Relocating

Hello! I'll no longer be blogging at That's So City. Don't be sad, because what's in store will be 100 times better. My two sisters and I have all been blogging separately, and have decided to combine our efforts.  So, from now on I'll be blogging at Twenty Something Mama

We are a SUPER excited to start blogging together! If you like reading what I have to say, you're sure to love reading what my sisters write. We're redesigning/planning as I type, so hopefully we'll be in full blogging more come Sunday. We've decided to keep things loosely structured if that makes any sense. We'll each be posting individual posts every week and a specific day (mine is Wednesday). The other three days (we most likely won't post on Saturdays) will be posts we write together.

Please, please, please head on over to Twenty Something Mama, follow us, add us to your bookmarks, reader, blog roll or whatever, and follow along with three pretty fun, crafty, out spoken and crazy twenty something mamas.

Finished Collage Wall

Remember the collage wall in Love Bean's nursery? The two empty frames are now filled. I put our Christmas card in one of them and in the other a picture of Love Bean and the hubs. I love the completed collage!

Oh Christmas Tree

My mom made all of her grandbabies Christmas countdowns. It's a little box filled with cards with the number of days until Christmas and a little activity for that day. Stella's too little to know what's going on, but I'm having fun doing the activities with her anyway!

Our countdown box

 So far we've listened to Christmas music, watch a Christmas movie while eating popcorn, and decorated our tree. The first day we were suppose to make a bird feeder, but we skipped that for this year, and today we're suppose to write a letter to Santa. We'll probably skip that one too.

Because we've never really had room for a tree, for the past 2 years we've had a little 15 inch one that we'd set on the bookshelf. This year since we have a little more room, and we have our little Love Bean, we decided we needed to get something a little bigger. So after church yesterday, we made a Target run and bought a 4 foot tall pre-lit tree, ornaments, garland and ribbon for wrapping presents! 

Our floor lamp was taller than our tree, so we had to improvise. We covered a diaper box with some lace and set our tree on top of that. Then hubs and I hung the ornaments together. We bought bright, metallic, and glittery ornaments.

Every year I choose a theme for our gift wrapping. Last year it was golds and blues. This year, I knew that I wanted to use newspaper as the wrapping and then add big cool bows and lots of ribbon. I had so much fun wrapping, it's probably my favorite part of getting ready for Christmas. I still have some more to wrap, but I'm waiting for the mailman to deliver them.

Closet Overhaul: Part 3

I decided it was time to overhaul my closet. I've purged, assessed, created my needs list, and now it's the fun part . . . creating my wants list.

This is my original wants list—I wrote it way before even deciding to overhaul my closet. It's kind of long and vague, that needed to change. Part of overhauling my closet is being deliberate and specific with what I add.

• Skinny jeans
• Trouser jeans
• Grey jeans
• Black casual pants
• Hunter Boots
• Black sweater
• Long sleeve white t-shirt
• Knee high black boots
• Cardigans (white/gray/bright color)
• Lace dress
• New scarf (2)
• Brown leather belt
• Black belt
• Flats
• White t-shirt
• Black pumps

Here is my new and improved list. I narrowed it way down, even though the other stuff would be nice to have, these are the 4 pieces I really want to add to my closet right now.

• Black knee high boots (like these from Aldo)
• This lace dress in cream or black
• Loafers from Urban Outfitters
• A white cardigan (I found one at Old Navy)

Let Me Hold You Longer

I cry every time I read Let Me Hold You Longer by Karen Kingsbury. I told Tim, that I'm not going to be able to read it to our Love Bean once she understands that I'm crying. Seriously, it should be a illegal how sentimental this book is.

We often think about and get excited for all our babies firsts, their first smile, first bath, first laugh. But holding onto their lasts is what this book is about, the last time you hold them on your hip, the last time they tell you their going to marry you, or the last time they sleep in the bassinet next to your bed.

Yeah, that last one is happening soon in the Krenz household. She's been a little big for a bassinet for a little while, she's such a crazy sleeper she's always hitting the sides, but I'm just not ready accept she's that big already! I won't even experience most of the lasts in the book for a few years, but still it gets me bawling my eyes out every single time. 

Closet Overhaul: Part 2

I decided it was time for a closet overhaul. So, I'm following Kendi Everyday's guide to creating a working closet. I've wrote about Step One: Purge. Next it was time to assess what I have, don't have, need and want.

