This week we're breaking it up a little bit to talk about thrifting tips and tricks! Lately, I've noticed that I've been receiving a lot of compliments on things I've worn that were purchased from a thrift store. I've also found that it's a lot of fun to see someone's surprised reaction when I tell them that I bought it used, at a thrift shop. Usually, they are shocked and tell me that they never find anything cute at the thrift store which, in turn, surprises me!

Easy Summer Style: A Maxi Dress Refashion + Tutorial

Honestly, the last few months have been tough and this week has been especially stressful which made it difficult to sit down and write a post this week. Sometimes, refashioning and sewing is just the stress relief that I need but when faced with the technical aspect of sharing, sometimes I get a little stumped and procrastinate. I didn't know what I was going to say about this dress all week so, I've prayed about it and am hoping that the words flow and resonates with your heart, too.

Vogue 1102: The Little Black Dress

Have you ever had an experience where you just looked at a dress and you knew that it was meant to be worn by you? Well, when I first saw Vogue 1102, I just knew that this dress was going to look stunning but I tucked it away in my pattern stash, waiting for the right time (and enough courage), to attempt my first Vogue pattern.

Home Tutorial: How to Update your Ironing Board Cover - the Easy Way

Lately, I've been feeling a little under the weather so keeping up with things around the house has kept me plenty busy. However, I've really been wanting to tackle my ironing board cover. I've been complaining about how gross it was for months and I kept saying that I was going to redo it but kept being pushed to the bottom of my to do list.

Last week, I needed to run to Walmart to buy thread and while I was there, I found a silver, gray, and white floral fabric that matched my upcycled computer/sewing desk perfectly. The bolt price was listed at a great price ($3.97 a yd) so it was an easy decision to take this lovely fabric home with me. I decided to purchase three yards and was pleasantly surprised to find that the fabric was even less than the bolt price bringing the total cost to $7.96. Now I have plenty of extra fabric to update other projects around the house as well!

Here's what my ironing board looked like before (please don't judge me - I know that it's terrible!):

A Do it Yourself Summer Dress: Navy + White Nautical Dress with Butterick 6318

I can't believe that it's May already - how did this happen!? I'm also so grateful that it is. The sun has been showing itself here and there for the last month but we've finally started to feel some warmth. Hugo is thoroughly confused by the temperature change and, like a true Washingtonian, is already telling me, 'haaa, haaa, mama - haaaa' when it's 70 degrees out. It's still a bit too cold for summer activities but we've been keeping our sunny days busy with exploring and being outside.

All of this sunny weather has reignited my love for dresses and surprisingly, I have a very small amount of casual dresses to wear. Most of my dresses are intended for work or have cutouts/shorter hems from when I was thinner and didn't have a little one to chase. Since my life has changed, my needs and wants in a dress have also changed. I want little fuss, something I can move in, and something that won't cycle out of fashion so quickly.

Decor on a Budget: A DIY Springtime Wreath (And it only cost $5 to make!)

I'm not going to lie to you, it's been a tough week. Anything that could possibly go wrong, went wrong. On top of that, I could use a mom break. Toddlers are hard. Since this week was a just-stay-afloat kind of week, sewing was the last thing on my mind and I focused my energy on other things.

Like, a trip to the Dollar Store.

Which, by the way, was a mess in and of itself. Evidently, carts aren't allowed outside of the store so I had to figure out how to carry my purse, diaper bag, bags of merchandise, and an angry toddler across the parking lot with non-automatic doors. Fun, fun. And this was right after Hugo grabbed a bunch of fake florals from the shelf, bit plastic off, thereby requiring me to swipe the inside of his mouth to grab said plastic. Of course, this only upset him so he bit my finger with his front teeth so hard that my finger swelled. Lovely. Oh, and it rained. Like, poured. Thanks, Washington!


I digress. So, while I was at the Dollar Tree, I picked up a few things for gardening (I am determined to make gardening a thing this year), yard clean up, as well as a few floral things to make a wreath. Guys, I have not made a wreath in forever which is silly because I love wreaths. In fact, my last wreath was the DIY Rustic Wreath that I made two years ago - crazy! So I figured that instead of sharing a sewing project (with my luck this week, I shouldn't be touching a sewing machine), I would share this really easy DIY springtime wreath that only cost five dollars to make. And, you can find all the materials at the Dollar Tree - yay! 

DIY Gingham Crop Top

I am so excited that spring is finally here! Every where you look, there are fresh leaves, flowers blooming, and sunshine! Thank heaven for sunshine!

There's no better way to celebrate than with this season's staples: gingham, ruffles, and a crop. I've been wanting to try out a crop top for awhile but, I'll be honest, I hate working out and I love cookies so most crop tops don't flatter my shape. However, this design is belly friendly for those of us who want to wear a crop and eat our cake too!

DIY Memory Quilt from Footie Pajamas

Remember a few weeks ago when I posted about how I was having the hardest time letting go of Hugo bear's cute little footie pajamas and created those DIY sleeper mittens? Well, I decided to save all of his sleepers from his first year and create a little memory quilt!

DIY Car Seat Pillow & Life Update

I can't believe that it's been almost a month since I've updated the blog!

Life has been crazy. Hugo was sick for a couple of weeks and then shortly after the terrible twos found us early. Like, super early and it is exhausting. I find myself trying to sleep whenever possible which means that the majority of my sewing projects have been neglected. Eek! We are trying to find a better routine to make things a little easier on the bear (and his parents) but it's a work in progress.

If you've been following my blog, you probably remember the post that I shared about Hugo's updated car seat. Well, his car seat is officially expiring next month so we purchased a Maxi Cosi and are waiting for it to come in!

DIY Evening Dress

The evening dress is finally complete.

