Category:

Motherhood

Diamond Necklace // Caviar Diamond Ring and Caviar Beaded Ring // Love these earrings and These elegant beaded pearl earrings // Two Toned circle diamond bracelet


As a mom, I can’t wait to give my daughters my favorite LAGOS pieces—timeless treasures they’ll cherish just like I do. It’s not just about adorning myself; it’s about passing on a story of elegance and beauty they’ll proudly carry on. Shop my favorites for Mother’s Day and beyond below.

“Do all things in love” I Cor 16:14

I don’t know about you, but I’m in a super busy season with a teen – 15 year old and 4 year old. It is becoming harder and harder each day to get a lot accomplished. My older two need me more mentally and spiritually, the younger 3 need me more physically. Both are demanding. Three ways I can encourage you is this, to remember that you are seen, you will miss these days, and lastly, remember to ask God for help, patience, guidance. Also, besides a warm hearty meal that I didn’t fix with my own hands, and a massage, I compiled some favorites below. Anything catch your eye? Let me know.

“He gently leads those that have young” Isaiah 40:11

Velour robe / Lip Sleep mask / Ada hoodie / Lagos bracelet / Sleep mask / Faux Leaves / Fendi wallet / Mama necklace / Easy brow kit / Prayer Journal

1 Necklace with initials 2 Golden Goose Sneakers 3 Tanning Butter 4 Cheese platter 5 LV tote bag that’s big enough to hold snacks and an extra pair of shoes! 6 I’m always up for a SOFT robe 7 One place Always Pan 8 Paris peasant top 9 Health is wealth! I love this liquid collagen chocolate trim. Use code 3697593 for $10 off for new customers. 10 Bleeker Street Poncho shown in regular. Also comes in petite.

Necklaces – I’m loving the layered look.

Golden Goose Sneakers

Cheese Platter

Luxury tanning

Soft Robes

Non Stick Healthy Pan

Outdoor Patio Furniture

Toddler Must Haves

by Shalice Noel

Levi is turning 2 Friday, so I gathered some of my favorite toddler must haves!

These Zara overalls went viral, I had to order a pair.

Truck Duplo Lego’s

A spray bottle (because he likes to spray and wipe, go figure!)

These toddler running shoes are $35!

This teddy coat is on sale! 15% off with your first purchase!

Hi there! My name is Gabby and my husband Donny and I are celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary later this month!

About 14 years ago, after having an “irregular” cycle my whole life, I was diagnosed with Premature Ovarian Failure…which basically means that for unknown reasons, I went through menopause early. After looking at my blood work, I believe my doctor’s exact words were, “you’re absolutely never getting pregnant.” As a 17 year old, it was heavy information to process. But looking back now, I’m thankful that I had so much time to come to terms with my infertility. The finality of it was a “death” of sorts, that I could grieve and process, and then heal from. When I was dating my future husband, we were able to talk about what this would mean for our family and processed the realization we wouldn’t be bringing biological children into the world together. We agreed that we wanted children, and knew that adoption would be in our future. 

A few years into marriage we got “the baby bug” and started researching adoption more seriously. There’s so much information out there! International, domestic, domestic private, foster-to-adopt and more! We were overwhelmed by the many pros and cons of each method…as well as the staggering costs associated with many routes. We eventually discovered the organization, Nightlight Christian Adoptions…and their extension, “Snowflake Embryo Adoptions.” 

When someone goes through in vitro fertilization (IVF) to grow their family, it often (hopefully) results in several viable embryos. Usually a doctor will transfer a fresh embryo or two to a woman’s uterus, and freeze the rest for potential future use. After a few years, when someone is done growing their family, they sometimes have frozen embryos remaining that they don’t intend to transfer. (this is often for a variety of reasons – dangerous pregnancies, several successful pregnancies so adding more children isn’t practical, cost, etc.). What to do with these frozen embryos is a huge dilemma many families face. Snowflakes matches families who have remaining embryos that would like to place them for adoption with families hoping to adopt. 

Because my infertility stems from my ovaries, my uterus could (theoretically) still carry a pregnancy. The idea is similar to surrogacy where a woman carries a baby for someone else…but in this case, I’d be carrying my adopted-non-biological child! Embryo adoption was appealing to me and my husband for a variety of reasons… the costs associated are typically much lower than domestic or international adoption, there are hundreds, if not, thousands, of frozen embryos currently awaiting adoption, and being able to experience pregnancy and childbirth was a joy I’d never even imagined I could have!

