Lean (Maternity) Closet: Fall/Winter 2016

Now that November is well on its way, I'm overdue for my next six-month capsule wardrobe! (Here's last season's, an intro to a capsule wardrobe or Lean Closet, and some tips for cleaning out your closet.)

I started dreaming about my Fall/Winter capsule in July when the city was getting really hot and I wanted it to be cool and cozy. High-waisted jeans and fitted cable-knit sweaters were on the list. And then I found out I was pregnant so I decided to rethink things a little bit! (I'm still using the original three adjectives to guide this process: rocker, preppy, feminine.)

Here they are... all 33 items in my Fall/Winter 2016 Lean Closet:

The timing of my pregnancy was pretty lucky regarding my Lean Closet. My Spring/Summer closet usually lasts me through October and I was able to wear most of it through that fourth month. The timespan of this capsule will include my larger pregnancy months and a few weeks of postpartum. So I feel like I just need one small wardrobe for this adventure focusing on cozy, comfy, wintry clothes!

Maternity clothes are annoying and can be really expensive or feel really cheap. I wanted to limit the number of new pieces to buy, especially maternity-specific ones. But due to my expanding belly, a number of my existing items no longer fit :/ If I was going to spend the money, I wanted to focus on cute pieces I can wear indefinitely plus a few pregnancy-specific pieces to wear daily over the next six months. I'm also using this as an opportunity to wear out some old tees and sweaters that probably wouldn't make the cut to stick around for next year's capsule.

Most days, I plan on wearing a tee or tank under a sweater with a pair of maternity jeans.
+ 8 items were carried over from my Spring/Summer 2015 wardrobe (including my clutch)
+ 13 items came from storage
+ 6 new maternity items were purchased (including my favorite maternity jeans 1/2 off!)
+ 6 other new items were purchased/replaced

I'm still making the final decisions... other than that, I'm set in my small wardrobe for a while and it feels pretty great! I'm ready for holiday parties, trips to the snow, and my changing shape ;)

Thoughts? Maternity advice? Have you shifted your wardrobe yet?

Not So Minimalist But Definitely Essentialist!

Hello again! Two things to celebrate!: the first is that Greg and I are expecting a baby boy in early Spring! I have been completely out of commission for four months but feel like I'm turning a corner out of the misery that is severe 24/7 morning sickness. I'm so full of joy and gratitude for this little boy.

It was hard to feel absolutely useless for so long but the journey taught me a lot—about my body, my limits and getting help. I was again reminded of how helpful Essentialism has been in my life: putting almost everything on pause was a challenge so I was constantly reminded of my priorities and grateful for some simplicity.

I know I haven't been around for the last few months but I'm hoping that will soon change. This brings us to my second celebration: my Blogiversary!

This is my 77th post (!!!). A year ago today, after months of talking and thinking and planning, I overcame a huge fear of public exposure and published my first post. This blog has been a great way to teach and learn about my favorite topics. I'm hoping to continue with enthusiasm into my second year with most likely a slightly slower posting schedule. My goal is once a week for now... we'll see how it goes. I have been thinking about the blog and this lifestyle so much recently and am excited to see how things shift along with my new adventure.

Now that we're telling friends and family our news, the first thing we hear (well, maybe second) is "good luck with your lifestyle and a baby!" While I'm not necessarily out to prove them wrong, I do see this as a challenge that I'd like to explore. I don't see the blog turning into a baby blog but as my life changes, so do my values. I'm working out what this all means. For this month I'm starting my next capsule wardrobe and jumping back on the monthly experiments wagon. Woot!

Stay tuned dear friends! xo