Tribal Print

dress: SheIn c/o
flats: Steve Madden (similar) 
bag: Amazon
watch: Fossil
bracelet: TJMaxx c/o

Hello there! It seems like I have been away from blogging for a hundred year, while in reality I actually only took one week off. There is nothing like social pressure and Instagram pictures to whip you back into shape right away. ha! jk! 

When I was thinking about my postpartum body and how I'm going to post outfits, I knew it wasn't going to be easy. The ideal is to show your bump entire pregnancy and then have flat stomach by the time you walk out of the hospital. Well, that's not reality. I have a few pound (and inches of flabby skin) to loose, but I'm OK with that. This time around, I'm kind to my body and much more understanding that it will take a little time. I did just give birth to an entire human being and it took nine months to grow that belly. In the mean time, shapewear to the rescue. So here is to the first postpartum outfit post. 

Thank you for stopping by!

SHOP SIMILAR PRINTS

Hot Pink

dress: H&M (similar)
heels: BCBG (similar)
bag: Aldo (similar)
glasses: DKNY
watch: Target (similar)

This last weekend hubby and I attended a beautiful wedding. The bride was gorgeous, the flowers were pretty and the bridesmaids were glowing. Every detail was tended to and we enjoyed ourselves. Although, I'm a huge fan of all things pretty and beautiful, especially at such memorable event, the best part was the food. I mean, we as a Slavic culture have the best food and certainly know how to eat. Ha. These photos were taken after the wedding which was probably a mistake because my gut was so much more visible. But I'm back to the super early wake up call and the two mile run again so that should fix it. And I probably should lay off the cookies. Yep, that should do it.

Hope you have a great day and thank you for stopping by

Currently Loving {Dressed Up} Thursday Link Up

top: J.Crew (thrifted) (similar)
skirt: J.Crew (similar)
wedges: Aldo (similar)
clutch: DIY (similar)

As I mentioned last week, I lost the camera charger (and hubby almost killed me). So it took a few days to order a new one and have it shipped. Now we are back up with regular scheduled posts and I have to say, I missed it. Blogging is such a fun thing and I love doing it. Although, having a break from outfit pictures was something I needed. Here is the love of all things cute and dressy - my yellow blouse with fun print skirt. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Simply Chic

dress: Old Navy
sandals: Gap (similar)
bag: Dorothy Perkins

A lot of times when I take pictures of my outfit for the blog, I think, is it enough? Is my outfit trendy enough? Do I have enough accessories? Is it Pinterest worthy? And quit frankly, it gets so exhausting at times. There is a pressure for a style and beauty blogger to be on trend. Otherwise, your pictures will not be pinned and the Insta account will loose followers.

I feel like, I have been trying to be someone else for a very long time. Looking at some of the more accomplished and expensive bloggers, I fee inadequate. But this is just me, having a nice day with my son at the zoo. You know, there are days when I have simple and non-trendy outfits on. That's OK nd it needs to blogged too.

It's really not about the clothes or how much we have, or what kind of bag we could scrape up on. Life is about so much bigger things. Stop worrying about fitting in and being something you are not. Just stay true to yourself and everything else will fall into place.

Thank you for reading and have a great weekend! 

Mix It Up - Monday Link Up

dress: Dorothy Perkins (similar)
cardigan: Target (similar)
shoes: H&M (similar)
clutch: H&M (similar)
glasses: DKNY

It's Monday morning. You had a nice weekend being pampered by hubby with breakfast in bed, a nap and didn't wash a single dish (he was so kind). Although you had a late night yesterday and was hoping to sleep in this morning. Well, your toddler decides to wake up at 5:46 and not go back to sleep. Ever. Almost two hours later and he's still awake, running around, trying to unplug your computer and climb on your face. And you realize that Mother's Day weekend has come to an end. Real motherhood begins.

That's my story this morning and frankly, I'm not a happy camper. Add to that restless legs that didn't let me sleep the entire night and you will get a stinky face. 

But let's talk about pleasant things, like this pretty mint dress I wore. I love that color and how nicely it plays with pink. Now all I have to do is take a shower, do my hair, make up, get dressed and I should be feeling better. Naaaah. Lounging in bed, having pancakes and taking in nap sounds like my kind of morning. 

I'm linking up with Lauren from Fizz and Frosting for Mix It Mondays! 

Fizz & Frosting (Bloglovin') / Happy Medley (Bloglovin')

Beauty Demands Sacrifice

sweater: J.Crew
skirt: thrifted (similar)
shoes: Zara (similar)
belt: Loft (similar)
glasses: DKNY 

The hardest part about blogging is not the pictures in freezing cold temperatures, or the hours of planning outfits. It's not even the enormous amounts of time we spend at the computer editing photos and networking with other bloggers. It's coming up with the post titles. I'm not joking when I say that I think about the title more than I think about what I'm actually going to say in the post. I always wonder if I should name my post after the outfit or whatever I'm talking about. Or should I tie the two things together and make them related, somehow? For example, in this outfit I'm wearing yellow sweater so I could talk about the lack of sunshine and name the post 'you are my sunshine'. That would be very lame and pretty pathetic though, wouldn't you think?

