Momming on the Go!

Hi Guys!!

I can’t believe the holidays are upon us!! This year is flying by - Look at my big 6 month old girl! I cant believe Lily is 6 months already! Its crazy to think that she has been here half a year already, but I can’t imagine that we ever lived our lives without her. She just fits so perfectly.

One thing that I have learned in these short months as a new momma (and new business owner) is that everything must now be done at a much quicker pace - whether that is getting ready - or not really getting ready (who needs makeup anyway?), eating - or not really eating (cliff bars are a food group, right?). Everything needs to be done pretty much in seconds and or one handed.

I am so thankful that my little sister is back in town and rocking it as a Soul Cycle instructor and I am finally getting back in a work out groove (a little), but that means that sometimes I am running from her spin class, to run errands and sometimes to the Store after. I know we have all had days when there is ZERO time to fit everything in, and we just need 14 more hours to do everything - am I right?!

That is why I was so excited when Febreze wanted to partner to share their new Fabric Refresher which saves so much time going from the gym to everything else! I just spritz it on my spin stuff after Soul and it smells fresh and I feel that much more put together for running errands until I can make it home and take a (30 second) shower. You just need to spray until damp to eliminate any post workout odors and keep them where they belong.

Its true that I may have a lot less time for things I used to, but come on, just look at that face? I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world!!

Adventuring with the Capital One

Hi there - I am so excited to share this post as a Capital One Partner!!

I know, I am just as shocked as you must be to hear from me so soon! I think I must be getting my groove back (hopefully!). I say that, and I am sure tomorrow will not go anything as planned.

Since Lily was born I feel like we have been burning the candle at both ends. I know it should be expected as a new parent to feel a little tired and busy, but I am learning something new everyday as a new mom and a new business owner and the learning curve has been crazy the last few months with both.

So I was thrilled when Capital One invited me to Grandoozy to experience their Destination Venture Dome and to have a parents night out on them. Jonny and I have been pretty lucky and Lily has been a very easy going little lady and we have been able to go out on dates with her (quite a bit) since having her, but this was our first night without our little gal. It was hard, but also nice to have some grown up time! We had planned to leave her with my mom for the night and ended up all spending the night over there because we couldn’t be away from her all night.

Jonny and I always love spending time with Capital One. Last year we learned so much managing our finances as a couple at the Capital One Cafe and this time we had a blast figuring out what kind of vacationer by taking the Venture Card Quiz…. shocker I am a “relaxationionist” and Jonny is an “adventurist”. We got to hang out with Ben from The Bachelor - a few of you asked if he was nice. Yes, he really was!

Jonny and I are hoping to make it to the Venture Dome as it comes through town a few more times with a few more exciting guests!

October 20th through the 21st in Cherry Creek

December 15th through the 16th at the Rink at Belmar

January 5th through the 6th at Skyline Park. 

For more information visit: destinationventure.com

Hello Old Friends - Life Update

Well Hello Old Friends!

My dress (wearing xs $95) // Lily’s dress (similar $19)

It has been a LOOOOONG time. Life looks a whole lot different than when we last talked. A little more chaotic, but oh-so beautiful! I am not going to lie. Sitting down to write this first post since my long hiatus from my blog has been so hard for me. I have been avoiding it for weeks. Lie - months (annnnd months!). The more I have avoided it, the harder it has gotten. Do you all have anything that you are avoiding? Working out? Laundry? Also two things I have not been great at lately- yikes (new mom life)!

To be honest, I have missed sharing and connecting with you guys…. but as you can imagine, things got a little crazy starting a new business a few months before the arrival of our first baby. How many of you thought I was nuts to open a store when I was 6 months pregnant, but were kind enough to not say anything, raise your hand?! Well thank you all for supporting us these first 6 months we have been in business at Denver Darling Boutique. It has been a whirlwind. And these first (almost 4) months of motherhood have been nothing short of magical. Exhausting. Educational. Sweet. Sometimes scary, but so beautiful.

