WIWS and Other Anecdotal Things: Edited!

Annie graciously took a decent nap this morning, giving the hubby and I time to make and eat a nice breakfast before mass, and me time enough to try on about 5 different tops with this skirt. I knew, thanks to Pinterest, that big chunky sweaters are "the thing" to pair with maxi skirts in the winter, but our parish gets soooo crowded and stuffy that I try to wear easily removable layers that also don't take up the entire pew once removed. So I was putting off even attempting this sweater with the skirt, but in the end, it was the only thing that would do. Mass was crowded, as per usual, and the fake angora or whatever wool blend makes up this sweater, in combination with the body heat of a clingy 11 month old, made me promise not to try that again unless I'm willing to pass out right there in the pew.

 

Blouse: JC Penny

Sweater: LOFT

Skirt: J.Jill, thrifted

Boots: Ariat, my splurge of last winter, but definitely bought on sale!

Annie's outfit: TJ Maxx - milking it's 9 month size for all it's worth :)

 

It strikes me that this sweater would work in my somewhat limited maternity wardrobe (I carried VERY small with Annie, and so mostly just wore baggier/longer tops). At least 2 batches of Hannah's most wonderful chocolate chip cookies, combined with the ruffles on my shirt underneath, probably made some people at mass wonder if we're expecting again: alas, not yet!

 

*EDIT: If you read this yesterday, you may have heard some ranting from my corner. I just went back and edited that, because I'm afraid my "stop judging my pooch" rant sounded too "I don't want to be pregnant, so stop thinking I might be!" which was NOT at all my intent. I can be very self-conscious sometimes, and in our large and flourishing parish which we affectionately refer to as "Our Lady of Perpetual Conception" (not it's real name), I felt like everyone I know was staring at my stomach and wondering... iiiisss she? Totally not true, I know, but I vented here, and I'm sorry.*

 I missed doing my quick takes on Friday, so here are a couple random things from last week:

Sunday was Candlemas, and we had my sister-in-law and her husband over for Candlemas cake and coffee. The cake was nothing special, just a cloudless chocolate cake I had made a few weeks prior and froze, but it was pretty tasty and may become a new feast day tradition in this house. We added a little Irish crème to the whipped crème to make it extra-specially-delish, along with some raspberry sauce. YUM!

 

 

Also, we had the brilliant idea to be all traditional and leave or tree up until the last possible day of the Christmas season. Well, it was up even beyond that - I think I finally took all the ornaments and lights off on Wednesday, and check out the blanket of needles and the poor bare branches that resulted!

 

Thankfully we have wood floors so it was easy to sweep up, but we had to put Annie on "lockdown" in her high chair while we dragged the tree outside and cleaned up the mess. She's tried to eat enough needles as it is.

So, let it be known, in case there were any doubts in your mind, that Christmas trees eventually stop soaking up ANY water and will drop needles at the mere vibration of a car driving down the road. No joke. I'd be sitting silently on the couch while Annie napped, a car would drive by and ... tsssshhhhhh. Needles fell.

 

Anyway, linking up with the ladies over at Fine Linen & Purple again this week, so go show some comment love!