Life Lately + Random #Momlife Ramblings

We are on week 2 of staying with my parents before we close on our new home in Columbus mid March. We are somewhat on a regular routine now, except Bennett has been waking up in the middle of the night whining and rolling around. Most likely cause is teething. Oh teething... How I loathe you! I remember this phase with Camden and he did the same thing. 

It's also been difficult to sleep because I'm currently sleeping in the same room as Bennett and he is somewhat of a noisy sleeper. Typically, I would just keep the monitor on by my beside at our house and wouldn't hear every little movement or whimper, but he is literally right at the end of my bed. Unfortunately, I'm a pretty light sleeper naturally so I'm up a lot with him. But, once I'm up and had my coffee in the morning, I'm ready to go! Thank goodness for coffee!!

Other than that, my parents have been so great about trying to make us feel comfortable. And my mom has been helping out so much with the boys! I'm going to miss the live in child care when we have to leave! 😭

Camden has been saying 'I wanna go home' every now and then which breaks my heart a little. Other than that, he's been sleeping great and we've kept his normal routine. We took him to Chuck E. Cheese this past weekend which was an experience... I'm glad we can check that milestone off our list! It was just really loud and so crowded with people. The games were a bit too old for him, but there was a little toddler/baby area with little rides and a slide that he loved. He also was so infatuated with Chuck E. Cheese the mouse when he would come out from behind the curtain and talk and sing! 

I also took Camden with me to a playdate with some of my college friends over the weekend. I am so happy to be back in my home town with friends that also have kids around Camden and Bennett's age. It was so fun to see the kids play together and it was so nice to have girl time and catch up with everyone. I definitely think it is so important to have that circle of friends, especially when you are a mom, just to vent/chat/relate with! I don't know what I would do without them!

Well, that's all the random #Momlife ramblings I have for now!

Hope you all have a great Monday!

Friday 5 (all on SALE!)

We made it to Friday! Hooray!

We are finally settling into our new little routine at my parents' house. Although this (not so) little dude has been teething so bad and waking up in the middle of the night whining in pain! One of his bottom teeth finally popped out, but he's still working on the one next to it. So, mommy has been drinking all the caffeine she can find...

Anyhoo, here are my top 5 favorite finds from this week, all of which are on sale!!

1. I found my black Nike 'Juvenate' sneakers on sale for less than $60 (also comes in great colors for spring)!

2. My favorite scoop neck long sleeve tee is on sale for $10.80 - 40% off

3. These tassel earrings are on sale for 50% off and are currently waiting to be purchased in my nordstrom shopping cart.

4. This anorak jacket is currently 40% off and is just like the one I have from Target that I've been wearing lately.

5. This grey version of my favorite faux leather tote is currently 33% off! Such a great everyday bag!

The boys have been enjoying the warmer weather this week and actually got to play outside! Camden has been saying almost everyday 'I wanna go oussssiiiide!' in the cutest voice! He just loves it and it makes me so excited for spring time!

Unfortunately, I think it's supposed to get cold again this weekend. So, we've made plans to visit COSI (Columbus kids science museum) and have a few play dates scheduled with some friends I haven't seen in a while. So happy to be back in our home town with family and friends!

I hope you all have a great weekend and happy shopping! :) 

Favorite Trendy Tops for Spring

Sorry for being a bit MIA on the blog, but we've had quite the whirlwind over the past week! We officially moved out of our house in IL and have most of our belongings in storage for the next month while we stay with my parents before we move into our new home in Columbus. We had our inspection yesterday and it went pretty well! Just crossing our fingers everything goes smoothly between now and closing day! 

So, I will be living out of a suitcase for the next 3 weeks and on somewhat of a shopping freeze until we move in, but I can't help lusting over a few (ok... 18!) tops I'm loving for spring. My 2 favorite trends right now are the cold shoulder/off the shoulder tops and the ruffles and bell sleeved tops! And you may notice a bit of a color trend for spring as well (give me all the blush/peach/pink, grey and navy/black!). The best part, these tops are each under $50!

one | two | three

four | five | six

seven | eight | nine

one | two | three

four | five | six

seven | eight | nine

Which ones are your favorites?

