my 31-day capsule adventure || final week

they say it takes 2 weeks to break a habit. i wonder if that also stands for creating a new habit?? now that i've done a whole month of capsule dressing, it's really inspired me to keep going. i don't think i've ever actually wore EVERYTHING in my closet before. uh, i know i haven't. it feels good to wear & love to wear what i have. just another piece of life that i can appreciate being in order. simply & authentically. being thankful & thoughtful in dressing. stopping the aimless shopping & compulsive (and semi-constant) buying. it's a powerful thing to be at the mall & not "have" to go in everywhere. to not care to "browse." to have a purpose & keep a plan.

my 31-day capsule wardrobe adventure:

we've made it to the end, people! it's been such a fun ride. my kids, husband, mom, mailman & neighbors are so glad they don't have to take 20 pictures of me a day until i find one that isn't blurry, has my head & doesn't include children in the background (i should've just included those).

week 4

saturday

sunday

monday

tuesday

wednesday

thursday

friday

saturday

sunday

p.s. i skipped monday! (gave my kids the day off from photo taking, ha.)

p.p.s. I LOVE HATS. 

sooo...i've been throwing around the idea of doing a day-by-day outfit snapshot of a month during the fall (october or november) or maybe waiting until winter (january?). it may be boring because it will probably be sweater, jeans, boots, sweater, jeans, boots...but i know with fall i could try a little harder to mix things up with layering. eh, maybe we've all had enough for now. but maybe we all love fall so much that we want more. or maybe waiting until winter would be good. idk...

thoughts?????

i also began my fall capsule selection process this past weekend & will be making my final decisions by the end of the week. i want to post my completed capsule this saturday, sooo fingers crossed i can get real decisive up in hurr. goal: to get it under 40 items...preferrably 37. stay tuned, folks!

life in the gluten free aisle

i've had a lot of questions about why the gluten free (gf) life...so i thought i'd share a little about my journey so far.

2013: we found out we were expecting but shortly after experienced our first (& only) miscarriage. a few months after that i realized i had been dealing with some strange physical ailments (that i was originally attributing to pregnancy). i was achy in my joints, feeling bloated & nauseous. i remember talking to hubs about how bad i felt every time i would eat. for the first few days we even thought i may have had a bug of some kind. i was running to the bathroom with diarrhea but then the same day would have problems with constipation. something just didn't feel right. i constantly felt (ridiculously) tired & groggy & it was like i was living in a fog. at one point, we actually thought i may be expecting again. i really felt pregnant which was so strange since every pregnancy test still read negative. i was also having headaches everyday but that wasn't really anything new because i often had headaches.

one day (i can specifically remember it) i ate toast for breakfast, had crackers & soup for lunch, baked a loaf of bread & ate it a few slices of it through the afternoon...that same evening i was at a dinner meeting & felt SO TERRIBLY MISERABLE. i approached a friend of mine who is a nurse & told her about how i was feeling. this was the first time i really heard about "gluten sensitivity." she suggested that i take gluten out of my diet for the next few days & see if it helped. weeell, what is the world is "gluten??" after seeking professional medical help (aka googling "gluten sensitivity"), i read the list of symptoms...OH MY GOSH, i had them ALL. one article even mentioned "feeling pregnant" as a possible symptom. how weird! it all finally made sense. in another article it actually mentioned miscarriage as a possible "symptom." (since then there has been even more information about the possibility that pregnancy "turns on" gluten intolerance & that a gluten-free diet can reverse infertility. i am in no way saying i am a medical expert on this. if you suspect you may have celiac disease or a food allergy, please talk to a doctor about it.)

i got this from celiac.org: Since there is currently no blood test for gluten sensitivity, the only way to be diagnosed is to undergo the screening and diagnostic tests required to confirm celiac disease. A diagnosis of gluten sensitivity is confirmed when you are not diagnosed with celiac disease or wheat allergy, and your symptoms diminish after starting a gluten-free diet, followed by a return of symptoms when gluten is reintroduced into your diet. There is no cure for gluten sensitivity, and the only treatment is to follow a gluten-free diet. (Read more at https://celiac.org/celiac-disease/non-celiac-gluten-sensitivity)

personally, i have never been tested. actually, a few years ago, when i began this lifestyle, i was told there was no conclusive way to determine if you were gluten sensitive, so i never pursued it. 

back to 2013: for the next few days (after talking to my nurse friend), i read all the labels & paid close attention to what i was eating. "no wheat, rye or barley" after about 3 days, i felt like this fog was lifted. i felt like myself again. i didn't realize how much i was being affected not only physically but also emotionally by my diet! i assumed this feeling of sort of depression stemmed from my recent miscarriage but as i began to feel like myself again, everything changed--for the better. my attitude changed. my energy came back. the headaches went away. i felt...thinner? (goodbye bloating) yay for possible answers! and wah, for what this really meant...

