Honest Tea Giveaway

I am so excited about this fantastic (huge!) giveaway for you all. I’ve been sitting on it like a mama duck on her egg for about a month and its finally time! 

     

 I’m not a big Drinker of Things Besides Water (unless it’s coffee or cocktails obvi) but I’ve liked Honest Tea a lot since trying it last year. It’s not too sweet, doesn’t have too many ingredients. Plus it’s fair trade and… It’s pretty darn good mixed with some vodka… 

    
 Honest Tea and I are offering FIVE of my readers a month long supply of honest tea and honest kids. My little niece loves the kids line, so I can rave review that too. All you have to do is comment with your favorite way to drink Honest Tea ( we like taking ours on walks Or mixing it with vodka and ginger beer.) and follow me on Instagram for an extra entry (@simply_hannah.joy). 
You can enter Here for your chance to win a months supply! 

Good luck! The contest opens on January 1st and will run through th month.

A Very Merry Christmas (week)

    

  When I was a little girl, I started thinking about my Christmas Eve dress about a month in advance. I always wanted a big, full, twirly skirt that I could spin around in. I was a chunky little kid– and even at age nine I was insecure about it. The dresses in the girls section never fit me right– and I used to feel so discouraged when my dream dress either didn’t exist or didn’t fit me. I’ll never forget coming home once from the mall when we were on Christmas furlough in Massachusetts (I grew up in thailand) and telling a relative that the dress I wanted didn’t fit right… And that relative told my chubby little nine-year-old self that maybe if I lost some weight the dresses would fit me. It’s crazy because I’m sure that relative doesn’t remember saying that to me…but I was so devastated and so embarrassed that it’s still vividly in my head to this day. If I ever have a little girl, I hope I can teach her to love herself, and to pursue health, not skinniness. 

   
  
Um, anyway…Now every year I search out the fullest skirts that I can find, and I wear my petticoats and my heels and feel like the cupcake princess I always wanted to be. This dress stands up to everything I look for in my Christmas Eve dresses. 

We took these photos at The Hamilton House in town. The estate was completely empty, but naturally just as we were taking pictures, a man appeared toting his lunch bag, innocently in search of a quiet meal. Meanwhile I’m awkwardly standing there in my super fancy outfit and high heels…I am ALWAYS embarrassed when I’m “caught” posing. Thankfully having a baby makes it slightly less humiliating. Oh well. I love these photos of my Redmond and I so it was well worth it. 

    

Also– if you don’t already,  follow me on Instagram (@simply_hannah.joy) to enter a giveaway to win 50$ to spend at Shabby Apple. If you’re like me and have spent all your money on presents, it’ll be a nice little treat during the inevitable January spending freeze. 

Dress: c/o shabby Apple

Shoes c/o Famous footwear 

Petticoat (old, similar  Here)

Ain’t no Mommy got Time for That

   
   
Before I had Redmond, I didn’t know how having a child would change me. I mean, I knew things would change  but I didn’t know how I would change. Four months in, and being a mother has made me feel so much more powerful as a women. It has given me this confidence that I never had, and this clear and shining purpose–to raise him to be a good man. I hate to even think about my baby becoming a grown ass human, but I want to do everything I can to make him someone who will improve this increasingly dark world. When I hold him and look into those clear, deep blue eyes that are always watching me, I tell him this. I say, “You will be good, you will be kind, you will be fair, you will be gentle, you will be brave. I will always love you.”  

    
 I want to teach him generosity, love for humanity, and I know that he will learn by example. And I’m happy to be starting him young with my partnership with Dressember. There is so much more to Christmas than just getting tons of presents. I don’t want Redmond to be consumed with possessions. It’s why we don’t have a ton of toys for him now and only plan to have simple, beautiful ones as he grows. I know this may seem silly, but to us it is important. I want him to learn to give, not just be given to. Because, ain’t no mommy got time for that. 

To be part of Dressembers goal to raise money for women who are or were going through the hell that is Human trafficking, donate Here.

Shirt c/o Friday Apparel

Skirt, flannel, boots: old 

Post Baby Fitness Update

  
  
  
So, we are four months postpartum over here folks! It’s hard to believe on the one hand, but on the other, I feel as if life has taken on a new, lovely normalcy. I really need a schedule and a pattern to my days to feel grounded, and being able to get into one with my fitness regiment has made a huge difference for me emotionally since the birth of Redmond.