Do you have any cold shoulder or ruffle tops for spring?

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Abercrombie Sale!

Remember Abercrombie? Yea, well they are making a come back! I found myself checking out their website after I saw Lauren McBride post about this cold shoulder sweatshirt and they have some really great stuff on sale right now!

Through the end of today you can get 40% off clearance items with $5 shipping on all orders (with code: 15851)! Here are a few items in my cart including the aforementioned cold shoulder top (which is currently on sale for $26.40!).

This Rib Mix Cardigan - clearance + sale price = $28.08! 

Asymmetric-Snap Hoodie - clearance + sale price = $20.40!

Twill Jacket - clearance + sale price = $29.40!

I love this off the shoulder top for spring! clearance + sale price = $16.32!

Other sale favorites: this cold shoulder swing dress, this blanket cardigan, this fringe scarf

Items not on sale, but on my radar for spring: this cold shoulder knit dress, this embroidered peasant top, these white wash ripped skinny jeans, this lace up sweater

Have you shopped at Abercrombie recently?

Family Strolls

One thing I've missed over the past few bitterly cold months is our family walks around the neighborhood in the evenings. After Bennett was born in late June, we started taking family walks together pretty much every evening after dinner and before the bedtime routine started. It was the perfect time of night right before sunset and right around the 'witching hour' for Bennett. Our little walks around the block would instantly calm him down during his fussy newborn phase (you would seriously never know he was ever a fussy baby now!).

We would load up the stroller, get our dog Charlie on a leash and head out. Well, fast forward about 6 months and now Camden is at the age where he will only sit still in a stroller for a short time. He wants to get out and walk with us like a big boy! Enter the Evenflo Sibby travel system...

When Evenflo contacted me for this sponsorship, I was excited because I have always loved their products and was familiar with the brand. I was even more excited when they told me they would like me to try out their Sibby stroller travel system!

This travel system is perfect for the ages of our boys (Camden 2,  Bennett 7 months). The stroller comes with a removable board on the back so Camden can stand and hold on while I push the stroller.  So, if he gets tired of walking he can just glide along with us!

I love that it comes with an infant carrier (and base!) that clicks into the stroller so we can use it now while Bennett is still too small for the main stroller seat. I also love that it has a canopy on the car seat and on the stroller, so when Bennett is riding in it I can completely shade him from the sun. 

The color is just the perfect shade of grey (mine is Mineral Grey, but it comes in 3 other colors) and I love that there is enough storage space underneath to store the diaper bag, blankets, or anything else I want to take with us. The stroller also folds flat which makes it easy to put in the trunk to take with us on trips, to the mall, etc.

I'm looking forward to using our Sibby stroller and continuing our tradition of family walks this spring and summer! 

Thank you to Evenflo for kindly sponsoring this post. All opinions are 100% honest & completely my own.

An OOTD + Life Lately (aka a BIG Announcement!)

Anorak jacket (last year), similar here and here | sweater | leggings | nikes | nail color

First of all... NO, I'm NOT pregnant (phew)! But, life has been a bit hectic around these parts the past few months. We've been traveling back and forth from Columbus (Ohio) and staying with both of our parents while we are there. There are a few reasons why we've been going so much. First, because Bill has been interviewing for a new position in Columbus (which he got! yay!) AND we've been house hunting! So, we've decided to make the move back to Columbus!!

We started talking about moving back a few months after Bennett was born. It was definitely challenging being away from family (and friends) after Bennett arrived. We quickly realized how important it is to have family help with 2 little ones and we also knew it would be best for our family to have the boys grow up being close to their grandparents and cousins that live in Ohio. 

SO, we made the decision to list our house in IL for sale over Christmas break and we got an offer that week! Luckily we settled on a longer close (we close end of Feb) so we could have time to look for a new house in Columbus. 

This week we are packing up pretty much our whole house except the necessities because we are heading to stay with my parents in Columbus until we move into our new home! The time frame will probably be 3-4 weeks staying with them. We are finalizing the contract with a new home in Columbus (fingers crossed financing and inspection go smoothly!). 

