I have been a customer and window shopper/lover of Freshly Picked since I became pregnant with Sophia last year. I was so excited when we purchased her first pair earlier this year (we chose the newborn ivory pair) as they were super easy to put on and stay on.

Technically, Sophia has been out of my belly for almost 41 weeks and she was only in my tummy for 37 weeks but no need to be technical. Let's just say I was pregnant for about 9 months and Sophia is now 9 months old. She has been out in the world for almost as long as she was cooking in my belly, when she was being knitted together.


To celebrate this, I wanted to share comparison photos of what Sophia looked like 9 months in the womb and 9 months out the womb, as well as share 9 things I have learned since becoming a mom.

So guys, I normally have all my Christmas shopping done and presents wrapped but not this year. I am so behind mostly due to budget but also to timing. And I suck at gifting Anthony because I always give it away. I gave him his Father's Day present early. I was suppose to surprise him with a date night for his birthday but told him at lunch that we were going out baby-free that evening. So, its kinda good that I haven't gone shopping for him yet so I don't ruin it, haha.

Without my gift ruining, I am at a lost of what to give him as we don't have much money to spend and whatever I do spend, I don't want it to be something that is just eh, you know? I have been peeping other's gift guides for him but why does every one else have gifts that are super expensive or that are so fancy like cuff links, like my guy likes video games, music and I need ideas along those lines.

After doing my first mommy and me mini session (see here), it inspired me to do more mini sessions (see more here). Particularly ones that go with the changing seasons or holidays; I did a Back to School Mini Session (see here) back in August and again while on a play date at a Pumpkin Patch, I was able to capture some shots of Blessing and her beautiful daughter.

Hey guys! Long time, no hear huh? Things have been crazy busy around here. Sophia is on the move and since being home from vacation, she picked up some not so nice habits of wanting to skip naps and sleep in our bed and wake up a million and one times throughout the night and not to mention the poor kid is still teething and not a single tooth has broke through yet! So this mama is tired and doesn't have the time to dedicate to blog as much as I wish I did. I have tons of ideas and I have photos for the posts, I just need to draft it but by time Anthony is home from work, it is straight school mode or we relax and enjoy each other's company. I mean you guys get it. Life happens and there are certain seasons you enter that are crazy hectic and exhausting but I wouldn't change this season we are in for the world. Being a mama is my dream and I am getting to live it and I love it with all it's challenges and rewards.

With all that said, I did manage to sneak some time for a Halloween tutorial, yay me! Honestly, this tutorial can be used for anytime or any occasion. The color of tissue papers you use is what makes it fit the occasion. For me, I created this purple and metallic silver garland for a Halloween movie night I hosted for my sister's 30th birthday. I wanted the decor to be simple yet fun so I decorated my TV dresser (we are using a dresser as our TV stand) as if it was a mantel because we don't have one and I provided a popcorn bar (I unfortunately did not get pictures of this because, let's be honest, I suck at this professional blogging thing. I did get inspiration from here so check Jessica's post if you are interested in how to set up a popcorn bar).



Anyways, this project was free for me because I am a tissue paper hoarder. I am that person that carefully opens gifts and folds all the tissue paper neatly and saves the gift bags/boxes to reuse and I am also that person that tells people to not rip the box or tissue paper that I put their gift in because I can still reuse it another time. Don't judge.












I broke the steps down and tried to make it as dummy proof as possible, I even contemplated making a video tutorial but with a talkative and active baby, I only get one shot so I didn't try but if your interested in that kind of thing, let me know in the comments and I will update the tutorial if needed!


The greatest part of this tutorial is it is basically free or cost very little money.

So be honest, who else is a tissue paper hoarder?

It's been while since I have shared some photography sessions as I have been trying to keep up with my almost 8 month old. Like holy cow, next week I will have an 8 month old baby; I plan on sharing her 8 month update soon but for the meantime check out her 7 month update.

To help me stay accountable, I decided to share my newly vowed healthy lifestyle by documenting it here on a weekly basis. I hope you decide to follow along so we can cheer each other on and be an inspiration for one another! You can also follow along on Instagram with #howstormiegothergrooveback or on Snapchat (stormieariel). I also share the foods I am eating on both social media sites, for quicker reference on Instagram search #stormiearielkitchen

Sunday - Skipped
Monday - Rest Day
Tuesday - Interval Run
Wednesday - Skipped
Thursday - Skipped
Friday - Short Walk
Saturday - Skipped

I decided to change this series up a bit as I know it can get boring for some to just read what I am doing to get in shape, like yay for you but how does that benefit me type of thing. At least that's how I feel reading certain fitness posts on other blogs and it makes me feel worse about myself for not having the same dedication and I don't want that for my readers. I want ya'll to see real life and be inspired and to inspire me as well. I want this entire blog to be a two way street where we can benefit and learn from each other. With that being said, I had a little inspirational moment that happened to me and decided for now on I will share those with you all when I share my fitness progress to hopefully inspire you as well.

