Toddler Fashion

{Shop the post}: Grateful Vibes Sweatshirt // Pink Lauren Moshi Pants (update: sold out) // Grey Lauren Moshi Pants (update: sold out)  //  Butter hooded Sweatshirt // Native Shoes // White bathing suit // Polk-a-dot bikini (Update: Sold out, but Similar HERE)  // Zimmermann One Piece // Toddler Birkenstocks // Neon Romper // Stella McCartney Cherry Romper // Havainas Sandals // Black Stem Jumper // Purple Nununu Jumper // Splendid Mini Dress // White Van Sneakers // Zimmermann Dress// 

nursery

Thank you Michele (MB Home Styling) for the nursery of my dreams! I MAY or may not have slept on the floor in it more than once when we first put Ryen in her crib. (oops) Also a special shoutout to Oilo Studio for the most chic, comfy nursery chair. You can use code Shanna100 for $100 off any Oilo studio chair, and code Shanna20 for $20 off all bedding! PS enable your javascript on your device to be able to use all the shopable links below. 

I told Michele that I am so not a "girlie" person. I always knew there was no way my daughter would be a tutus and bows kind of girl, so when we went through the different mock ups and mood boards for her room, we wanted it to feel peaceful, calm, and a little bit feminine. We now spend so much time in there, pretty much more than any other room in the house.  I'd say she nailed it...

Enable your Java Script to click the shapable links in this post (but for those of you that can't I've put clickable links below)

Campo Rug from West Elm // Faux Potted Fiddle Leaf Tree // Pottery Barn Shelves // Pottery Barn chandelier // Monogram Hook // Fringed leather ottoman in white // Fringed leather ottoman in black// Wall Antler // Sheepskin throw rug // bed skirt // organic cotton crib sheet // changing table pad // round handled baskets // faux small plant on book shelves // book // Elephant // Freshly Picked Moccasins // Laundry basket (similar // Ryen's Army Pajamas //  Furniture: Restoration Hardware // Lamp: Idlewood (Highland Park, IL) 

THANK YOU MB Home Styling for the Nursery of my dreams! You can contact her {here}  ! Photography by Jessica Pernikoff Photography

Ryen Mae

Yesterday was such a special day! We were going to keep it to just family, but then decided to just invite a few of mine and Jeff's close friends. PLEASE know that if we made it a bigger event, everyone would've been included. A special shoutout to Platinum Events {here) for the amazing decor, and Alli Schwartz of HardKore cakes for the most amazing cake in history {here}. You can also follow them on Instagram @platinumevent and @hardkorecakes

I included my husbands speech a little further down to explain who Ryen is named after (and a photo of Ryan Rosman at the bottom)

Jeff: "When everyone asks us if she’s an easy baby, if we’re getting sleep, if we’re hanging In there, or if we can believe how much our day to days live have changed ... we’ve found ourselves lying to almost everyone. Our doctor told us that telling people how she never cries and slept through the night starting at just a few weeks old is not a good way to make new friends. 

Although I’d love to think it was luck or simply mine and Shanna’s easy going personalities (just kidding) that made her this great of a baby, I can’t help but chalk it up to the amazing people she was named after who she constantly has watching over her. 

My cousin Ryan Rosman was 5 years younger than me, and the little brother I never had. Although he passed away too young, when he was only 19 years old, we formed a relationship that would last a life time. Ryan was caring, smart, thoughtful, kind and nature beyond his years.... all traits I hope to be passed down to my daughter. Ryan looked up to me, following my footsteps of detailing cars, working at the local golf store, and he even went on to attend Michigan state university. As much as he looked up to me, I looked up to him just as much. I miss him everyday but am so thankful that his amazing attributes will live on in our daughter. 

Her middle name, Mae is named after my papa milt. He passed away when shanna was 8 weeks pregnant and I unfortunately never got the chance to tell him about his great grandaughter. He was the most thoughtful and generous person. If any of the grandkids mentioned a gadget we wanted it would show up at our door the next day, and that was long before amazon prime existed. 

I hope to make My cousin and papa proud with the person Ryen becomes"

Photography by Suzanne Brown {here}

Ryan Rosman 

post pregnancy fitness + health

pic c/o self.com

I always assumed that when I lost all of my baby weight, my body would look exactly how it did post pregnancy...makes sense right?! Wrong. I was lucky enough to lose the weight pretty fast. I gained somewhere between 22 and 25 lbs, and was extremely fortunate to lose it pretty much within the first month. After delivering an almost 8 lb baby, the placenta, fluids, etc. it gave me a huge head start coming home from the hospital. 

