Motherhood: What I Wish I Knew Then, Part 2

Today I'm continuing the second part of my "What I Wish I Knew Then" series, talking about what I've learned during my first year of motherhood and what I didn't expect before I gave birth. To read Part 1 you can click here.

Life, Lately

Hi! It's Marie, remember me? I used to blog ; ) I realize it's been quite awhile since my last post, (like a looooong time) and I've missed writing and sharing and connecting with you guys here. So I thought I'd post about what I've been up to lately. My son Miles is now 10 months old! I can't believe it. He's such a happy little dude. These are some photos taken by Ashley Champagne when he was 6 1/2 months old.

Family Photo Session With Fiddleleaf Photography

A couple of weeks ago my little family and I had the pleasure of working with local lifestyle photographer Kelly Marleau from Fiddleleaf Photography. I had actually met Kelly when I was pregnant, a few weeks before I gave birth. After following each other on social media and deciding we just had to work together, she came over to my house with coffee from Starbucks to meet my husband and I and check out the lighting in our house for the shoot, which wouldn't happen for another month or so, after baby decided to make his appearance ; ). This time was also spent getting to know one another. Kelly has such great energy and is super talented so I was really looking forward to our photo session with our brand new son! Here are some images Kelly took that day.

Introducing My Son + My Birth Story

Gosh it's been so long since I last blogged, over two months ago! I have a good excuse though: I had a baby : ). A baby boy who we named Miles John. He was born on March 23rd at 12:30 a.m. (10 days late) weighing 7 lbs 15 oz, measuring 22 inches long. Since then life has been a whirlwind and a blur. All my focus has shifted to this little miracle and I haven't had any spare time to sit down and blog until now. So I apologize that this official announcement is so late! Better late than never though, right?? 

Since today is Mother's Day I thought it would be fitting to share with you the moment I became a Mama (above) and my birth story, for those of you who are curious how Miles entered the world. (It wasn't ideal.) So here goes!

9 Months Pregnant: An Update

I can't really believe I'm 9 months pregnant, it seems like just yesterday I was in the early stages of my pregnancy puking my guts out every morning. Time has really flown by quickly! This will be my last preggo update before the baby comes. (!!)

Goodbye 2015

I don't know about you but I have never been so excited to enter a new year. 2015 was horrible and beautiful all in one.

BIG NEWS!

I can't believe it's been over two months since I last posted. I am so sorry I've been absent from the blog, this is the longest I've gone without writing since starting Marie a la Mode five and a half years ago. But I have a really good excuse!

Mexico Travel Diary

I'm sorry I took a little hiatus from the blog! I have a good excuse for not posting though, I was on my honeymoon in beautiful Cabo San Lucas, Mexico ; ). It was a very late honeymoon (we got married last September) but better late than never! We decided to go to Cabo because we heard it was absolutely beautiful there and we'd never been before. I wanted the weather to be perfect and it didn't disappoint - there was no rain and we enjoyed clear blue skies and the hot sun every day. It was also a short flight to get there (less than 5 hours)! I took a ton of pictures and wanted to share some with you guys!

My California Travel Diary

Besides getting hitched in California, we also had time for a little vacation fun and I thought I'd share my travel diary with you all. I LOVE California, it's my favorite place in the world, I think I may have lived there in a previous life or something because it always feels like home to me when I visit! I love the sunshine, the palm trees, the warm weather, the ocean, the healthy food, I could go on and on and ON. But I won't, instead I'll just explain some of these photos ; ).

Clockwise starting from the top left-hand corner: After landing at LAX we rented a car and drove to Santa Barbara. We stopped in Malibu on the way for lunch and unfortunately I didn't run into Cindy Crawford again like I did last time : (. , palm trees in Montecito, my favorite green juice from Pressed Juicery (it's so good!), D. after we picked up our marriage license at the Santa Barbara Courthouse.

More palm trees (I'm obsessed!), enjoying the sunshine with our friends at Butterfly Beach, my bridesmaids the morning of my wedding walking around the Four Seasons Biltmore (which we did not stay at, but we pretended we were guests at tee hee), hanging out by the pool.

We had a beach day the day after the wedding with all of our friends and family, which was so much fun! The next day we took a drive through the Santa Ynez Valley, that's me at the Santa Cruz County Fair (which was closed, we were there too early), another photo from the fairgrounds. This is where "The Lost Boys" was filmed so we had to stop!

