Thriftfanatic of the Week & Thrifty Thursdays Link-up

**A special thanks to those of you who linked up! It was fun seeing all of your thrift finds and difficult to narrow it down to my pick of the week. **

Bridgette from Bridgette Nicole thrifted this adorable Ralph Lauren American flag sweater. I'm all about thrifting expensive name brands for a steal! I love how she styled it, you will have to go to her cute blog to see the rest of her outfit and details. I'm also jealous of her long pretty locks, I regret cutting mine after my wedding!

I wanted to clarify a few things that some readers have been asking me over the last few weeks. The items in your post DON'T have to be from a thrift store. If you scored something from the Target clearance rack and would like to share, you are more than welcomed to link up. Being thrifty doesn't always mean it comes from a thrift store (: Also your item(s) can be anything; clothes, books, home decor, etc. 

Want to be the next thriftfanatic of the week? 

Here are the guidelines for signing up:

no.1// Link up to a SPECIFIC blog post (not your home page)

no.2// Grab the button below and place it in your post, if you don't want to add the button text link is okay (I will only feature those who link up)

<a href="http://www.dearestlou.com/search/label/thrifty%20thursdays"><img src="http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e73/ceciliarawr/ttdl.png" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

I will accept submissions until Tuesday at 11:50PM MST! 

Can't wait to see all of your thrift finds (;

A Letter from Zaden

Last Wednesday I turned 2 months old. Mama thinks I'm such a character, since I recently discovered my fists and suck on them like no other. I'm full of smiles and coo's and love having conversations with my family. I'm also a champ at bubble blowing and accidentally scratching my face, ouch! That's why I can only have my hands uncovered under supervision.

I'm a very smart baby, I recently discovered that I have mama and daddy wrapped around my little finger. If I cry, mama will do anything and everything to please me. These are a few of my favorite things: mama singing me lullaby's,  mama cuddling/nursing me to sleep, seeing dad when he comes home from work, bright lights, having my toesies played with and diaper changes.

I've had a strong neck and shoulders since birth but am now a pro at tummy time. Whenever I'm resting on daddy's stomach I lift myself up and move my head from side to side for a very long time with only a few short breaks in between. I also enjoy watching daddy play his video games. After all  I am my daddy's little exploration adviser (;

Mama's favorite moment this month was when my Aunt Ti was changing my diaper on her bed and I ended up having an explosion during the process. It was also extra special because I shared my first laugh. Mama thinks it's because I must have known I was being a little stinker (;

Lace Dress and Galaxy Leggings

It's really hard to find time to blog during the day with a little one. I'm thinking that from now on I will have to get my posts ready during the middle of the night and have them scheduled for late morning. The weather has warmed up about 20 degrees this last week so even though we took these pictures in the snow I wasn't cold until about the end. 

I decided I wanted to join in on the fun mama style link up that 8 fashionable mama bloggers are hosting on their blogs this week. Each hostess shared 3 items she believes must be in every mama's closet. These are my three items:

no 1.// a pair of leggings

no 2.// a swoop neck dress or baggy t shirt

no 3.// a cute pair of booties

Since becoming a mom I don't dress up near as often and I've bought a lot more leggings. A lot of my old jeans don't fit over my new hips and I'm not sure if they ever will. So instead of going out and buying more jeans I've been buying cheap fun print leggings and maxi skirts. It feels way more put together than a pair of sweats and is just as comfy. I recently bought this pair of galaxy leggings at forever 21 last week! Unfortunately they are sold out online but I'm sure you can find some at your local store (; 

I always wear leggings with a dress or baggy shirt to cover my bum. I like my clothes to be nursing friendly so I generally look for a button up, swoop neck, or baggy shirt I can slip Zaden under. Sugarlips recently sent me this gorgeous lace dress and it was the perfect outfit to wear out on our family date! Last but not least no mama should go throughout winter without a cute pair of booties! This pair is from Lulus.com.

Outfit details: Dress, c/o Sugarlips// Cardigan, XXI// Leggings, XXI// Booties, c/o Lulus// Necklace, Charlotte Russe

Dani's Birthday Celebration

My lovely friend Dani turned 25 a couple of weeks ago and we finally had the opportunity to get together to celebrate last Friday. I took her out to one of my favorite place's Paradise Bakery and Cafe. We had an amazing time catching up and just doing our own thing. The people around us probably thought we were nuts since we kept laughing and talking about silly things (;

After dinner we stopped by Baskin Robbins to get a little treat and headed back over to my place. I rented Pitch Perfect but when we walked into the movie room, Dani noticed my DDR mats and told me she wanted to try it out. I was shocked that she had never played before and showed her the basic concepts. I guess both the tutorial and I sucked at explaining the game because she didn't get it until the fifth or sixth game and once she explained to me what she had been doing I just about pee'd myself! After a few intense games of DDR, Zaden joined us and we finally started the movie.

Simply put, it was a wonderful evening.

Aztec Print and Moccasins

Just a quick outfit post for today. We're going to the storage unit to pick up 10 boxes of pre-pregnancy clothes. I'm pretty positive I will have more items up in the shop my closet tab by the end of the week. Afterwards we're going on a family date to Olive Garden, I'm really looking forward to it. Eggplant parmesan and unlimited bread sticks.. sounds good to me (;

Outfit details: Headband, c/o Just Lovely Things// Aztec Sweater, c/o Chicwish// Sweater, Roxy// Moccasins, Minnetonka

4/52

"A portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013."