I am back with another photo session. After completing the mommy and me mini session, I started thinking about the potential in hosting other mini sessions. With school back in session in our area, I decided to do back to school mini sessions and I am loving them! I am also planning on Fall Mini Sessions and Halloween Mini Sessions so email me (stormie@stormieariel.com) if you are in the Katy, Texas area and are interested!

Anyways, here are my favorite shots from my most recent Back to School Session.

To help me stay accountable, I decided to share my newly vowed healthy lifestyle by documenting it here on a weekly basis. I hope you decide to follow along so we can cheer each other on and be an inspiration for one another! You can also follow along on Instagram with #howstormiegothergrooveback or on Snapchat (stormieariel).

I know I have been MIA with my workouts or running/walking schedule but that doesn't mean I am not keeping up with them. Anthony started school two weeks ago and we had a mini vacation before school started for him so things have been a little busy. I don't remember the exact dates for everything but we typically go walking every other day or so and run at least twice a week. I know what days our runs are on because I track everything with my Nike+ Run Club app (Feel free to add me as I am also looking for new running friends). I have been lacking in doing strength training as all my focus has been on building my stamina for long distance running. I need to start strength training again though as I know it will help me even more especially with leaning out.

To help me stay accountable, I decided to share my newly vowed healthy lifestyle by documenting it here on a weekly basis. I hope you decide to follow along so we can cheer each other on and be an inspiration for one another! You can also follow along on Instagram with #howstormiegothergrooveback

So again, I really haven't stuck to my new schedule but I'm super happy with what I accomplished this week. I gotta say I have felt great after by runs, now before each run is a totally different story! Haha. 

Sunday - Skipped
I was suppose to walk as Anthony played basketball but I decided to just chat with the ladies.

To help me stay accountable, I decided to share my newly vowed healthy lifestyle by documenting it here on a weekly basis. I hope you decide to follow along so we can cheer each other on and be an inspiration for one another! You can also follow along on Instagram with #howstormiegothergrooveback

Hey guys! I know it's been a good while since my last interesting post, haha. I have been doing weekly updates on how I am staying active weekly but I know that can be a bore for some of you so I'm back today with a tutorial but first a little background.

If you follow me on Instagram (@stormieariel) than you know I recently opened my own small shop on Insta (@shopstormieariel). Since Sophia was born, actually before she was born, I loved the way nylon headbands looked. They are so sweet and simple and chic, perfect for a little girl. BUT the price tag on most of them kept me from biting the bullet and even if they were a reasonable price, I couldn't pick just one. So I decided to teach myself how to make bows since I had fabric on hand that was left over from the fabric kites I made for Sophia's nursery plus I also had tons of ribbon on hand from my numerous other projects and from my schoolgirl days.

And I know there are mommas out there like me who are on a budget and need to know how to make simple bows to get them by until they can splurge so I decided to make a video tutorial of how I make one of the bows I sell in my shop. It is the simplest and easiest bow tutorial, so easy a caveman can do it (name that commercial). Also, please let me know how you like the video tutorial in the comments below. I would love the feedback as to which I should start including videos in all my tutorials or if step by step photos preferred or both!

To help me stay accountable, I decided to share my newly vowed healthy lifestyle by documenting it here on a weekly basis. I hope you decide to follow along so we can cheer each other on and be an inspiration for one another! You can also follow along on Instagram with #howstormiegothergrooveback

My husband and I have been determined to hatch our Pokemon Eggs on Pokemon Go, so we have been walking A LOT more than normal. I really think this mobile game has gotten a lot more people outdoors and moving and hope it stays that way! Hopefully more games will follow suit. I didn't do any strengthening exercises this week as it has been so hot and the humidity makes it feel like we went running even though we didn't. I do plan to add in strengthening stuff on rest days making it an active rest day because those are just as important as cardio.

To help me stay accountable, I decided to share my newly vowed healthy lifestyle by documenting it here on a weekly basis. I hope you decide to follow along so we can cheer each other on and be an inspiration for one another! You can also follow along on Instagram with #howstormiegothergrooveback

As I mentioned last week, I skipped a week of everything since I decided to binge watch Jane The Virgin. Bad I know, don't judge. This week I decided to get back out there and get moving. I thought it was gonna be hard to restart but it really wasn't but I think most of that has to do with Pokemon Go. I have lots of eggs to hatch and don't think I jumped on the bandwagon just because its "trending" right now. I have been a Pokemon fan since I was a kid between playing Pokemon Stadium on N64 and the Yellow Version, Silver Version, Crystal Version on my Gameboy Color. As an adult, I now own Pokemon Stadium once again and Silver Version for my Nintendo DS so when Pokemon Go came out, I had to try it and I'm loving it because I get to play on the go and it's motivating me to stay active. I just wish they would allow users to battle and trade like the original versions. Anywho, this is what I have been up to:

As you know, last year, I began taking daily photos of my outfits as I was learning how to mix and match the clothing items I already had, to create new outfits. I was also learning to step out my comfort zone by breaking some old fashion rules that I stuck by (check out that series here) but now those rules are out the window. As I was venturing into my new fashion style I was constantly sharing my outfits on Instagram (#stormiearielstyle).