After we left Santa Barbara D. and I drove North up the coast to San Simian where I almost drove our rental car off the cliff because I didn't put it in park (oops) and then through Big Sur (that's the top right-hand photo) which was absolutely beautiful! We stayed in Carmel which is just outside of Big Sur and went to a vegetarian restaurant one night in Pacific Grove called Julia's, it was the best vegan food we've ever had! And it was funny because the host was also the server AND the chef, it was a one-man band! Last photo is of my handsome new hubby driving, on our way to San Francisco ; ),

The Golden Gate Bridge! My cousin Lisa and I. She lives just outside of San Fran and I'm so happy we got to spend time with her and her lovely hubby! They took us on a tour because D. had never been there before so we got to see Mrs. Doubtfire's House which made me happy but sad, too. (RIP Robin Williams.) And then we took in the sight of the houses that you see at the beginning of every "Full House" episode, they're called the Seven Sisters except my photo only shows 3 of them ; ). Couldn't fit them all in!

Like every vacation, ours was too short but we're planning to take an official honeymoon when it's -30 degrees and miserable here, in January or February, somewhere hot!

Thanks for reading! And thanks for all your comments in my last post, you guys are the best!

xo

A Little Note

Hi guys. I'm sorry I've been absent from the blogging world the past couple of weeks.The reason for my little break is because a week and a half ago my Uncle passed away unexpectedly and it has shaken our tight-knit family to its core. I just need a little time to grieve and comprehend what has happened. I will be back to blogging very shortly though, I promise.

In the meantime I wanted to share a very cool photo with you. My Uncle's son, my cousin Glen, took this photo the morning my Uncle passed. He died in his favorite spot - at his beautiful home he shared with my Aunt at the lake, before the sunrise. This was his view. And if you look to the right of the photo, there's a blur, do you see that? I'm a very spiritual person and I believe that is my Uncle's spirit : ). I know he's watching over us and that gives me comfort.

Thanks for your understanding, I will be back soon.

xo

Life, Lately

I'm sorry I haven't been posting on a regular basis lately, life has been crazy busy for me. In a good way, though. I promise to return to regular scheduled programming soon! ; ) For now, here are some photos and little blurbs on what I've been up to recently!

Clockwise starting from top left: I recently hosted a fashion show at French Connection's re-location party at West Edmonton Mall. It was so much fun! I love, love, LOVE their clothes. Jaclyn and Suzy from Girls Club DJ's provided the music for the event.

In October I had the pleasure of styling the gorgeous Up99.3 radio host Kari Skelton for Glow Juicery and Barre Body Edmonton's Grand Opening. Her outfit, which I found at Bamboo Ballroom, was auctioned off for charity and ours went for the highest bid!

This month I've also been wedding dress shopping, I went to four places and I finally found The One! It's nothing like what I thought I wanted! Funny how that happens once you actually start to try dresses on ; ). We have also set the date for our wedding. I don't want to give away too much because we haven't told all of our family members yet but the actual ceremony will not be held in Canada, we'll be going away but we'll come back home and have a big party afterwards. I'm very excited, we are getting married in less than a year! So I've been planning, planning, planning.

Just some pictures of my cat. You know, cause she's my baby and I think she's the cutest thing ever.

Last month I filmed a short film at the Hotel MacDonald called 'Voila.' We shot in the middle of the night in the same hotel room that the Queen, The Rolling Stones and Sting stayed at when they came to Edmonton so that was very cool. The story takes place in 1969 and the wardrobe was so fun! I had a great time on set, the director, the cast, the crew, were wonderful. I think it's going to be a really cute film and can't wait to see it once it's edited. (That's the talented and dapper Ryan Parker in the photo with me.)

We got a HUGE dump of snow a couple of weeks ago. I wasn't happy. This is why you haven't seen any outfit posts on my blog in awhile, the weather was the sh*ts but now it's nicer out thank goodness.

My nephews! Total farm boys, they are. Cowboys, too.

I am training to be a Barre Body Instructor, I did my training this past weekend in Calgary. I love the method so much (and have seen great results) so I wanted to be able to teach it, along with teaching Pilates. I love sharing my passion for fitness with others so I'm really excited for this new journey! P.S. My butt's never been so sore but has never looked so good. HA!

Our first fire of the season at home! A fire place comes in real handy, especially when it's -30 degrees outside which is ridiculously cold yet normal for Edmonton winter weather. 

I hope you're all having a great week!

Lately...

Clockwise starting from top left: 1. Nicole Campre's A/W 2013 show at Western Canada Fashion Week. 2. More of her gorgeous designs. 3. I was featured in this month's Where Magazine along with my friends Janis and Vickie. 4. I had a goal of doing Yoga 3-4 times a week (and I was meeting it!) but last week my hip came out of place and now it's off to physio I go! : (

1. I bought a Breville juicer! I love the juice I make but it's a pain in the ass to clean! But it's so worth it. 2. I received skincare from GM Collin and Yonka, I'll be doing reviews of both lines so stay tuned! 3. Funny story about this shovel: My 4 year old nephew had scribbled on his parents' garage with permanent marker so to hide it, he put a snow shovel over the graffiti. Smart kid! 4. Breakfast for dinner!

