Thursday, June 30, 2016

37 Week Bump Update!


How far along: 37 weeks - baby is the size of a winter melon (like who thinks of these???)
Gender: No idea 
Weight Gain: Staying steady at 25 pounds
Stretch marks: Not one. Fingers & toes still crossed.
Maternity clothes: Only a couple maternity dresses. 
Sleep: Pretty darn good
Best moment of the week: First food truck rodeo of the summer!
Worst moment of the week: The longgggg lines at the food truck rodeo...
Miss anything: Sleeping on my stomach.
Movement: Heck yes.
Cravings: Anything sweet & lots of fruit.
Symptoms: Swollen feet & the most random heartburn on the planet.
Belly Button in or out: Out-ish
Queasiness or sickness: None.
Looking forward to: The Fourth of July! :)



Happy almost weekend! :)


Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Hospital Bag

Holy Mother of Dragons. We are about 2 weeks (or less... or more...) away from meeting the newest member of this family. We couldn't be more excited & honestly a bit terrified at the same time. We installed the car seat, finally settled on names & finished all the tiny details of the nursery. We are in love with how it turned out & can't wait to share photos after this little babe is born.

I thought I would share what's in my hospital bag. Obviously I'm new at this & not entirely sure how long we will be in the hospital, but I wanted to be prepared for at least a day or two.


For Mama - 
Nursing bra. I purchased these to start out with since I have absolutely no idea & they look super comfy.
Comfortable sleepwear. I bought myself some super soft shorts & a button up shirt in the next size up to wear the first couple of days.
Seamless underwear
Makeup bag
Nipple balm & nursing pads
Comfortable clothes to wear home. Most likely a loose dress. You know, like totally Kate Middleton style... Ha.

For Baby - 
Baby hat, mittens & swaddle (Nate says we will get all this in the hospital, but I can't wait for the babe to wear the little things we've picked out).
Coming home outfit
Pacifier (I have one packed, but we are thinking of waiting a little bit before we introduce it).

Extras - 
Boppy/nursing pillow
Car seat
Chargers, iPad, camera
Magazines & games
Anything else the Daddy would like to pack

And there you have it folks. It's just a waiting game now. I seriously don't know what to do with myself now that everything is ready. We've been trying to spend as much quality time together as just the two of us & spoil our dog before his little dog world changes.


Happy Tuesday! :)


Friday, June 24, 2016

36 Week Bump Update


How far along: 36 weeks - baby is the size of a cantaloupe
Gender: No idea 
Weight Gain: 25 lbs.
Stretch marks: Not one. Fingers & toes crossed.
Maternity clothes: Only a couple maternity dresses. I never did find a pair of maternity shorts I liked.
Sleep: Decent.
Best moment of the week: Going paddle boarding! :)
Worst moment of the week: There are no bad moments that come to mind.
Miss anything: Not having to wake up a gazillion times in the middle of the night to pee...
Movement: You bet.
Cravings: Still fresh fruits & veggies.
Symptoms: Swollen feet.
Belly Button in or out: Out-ish
Queasiness or sickness: None.
Looking forward to: Another super warm weekend!

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

It's Summer!

Happy Summer! :)

We went paddle boarding over the weekend & it was an absolute perfect day! I was slightly worried about my balance, but I didn't fall in once! We most definitely need to live near a body of water.


Paddle boarding was on my list of things to do before the baby arrives, but we've also got ourselves a full on summer bucket list for after that little nugget gets here too!

1. Wake up & take a sunrise walk
2. Make pizza on the grill
3. Food truck rodeo
4. Go on a picnic or two
5. Go to the farmer's market
6. Spend an entire day at the lake
7. Make homemade popsicles
8. Go to the drive-in theater
9. Go fishing
10. S'mores
11. Attend an art festival
12. Try out a new brewery
13. Have an early morning breakfast at the park

It just became apparent to me that most of these involve food in some way...


What do you have on your summer bucket list!? :)


Thursday, June 16, 2016

Summer Playlist

Summer officially starts next week, but we have already had a few wonderful weeks of summer weather! The longer days are such a game changer for us. We love being outside & with Nate's schedule we usually have dinner quite a bit later than most, so we are loving that it's still light out when we eat! Plus, we don't have to rush around to get the dog a walk in the daylight & we've definitely noticed he's a much happier pup too! :)

A few things we are loving about summer so far:
1. Long, long evening walks.
2. A happy dog that gets to run his tail off outdoors much longer.
3. Our garden! We have a pepper, quite a few tomatoes growing & we've already used handfuls of our fresh basil.
4. Grilled dinners
5. The farmer's market
6. And soon we will be adding a sweet, little ball of baby to the list & alcoholic beverages for yours truly :)

I've put together a little summer playlist for y'all!
Enjoy!


