Maternity dresses

Yet another sale at Isabella Oliver. Really great deals on great pieces, the wrap dress is on sale for less than $100!

The capped wrap dress is down to $90,

2 easy summer dresses are down to $80 -

A Favorite Baby Toy?

Have you seen that episode of Angel where the muppets suck the life force from children watching them? Then Angel gets turned into a muppet until they figure out who the bad guy is and return the life forces to all the kids. When Nate plays with this toy, I'm reminded of that episode, but I'm not exactly sure what part of the experience makes me think about it,

Something about how Nate stares at it, and then bats at it, and gets a little worked up as though he is confounded by this thing and is trying desperately to figure it out, or beat it at it's own game, makes me think about that episode. When he can see this thing in the room, he can't pay attention to anything else, it's so strange. Some might say that makes it a very effective toy. It definitely makes a great baby gift!

20% off Ella Moss Tops

20% off all tops at Ella Moss through tomorrow, what a great time to get a few cute and light tops for the hot weather. Use code WELUVTOPS to get the discount. If you couldn't find your size in the Splendid sale section, try this striped henley -

This is a really cute breezy top -

Check out the site for many others (as well as girl and baby sizes!)-

Splendid Sale

Big Splendid summer sale right now, including great stuff for women and kids. It's definitely worth checking out. Look at this adorable toddler outfit -

and a super cute boys outfit -

Lot's more where those came from. And don't forget to get a little something for yourself!

Making a Picnic Easy

I met a friend for ice cream last week with Nate and her kids. The ice cream place was insanely full, so we took our goodies across the street to a park. Luckily my friend had this amazing picnic blanket in the car, where she keeps it all the time -

It's amazing. It's waterproof, it folds up and comes with a shoulder strap so you can carry it easily with other stuff. This would make an amazing gift.

Friends and Family Sale at Bare Necessities!

Looking for the shapewear I posted recently? How about a swimsuit - or maybe a shaping swimsuit??? Take a look at Bare Necessities today for 25% off, use code FRIEND to get the discount on goodies like this gorgeous retro and totally on-trend suit for you by SPANX of all companies -

Happy shopping!

"big boy" clothes

I don't want all the moms of boys to feel left out after yesterdays post. I hate walking into a baby store and only seeing cute things for girls. Boys get cute clothes too! Take this shirt for instance -

I call these kinds of baby clothes Nate's "big boy" clothes. I think its the lack of snaps for diaper access that make the jeans look like adult clothes,  and I don't find that it's so much harder to change a diaper this way. Thoughts?

Adorable little dresses

I am so in love with the adorable tiny little dresses at baby Gap these days, I can't get over how sweet they are! I just want to buy them all and give them out as gifts since I know it's not 'the best' idea to horde them for myself hoping our next kid will be a girl (although believe me I was tempted)... some of my favorites -

There are a couple of tops that they don't make in smaller than 2T sizes (or at least I couldn't find it for babies) that I LOVE -

How cute are all of those? And with all their sales and special offers they become very affordable.

The Nap-Time Workout

I recently saw a blog called the Nap Time Chef. I thought that was so smart, and realized most of us, when home with young kids, are the nap-time everything. When else are we going to get anything done? Then, I was so happy when a PR firm offered me the new Bar Method DVDs to try out and review for the blog. I was definitely not going to refuse them, the 2-DVD set is the perfect nap-time workout.

I've been wanting to try a Bar Method class for years, but there is no studio on our side of the Bay, and I just never seemed able to work a visit to one of the locations into my schedule. With the baby that certainly wasn't going to happen now. And yet also because of the baby I'm in serious need of exercise. Enter these videos. Each one has an hour long workout including warm up and stretching. If your kid reliably naps that long, great. On occasion I've had to wait until after bedtime to do it, Nate is not a consistent napper.

I don't have any special equipment, I used my yoga mat on the living room floor, a throw pillow instead of the ball, and 2 28 oz cans for weights (short notice, I didn't realize I needed anything until the video started and our barbells are way too heavy!) I also used a bunched up beach towel for a few moves. If I were to buy any piece of equipment I'd say it would be the ball, it's used in many of the exercises and would be very helpful.

I thought the workout was great. After the first couple of times I felt sore, and that dissipated and I felt stronger. It's only been a couple of weeks but I do imagine I would see results pretty soon if I keep it up. I tried the first video a couple of times, then switched to the second. While the moves are similar, the workouts seem different enough so that they emphasize different areas and you don't feel like you are doing exactly the same thing.

I do feel a little awkward watching it, I'm not going to lie that it's a little weird when Burr Leonard, the woman who started the Bar Method and leads the workouts is telling you to "give it to the ball." Weird.  And yet the workout works, and really, since the baby is napping and I'm alone with the workout, who cares?

You can get the videos and equipment here.

I see there is a pregnancy workout video as well. That's great, since there was nothing on Comcast on-demand that worked - much of the workouts were done lying on your back which is a no-no after the middle of the 2nd trimester. That's a DVD I'd order during the next pregnancy.

How to do pregnancy style right

Sometimes I do not understand why people or outfits are considered fashionable. There was a horrid photo of a very pregnant Jessica Alba last week wearing a huge shapeless dress topped with a huge shapeless sweater, not my idea of pregnancy chic. Now these outfits on the other hand - perfection! She is completely rehabilitated in my mind thanks to these photos.

To build an outfit similar to the first one, start with great wide legged jean like these J Brands -

 A fun, breezy top -

And this is an unstructured linen blazer (not maternity, you will love to wear it after the baby!)-

or try a more structured blazer in a great light color (also great for after) -

Throw on your favorite wedges or platforms and you have an outfit just like Jessica's!

We all need a little help (from our shapewear)

A friend wrote the other day looking for new shapewear to help her with her post-baby problem areas. She complained about her tummy and muffin top, and said that she needs shapewear that's long enough and has thick straps to cover a bra. I was of course more than happy to help with a few (or excessive) suggestions.


the Yummie Tummie shaping nursing tank -

I like Yummie Tummie in general because they look like regular tanks on the top and bottom in case they peek out, but in the middle they are shapewear to smooth everything out. It's such a great idea!

If you don't need nursing but would prefer a thicker strap that covers a bra strap (as opposed to their more common spaghetti strap that you can also find through the link) -

This is the spanx version -

This Sassybax shaping top has underwire, so you don't have to wear a bra underneath it -

And this Yummie Tummie slip looks like it would be amazing to wear under dresses -

There are a million more options if you didn't see something that appeals to you -