have too large of arm holes for me so my bra ends up showing out the side - not here! I apologize for how long it took me to show this one to you because there are just a few sizes left, so snag it while you can! The only bad on this one is that the fabric wrinkles pretty easily. It doesn't really bother me (I'm just excited to be dressed at all these days!) but it's something to keep in mind.

And I'm still freaking loving these sandals. They are from Target (yes!) and were only $20 and are surprisingly comfortable! I actually only brought one pair of sandals with for our 10-day  trip to Minneapolis / Wisconsin and these went with everything - my rehearsal dinner dress, my shorts and tee shirts, and my swimsuit. Win win win.

These earrings have been my favorite this summer - I love the natural rattan + white combo! But Mia just got really good at grabbing this week (she ripped my glasses right off my face!) so I think it's time to retire the big earrings for a while. My aunt showed me her ripped earlobe when I was a kid and the thought of it still freaks me out to this day. Bye earrings, I'll miss you!

Dress - LOFT / Sandals - Target / Earrings (similar here, here, and here) - Vineyard Vines / Bag - Clare V

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Friday Finds

Happy Friday!! We're especially excited for the weekend because Mia's grandparents are babysitting on Saturday so we can go on a cruise of Lake Michigan! I don't think I've been out on the lake in years, since my previous company took us out every year for our summer party. It would always turn into a complete shit show, but you know, in a good way 😉

Here are this weeks' finds:

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A Few Vacay Pics

Ready for a photo overload?

Your family may fly to cool destinations or hit the beach for family vacations, but mine has always headed north to spend a week in the woods on a lake. The days would consist of swimming, canoeing, fishing, campfires, boat rides, board games, and lots and lots of reading.

When we were all younger, my dad would pack us in for a 14+ hour drive to Ely, MN for fishing and canoeing in the Boundary Waters. But now that the kids are all adults we all revolted and said we needed a closer destination, so we have been heading to the Hayward, WI area for the past few trips instead. It's beautiful, it's quiet, it's secluded, and the mosquitos, while plentiful, somehow only make tiny, barely itchy bites. I literally only went into town on the way in and the way out, and it was so relaxing and peaceful (besides the baby screams, which were plentiful since we decided it was a good week to try crying it out! 😂😂).

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Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Picks

Oh hey, did you miss me?! I was out of town with Jeff's family for a wedding two weeks ago, and then in Wisconsin with my family last week. I was planning on checking in at some point, but really it turned out that I liked vacation waaaaaay too much to step away to my computer ;) I'd like to say that it was because of the internet being weak and going down a few times, but really, I was too busy catching fish and taking Mia swimming!

So, in case you hadn't heard, the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale opened to cardholders last week, and will open up to everyone this Friday. I took a look through literally everything that's on sale to find my favorites for you. To be completely honest, I wasn't wowed by this year's sale. Most of the things included are basics I already own or slightly different versions of items that were available in years past. In my digging though I was able to find a few gems, and of course, I still managed to order a bunch for myself and a few things for Jeff too!

A lot of influencers are creating hype to buy now and fast if you want something. I've found a few things that sold out, but really don't feel pressure to buy something if it isn't something you love. Remember, it's just a sale, and a lot of this stuff will be back on sale later in the fall.

If you are shopping, here are my top picks:

What I actually ordered: 

Items I already own and love: 

Shoes:

Bags and Accessories:

Work Clothes: 

Casual Clothes: 

Men's: 

Babies: 

Home: 

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Friday Finds

Happy Friday from Minnesota! We drove up on Wednesday for Jeff's little brother's wedding (which is TODAY!!) and besides the whole packing everything we own thing, the trip was surprisingly easy with Mia in tow. Google Maps said the trip would take a little over six hours, and even with stopping and rolling around in the grass a little for lunch we still made it in seven! Mia slept most of the way but also did her fair share of screaming (which we attempted to drown out with some womb white noise from my phone 😂). Jeff's mom rented out a cute little house that's broken up into separate apartments, so it's been so fun to have all of the family popping in and out. Also handy since we can put Mia to bed in our apartment and go hang with everyone in another!

We've known about this wedding for a while, so we actually put out feelers for someone to come watch Mia way before she was even born! My mom took the bait and drove up yesterday so Jeff and I can go all out at the wedding tonight. Jeff and I like to dance with great enthusiasm (but little skill) and since I was pregnant for the last couple weddings we went to I haven't gotten a chance to cut a rug in a while. Now, you may be saying, "Kristina, it's perfectly fine to dance when pregnant." Um, not our kind of dancing. Did I ever tell you about the time a photographer got too close and I speared her with my heel? So watch out if you ever see me on the dance floor!