SO, I want to apologize ahead of time if I'm a little absent on the blog and social media for the next few weeks as we settle into our new life in Columbus. I do have a really fun post scheduled for tomorrow about an awesome stroller for siblings! 

Besides all that craziness, we really enjoyed being with the grandparents over the weekend. AND we loved the taste of spring weather! Camden loved being outside!

Please say a little prayer for us that this transition is a smooth one. I know it will be the hardest on Camden. He is at the age where he realizes there is a big change happening. I'm trying my best to keep his little world consistent by keeping his daily routine intact. We will be setting up both of their cribs at my parents house so that they can sleep in their own beds during the transition period. I think that will help tremendously.

If any of you have experienced moving with little ones, please let me know if you have any advise!

True #MomLife Confessions...

(mug | nail color | sweater)

These are my true #momlife confessions at the moment...

1. I haven't been snap chatting or insta story-ing (that's a phrase, right?) as much recently because my boys are typically in PJs mostly when they are home (Ok, and so am I)... And they might even wear the same PJs 2 days in a row if we don't get them dirty because winter...

2. To avoid toddler melt downs, I've been bribing Cam with play-doh (although he's starting to get bored with it already!), youtube videos, stickers (we love these), fruit pouches, veggie straws (he's obsessed with the zesty ranch ones!) and really anything that works... because we all have cabin fever at this point!

3. I've been extremely lazy about showering since it's so dry out and I'm almost out of this dry shampoo... I need a recommendation for a cheaper one! What dry shampoo do you love?

4. Since I've weened from breastfeeding, I've been binging on caffeine... Like a few cups of coffee in the morning, diet cokes (plural) in the afternoon... it's such a bad habit! I don't know how to kick it!

5. Speaking of which, I've been so bad with my diet recently... This time of winter is always the worst! Give me alllll the comfort food! I need motivation to work out!

6. Bill and I don't have any plans for Valentine's Day and we probably won't be exchanging gifts. It's just never been a big holiday for us. I'd rather save our money and stay at home! Is that sad?

7. This isn't really #momlife related, but I feel like I'm the only girl in the world not watching this season of the Bachelor. I just am not a big fan of Nick and don't miss it one bit! Still working my way through This Is Us though and loving it!

Ok, that's all I got for now...

What are your confessions?

Why I Love Shopping Online

I do about 90% of my shopping online these days. As a working mother of 2 little ones, I find it hard to carve out the time to actually go to stores or the mall to try on clothes, beauty products, accessories, etc. I mean, have you tried on clothes in a dressing room with a toddler before? Yea... Not my idea of a good time! I'd much rather try on clothes in the comfort of my own home on my own time (aka nap time).

I have had a lot of great success with buying the bulk of my wardrobe online. Stores like Nordstrom, Old Navy, Target and online shops like Amazon, Shopbop and ASOS have made it very easy on the consumer to shop items on their websites and make it even easier to return items if need be. Almost all of these shops offer free shipping as well!

I think that is the main hang up as to why people don't shop online. You may be worried about if you need to return an item. Well, I'm here to tell you it is so easy! Nordstrom, for example, includes a return shipping address label and the correct paperwork needed to return any item purchased online. You can even use the same packaging the item(s) were sent in to send back and shipping/returns are always FREE!

Here are my top favorite online shops:

1. Nordstrom | They offer FREE shipping and returns on all orders. It's a no brainer. I also have a Nordstrom debit card to gain early access to sales and to collect double points towards their rewards program. There are so many benefits to being a Nordstrom card member! Learn more here. (this post is not sponsored). I know a lot of people think that Nordstrom only sells high end/designer brands, but that is so not the case! There are so many great, quality brands that are not expensive. In fact, the average price per item from my orders is typically around $30!

2. Amazon | As an Amazon Prime member, I get free 2 day shipping on so many items! That is the main reason I signed up for prime, but there are also so many other benefits (photo storage, music, amazon video/tv/movies, etc). And you'd be surprised how easy it is to return an item from Amazon. It is basically the same process as Nordstrom. You can print off the return label from your account and use the same packaging to return the item. If it fits in your malibox, you can return it that way! I have yet to try ordering groceries via amazon, but I have friends that do and say they love the convenience!

