I had a lot of fun with this challenge and really figured out some cool new ways to layer Holland's clothes that I don't think I would have come up with before this! I just have so much fun getting Holland dressed every day and it was extra fun to show off all her outfits this last week!
Happy Monday everyone!
P.S. I got a haircut that I will be debuting {if you haven't already seen it on Instagram or Facebook} and Holland started scoot crawling today so hopefully I'll have a cute video of that to show you all soon! {Just today someone asked me if she was crawling yet and I said no only to be surprised when she decided that she can crawl now! Crazy girl! Now I'd better go get some baby proofing done!}
Holland was looking so stinking cute today that I had to take out our nice camera and take some pictures of her fifth #7daysofstyle outfit. So here is a little sneak peak for all of you! The rest of the outfits will be posted on Sunday or Monday!
Oh, before I show you the outfit I'll show you the three items
I have been restyling throughout the week!
White shirt- Gift (Ralph Lauren)
Chambray Shirt- H&M
Red Dress- Old Navy
Outfit Details:
Headband- Made by me
Shirt- H&M
Onesie & Tights- Kohl's
Shoes- Thrifted Converse
Attempting to figure out the whole crawling thing.
Non-toys make the best toys. Mom's Baby Lips, headbands, the camera lens cover.
My pretty little lady!
I don't know if you can see this but someone has her first tooth!
Like I said in the last post, dressing Holland is just so much fun! And this challenge has made it extra interesting!
Like I said in my last post, I really have been enjoying dressing my growing bump. :] For the most part I have not bought maternity clothes. I got some maternity jeans on sale at Target that I have yet to wear and some shorts at Savers that I also have not worn yet. Before I was pregnant I bought a couple of maternity shirts that I liked just as shirts so I have worn those but that's it! I'm sure I will need more maternity clothes at some point but for now I'm enjoying leggings and skirts/dresses a lot and most of my jeans still fit so far! Thank goodness! Anyway, here's the breakdown of one of my favorite comfy maternity outfits as of late!
Breakdown:
Shirt/Dress thing: Target Maternity {one of the shirts I bought forever ago} $5
Sweater: Old Navy $6
Leggings: Target $8
Shoes: Target $7
Headband: Made by my sister-in-law Jackie!
Necklace: F21 $1.50
Bracelets: Made by my sister-in-law Nikki!
This outfit is so comfy and cute so I've worn it a few times. I try and change it up some but it's pretty much the same thing. I guess more comfy maternity shirts like this one would be great! I'm just cheap so I'll only be buying them if they're on sale. So keep a lookout for me!
P.S. If anyone has some awesome tips for where to buy maternity clothes and stuff I'm all ears!
For a couple of weeks over winter break I did not get dressed AT ALL. I wore my bathrobe all day and it was wonderful (Race would disagree with that statement). Now that school and work have taken over my life I have actually had to make an effort to get up and get dressed every day. It really is a lot of work sometimes. I do know that I don't want to end up in my bathrobe for my whole pregnancy though so I am really trying to make an effort to dress cute regularly. This usually means I get my hair and makeup done and my outfit is just okay or I have a cute outfit and don't bother with my hair and makeup. Life is all about the give and take, right?
Here is an outfit from this past week that I was pretty happy with. Let me know what you think!
Breakdown:
Shirt-Target $4
Cardigan- Old Navy $3
Skirt- Forever21 $6.50
Tights- Old Navy $2
Shoes- Hand-me-downs FREE
This outfit ended up being super comfy and I loved the colors together. AND because the skirt is so stretchy it's an outfit I hope to be able to wear for a while...at least until my stomach is HUGE.
I am grateful for cute, comfy clothes that help me get off of my lazy bum in the morning and get headed out the door in style!
I guest posted over Brooke's blog Silver Lining last week. It was all about Winter Dressing and I just wanted to share it all with you. I added in where everything is from. Enjoy!! :]
Emma's Tips on Winter Dressing: I am fairly new to the whole winter dressing thing as I grew up in Chandler, AZ where it does not get cold. I moved to Flagstaff, AZ where it snows just about as much as it does in Utah. In fact, a couple of years ago it snowed more in Flagstaff than in anywhere else in the US {excluding Alaska}! That year was awesome. Our finals were cancelled! Anyway, I'm off topic! This year will be my fourth winter in my life so here are some little tips and tricks that I have learned on how to stay warm {in no particular order}!