I had to ease myself back into high impact exercising due to my two bouts with mastitis in the beginning. Now that everything has balanced out in the breast feeding category, I’m back to normal. 

   
I run outside (weather permitting) 2-3 times a week with our dog and Redmond in his jogger. I absolutely love my gym, and used to go four days a week, but since we have to pay for childcare there, I’ve had to downsized that to two or three times. So that means more running and the occasional hike which suits our pup just fine. I try to run at least three miles, and although I’m still slower than I was (the jogger definitely keeps my pace lower) I’m cutting time off my mile every week and I’m happy with that.

I love (love love love) cardio, so I never miss my kickboxing class and my High Intensive Interval Training (HIIT) class at my gym. Redmond enjoys the playhut, and I get to have some grown up time. On “at home “days, I try to incorporate some of the exercises we do in HIIT into our little routine. I’ll do planks, squats, mountain climbers, floor jacks– basically whatever I can do with my baby. It ends up being fun and interactive for him, and since he weights almost eighteen pounds, it’s a good arm workout for me! 

My biggest tips for getting back into fighting shape post baby would be…

1. Just do it. At the beginning when I couldn’t do high impact, I walked every single day for at least 45 minutes. I also went to my classes and just subbed in low impact options. Half the battle is getting into a rhythm and routine where exercise is incorporated and for me, even when I couldn’t go all out, just having something in there made it easy to transition.

2. Get a new sports bra. My old ones don’t come close to fitting my gigantic milk breasts. These boobs are so heavy and need good support. I also had such sore, blistered nipples for more than two months, so I needed to make sure my breasts stayed steady while still not being too constricted to avoid getting blocked milk ducts. This sports bra did the trick for me.

3. Cut yourself some slack. I used to religiously work out six days a week. Now, I’m happy with five. And some days my “workout” ends up being whatever I have time for–quick mile run maybe, and a few planks. And that’s fine. Sometimes my baby is sick, or I am super tired, or the weather is gross, and it just makes sense to stay home and snuggle. And that’s fine too. It also took me 3 solid months to get back to accomplishing what I was doing before my baby in class. I was so frustrated with myself for a while until I remembered…I just birthed a human. And I’m feeding that human off my body, so cool it.

4. Keep snacks handy for afterwards. Exercising and nursing are a hungry combo. I keep fruit and good granola bars handy for when I’m finished and baby is hungry and mama is ravenous.

5. Step away from the scale. For a while, I was weighing myself once a week to keep tabs on things. But now, I am only checking in about once a month. I’m about five pounds from my pre-baby weight, but I’m focusing more on how I feel than the numbers . I fit into my old clothes and jeans, and I feel good. I want to be healthy and strong with plenty of milk for my baby. So I’m not worrying about those last few pounds until he is weaned which won’t be for a while. 

6.Wear work out clothes cute enough to stay in a while. I tend to run my errands after the gym, so I try to wear things that are cute and flattering. Lately, I’ve been loving these Pants from biffitgear. So comfy, so cute. Perfect for lounging and snuggles after we are done with our sweat session. 
   
Pants c/o biffitgear 
Top c/o biffitgear 

Dresses for Dressember

   
   

A few months ago, I was contacted about being an ambassador for Dressember. You can read all about it (and watch some great videos) on their website. However, in short form, it is an organization that raises money and awareness against the exploitation  and enslavement of woman all over this world that seems to hold so much darkness. I grew up in thailand, and prostitution and trafficking are pretty (heartbreakingly) common. But it’s a problem here in our own country too which is so staggeringly tragic. 

    
 As an ambassador, I will be posting only outfits incorporating a dress or a skirt for this whole month. It’s a good season for giving, and you can donate along with me to this cause Here. Honestly, every penny counts.  

   
So, I Kickstarted my month of dresses with this garnet maxi from Shabby Apple. May this be a month of giving, kindness, love, and thanksgiving.

Boots: sold out 

Dress: c/o Shabby Apple ( the Garnet color seems to be sold out so that link is to the striped version)

Reds vest: old navy