Losing the baby weight

I've had a few readers ask about losing the baby weight and how I did it or if I have any tips.  To tell you the truth, I haven't done as much as I thought I would.  When I was pregnant I totally thought I'd be back in the gym in no time and doing all this stuff to get my pre-baby body back.  HA! The reality of having a newborn and running a business demolished those dreams but I am working towards getting back to the gym soon and really trying to cook more and make healthy meals like I did before the baby.  Although I don't have any great tips, here's what I did during and after my pregnancy that I think helped me lose the weight.

During my pregnancy

• I worked out until almost the very end.  I never did anything super strenous and just did what I was comfortable with.  My doctor told me I could do anything that I was doing before I got pregnant so I didn't try anything new but kept at what I knew I could do.  
• The amount of weight I gained was in the range of what my doctor recommended for me.
• I watched what I ate for the most part.  I tried to eat healthy although admitedly I went from eating fast food from never to at least once a month during my pregnancy!  I had to have my french fries!
• I stayed away from foods that made me extra bloated as I was already feeling so big I never really wanted any additional bloat! (except for the french fries. haha)

click through to see more...
 After my pregnancy

• Breast feeding is probably the biggest factor in losing the weight.  I know not everyone has this option but I really think it was what helped me the most.
• No snacks!  After I had the baby, I completely stopped snacking.  I'm so busy these days that I can only think about eating full meals and in between I'm either taking care of Layla or working so I never think about eating in between! 
• Stroller walks - we live in a very hilly neighborhood and the walk alone is already a great workout but taking the stroller out and walking it uphill is a GREAT workout.  I'm huffing and puffing all the way up.
• Baby wearing - I rarely put Layla in the stroller, only when we go on walks with the dogs.  She's only been in the stroller twice when we went out shopping.  All the other times I wear her in my Sakura Bloom ring sling and wearing a 10lb baby while walking around for a half hour to an hour is not super tough but I do feel like it helps!

Although I can fit into all my pre-baby clothes, my body has definitely changed in some ways, especially my belly.  I was actually looking online about any products women use after their pregnancy and a lot of women have mentioned belly bands or shaping undergarments that tighten up the core again.

The lovely team at hourglass Angel sent over the Almighty Vest to try out and to my surprise it really has helped!  I haven't worn it as much as I should (it's not the most comfortable thing) but I have seen results with it.  The first time I put it on, I was slightly shocked.  I've never worn a shaping undergarment like this before but it totally sucks you in - like a whole size down.  It's not easy to get into!  But there's good reason for that and once you put it on, you know why.  After the first time, I knew what to expect so it got easier to wear every time after that.  Here's the description that they give:

the Vest utilizes the science of compression to support long-term slimming. The PowerLatex core stimulates thermal activity and perspiration, mobilizing fat and toxins. You’ll see results as soon as you put it on. 

And after wearing it a few times now, I totally believe it!  I haven't taken measurements or anything but after I take it off, I always feel a difference in my belly.  I plan on wearing it more throughout they year to tighten up my belly area.  Obviously I know that a healthy diet and exercise is what will really help me lose weight but any help I can get in the belly department (always the last area I lose weight) is much needed!

This is not a sponsored post but I was sent the almighty vest for free.  All opinions are genuine and my own!

Baby Shower Candy Favors and cute invites!

I am getting so close to having this baby and am quite anxious for her arrival!  I'm glad that I had my baby shower awhile back as I was feeling a lot better than I am these days.  I had quite a few of you ask me about the cute candy favors that one of my friends made for my shower!  I asked her to share how she made them so I could share with you guys and also a couple more photos that she took at my shower.  (Directions are at the bottom of the post)

 

She also made this adorable diaper cake for me!

 

Shower invitations are so fun as they set the tone of the party well ahead of the big day and I loved the ones that my sister sent! (You can see them here).  Huggies has created some super cute baby shower invitations with Punchbowl.com that make it so easy for you to pick and send out to your guests!  Here are some of my favorites, how cute are these?

I also wanted to share with you Tend’s Pin-To-Win Sweepstakes where you can enter for a chance to win $1000 towards a baby shower!

Sweepstakes Details: PIN IT TO WIN IT! Win a $1000 Baby Shower from Huggies
How to Enter (two options):
1). Go to the Huggies Sweepstakes tab on the Tend page on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TendByGlam, where you will find photos from the Glam/Huggies Baby Shower Event. Select your favorite photo, fill out the entry form, and submit to pin your favorite photo to Pinterest.com.
 2). Enter via Sweepstakes widget as seen above.  Enter your email address and click “Submit & Pin” to pin the image displayed. After pinning, you’ll be redirected to the Tend Huggies Baby Shower board where you’ll need to re-pin your favorite image for a chance to win.