So anyway, here are my finds for the week. Lots of good sales going on right now thanks to the holiday, but I personally am waiting until next week to let out my inner shopping beast because Thursday marks the start of the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale!! If you aren't a cardholder, I definitely suggest signing up now so you can shop the deals early before stuff sells out. We'll be in northern Wisconsin so I'm praying for some good wifi so I can shop myself!

one / two / three / four / five

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Instagram Lately

I've been getting much worse at taking pictures of my outfits lately, so a lot more is ending up on Instagram that doesn't get shown here. We could blame the baby here, but let's be honest, it's half because I forget and half because it seems to rain in Chicago every freaking day. So, in case you've missed them on Instagram (because wah wah wah algorithm wah) here's what I've been wearing lately:

My mom-iform: Tee / Jacket / Leggings / Sandals

Tee / Shorts / Sandals / Sunglasses

Shirt / Jacket / Shorts / Sandals / Bag / Sunglasses

Similar Tee / Shorts / Sandals / Sunglasses / Stroller / Stroller Organizer / Carseat Cover

Dress / Similar Cardigan / Sandals / Carseat

Romper / Jacket / Bag / Sandals / Sunglasses / Carseat

Tank / Jeans / Sandals / Bag

Similar Dress / Mia's Dress / Mia's Sweater

Dress / Sandals / Sunglasses / Carseat

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Drunk Elephant The Littles Review

My skin went completely whacko when I was pregnant. At first I thought my skin was invincible no matter what I did to it, because for the first month I knew I was pregnant it was beautiful. But then, all the sudden, I started getting crazy cystic acne on my chin. I've been known to get the occasional cyst during my period, but this was different. It was a new bump every couple days, and they would each last a couple weeks at a time. Eventually when I got to the third trimester they stopped showing up as frequently, and eventually shifted down to small bumps or blackheads.

In the aftermath, I was left with a lot of redness on my chin and a couple darker spots. And, because I was trying to figure out what was causing my skin to freak out I had dropped most of my skincare products, so my skin was also really dull and lifeless. And while I'd like to blame the pregnancy for large pores, that is something I've always dealt with. My skin naturally is oily in my t-zone and regular on my cheeks.

(Also, instead of "cheeks" I just typed "chins." Oh dear. I hope I just have the one.)

Enter: Drunk Elephant The Littles

Since my skin was so bad, I decided to try the Drunk Elephant The Littles set as a kind of reset for my skin. I'd heard about Drunk Elephant for years and always wanted to try it because I'd heard about good results and that it's a natural skincare line. But since everything is so expensive I never actually bought anything. Enter The Littles. It's a set of eight of their more popular items that are designed to be a full skincare routine. There are two serums for day, two serums for night, a facewash, a sunscreen, a face lotion, and an eye cream.

What the products are like

The two serums at a time thing sounded a little crazy to me (I usually use one at night and none in the morning) but I actually really liked the way it felt - so luxurious! And I really love the concept, because there is a moisturizing serum that you use after the harsher one for both morning and evening, so you are never overloading your skin. I definitely got much brighter and glowy skin from the serums!

I liked the sunscreen, but as an added step I'm not really into it (I usually use a lotion that has sunscreen in it) and wasn't wowed by the eye cream. Weirdly, I loved the facewash. It's this cool, gel texture that you don't need to add water to at first. It's kind of like using an oil cleanser, where it is amazing at removing all traces of makeup (including my waterproof mascara!) and then you add water and it lathers up like a regular facewash.

How long it lasts

At $90 for the kit (I got mine for 20% off during the last Sephora sale) I was really hoping these would last me a while. I started to hit bottom on products at the 4 week mark - that's when the lotion, eye cream, and sunscreen ran out. The facewash made it to week 5, and all of the serums are still going strong now at week 7! Which makes me wonder if I should have been using more product this whole time?? But really, I was figuring I'd get two weeks max out of everything so I'm pretty happy that this little set lasted me so long.

(Sidebar: while taking this photo, I somehow managed to  knock the picture down and break the frame. In case you're wondering, the weak part of a cheap picture frame is the outer frame itself, because little chunks of it broke off behind the little brads on the back that turn to hold the back in place. Which is so not how I would have thought a picture frame would break.)

The Results

I'm always a sceptic of people toting amazing results from skincare. My skin looked great after a month of using Drunk Elephant, but not like anyone else would notice but me! I definitely saw brighter skin and smaller pores, and more importantly, I didn't have a single breakout when using the line - even when I missed a couple nights of washing my face! That's really unusual for me, usually even a little slacking on my skincare routine shows right away.

Would I buy the full-size Drunk Elephant products?

When I shared that I was using these on Instagram stories, I initially said I was thinking I'd just rebuy the set once I ran out of everything, because, let's get real, I know myself and there's no way I'm dropping that much cash to buy full sizes of everything in the set. But, now knowing that the serums last so much longer than the other products, I'd just go full size on each of them. I like the face lotion too, but since it doesn't have the sunscreen in it I'm not really willing to do that extra step every day. And while I love the facewash, I don't think I'll spring for it. I was just listening to an episode of Bad On Paper Podcast where they had the founder of Allure on to chat all things beauty. She said that she goes drugstore for things that will stay on your face a short amount of time, and higher end for things that sit on your skin for longer. So since facewash just gets rinsed off immediately, you don't need to make sure it's the best possible ingredients for your skin. Makes sense!

Have you tried Drunk Elephant? What's your skincare philosophy? 

(Just a note in case you were wondering - nope nope this isn't sponsored! Just something I wanted to try and share with you.)

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