1. Breakfast Television (click here to read more about it and see the clip.) 2. Wearing my Zara necklace for Western Canada Fashion Week. 3. With my friends Janis and Jessica at Malorie Urbanovitch's A/W 2013 fashion show last week. Click here to see my coverage. 4. Malorie's beautiful designs.

My silly cat, Prints Whiskerson Sultenfuss The First. Such a weird, feisty, at times hostile and vicious yet lovable, silly and cuddly furry creature! Basically, she's schizophrenic. I'm 100% serious.

Have a great long weekend and Happy Easter!

Comfy Casual

boyfriend jeans - KUT (from Black & Bold), tank - H & M, shoes - Converse, handbag - Christopher Kon (from Winners), star necklace - Loft 82, other jewelry - H & M, sunglasses - Clearly Contacts

I'll let you in on a little secret: as much as I love dressing up and putting on a cute dress and heels, I enjoy dressing down even more. This is a typical weekend outfit for me. Jeans, a tank, comfy shoes - in this case my new slip-on Converse sneakers - and minimal jewelry. I wore this on Saturday while babysitting my nephews for the day with my Mom. (Thanks Mom for taking these pictures!) I have to dress comfortably when my day is spent crawling on the floor, playing in the park and racing up (and rolling down) hills. That little boy in the photo with me is my 4 year old nephew Kayden, who wanted to pose with his Auntie Ree ; ). I can't believe he's four years old already and starting pre-school tomorrow! Time really does fly. It zooms! He now weighs almost half as much as I do and his head is bigger than mine. (I measured.)

How was your weekend?

The Best $10 I Ever Spent

dress - H & M, shoes - Target, purse - c/o J. Crew, ring - H & M

Happy Monday! (As happy as a Monday can be, right?) I hope you all had a nice weekend! Mine was pretty good but of course went by waaaaay too fast. Thank goodness we have a long weekend coming up. On Saturday night I slipped into this fun, floral dress I bought months ago for $10 on sale at H & M (yes, ten bucks!!) but had never worn up until this past weekend when I went to dinner with my family. We went to Chop Steakhouse to celebrate my Grandma's 90th Birthday. I've mentioned before that I'm a vegetarian so you might be wondering, "What the heck does a vegetarian eat at a steakhouse??" Well, I'll tell you!

I started off with spicy cashew snap peas...

For my main dish I had a chicken apple salad with toasted pecans  (minus the chicken) and I finished off with a....wait for it, wait for it..

...delicious baked apple pie with vanilla ice cream that I shared with my sister-in-law. It was amazing! We all walked out of the restaurant with food babies in our tummies. D. had twins, he could hardly move.

My nephew Kayden and my grandma after she blew out her candles. She looks great for ninety years old, hey???

Have a great week! And don't forget to enter my So Pretty Jewelry international giveaway for a chance to win a $100 gift card! 

Life, Lately

Clockwise starting from top left: my new Aldo purse, get it here

Fabulous new booties c/o the new Doc Marten store in West Edmonton Mall

Trying out some new makeup and taking a picture of myself in said makeup

I found Kitty hiding in our closet during a loud thunderstorm, on top of D.'s clothes

A friendly squirrel at my family's cabin eating out of my mom's hand

Outfit post wearing my new dress from Loft 82

My nephews' new kittens. How cute are they??

My older nephew playing in the mud at the farm, without a care in the world!

Awkward family pet photo for #felinefriday

Styling Rena Donaldson

On a boat yesterday right before it started raining

Relaxing at the cabin

all photos via instagram @mariealamode

I hope you all had a great weekend!

MEXICO 2012

Sunset on the beach

All you really need in Mexico: beer, real salsa and real guacamole made right at our table

Holy Margarita

Surf's up in Sayulita

I made a friend : ) Except she almost bit my fingers off when I tried to pick her up

Downtown Puerto Vallarta wearing my $5 sunglasses from Forever 21 and a super-comfortable T by Alexander Wang maxi. My naturally curly hair was out of control thanks to the humidity!

I love old churches and the history behind them

Sand art along the Malecon in P.V.

Frida! And friends.

Creepy bracelets

Cheesy couple photo on the beach on Las Caleta's, a private island you can only get to by boat. 
And by boat I mean a booze cruise full of retired women getting sh*t-faced.

Fire show!

The pool at our hotel. We stayed at Dreams Villamagna in Nuevo Vallarta. I highly recommend it!

Practicing 'Safe Sun.' (Last two photos taken via Instagram)
(Roots hat, $6 sunglasses from Forever 21)

Unedited sunset photo

I hope you're all having a good week!