Only one (1) entry per person/email address during the Sweepstakes Period. The winner will be determined in a random drawing from all eligible entries. Sweepstakes begins at 12:00 AM, Eastern Time ("ET") on 08/08/13 and ends at 11:59 PM ET on 9/08/13 (the "Sweepstakes Period").

read more for the directions on the candy favors!

Candy "Bouquet" Favors (for baby or bridal showers)

Supplies:

- 1"x8" cellophane pouches

- 2.25" x 8" cellophane pouches

- BBQ Skewers

- Photo squares (or any double sided tape)

- Tags (I made these on my own in PowerPoint but can be purchased via sites like Etsy)

- Mason Jars/vases/etc.

- Hemp (or any raffia, ribbon, etc.)

- Various candy (m&m's and skittles work well for the smaller pouches.  Sour belts, other gummy candies work for the larger pouches)

Directions (small pouches):

1.  Gather color coordinated candy based on your party's color scheme

2.  Using the 1"x8" cellophane pouches, fill with m&m's and skittles in alternating colors

3.  Leave about a 1" space at the end of the pouch and fold over the self-adhesive to secure

4.  Using photo square (or double sided tape), attach a tag to the end of the pouch

Directions (large pouches):

1.  Gather color coordinated candy based on your party's color scheme

2.  Using BBQ skewers, skewer gummy candies in alternating colors

3.  When skewering sour belts, use two strips

     a.  starting at one end, skewer first belt and skewer second belt perpendicular to the first one

     b.  skewer the length of the belt folding over and alternating between belt #1 and belt #2

          * make sure not to skewer too much candy - 6" is probably good

4.  Carefully put skewered candy into 2.25"x8" cellophane pouch

5.  Using hemp/raffia/ribbon, tie the bottom of the cellophane pouch to the skewer.  (You can cut off the self-adhesive part for these to make it look nicer/neater)

Once you have skewered and filled your pouches, use a mason jar or another vase to put your "flowers" in.  To dress these up even more, you can line mason jars or vases with green crepe paper to make them look like leaves or even blue and clear marbles to make them look like water.  Have fun with it and get creative!

You can find an exciting array of theme ideas on the Huggies® Baby Shower Planner—it features games, favors, flavors, diaper cakes and more. Visit Huggies® on Pinterest to create exclusive invitations to match your theme and inspire your guests.

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Huggies® via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Huggies®.

Bumpdate: Almost There

Every time someone asks me how I'm feeling these days I have no response except for "almost there".  That's how hopeful I am to have this baby before my due date.  :)  In actuality I still have over a month to go (this bumpdate is lil behind, I'm 34 weeks now!) but I'm at the point of being tired of being tired and uncomfortable all the time.

Good things to report:
Belly button is still an innie (hoping it will stay that way!)
No stretch marks

Not so good things:
Gaining 1lb a week - which is a good thing pregnancy wise - it's a not so fun thing when I see my face and body get rounder and rounder by the second.
I can't paint my toenails anymore.
This is how I walk

:)

7 Months Bumpdate

 

I am officially in the 3rd trimester! I've also got the pregnant waddle going on, it's super attractive (or not.  HA!)  People are finally recognizing that I'm pregnant, before it was a "is she or isn't she" kind of thing.  Now people just full on ask me when I'm due or what I'm having.  My allergies have been kicking my butt lately and my doctor has told me that pregnancy makes them worse so I'm definitely not having fun in that department but everything else is going smoothly.  Like I mentioned before though, I just feel weird being pregnant, like I don't even own this body of mine.  So many things change that you don't realize and man, just bending down to pick something up is like the hardest chore in the world.  I see something drop to the ground and then debate in my head how much I really want to try and bend down and pick it up or just leave it on the ground until I can get someone to pick it up for me :)

random updates and a pinterest contest!

My shopping lately has consisted of mainly furniture and more house stuff but when I was in U Village this weekend I picked up this adorable lace top from Madewell in a neon yellow - it's on sale in stores!  But also noticed online that they are doing an additional 20% off on sale items.  I'm eyeing this eyelet dress, this floral drop waist dress and this pretty navy beaded number.

I did squeeze in some "me" time a few weeks ago with a stop at Prada and fell in love with these beauties.  I did bring one home but not going to reveal which one just yet :)  Which one do you like?

Gray/White vs Blue/White

wearing ZLZ Coat, ShopSosie Dress and Prada wedges.

I haven't been to Nordstrom Rack in months but decided to stop by since I was near one and when I walked in I instantly noticed a new shipment of Marc Jacobs bags including this little crossbody.  I already have it in a burgundy and I LOVE that bag during the fall/winter so loved that I stumbled upon this bright pink version.  It's perfect for the summer and I've been using it daily.  Plus it was 50% off!  Score!  Love Nordstrom Rack finds.

