The Stylish Artiste {for YOU mag}

Hello friends! I thought I'd share a few more photos from a fashion feature I worked on back in March for YOU magazine's Arts and Entertainment issue. You can check out the full article here. Thank you to these gorgeous ladies, Danielle, Tara, Genna and Holly, for participating in this feature and allowing me to style them in looks inspired by their arts and talents. You all are beautiful!

Meet Danielle, a painter, who also teaches kindergarten through 5th grade art.  

Meet Tara, a vocalist, who placed in the top 30 for American Country Star last year in Nashville!

Meet Genevieve, a poet and writer, who is currently working on her third novel, a young adult dystopian romance. (I had the wonderful pleasure of reading the first section of one of her novels and she's really good! Watch out Barnes and Noble ;)

Meet Holly, a graphic designer and blogger, who specializes in branding, print and art direction. 

And me! Check out the Celebration Dance tab if you want to know a little more about my greatest artistic passion. :)

Sunday Best {stripes!}

Stripes were our pattern of the day yesterday. They're such a fun way to break into spring and seriously one of our favorites designs. The kid's wardrobes are just full of them! So here we are sporting our stripe-y clothes, well at least Monty and I (thought little E actually had them on too), and Scarlet photo bombed our pics showing off her delicious rolls instead. 

I took a few more pics of our home yesterday. We're working on a "Living with Kids" revisit post for Design Mom, since our home has changed so much in the 2 years since we were featured there. Very exciting. I absolutely love the Living with Kids series, taking a look into real homes all over the globe. They're so inspiring. So I'm slowing collecting new shots for a summer time post. :)

This is our new bunny chalk board art. Kelli Murray has a wonderful free printable for this bunny, with so many sweet little uses during Easter time. So we added it to our dining room wall.

 Ah, I loved all the spread hand on the window shots. So fabulously dramatic. :)

 And that belly peeking out from under her shirt!

Playing in the warm sunlight, nursing a cold. Poor girl. 

Overalls {forever!}

 {overalls - Free People, , shirt - J. Crew, scarf - Target, shoes - Old Navy}

Yes I'm still wearing these overalls, even though you thought they were going to be a one hit wonder. I know you did. ;) Lucky for me though, they're still a great go-to for a casual day. Super comfy, super cute. And that's all I require of everyday, unfussy, casual clothes. They simply MUST still be cute. I don't need beautiful but I do need cute. We can save beautiful clothes for the weekends. If we must.

Sunday Best {me and my girl}

 {me: blouse & skirt - T J Maxx, bracelet - J Crew, sandals - Target

my girl: dress - Puddle Duck (GB)}

This was our first Sunday to church with madame butterfly and so she wore her prettiest pink confection for the occasion. I should have made a point to get a few detailed shots of her dress as it is really beautiful (a little splurge on my part and imported from England) with the tiniest of put-a-smile-on-my-face details like rosettes, embroidery and smocking. It's all vintage-y and lovely. :)

Maternity Style Feature in YOU Magazine

Not sure when my blogging time will start to dwindle so I thought I'd share some pictures with you today, those taken for an article I recently wrote for Green Bay's YOU Magazine which hits our news stands sometime next week. 

I worked with a gorgeous boutique in downtown De Pere called Azure (one of my local faves!) and styled some of my own clothing along with theirs in the hopes of encouraging preggie moms to enjoy the hottest spring trends despite their growing curves and to consider the options non-maternity stores have to offer us. It's just so great to find pieces that can remain in our closets even after that baby has made its blessed arrival and thankfully, maternity fashion is not what is used to be! Even compared to my first go round with all of this 9 years ago ... it's come a long, lovely way. And sure, we're not all going to carry our babes the same way but there are great ways to flatter your bump (plus the other additional bumps) to the fullest, tips that can work for everyone. 

You can pick up a copy of our fashion issue next week to read the article in its entirety but in the meantime, here's a quick breakdown of the clothing I wore. 

Tip #1 (and best tip of all!): 

Pairing an oversized or relaxed top with fitted bottoms (or vice versa) is most flattering. Skinny jeans or leggings with an oversized shirt or tunic (make sure you wear a longer shirt or tunic that covers your bum if you're wearing leggings!) or a fitted t-shirt (to show off that cute belly) with maxi skirt or wide, relaxed pants. It's about proportions and balancing them out. All loose or all tight is not as complimentary to the figure. 

 {ear rings, necklace, blouse, leather shorts, and clutch - all Azure

heels - J C Penney}

{necklace - Forever 21, shirt (actually a dress) - Asos, skirt - Gap, heels - Target
purse - Azure}

Tip #2: 

Bring the waistline up, up, up and accentuate it with a little belt, a shrug, or a cropped jacket. Belly's are so stinking cute, so show it off! This trick will also lengthen your legs, always a lovely advantage. 

 {shrug - Anthropologie, tank - Target, skirt - Asos, necklace - Free People, shoes - Old Navy

bangles - Azure}

{jacket, clutch, bracelet, and ring - all Azure

hat - Target, dress - Francesca's, sandals - Topshop}

Maternity Style {38 weeks}

 {dress - H&M, necklace - mom's closet, bracelet - gift from best grandpa ever, South Africa, shoes - Target, hair pin - Somewhere in Time Antiques (GB)}

Maternity Style {37 weeks}

{blouse - Forever 21, dress - thrifted, shoes - Aldo}

Grecian Green

{shrug - Gap, dress - mom's closet, bangles - heirloom gifts from grandma and thrifted, necklace - Somewhere in Time antiques (GB) purse - Anthropologie, flip flops - Old Navy}

This dress is lovely and I just barely squeezed my upper half into it. That's why I'm wearing that shrug actually, to tell you the truth, cause the zip is just a tiny bit down. Well ... also to hide my arms which have settled into a nice doughy softness this last 9 months. And that belly button is shocking isn't it? What can a girl do ... it does what it wants to and we have to go with it. I suppose that can be said for the entire preggie body. We just go with it. :)