Warm boots are a must have! From left to right: Land's End- $40{?} Kohl's- $8 Kohl's- $15
Scarves! Wear them over or under your jackets and outfits.
Either way they keep your neck nice and toasty warm!
Top Left: Old Navy- $5
Top Right: H&M- Scarf Swap!
Bottom Left: WalMart $3
Bottom Right: Old Navy- Gift!
Tights! I wear tights with everything! I even wear them under my jeans when it gets super cold.
But they're much cuter when paired with a skirt or dress!
Top Left: Charlotte Russe- $3
Top Right: Old Navy- $2
Bottom Left: Target- $5
Bottom Left: Charlotte Russe- $3
Cardigans & Sweaters {layers!}
Layer everything with a cardigan or sweater for extra warmth!
Top Left: Target $8
Top Right: Old Navy- $3
Bottom Left: Target- $4
Bottom Right: Target- $6
Cute coats! Every year I like to add a coat {or two} to my ever-growing collection.
A cute coat on top of your outfit makes everything just that much classier!
{Other tips: Coats can make a boring outfit look super cute! And every year OldNavy has coat sales sometime before
Christmas where almost all of their
coats are 50% off. Look for those!! I am pretty sure they have that sale going on RIGHT NOW!}
Top Left: Old Navy- $10
Top Right: Target- $6
Bottom Left: Charlotte Russe- $10
Bottom Right: Newport Beach- $20
Hats/Earwarmers!
Keep those ears nice and cozy with a cute hat or some earwarmers.
I wore this outfit while lazing around the house today and also when I went to take my husband some cookies and milk at his work. I just made the skirt last night and I LOVE the way it turned out. It's a maxi skirt too which is something I've been wanting for a while! At the time of the pictures I hadn't made a slit in the back so it was super hard to walk in but I fixed that when I got home and now it's perfect! I will probably end up wearing the skirt for church on Sunday so this isn't exactly a non-Sunday outfit post...
Breakdown:
Shirt-Old Navy
Belt-Off of a skirt from Kohl's {I also sewed the belt to make it smaller. The elastic was HUGE and I had it bobby pinned to make it smaller before}
Skirt- Made by me! Fabric from JoAnn's
Shoes- I think Wet Seal...I know that they only cost me $6 though
Purse- Old Navy
Other good things from today:
It rained all day
My chocolate chip cookies are delicious
I got to hang out with my husband on his break at work
I looked for jobs {I'm not sure if this is a good thing--I hate job searching}
I talked to my mum and my daddy-o and my sister
I helped sew buttons on a friend's shirt now that I'm a 'pro' sewer {aka seamstress}
I got to be lazy and sleep in.
There's so much more but basically it comes down to life is good and I am enjoying my last little bit of summer!
I am THINKING about doing a couple of tutorials. Let me preface this by saying in the past I have not been a very crafty person. So, anything I may post on here will not be anywhere near perfect. I am learning and having a lot of fun and just thought I would share some of what I am learning with the blogging world. :]
Recently I have made lace slips to go under my skirts {to make them longer and more stylish}, hair flowers and fabric headbands. I was thinking about doing a couple tutorials on some of these things but wanted some helpful hints and tips before venturing into the land of tutorials. If anyone has any advice on how to do a good tutorial it would be greatly appreciated!
Also, here are some pictures of the things that I have been making:
The slips:
The hair accessories:
And finally, this is me in my cute headband enjoying a delicious fudgesicle. Mmm! Mmm! Good! I love summer treats!
I am four days behind so here are four things I am grateful for.
1. Having a job. I am really grateful to have a job that helps keep Race and I afloat and leaves us some room to have fun. My job is incredibly hard at times but I know that right now we need it.
2. I am grateful for the cute babies I watch. They are always doing something to make me laugh or smile and they make hard days not quite as bad.
