((handmade monday)) DIY ruffled pillow

One of my fabulous sponsors, Amy Kathryn Bags, put together this great tutorial for an adorable ruffled pillow. I'm excited to share it with you for today's handmade monday!

Cut two 19” squares of fabric for front and back panel of pillow.  Then cut four 38” x 4” pieces of fabric for ruffled edge trim.  You will also need an 18” square pillow form. Once you have all of your supplies and your materials are cut & ironed, you’re ready to start!

1. Take one trim piece and fold the short end of trim ½ ”. Fold in half lengthwise to show a folded edge at short end.
2. Sew a long stitch lengthwise .5” from cut edge without backstitching at either end. Leave about 5” of thread hanging off each end.
3. Hold one thread and scrunch the fabric gently along the thread towards the middle to get a ruffle. Be careful not to break the thread. If that happens, you must start over with Step 3.
4. Pull your fabric so it has an even gather throughout the length and so that it fits along one 19” edge of your square pillow.   Repeat four times and pin ruffles in place. Folded edge of ruffles should face the center of pillow.   Sew trim to pillow facing over the existing stitch line on ruffle.

5. Sew second panel to facing with ruffles. Make sure fabric is right sides facing each other. Sew to the inside of your existing stitch line. Do not sew almost all of one side. Just sew about 2” in from corner on the 4^th side of square. Then, turn pillow right side out and place pillow form inside case.

6. Fold and pin the fourth side together. Topstitch the opening closed (this side will preferably be the bottom on the pillow).

 How great is that? The color and fabric possibilities gets me all giddy inside. So pretty and a simple way to update a space.

love.

favorite things friday ((bumped by blanqi))

I'm thrilled to be a part of the Bumped by Blanqi blogger launch and share this great company with all of you. I know that a lot of you are moms, soon-to-be moms, or (like me) NEW moms! This post &  product is for you. Blanqi is a brand started by real moms who saw a need for moms and moms-to-be and met it. So inspiring! Here is a quick video sharing about this great new line for Target! ((turn up your sound, for the first time in my life, I wasn't loud enough!))

bumped by blanqi from kim davis on Vimeo.

((if the video won't load, click here))

Below are two links that will take you straight to the product to purchase, depending on which you need. I know that I will for sure be getting the maternity tank for my next pregnancy! I needed that support so badly with Knox, but didn't know about Blanqi until month 8. I will also say that I bought a wrap for postpartum that was $70  and it's pretty bulky, although it does it's job. $34.99 for this tank is WELL worth it and if I were to go back, I'd buy two of these instead of the compression wrap I bought. 

BUMPED by BLANQI Maternity Support Cami - $34.99

BUMPED by BLANQI Post Partum Nursing Cami - $34.99

Something I forgot to mention in the video that I think is really important is that I have a really long torso, so I almost always have a really hard time with tanks 1. being long enough and 2. not rolling up if they are fitted. This cami was not only long enough for this long torso of mine, but the only time it rolled up was when I slept in it, which is understandable ;) Needless to say, it stayed put when I wore it underneath a dress and when I wore it with jeans and a top. 

ALRIGHT, now let's get to the giveaway! One of you will win a $25 Target Gift Card AND a postpartum cami like mine in your choice of black or ivory. JACKPOT!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

love.

As mentioned in the video, I was sent this item for free but opinions are clearly my own! I'm wearing it right now and have been for almost a week straight. I TRULY believe in this product. Okay, great :) Glad we're on the same page.

sponsor highlight + giveaway (( featuring RiffRaff ))

Over the past few months, you may have noticed here on the blog and my instagram feed all the great pieces I've worn from RiffRaff, a boutique in Fayetteville, Arkansas that also sells new arrivals at 15% off, online every day. I love checking out the new items they have almost every morning while sipping my morning coffee. They also have an amazing baby section, which I could get into major trouble with..and if you are partial to your home state (who isn't?) don't miss their state love section. 

You can read more about the story behind the boutique  here. 

DISCOUNT CODE:

ohsweetjoy for 10% off

LINK LOVE:

shop // twitter // instagram // Facebook

GIVEAWAY ITEM:

Kirsten sent me two of these necklaces - one for me and one for YOU! Enter to win below :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

love.

outfit schmoutfit ((everyday casual))

Two things I need more of in my life: Texas and the beach. As I was on a walk with Knox, we stumbled upon this little spot that reminds me of both. It's  technically gravel, but it's sand-like. The pond and green grass remind me of flying kites with Chase at parks while we were dating. 

My post-partum styling//dressing tip for this week is three fold: 

1. simply do not be afraid to size up and 

2. choose things that aren't form-fitting and

3. if your legs aren't back to normal (raises hand), elevate!

Wear a neutral wedge like these gypsy wedges from blowfish to elongate them a bit. This  state love tank from RiffRaff flows away from the body just enough to where I don't feel like I need spanx or my belly bandit or my blanqi tank. 