I can’t believe that almost a year ago we were just finding out that we were going to be parents. I had never shared with you all, but we weren’t sure if it was even in the cards for us. After getting off of birth control in 2016 it took me almost 8 months to have a period and after a ruptured ovarian cyst I finally had another cycle a few months later, but never anything regular. Jonny and I were starting to wonder if something was really wrong (I guess 1 in 8 couples is affected with infertility). I talked to my doctor and they suggested that I start taking a medication called Clomid to increase my chances of getting pregnant faster. Jonny and I decided that we wanted to instead look into the root of the issue before I started taking medication too quickly.

Luckily we live near one of the leading fertility clinics in the North America CCRM which I had heard great things about from several friends so we decided to make an appointment. After filling out an extensive medical history for both Jonny and me we had our consultation (on our anniversary coincidentally). CCRM developed a custom tailored plan for us to help ensure the best outcome possible. CCRM is known for offering prospective parents the fastest path to the healthiest baby.

If you know me personally, you know that I am a big time worrier. So after leaving our consultation, in addition to our plan with CCRM, I told Jonny that I wanted to exhaust other areas of medicine (I hate taking medicine if I don’t need to) so I made another appointment with an acupuncturist that another friend had suggested True Mind Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine. I went to three acupuncture appointments and the day before my next scheduled appointment at CCRM (on my Papa’s 92nd birthday) I found out I was pregnant!! I love acupuncture - will be sharing more about how it helped me with pregnancy and after soon!

We were shocked! Since I was not having regular cycles, it was impossible to tell how far along I was so I immediately called CCRM to discuss next steps. They got me in for an appointment immediately and held our hands until they knew that it was safe for me to move on to my normal OB/GYN.

For women and couples experiencing infertility I recommend contacting CCRM. It can be a scary and complex topic and CCRM aims to empower individuals and couples to make informed decisions that can positively impact their future. Right now, Colorado residents can take advantage of CCRM Colorado’s Fertility First package which is a 15% off discount on a fresh or frozen IVF cycle to first-time IVF patients at its fertility center in Lone Tree, CO. More details can be found here.

Thanks to Jenna Sparks for some of my all time favorite pictures!! Would love to hear what you all would like to hear more about. I am an open book and can’t wait to share more with you all.

xo

Denver Darling is Growing!

Happy Friday Guys!

I feel like I have been dropping a lot of big news on you lately... but I have more! It's all been a lot for me to take in too, but every bit of it is incredibly exciting.  I knew 2018 was going to be a year of wonderful things and big change, but I had no idea how much so!

Our little Miller family is growing this summer, and before then, Denver Darling is making some big time changes too! We are opening our first storefront in just a few short weeks!! For local friends it is in Cherry Creek North (on 3rd between Columbine and Josephine) and non local friends we will also be online soon! 

Around the time I first started blogging (almost 3 years ago... yikes!), my dear friend (now business partner!!) Molly Fortune, mentioned that we should someday open a store.  It would focus on classic, feminine clothing like we both love, at an accessible price point and unique gifts... a one stop shop, if you will! We developed the concept over countless brunches and happy hours and always saw it as kind of a farfetched idea.  After 14 weddings and countless events last summer that left me rummaging through my closet and online dress binges at 12:00am only for them to arrive and the quality to be poor - color wrong - and fit off; which would lead to a busy day of last minute shopping that I just didn't have time for only to go home and settle on an old LBD from 8 years ago.  I started thinking that we were really in need of a store that catered more to the young woman with a busy and fun loving lifestyle in Denver.

Molly and I started hearing similar stories from a lot of our friends and began thinking more seriously that we may be in need of a shop that carries more classic clothing and occasion dresses for every event that may pop up (brunch - black tie and everything in between) and an assortment of unique and fine gifts for the bride, baby or hostess to make life easier on us gals with limited time.

