reality chic

being a stay at home mom is hard work and often doesn't give much motivation to look your best on a daily basis. i'll be the first to admit yoga pants and a loose t-shirt is my go-to outfit. thing is, i deserve more than that. i deserve to look and feel pretty every day. i've been attempting to step up my dressing game lately so when Samantha announced that she was starting a mini series/link-up on mommy fashion i knew i wanted to take part. (if you haven't met Samantha yet she is one hot momma with a killer wardrobe)

the gist of the link-up is you put together an outfit on polyvore and then recreate that outfit in real life using pieces that are just as fashionable but much more affordable. 

this is what i threw together this week

neutral casual by womaninamansworld featuring a x armani exchange

you aren't going to believe the total for the items listed above...

$1096
yeah... i'll never afford that.
but after doing a little closet shopping i was able to recreate this outfit for way less

the total cost of my version is

$59
now were talking!

a pantry staples quick fix {recipe}

being the mother of a 6 month old, sometimes (ok at least twice a week) 6 o'clock rolls around before i even think about dinner. by that point the last thing i want to do is change outfits (my clothes are always covered in spit up by this point), load the baby in the car, and drive to the nearest wally world! so i head over to the pantry, open it up, and stare.

now normally i stare for about 5-10 min before deciding that the hubby better grill tonight and  feeling like a failure of a wife. 

but last week something amazing happened! 

as i stared into that pantry, instead of my brain turning off the wheels started turning.

believe it or not folks, i came up with a completely original recipe for dinner that night and it actually tasted good!

so i decided that i had to share my genius with the rest of you (it just wouldn't be right to keep this all to myself)

ingredients

3 cans of tuna {drained}

1 can of corn {drained}

1 can of cannellini beans {drained}

1 1/2 c mayo

1 cap-full of apple cider vinegar

1 bag of fresh spinach

parsley

place all 3 cans of tuna in a large bowl. add the mayo and vinegar, mix until completely combined.

add the corn and beans and gently mix into the tuna salad.

you can serve on a bed of baby spinach or on crackers (pictured)

sprinkle with parsley and enjoy!

i'm proud of my job

the stay at home mom {sahm} vs. working mom debate is one that you come across constantly as soon as you get pregnant. every parenting website, blog, or forum is full of gung ho working moms calling sahms lazy and sahms trying to make working moms feel guilty for not staying home with their kids. i find my self wondering... who cares? men {for the most part} don't sit around arguing about which of their jobs is more taxing or more rewarding. they respect each other's individual career choices. 

even women. 

a woman who works as a nurse would never tell a woman who works as a teacher that her job isn't good enough, she should quit being lazy and find a better way to help her husband out. why is that? why is it that because my career looks different then yours, isn't paid in the same currency than yours, it doesn't count?

society tries to tell you that you need something outside the home to be fulfilled, but what if i'm perfectly content with my full time job as homemaker and mother of my child? i don't desire an outlet to escape from my rolls as mother and wife. i love those rolls. those rolls give me purpose. i am proud of the career choice i made and i am sick and tired of people trying to convince me that i "deserve more" or "need something outside of the house". being a stay at home mom is all i have ever wanted to be and there is nothing wrong with that. just like there is nothing wrong with a mother who wants to work outside the home.

and to those who say we're just lucky we make enough money to live on one income. we are very thankful to have all the many blessings we have, but our decision to live on one income was exactly that- a decision. Beau doesn't make a lot of money {he's a police recruit for God's sake} but we made the decision that having me at home with our children was worth more to us than having a big house, or a fancy new car we have to make payments on, or going out to eat at nice restaurants  or giving our children all the coolest toys,  or even cable or internet. we set our priorities and having a parent at home with the children was number one for us. that doesn't make our priorities any better than yours or any worse. they are just different. 

so there you go- that's my little spiel!

i hope i didn't offend or anger anyone because that absolutely was not the purpose of this post!

nursery canvas art {tutorial}

when i was pregnant with Owen i searched high and low for the perfect canvas art for his nursery. i found a ton of cute options but none of them matched the picture i had in my head.

for 6 months he's had an artless nursery and then it hit me... why not make the canvas i was imagining in my head?

so i headed out to hobby lobby and bought everything i needed for under $20 (that's way less than the cost of purchasing similar canvas art)

and guess what? it was so easy!

supplies

a small blank canvas, a pack of adhesive letters, foam paint brushes, acrylic paint in ocean green and naples yellow

STEP 1

arrange the letters however you'd like them. this was honestly the most difficult step for a perfectionist like myself. it can be frustrating trying to line the letters up perfectly.

when you have the letters where you want them, make sure they are stuck to the canvas well. you don't want paint seeping under!

STEP 2

paint over the entire canvas with the background color {ocean green} let dry and then paint a second coat. 

STEP 3

when the blue paint has dried completely paint a sun in the bottom right corner of the canvas using naples yellow. start with a small arch gradually getting larger until the sun is the size you want. then using the edge of the brush paint sun rays about a half inch apart going out at an angle.

STEP 4

when the paint has dried completely (about an hour or so) carefully remove the adhesive letters. i used the tip of a sharp knife to get underneath the letters more easily. once the letters are removed your canvas is ready to hang anywhere you'd like!