TANK - RiffRaff

Yellow Stevie Ankle Pants - Anthropologie

Aviators - RayBan

Wedges - C/O Blowfish Shoes

Handbag/Diaper Bag - C/O Amy Kathryn Bags

What does the warmer weather make you reminisce about?

love. 

rites of passage on mother's day

I hope all of you moms out there felt loved and celebrated yesterday. I hope all of you moms who have lost little ones were able to cling to your faith and your family on a difficult day. I hope all of you who struggle with infertility felt abundant hope. 

It was a special one for me, as it was my first Mother's Day. Chase surprised me with flowers and a massage at the St. Julien and although it had nothing to do with Mother's Day, a friend gave me some AMAZING red cowboy boots from her boutique. Can't wait to come up with an outfit worked around them...I couldn't wait to wear them and wore them last night to Whole Foods and our team meeting ha! I got the sweetest cards from my parents and in-laws, got so many "Happy 1st Mother's Day" wishes from friends spread across the map and even some of y'all ((my bloggy friends)), it was warm & sunny and it just felt so surreal to be celebrating such a special day.

I had Chase take a picture to document the day and my heart melted when I looked at it. Knox really only smiles when he's falling asleep, but Chase captured this big ol' grin and it was icing on the cake to such a great day. 

I felt like yesterday was full of mommy rites of passage, too. For instance, I drank my entire mug of coffee completely cold. No hands or time to reheat it before church. Speaking of church, I was 40 minutes late, dirty hair and all... and if you know me, you know that I hate being late. BUT I went...so E for Effort? The photo above was another rite of passage too -- you aren't looking your best, but your kid looks so darn precious that you post it anyways. Welcome to mommyhood, Kim. I just talked to myself. Add that to the roster while we're at it.

I think the most special one was when I got up to feed Knox at 2 AM. He ate, was still a little bit awake...so I swaddled him and rocked him. I try to rock him for 5 minutes and then put him right down but it was one of those sweet moments that I just wanted to soak in. It was pushing 3 AM and I, of course, needed to sleep but as he snuggled against me, cooing and keeping me warm I couldn't help but take it all in for way longer than 5 minutes. I sat there, with the nightlight illuminating the room from behind me, watching the shadow on the wall of us in the rocker go back and forth, feeling his tiny breaths, smelling his shampooed fluffy hair, snuggling my precious little one tight knowing that He is a gift that I can't take for granted for one second. 

These moments won't last forever, but I have to be able to look back and know that I soaked them all in as much as I could - whether it's captured in photograph form or not AND whether it's during the day or at heinous hours of the night. Sometimes I think those moments not able to be captured on instagram are the ones most cherished. The ones that feel like a warm blanket on a cold night. The ones that keep you from taking life for granted. The ones that perch on your soul and remind you of God's grace, His goodness, His loving kindness and His endless mercy. 

What a gift motherhood is. I never imagined it could be so sweet.

love.

outfit schmoutfit ((maxi skirt + shirting + kangaroos?))

It's a miracle! I'm back and had time to not only fix my hair & make-up but get dressed and take 7.5 minutes to take photos! 

Every time I post a photo on instagram recently, I get a few "you don't look like you just had a baby" comments. While those are entirely nice & flattering things to say and are much appreciated, just know that being a personal shopper ((and a woman who loves styling)) gives me a few tricks up my sleeve that helps me disguise problem areas in a ((hopefully)) effortless way. I'm going to try to focus on a postpartum styling tip each time I do an outfit schmoutfit for a little while, but hopefully the outfit inspiration will be relevant whether you have a mama pouch to disguise or not. For the record, I love calling it a mama pouch because it reminds me of kangaroos and kangaroos are the only animal I don't mind being compared to. They stand tall, are pretty darn cute, I love that they have a little pouch for their babies & I secretly think they're the inspiration behind baby wraps ;) Okay, this post isn't about kangaroos, y'all.

Just a few weeks after you have your little one, you should be able to see your natural waist come back little by little. In order to hide the little bump you have remaining, wear a maxi skirt that flows down and takes the eye away from your midsection. For extra help, use the shirting trend to your advantage by tying a chambray button down or a fun button up blouse at the your waist to accentuate that you still have your figure! This top is such a great layering piece, by the way. A statement necklace also helps to draw the eye up and disguise if your ((ahem)) knockers are larger than anticipated and pulling at a button or two. Not that this happened to me or anything. *wink*

Floral blouse: c/o ever.mi + crush

Maxi Dress: c/o RiffRaff

Necklace: Francesca's

Shoes: DSW

Lip color: "Reef" c/o Radiant Cosmetics

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pile of goo

I can't get over the little moments like these that steal my heart. Who knew tummy time & one little ((big)) smile could melt me into a pile of goo?

love.