I'm not a nutrionist or trainer but I'd love to share a few things that have worked for me over the past 2.5 months. Some of it may be a fluke or some of it may have some method behind it- fully aware of that! 

1. Breastfeeding- some people say this is BS and other people swear by it. Obviously this isn't the reason I wanted to breastfeed, but I'm not, NOT happy about the perks that come with it. Every time I would breastfeed Ryen for the first month I would start to have cramping in my uterus. I asked my Dr. what was up with that, and she said that breastfeeding encourages the uterus to retract back to its original size. Breastfeeding has also been known to burn between 300 and 700 calories a day. To put this in perspective, when I jog on a treadmill for 30 minutes I burn about 150 calories.

2. Watching what I eat- for some reason, I am more careful about this now than I was during pregnancy. I know that when I was pregnant, Ryen still was connected to me and what I consumed through the umbilical chord, but having her in my arms and knowing that what I ate and drank was going directly to her through breastmilk definitely made me become more mindful. Trust me, I had my fair share of sweets post pregnancy... I had 3 vanilla long johns the morning after I gave birth, but I tried my hardest to stick to an 80:20 healthy eating plan the last couple of months. 

3. Drinking lots of water- Post delivery I was way more thirsty than normal. I started drinking a lot of water that first week, and have tried to keep it up ever since. Even my esthetician told me my skin for the first time look hydrated "from the inside". Not sure what that means, but I'll take it! 

4. Being busy- It's an understatement to say that having an infant is a full time job. It's funny because I used to think, when my baby is sleeping I can get all my work done, have time to myself to workout, etc. Rookie mistake. When Ryen is sleeping I barley have enough time to clean, do laundry, dishes (soooo many dishes with bottles and breast pump pieces),  walk my dog, etc. I then use all the extra time I can for  Shadow Social & my own blog. My friends have to text me three times to get a response some days, and that is soo unlike me. I used to have my phone glued to my hand.  I LOVE being busy, and would not trade this life in for anything in the world, but there are full days that go by that I literally don't have time to eat anything besides a breakfast bar, let alone pee. Oh, and not to mention having time to wash my hair daily or put on makeup is so 2017. 

5. Mom strength- Taking a carseat/stroller in and out of the car multiple times a day is no joke. Not to mention there are days Ryen does not let me put her down, and I must say carrying her has definitely helped me tone my arms. 

6. Walking- Wherever I go, she goes. I try to walk as much as possible to take advantage of summer in Chicago. Whether it be walking to a client to take photos, or to the grocery store, I try to avoid driving whenever I can (especially when I'm in the city). There are days when we walk up to 7 miles. For anyone that knows me, my inability to sit still has not changed since having a baby.

7. Fitness- When I do have 30 minutes to myself I love putting on headphones and going for a jog. I also try to do push ups and weights at various times of the day whenever I have a free minute. 

8. Lack of drinking- I've never been a big drinker, however when it comes to alcohol consumption I'm a go big or go home kind of girl. Even before I was pregnant there would be times that I'd go two months without having a class of wine. Some people love the taste, I just don't. I would choose having cookies and ice cream over a glass of wine any day. However, I do like the feeling of having a buzz for special occasions I do not hold back :)  (Don't worry,  I know all about pumping and dumping). I do think that not having daily glasses of wine or mixed drinks has always been a benefit to my diet. 

9. Working out during pregnancy- I didn't eat as well as I would've liked during pregnancy (will definitely try to change that the second time around), but I made sure to incorporate some sort of fitness 4-5 days a week. My husband and I would take nightly walks, and I'd also do weights, the elliptical, and the stairs every day that I could and felt up to it. The majority of my weight gain was during the third trimester due to feeling nauseous and a lack of appetite in the beginning. I was also lucky that towards the end the weather was beautiful in Chicago and I was able to incorporate walking into my daily + nightly routine naturally. 

I have a long way to go until I feel like myself again, but it is truly amazing how the female body bounces back. I will keep you guys updated on what works and doesn't work, and how long it takes me to fully get rid of this cute little kangaroo pouch I still have in my lower abdomen. (JK- it's really not that cute, so ab toning exercises would be greatly appreciated).