A more recent bump picture as I've seriously grown exponentially in the past two weeks.   This is me at 28 weeks...

wearing J Crew cardigan, RD Style tee, Old Navy maxi dress

t+j Designs necklace, bracelet, watch

And on that note, we got brand new neon bubble necklaces that are GORGEOUS.  They are a really pretty matte finish and come in neon pink, yellow and purple.  We have them for a special price of $26 so go get them now (and check out the rest of our new arrivals while you are there!)

And lastly, we have a pinterest contest going on that I would love for you guys to join!  Just repin 3 of our images and then enter for a chance to win all the jewelry in the photos (a $400 value!) or a $75 credit to our store.  You can visit our board here (make sure to follow us) but fill out your entry form here.

6 month bumpdate

 

I can't believe I've been pregnant for 6 months.  It's crazy how time flies.  The bump is getting bigger by the second and I feel huge but I know I should be thankful at this stage because at least I can still fit into all of my regular jeans (and loving my Bellaband with them!). And I know that 2-3 months from now I'll probably wish I was this size!  It sucks doing certain things now and I hate when I go to yoga and I can't do certain poses, although I was super proud of myself that at 6 months pregnant I can still do the crow pose (which my teacher was impressed too, she called me out on it in front of the class!) I have yet to have any strangers touch my bump (thank goodness, I don't want that to happen like ever!) and no pregnancy comments.  I think mostly because I don't really wear tight or form fitting tops and you can't see it too much so I probably just look chubby to most people.  I'm trying to make dates with all my girlfriends lately because in a few months when I'm as big as a house I'm not going to want to go out and be seeing anyone.  My baby shower is coming up and I'm SO excited to get together with a few friends and my sister who's flying out to organize it.  I've been trying to get baby advice from my sister and all my friends since I don't have time to read any books.  I'm trying to absorb all I can from the awesome ladies that I know and love that have been there and done that.  They all have wonderful kids and I am happy to take advice from them!  One thing that I will say about pregnancy is that it's weird.  A lot of weird stuff goes on with your body.  A lot of weird stuff goes on in your head.  I'm definitely not one of those "I LOVE being pregnant" ladies although I'm very thankful to be having a healthy and normal pregnancy but overall, I think it's totally weird being pregnant.  LOL!  

Thanks for following along with my pregnancy and all the congrats.  It's so nice to hear from readers who are pregnant as well or who just had a baby!  It's such a crazy fun journey and love that I can share with you guys. 

Life Lately

Life has been super crazy lately and so posting on the blog will be sporadic but I'm still here and wanted to say hi!  Just an update and sharing photos from my instagram.  If you don't follow me yet, you can follow me here!

 

Cherishing the moments of being able to take long walks with our dogs.  (I'm almost 23 weeks here but I'm 24 weeks now!).  Wearing a Forever 21 Dress

Last week was a bit tough for me because of the pregnancy.  Even though I still don't look very pregnant (you should see the surprised looks I get all the time when people find out I'm 6 months pregnant).  The weight that I have gained has all gone to my boobs and my belly and all that weight in front is killing my back.  Sleep has been tough, sitting on the couch has been tough, walking has been tough, etc... and I've been a little unhappy about it all.  My super sweet husband has been giving me daily massages and putting up with my sh*t and he also got me a little gift to cheer me up.  I love the bow clutch that he picked out for me.  I just love that he went shopping on his own and picked it out for me as I've never even seen or mentioned this clutch to him before but when I saw it, it was so me, and I love that he knows that about me.  It doubles as a crossbody and has a bow print that you can see on the back.

I had a really great weekend celebrating mother's day with my mom.  Being pregnant has really made me appreciate everything that my mom has done for me and I'm so glad to be so close by and be able to see her whenever I want!

Our business is really taking off, so much so that we got a new office and are in the process of moving!  It's such exciting times to see our little business turn into everything we've envisioned (I mean we are not there quite yet but in less than 2 years, we've had amazing growth.) and having a team of people work for us.  We're also growing so rapidly that we've just hired two more people on our shipping team along with the merchandising intern that my sister is hiring.  Such crazy fun times and I'm loving every minute of it!

Some new bracelets we added to our collection:  Chain Bangle | Pave Bracelet | Enamel Bracelet

We added watches to our designs and I LOVE them!!  The Gold Link & Tortoise watch is my favorite and is selling like crazy.  The colored watches will be on our site in a little bit.  We are still perfecting a few things with the designs on those but get excited because they will be gorgeous!

And then, my husband and I bought a house!  We just closed yesterday and am so in love with our new home.  It's so us and will be perfect for when the baby is here.  So now along with the move for the new office, I have to move our old house into our new house which is quite a daunting task especially because oh yeah, I'm 6 months pregnant and will be 7 months by the time we move everything all in.  Yikes!  So all in all, it's quite an exciting few months for us and I'm sure will be for the next few months and then before I know it the baby will be here.  I'm actually more scared for that part than anything else!  LOL!  I hope you all are having a great week!

