DENIM

I used to make fun of my mom, a lot.

i don't see many flaws in her. but, when she used to wear tapered.. aka skinny jeans i used to make fun.

look who's 'tacky' now.

the evolution of denim never ceases to amaze me. the highwaters are now 'cropped' and fashionable. the trashy is now 'distressed' and current. the tapered ugly is now 'skinny' and hot. 

nonetheless, i think almost every type of denim is in. chambray button-ups, jean jackets, and all different styles of jeans. 

so, now casual friday can wear a multitude of denims and still be 'in'. 

so, i give you casual friday... and the denim choices.

inspiration via pinterest:

inspiration.

the skinny with boots.

the flare with heels.

the distressed, cropped with flats.

if i've learned anything from posting outfit photos is that i'm amateur photographer. i'm still looking for that 'angle'. 

NEON.

when i started working at WSU i bought everything black and everything yellow. 

dressing up for games is a must and it becomes difficult to avoid the opposing team's colors when they are red, blue, green and purple. 

i had little of yellow in my closet, but lots of black, so i tried to pick out pieces here and there i could piece together with the majority if my black wardrobe.

then neon became a trendy item and i fell in love with the bright yellow neon. sure, it's not shocker yellow, but it works.

so, today i give you, shocker workwear.

blazer/ lauren conrad, kohls $20 (on sale) // black pants/ mossimo, target $19 // necklace, gift from my mama // shear neon, express $19 (50%off) // black wedges, target $20

13 & A HALF.

unless i blogged daily, i wouldn't be able to keep up with banks' new personalities, words and doings.

so, i'll do my best.

loves to eat - he eats anything and everything. he has downed an entire kids meal at the young age of 1 - literally 12 mos. 5 chicken nuggets, a few fries and a small frosty - yes, my child eats Wendy's. i'd say that's pretty impressive. this last week he had half a bagel, grapes, half a banana and an entire piece of pizza, veggies and all. he eats like his mama. 

bottles - he is using a bottle at home every now and then, but no longer uses a bottle at daycare. we've slowed down on the milk and have introduced apple juice and water and he loves both. his favorite thing to do is drink from mama and dadda's glass. he thinks it's the coolest thing ever.

his hair is out of control - we were going for the comb-over look, but his hair is as straight as a needle and doesn't stay put, so we're pinteresting new hair ideas :) it still has a tint of red, but is getting lighter with time.

teeth - 9, including one molar. unfortunately we have a biter. he bites everything. furniture, blankets, toys, and people... darnit! 

sleep - he's the bomb. sleeps a godo 11-12 hours every night. naps vary. on the weekends he rarely takes naps. at all. which drives me crazy, but at the same time makes me feel like he is staying up so he can see us :) 

words - mama, dadda, papa, dog, hadley, more, milk, baba (bottle), bath, pretty, ball, book, no-no, and he growls constantly. i know i'm missing a few words, but he is constantly adding to his precious vocab.

clothes - 18 mo. his pants are always too long and his shirts are always too small. someday, maybe he'll be more proportioned.

loves - hadley (but, hadley doesn't love him) balls, the broom ( HIS FAVORITE), baths, dancing (we dance to MTV videos on Saturday mornings, it's a great workout ), running laps around the house, ice cream, looking out the windows, watching basketball, opening the dishwasher and microwave, taking the vents out of the floor, throwing things down the stairs, crawling through his tunnel, combing his own hair and brushing his own teeth.... and much, much more.

personality - the best ever. if you haven't met this kid you're missing out. he's so much fun. probably the funniest person ever. he's an ornery one.

there is so much more that i love about this boy, but words would never describe. 

one of his favorite things to do. put on his 'claws' and run, crawl around the house growling. it's the greatest laugh. 

my nap hair  - it's crazy!

reading his favorite KU book. it chants ROCK, CHALK JAYHAWK... and then B will re play.. RRAACCHHHHHGAHHH.

he loves watching basketball.

GO HAWKS!

i wish my hair would stay like this.

first bubble bath.

ANIMAL PRINT

many of the blogs i follow have to do with style. 

i'm a shopaholic. just ask my husband. i'm also a coupon freak and a deal saver. i love finding a staple piece on clearance and bragging about my cheap buy, much more admitting that i spent way too much money on something.

since the ipad, i've spent the majority of my evenings drinking a yummy glass of red vino while pinteresting. yes, that has become a verb.

what do i look at on pinterest? sometimes i look for interior design ideas. recipes, workouts and hair inspiration. but, most of all i search for new outfits. or find inspiration for putting together an outfit out of clothes i already own. many of these inspirations come from fellow bloggers who blog their outfits and where they find their precious items. so, why not? i know it's cliche, so if you dont' like it, dont' read. but here's the first, of many, outfits that the one and only (haha, who am i kidding!?) put together.