3. I am grateful for a house with an awesome heater that keeps Race and I warm during these cold Flagstaff nights. (I am also grateful for our house but I don't want to blog about that one until I have more pictures).
4. I am grateful for cheap clothes from clearance racks. I loooove shopping and I would not be ableto afford it if it weren't for clearance racks. So I am definitely grateful for clearance. And just so everyone knows most of my clothing is off of the clearance rack. So you can have good style for cheap.
That's all for today! I am happy to be alive and to be blessed in so many ways!
I have officially decided that all you need for a fun date is a hammock,
a couple of trees, some good food, and good weather.
Race and I went on another date where we set up his hammock.
This time we went out to Lake Mary and had a picnic right next
to the water and enjoyed the good weather and talked.
It was beautiful and super relaxing.
And we got Quiznos subs and they were absolutely delicious!
But, if you're on a budget and looking for some cheap dates
I seriously recommend investing in a hammock because you can use it for sooo many dates.
Definitely worth your money!
Here are some pictures of us on our second date in the hammock :]
P.S. High Ponytails are my favorite. And my hair is long enough to do them again! YAY! :]
P.P.S. I love this boy!
P.P.P.S. We're getting MARRIED...in case you didn't know. Haha. I'm excited and oh so lucky!
That's all I wrote in my journal yesterday.
I guess I am in shock a little bit.
I know that's not all that old or anything but I am FINALLY out of my teens.
So it's kind of a big deal!
I have been twenty for about forty hours.
Gooood stuff!
I am excited for this year.
It will be good.
But, to be completely honest I am having somewhat of a hard time dealing with being twenty.
I am not really sure why it's hitting me so hard.
But here's a quote that I found the other day that really helped and is just really good.
It says, "I have learned that I really do have control to a great degree over my circumstances.
If I don't like them, I've found there are certain things I can do to change them.
If I want to move to higher ground, if I want to have more positive experiences, I must think about life in positive terms, not dwell on the negative." --M. Russell Ballard
So, I am going to write twenty things that I have been very grateful for in the past year.
1. My parents
They have been there for me a TON in my first couple of years of college.
Always ready to give me advice and support me in my decisions.
And just talk to me when that's all I need.
2. My siblings
I have so much fun when I go home and my family always makes me feel welcome again.
Also they have been very kind as to write me letters while I'm away.
3. My sister Helena
Helena talks to me through my problems and she also asks me for advice with things she is dealing with which makes me feel good. :]
4. My best friend Jasmine
Jazz and I are SUPER different but we get along really well.
Jazz has helped me learn to be crazy and just laugh through things.
And whenever I am in a bad mood she does little things to cheer me up.
She has taught me a lot and I love that she is also now my roommate and we get to have sleepovers/camp outs EVERY night cause we live in a little TINY room (called 'the cave') with two beds and sooo many clothes that we are afraid they will soon attack us or explode throughout the entire room.
5. My friend Sterling
He knows how to make me smile. And I have learned a lot from him.
We have had some gooood chats.
6. My roommates
I moved in with four girls who all knew each other from high school.
To be honest I was SCARED OUT OF MY MIND!
And the first couple of weeks I was SUPER quite but these girls made sure to invite me to things and include me in the things that they did and we soon got to know each other and let me tell you, we have a heck of a lot of fun together!
7. Institute
My second semester of college I didn't take any institute classes and it was not too great.
The last two semesters I have taken at least two classes and I love it!
Right now I am taking a class about the first half of the Book of Mormon, a class about the
Teachings of the Modern Day Prophets, and a class about the Hymns.
I love them all and I learn so much whenever I go.
It has really helped me build my testimony and come closer to the my Heavenly Father.
8. My first motorcycle ride
My friend Ben Patterson took me on my very first ride on a motorcycle and it was lots of fun and
I felt super cool! :]
I felt like everyone was looking at us riding around and thinking we were really cool and then
I realized that I don't usually think that of people when they are riding around on their motorcycles but
I still like to think that I looked cool on the back of the motorcycle!
9. Spanish
I made it into Spanish 201 after not taking Spanish for two and a half years and
I LOVE it!
I forgot how much I love the Spanish language and
I am so happy to be learning it again.
10. Utah
I went to Utah twice in the past year.
