Show Some Shoulder.

I've never really shared why I think clothing matters.

Clothes aren't vain or shallow or silly. Clothes are powerful. They speak, breathe and feel. They encourage and inspire, they challenge and surprise. One of my favorite quotes about fashion, hilariously enough, is from Blair Waldorf on Gossip Girl (judge me all you want, that show was my guilty pleasure), "Fashion is the most powerful art there is. It's movement, design and architecture all in one."

Since becoming a mama, I've actually gravitated more towards fashion and developing my own sense of style. By default, when you become a mom, you enter into a season of endless sweatpants and topknots and tennis shoes that accompany the naptimes, sleepless nights and hectic newborn routine.

There is nothing wrong with this "momiform", this is normal. But I have learned through my own experience that if you aren't careful, the sweatpants will eat you.

Okay, they won't eat you. But they will eat up something inside of you, very slowly over time, this tiny little bit of self-worth that says, "I am worth the effort of 5 minutes of hair and makeup. I am worth wearing a cute shirt and necklace instead of the same nursing tank 4 days in a row. I am worth a new pair of shoes every now and then."

The level of sacrifice that mothers faithfully give everyday to their families absolutely astounds me. Women are amazing. My mom - she's absolutely amazing. She never made me feel like I was an inconvenience. And yet, she did a great job of taking good care of herself. She exercised. She ate healthy. She and my dad worked extremely hard to send me and my sisters to every cheerleading camp and chorus trip and a yearly summer beach vacation. And my mom was always, always stylish.

She showed me that she was important, that her self-worth wasn't a selfish endeavor, and that enjoying beauty wasn't frivolous. My mom's style is ecstatically bold and bright, stocked with armfuls of silver bangles and botanical scarves and strappy sandals. She has shown me that fashion, cultivating one's own style - this is an art to be enjoyed. A lifetime journey of tweaking, growing, changing and discovering one's own style. Allowing yourself to grow. Allowing your body to change shape. Allowing yourself to feel beauty, inside and out.

Clothing matters because it is an intimate insight into who you are.

And also, clothes are like, really really fun.

I am currently getting re-acquainted with my body. My fleshier postpartum size can be frustrating, but it is also an invitation into a greater depth of self-love. Instead of disliking what I see in the mirror, instead of clinging onto the past with a fear grip, I am invited to see what will be compatible for me in this fresh season. I don't want the body of 18-year-old me (okay, I admit that might be nice here and there), but honestly - knowing what my body is capable of now is incredible! It's endured childbirth and overcome surgery and it is continuing to nourish and sustain a human. I don't know what could possibly be more miraculous and sexy and sensational - it's powerful. And sometimes when I feel powerless, clothes help to remind me. Remind me to give myself grace and celebrate.

I am absolutely loving the cold-shoulder and off-the-shoulder trend this season. I think it is one of the most flattering ways to highlight beautiful parts of every woman's figure - the shoulders, decolletage and neck. These are elegant lines on virtually every woman, and if you're feeling a little bit uncomfortable in your skin these days - this trend is for you. And for me. I am hoping that the off-shoulder look sticks around for a bit because I adore how flattering it is. Banana Republic sent me this butterfly-esque top and this lasercut dress, both sporting the off-shoulder detail, and I am loving how I feel in these clothes. With Easter just around the corner, a few other Banana Republic spring pieces that I am loving are this tropical top, this chambray dress, and this scallop top - their entire spring line is giving me goosebumps lately. I love all the super feminine details.

And now I have to ask - what does clothing mean to you? Do you find your style evolving in different stages of life? And also - have you found the perfect Easter dress yet?!

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Structured Off-Shoulder Top

Lasercut Crepe Cold Shoulder Dress

Outfit Details:
Look 1: Banana Republic Structured Off-Shoulder Top c/o, Free People Rolled Crop Skinny Jean, Anthropologie Sparkle Slides (similar here and here), Stella & Dot Covet Initial Necklace

Look 2: Banana Republic Lasercut Crepe Cold-Shoulder Dress c/o, Franco Sarto Wedges (similar here and here), Gap Round Frame Sunglasses, Stella & Dot Freya Fringe Necklace, Stella & Dot Ansley Cuff

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Many thanks to Banana Republic for sponsoring this post. All opinions expressed are my own.

Little Black Swimsuits.

Bathing suit shopping is never really fun. It always seems to come astonishingly soon after the holidays, when the sugary coat of treats is still clinging to my overwintered skin. Alas, this year beckons with a set of circumstances that are even more varied for me personally, because I've got a nice layer of newborn baby fat that will be joining along for summer's joyride. I'm okay with it - nursing my baby is a gift and I am truly grateful for the opportunity to be doing this gig again. (And while many people believe breastfeeding helps you lose baby weight, many people don't know that breastfeeding also keeps you from losing the last bit of that weight in an effort to cling to excess fat stores for the baby. Good times, guys.) I would absolutely be lying if I told you I'M TOTALLY FINE WITH LOOKING THIS WAY, because that's not the case. Don't we all want to be the best-looking, fittest version of ourselves? But in my case, the best version of myself is exactly what I am right now - healthy and happy and sustaining 2 human lives. Boom.