3. Old Navy/Gap | Old Navy and Gap are my go-to stores for my basic, everyday staple wardrobe items. They are always running great sales and provide a lot of benefits for store card holders as well. This is the one store credit card I own. I've kept it because it allows me to qualify for free shipping with orders over $50 and I am constantly earning points towards my next purchase.

4. Target | Oh, Target. You just 'get' me! This is the one place I probably shop more at the actual brick and mortar more so than online, but there are so many perks to shopping online as well. I have a Target debit card, so I get 5% off on each order/purchase and free shipping on all orders! Sometimes their really cute seasonal decor items sell out quickly in the store or if I find a cute sweater or top, but they are out of my size I always order online when I get home.

6. Etsy | Etsy is my go to online shop for unique baby items/clothing, gifts, home decor and more! I love that you can direct message the sellers with questions about the items to ensure quality and accuracy of your order. You can also request a refund if you are not satisfied with your order. If there is a dispute with your order, etsy will submit a refund from the seller as well.


Honorable Mentions:
Shopbob (free 3 day shipping and free returns. AND Amazon Prime elegible! They always have great sales too!)
ASOS (standard shipping free with orders over $40 or 2 day shipping free with orders over $140! Free returns. They also have a great selection of maternity wear!)
H&M (free shipping with orders over $40 with code 0400. Free returns in stores. Next day delivery for $24.99)
Rent the Runway (This site is great for special events, weddings, etc! SO easy to return items after rental!)

Do you shop online? What are some of your favorite online shops?

January Favorites (most clicked on and purchased items)

Hi Friends! I thought it would be fun to do a little January Favorites post for you, but I'm going to change it up a bit. Instead of listing my favorite products/items from the past month I'm going to share YOUR favorite items and products from January. Since I typically use affiliate links (mostly rewardstyle) when I mention a product on my blog, I am able to track click through rates as well as purchases of the items I share in my posts. If you don't know what an affiliate link is, check out this post (and come back here when you're done, of course). Of course, I don't want you all to think I pay the bills with this little blog. I may only get commission enough to pay my cell phone bill or a fancy date night out for us each month (and that's on a good month!). But, it's always a fun perk to get paid for doing what you enjoy as a hobby anyways! 

January was actually a pretty busy month for LL Styling as far as website traffic, click through rates and sales go. I've been on a better posting schedule this past month, so I think that also helps with traffic and click through rates. Also, all of the products mentioned below I actually own myself! I love recommending products that I already own. 

So here are the top 10 most clicked on products from the month of January:

10 |  Grace Not Perfection book by Emily Ley: A great book and this one is actually #7 as well I think because I mentioned it in 2 separate posts last month!

9 | Target Valentine's Day mugs (landing page): I mentioned Target's cute V-Day mugs in one of my Friday 5 posts! They still have a great selection!

8 | L'Oreal Eyelash Mascara Primer: A great mascara primer that I mentioned in one of my Friday 5 posts.

7 | Grace Not Perfection: Again, great book! Easy to read and so relatable.

6 | Nike Sweatshirt: I'm so sad this one is sold out now! I seriously love this sweatshirt and wear mine all the time now. Nordstrom has a great selection of Nike sweatshirts right now. I love this one for spring!

5 | Skip Hop Backpack Diaper Bag: This one was clicked on a lot, but no one bought it! If you are on the market for a backpack diaper bag, this one is so great! Especially, when you have 2 little ones and need both your hands.

4 | Lush Perfect Roll Tab Sleeve Tunic: Another one that was clicked on a lot, but no one purchased. Which means you must already own one because they really are the perfect blouse/tunic! It comes in a lot of different colors and is still on sale for only $27.90!

3 | Nike 'Juvenate' Sneakers: These are the best sneakers. I've been wearing them a lot recently now that it's not snowing as much and the temps have been bearable. I love that you can just slip these on and off so easily and not have to tie and untie the laces!

2 | Scoop Neck Long Sleeve Tee: Another one that was clicked on a lot, but no one purchased! This one is seriously an everyday staple in my wardrobe. Love that I can wear it with leggings! And it's only $18!

