31 Day Outfit Challenge - Week 2

So here we are.  Another week down in my August clothes challenge.  As much as I love challenging myself, I do find myself wanting to go back to my typical 7 outfits.  I guess that's why this is beneficial right?  But despite my wants to wear my favorites, I have completed another 7 days of different outfits.  It is definitely a challenge, but a fun one. :)

August 8th:

These pants are so old I don't even remember where they are from.  This shirt is super comfy but super see through so it has to have a cami underneath.  I would never think of pairing these two together because although the lighting makes it look like their is green in the shirt, it is actually gold.  I think it turned out nicely and is sort of the whole point of this challenge.

Shirt//Pants - old//Sandals

August 9th:

Talk about a comfy shirt?  This amazing shirt is heavenly and exactly what my Sundays are made of.  #momlife for sure paired with an old pair of Old Navy shorts.

Shirt//Shorts - old

August 10th:
I have been eyeing this beauty for weeks, if not months now, and then I finally bit the bullet and bought it.  I love how the pink top isn't anywhere else in the skirt portion, but it all works together.  I wore this to work Monday morning and flew off to our vacation in it and it was the perfect flightware.

Dress

August 11th:
I snagged this super cute and comfy sweater boyfriend shirt from Old Navy the weekend before our vacation for $3!  Can't beat it!  Paired it with my favorite jeans and called it a day.

Shirt//Jeans

August 12th:
I didn't notice that this picture was blurry until I posted it on here, so sorry for that!  I got this top off of a mystery grab bag from GroopDealz.  They had a grab bag of three items for $12.99!  This adorable anchor top was in it along with 2 other adorable items that hopefully will be making an appearance later in the month.  Paired it again with my favorite jeans and headed out for a fun day on vacay!

Shirt//Jeans

August 13th:
My gal Karissa is killing it with her company and their amazing items!  If you haven't checked out her boutique yet, you need too!  I had been loving this top ever since she showed it as a new arrival, and just like with the dress above, I finally bit the bullet and bought it!  It is softer then I could have ever imagined it being and it is so fun with the aztec on the front and the pink on the back and pocket.  Paired with my favorite Old Navy shorts for a fun Thursday-on-vacation look.

Shirt//Shorts

August 14th:
Let's call this my grandma dress day because I just threw on a classic soft shirt and my $7 jeans.  Comfy and classic - my go-to.

Shirt//Jeans

Another week completed.  I am proud of myself and can't wait to show you what I wear for week 3 of the challenge!

Closet Organization

So I challenged myself to 31 different outfits in the month of August.  This means no 3 articles of clothing (top, bottoms, shoes) together repeated for the entire month.

To begin this challenge I had to get my closet organized.  Here is the before:

HOT MESS!

And here is the after:

Here are the steps I took to get it organized to help me out with this challenge.

1. Do ALL of your laundry.  Part of the problem with having so many articles of clothing is that we rarely get all of our laundry done every single weekend.  We usually get 2-3 loads done and leave the rest "to do during the week."  That turns into next weekend and it is a never ending cycle.  Couple of weeks ago we actually did wash all of our dirty clothes and found out that we don't have enough hangers.  We went to Target, bought some and came home to finish hanging.
2. Separate your clothes to match one another.  I went through and grabbed everything on a pant hanger and put it to a corner.  I did the same for long sleeved shirts, cardigans, short sleeves and sleeveless.
3. Color coordinate your sections.  This step might not be necessary for you, but for me it is a must.  I arranged my sections in color order.  Now I don't follow the rainbow pattern, but whatever made sense in my mind.  Just as long as all of my blues are together and all of my grays are together.  Get it?
4. Put all of your odds and ends somewhere.  I cleaned out this tub that had been sitting in my closet full of socks since we moved and decided to put all of my bras in there.  Now they are neatly folded and organized and not laying all over the closet and in my pictures, like the before pics above.  Also, can we just talk about the fact that I don't keep my socks in my closet which goes to show you that I have never worn a single pair of those socks in over a year!
5. Arrange items by frequency of use.  I had a box of scarves sitting on the main shelf right when you face my part of the closet.  It is clearly not scarf season, so I folded them neatly and had Ryan put them up on the very top shelf.  When it is time for them again, I will bring them down to a more accessible spot.  I also pushed all of my sweaters and sweatshirts over to the corner of the main shelf so that they are "out of sight, out of mind."  Just like the scarves, I'm not using them right now, so they don't need to be out and about.
6. Rearrange shoes.  I have a bunch of shoes, some have their original boxes and most don't.  With the shoes that have boxes, I moved them from the floor up onto the shelf arranged by type - wedge, boot, flat.  The loose shoes I arranged nicely on the floor where the boxes used to be.  I also keep all of my flipflops and sandals in a bucket that sits on the floor so that they aren't spread out everywhere.