We embarked on our Snowflakes Embryo Adoption journey in 2014. It started with many applications, forms, background checks, and meetings – all the usual steps required in a traditional adoption.  Early in 2015 we received our first match! We adopted 8 embryos and started prepping my body for our first embryo transfer! It involved pills, shots, and many, MANY doctors visits. Then in April, in an overnight shipping container, our precious embryos made the journey from Florida to our clinic in Pasadena. Our doctor thawed 3 embryos and 2 were viable for transfer. It was heartbreaking to hear we’d already lost one precious life, but we were hopeful we’d get the news we were pregnant with twins! 

It takes about 2 weeks after a frozen embryo transfer to get a successful positive pregnancy test – so we did our best to wait patiently. The day I got the call from my doctor’s office that I was not pregnant, was one of the hardest moments of my life. I felt like my body had failed and that I’d let these children and my husband down. Statistically…only 1 in 3 transfers are successful, so we knew there was a good chance it wouldn’t work on our first try,  but it was still a deep loss we had to grieve.

We let my body heal for a few months, and tried again with our 4 remaining embryos. Once again, one of them did not survive thawing, and my doctor felt it was wise to transfer the remaining 3. “Triplets!” We imagined to ourselves, “What an adventure!”

Two weeks later, once again, the nurse’s sad voice over the phone, and again we had to process a huge loss.  We had started the process so hopeful! “8 healthy embryos! What luck!” we thought. The idea that we had ushered 8 souls into heaven was both beautiful and heart wrenching. It was time to step back and evaluate everything.

I couldn’t imagine putting my body through the meds, the lead up, the transfer and the loss AGAIN . . so we needed time to regroup.

We would also have to match with a new family and start that entire process again. But we decided, the “odds were in our favor” if 1 in 3 is truly successful, so we felt comfortable giving it one more final go. Snowflakes came back with a unique matching offer – 2 separate families that each had 1 embryo to transfer. They asked if we would be interested in taking both. So once again, embryos were shipped to our home clinic, one from D.C. and one from Chicago. 

We imagined the great stories of a twin pregnancy where the twins weren’t biologically related to us, nor each other… and this time when the phone rang, the nurse’s voice was joyful – we were pregnant! Words I’d never heard before! We still had a long journey ahead, since it was very early in a high risk pregnancy, but at that moment, I was pregnant!

At our first ultrasound there was one steady heartbeat – it was bittersweet. A healthy growing baby, and one more loss. All in total…we’d adopted 10 embryos and 1 made it to pregnancy. But what immense joy in the 1! By the end of my first trimester, my body had fully “kicked in” and took over the pregnancy. No more meds! No more trips to the fertility clinic! The day of my last visit to my clinic they sent me off with a baby blanket and a graduation certificate. I’d officially been transferred to a regular OBGYN for a regular pregnancy! It was wonderful and surreal! Since Embryo Adoption is not a technical “adoption” in the legal sense of the word, the embryos were our personal possessions up until transfer, which means there was no finalizing the adoption, and it would be my husband’s and my name on the birth certificate.

I was just a regular (albeit hugely swollen) pregnant woman! And at my 37 week doctor visit, my blood pressure had skyrocketed, so my doctor swiftly scheduled a c-section for later that week. 

On December 22, 2017 at 37.5 weeks pregnant, my son Deacon was born at a whopping 9 pounds, 12 ounces! 

So far we’ve had very little contact with his biological family. We know they live in Washington D.C. and he has a big sister from the same batch of embryos he came from. I know that deciding to place their final remaining embryo with our family was a gut wrenching decision for his biological parents, and I don’t take their gift lightly. We often talk to Deacon about his wonderful family in D.C. who loved him so much they let me be his mama! As he gets older, we want him to understand his history, and allow him as much or as little relationship with them as he wants.

Today, it’s hard to remember life without Deacon! His head of crazy blonde curls, his precocious personality and his love of all things green have brought Donny and me more joy than I could have ever imagined! We grieved those early losses so deeply, but know that it was preparing us to parent this incredible child, and I wouldn’t change things for the world! 

Runner Rug from Etsy shown above // Here’s one similar // Pjs // I have another runner by the front door by New England Loom

I’m headed to Calabases to shoot a fun brand, but in the meantime, this is what is on my shop page, and 5 runners I’m loving. I had so many questions where I buy rugs, so here they are! I buy from from Etsy and New England Loom and usually look for a pop of pastel and a great pattern. See some favorites below! I’m craving another slow weekend at Lake Arrowhead. Although it’s hardly slow with 5 kids, the absence of traffic, and need to go anywhere is as slow as it gets. What are your weekend plans?

