Shirt c/o Conversation Pieces | Tank Top: Thrifted | Pants: Target | Shoes: Steve Madden | Scarf: Gift | Bracelet and Earrings: Won from Giveaway on Simply Bold

Here’s one of my go to weekend outfits, and let me tell you why.  First, colored denim is kind of an easy one.  It’s the hottest trend right now in pants and it’s a fun one.  I hope it’s here to stay for a bit since I’m still collecting them.  Next, the Perfect Shirt is so righteously named that way because it’s a staple in every woman’s wardrobe, I kid  you not.  I could seriously pair it with any one of my colored jeans!  Throw on a fun scarf and some jewelry to liven up the outfit a bit and voila!  It’s perfect for a casual weekend of burping, feeding, rocking Austin to sleep, going to see Avenger’s, sitting on the couch catching up on old episodes of Desperate Housewives and The Voice, and going out for my first Mother’s Day.  Yes, that’s right.  I’ll be celebrating my first Mother’s Day this year and it already started with Marvin and Austin sending me and my Mom flowers. 

What are you doing for Mother’s Day?

Make sure you spoil your mama because as a new one, I truly know all the sacrifices a mama makes for their children and they need to be appreciated!

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Today’s giveaway is brought to you by The English Breakfast, a shop full of beautiful photos and a blog full of recipes, fashion, DIYs and more!  The blog is run by Alyssa and Phoebe, while each girl has their own shop as well, how fun!  Read on to learn a little bit more about Phoebe and enter to credit towards her photos!

{MEET PHOEBE}

1) Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started into photography?
Well, I’m Phoebe, and I guess I’ve always been interested in photography. I’m that one person in a group who’s always too busy taking a photo of something to keep up with the rest.
Also, living in Turkey for two years introduces me to many beautiful things to photograph so I gained a lot of experience while living there. My other interests include acting

2) Got any photo taking tips?
Don’t be afraid to take a picture of something unusual. If it’s a sock or a doorknob that looks interesting to you, so be it. Also, it’s okay to take a lot of pictures of one thing. You can always delete some later and, who knows, you might get an amazing shot.

3) What are you looking forward to this summer?
I’m really looking forward to going to England, even though it’s not official if I can actually go yet.

4) What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
Mango!

{GIVEAWAY}

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY! Entries will close on May 17, 2012 at 12:01AM EST.
Don’t want to wait? Take 25% off your order with code SANDYALAMODE!

Dear Austin,

Week Sixteen was your Lao Ye’s last week visiting for a little bit.  You were really starting to get warmed up to him when he held you and you were sad to see him leave.  In that same week, you discovered your love for video games.  Like father, like son.  That last photo totally looks like you are saying “Hey Mommy, can you stop taking pictures of me?  I can’t see the TV screen!”

Week Seventeen was so much fun.  First, Mommy was excited that you could finally fit into your Ms. Tips Vintage onesie.  The bowtie just makes you look like a little heart breaker.  Also, you got to meet your Uncle Kevin and Aunt Jieun for the very first time!  They flew in just to see you and you were so happy.  They fed you, changed you, helped bathe you, and of course, played with you!  We hope that you will be seeing them a lot as you grow up.

P.S. The winner of the May Group Sponsor Giveaway is Nicole of This Little Momma!  Congrats girl!  Send me an email at sandyalamode(at)gmail(dot)com and we’ll get you hooked up w/ your prizes!!

Love,
Mommy

Tank: Forever 21 | Cardigan: Urban Outfitters | Jeans: Target | Shoes c/o B.A.I.T. Footwear | Necklace c/o Anna Delores | Champagne Wrap Bracelet c/o Ladyee Boutique | Other Bracelets: Forever 21

Yesterday, one of my best friends got married in Maui and oh how I wish I were there right now.  Some of my other friends that went to the wedding sent me pictures from the beach and boy was I jealous.  It’s seriously been over 7 months since I’ve even been on a plane (so crazy to think that I used to travel almost every other week).  And it’s been even longer since the last time I went to a beach or rode a cruise.  Needless to say, I’ve kind of got the travel bug right now.  I know that some people say traveling with a newborn is easy since their needs are minimal (sleep, eat, poop), while others claim to wait until your baby is older to travel.  For me, it’s the pumping (and all that goes along with it) that is holding me back.  And what’s preventing me from sleeping longer than 7 hours at a time.  At the end of this month, we’ll be taking a family roadtrip to Branson, MO, woohoo!  My dad’s got a timeshare that needs to be used up, so we said why not?

We haven’t quite decided when or where we’ll be taking our first plane trip with Austin, but I am looking forward to it when that day comes!  Hopefully we’re not the crazy parents that everyone stares at because we can’t control if our baby cries.  Sometimes a baby’s got to do what a baby’s got to do and there’s no way around it – now I finally understand why parents sometimes can’t control their crying babies on planes.  But for now, I’ll just wear necklaces with beaches pictured on them and tops with sailboats to get me through.

P.S. The winner of the Blissful Bites $40 giveaway is Mimi from What Mimi Writes!  Congrats girl!  Send me an email and we’ll get you hooked up w/ cake pops! 

P.S.S. Don’t forget to enter the May Group Sponsor giveaway and the Avon giveaway!

Do you have any trips planned?

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Today, I am super excited to introduce you to Kemi Sorinmade, a beautiful mama with an awesome shop!  Kemi is a representative of Avon and let me tell you, her shop has a variety of really neat stuff!  Beauty products, clothing items, gifts for men, baby stuff, and more!  Even better is that everything is super affordable too, yes!!  Seriously, it’s like shopping at Target, once you take a look, you won’t be able to leave without buying something!  And one of you lucky readers will get to win $50 credit towards her shop! 

{MEET KEMI}

1) Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started at Avon?
I am a full time mom who loves to do a lot of things apart from work. I run my Avon business, started blogging a year ago and I’m a singer. I started selling Avon 8 years ago when I was out of work and I’ve loved and enjoyed it ever since. It’s a great way to earn money on the side and running the business has empowered me in so many ways.

2) What are some of your most popular products?
The popular products are the fragrances, and skin so soft bath and body products. I also sell thousands of deodorants.

3) What are you looking forward to this summer?
Unfortunately, with my full time job, it’s hard to do what I really want to do during the summer but I’m looking forward to the nicer weather without the bugs and doing some fun things with kids.

4) What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
Plain old vanilla

{GIVEAWAY}

Win $50 shop credit to Avon!