Oh, hello! It's me, Erin. If you're seeing this I'm the person you used to follow along with via this very blog. Then I had a baby, had to figure out what to do with said baby, realized babies are expensive AF, got super focused on my career, went through the process of building and buying a house, that baby turned one (here is a video I worked unnecessarily hard on of her first year), moved twice in the process (thank you in-laws), transitioned to suburban life, and here I am again. That baby is now almost 18 months! 

I took a very, very long break from the blog. The longest I ever have (eight months!) because I needed it. My time was just split too razor thin to allocate out any more of it, and it still is, but I knew it wasn't a "goodbye forever," it was a "see you later." Whenever I break for a long time I eventually feel like I've lost part of my voice, my creative side starts to tingle and misses taking photos, editing them, and then sharing them paired with a little writing. I like having something to say, even if it's just about food, or clothes, or home decor (which I now am pretty consumed with). 

I dusted off my camera, and with a small nudge from my mother-in-law, decided to do a little V-day shoot of my mini. I am embarrassed to say the last time I took real non-iPhone photos of her was when she was just six months old. I felt reluctant at first even to dig it out, almost as if I had betrayed a good friend or something ridiculous. As if a camera could hold a grudge! As soon as I started clicking it was like  riding a bike, and I realized how much I missed it. 

So here, without anyone asking for them, are some cute photos of my almost 1.5 year old daughter. She's as sweet as can be, this age is insanely exhausting because she is basically trying to kill herself every five minutes, but also so rewarding because they love you fiercely and are always learning new things.  As all biased parents say, she's my favorite.

The Soybel's "hosted" Easter this year which was probably as insane as it sounds since we live in a one bedroom apartment. Aunt Kaylin and cousin Hazel made the trek down from NJ and spent the weekend with us. We also turned Isla's bassinet into a standard size big baby crib the same weekend and I am slightly not OK about it. She is growing like a weed!

I got Hazel a matching PB Kids basket and my sister and I filled them with extra cute baby stuff (they are only 8 months apart). We let them "open" them together in their matching bunny jammies. Getting a picture of them in the hats was literally impossible so I stopped even trying. Hazel had her first peanut butter cup and I it was so awesome it put her in a tonic state for about thirty minutes. After dressing them up in their Easter best we headed to my in-laws for dinner, dessert, and trivial pursuit. Me, Mike, and Isla did not forget to take our standard holiday family pic in the front yard, in case you were worried. Side note - I actually wore this exact dress last Easter with my little 18 week bump!

After dusting off my camera to snap some shots of the family last Saturday, I realized I hadn't really used a new lens I purchased for myself late last year as much as I thought I would after having a baby. The iphone is just so much more convenient for photos on the fly. I decided to really just play with the manual settings until I got more comfortable with it and my little I made a great model for the occasion since we were just playing on a blanket on the living room floor in her jammies. I spent thirty minutes or so just snapping photos adjusting as I went, but I love how a few of these portraits came out of her just being her, eating her rattle and snuggling with her pink blankie (her security blanket). I have tons more to learn but feel excited about getting better at it and being able to capture her for years to come. Her eyes are so beautiful at this age, I hope they stay!

Hello and welcome to the new face of Currently Coveting. I know I have taken a lot of time off from blogging in the last few months and I would love to just blame it on the tiny human that is currently taking command of most of my waking hours but it's been more than that. My heart has weighed heavily for months thinking to myself over and over again.."what to do about the blog?"

My first thought was to just shut it down completely. I was very seriously thinking about throwing in the towel and calling it a good run, because it was. I love this blog and have poured countless hours of work and love into it over the years, but frankly, laying in my pajamas and snuggling with my child, attempting a new recipe from my Cravings cookbook, catching up with girlfriends, or even organizing my fridge are all things I would rather be spending my time doing over stressing about posting my next #ootd.

The time and energy it takes to first capture whatever I am wearing to an event or holiday, finding links to those things I am wearing, loading and editing the photos, getting the outfit post up in enough time for the links to still be current, then promoting the new post on Instagram & Facebook while attempting to keep up with hashtags only to have the whole process start again literally the day after you get something up is just not something I have the drive for anymore and I have come to really be at peace with that fact.