Lookbook: Bows and Sparrows

What I'm Wearing
Madewell Sweater - No longer available but this pansy sweater is cute and on sale + 30% off on all sale, use code EXTRA30.  This lace bow sweater from Forever21 is adorable and only $15.
ShopSosie Dress (c/o) - on sale!
Louboutin Simple pumps - Here as well.  Also love these with the slight platform.
Target Clutch - I heard from a few readers that this bag is now on sale in stores!  Similar style in mint is online and on sale!
t+j Designs Hammered Chain Link Necklace
Orange Bow Bracelet and Double Chain & Crystal Bracelet 

I'm playing catch up with my lookbooks so that's why you still see the cherry blossoms in the background even though they are long gone.  ShopSosie is one of my favorite online shops, they always have a ton of cute styles that I can't find anywhere else.  They kindly sent over a package of things for me to try and I immediately had to wear this blue dress with the sparrow print.  It's so cute and it comes with an orange ribbon belt which looks adorable together.  It was still too chilly to go with a short sleeve dress and didn't feel like doing my regular blazer over dress so tossed on this favorite bow sweater of mine and loved the crazy print mixing combo.

Bumpdate: Half way there!

I've passed the half way mark and am now a little over 5 months.  Kind of crazy to me how fast this time has gone!  Baby has been quite active since 18 weeks and I love feeling the little flutters in my stomach.  I had a normal appetite up until 19 weeks when I was a hungry hungry hippo and that's also when my bump grew the most.  I don't have any weird cravings but I eat a lot of fruit!  I can't get enough of it.

We also found out a couple weeks ago what we are having... 

Her first onesie!  I thought it was quite appropriate with all of the necklaces :)

Funny thing is when I first started telling friends and family that I was pregnant, everyone assumed I wanted a girl probably because I'm so girly myself but I've never had a strong desire for a girl or a boy even before I was pregnant.  I've never been the girl who thought about dressing up her daughter and doing all sorts of fun girly things.  I quite honestly just wanted a healthy baby regardless of the gender.  When we found out it was a girl I think everyone else was more excited about it being a girl than I was.  Although not my husband, he was pretty sure it was going to be a boy :)  Not that I'm not excited but because I didn't lean either way, I wasn't whooping or hollering for either gender.  I was just glad to finally be able to buy stuff for the baby! 

My sister bought her this little coat, it's my favorite thing ever!  It's got a bow on the back too.  And I had to get her these adorable skinny jeans.  How could I resist?

Thanks so much for all the kind words and advice during my pregnancy.  I so appreciate it and am happy to be sharing this journey with you all!

Lookbook: Bump!

What I'm Wearing
J Crew Schoolboy Blazer - I love the schoolboy blazer and love that it comes in so many styles and colors.  The Tipped Linen blazer is gorgeous.
SheInside Dress (worn as top) - They have so many cute dresses now, similar in a different pattern and super cute.  I love this yellow one for the spring!
Aritzia Skirt - similar at ASOS.
Chloe Mini Marcie Bag
t+j Designs Pearl and Crystal Cluster Necklace

Hello there baby bump! :)  As I mentioned last week, I'm still getting used to this new body of mine and am trying to embrace my bump.  I'm still able to hide it when I wear pants but thought I'd give it a little spotlight in this pencil skirt.  I've always been very conscious of my belly as I've never been one with flat washboard abs but I'm getting used to the idea of being able to show off my bump and not feel totally chubby.  I'm sure things will change when I'll no longer be able to hide it at all and then I really will just embrace it and be proud of it!  It's getting there!  My husband has been very kind to the belly and loves my bump which makes me feel better.  Pregnancy brings on so many changes but nobody can prepare you for the way your body will change and how you will feel about it.  I've not been a stranger to body image issues and to have this change to my body has forced me to change my mindset about gaining weight and such.  It's a tough little journey but the most important thing is that baby is healthy and I'm happy to report that everything is going well so far and I'm so thankful for that.

Thanks so much to those of you that gave me some great tips on maternity style on my last post.  It was also nice to hear that some of you felt the same way during your pregnancy, it helps to know that I'm not the only one!

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Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Kraft via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Kraft

My little secret...

I've been keeping a lil secret that I can finally reveal!

I'm pregnant!

The baby is due in September and I'm about 4.5 months now.  We will be finding out the sex of the baby soon so we're very excited for that.  Not much will change with the blog except I'm sure you'll be seeing my growing bump in lookbooks.  My husband and I are excited for this next little adventure in our lives and thank you guys for always being so supportive and reading along with my blog!