Overall, I am so happy with our closet re-organization.  It is really helping me keep up with my 31 different outfit challenge and just makes me feel as though I have one clean room in my house :)

I Miss That Old Life Of Mine

But I wouldn't trade my current for anything.

I miss going out to a bar on a Friday night and not worrying about what time I would wake up on Saturday.  But really, who needs to sleep until 11 on a Saturday morning?

I miss staying up until 9:30 PM on a work night watching TV.  But really, who doesn't need more then 7 hours of sleep a night?

I miss binge watching TV all day while the hubs went off hunting.  But really, who needs to watch that much TV?

I miss thinking I was "fat" 5 years ago.  But really, who needs to be a size 6?

I miss sleeping until 10 minutes before I needed to leave for work.  But really, who doesn't want to get a little bit put together before work?

Out of all these things I miss, I wouldn't trade a single one of them in to not have Caleb.  It's funny how your life changes and although you miss things in your past, they aren't worth giving up what you have.  I know that it sucks waking up 2.5 hours before I have to be to work each morning, but when I walk into that little boy's room to get him in the car at 5:30 each morning, he makes it all worth it.

Children are amazing.  They can push you at times and make you question everything you know, but they are the greatest blessings.  We had a great life before Caleb, but we enjoyed it to the max and knew that it was time for us to get a greater enjoyment.  Caleb makes everything worth it.  I don't mind being exhausted and only sleeping less then 7 hours a night.  I don't mind not going to bars or even out for that matter.  I don't mind that we now binge watch Channel 125 on Saturday mornings instead of Bravo.  When you are ready to make a change in your life you will always miss parts of the old one, but you made that decision and deep down it was the right one.

31 Different Outfits Challenge - Week 1

So I have completed 1 week of the challenge!  I am going strong and here is how I did the first 7 days.

August 1st
I've had this shirt since Ryan was on deployment, so at least 2 years, possibly 3.  I rarely wear it, but it is so cute!  I love the lace detail on the back and the key hole.  Paired it with my favorite Old Navy shorts and a pair of crocheted Toms.

Shirt//Shorts//Shoes

August 2nd
Relaxing day by the pool was exactly what we needed, so a relaxing outfit is what I went with.  My favorite Old Navy shorts and the classic Old Navy top.  I should have taken a picture of the back because this is the racer back tank that they came out with this year - LOVE!

Shirt//Shorts

August 3rd
This shirt is so old.  I think I got this shirt right after I started working at my current job, so almost 4 years ago.  I love the combo of teal and brown.  The pattern is busy, but not too busy to where you can't focus on anything else.  Paired it with my favorite brown pants from Christopher Banks.  I love that they are dress pants but with a modern touch - being crop and almost boot cut-ish.

Shirt//Pants//Shoes

August 4th
This shirt I have only worn 1 other time besides today.  I bought it from Target during a little online shopping and when it arrived I was so happy with my choice.  The patterned front is Polyester and the sleeves and back are all Rayon.  DIE!  Softest shirt ever!  Paired it with a nice pair of tan dress pants and my go-to cream flats.