The first time was to go to General Conference with Kylie Hassell and the Tenney boys
(Preston, Edwin, and Darrell).
This is where I met one of my future roommates, Kylie!
And I got to see my grandparents while they were on their mission in Temple Square.
This was super fun because I got them ALL TO MYSELF for a little bit. :]
And the second time was with Orson, Angus, Helena, and Jasmine.
We went to Utah/Idaho on a long road trip and I learned that
I can drive more than two consecutive hours and we got to visit lots of family and take TONS of fun pictures!
11. My camera
I got a new camera on Black Friday this past year and
I was super excited about it and then we were waiting in line and
Jasmine saw that someone had put the same camera down before buying it...except for this one was RED! Which is my all time favorite color.
So I got a red camera and it has taken more pictures than
I can count in the past three months. Thank you camera for many memories. :]
12. Cute clothes/shoes
Jasmine and I have a combined wardrobe so it makes for lots and lots of cute clothes.
I love picking out outfits and then having cute shoes to match and all that fun stuff.
And I love finding cute clothes and shoes on sale. :]
I got a pair of shoes a little bit ago and they are so cute that
I just can't help looking at them lots and lots whenever I wear them.
(I'll put a picture up sometime...)
13. Interesting Classes
So I need to be better at picking my classes but
I have had some good ones in the past year.
Some of my favorites have been Psychology,
Developmental Psychology, World Religions, and Public Speaking.
I like when learning is enjoyable and these classes helped a lot with that.
Oh, and Spanish but I talked about that earlier.
14. Missionaries
I have a couple friends out on missions and they are very good examples to me in the dedication that they have.
And the faith that they have.
And of course it is fun to get letters in the mail!
15. Cute sister-in-laws--
I now have two sister-in-laws and they are cute and fun!
On my birthday I was talking to my mom and she asked me if my brother
Neal called me and I said "No, but Nikki texted me."
And then she asked if my brother E.B. called and I said
"No, but Jackie texted me." Haha. Thank goodness for brothers with sweet wives. :]
And Nikki is super skilled and makes way cute hats and she made me one and sent it to me in the mail.
It was beyond exciting to get it and it is my all time favorite hat!
16. Phones/Skype/Chatting
I am super grateful for all the different forms of communication we have these days.
I love long phone conversations and fun web chats.
I remember dreaming about seeing the person
I was talking to on the phone and now I can do that...weird (and awesome)! Haha.
17. Blogs
Blogging helps me let people know what is going on in my life
AND I love reading other people's blogs.
They are so fun and creative. :]
18. Learning about myself
I have been learning to analyze myself and define myself.
I am not quite to defining myself...it has been harder than
I thought it would be but I am learning lots about me and what I want in life.
It's gooood.
19. Changing my major
I changed my major from Elementary and Special Education to Psychology.
I am not sure if I will stick with that as my major yet but I am thinking that I want to go into either Occupational Therapy or Recreational Therapy.
So we'll see where my life heads.
20. And last but not even close to least...THE GOSPEL
I am so grateful for the gospel and all that I have learned this past year.
And that my testimony has been strengthened.
I am grateful for the love that my Heavenly Father shows me in so many different ways.
Through music, through my friends, through my family, and through my church leaders.
I am grateful for the scriptures and what
I am able to learn from them when I take the time and really read and ponder them.
I am grateful for the teachings of the modern day Prophets and Apostles and for the hymns.
I am grateful for the organizations that are set up through the church like institute and seminary.
I am grateful for the Restoration of the gospel and that we have the Priesthood on the earth again.
I have been blessed by the power of the priesthood so many times in the past year.
I am also grateful for the power of the Atonement.
There are so many things to be grateful for in the gospel.
In the Hymn With All the Power of Heart and Tongue it says,
"I'll sing thy truth and mercy, Lord;
I'll sing the wonders of thy word.
Not all thy works and names below
So much thy power and glory show."
I know that there is no way that
I am able to thank the Lord for all that he has done for me because there is so much.
But I am grateful and hope to always be able to recognize the guiding hands of the
Lord and the presence of the arms of His love in my life.
Twenty will be a good year. :]
Just like nineteen was!
