Happy New Year 2019!

Happy New Year 2019, friends! The year 2018 flew by in a beautiful blur full of some of the most incredible moments of our lives. From beginning to end, it was filled with many amazing firsts and the joy of experiencing our new life together. The blog here may have been a little quiet most of the time but let me tell you that our lives were FAR from quiet!

Today marks week #39 of our pregnancy! It has been a wonderful experience and I feel quite spoiled that it has been, overall, such an easy one for me. Baby seems quite content to be hanging out on the inside still and that's just fine by me---I'm SO excited to meet our little one whenever it chooses to arrive but I'm 100% good with whenever that timing might be!

In celebration of the new year, and 39 weeks of pregnancy today, I'm sharing with y'all a few favorites from our winter photo shoot with my friend Hannah of Hannah Elise Photography. If you've followed me for any amount of time, than you've heard me talk about Hannah-she's taken a large majority of the various professional pictures of myself on here, and she is not only an incredible photographer but also a dear friend. She gifted John + I this photoshoot as a gift at our wedding time (it was originally intended for engagement pictures but that didn't end up working out, so maternity photos later on it was!) When we were in Iowa for Thanksgiving the end of November, she fit us in for a session, and in spite of the cold weather she got amazing pictures as always! 

Enjoy!

Happy New Year from us to you!

-Chels

Maternity Skirts + More from The Inherit Company!

Today I am excited to be collaborating with  The Inherit Company! Some of you may remember me talking about their brand before; they were previously the Skirt Outlet. The company was purchased/relocated a short while ago and the new team has done an incredible job with taking their business to a whole new level!

Their clothing has always impressed me with it's high quality, and the maternity line was no exception. The skirt I'm wearing in this post is the Remi Khaki Maternity Skirt (26" length in the light khaki color)and it is lovely. Awesome quality, professional fit, and so comfy. I personally have preferred the drop waist/under styling for my skirts/pants/leggings during my pregnancy, and so I absolutely LOVE the waistband on this skirt-a wide elastic band that fits perfectly under my ever-growing baby tummy. =)

I normally wear a size six or an eight and after reading the reviews on their website I decided to size with the larger one. It fits very well and I am quite happy with it!

From now until January 5th (that's the whole next week!) you can get 10% off your order at Inherit Co by using my coupon code Chelsy10 . This is for ANYTHING in their store, maternity or not!

I also have two other items from the Inherit Co-a burgundy maxi skirt that I wear ALL the time, and a floral maxi dress that I've had for several years now. Both are excellent quality and so comfortable. Thus far, with three items from this brand, I have been very happy with each and so can recommend their company highly to y'all! I only collaborate with brands/stores that I trust and use, and this one comes with my full stamp of approval!

Additional outfit details:

Navy/Mustard floral maternity top: $8.99 from Burlington 

Cream Lace Sweater $7.99 thrifted, similar here.

Mustard cowl scarf: gift from a friend, similar here.

Cream Boot Socks: bought years ago, similar here.

Tan cowboy boots: from Mexico several years ago. (can't find anything similar!)

Remi Khaki Maternity Skirt: The Inherit Company! Save 10% on your purchase with my code!

Happy shopping + styling! 

-Chels

Fall Highlights

We started off September with attending the wedding of a dear friend of mine, in Hutchinson. It was a beautiful day and I loved getting to introduce my husband to a whole different set of my friends that he hadn't met before.

This girl is such a gem and I am so thrilled for her and her new husband to be! 

Side note: she sewed her own dress, as well as the bridesmaids dresses, with layer upon layer of gorgeous chiffon, and they were stunning!

Also, whilest speaking of clothing...=) A number of you who saw this picture when I posted it on instagram, asked about my dress. It is the Mikarose Miranda dress and actually not maternity, but is working great thus far to accommodate the growing belly situation!

 You can buy it here in floral options.

The day after the wedding, we had company from Alaska! It was such a treat to have these dear friends in our home for a brief visit before we all headed to Iowa for Turning Hearts + Family Camp.

The second week in September found us in Iowa, helping with week one of my family's Annual Family Camps. I missed the volleyball court this year but the sacrifice was worth it for baby. =)

John did a great job as MC for the arm wrestling competition. His running commentary of questions + humor kept everyone in stitches!

I loved spending time with my family while in Iowa for family camp. 

Thrift shopping with my sis in love. She and I share the same love for a good bargain!

Lots of soup cravings for this mama to be. =)

Storytime with the nieces + nephews. And a wild game of hide + seek in the dark, after that. 

He's gonna make such a good daddy!

Hanging out with these dears while our men were gone on business trips.

We are making our own kombucha now! I feel so domestic and healthy with all these bottles of yummy fizz setting on my counter and in my refrigerator!

Celebrating this girls sweet sixteen party with her!

Date night @ Saltgrass while on a trip through Colorado Springs.

Our latest addition to our backyard is a lovely little firepit! 

We had all the family over for a last minute s'mores party!

I loved these beautiful fall colors I got to enjoy on my morning walks!

This little man got to enjoy a shopping trip with his mama + I. =)

My hardworking husband replaced the remaining four windows in our house. Little by little we keep making progress on our home and I couldn't love it more!

We drove two hours to Bethany MO to attend one of my families concerts.

I never get tired of hearing them sing!

Spending time with Wallace!

Mom and the three littles returned with us to spend a week in Kansas! We had such an awesome time.

We cooked out one evening.

Another day, we took our Iowa Bontrager fall donut making tradition and started it at my house in Kansas! 

Smiles and powdered sugar noses!

Also, you can buy your own apron like Rebecca's, here, and one similar to mine, here. 

I invited over the ladies + littles in my new family to enjoy the yumminess with us!

There is just nothing like homemade donuts, let me tell you!

Hudson turned the big thirteen during the visit, so to celebrate I took him and the ladies to the nearby Cabelas, which has a phenomenal array of top notch animal displays. He was in heaven!

Doing nails with the sisters.

Guests from Iowa! I have been SO blessed by all of my friends who let us know when they are traveling through our area, and stop to either join us for a meal, or spend the night, or both! Such a blessing to stay connected with my friends in this way.

There's just nothing like a clean kitchen. One of my very favorite things!

Picking apples on the first day of fall.

John did the climbing and got the ones out of reach!

A crockpot full of apples ready to be made into applesauce!

Spikeball with the siblings!
The nieces and I were the happy cheerleaders. 

Supporting the sisters + nieces for their annual Operation Christmas Child fundraiser breakfast! 

Met up with my mom and some of the girls for the day at a friends' home in Des Moines. We had a lovely brunch together and enjoyed a little shopping. 

Wedding time again, with my favorite guy. So fun to see so many of our friends find their "forever" this year! 

So good to see these girls again during our time in Oklahoma!

Girls night with my sisters in love one night while John was gone on a trip. Homemade pizza, salads, hot tea, and biscotti made for the perfect evening together! 

The mugs are these lovely ones-given to us as a wedding gift.

I'll end with this shot from a gorgeous evening we enjoyed along the nearby river. So peaceful + beautiful!

And those are a few favorites from memories made this fall! 

Happy weekend!

-Chels