I feel like there was a lot of build up to this moment throughout the month and there were so many moments when I thought that I was going to finish much earlier than I anticipated. I knew going in that this was going to be my hardest project to date and it was though, not in the way that I imagined that it would be. As you know, this dress was inspired by the Oscar De La Renta  gown that I talked about in a previous post. I knew that I wanted a classic bodice with a chevron paneled skirt in order to achieve a similar look.

Transformation Tuesday: Footie Pajamas to Mittens

This week was another busy one and a lot of routine hopping for the Hugo bear which meant nap and sleepy time were all over the place. Getting anything done was a challenge. Hugo is definitely an active little boy and I am learning how to keep him engaged in activities as well as directing his energy so he doesn't become bored so easily. I think boredom could be a large fraction as to why he doesn't sleep through the night. This week we experimented with alternating an activity at home and then with an activity out of the house. My mom got him a Mickey Mouse calendar for Christmas and we write down our big or outside activities and talk about any events that are going to happen that day. I am also trying to rearrange our routine at home. We're so used to letting Hugo determine how the routine is going to be set and doing things around his nap or nighttime. Since he's getting older, I think that starting to do things while he's awake and letting him participate a little is going to be beneficial in keeping him engaged and learning. I think that I noticed he was ready for a shift in routine at home when he wanted to "help" do the dishes, got really excited to see the vacuum, and attacked the broom. haha. He's the cutest!

New Year's Intention (and saying goodbye to 2016!)

I can't believe that 2017 is right around the corner, literally! This year felt as though it's creaked by and then sped up to a ridiculous speed around August so I am kind of breathless as I think about what's next for the new year. No lies, I am relieved to say goodbye to 2016. It's been a lot of life, and I could deal with setting life to a "cruise control" mode and just enjoying time. 

I am pretty excited for 2017 but not in the way that I am usually excited for the new year. Normally,  I have very itemized goals that I want to achieve. There are lists. There are expectations and I usually fall short. Last year, I swore that I was going to take better care of myself. In a way, I followed through with allowing myself to heal. However, on the other hand, I didn't follow through with what I truly had in mind. Baby weight loss, channeling my inner fashionista, eating the way I am supposed to, getting out more. I still have residual baby weight, I don't always dress for the day (or leave the house), and I am eating chocolate wafer cookies as I write this. #winning  

Thankful Thursday + Target Style Inspired DIY Holiday Trees

This month, I thought it would be fun to talk about what we are thankful for and I've been looking forward to writing this post ever since I committed it to my planner. Although, I am truly excited to write about why I am thankful and what for, I've had a really hard time writing this post because the topic is so close to my heart and is the product of working through hard moments that I experienced this year.

Today, I am incredibly grateful for opportunities and possibilities. This seems kind of unusual, right? Let me explain, if you have been following my blog this year and my sporadic posts, you know that working through Hugo's birth story was a little hard and then six weeks later I almost died mid-surgery and sustained injuries such as: perforated organs, internal bleeding, air built all around my chest cavity, and a slew of other side effects that continued for months. These events triggered post partum depression and other anxieties, fears that I didn't have before and life became about survival. I struggled, a lot, until rather recently. I spent so much of my time in pain, sick, angry, in shock, and lost in sadness which caused me to miss so many opportunities. Opportunities to hold and snuggle Hugo when I was in too much pain. Opportunities to get to know new moms when I couldn't see passed my own nose. Opportunities to strengthen friendships and other relationships that I had when I withdrew or pushed people away. Opportunities to share kindness, be helpful, loving, etc. I just didn't, or couldn't care.

Postpartum Depression

"Have you blogged lately," asked my mom.
"No, I haven't."
"Hmm, that doesn't sound like you.." my mom countered with a concerned expression.
"I know."

And that is what postpartum depression looks like, for me.

Hugo's Three Month Update!

We missed Hugo's 2 month update since I was still recovering (you can read about that here) but we are back for month 3!

Oh. my. This boy has GROWN! We're talking 9 month pjs now guys. 9 months! My mind is still processing this. Where did my little baby boy go!?

Emergency, Emergency

I've started and restarted this post for days now. Truthfully, I just don't know where to begin and I've wrestled with whether or not anyone would even want to know the cause of my silence. It's a long story, so if you are interested, be prepared to settle in a comfortable spot for awhile. It's also a moderately sad story so if you're an easy crier (like me) then grab some tissues too. Although, as I write this, I may be crying enough for the both us - so maybe nix the tissues.

Hugo: One Month Old

My dearest little Hugo,

Today you are officially a month old and it's killing your mama! I can't tell you how many times I sat in your nursery, doing your overnight bottles, and tearing up because you are getting so big! And, yes, dad and I are excited for all of the fun things to come as you grow but some days, I would love for you to stay as little as you are right now.

This has been a big month for you little one! We've all been learning from each other, having fun, and experiencing lots.

Hugo Devereux: A Birth Story

On the morning of October 13th, my husband readied himself for work, kissed my cheek, and wished me a good day. "Call me if anything happens, ok?" he asked. He was referring to the false alarm we had the night before. 2 hours in triage being checked after I thought my water broke. It hadn't. My contractions were 6 minutes apart, a minute in length, but I could hardly feel a thing. Just a couple of cramps here and there. I promised Scott that I would call him if there was any change and drifted back to sleep as I heard him lock the front door and start the car. 

I slept for about an hour when I began to feel tightening in my abdomen at 7:30 a.m. I was still tired and fought this feeling as much as I could in order to get as much sleep as possible. The night before was long and discouraging as the little one wanted to stay in the womb just awhile longer. At 8 a.m., I could no longer ignore the tightening and decided to get up for the day.