Enter the black (bathing suit) market.

I've tried on a handful of these, and I'm still mulling over sizing and whatnot because it's only April and I want to buy suits that will work for me throughout the summer. Who knows what size I'll end up being at the end of the summer? Exactly what size am I am right now? I have no idea. But I do know that black is a gal's BFF and one-pieces will be my jam this summer. So here we go, a few that I loved in a range of price points. Hope you find something you've been looking for, too!

Will you guys let me know if you like posts like this? I'm happy to share more roundup-type posts if you find them helpful and inspiring - but if they're a bore I'll just keep my online shopping to myself :) Let me know in the comments, I'd love to hear from you! And happy spring break shopping to you!

Meeting Christopher Gavigan, CPO of The Honest Company!

I've spent years wiping butts.

Some of you haven't had this experience. Good for you. But I am extremely familiar with the whole lower-quadrant body-sanitizing circumstance that I find myself in roughly 12 times a day. Two babies, yall. Two babies in diapers. I have a system, a method for how to get the job done with the least amount of, how do I put it - contamination - and my speed at diaper changing has accelerated vastly due to my recent years of training in the field. These days I can off rip a diaper, purify the state of affairs, and slap on a fresh one probably faster than you can blow your nose and throw it away.

And I know I'm not alone.

We mamas learn how to get things done - efficiently, stupendously and while we are multi-tasking at least 6 other things. While balancing a coffee cup somewhere we probably shouldn't be.

So when Stevie and I had the chance to chat with Christopher Gavigan, CPO of The Honest Company, our favorite and most-used diaper brand, we took that opportunity. Because we had to tell him. About all our years of using his products in the middle of the night (after sleep-walk bumping into a few walls), on airplanes in foreign countries (while being scowled at in what can only be described as German/Italian/French backhanded glares), in the back seat of our SUV while road tripping (to avoid gas station bathroom filth contaminating our precious baby's undercarriage), and you know, the normal way - on the changing table in our kids' bedrooms.

We love these diapers, we told him. We love the diaper rash cream, we said. We love the healing balm, we use it on ourselves. He beamed with the pride of a thousand suns. He's definitely a sunny soul, you can tell.

But.

We told him something else.

We love the Seventh Generation wipes a little better than yours.

His face fell. "You what??"

I hated telling such a nice man the truth, but I secretly loved getting it off my chest. I felt like we had been cheating on our preferred brand for a while now, by buying another brand of wipes. But we do like them better! They're wetter, they come out of the package a little easier, and we told him - we just prefer them to yours.

Luckily, this Christopher Gavigan guy was kinder than you would believe (and also more intense than a football coach during the super bowl) about defending his wipes.

He literally ran across the room, (which drew some attention - everyone was like, what's happening?!), retrieved a fresh pack of wipes, and then gave us an on-the-spot demonstration on why his Honest Company wipes are the best on the market. Not only are they made of completely pure ingredients (you can see the list here), but they are about 25% larger than most other wipes, meaning they can fit in "man hands" (he wasn't being derogatory - he literally meant for them to fit into both a mom and a dad's hands). They are also surprisingly more wet than what meets the eye, but the water is absorbed within instead of sitting on top of the wipe like a raincoat. I didn't understand what he meant by that until he showed us - he pulled out a wipe and literally squeezed it - and I seriously couldn't believe what I was seeing. TONS of fluid came out of the wipe, more than you would ever think it could contain based on just feeling it, and he was I think he was most proud of this. These wipes are specially formulated to be useful in any scenario - not just the butt-wiping that I described above. You can use these to clean toys, wipe counter tops, clean up boo boos and cleanse any cheek you meet ;)

Such a nice guy. And it was really fun getting to meet him and chat a little bit about family life, business ideas (how is it that business school guys always seem to find a way to talk ideas, even at first meeting each other - what is that about??), and hear more about his heart behind The Honest Company. He didn't have to sell us, since we have been long-time users and have subscribed to both the Essentials Bundle and the Diapers & Wipes Bundle. I also love that I can pick up most of these products at Target these days, too.

Did he convince us on the wipes? I'm not going to lie. We are giving them another go.

Kind of like a date night :)

Why don't my flowers ever look this good? Summer garden goals, guys.

My bro + sis-in-law joined us!