Step Two: ASSESS
The first stage was to take inventory of what I already have. I did this mentally, because in reality, I do have a lot of clothes. But you could literally write everything down, if that's your style. Doing this actually reminded me that I actually have like 5 blazers (something that was originally on my needs list) I'm just not in love with how they fit. So, I'm planning on taking one or two of them to a tailor and having them altered.

Then Kendi suggests making closet needs list. It's important to keep in mind these are suppose to be pieces that are considered staples in every woman's closet. NOT what you want to add to your wardrobe, that part's next. To help guide me in creating my needs list, I used Tim Gunn's list of 10 Essentials. His list includes; a blazer, classic white shirt, trench coast, a sweater, skirt, day dress, jeans, dress pants, basic black dress, and a sweat suite alternative. I did a little online browsing and found the pieces I'd like to complete my 10, well 9, since I didn't pick out a sweat suite.

I actually made this graphic before I took inventory of what I already have, so technically I could remove the blazer (1), skirt (5) and day dress (6) because I have those.

1. Blazer - From Forever 21. I like the length, color and cuffs. I already a couple blazers that I'm planning on having altered. Once that's done I can check it off my needs list.
2. Classic White Shirt - From Gap. I can't believe I don't already own a white button down like this one! They pair perfectly with a cardi and tall boots, which it pretty much what I live in during the fall and winter.
3. Trench Coat -  This one is from Sears. I love the dark khaki color and the length. Long enough to cover a long cardi, but not past the knee. I've been needing one of these for a long while. I don't have a good coat for semi warm weather. You know when you're sweating in your winter coat, but a light jacket isn't enough.
4. Sweater - I read in another place that Tim Gunn says it should be a cashmere sweater, so I went with that. I picked this cute pink henley from J. Crew. 
5. Skirt - I have a few skirts, but I love the abstract pattern and paperbag waist of this one from Forever 21.
6. Day Dress - Seriously, I want like every dress from Urban Outfitters. But I have a couple day dresses, so this one will be added to my want list
7. Jeans - I have two pairs of jeans, skinnies and flared. Neither really fit me perfectly. I need to add a pair that fit right. I used to have a pair of Real Straight Jeans from Gap, but they wore out. I LOVED them and need to get another pair. 
8. Dress Pants - I haven't wore dress pants in 2 years, but if Tim Gunn says I need them in my closet, by golly I'll pick out a pair. I went with the Salt and Pepper Columnist Pant from Express. 
9. Basic Black Dress - Note this says, basic black dress, not little black dress. I'm in love with this Ann Taylor sheath dress. And can definitely see myself wearing it to the office or even on date night. 

After your needs list, you're suppose to make a wants list, that is very specific. Much like the needs list I made. I'm working on that list, so stayed tuned for my wants in part 3 of my closet overhaul.

Thanksgiving

"I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union."

- Abraham Lincoln

In 1863 in hopes to unite the states, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday to be observed on the last Thursday of November. A day to give thanks and praise to God for all that he had provided.

The past few months, I have been trying to be more thankful day to day. I start my prayer time with prayers of thanksgiving and praise, before moving on to my concerns, needs and wants. It's cool how that can transform how you view everyday life. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I want to share with you some of those things.

• My Timmy! I'm thankful that I get to experience life's adventures with him by my side. I could go on and on, but I don't want to get all mushy. Just know he rocks!
• Our Love Bean! I'm thankful for how she has changed my life. It's not really a secret that I didn't think I was ready to be a mom and that I was worried about accepting the lifestyle changes having a baby would bring. But these last 2 months have been bliss, and I already can't imagine life without her! I think Tim and I were on our way to be becoming very selfish people, I think she came at the perfect time in our lives. I'm thankful the Big Guy upstairs has better timing than we do.
• I'm thankful for our families, who are so supportive. 
• I'm thankful that we have the means to visit said families. With gas prices, not everyone could afford to make multiple 400 mile, 8 hour road trips in a month. (round trip)
• I'm thankful the nurses and doctors God has put in my sister's and nephew Gatlyn's life. Without them he may not have even survived being born 12 weeks early. 
• I'm thankful for the fighting spirit Gatlyn has
• I thankful we have a roof over our heads and food in our bellies. 
• I'm thankful that my biggest worry right now is, how are we going to rework our schedule, budget and daycare so that I can accept an awesome internship opportunity.
• I'm thankful Tim and I found South Loop Church a year ago

What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?