1 | V-Neck Long Sleeve Sweater: This one was rightfully so the most clicked on item and it also was purchased by a lot of you as well! I love this sweater! It is so soft and it's light weight so it can easily transition into spring. It runs a bit big, so size down one. I got it in small and it fits perfectly!

And now for the top 10 most purchased products/items from January:

10 & 9 | Grace Not Perfection book by Emily Ley: Since I used 2 different links, this one shows up as number 9 and 10 in my analytics report. 

8 | Play-Doh Shapes and Colors: I mentioned in one of my Friday 5 posts how much Camden is really getting into Play-Doh recently! And the love affair is still strong!

7 | L'Oreal Eyelash Mascara Primer: Definitely the most popular beauty item mentioned last month. Worth the extra step and not a bad price!

6 | Play-Doh 10-pack of colors: If you need to build your basic play-doh color collection. Seems as though I have a few toddler mom readers out there! I'm with you mamas!

5 | Reynolds Slow Cooker liners: This product was actually clicked on a lot as well! I'm not surprised it's in the top 5. It is a necessity if you love to make crock pot meals like I do!

4 | Hollywood Beauty Tea Tree Oil Skin & Scalp Treatment: I'm so glad a lot of you purchased this product. If you have a dry scalp problem like I do, this will help you tremendously! It's also great for dry skin in general. 

3 | Moroccanoil Blow Dry Concentrate: This stuff is so good! And everyone that clicked on the link ended up buying it, so the product must just sell itself! I've been using it for over a month now and I can definitely tell a difference. 

2 | Nike 'Juvenate' Sneakers: I'm so glad you guys love these shoes as much as I do! 

And the # 1 most purchased item from the month of January is..... drumroll......

The V-Neck Long Sleeve Sweater!

This sweater was definitely one of my favorite purchases of January. I just love how soft it is and lightweight enough to wear it into spring as well.

There you have it! 

Did you purchase any of these items last month?

What do you think will be popular for the month of February?

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Life Lately + Current Wish List

tops (left to right): one | two | three

accessories: stud earrings | wedges | tory burch crossbody bag

bottoms: skinny jeans | crop patterned leggings | black mesh cut out leggings

Hi friends! Sorry for being a bit MIA lately! We've been in Columbus for the past week staying with my parents. Bill and I attended a rehearsal dinner and wedding this past weekend, so that kept us busy. Bill also had a few meetings here in town so we decided to just stay a bit longer.

(dress via rent the runway)

We are headed back to IL today and I'm so ready to be back in our house with our little routine, but will miss the grandparents' help (and love and support and free food) so much! I have a feeling we will be back again by the end of this month... more on that soon! ;)

Plus, Grandmas have the best toys!

+++
Now, on to my current wish list! I actually have all of these saved in my Nordstrom 'wish list'. I love that you can save items for later and not have to add them all in your shopping cart.

All of these items are pretty functional for my everyday life. Obviously, I am a big fan of 'athleisure' right now so I have a few pairs of legging and just really easy tops to wear with them. I'm slowly warming up to the patterned leggings trend and I love this cropped pair for spring (I also love that they're high waisted!). And how perfect would this sweatshirt look with them? I'm also loving the trend of the mesh cutout leggings, so this pair is also on my list for spring.

I've decided I'm ready to splurge on a good pair of stretchy skinny jeans. I've really been studying which pair to purchase and I think I've landed on these. They have great reviews and I just love the dark wash. I think a comfortable, good pair of dark wash skinny jeans should be a staple item in every woman's wardrobe!

As far as shoes and accessories go, I'm on the market for a new pair of stud earrings. I pretty much just wear small stud earrings these days, especially around the boys. I think this pair would be perfect for everyday. I'm also lusting after this tory burch crossbody bag. I've had this one for a few years now and it's held up so well! I have so many other styles of bags (satchels, totes, clutches, etc) and I always end up using this one everyday. I'd like to get one similar in a more spring/neutral shade so I think the TB one would be perfect.

After going through my closet, I've realized that my shoe game is really lacking. I think it's time to invest in a good pair of espadrille wedges for spring and I've seen this pair posted all over the fashion blogger world. I love the neutral shade too!

What's on your wish list for spring?

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