Cookie Party/ Dirty 30 Slim Down

 Only 5 days till Christmas! I can not remember the last time I was this excited!
But...Whoaaa Christmas time is tiring on a Mom. 

As a child it never even crossed my mind that this time of year was stressful or tiresome for my parents. Probably because I whole heartedly believed that Santa was doing all the work. Don't get me wrong I am loving it the joy in Kaels eyes looking at the Christmas tree and searching for his silly elf ' Eli ' every morning is priceless but that does not make my body less weary. So it is with tired hands { from writing addresses on Christmas cards } that I am writing you today.

Tomorrow is my sisters cookie exchange and I have decided to give Turtle cookies that I found on my pinterest a try. They look delicious and not too too complicated but also not your run of the mill chocolate chip cookies. 

Speaking of making cookies. Guys it is time. Time for me to put down the toddler food and begin my dirty 30 slim down. It really isn't just about slimming down it is more about feeling good physically mentally and spiritually. I have been carrying around a lot of clutter for a while and it is time to clean up. Clutter meaning the extra 5-7 pounds that I have been carrying since BEFORE I got pregnant with Pippa and the useless stuff laying around my house that I need to either donate or find a proper place for and stop feeding relationships in my life that don't lift me up or make me a better person. SO that is my goal and I am sticking to it. I am going about it the old fashioned way with balanced meals and working out three times a day. If you know me at all you know I can't start something like this without a cool new pair of sneakers except maybe this time I will donate my old pair instead of letting them pile up in my closer ( less clutter )

How adorable are these Nikes that are currently on sale at finish line these ought to get my booty moving.

On My Bedside Table

Happy Hump Day!! Ok so I am kind of obsessed with the Real Housewives of Atlanta this season
Kandi's Mom is um - crazy and I love it so much.
If you do not watch it do yourself a favor
the next time Bravo is playing reruns indulge a little and take a ride on to cookoo train that is
Mama Joyce

I wanted to continue the little series I was doing before I had Pippa which I called On My Bedside Table. I truly love to read even more than I love mindless trashy reality shows.
My sister recently told me about the Netflicks series Orange is the New Black which originated from the book written by Piper Kerman about her time in the Danbury Conneticut womens prison for a small drug charge that she committed right out of college. It has taken me longer to get through it because obviously I do not have as much time or energy right now to read but it is a honest read and very interesting to get a glimpse inside of the prison walls. I heard the show is hilarious and the book has its funny moments too but I can't help feeling horrified at the thought of me or one of my friends ending up in the slammer because of one silly mistake made at 18 years old.

I am almost finished with Orange is the New Black so yesterday while strolling Target with the kids one of our favorite winter activities { its awesome for the budget you should try it } I saw this book Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn the same women who wrote Gone Girl which I loved. Im excited to dig into this over Christmas break.

 Ok I am off to address Christmas cards and try to start packing up the kids for our vacation. I will be back on Friday with a fun cookie recipe, Saturday is my sisters annual cookie exchange party. Last year I was morning sick and gagging at ever single cookie on the table so this year I am excited to get into it and attempt a trickier cookie!

Weekend Getaway

Happy Monday guys!! Sorry I missed you on Friday me and Husband J decided to take the kids up to New York City for a long weekend. My Dad lives there during the week then on the weekends goes home to Charlotte so his apartment is always empty. I have to admit we were a little unsure of how this would be two babies in NYC could be a disaster but we went in with a open mind and it turned out great! We had such a nice time together and honestly the best part was watching Kaels eyes light up at all of the " Huge " buildings, riding in the taxis was a huge hit also. We had a couple meltdowns about gloves falling off feet being cold or wind blowing in his face but overall he was a happy little camper. While we were there New York got a little snow storm and it was amazing fresh snow in New York is absolutely magical. Today is going to be a short post because Husband J is still home from work and I am going to use the help to clean the house get presents wrapped and run last minute errands. I am fully in the Holiday spirit and have not been this excited for Christmas in a long long time. Here are a couple pictures from our trip. Hope you all have a great Monday!

