Weekend Recap + Holy Grail

Photos by: Tess Ware

{Outfit details below}

Plaid Shirt Dress: Old Navy {under $40} | Burgundy Booties: Similar here, here | Tory Burch Bag: Nordstrom {on sale}! | Necklace: Baublebar, similar here {on sale} | Sunnies: Karen Walker | Lip: Mac {Sin} Perfect for fall! 

Before I go into a weekend recap-sorry for the novel! I wanted to share how effortless this Old Navy Plaid Shirt Dress here looks paired with a simply bootie and a cute fall lip. I believe it comes in 3 different colors, which is always a plus! Also, under $40! Dresses have been a holy grail of mine lately and I’m currently on the lookout for more. Where do you guys have the best luck finding the perfect dress?

Y’all I feel like my mind is working in overtime! Between the recent flooding {more on this below}, planning for little Miss and not being able to decide on the perfect diaper bag…I feel like-what was life when the only real dilemma was picking what juice box flavor you wanted?! Now it’s all about what item has the best review and choosing a product that’s edgy, yet efficient. I realize these choices aren’t the end all, but there’s just something different when it comes to purchasing for a little human. You want everything to fit well into their little world. 

We are over halfway through our pregnancy! Where has the time gone?! I may or may not have started a count down and with us being 110 days out from our due date, what feels like plenty of time to plan is actually less than accounted for. We most certainly have to factor in what has already been a busy summer, with the upcoming holidays and crunch time to clean up the aftermath of the flooding. Side note: I would like to comment on how beyond blessed we feel to be planning baby girl’s arrival all while maintaining an amazing pregnancy. Heads up: You may see references to her. Baby girl. And little Miss throughout these posts because Dustin and I have chosen to keep her name a surprise. Why? Well, why not?! ;)

I recently shared the flooding in and around our area on snapchat and other platforms. Dustin and I moved to the Cottage Row area back in 2014. In 2008 we heard about the terrible flooding that took many people’s homes and or forced residence of Cedar Falls, local communities and Cottage Row to completely rebuild.  While this was a reservation, more so of mine, we decided to purchase our home knowing there WOULD be potential for future flooding. We just didn’t expect it to be so soon. It’s honestly crazy just how fast the water progressed. We weren’t so much concerned of the floodwaters reaching our main level, but we did plan for our crawl space and garage to take some in. In these types of situations you learn to remain calm. Plan ahead. And to help one-another out in times when disaster hits. Great news- we were able to save MOST of what came from our crawl space {aka storage} and garage. We were also very fortunate to maintain running water {we are sticking to bottled water}, air and power. For some of our neighbors and other residence on Cottage Row, our thoughts and prayers got out to those of you who went without. 

Now comes the aftermath of sorting, cleaning and organizing what was disrupted by the floods. We want to thank each and every one of you who expressed your concerns, thoughts and help! There’s nothing quite like boating to and from town. Whether it be to grab further essentials or to head into work for the day, we always remain safe, life jackets on with our main goal of getting from point A to point B. For those curious-we anticipate being able to drive out via car by Thursday {yassssss}! I must say the amount of looks you get from other Cedar Falls residence is quite interesting. You would think we were the Alaskan Bush People!

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO | Mandy Nicole

We're having....A Girl!

Dress: Pink Blush | It's a sign: Etsy

{Thank you to all our loving friends & family-Y'all are the best}

Bring on the bows, painted toes and the oh' so darlin' clothes! We're are so excited to announce we're having a girl! While it truly felt like eternity to found out what this beautiful blessing of ours was, it was worth the wait. The love we feel for this baby girl is beyond this world. With every movement, with every congratulation-it's becomes less of a dream and more of an amazing reality. 

The day of the ultra sound-9.14.16 our minds were set. My mom joined us to witness baby move and to act on behalf of our keeper. We asked that mom find out the gender and hold on to our big surprise until the day of the reveal-I suppose that's how reveals work ;) We couldn't see ourselves not sharing this beautiful surprise with our closest family and friends. Dustin and I were like little school kids laughing and giggling when we were told to look away. The temptation honestly wasn't even there. Somethings are just worth the wait! 

It's so funny, as an expecting mom you get asked all the time what you think the gender of baby is. It's one of those throw your head back-laugh kind of moments because honestly...I HAD NO IDEA! Until....the weeks leading up to our reveal, I had dreams where I was talking to a little boy. At that point as well as everyone at work thought...boy for sure. So, Dustin and I had our minds set baby was a he. 

