By: Samantha Hawes
The sweetest pictures showed up in my inbox yesterday & I’m so excited to share them with you!!
A very special thank you to our photographer, the incredibly talented Johanna McShan. She has captured the last 3+ years of our lives, and despite my diva daughters and our awkwardness in front of the camera, she always delivers such beautiful photos! We love her. If you’re in the Austin area, she’s your gal.
I’m sharing even MORE of our photos over on Instagram. 
Hello Friends!! I’m sure you’ve noticed that as I get closer and closer to my due date, my presence here is slowly getting more spaced out. I have absolutely no intentions of abandoning my fun little corner of the blogosphere, I’m just becoming more focused on the present and spending quality time with my big girl before my little girl breaks up the party. You can continue to expect 2-3 posts weekly instead of the daily posts that I used to do. You can also always catch me on Instagram – I find it far easier to keep you all in the loop on my daily chaos over there! In the coming month I’ll be introducing you to some amazing bloggers who have so graciously volunteered to be contributors. They are quite literally a few of my favorite bloggers, and they write some of the only blogs that I manage to keep up with on a daily basis anymore. Ok, enough shop talk, lets look at pictures of my cute kid, shall we..and maybe a few bumps?! Oh, and my husband (who just finished a lemon-lime sno-cone and has a sickly looking tongue. Mine was dragons blood flavor…what flavor is that even?!)
This last picture kills me!! She saw a teeny tiny dragon fly land next to her and she freaked out, and threw her pumpkin at it. I’ve ruined this child with my fear of spiders and creepy crawlers. Camryn is wearing her Cray Cray tee from Little Big Dreamers, skinny jeans from good ol’ Target, and Hunter wellies.
I went in on Friday & again yesterday for baby appointments and everything with little miss Harper is great! Other than the fact that I’m still getting sick on an almost daily basis, my pregnancy is progressing as it should. She currently weighs 3 pounds 15 oz. and is measuring at 32 weeks today (a few days behind my actual date), but her legs are measuring over 2 weeks ahead! I grow babies with long legs, chunky cheeks, and no hair! Ha! I had lost about 5 pounds, but gained all 5 back in the last week, so that’s a really good sign. The new nausea med I’m taking has been really helping reduce how often I’m getting sick. HOORAY!! Just 7 more weeks, or less.
Yesterday I took Camryn to the park to enjoy the amazing weather we’ve been having here in Austin, and we picnicked and played for awhile.
I love the back shoulder detailing on all of Kate & James apparel!
She is lucky enough to get to be a brand rep for our sweet friend (and blog sponsor) Jayme, who owns Kate & James! She’s wearing her Ello Love Pullover, Susie’s custom shorts, and Freshly Picked Moccs. I’m so jealous of her wardrobe, it hurts. 
Hope you’ve all been having a great week! Come visit me on IG today and enter the awesome loop giveaway I’m in! $25 Paypal cash is up for grabs!!
XO – Samantha
Good Morning! Thank you all for your kind words yesterday, and support while my husband underwent a minor procedure. Many of you have been asking what it was for, and although I’m not yet ready to answer questions, I will in a few weeks. To be quite honest, I can’t answer many questions because we still don’t know ourselves what’s going on, and yesterdays procedure was to hopefully clear up some of those unknowns for us. We live a very honest, open-book lifestyle, so you can bet that this won’t be the last time you hear me talk about it all…within his comfort level, of course.
On with todays fun! I want to introduce you to my newest sponsor, Love Is Free! Shannon, the owner and creative mind behind the company, is a mom to her beautiful daughter Angelina who inspires her to create unique and modern children’s wear. Shannon is working to bring a childrens moccasin line to her shop in the coming weeks as well!
Many of you have already spied a few of these outfits over on my Instagram, as well as on @shoploveisfree and have been asking where you can score these awesome items – now you know!