Instead I'm going to talk about how I was dying while wearing these shoes today because, well, beauty demands sacrifice. There is a saying in Russian that goes something like that but it's very hard to translate cultural phrases into another language because you loose the meaning. Well, even in English everyone understands that to look put together you have to sacrifice something. Whether it's sleep, because you have to wake up an hour early to do your hair or comfort, because you are wearing four-inch stilettos that make absolutely no sense at all. Except that they totally go with my midi skirt and add some height. That's all folks.

Thanks for stopping by! 

Shopping [Spring Bags Under $50] + $100 GIVEAWAY

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If now isn't a time to shop for a new spring bag, I don't know when it is. I've been looking for a perfect winged tote that wouldn't break my bank. Every time I search for something specific, I head to Polyvore. It is such a great tool for shopping-crazy bloggers, who are looking for a great deal. I have yet to find a better search engine for shopaholics.

I love different kinds of bags and if I had the money, I would buy all of these. (I did get one of these bags in my recent online shopping adventure) Everything from totes to clutches is here and most of these are on sale too! So don't waste your time looking elsewhere - I got you the perfect selection of bags on a budget. And that's just the way we roll.

GIVEAWAY

Today I'm hosting my very first giveaway with two lovely ladies! Kathleen (Kat's Fashion Fix), Amy (The Real Arnolds) and I have teamed up for this cool giveaway. I'm so very excited about this and can't wait to share it with you all. I know that for Mother's Day we are all looking for something special to give our mothers. So if you found that something but lacking in funds, this is for you. We are giving away two $50 gift cards to the store of your choice (OR) PayPal cash. You choose! Talk about a win/win, huh? Enter with the rafflecopter below! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Medallion

skirt: J.Crew
blouse: Joie (similar)
heels: Aldo (similar)
clutch: old (similar)
sunnies: DKNY
necklace: Target 

If it every weekend could last as long as the week itself, wouldn't that be awesome? I feel like days fly by me and sometimes I forget what day it is. I'm not terribly busy or have million things going, still life isn't slowing down. The only things that isn't coming fast enough around these parts is spring. We still have some chilling temperatures and the rain just won't stop. 

Now let's talk about a shopping phenomenon I wasn't aware of until recently. Most stores have different prices in store vs. online. Ha! How am the only one who didn't know this? I snatched this skirt on a serious sale (under $25) while online it is listed for ninety dollars. Talk about a steal! Now that I know this, I will make sure to check out the store before buying certain items. Shopping online is a great tool but nothing can replace going to the mall, trying things on, buying in person and enjoying yourself among the pretty 

things. 

Also, it pays to thrift designer clothes, like this Joie blouse. I know, I know it's such a rare find but this is exactly why I love thrifting. 

Thank you for stopping by and have a great day! 

Easy Does It

dress: Old Navy (similar)
bag: Kate Spade
necklace: Forever21 similar
shoes: Marc Fisher for Macy's (similar)
glasses: DKNY

Welcome to the new week! I hope you had a great weekend and enjoyed some of the gorgeous weather we've been having. We were thrilled to finally ditch the coats and jump into flip flops and shorts. Sunday afternoon we took a stroll and it was wonderful. On the other hand, with the coming of warmer weather and Jonathan being outside more, there is going to be a lot more laundry, that's for sure. He loves running around and exploring the outdoors so at least that's a plus. We will be spending a whole lot of time outside and probably forgetting to eat lunch at one point. So happy to see the weather warm up because we've been cooped up inside far too long.

Enjoy it friends! 

New additions to SHOP MY CLOSET page! Just in time for spring (mostly little worn or new) 

Favorite Remix

button down: H&M, top, skirt: J.Crew, boots: from Belarus, glasses: DKNY

I've been working on a very heart felt post for weeks now and  it's still not coming to me. It's hard to write well when your major in college was math - what was I thinking starting this blog anyway? Clearly, I wasn't.

The only thing I was thinking about is sharing some outfit ideas for an everyday girl and inspiring other moms to look their best. Trust me I don't always look like that, but I certainly try. Also, I wanted to clear up any misunderstandings about my outfit posts. I wear every single outfit I put on here - whether I plan to wear it or already have. I don't just style clothes, snap couple pictures and then jump back into my pajamas. These are actually my clothes and I do wear them. Now that I got that off my chest, I hope your week is going well.

Thanks for stopping by!