There was SO much anticipation leading up to revealing the gender. I literally felt so many emotions before we learned what our little princess was. I remember thinking, "this is it. The moment we've been waiting for. Blue balloons." I think Dustin was even caught saying, "I can't wait to throw a football around." NOT that you can't do this by any means with a little girl, but you have to laugh about all the comments made that day. When we opened the box and pink balloons flew out...it was a complete surprise! If you couldn't tell.. I was pretty shocked. Aka...mouth wide open, jumping up and down and tears flowing. Dustin was equally as shocked but the best part-what I'll remember from all of this is him whispering in my ear, "I love my girls so much." UGH heart-stopping moment right there! 

We seriously can't thank our family and friends enough. We truly have the best support and encouragement hands down. We along with this baby girl feel so much love. Now on to nursery planning and outfit buying! Our wallets are going to feel the wrath :) 

Thank you to everyone who has sent texts, messages and well wishes! 

XOXO | Mandy Nicole 

Pintuck Swing Dress-Under $40

Photos by: Tess Ware

{Outfit details below}

Pinktuck Swing Dress: Old Navy | Booties: Similar here, here | Bag: Similar here {under $50} | Sunnies: Urban Outfitters  | Bracelet: Rocksbox, Stella & Dot 

Dresses have become my best friend as of lately and I suppose being in the second trimester of pregnancy will do that to a mama! I'm loving this Pintuck Swing Dress from Old Navy. The color is fun for fall {say that 3x fast} and the price point is amazing. Also-did I mention comfort is key? #always. 

I've been on the hunt for more dresses-but did finally buy my first pair of dress maternity pants here also from Old Navy. I'm proud to say one pair of jeans is still holding out and you learn to appreciate the small things :) 

Here is a week 20 update: 

Due date: January 24th! We're excited baby will be joining us for some state wrestling! 

Cravings: Carbs, Carbs, and Carbs. I've always been a HUGE bread girl-but when pizza, breadsticks, and tacos are the ONLY thing that you crave...you go into "but baby wants it too" mode. Just kidding-I TRY very hard to limit myself and add more veggies to my plate. 

Sickness: NONE- I'm owning this as well because who doesn't want to experience a wonderful nauseous-free pregnancy? For all you mamas-to-be who have experienced morning sickness and nauseousness...I'm sorry and you deserve 5 margaritas and all the queso and chips at the finish line!

Weight gain: I've gained 12 pounds-and if you haven't experienced the "I'm being scolded" feeling, it's normal. I've found if I ask about my weight gain before I'm told-it lessens the blow-ha ha. However, I've also been told I'm PRETTY much on track--but to chose vegetables and protein before carbs-but that's kind of a given and also NO fun ;)

Physical changes: Girl...... where I've lacked in the sickness department, my body has made up for in the physical!  My bump is in full effect and I'm absolutely smitten with it. Also-feeling baby move..is simply AMAZING!! What I'm not so keen on {but I'll get over it-because it's worth it ha ha} is my chest size, belly hair, and bacne {is that even a real word}? Yes, you heard right belly hair and bacne.....where does this stuff come from!? No-I'm far from amazon status-but I suppose I've got hormones to thank for that. 

Gender: We have our ultra sound Wednesday and are waiting until Sunday to find out. My mom is coming with us to our appointment and gets to hold onto the envelop until our reveal party! She's pretty excited and has been held at "scouts honor" to tell not a soul. The decision was pretty easy because moms have a good instinct and are responsible! Mom- don't let a mama down ;) 

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO | Mandy Nicole 

Week 20 + Our Family Reveal

Pictures by: Tess Ware {Special thank you for keeping this a secret + surprise!} 

Dress: Old-Similar here | Pregnancy Announcement Onesie: Etsy {Crafty Southern Nurse} | Baby Reveal Card: Esty {Wolvesn Willows} 

Y'all we're 20 weeks into our pregnancy and it has been nothing short of amazing! I seriously can't stop doting over how unbelievable it's to have a small human growing inside my tummy. For all you wondering, YES I began to feel baby a couple days ago and I'll I can say is baby A is certainly active!   #nextgoldmedalist?!