NO MORE BREAD.

how am i supposed to live without olive garden breadsticks OR papa john's pizza OR bob evan's strawberry supreme pie??? or all the many delicacies that this world has to offer?!

well, it's definitely been a rocky road-especially for someone who is not very disciplined like me. thankfully, i quickly found a local support group on facebook that has been great to answer all my questions. it's also been a great time (if there ever is one) to be gf with all the new gf options available on the market now. we switched the flour in our home to only gluten free flour. and we all only eat gluten free pasta (you really can't tell the difference). everything we bake is also gluten free. the only thing i haven't convinced hubs to get rid of...his white bread. nope. he says that's not happening. sooo, because of that i keep my own toaster. (i also keep my own butter, peanut butter & mayo containers that we mark "GF" so there's no cross contamination).

i also found focusing on all the things i CAN eat has helped. and overall, it has helped me to learn how to better manage what i eat. it has also showed me that i can be disciplined with things in life. i truly believe God allowed this trial to happen to show me that. being disciplined has always been one of the biggest things i have struggled with in my life. my philosophy: when you experience trials, the best thing to do is find a way to be thankful. actually, that's bible. (james 1:2-4)

quick gf tip: if you still want to eat out while being gf, a few things: 1. tell the server (they often have special precautions they can take in preparing your food) 2. look up special gf menu's beforehand or ask for one when you there (many places have one now) 3. you can look up allergy information online beforehand 4. be aware the possibility for cross contamination is still there. 

*i've also found that i can adapt most baking recipes to be gf by just substituting in gf flour. 

my favorites: aldi's has some amazing gf options at an affordable price! i love their whole grain bread, frozen pancakes, crackers, cookies, pretzels & all of their baking mixes-especially the banana muffin mix-AMAZING! walmart has my favorite gf spaghetti option (corn-based!). van's makes a favorite gf snack of mine, cheese crackers (i missed cheez-its!). i like to hit up kroger for THE BEST frozen blueberry muffins by udi's. lots of cereals & chips are already gluten free bc they are rice/corn or potato based-yay!

SOOOO...a fun little twist on my gluten free journey:

i decided it was time to do or die (poor choice of words). i wanted to be tested. i wasn't pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or breastfeeding. so now was the time. i wanted to know what i was dealing with. BUT in order to be tested, you have to have gluten in your system. SO, let's eat gluten. the first thing i thought of was little caesar's breadsticks. for whatever reason, they sounded like heaven. we also had a few oreo's left at our house & they HAD to be mine. then, the waiting. waiting for the sickness to kick in. waiting for a massive headache. but nothing ever came. weeeird. now what. let's keep eating gluten.

days passed & still nothing.

as of now, it's been a couple of weeks & i still feel fine. what does it all mean?!

TURNS OUT, you can have pregnancy-induced gluten sensitivity (just like so many other food aversions/intolerances). it's somehow linked to hormonal issues. we were expecting when i first started feeling bad but i chalked it up to typical pregnancy woes. we had a miscarriage soon after. (there's also talk about a possible connection between gluten & infertility.) so i took gluten out of my diet & bam, we were pregnant with olive. now that my body (and hormones) have returned to normal...no more gluten sensitivity apparently! you guys, i can eat anything again!! i'm not gonna lie, this past week has basically been a free-for-all rediscovering my favorite foods again. every time i pick up something i once was unable to eat, i break out in song..."a whole new world." y'all know how i love me some disney.

also, my heart is still with all my gf peeps out there. keep fighting the good fight. i will never forget you.

xo

my 31-day capsule adventure || week 3

so i was looking back at my original capsule wardrobe post to see everything laid out at once & maybe get some fresh ideas for outfits...and realized...i chose like 30 tops for my capsule wardrobe. um. so i could basically wear a different shirt every day of the month & never repeat. i mean, i guess that's good but it's really not what i was wanting in a capsule wardrobe. note to self: pick less tops for fall. more mixing & layering.

my 31-day capsule wardrobe adventure:

hey, so let's kick off week 3 with day 3 of wearing THE jean vest because it looks good WITH EVERYTHING.

