glimpse//a sunday afternoon

The boys and pup are napping on the bed and I'm wondering the house, not quite sure what to do with these rare moments of silent alone time. I should probably be cleaning up or cooking dinner. That would be the prudent thing to do with these cherished hands-free moments, but instead I will walk around admiring the quiet beauty of the house and my favorite sleeping creatures. Each one of them drive me crazy in their own endearing way, but oh how I love them. I'm still trying to figure out this new mom life. I assume that will forever continue--does anyone ever really figure it out? But mostly it is hard and good. I think it is very best when that fat little fairy is asleep, but am quickly reminded that isn't so, when I walk into the room and his happy eyes meet mine. He is all the better fresh from a nap.

Hashtag Momiform

If you don't find me in my trusty madewell high-risers + black and white striped tee combo, then you'll likely find me in a variety of this--a knotted tee, jersey stretch pencil skirt and my fawn design diaper bag. I like to wear this on days when I know I'm going to be running a lot of errands, so I want to stay as cool as possible and don't have to worry about crawling around on the ground all day (because pencil skirts aren't very conducive to ground crawling--believe me, i've been there and done that). Being in a skirt and a fun pair of shoes makes me feel like i've got it more together than i do--and faking it is the first step to making it, right? ha!

The fawn bag is, of course, awesome because it can have a corss over strap, but the backpack mode is really where it's at! I have one in brown and in black and they're just fab!

What's your Momiform?!

grey tee//forever21

initial necklace//barberry + lace

curls//nume wand

stretch pencil skirt//gap (on sale!)

laced booties//forever21 (sold out, similar here, here & here)

black and white organic blanket//modern burlap

wooded croissant teether//lexy pexy

diaper bag//fawn design bag

40+ of the Best Striped Tops for Under $50//When Stripes Attack

arrow necklace//watch//bag//chambray//jeans//booties

If you follow me on instagram, you saw that I recently came forth with my biggest clothing addiction--striped tees (generally black and white stripes, but sometimes i make an exception). This past week alone I wore a different black and white striped tee 4 out of the 7 days and Simon was in stripes 5 out of 7...but like I said, it's only a problem if you think it's a problem... Even with a closet bursting in horizontals, I still find myself constantly on the search for the perfect one, so here are some favorites I've found this week.

Be sure to use the arrow to scroll over to the rest of the collage, some of the best ones ended up on the second page. Oh and bonus, almost all of them are on sale! Just click on the image to take you to the site.

{Tunes on Tuesday} 80's Edition//Never Gonna Give You Up

Oh my lanta, it's been far too long since we've seen a {Tunes on Tuesday} post. This was just too good not to share, my friends. Marcus and I heard this song on the radio last week and he asked if I had ever seen the amazing music video. I had not. He was in shock--usually I'm the one showing him treasure of this caliber...when we got home and he found it, we were both in happy tears on the ground and Simon thought we looked pretty funny there laughing so hard. It's just so much goodness. So so much. Please share with us all the best 80's music video you've ever seen in the comments, I'm sure there are plenty more for us all to enjoy.

The Colorful Minimalist//Nursery Tour

I'm a minimalist at heart, so when we found out we were pregnant, I wanted to know exactly what was necessary and what wasn't. As you can see, Simon's room isn't cluttered with a lot of extras, but it's still bright and fun. This room actually used to be my craft room and I had painted the geo wall (tutorial here) long before we knew a baby would be joining the family, but once we found out, I thought it would be the perfect room for him. With a statement wall that bold, you don't need much else. I knew I definitely wanted to bring life into the room with plants, so one day while pregnant, I was roaming the isle at Michael's and I found these giant faux filadendron leaves and decided to make a mobile for above the crib. It's always a conversation piece when people come see the room. I kept the rest of the space bright and clean. It's so fun to watch him as his eyes find new things each time we're in the room. His current favorite is the world map print.

One thing I did learn quick, was that, while it's nice to prepare as much as you can before the baby comes, even the minimalist in me ended up with things I didn't really need. As I've mentioned before, we chose to bed-share with Simon, so he's literally never slept in this crib. I'm tempted to get rid of it, but I guess I may use it in the future--we'll see.

Did you end up with a bunch of extras? What am I missing that is a favorite of yours?

click on the links to shop the look:
crib//sniglar ikea (painted)

sheets//land of nod

crib pillow//themodboho

oliver mouse//hazel village

frog//blablakids

fox blanket//dwell studio

color block blanket//koko nest

shelves//handmade by husband @marcusnielson

mobile//handmade by me @ashleyanielson

floor pouf//themodboho

rug//urban outfitters

dresser//vintage

favorite all natural lotion//tubby todd

wooden teether//chewable charm

sophie the giraffe teether//here

photo board book//nowvel (use Rm1Cy8RLc for  $3 off)

trash can//ikea

world print//urban outfitters

linen curtains//h&m​

Acapulco chair//onekingslane