I know this is like, the blurriest, most 1996-esque picture of my life, but what's a girl to do when she meets a rad CEO and it's dark outside and you have to take a selfie with terrible lighting? You take the selfie, with absolutely terrible, horrible, rubbish lighting. Also, could this guy and Stevie be brothers or what?? Just sayin. Although I think Stevie has enough brothers.

When we got home from the event, we changed Everett's diaper and showed him the little squeeze-y wipe trick. He got such a kick out of it that now he wants us to squeeze the wipes out every time. It's pretty hilarious.

If you haven't had the opportunity to try The Honest Company, I would truly recommend it. I just honestly believe in these eco-friendly, non-toxic products so much and I would love for as many people as possible to try them. I've linked to my family's most-used and loved products below.

Many, many thanks to the Bump Club & Beyond team and to The Honest Company for inviting us and putting on such a fun event :) Like seriously, we needed that date night out. xx

A Weekend in St. Augustine.

That view. With all its softness and familiarity and yet -  it's never the same. The cerulean blue sky whispering to the teasing peach, melting into an ombre ocean. The steady mercury tide, measuring predictably in and out like the beat of my heart.

There is something about seeing the ocean after such a long time of not seeing the ocean. That view somehow washes me with calm, a reassurance that everything is just as it should be. There is no second-guessing by the sea. Only acceptance and an overwhelming sense of love.

The salted air and the birds of paradise and the glossy foliage - they just do my heart a whole lot of good. I find that a visit to the ocean costs a lot less than a counseling session (well, that's probably debatable if you're asking Stevie), but the outcome is often the same for me. It untangles all the wiry emotions that have bent their way around my brain, creating confusion and chaos and anxiety. But at the very first sighting of the sea, my lungs fill with deeper breath and something I've been holding on to for far too long is released, and I am always freed of it's tangles.

It's a very good thing we have, me and the ocean.

I come from a long line of ladies who love the ocean and consider a visit the same as therapy. My mom, my sisters - we all have a love for the tide, the shells, the humid breeze, even the messy matted hair. Chances are if you're reading this, at least half of you can relate. Nothing I've shared is profound or new or novel - it's simply true. God created wonders on this earth for us to seek out and enjoy exploring. Proverbs 22:5 says, "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, and it is the glory of kings to search out a matter." I like that verse so much. I love this place endlessly.

We visited my sister and her amazing family a few weeks ago in St. Augustine. This little city holds so many special memories for me and Stevie because we honeymooned here (almost ten years ago!) We came down here once when we were dating early on, with a group of people, and it's where I realized I really loved him. Something about this place always makes me feel so much peace about where I'm at in life - I always get reassurance that I am doing exactly what I should be doing.

We did all the things on this trip - walked the downtown (favorite shops are Red Pineapple and Sea Glass), ate the best popsicles (the Hyppo Pop!) and did what most parents of a oodles of children do - eat at home. There are sooo many awesome restaurants in St. Augustine, but in this stage of life, we didn't dare try to take ours out to dinner with us :) My bro-in-law Brad took us out on his boat to a deserted island, where we had a lunch of barbeque sandwiches and mac n cheese. I'll be honest - I felt like quite the fish out of water. I've been on boats a lot before, but it made me realize that we aren't native boating types - the first moment Brad started driving the boat, both of my boys started howling and Everett literally threw his body on the ground of the boat shrieking. Me and Stevie just looked at each other like, "Ummm this is bad." Thankfully we got both of them to calm down, but it just made me feel like our family is so suburban. Haha oh well. We are.

We even had an overlap evening where my younger sister Rachel and her husband Chuck came in town, so all of my siblings and spouses were together. It was the first meal the six of us had together without my parents also being present and it was wonderful! We all felt so hilariously adult, having our adult chit chat about our lives.

Stevie and I escaped to the beach and played around with Everett at sunset. Daxton didn't love the March wind that was in all its glory, so we had to make our oceanside visits brief. But we savored every moment and of course I'm already making plans for a return visit. Is it just me, or do you always need just one more day when you go to the beach?

Thanks Kara and Brad, for letting us invade your space and sleep in your children's rooms and fill your house with our clutter and noise and snacks aplenty. Love you to the sea and back.

P.S. - Similar orange kimono here, jeans here, essential oil diffusing bracelets here, essential oil diffusing necklace here, sandals here.

10 (Inexpensive!) Spring Break Staycation Ideas.

It's time for Spring Break! If you don't have any plans that are beckoning you to the beach (although I'm sure we all wish we had those plans...), I've compiled a list of fun, inexpensive things to do for a staycation. Next week is Everett's preschool spring break, and I was getting a little worried that I would feel kind of trapped at home for a week with nothing to do and nowhere to go. Truth be told, we love to travel, and most of the time I would have planned a trip for the week. However, I think it's really important to be able to make fun at home and explore what's right around at home. I think it teaches kids to be creative with what they're given instead of always needing a new toy or exotic trip to create excitement for them. And let's be honest, I should be flexing my mom magic to make everyday things a little bit more magical :)

Amicalola Falls State Park, in all it's glory.