week 3

saturday: i sit here at 11 p.m. finally posting about our day. it's been a 12-hour day for back-to-school-shopping. even though we weren't getting much, there are still 3 littles getting ready for the school year & each had specific needs on their list. i think this whole capsule thing is spilling over to their wardrobes, too, because i've been very particular with what i'm looking for with each one. it may have taken us a little longer today, but we found what we (i) really wanted.

because i knew i'd be on my feet all day, i chose my birks. also, if you haven't noticed, yet, i also love hats. i can remember the first hat (a thrifted grey wool golf hat) that i fell in love with in college...that's when my love affair with hats truly began.

linen top - (boutique bought) flax designs (similar)
jean vest - old navy
denim skinnies - forever 21
sandals - birkenstocks
hat - target

the hat circa 2003-2004 (this photo was taken with ACTUAL film kids)

sunday: i may fall asleep before i get today's entry done. we started at church this morning & had a fun little shower for a new baby momma. then olive, emma & i left with our youth group for putt putt & laser tag. we didn't get back until evening. olive & i are tired & grumpy. 

and hats for life.

3 cheers for an outfit sans jean vest.

floral dress - target (similar)
black skinnies - forever 21
white tennies - converse
hat - madewell

(details)

monday: we tried to not do anything for as long as possible today but eventually had to get some errands done. i had a great pic of the back of this outfit & apparently deleted it (why am i so bad about that?!) but it showed the shirt knotted in the back which works great when layering.  

striped tee - forever 21

lace slip - free people
denim skinnies - forever 21
sandals - birkenstocks

tuesday: last-minute dentist visit for all 3 older kiddos which means a 2 1/2-hour drive. hubs is working so my mom came along & held a hungry olive while i floated around all 3 during their appointments trying to be everyone's cheerleader. i mean, isn't that what we all want during a dentist appointment--someone to tell us how amazing we are holding our mouths open. somehow it always made me feel better.

peplum top - kmart!

denim skinnies - forever 21

brown booties - cato

hat - target

wednesday: we had a final-day-of-freedom lunch with nanna & ice cream after dinner with mawmaw. laid out our clothes for school & packed our book bags. prayed over the babies. and pretended to sleep.

muscle tank - madewell

denim skinnies - forever 21

brown booties - cato

hat - madewell

what olive's wearing: 

socks - the twisted knot

headband & paci clip - loved by sophia claire

thursday: first day of school for the littles (new school, new teachers, new friends). i had to stay for baby boys kindergarten orientation this morning then we grabbed taco's for lunch before heading back home. (that boy can destroy some tacos.) it was just like old times.

floral dress - anthropologie

black skinnies - forever 21

brown booties - cato

friday: today was the first day doing school drop off solo with baby + 2 littles. our oldest had meet the team this night for volleyball. (full disclosure: i did change before meet the team because it was blazing hot & i preferred to sweat in a tank top.) the morning was particularly cool & kennedy and i squealed with glee.

adventure tee - diy!

floral kimono - target

denim skinnies - forever 21

sandals - birkenstocks

so who's ready for football friday nights?? i CANNOT wait to get my fall capsule wardrobe switched in!! new post with my fall final cut coming...maybe next week??! 

p.s. i got lazy with direct links. sorry. most pieces were previously linked in week 1 & 2 posts & can be found there. cheers.

my 31-day capsule adventure || week 2

my 31-day capsule adventure:

still going strong! and i'm thinking this whole getting dressed everyday thing may stick. being a sahm often meant me staying in "pj's" all day aka lounge clothes, stretchy pants, or workout clothes. i mean, why "waste" an outfit on sitting around the house all day, right?? but i found out i will be taking kennedy & lincoln (no i didn't intentional mean to name them after presidents) to school every morning now, so maybe that will justify actually getting dressed...we'll see how sleepy i am. i LOVE sleeping.

week 2

saturday: we helped hubs move into his new office. since it's summer, the building a/c is turned off which means it runs about 80* so i wish i would have basically wore my bathing suit but linen is also a good idea...which is why i love this tee.

also, how awesome is this genuine gemstone necklace?! even better...it's handmade by a local artisan. she also makes all kinds of awesome dreamcatchers (i own one of those too). so if you're in the southern ohio area, be sure to check out her work at the artisan market on saturday mornings by the gallipolis city park.

green linen tee - old navy (similar)
grey boyfriend jeans - forever 21 (similar)
slip ons - vans
gemstone necklace - local artisan made

sunday: went to church. went to lunch. went to cousin's birthday party. continued to move hubs into new office. tried to prepare for the crazy week ahead.