meet animal print.

it's a love/hate relationship and can be done well, and can go horribly wrong. can be completely tacky, or classy. you be the judge.

leopard sweater/old navy $19 // black 3/4 sleeve dress [under sweater]/ target $7 // tights/ 

walmart $3 // necklace/ gift from friend // earrings/ express $9 // wedges/target $19.99/ watch/ michael kors gift from the hubs

COPY CAT THAT

back to the bachelor. 

while i do prefer looking at the bachelor, sean, without his shirt on [ you can't say differently, can you?] i do enjoy observing the many outfits the women wear on the show. they all have different styles, some i like, some i don't. 

emily maynard, last season's bachelorette, was one of my faves. especially her style. therefore, we are twitter and facebook friends. oh, what a life i live.

she recently posted her favorite outfits from this seaons's bachelorettes.

who made the list? kacie b. you can find more of her favorites HERE.

i, too, thought this dress was super sexy and way better than the prom gowns some of the other women wore. let's be honest. a prom gown or a sexy dress grabbing a guy's attention? that's what i thought. 

Kacie B's short, mesh Brian Lichtenburg dress was at the top of the list for sexy. The price tag - not such a sexy $396. So, to where else would you go for a copy cat? Forever 21.

although, i will say i LOVE the sleeves on Kacie B's dress, I do prefer the $19 pricetag of the Forever 21 copy cat.

And, that's how you dress for less. 

FANTASY, WHAAA?

i love sports. that's nothing new.

but, fantasy football drives me crazy. i hate that garrett cheers for an opposing team just because he has a player on his team. for real? but, to each his own.

so, i prefer to draft a much more realistic team. the bachelorettes of the bachelor team. you know that's the most REAL it gets, right? 

haha. i know, i know. the majority of these relationships don't last. and i'm sure the show has it's flaws, but it's all in fun, just like fantasy football, so give me a break.

a group of girls, old friends and new, have been getting together for the last few mondays watching the Bachelor - Sean and his fabulous, fabulous body. Oh, and the 20+ crazy girls that all think they are in LOVE.

After the first episode we wrote down our top 5 picks. After the second episode we could swap 3 of our 5 picks for new girls. Next week we will swap 2, and then our top 5 is set and the game will be played out. Points are given at the end when the top 5 are in place, and the winner is chosen. 

MY TOP 5 [ in no particular order.. yet ]

Ashlee F.  - Personal Organizer - Age 32 - Houston, TX

Catherine - Graphic Designer - Age 26 - Seattle, WA

Desiree - Bridal Stylist - Age 26 - Northglenn, CO

Lesley A. - Political Consultant - Age 25 - Fort Smith, AR

Tierra - Leasing Consultant - Age 24 - Las Vegas, NV

Do I like all of these girls. No. Especially don't like Tierra. But, I based my 'team' on who I think will go the furthest... and you always have to keep one CRAZY one. :)

So, what are your picks??  I'll update you after next week's swap!

MORE SHOPPING, PERHAPS?

i'm still getting caught up with blog updates.

a lot of this is actually considered 'old news' in my book, and probably a few of you think the same, so excuse me for not being your daily E News, giving you hourly updates on what's hot and what's not.

what's hot, old news or not? i will be checking off one of my items on the 2013 goal list.

1. move up in my career

boom.

i act like it's the greatest thing ever. which it is, it's a great opportunity, but i will also miss my job at WSU so, so much. there is nothing like being around sports, especially at a DI institution that has done so well during my time here. MVC Championships, NIT Champions, trips to the NCAA tournament... and that's just men's basketball. I love my job here. But, in all reality it's not a perfect mom-job. I work a lot of nights, a lot of weekends and some days I don't even get to see Banks. I'll leave at 8am and return around 10pm on game nights and Banks is sound asleep. And, if I have ever learned anything, it's that babies grow too fast, and there is nothing more important than spending time with your kids. So, that my friends is why I took a job at Heartspring.  That and it's a great place. I will help people. I will help kids. And hopefully Make. A. Difference.

I had opportunities to move within the department at WSU, which were great. I also had a few other job offers that came the same week the Heartspring job was offered. I prayed and prayed that there would just be a sign from above that would lead me to the 'right decision'.... or His decision.

Signs were everywhere. And all of them led me to believe that this would be the best place for me and our family in the coming years. Was it the job that paid the most? Nope. (DANG!) Was it the sexiest job? Nope. But, it was the job that fit me.

So to ring in year #26, I will be the new Marketing and Events Coordinator at Heartspring beginning February 11, 2013. I'm so excited for this journey as I will have a lot on my plate, new tasks, new people and new challenges. I'll be able to use not just one of my skills, but many. Creativity, marketing, writing, event planning, community relations & much, much more.