We still had sort of a 5 year plan in mind when we stumbled on the perfect place.  A little house in the middle of Cherry Creek, and we knew it was the perfect place to take the leap and call it Denver Darling's first home.  In addition to a space to house apparel and gifts, the outdoor space and upstairs area provides a unique venue that we hope to share with friends and nonprofits that we love for special events.

We are not sure what we we were thinking, but neither Molly or I got before photos of our little house #badblogger, but here is a photo of my dad taking snap chats (he crushes snapchat) of the original and our new paint job.  We are thrilled with how it is coming along!  We obviously still have some work, like signage and new awning, but it has come a long way in a short time.  We have a few more updates before we open in just a few short weeks and now that the secret is out I will definitely be sharing all of them with you as they come along!

I shared a few sneak peeks of things we will be carrying in the store over the past few days (below too!)... I would have loved to preview a cocktail dress or two, but things just don't fit the way they used to right now ;).  I am wearing a gown that we just got in assuming I don't grow too much between now and then.  We would love to hear what brands you love and things that you would love us to carry as we get started!

Wish us luck!! We will be sure to keep you posted these next few weeks with all of the details!! Can't wait to see you all in the store soon!

xo

Abby & Molly

Big/Huge Update and Hotel Talisa Recap

OMG - HI!!!

It's been a minute, guys! A lot has changed since I wrote my last post... and if you follow me on instagram or facebook, you know that Jonny and I are expecting a little girl in June (this is a mocktail in my hand (btw)! We are OVER THE MOON excited and can't wait to meet the little lady.  I have to admit, posting during my first trimester was hard and became nearly impossible because 1) I felt like crap and 2) I am not the best secret keeper (especially when it is super exciting news!).  I am so used to sharing everything in my daily life with you guys and I felt like all I wanted to do was ask for advice and shout our fun news from the rooftops and since Jonny and I decided we were going to wait until after the first trimester to share the news I really just shut down and felt I couldn't write at all.  Not to mention, it was a little hard to want to prepare for shoots when I'll I wanted to do was be in my bed, watching bad TV during most hours of the day and eat nothing but clementines during my waking hours.   

I am now 20 weeks and I seriously can't believe that we are already half way there.  Although the first trimester slowly ticked by, since week 12 I have felt great and it feels like I blinked and we are half way! Baby (we call her Booglet) and I both grew a lot last week and I felt her first kicks right after our ultrasound last Monday which was the most bizarre and incredible feeling all at the same time.  She is growing and I plan on doing a much better job documenting the second half of this incredible time in our life and I am certain that I will have some questions that you will all have tips for a first time mommy like me!

I am so excited to share some more big news in my next post - I am embarking on another huge adventure and cant wait to share the exciting news with you guys!!! Hint the Denver Darling family is growing too :).  Any guesses?

A few weeks ago, Jonny and I joined our friends for a ski weekend in our favorite ski town.  I have shared a few other Vail guides (here and here).  We spent the weekend at the new Hotel Talisa which was the perfect ski in ski out spot for the guys and the perfect place for me to relax with plenty of snowshoe trails for me and Stanley.

We used to visit this same property as a family growing up, but it definitely did not look like this.  The Hotel Talisa gave the old property a complete update and refresh - the rooms are so comfortable and spacious and we all enjoyed some of the most delicious meals that we had ever tasted.  I think you can truly the quality of a hotel by the extra touches put into the room and being pregnant I go to the bathroom about 25 times a night and I was so pleased by the automatic/nightlight features in the bathroom so I didn't bump into things every time I got up (it's the little things guys).

The Hotel Talisa is located just outside of the main village and they have a shuttle running constantly between the hotel, Lionshead, and Vail Village.  We rarely used the car throughout the weekend because parking in the village can be such a pain and the shuttle made it super convenient.

I had a ton of questions about this stay and hope I answered them all!! We truly had a blast and can't wait to go back.  

I also got this poncho last year, it is perfect for a mountain getaway (and pregnancy!) - it is sold out, but love this one, this one and this one too! And so far these jeans have been my only maternity splurge (thanks mom!) and wear them all of the time.