truth: i could wear my brown booties every. single. day.

embroidered top - target (similar)
black skinnies - forever 21
brown booties - cato (similar)
hat - target

monday: and so began our crazy week. every day this week lincoln had kindergarten camp from 9-12 & emma had volleyball practice from 3-5 & hubs was working all day with meetings all night & kennedy wanted last-chance play dates & olive...well, she just wants to eat. this week makes me actually look forward to school starting back! where am i? who am i picking up??

truth: i am really not feeling my hair these days. i stress cut some bangs the other day & have since found myself pinning them back every day. also, i'm not sure if my hair is an intentional lob or just a grown out bob. i think i want to grow it out again. or cut it all off. ugh. #girlprobz

striped button up - forever 21 (similar)
black skinnies -  forever 21
black slip ons - vans

tuesday: in between running the kids back & forth, i hopped into the store & picked up some stuff to make dinner for a sweet girl who just had a baby. this has always been such a huge blessing to me as others have brought us food after our babies were born, so it's a ministry close to my heart. plus, it's an awesome opportunity to just love on other mommas! {1 peter 4:10 yo}

truth: i had to recreate this outfit from tuesday bc i accidentally deleted it & blah, blah, blah. i actually had on my "ohio grown" grey tee from a cool shop at easton (columbus, oh) (and no, i don't remember the name of it), but you get the picture.

also, i love dry shampoo. hello day 3 hair.

floral kimono - target (similar)
grey tee - american apparel
denim skinnies - forever 21
sandals - Birkenstocks

wednesday: same ole, same ole as far as routine goes except we did double play-date-drop-offs. (i'm tellin ya, i'm lucky i got the right kid to the right house). it was an absolutely perfect day weather-wise, though. a cool morning in the 70's then barely reaching 80 in the afternoon. huge, puffy clouds & the bluest skies. (oh, how i cannot wait for cool fall mornings & warm yummy coffee.)

again, loving the layering this week. it's like a capsule parfait. no it's not. too far. but i cannot wait to layer more this fall & winter. fall, fall, fall, fall, fall.

grey tee - hello apparel

lace slip - free people

striped turban - miss giggle buns

black skinnies - forever 21

sandals - birkenstocks

gemstone necklace - local artisan made

truth: 1. this slip was not in my original capsule but after selling a few items that i felt i could part with, i justified purchasing it for my birthday. 2. i really wanted to wear my brown sandals with this outfit but they require all this extra effort what with the buckles & straps & on a day like today where i'm in & out of the house so much, i'd like to be able to kick off my shoes easily & slip them back on quickly. 3. birkenstocks are the comfiest shoe i have ever owned. my plantar fasciitis thanks you (how old am i??)

what olive's wearing:

heart tee - baby gap

denim skinnies - baby gap

floral handband - brinbows (three cheers for etsy, amiright)

(hello belly)

(look i'm smiling because this is so fun.)

thursday: running low on options because, laundry. and since i've had little to no time for laundry this week, it's really complicated things in regard(s?)s to capsule dressing. so, uh, note to self: when living with a limited wardrobe, keep up with laundry.

striped tee - forever 21 (similar)
jean vest - old navy (similar)
grey boyfriend jeans - forever 21 (similar)
sandals - birkenstocks
hat -  target

friday: oh my gosh, thank goodness this week is OVAH. also, i'm writing this super quick because we're trying to leave to get last minute back-to-school stuff done (that's how we roll). this may have been my fav outfit of the week. i just felt good in it, ya know. also, i wanted to include a pic without the jean vest to show the difference adding just one piece can make. this jean vest is so versatile-why didn't i have one before?! also it kind of nips in my post-baby waist & creates a really flattering silhouette. jean vest, you rule.

nude tank (aka my most favorite tank of all time) - madewell 
jean vest - old navy (similar)
black skinnies - forever 21
brown booties - cato (similar)

okay, so now that week 1 & 2 are both done, i'm even more excited for week 3 & 4 because i can start mixing & matches tops & bottoms. personally, i love the challenge of making something dressy look casual & vice versa. anyway, i'll quit sounding like i know something & get in the van before the fam up & leaves my booty.