Love Is Free Arrow Leggings (similar), Kate & James “Ello Love” Raglan, Carly Megan Shop Scarf, Old Navy Vest, Target Boots
Love is Free Black & Gold Arrow Headband, Carly Megan Bloomers, Little Big Dreamers Leg Warmers
Grey Ham NYC “Milk De La Milk” Tee, Leiroux Knit Shoes
Love Is Free Wild One Tee, Aruba Freshly Picked Moccs, Little Hip Squeaks Headband, Little Adi Co Harem Pants, Candy Kirby “Preppy Girl” Scarf
Love Is Free Curly Hair Tee, Love Is Free Grey/White Stripe Headband, Candy Kirby Leggings
Vonbon Scarf & Headband, Little Peeps Closet Skirt (detached from kitty cat “blouse”)
And this cutie loves her Love Is Free gear, and if you ask me, makes it look really stinkin’ cute!! She’s wearing the arrow leggings below, and the “Wild One” tee in the last photo.
Phew! I spent hours and hours pulling clothes, styling, and photographing all those outfits so you could see these rad pieces in action. Nothing’s worse than seeing clothes without any outfit inspiration, amiright?! Totally worth it if you enjoyed, and I hope you’ll go check out Love Is Free and support Shannon and her growing store.
XO – Samantha
Happy Hump Day, Friends!
My daughter knocked us out with a flu-like bug this weekend, but I’m finally turning a corner and feeling human again, and I have a really fun shop (and maybe a giveaway ) to share with you today!
Welcome, Bitty Bow Shop!
Here’s what Alexis, the owner and creative mama behind Bitty Bows, had to say about Bitty Bow Shop:
“Bitty Bow Shop started when my baby girl was 2 months old. I had so much fun making headbands to match her outfits, that I decided to take the plunge on Etsy. I am so happy that I took a chance! It is so rewarding to see Bitty Bow Shops headbands and clips on precious little ladies all over the world. I was so excited when I sold my first headband on Etsy. A year later, I still get just as excited when someone purchases something that I create. All of my bows are handmade and because of that, each one is unique. I love using shabby flowers, fold over elastic, bright colors, and classic/whimsy color combinations. I’m a Behavior Analyst by day, Mama to Sophie, Wife, Crafting Addict and Instagram Lover. I would love for you to follow along @bittybowshop! I’m so thankful for this little shop!”
You guys know me, I love supporting creative, hardworking mamas, especially when their business was born out of their love for their baby! When I met Alexis, it was a no-brainer that I wanted to share her and her awesome shop with all of you. Here are a few of my favorite headbands that she offers:
How darling are all of those? Bitty Bow Shop offers a huge variety of headbands, bows, & clips, and they are all incredible priced ($6.50 or less for any of the above featured headbands). These would be especially beautiful for newborn photos. Alexis hadn’t opened Bitty Bows when my little lady was a baby, but I remember loving putting her in bows and playing dressup, and if Bitty Bows had existed at that time you can bet I would have been a customer sooner!
Just for fun, here’s Camryn rocking some bows as a baby…
Gahhhhhh!! Have some babies, and buy some bows people. The cuteness factor just goes off the charts!!
Alexis is generously offering a $50 shop credit to one of you, so head on over to my Instagram to enter. No reposting necessary – entry is VERY easy.
A very special thank you to you, Alexis, for teaming up with me to put this post together and allowing me to host such an awesome giveaway!!
XO – Samantha
I am so excited to introduce you all to a new shop that I’m loving – Hattan Home, an online boutique selling “treats for your home”. Let me let Lindsay, the owner, introduce herself (because I cannot possibly introduce her in a cuter way)!
Lindsay and I met on Instagram (I meet all the coolest people on IG) and she (very kindly!!) offered to send me a gift for my daughters room. Umm…yes, please!!
I can’t possibly be the only person who appreciates really beautiful packaging. Getting mail is always exciting, but when a big white box arrives full of crinkled confetti paper, a black & white spotted wrapped box inside, and the cutest cards, a girl gets a little more excited!! I feel like it’s those details and level of customer care that make me purchase from a store over and over again.
When I opened the box I found this darling Piggy Bank in Glass. There was absolutely no question that this piggy would never see pennies; a pig this cute needed a filling much more deserving, like jelly beans. Camryn and I decided that every good little sisters room contained a big sister treat jar. All those diaper changes, lullabies, and tip toeing around while little sister naps should earn a big sister something good, amiright?!
How cute is his little snout plug? You can also see the slot on top for inserting coins…I dunno why you’d ever use him for coins though when he looks this cute filled with candy!!