This is totally random, but I just saw Nuface was having a 40% off their Mini and Gold Gel Primer (I just purchased, shoot!) While I missed the sale, I’m still going to stock up on gel. Hello hydration during a long flight! If you don’t have the mini, it’s a perfect workout for a tired face for traveling or busy mom life. Take my advice. I use it evening and mornings (while I nurse). I figure since I don’t have time for a facial most weeks, I don’t want my skin to feel the brunt of my busy life.

I’m also trying a new no clump mascara, just in time for Anniversary dinner Sunday.

Happy Friday!

similar jeans :: mules :: ruffle bodysuit :: leather jacket :: bag ::

boys shorts ::

Casual Friday is everyday for me as a mom. So here’s a comfy bodysuit, jeans, mules and go-to leather jacket. All comfy enough to chase my favorite superhero. Happy Tuesday!

2016_07_28_ShaliceNoel10-524-Edit
2016_07_28_ShaliceNoel10-385-Edit 2016_07_28_ShaliceNoel10-624-Edit Believe it or not, it’s back to school time! I would venture to say that usually this doesn’t mean great excitement or big smiles. But if we’re searching for the silver lining–and we are–then the best part about Back to School is the shopping. Since my littles have uniforms, we have fun finding pieces that suit each child’s personality and style. A big hit with my middle little were these Steve Madden
JSM1 sneakers: purple, covered in glitter, and perfect for climbing and running. Since purple glitter really isn’t my thing, I went with the versatile Steve Madden “Austin” chelsea boot. It is a well-known fact that in shopping, everyone should win. Shop our look from Steve Madden Kids at Dillard’s. 

Thank you Steve Madden for partnering on this post.

2016_07_28_ShaliceNoel10-388-Edit 2016_07_28_ShaliceNoel10-646-Edit 2016_07_28_ShaliceNoel10-588-Edit:: her sneakers “JSM1″ STEVE MADDEN ::

:: my boots “Austin” STEVE MADDEN ::

:: my top TARGET :: jeans AG ::

her top TARGET :: bandana FREE PEOPLE :: jeans PAPER DENIM CLOTH

FullSizeRender (22) The weekend is all about getting things done right? Doing homework (shifting it from the living room rug to the desk) breakfast cinnamon rolls (from a can), packing for NYC next week (pile all favorite shoes in a corner), and sleeping in (not). While I hope to do some of those things, and do them well, I’m not going to beat myself up. I was just chatting with a mom about how much guilt we as moms experience. There’s career guilt, housekeeping guilt, and mom guilt. Pick your guilt, there’s a name for it. I easily feel like an inadequate mom, blogger, stylist and mother. The latter of which has been the biggest (but most rewarding) challenge. Do you feel the same? I know I’m not alone here. Just keeping it real. I like posting pretty pictures of smiling faces but behind it all is real life, silent prayers for help, real challenges and a kid missing a shoe. But I’m not beating myself up for it. I’m sharing one of my favorite quotes: “There’s no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one.”

 

Have a great weekend xx

from the web:

 ps. I’m planning on trying this with the kids

and learning how to do this! 

 

Hello

by Shalice Noel

a little about me
My wardrobe is 95% thrifted, I have a soft spot for chubby baby legs, and I’d stand on my head for cherry kombucha. I’m a self-proclaimed stripes addict that prefers leopard spots, black dots, and rarely discriminates against anything vintage. I often imagine an outfit in my head and rummage my closet like a chemist in the lab to get it just right. And mostly everything I accomplish is between the few sacred hours of naptime. I believe every mom should take time for herself and specifically how she dresses. No mom jeans here, just respecting your inner chic by taking a chance on those leather skinnies and allowing them to make you feel 100 times better. Since I only purchase 5% of my wardrobe retail, I’ll be sure to document those pieces here so you can take note of my “investment buys”—a term I coined for purchases involving real leather and/or multiple wears. My vision is to share what excites and inspires me as a city-dwelling wife, mom of four, and crazy thrifter. Sharing this passion I have for styling myself {and others’} using mostly thrifted pieces first began on Instagram, with the hope it might one day also turn it into a blog where I could expound on those passions and indulge in the occasional picture of chubby baby legs. Thank you for stopping by.
xo
shalice
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outfit

dress H&M similar here // skirt LOFT similar here
leopard pumps Target similar here // belt White House | Black Market similar here
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