I am going to make it that way with a positive attitude and a smile on my face!
"It's even enough to smile when life goes along like a song, but the [woman] who's worthwhile is the [woman] who can smile when everything goes dead wrong."
(Not to say that everything is going to go dead wrong but hey, if it does I will find a way to smile through it!)
I did this for some thing on Facebook and I not everyone has facebook so I thought I'd put it on here too. Just some random facts about myself. Enjoy! :]
1. I love making sound FX. (Examples: GAHHH!Psh!Bleh!GRRR!Argg!)
2. I try to write in my journal every day and I love going back and reading my old journals although they are sometimes ridiculously embarrassing.
3. I love buying school supplies, especially notebooks...I don't really know why though 'cause I'm not a huge fan of school or anything.
4. I love making lists (packing lists, grocery shopping lists, things to do, goals, etc.)
5. I talk to both of my parents about pretty much everything and I love them sooo much! It's hard to be away and not get to talk to them everyday. Lucky for me technology is amazing and I get to call/email/web chat with them quite often. I think my parents are two of the wisest people I know.
6. I write everything in my agenda but rarely ever look at it when I'm doing homework and stuff. I guess just writing it down helps me remember.
7. My name is Emma Olmstead and I am addicted to Spider Solitaire. (It is distracting me as I write this)
8. I love YouTube and could watch it for a really long time but I never find cool videos myself...other people have to tell me about them.
9. I can touch my tongue to my elbow and to my nose. (No, touching your tongue to your elbow is NOT impossible)
10. My all time favorite color is red. I have four pairs of red shoes, a pair of red rain boots, a pair of red slippers, at least four red sweatshirts, two red bags and I don't even know how many red shirts.
11. I am 5 foot and almost ½ of an inch tall. My 15 year old sister is taller than me and so is my almost 13 year old brother. And my 7 year old sister is about the same size I was in 5th grade! Once everyone in my family is grown up I am pretty sure I will be the shortest. And no one knows how I got to be so short because none of my relatives are nearly as short as me...as far as I know.
12. I love getting dressed up and doing my hair all fancy (when it's long enough) but I have never really learned how to put on makeup all fancy. But I'm not a big fan of makeup so it's all good.
13. I have eight brothers and two sisters and I love all of them more than I could ever explain. I am the fourth child but first girl so I am a middle child as well as an oldest in some ways.
14. Losing someone I love is one of my biggest fears although I do know that I will be with them again.
15. I love reading but I have a hard time finding good books so I rely on other people (mostly my mom and sister) to suggest good books to me.
16. Shopping is one of my favorite things to do...when I find things for super good deals.
17. I love getting compliments on my clothes and being able to tell people how cheap I got the shirt/shoes/pants/whatever for. I think I like being able to say that more than the fact that someone complimented me. I hate when I didn't get something for a good deal because then I don't know what to say. And I almost always know the exact amount something cost me (not including tax).
18. I wish I had stayed in gymnastics after sixth grade but I am also grateful that I was able to try lots of different things over the years (diving, dance, choir, piano, sewing, cooking, pole vaulting, running, public speaking, swimming, etc.).
19. Doing backflips on trampolines is one of my favorite things to do so when my parents bought a trampoline the week after I moved away from home I was bit upset.
20. My little sister, Helena, is my best friend in the entire world. I don't know what I would do without her and I am so lucky to get along with her so well. It's hard being away and not knowing about everything that is going on in her life and being able to tell her all about what is going on in mine.
21. My sister and I shared all of our clothes when we were living together. Before I moved out we had to do a week test-run to see if we would be able to survive with only half of our wardrobe. Luckily we did!
22. I crashed a motorcycle when I was 12 or 13 and now have a fear of riding them. So I have a goal to get over that fear.
23. More than anything else I want to be a mom when I grow up.
24. I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and I love it.
25. I love to dance but I'm not all that great at it. My sister and I dance to pretty much everything and now I dance with my roommates (especially to the Evolution of Dance on You Tube). Interpretive dances to EFY music are the best. I would love to learn to ballroom dance but I like other kinds of dancing as well (jazz, ballet, hip hop, etc.).