He was so cute that as I continued moving things around, and re-styled Harpers nursery 100 times, he kept coming along for the ride. He is perfectly whimsical, and airy, and a great layering piece on shelves, coffee tables, or sitting perched atop a stack of books.
I think I especially love him in front of this “Love Each Other” print! It’s the perfect reminder to Camryn to be a good big sister, and earn those jelly beans! If you’re eyeballing that gorgeous floral print, there will be more on that very soon!!
You can purchase your own (hand blown – whaaaat?!) glass piggy bank for just $24 at Hattan Home, along with tons and tons of other amazing home decor.
Thank you Lindsay!
XO – Samantha
We had a little rain the last few days, and Camryn and I decided to put all those puddles in our yard to good use. What fun is being 3 if you’re not getting dirty?
I love making these sweet memories with her, especially when I think of all the quality time that I won’t have just one-on-one with her in the coming months.
Her darling floral leggings are from Little Big Dreamers (available soon), and her boots are Hunter’s.
I hope your weekend was as full of fun and giggles as mine!!
XO – Samantha
I’m back with another small shop review for you – FiFi Riffles, a handmade boutique that was born after the birth of Kim’s first daughter Sophia (FiFi). After falling in love with designs by companies like Mud Pie, Kim decided to pursue her passion of owning her own retail space and creating a handmade line of girls clothing. In June 2013, Kim closed her brick and mortar store to focus her attention solely on raising FiFi and making her own line of clothing, as well as selling those items online on her website. Even in the few months that I’ve had the pleasure of working with Kim her designs and esthetics are changing, and it’s been so fun to watch her clothing evolve into what I consider more modern kid and less “ruffles”. She’s currently working on layering pieces for the fall/winter seasons, and separates, as you’ll see in my pictures.
My favorite item from her current collection is the black & white “paper bag skirt”, which you’ve probably already spotted all over my instagram feed. It literally goes with everything, and is so easy for Camryn to put on and off herself. It’s a staple, and did I mention it’s only TWELVE DOLLARS!! Run, don’t walk.
New Customers enjoy 20% off with coupon “Welcome20″
We are also loving this rusty orange scalloped infinity scarf (long enough for mama or layered on littles) for fall, priced at just $14.
Kim also sent us this darling asymmetrical dress, which is so fun for transitioning from summer to fall by layering a simple sweater, belts, and boots.
I hope you’ll all go check out more of what Kim has to offer, and give her some love on Instagram.
I’ve had a ton of interest in the brown boots Camryn is wearing – they are from Target, and I bought them during a back to school BOGO sale for $12. Craziness, I know. I wish I had bought them in every size because they are amazing!!
Hope you’re all having a great week! We’ve almost survived to see the weekend – Hallelujah! Camryn has skipped naps all week…I think she’s trying to torture me. Send tranquilizers!!!
XO – Samantha
You all know my love for handmade shops, and today I’m bringing you another great one to check out. Meet Minimoc, an ethically sourced, handmade moc company out of Vancouver. I met Amanda after seeing her mocs featured on a fellow bloggers Instagram account, and first fell in love with the color range she offered. I looked into minimoc and was so impressed with her story, and the obvious care she put into her mocs, and knew I had to try them out myself.
I chose the Robin’s Egg suede mocs in size 1 (they are teeny tiny and ADORABLE) for Harper’s first pair of mocs. I knew when the box arrived that they were going to be amazing because the packaging was so nice, and I was oh-so-right. They are velvety soft, a beautiful sea blue color, and incredibly high quality.
All of the Minimoc moccasins feature a micro-suede sole for non-slip indoor and dry weather outdoor footwear. The sole is spongy, and soft, and is great for early walkers learning balance.
Every moccasin has an elastic opening which makes putting them on/off easy for young toddlers who must do everything themselves. (I know all about that!) The elastic opening also prevents the mocs from slipping off even the squirmiest of feet.