The stress about how much time had passed since the last post was just too much to bear and for what? It wasn't fun to be worried about it and also so unnecessary. I am not a full time blogger but felt this need to be doing the same things that women who do this as a full time job were doing, which is crazy. I would be overcome with a tinge of guilt each moment that slipped through my fingers that was "instagrammable" that I didn't capitalize on and I am done with that. I have no extra sliver of life left to waste with that emotion, especially since going back to work full time. Every moment outside of work is precious.

Then I thought about re-branding. For a long time I have felt this secret wave of ickyness when someone would refer to me as a "fashion blogger" because I truly didn't mean for it to turn into a fashion blog. I don't know what I am doing more than half the time, I know people in my immediate circle that are MUCH better at it (and don't blog about it) and I really have zero business telling anyone how to dress. I did try to simply showcase the things I happened to wear without coming off like I was some kind of fashion expert but the weird feeling was still there. I realized I didn't want to re-brand what was, I wanted to fully start over.

I needed to figure out a way to archive the old "Currently Coveting" (I couldn't full on murder her) while also creating a new space to begin anew. When I stripped away all the things that were making "blogging" unenjoyable for me I realized I was left with a love of capturing moments with my camera, editing those photos, and writing a bit about where/when I was in those moments. I don't know why it's taken me this long to figure it out but I clearly wanted to transition to more of a "journal/diary" space  long ago where I could focus on my actual life, my family, my friends, my trips, our holidays, etc. So that is where we are now. I am so very happy you are here and would love for you to stick around. Please visit my FAQ page to get more insight on the transition and what changes you can expect.

Now about these photos...our little tribe of three was all set and ready to take little miss Isla to her second 1st birthday party of the month when we got a flat tire on the way. We made a valiant attempt to fix the issue by stopping at two separate gas stations for air but alas, the tire would not cooperate. Luckily, we were only a mile or so from our home so we turned around, settled back in on the rainy afternoon, and were left all dressed with no where to be. Mike decided to get back into his comfy clothes but since Isla was looking cute as a button in her little floral blouse I decided to dust of the old DSLR and snap some pics of her. She just turned 6 months old and is starting to hold her own weight very well. She can stand assisted and sit up on her own. I love this age and how cuddly she is. I could kiss that peach fuzzy head all day.

Hi! I haven't popped in in a couple weeks but hey, thats life with a new baby. We got our newborn shoot photos back a couple weeks ago and I love them so much I wanted to share on the blog! Emily did an awesome job! If you live in the DMV area you should 1000% book her for your family's special moments or events.  She also did a blog post on our shoot you can read here.  

Also instead of just posting a bunch of pretty pictures I wanted to make my case for why you should  go ahead and book a newborn shoot because I know some people are on the fence about them. I also posted previously about why you should book an engagement shoot here.

1. You don't need to go the cheeseball 90's Anne Geddes route (but you totally can if that is your thing). We wanted to just capture some really relaxed and natural pictures of us in this special time. We picked out a simple outfit we both loved for her in the last month of my pregnancy while we were out on a date in Georgetown which also felt really special. We placed her in her changing table basket for a few shots but the rest were just really simple. Our photographer just knew what we were looking for and was able to get natural shots that we love and feel truly represent this precious time.

2. Speaking of time - you can't really delay! Make sure you book your shoot before birth because most photographers need at least a month to figure out when to fit you in and I also learned that babies start to get less - well - adorable a few weeks after birth so you want to schedule it in that two week mark (ours were done on day 12). Their hair starts to thin out around their fast growing head and they get baby acne around week three sometimes so you want to get your pictures done before that starts to happen. I know it's a little vein but I'm being honest here!

3. The two weeks after you have your baby go by at an EXPONENTIALLY fast rate. It's all a blur! Isla is only 7 weeks old and her true "newborn" days feel like ages ago. I hardly remember her being that tiny already so I am so happy we captured her and our family that way. Even though I still have my postpartum bump showing, I look so tired in the eyes, and the swelling in my legs and feet had not gone away yet (and are all clearly visible in these photos) - I don't regret putting them out there one bit because it's all part of the experience and a true representation of that tiny magical slice of life.  When I look at these pictures I want to tear up because I remember the love and excitement of getting acquainted with my little girl.

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