xo

my 31-day capsule adventure || week 1

so here we go. after writing about my summer capsule wardrobe, i had a lot of awesome feedback & a lot of curiosity. i had been thinking about documenting what a month might look like with a capsule wardrobe (i love crap like that. maybe i shouldn't say crap). with august right around the corner, it seemed like the perfect time to jump in. i will admit, over the summer, i have added an item or two (birthday probz) but was careful to take pieces out of my capsule, as well. i believe there is sometimes a fluidity to all of this & that's okay.

remember my summer capsule wardrobe? it was selected for june, july & august. for my 31-day capsule adventure (the month of august), i am wearing only items found in that capsule. my goal is to not only wear something "different" but to show the variety of ways to wear some of my fav pieces. i mean, it's not really about wearing something completely new every day but more about being creative with your wardrobe pieces. isn't this what happens to us all...we always end up grabbing the same tried & true tee with our most comfy bottoms and variety becomes lost to us?? yeah, i feel ya. by challenging myself to create new looks with the same items, i'm hoping to open myself up to new outfit possibilities that i can grab easily (because with 4 littles i don't have time to think too much about it).

let me be real:

i'm a stay-at-home mom to 4. i'm up early. i'm getting groceries. i'm at the park. i'm doing laundry. i'm not living a life of being "dressed up" every day. what i'm thinking is...let's redefine what "dressed up" means to me.  i need to make this capsule wardrobe a real part of my everyday life. so, maybe, instead of wearing my husbands old tee shirt & black yoga pants to the store...i grab my comfy black skinnies & throw on a striped tee?? i'm not looking for pieces that i would never actually wear in my everyday life. did you notice the shoes i chose for my summer capsule are all options i could wear while chasing a kid?? yeah. and maybe we don't make it out of our jams some days-i mean, that's gonna happen & who really cares.

[note: if you work outside the home, you're probably going to include more dress pants options than me & probably more blouses, button-ups or dresses. just make YOUR capsule work for YOU.]

without further ado...

*drum roll please*

my 31-day capsule adventure:

week 1

saturday: (i'm kind of aggravated because all of this week's posts got deleted & now i'm trying to remember everything i did & wrote about. oh well.) we got started late in the day & i had a few errands to run so a pretty low key day. i went for what i would call "my uniform:" black skinnies, tee & birks.

(click for links)

striped tee - forever 21

black skinnies - forever 21

sandals - birkenstocks

sunday: church day! our church is pretty laid back when it comes to dress code (thank goodness), so today called for a classic jeans & white blouse combo. also, remember my cool copper diy necklace?? loved it with this simple duo.

white tunic - old navy
denim skinnies - forever 21
brown booties - cato (similar)
necklace - me yo
cute baby - one of a kind original

monday: first day of our county fair. our kids are active in 4-H so it is a pretty busy week for us. we started early in the morning & basically went all day.

embroidered blouse - lucky brand

black skinnies - forever 21   

brown booties - cato (similar)

leather satchel - river city leather (custom)

tuesday: we slept in then went for a walk then did laundry & i never changed out of my workout clothes, sooo no pic.

wednesday: i had a few errands to run then we went over to my in-laws to visit with family that was in town. hubs & i took advantage of the extra hands & headed out to catch a movie.

tip: get new looks with layering. love love love the colors here. i also like to try new ways to wear a tee such as knotted it to the side and/or rolling up the sleeves.

mustard tee - medal

rose slip - forever 21

grey boyfriend jeans - forever 21 (similar since i distressed them myself)

sandals - birkenstocks

thursday: it was a rainy, slow day full of laundry so i went for something comfy yet pulled together. these jogger pants from target are THE BEST (i wish you could see them better-curse you beautiful, black wall). these pants are so magical the way they can be dressed up or down. we also love this baby-safe teething necklace for my girl, olive here.

muscle tee - madewell

black joggers - target

teething necklace - lolli jo

(hi fun people behind us.)

friday: today was our last day at the county fair. we spent the evening doing tractor pulls, eating fair fries & riding carny rides. i couldn't wait to get home & shower. oh yes, i also decided to cut myself some bangs on a whim this same morning because life't too short. (hey there, today was also fun because hubs got some good news...he got a new job! it's something he's been wanting for years now & i'm so happy for him. it's also a promotion in pay which is awesome. this also means new schools, new dress codes & new routines for everyone which has us kind of scrambling during these last few days of summer. 2015, you've been a roller coaster of a ride already.)

blouse - madewell
denim skinnies - forever 21
sandals - handmade (thrifted)
hat - madewell

alright, week 1 down & it wasn't as hard as i thought it would be. although, i'm assuming the last week will be the most challenging. week 2, bring it on.

how are your summer wardrobes doing???