Aren’t they darling? Harper will be coming home from the hospital in these beauties. Here’s some fun outfit inspiration featuring Minimoc’s…
Sweater: H&M // Bloomers: J Crew // Purse: Target
Onesie: Target
Sweater: H&M // Lemons Shirt: Kate & James Shop // Bloomers: J Crew // Spotted Fabric: Caitlin Wilson Textiles
Amanda currently offers 22 colors of moccasins (I’ve got my eye on ‘Piglet’), as well as leather bows, bowties, and apparel. Her moccasins are competitively priced, and you can buy with the confidence that she is sourcing from reputable tanneries with fairly treated employees.
XO – Samantha
Hello Lovelies!
I promised to update with pics from my last 2 weeks, so here goes!
Over the long weekend we took advantage of Camryn’s time off from school and went to San Antonio to a resort & spa and had ourselves a little “staycation”. They had a “river pool” that you could float around on, and Camryn was all about it. We had some cocktails (mocktails for the ladies) and lounged in the sun, ate s’mores in the evening, ran around on the golf course, and just had a nice couple of days as a family of 3.
Before leaving San Antonio, we hit the zoo. It was a mild 105 degrees out…even the animals were hiding underwater…
Those aren’t rocks, they’re HIPPOS!
Camryn and I were home for 3 days before getting back on the road to Louisiana. My mom has (very generously) been watching our yellow lab, Aly, for the last month and a half while we were traveling. She lives in North Carolina so we met halfways-ish in New Orleans to make the doggy drop/pick-up. My sister, Camryn, and I drove all the way to N.O. and back in 24 hours…my mom made an even longer trip, ALONE (she’s a rockstar), in 24 hours. We’re all a little insane. Before we left Camryn needed to be a cat, naturally.
Y’all know I didn’t leave without getting a beignet first.
Look at this happy girl!!! She’s been missed terribly. We celebrated our BFF’s (dogs) birthday yesterday, and pulled out all the stops to wish her a very happy day.
Right before our trip to New Orleans, I started getting sick. Camryn had been sick a few days earlier (Thanks for that preschool!) and of course I caught it. I also started having horrible morning sickness again. I’m gonna go into labor still throwing up, I swear it. 
My husband surprised me with these little beauties a few days ago – each gold bar has one of our daughters names on it – Camryn & Harper. I’ve had a lot of interest in where he purchased these, and the answer is Nordstroms, and they are Moon & Lola brand, but don’t appear to be available anymore. Bip & Bop do an equally beautiful version.
I ordered this amazing shirt from my girl Charisse from Pixel Paper Hearts and finally got around to showing it to y’all on Instagram. It’s quickly become my favorite, and since I ordered a unisex medium, my husband steals it too.
And what’s a post without a little bit of this cutie girl?! Some days I just look at her and think “how is it possible for you to be so damn cute? Neither your dad or I is even half that good looking!”
And these two… Harper is a lucky girl to be coming into a world where these two exist, because their love is so incredible, I just know she’ll be smooshed between them someday and be one very happy and very loved little lady!
So there you have it, my last 2 weeks in a nutshell…all the eventful stuff at least. I have about 20 posts to put together for you guys of things I’ve been adding to my list. So many awesome new products that I’m dying to share, a few DIY’s, nursery updates, pregnancy updates, bump fashion, etc. Let’s see if I can get my s#!t together soon and do those. Ha!
There’s a pretty awesome giveaway happening on Instagram today that I’m a part of, so go check that out if you’re interested. 20 girl bosses, 20 awesome prizes, 20 winners. Does it get any better? Oh, and NO reposting or tagging. BOOM!
XO – Samantha
It happened. My baby grew up while I wasn’t looking. Camryn started school yesterday, and saying I was devastated would be an understatement. I was sobbing before we even made it out of the parking lot…another mom stopped me to give me the “It’s going to be alright. It’s harder on you than them!” speach. The problem was, it wasn’t hard on Camryn at all. We barely walked into the school before she ran to her classroom and ditched me. I barely got a goodbye kiss, or an “i love you” before she was kicking me out. When did my tiny, chunky, bald baby become such an independent 3 year old who doesn’t need her mommy?
I talked her into a few pictures before we left.
Her uniform kills me.
Thanks for all the love yesterday on IG, you mamas sure know how to cheer me up! If you haven’t already, make sure you go enter the #motherofallmothersgiveaway!
XO – Samantha