When it came down to revealing our big news-I wanted everything to be special. Our family has experienced some pretty great losses and having the opportunity to bring new life into this world was and still is something very raw and overwhelming {a good overwhelming}. I'll try to keep the sappy part short. I find myself crying some happy-some sad tears when it comes to life's big moments. Moments that I want so badly for my dad to be a part of. I know and am a firm believer that I along with my family have one amazing man watching over us, hearing our laugher, and joining in our happiness. I want nothing more in life than to be the best example to my children, just like my father, and just like my loving mother. 

While waiting six weeks to share our news with family wasn't an easy thing....I knew their reactions would be worth the wait. The first person to know was Tess-the beautiful/talented photographer behind Smitten By You {sorry mom}! Every moment in life-signifcant or small is worth the capture. Photos tell a story far beyond our years and that to me is simply amazing. I wanted to capture and keep this particular moment forever. Tess-thank you!

The reveal: Dustin and I both wanted to surprise our parents in person. For my mom-I ordered this adorable "will you be my Meme" onsesie from the Crafty Southern Nurse {Brittney} through Etsy here. I was super impressed with the quality and the timely manner in which it was received! I also included this super fun reveal card here that read "shopping buddy coming soon!" because...well, I think y'all know why ;) 

To convince my mom {which wasn't hard-we hang out a lot} I convinced her there was a junkin' show in town that we couldn't miss out on. Sadly that was false..who doesn't love to go junkin' for treasures?! Little did I know, my grandma was visiting from AR and got to be a part of the reveal as well! Pretty awesome! 

Anyways-I've been terrible about getting wedding pictures printed off and promised my mom copies asap {which I STILL have yet to do...slacker I know-one of these days}! So, I told her I had a gift for all of her help with our deck {we stained for an entire week-NEVER AGAIN}. From there the pictures tell all. She was completely surprised and I'll never forget her reaction. She said, "you know what? I had a feeling. The other weekend you said you weren't feeling well and I thought OMG-maybe she's pregnant." Is that a sixth-sense parent thing?! ....I'm sure she knew all along ;) 

For Dustin's dad, we had the help of our four-legged family member Rosco! We also ran with this adorable onesie to reveal our big news...and Mike was surprised! We absolutely loved his reaction-but thought we would hold back with the photo-op ;) 

Anyways-sorry for the novel! Our next surprise is finding out the gender of baby A! I can't believe it's almost that time! Continue to follow along with Smitten By You for more details :)

XOXO | Mandy Nicole 

Business Sophisticated

Pictures By: Tess Ware

Black Choker Top: Teal Daisy Boutique c/o | White Denim: Similar here (under $100) | Leopard Heels: Similar here (on sale) | Tory Burch Bag: Love this here | Sunnies: Karen Walker | Leopard Watch: Stella & Dot

Raise your hand if you spend most of your hours in the office or working around people! If you're that girl, dressing up is most likely a requirement. Although sometimes I think to myself-why didn't I become a nurse so scrubs were an option? I do like having the versatility to choose between a business casual look (minus the ripped denim) and or super dressy/sophisticated. 

I absolutely adore this Choker Top from Teal Daisy Boutique here. It would pair nicely with black dress pants, white denim, and even a cute printed skirt. My two favorite color combos hands down is leopard print + black. Nothing screams sass-isticated like leopard and lets be honest the color black is like the friend who is like "you go girl, go get your shine on."

As of lately-I'm not going to lie dressing up has been a little challenging. When you're growing a tiny human inside of you....it's like "oh okay... that's what people meant when they said invest in some maternity pants." BUT-- ladies, am I the only one who cringes when that word "maternity" is brought up? I know its only natural and obvious I'm happy to accommodate my bump...but it's like a flashback to when I was six looking at pictures of my mom dressed in baggy swish pants and my dads softball league t-shirts (sorry mom)! 

In all reality, times have changed and the fashion industry has put into consideration fashion for expecting mothers-and I think DAMN IT'S ABOUT TIME! ;) So, of course with a growing bump (heart emoji's x 100) I've been doing some major online searching of the cutest maternity options from various stores. Here are my favorites so far! 

Old Navy Maternity here 

ASOS Maternity here 

J.Crew Maternity here 

Gap Maternity here 

Pink Blush Maternity here

One piece of advice for all you expecting mommies- DRESSES are the real deal! You can never go wrong with a cute dress. Its a way to save yet feel cute and comfortable!

Be sure to check out Smitten By You this week to see how I styled the cutest Old Navy dress! 

XOXO | Mandy Nicole