About to get his diaper changed at Great Grandpa's house

Sunday Best with Lulus.com

(Pictures from last Sunday)

I'm a bit behind on outfit posts, every time I sit down and start to blog, Zaden decides that it's either play time or nap time. Nap time at our place consists of Zaden latched on to me and cuddling and if I try to secretly de-latch the little guy, he wakes up. I've tried giving him a pacifier and that only works about 25% of the time. It's a bit frustrating at times but I honestly love spending most if not all of my time with the little guy. 

For the next couple of days, I will probably be posting twice a day so please bear with me. I also wanted to let you guys' know that I'm still reading your blogs, I haven't been commenting very much lately because of the lack of time! Once I get Zaden on some sort of schedule I will be a better at responding to emails/commenting like I use to!

Recently got this dainty mustard coat from Lulu*s and LOVE it! If you haven't already noticed, I'm a bit obsessed with the color yellow and usually incorporate something yellow into my daily outfit. The lining of this coat is floral and has me excited for Spring! This striped dress from Lulu*s is everything I expected and more. I was so excited to wear it to church last Sunday. The dress was a little bit short for bare legs so I wore a skirt as a slip underneath. I also recently bought these flats on sale at Charlotte Russe, they had a buy one get one half off on their clearance items! They are sold out of the cobalt blue online but I linked the teal version at the bottom of this post if you are interested.

Outfit details: Dress + Coat, Lulus.com// Skirt, Old// Shoes, Charlotte Russe// Necklace, Old// Lipstick, Lancome Brun Rose 

Happy Sunday friends! 

Be sure to stop by later for my 52 post (;

(Linking up here today)

Belated 24th Birthday Post

Dear Daryl,

I hope you had a very happy birthday. I know we are a little financially tight at the moment but I hope you enjoyed everything I planned. Thank you so much for supporting Zaden and I, we love you so very much.

Love, Your Lou

Goll, look at that little not bad face (;

Weekly Hangout with Nat & Dish

Since we moved back up to the Salt Lake Valley in August, Kandice and I have been trying to get together once a week. We have failed to do this for more than two weeks in a row. We were doing pretty good back in October but after Baby Z was born I didn't want to go out with a newborn and she didn't have transportation to my place. It's also much more convenient to hangout at her place since Natalie has all of her toys and food there. 

Well one of my resolutions this year is to really make the effort to get together with our dearest friends once a week and document a little bit of our fun filled afternoon on here. It's hopefully a series that will stay on this blog for the long run. It will be so fun to look back at our children playing together and seeing how much they grow. So here's one of many to come, enjoy (;

Thriftfanatic of the Week & Thrifty Thursdays Link-up

**A special thanks to those of you who linked up! It was fun seeing all of your thrift finds and difficult to narrow it down to my pick of the week. **

Sarah from Frills for Thrills thrifted this black and white striped blouse. I have been on the hunt for a similar blouse for the last couple of months but haven't found one that fits me just right. I love how she styled it with this adorable yellow star sweater from target. Sarah always dresses so cute and can you believe she had a baby back in October? I sure can't, she looks fantastic! Go stop on by her lovely site, you won't regret it (;

Want to be the next thriftfanatic of the week? 

Here are the guidelines for signing up:

no.1// Link up to a SPECIFIC blog post (not your home page)

no.2// Grab the button below and place it in your post (if you don't want to add the button text link is okay)

<a href="http://www.dearestlou.com/search/label/thrifty%20thursdays"><img src="http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e73/ceciliarawr/ttdl.png" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

I will accept submissions until Tuesday at 11:50PM MST! 

Can't wait to see all of your thrift finds (;

JMR Boutique Giveaway (CLOSED)

I'm absolutely loving this gorgeous stone necklace JMR boutique sent me last week. Lately it's been really hard wearing accessories since I feel that they get in the way of nursing, especially longer necklaces. What I love about this one is that it is so simple and doesn't get in the way at all. I'm sure once Zaden learns how to grab it will be a completely different story, but for now it's perfect.

JMR boutique is offering one lucky Dearest Lou reader an initial plate and stone necklace a $75 value. This is an international giveaway. The winner can pick the initial and stone of their choice (stones pictured on their website). I would personally get a "z" for Zaden (;

Here's a picture of an initial plate and stone necklace:

For one entry, you must:

1) "Like" JMR boutique on Facebook 

2) Visit JMR and comment below telling me your favorite item & leave some way I can contact you if you are the winner

Additional entries:

*Follow me on Instagram

*Follow Dearest Lou (in your comment let me know how you follow)

*Mention this giveaway on your Facebook, Twitter, or blog and leave the URL

Make sure you leave a separate comment for each additional entry. Thanks friends and good luck!

*This giveaway is open until January 29th @ 11:50 pm MST to ALL Dearest Lou readers. Winner will be announced on or after Wednesday January 30th. Winner will be chosen randomly using random.org.

If you have been voting for Dearest Lou thank you! 

Today is the last day to vote. 

Help me stay in the Top 15 by voting here.. just takes two clicks!