Will I miss 10,506 screaming fans during a Creighton vs. WSU game in Charles Koch Arena? Yes. Will I miss the fun atmosphere of sports. Yes. Will I regret taking a job that will allow me to see baby Banks every single night? Heck no. 

Plus, this paycheck might allow for some extra shopping. And, I'm always down with that.

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2012 | HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013

let me reintroduce myself.

hello. i'm tessa and i've been on a blogging hiatus for the past - well, way too long.

it may take me a few, or 100, posts to catch ya'll up on our crazy life, but we'll start here: Christmas 2012. yes, almost a month ago!

since married, the holidays become more chaotic than they used to be. i know i'm not the only one who feels this way. after talking to friends who are also married and have kids, i learned that we actually have a few less christmases than are possible. trying to make 7 separate christmas appearances is a task in itself, let alone trying to coordinate all of those christmases into just a few days. honestly, i love the holidays, but i wouldn't mind taking a vacation next year and RELAXING. 

although we were constantly on the move during our break, we have never felt so blessed and loved. garrett and i enjoyed our time with banks over the break. it reminded me of maternity leave and when garrett was in between jobs last year. we were both home for more than 3 weeks at the same time and it was AMAZING. i'm positive, we are supposed to work when we're old and stay at home with these sweet babies when we are young. someday i'll convince the husband.

here are just a few of the snapshots we got during our christmas break.

merry, merry christmas.... and happy new year!

garrett's bff was back home for the holidays so we tried to see him as much as we could during the break. so, for nye we visited the bevan's for a fun-filled game-night. i for one, had way too much fun, but that's good, right? ;)

the night was filled with smiles, laughs, drinks and good times. i for the life of me cannot remember the game we played ( too much fun ) but, it was hilarious. the parentals came along and joined the kids. banks stayed up past midnight - whaaaaa? yes, he did. apparently, he's a partier, too!

farewell 2012. hello 2013.

it's no joke that time goes too fast. i can clearly remember sitting down to write my 2012 resolutions goals. 

our baby was just over a month old then. i was breastfeeding. i could still clearly remember every part of giving birth. banks slept most of the day. he didn't talk. he was still wearing  clothes labeled NB. the other day we cleaned out his room. all of his NB clothes are now in tubs along with the 3, 6, 9 and 12 labeled clothing. my rocking chair has been removed from his room and was replaced with banks' very own big boy chair that he walks to and sits in all by himself. so much has changed over the past 365 days and i never thought that i would be happier than i was 365 days ago. but, i am. banks is more fun today than he was yesterday and i'm loving every minute of being a mommy. 2012 was so very good to us. i can't complain about anything as we are healthy and loved. we are reminded of how good our life is often.

my goals for 2012. they were not ALL met, but some were....

you can read more about the 2012 new year post HERE

10 - Visit a state I haven't  been to before 

need to do this. darnit.

9 - Learn HTML & start creating web site

visit www.theroyalscript.com to see my new web site, although I didn't do ALL of the HTML

8 - Live a healthier lifestyle (avoid PC fast food - it's the death of me)

i think i lived a pretty healthy lifestyle in the working out area, but that fast food still is the death of me.

7 - Become members at a church and attend regularly

we are now members of Family Church and have been attendign regularly for the past year. i  could not be happier about this. I've also joined a bible study on monday nights and although i didn't attend in december, i'm plan to make this a priority in the new year.

6 - Become more organized

i'd say i still have some work to do here

5 - Finish basement and all home projects (so that we can sit down and enjoy them!)

we are ALMOST completely done. just need to tile the shower and drop in a toilet and ta da!

4 - Get back to pre-baby weight

thank goodness!

3 - Run half-marathon #3

i'm going to cheat. i didn't run an actual half-marathon race, but I did run 13.1 miles more than 5 times this fall, i think that counts, right? I also ran my first FULL marathon - 26.2 miles completed! boom.

2 - Take a family vacation

Although Banks didn't go, G and I got away for a weekend. I do plan on taking a trip this year, as Banks will be able to enjoy more things.

1 - Be the very best mom and wife I can be

I'm trying. and by that i mean, loving on G and B every chance I get. G and I both agreed THE LIFE would be to have Christmas break every week of the year. Being at home with my boys for 10 + days was the best.thing.ever!

so, 2012 was great. 2013. i'm ready for you. and this year's goals include:

1. move up in my career

2. stick with an at-home workout regimen [ thanks to G for the treadmill!]

3. continue sales with royal script

4. spend time with banks doing new things [ taking him to parks, museums, and new places ]

5.  take a vacation - CABO in June!

6. PR in a race

7. run a half marathon this spring

8. get organized - i have got to do this.. and if need be, have a garage sale

9. read a book. 

10. see someone new in concert

most importantly, continue to get better. pray more. forgive more. love more. because those things are way more important them my yearly goals.

happy 2013 to you!