A good friend of ours was gracious enough to snap some family photos of us this particular day. What's sad is that out of all of the photos we've snapped in the last year, these were like.. the first 'official' photos we've taken. 

Uuugh... can I be honest? I really just haven't been in the mood to write. Perhaps, yet again, I haven't properly managed my time in order to remain consistent. I refuse to use the excuse I haven't had enough time. After all, we make time for the things we truly care to make time for, right?

I recently read a post from a blog that I subscribe to which spoke about people using the excuse of being busy as to why certain things are delayed or don't get done--returned phone calls, e-mails, appointments... blogging. 

I've accepted that since I've become a mom, presents for me are scarce... and that's fine. I'm grateful that people think enough of my son to buy him gifts. Imagine my surprise when my god mother pulls out a gift for me at Christmas--the super fab sweater pictured above.

Well, Happy New Year to you! I took a week off from blogging and just about all things social media related... to just be present with my family. We can get so caught up trying to remain present on social media--for people we do not know--and we can lose sight of the things that are most important. 

I was just about ready to pop... nearly fully cooked. In fact, I delivered Max exactly one month after this photo was taken, and I had just about exhausted my non-maternity wear. This was Super Bowl Sunday, and we had just left church and were on our way to watch the game.

It's officially fall in LA--winter elsewhere. Yes, the leaves do turn... yes, it's 75 degrees the week of Christmas. Speaking of which, I'm not feeling particularly Christmasy this year. There's no tree here and, Max needs not one thing. 

Let's rewind... all the way back to the early 2000s... when I purchased this sweatshirt. It's that old, yet timeless... if a sweatshirt could be considered timeless. I'd much rather prefer timeless than hoarded because after you've had an item this long--from the sweats category--it's definitely in the running for the latter.  Is it vintage yet?

The last time I had this dress on was July 2013--I was pregnant and had no clue! We found out just a few days after. This was the first time I've had it on since then; well, because it's the first time it has fit since then. 

 I can't tell you the last time I purchased anything full-price from Gap. EVERYTHING eventually goes on sale, so I exercise some self control and hold out for the markdown. These fatigues were no different. 

If you follow my Tumblr , you'll know this is my absolute favorite, favorite hat. It's been all over the world in the years I've had it ,and I plan to wear until it has no more wear in it.  It goes with everything, and living in SoCal gives me the advantage of kinda wearing it all year. 

Max puts everything he can get his hands on... into his mouth... everything. And who loves statement necklaces? Me. But having an 9 month-old constantly tugging at them gets old quickly. 

May I speak candidly for a moment a moment? Of course, I can. I've always been hesitant about going bra-less. I'm just not a bra-less type of girl--I needs me some good support, OK?  And I'm just not comfortable being the silent siren for the AC being too high.

I love clothes, shoes, accessories... that have a story. For me, there's nothing like putting on an outfit and recalling where a particular piece came from, or what I was doing at that time in my life when I purchased them. My top and shoes immediately came to mind when looking over these photos.

I do.. I hella love Oakland, and these days, it's a little harder to get home as often as I'd like.  You know how life happens and whatnot. I try not to beat myself up too much about it. There's a lot more to balance as a new mom and I have to remember to give myself credit for that.

So, I feel like I need to reintroduce myself. Besides some posts from IG, I haven’t posted any outfit photos since I gave birth in March. I have to admit, it’s challenging balancing my relationship with God, motherhood, my relationships and all the other curve balls life has been throwing my way lately.