Kael & Pippa excited to be sleeping over at Poppy's New York City Apartment

Little Miss Pippa getting ready to be bundled up for the snow 

 New York in the Snow

 FAO Swartz 

 Both my kiddos being such troopers in the cold weather

 Brunch with a old friend

 We went to a really great spot named Lukes Lobster and I tried my first Lobster Roll it was delicious I also tried out pink lips for the first time.

End of a great weekend 

Snowy Days

Does this seem like the longest week ever? I have not been out of the house aside for some frolicking in the snow since Sunday. yesterday afternoon the weather finally stopped and I can not get out of the house fast enough today. I will say it wasn't so bad being stuck in the house my 2 year old was a little under the weather { reason number 12,098,76273 I strongly dislike winter - constant colds } so we curled up and watched movies  read books and did puzzles. I also got the rest of my Christmas shopping done and ordered my Christmas cards. I was a basket case over the Christmas cards this year one minute I wasn't doing them because I feel like I just did birth announcements then the next I was but couldn't pick a card it was a mental mess. I was going to share a recipe with you all today but since I havent been able to get to the grocery store that will have to wait until Friday. We have been right outside of DC for a little over a year now and have been blessed with the best set of neighbors. We have all gotten so close and pop in and out of each others homes regularly throughout the week and even have a weekly scheduled Bravo night where we watch the housewives and drink wine, besides their companionship I am also thrilled that one of them Charlotte is learning photography and loves to practice on my children so I thought I would share some of the unedited pics she took over these snow days. I know I will cherish these forever. I be back on Friday with the recipe I promised for today and some awesome last minute gift ideas for the kiddos!

Weekend Recap

Happy Monday! Is anyone else totally obsessed with Real Housewives? Atlanta is hands down the best tv out of all of them nobody could even begin to write the stuff that Candy's Mother does I was peeing my pants laughing during her lash out at the bridal salon { did she really take off her shoe LMAO }. That is pure gold television right there. We had a busy weekend here in the Rogers household. On Friday my Husbands company had their Holiday party it was fun to get all dressed up and act like an adult for the night. I wore a dress I purchased from Anthropologie and have been able to wear it twice this Holiday season so dont feel so bad about the price tag.

Since my Inlaws were in town me and my Husband decided to run a few errands together on Saturday morning which honestly never happens. We stopped by Homegoods for some Christmas decorations and I snagged this fun silver piece for a really great price

Sunday we had a fun filled Holiday spirit type day I am not sure who was more excited Kael or Husband J. He yelled to Kael every 5 minutes " THIS IS SO MUCH FUN". Bless their hearts, we went with my sister my brother in law and their new son Gavin and  visited with Santa Clause. We waited in line to see Santa for and hour and a half BUT it was worth it because the Santa looked so real and all the kids sat on his lap without a tear. We came home took a long { needed } nap and then worked on decorating the house for Christmas. It was a fun Holiday filled weekend and I couldn't help feeling so blessed to have my little crew to spend it with!

How real does this Santa look??!

Me and my girl pulling out Christmas decorations

Kael and his own little tree

It has always been a dream of mine to have a little girl and put a pink tree in her room so this was really a special moment for me!! 

Hope everyone has a great Monday I will be back on Wednesday with a yummy recipe I found on Pinterest!!

Mother of 2

Hello blog Universe! I am back it has been a while! I gave birth and then spent the last five months attempting not to drown in what is Motherhood. Wow having two kids is seriously not a joke folks it took me up until last month to figure out how to fit in a shower for myself and that is every other day (everyday is seriously asking way too much). I have thought about this blog a lot since my last post which was literally a couple days before the birth of my daughter and missed writing it but could never really find the time to fit it in. Now that my newest little one ,who we named Penelope but call Pippa, is taking much more predictable naps I think I can do this again. I really enjoy writing this blog I have had it for 5 years and have taken my good share of breaks but have always come back to it. It is a little space where I can be myself and while I am writing work things out in my head and above all share my unwavering love for all things stylish. I was trying to think of some new ways to change up the blog a little bit, after all I have changed SO much in the last 5 years. I am now married with two children, so I thought it was only appropriate my blog change a little bit too. Before I took my break I had started doing a little on my bedside table section where I did a little review on recent books that I have read which I still want to continue doing I also want to start sharing a easy meal  every other week. Cooking balanced meals has been such a challenge for me I am so busy I have just been throwing 10 goldfish at a time and calling that lunch so in order to maintain my health and waist line I am making a more conscious effort to plan out my meals, so I will share some of the good ones here with you guys. I am excited to be back writing this and hope you enjoy following along with me! I thought I would share some pictures of our newest addition since I have not introduced her yet on here! Happy Saturday Everyone see you on Monday!