1. Explore State and/or National Parks.
This is the perfect time of year to visit a state park in Georgia because it's not too hot yet! Come June, you practically need an IV drip to stay hydrated while you hike around, but in April? The weather is perfect (other than the pollen, but hey, you can't win em all). While admission to the park might cost a few bucks, this is a great way to get outdoors with your family and hike, fly a kite and enjoy a packed lunch. A few of my favorites in this area are Sweetwater Creek State Park (we went glamping here once :), Cloudland Canyon State Park, and Amicalola State Park (we hiked this last summer and it was sooo hard!) Also, I like to follow @exploregeorgia on instagram to get inspired about new places to visit in our great state ;)

2. Take advantage of the Local Library.
This might sound a little lame, but have you been to your local library lately? It's worth exploring, especially if you have little kids. Every library is stocked with resources and classes - I had no idea that our local chapter offered so many art & music classes, story time, language lessons and technology-based learning games. Of course, Everett always makes a beeline straight for the giant stuffed animals and then the kid computer (he likes the headphones), but usually I can pry him away to read a few books and try some other activities.

3. Try Geocaching.
Want to go on a treasure hunt? Did you know there are treasures hidden all around you, called "caches", and they are meant to be found? It's a really fun concept! Download the app and go on a "treasure adventure" with the whole family (it's like the first generation of Pokemon Go). If you want to know more about this little activity, you can watch this 75-second video. It helped me realize this is kind of cool and not at all weird :)

Everett learning to throw a frisbee last summer. He makes me laugh so much.

4. Play Sports.
This is not rocket science. Get outside and play! We love to go over to our local frisbee golf course on random week nights, because Stevie is a hippie in his heart and he's teaching Everett how to throw. Play a game that the whole family can enjoy, like wiffle ball (or baseball for those of you with big kids) in the back yard, basketball in the cul-de-sac, or soccer at the park. Sometimes the simple stuff can be really wondrous fun.

5. Back Yard Camping.
Camping with little children can be intimidating, but pitching a tent in the back yard is the perfect solution. You can still use the restroom in the house and cook up a big breakfast in the morning! This is actually a great way to "trial run" a camping experience with your kiddos if you've never taken them before, and it gives you the opportunity to pull out all your camping gear and explain it to them.

6. Explore museums.
Most museums have "free days" during certain times of the month - a list can be found here. I personally love going to the High Museum here in Atlanta, but there are tons of others that are worth checking out, like the Coca Cola Museum (a classic), the MLK Museum, Fernbank Museum and of course, the Children's Museum. Ha, just bring hand sanitizer.

7. Host a Family Film Festival.
It's time for blankets, pillows and popcorn! Vote on 2 movies and make it a double feature with pizza in the living room :) It's not like it's all that different than a Saturday night after the kids go to bed (true story, if you're over here in our shoes), but it's a really fun way to cozy up with the whole family together and watch something fun. We recently watched Finding Dory and Everett keeps asking to watch it again and again.

8. Check out local markets/fairs/festivals.
Our local farmer's market is really fun - there is usually live music and locally-made treats (hi, King of Pops!) to be enjoyed. But each community around the Atlanta area also has a slew of characteristic festivals in their area - check out a comprehensive list of Atlanta-area festivals here. So much fun to be had in the springtime here in Georgia!

9. Go fishing & canoeing.
If you live near a body of water, take advantage of it! Post a quick Facebook message and see if one of your friends has some gear you can borrow. Then trek out to the back yard and dig up some worms for bait (if you have little boys, they will love this). Again, ages of your kiddos matter - I won't be taking a newborn on a canoe anytime soon - but as long as everyone has a life vest, this would totally be an adventure.

10. Go biking and have a picnic.
This one sounds so simple, but it's so much fun. We loved when Everett got old enough to ride on the back of Stevie's bike (this bike carrier and this helmet), and he was totally mesmerized by the experience! Since the weather has started to warm up, they've been back on the bike again lately. We have amazing trails throughout our entire city that we can ride on (one of the reasons why we love living here), but there are also some great biking parks to check out, including Callaway Gardens (where I biked and was so sick last year - that's how I knew I was pregnant!), the Chattahoochee River Trail and the Silver Comet Trail. Pack a delicious lunch and bike until hungry. Make sure to pack lots of water and sunscreen, too.

There you have it! 10 ideas to get your juices flowing, outside of the normal activities like going to the zoo or getting ice cream.

Many thanks to my sister-in-law Lauren, who helped me brainstorm these ideas (so that we don't go out of our mind next week!) Any other ideas you have? Please share in the comments - I'd love to hear from you!

Happy Spring Break, everyone! xox