Shirt//Pants//Shoes

August 5th
Happy Hump Day from my Zebra shirt and Marsala pants!  This shirt I got from Ross years ago and get more compliments on it then I would ever think possible.  These gorgeous Marsala skinnies are from Target clearance that I stole found for the awesome price of $12!  My cutesy sandals are from Payless and make this a nice summer-y outfit for a work day.

Shirt//Pants//Sandals

August 6th
Finally wearing this amazing shirt that I bought off of GroopDealz from the amazing Aro & Co.  Karissa told me I would love this shirt and she was absolutely correct!  It is so soft and feminine.  LOVE IT!  Paired it with my favorite Old Navy cords and an old pair of booties that I found in my closet this past weekend when I organized it to get ready for this challenge.  Simple outfit with a hint of fancy from this top.  It's on sale too so you should run over to her site and grab one for yourself!

Shirt//Pants//Shoes

August 7th
Although it is Summer here in CA, it is cold in my building year-round.  I wore an awesome pair of jeans that I scored for $7!  A classic black cami and a nice, loose sweater crop that I got for my birthday a couple of years ago.  Paired it with a fancier pair of sandals - Happy Friday!

Sweater//Cami//Jeans//Shoes

I am proud of myself.  7 days down, 24 to go.  Are you joining me on this challenge?

My Dearest Little - 11 Month Letter

My Dearest Little,

Each and every month I mention the fact that I am in pure disbelief that you are another month older, and this month is no different!  How is it even possible that we now have less then 1 month until you are a year old!  How is it that you are almost not a baby anymore?  Can you please stop growing up??  Mommy would really appreciate it :)

Well since you won't stop growing I guess I will just tell you about how much I love watching you grow and learn new things.  This month has been very exciting for us.  You have popped another tooth!  FINALLY!  You now have 3 teeth and are working on a 4th.  Because of this additional tooth coming in though you have been boycotting food.  This has been very expensive for us because all you want are bottles, but I guess we are almost done with that so it's okay, right??

You still love food, but are no longer a huge fan of purees.  You would much rather eat whatever is on our plate then yours and that is fine.  You tried pancakes and grilled cheese this month and were so excited for both!  I'm glad that now there are two easy options for us to feed you and that you don't inhale faster then the speed of light.  With all this eating though you aren't gaining weight, like your Daddy, and that is due to your movement.

You crawl soooooo fast that it is impossible for us to escape to go to the bathroom or change the laundry over.  When we walk in the house each day you greet us with a super fast crawl and exciting coos and it melts my heart.  You love to walk too, but not on your own yet.  You love your lion crawler that you Auntie and Uncle got you for Christmas and also using our hands as guidance.  You have also been attempting to stand on your own without holding on to anything which is super exciting.

You are still a great sleeper, although our night time routine has been rough.  We know you are tired and while you take your last bottle you can barely keep your eyes open, but yet when we lay you down, you refuse to go to sleep.  I don't know if it is just because of these new teeth coming in or what, but it is making it rough.  There have been, more then I would like, times where we just let you "cry it out."  It tugs at my heartstrings each and every time, but I know that you are so exhausted and will eventually fall asleep.  Luckily though, you sleep all night and love when we come to get you in the morning.  Naps are still a struggle, but we will take all night sleeps as opposed to multiple naps and waking up during the night.

This month we did swim lessons.  You love the water and I hope that you never lose that.  I love to swim and your Daddy is not as big of a fan, so it will be me and you kid in the water, splashing and diving.

Caleb Tyler,

You are the light of my life and I can't wait to see what this next month brings us.  I can't believe that you are going to be 1 and technically a toddler!  I love you so much Snuggle Muffin and don't ever forget it.

I love you!

Mommy

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11 Month Stats:

Weight: 22.5 pounds

Height: 30 inches

Clothes: 12 months

Photo Dump: