MY POSTPARTUM BODY

It has almost been a year since I gave birth to Levi, and I wanted to share an update on how my body has changed in hopes it brings encouragement and a real perspective to motherhood. Being someone that is entrenched in social media, I often see other moms or celebrities "bounce back" within six months to their pre-baby bodies. Not me. It takes me longer, and it takes the majority of people longer than six months. 

This is my second pregnancy, and both of my pregnancies I gained 35 pounds. I lost that baby weight gradually over the course of a year. Back in March, I shared pictures of my body taken 4 months post-partum in size 12 pants and weighing 148 pounds. I'm now wearing size 8 pants and I weigh 134. You can see a side by side above.

My pre-pregnancy self was 127 wearing size 4, but I was also working out three times a week at the gym. I have not been able to exercise at all since the birth of Levi because I have had a flair up of arthritis and my Hashimotos disease has caused my thyroid to get out of whack. We are still working on finding the right dosage to reduce the inflammation in my body, but once I'm pain free I'll get back to the gym. 

But regardless of working out or not, these are just numbers and pictures. How do I really feel about myself? Do I feel normal now? 

I feel great about myself now, and, yes, I feel normal now. I finally feel like I can invest money in clothes I love and not just wear a cheap postpartum wardrobe from Target. I don't find myself self-conscious about my stomach anymore. I also feel confident to wear a swimsuit again. (Below, is an un-edited picture of me 9 months postpartum.)

Is there room for improvement? Of course, but muscle tone is totally different than just simply wearing clothes that feel like you and being in sizes that feel "normal" to myself. Can I wear all of my old clothes yet? Nope, but I'm not discouraged by that. It takes time my friends, and it will take more time for me. Give your bodies grace. It took a year to grow a human and it takes a year to feel and look like yourself again. And it may take even longer than that (like me) to get back to your pre-baby self. I just want to tell you that it's NORMAL. What's not normal is getting back to your pre-baby body in six months or less. That's amazing! Congratulations to the women that can do that, but it's not the norm. Don't put that pressure on yourself.

Be patient and realistic with your body. In time you will feel like yourself again, and in the meantime, pat yourself on the back for creating a beautiful baby.

Photos by Rennai Hoefer. All photos of my body are un-edited to give an accurate depiction of my body.

SIMPLIFY YOUR LIFE

Life is hectic. There's no way around it. However, there are ways to majorly simplify and streamline your life. Did you know that this week (August 1-7) is National Simplify Your Life Week? Well, it is! Why not use this as an opportunity to do just that? In classic style, I turned to Pinterest to find some simplifying life hacks that I'd like to share with you. 

• Pare down your wardrobe using the helpful 4 pile strategy and get in the habit of picking out tomorrow's outfit before you go to bed each night. This DIY copper pipe clothing rack is the perfect place to set aside your options for the day! 
• Give this article a read and choose a few new things to try. I've found #22 to be super helpful for work related tasks. 
• Take advantage of these kitchen shortcuts and timesavers. 
• Set aside some time this weekend to tackle one of these DIY organization projects! Your efforts will pay off in the long run. 
• Have kids? Implement a new chore chart system to get some help with those daily bothersome tasks. Not only will things start getting done around the house, but it's also a great way to teach responsibility. And you'll also have time to try these mom hacks while you're at it. 
• Pick up a few of these handy kitchen gadgets to make cooking a breeze. 
• Hang this laundry cheat sheet next to your washer and dryer so you never have to question what the little symbols on your tags mean or how you're supposed to get wine out of that blouse. 

SUMMER READING

I am finally catching on some summer reading thanks to the best app discovery around, Texture. I have partnered with Texture to share this new life hack with you, and you really are gonna have your mind blown...Ready?...

What if every single magazine you subscribed to could be in one app, and you would only have to pay $9.99 for all of them? I don't know about you, but I have stacks of magazines all around my home that have gone unread for months. That's wasted money in my opinion, but I always tell myself I'm going to get around to reading them so I keep my subscriptions. The problem isn't because I don't have time to read them, it's because I spend my time on my iPad and scrolling through Instagram, blogs and Pinterest instead. However, I'm still missing out on my what the fashion authorities from Vogue are talking about or the latest beauty trends are from Allure.

Enter Texture - a game changing app that has all of my favorite magazines in one place on my iPad. Every magazine that you see on a news stand is on Texture and you can access them all for only $9.99/month. 

My favorite feature is that you can download these magazines so that you don't need to use WIFI to read them. It's the perfect travel companion on a long flight. No more shopping at airport news stands! You better believe I'll be doing this next week when I go to Atlanta. Plus, being paperless helps the environment. So, go try it and thank me later! GAME CHANGER!

Photos by Rennai Hoefer

BEFORE & AFTER: LIVING ROOM REVEAL

This post is sponsored by World Market. All opinions are my own. 

We are coming up on our 1st anniversary of living in our new home, and I can honestly say it feels like our home now. After transforming the bedrooms (master, girl room, nursery and guest room), updating the kitchen, and sprucing up the dining room, we have finally completed our living room and truly made this house our own thanks to Cost Plus World Market. It's arguably the space with the most transformation because we had to fill in a sunken in room with 10 inches of gravel and 2 inches of concrete.

Formal living rooms are usually wasted spaces in homes, but I was determined to make ours one worth living in. After-all, you pay good money for that real estate. I'd love to share with you the elements that I included to make this space one that we would use often. But first, let's see the ugly before pictures so you can see how UN-livable the space was.

This house was built in 1993, and hadn't been updated since it was first built. Sunken in living rooms used to be a popular design element, but not anymore. Not only does it chop up the space, but it's not easily accessible. The banisters made the living room feel secluded from the rest of the house.

Eek! But, the reason we bought this house was that it had great bones and tons of potential. So, after filling in the living room with concrete to make everything level with the rest of the house, stripping off the banisters, painting the walls white and adding wood floors we had a beautiful blank slate to work with. 

The first element I made sure to include in our livable living room was plants. Having living things in your spaces makes you come back and care for them. Plants also provide oxygen, and with these tall windows, it was the perfect home for them. I love the popular design trend of using macrame planters, and I used them to bring the eye upward and fill in the empty space above (made by Sonora Handmade). I also made sure to have several plants on the ground to even out the green. My favorite "planter" is this geometric brass wall art from World Market. I decided to use it to host several air plants and add some interest to an empty wall.

The second element was creating a conversation circle with furniture. We already had a shag rug, vintage rug and a mid-century coffee table to start. So, those elements kicked off the inspiration for the space. Having enough seating for our family and guests is important. Our previous home didn't have a formal living room, so we purchased additional furniture for this space. I fell in love with this blue velvet sofa from Cost Plus World Market. It was unique and it married my dining room and living room perfectly with the color. We added two mid-century style leather chairs, and placed fuzzy throw pillows on them for texture.

To separate the chairs, I found the perfect mid-century style accent table at World Market that had hair pin legs, and then I found a brass mid-century table lamp to to with it. I love the unique bubble shape and marble base.

Good lighting is important for conversation. This room had plenty of natural light, but at night we needed something more than just a table lamp to illuminate the room. I spotted a cool wooden tripod floor lamp at World Market and grabbed a linen lamp shade to keep with the soft elements of the room. It was exactly what we needed.

The third element to our livable space is including inspiring art. For my birthday, my mom let me have a painting I had grown up with in my childhood home. It just so happens to be my favorite piece of art because of the memories I have staring at the colors and texture. It makes me so happy when I look at it every day.

This room has become my favorite space in the house. It's cozy, modern and inspiring, which are all of the elements that make me was to live in a house. You can shop the room below, and head on over to World Market STAT because that are having a big living room sale. Many of the items from this room are from their latest Naturals collection and on sale, so go quickly!

Shop the room:

Photos by Rennai Hoefer

SUMMER STAYCATIONS IN PHOENIX

Travel can be tricky with two kids under the age of 3, and navigating an airport with little ones is often more of a headache than a vacation. That's why I love taking advantage of the beauty of our own backyard and embracing staycations. Arizona is known for it's beautiful resorts, and you can score MAJOR discounts on rooms during the summer months. Yes, it's mostly because no one is crazy enough to travel here in this heat... but considering we're already here regardless, we might as well take advantage of the deals. Ha! No matter what kind of staycation you're in the market for, you'll find it below.

If you're wanting...

A great pool for the kids: Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak from $103

A trendy girl's weekend: Hotel Valley Ho from $79 (20% off) 

A swanky Scottsdale getaway: Fairmont Princess from $119 (61% off) 

A romantic experience: Royal Palms from $169 (15% off) 

To be pampered: Sanctuary on Camelback from $167 (20% off)

To golf: Scottsdale Links Resort from $79 (60% off)

To explore downtown: Hotel Palomar from $132

Photo by Michelle Herrick