Candidly Nicole

Happy Thursday its almost the weekend { doing a little dance } You guys know that I am in love with Nicole Richie well she just recently came out with a new AOL series named Candidly Nicole and it is pretty funny. She is so witty I love watching her say things to make people squirm. I also love checking out what she is wearing in all of the videos. She is in such great shape lean but very toned which she credits to the Tracy Anderson Method. I mentioned before in one of my other posts that  I am going to try out one of her videos once I am on my feet again after having my baby. Here are two of my favorite videos from her AOL Series hope these put a smile on your face!!

Baby Girl Clothes

Happy Monday everyone!! It is a hot one in Northern VA and I am HUGE so me and the little man got in our outside time early this am and are spending the afternoon inside watching a movie. It is so funny listening to him laugh out loud at different parts of the movie. I love to rewind and watch him laugh at the same parts over and over. Is there anything better than the sounds a child laughing? As you may know as it is surely not a secret I am clothes junky. I have had to change my spending habit considerably since becoming a Mom and most of my money goes towards my sons clothing which is fine bc I love shopping for him. I would at this point call my self a pro at shopping for little boys I know all the good stores this brands you can only find online you name it. Now that we are about to have a little girl I am a novice all over again. This time however cuteness is honestly all over the place and much easier to find so it has been a little tougher deciding on my " girl style " I recently found the adorable blog called Lunchpails and Lipstick which led me to the brand called Peek. It looks adorable online but then I stumbled upon it while browsing in Nordstrom and it is truly precious

Another favorite for me is Zara kids this is my go to shop for clothing for Kael and I have a feeling my shopping cart is going to double because there stuff is so so sweet for girls also I especially love there shoe selection

Lastly another goodie that is going to have to wait a while because they do not start until age 2 but Crewcuts may be my favorite. I would wear most of this stuff myself.

Re Sparked Girl Crush

Hello long lost blogger friends! I have been bad and not keeping up well with the blog but as I explained in my last post I am tired and also obsessed with cleaning. My nesting this time around has been a little out of control. I seriously sit and look around and try to think of things to organize. I will say now that I am almost done my second pregnancy that I don't think I crave foods I crave smells and I am a huge nester. If someone were to ask what my two biggest cravings were this time around it would be Glade Linen Fresh Carpet Powder .I literally would sprinkle it once a week on our carpets upstairs and I vaccumed like once a day so I could smell it until my Doctor yelled at me for breathing in " those chemicals " opps - not going to lie I really miss doing it. My second craving would be coconut breeze and fresh linen car fresheners by Yankee Candle I love the smell of them when the air is blowing in my car- how strange is that ? I noticed a picture of Jessica Simpson today looking VERY pregnant and googled her to see if anyone had spilled her due date yet. No such luck there but I did find out that she listed her home in Beverly Hills and I almost squealed while looking at all the pictures. I thought I was kinda over the shabby chic look but it turns out I am not. I think this is truly my style mix it up with a little more mirrored furniture and there is my style in a ball. I would LOVE an all white fluffy sofa but my husband just is not going for it. I knew I would love her house all the way back from when she took her newborn pics of her daughter in People magazine. The girl may know how to pack on the pounds while pregnant but I still think underneath it all girlfriend has some great taste. I know she takes a lot of heat in the press and I think she handles it so well I have loved her since her newlywed days and this home may have sparked my girl crush again.

The outside of the house may honestly be my favorite how dreamy would it be to sit out here with a glass of Riesling ??