Happy Wednesday! XO :)


35 Weeks!



How far along: 35 weeks - baby is the size of a canary melon (whatever the hell that is...)
Gender: Don't know! :)
Weight Gain: 25 lbs.
Stretch marks: Not one. Fingers double crossed now.
Maternity clothes: Getting myself some maternity shorts this weekend! 
Sleep: Pretty dang good!
Best moment of the week: Our baby shower!!! It was perfect :)
Worst moment of the week: Hmmm... nothing.!
Miss anything: Sleeping on my stomach!!
Movement: Ooooh yes.
Cravings: Grilled, summer dishes. Nate's the best at those type of meals :)
Symptoms: Heartburn.
Belly Button in or out: Sort of out. It kind of looks like a platypus...
Queasiness or sickness: None.
Looking forward to: The 90 degree weather this weekend & the lake.



Monday, June 13, 2016

Father's Day Gift Guide

Father's Day is this Sunday! And I'm sharing some gift ideas for all those special guys! It may not officially be a Father's Day for Nate, yet, but I will be celebrating this as a "Father to Be" Day for him! :)




Bose Speaker // Perfect to have around the campfire or when that special guy is grilling, or really any other manly activity.
Dollar Shave Club // Every guy deserves a good shave & we all know they cringe at the price of new razors (as do us ladies), but this makes it way less cringeworthy plus they have great packaging! :)
The Tie Bar // They have any type of tie design you could imagine, at really great prices!
Home Brewing Kit // Nate was gifted one of these for Christmas a couple years ago & it was one of the best gifts he's ever received! It really is the perfect gift for any beer lover!
Maple Syrup // We love breakfast over here & it's one of the easiest, but meaningful ways to kick off a day of celebrating Dad!


What are your Father's Day gift ideas & plans?

Happy, happy day! XO

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

34 Week Bump Update


How far along: 34 weeks - baby is the size of a pineapple!
Gender: No idea.
Weight Gain: 25 lbs.
Stretch marks: Not one. Fingers double crossed now.
Maternity clothes: A couple maxi dresses & I'm on the hunt for a pair of maternity shorts.
Sleep: Eh, decent, but I wake up my my hand print in my tummy from holding it up all night. haha
Best moment of the week: Going to the farmers market for the first time this season & an arts festival. 
Worst moment of the week:  An eye exam & finding out I'm blind as a bat.
Miss anything: Being able to tie my shoes easily.
Movement: Tons & tons.
Cravings: Still fresh fruit & veggies with the occasional chocolate.
Symptoms: Some minor heartburn at night.
Belly Button in or out: I don't even know what it is at this point. We'll call it strange...
Queasiness or sickness: None.
Looking forward to: Our baby shower this weekend!!! :)


Sunday, June 5, 2016

Grow & Gather


Apartment living was really cramping my mother nature side the past few years.

Before Nate & I had moved in together, I had a full on, 6 row garden in my parents yard. It took so much work, not just from me, but the rest of my family as well. I loved that thing to pieces. Watering it & watching all the veggies grow. We had cucumbers, radishes, cherry & "regular" tomatoes, green beans, green peppers, corn & eggplant. Everything grew pretty dang well. We had corn on the cob once & enough cherry tomatoes that we had to give them away by the bagful. I had numerous green peppers & eggplants and I was anxiously waiting for them to get to the perfect size. But it appeared the wildlife was also waiting for that perfect day because they plucked each one before me. I hope they enjoyed them because we never got to.

The next summer Nate & I moved in together. Our little first apartment was on the 3rd floor with a tiny deck. We hardly had any natural light during the day & our deck would get a sliver of light in the afternoon. Even with the lack of sunlight I decided I'd plant some basil in a large pot just for shits & giggles. Well those couple of plants grew like crazy & we had enough pesto to last a lifetime. 

The following summer I decided I'd add some cherry tomatoes & a jalepeno just to see what would happen. Mind you, I am no expert gardener. I don't follow the whole spacing rules of planting. If it fits in the damn pot it's going in. Clearly the plants don't necessarily follow those rules either because we had pesto multiple times & enough tomatoes to pair with the basil to have caprese all throughout the summer. We also had about 5 jalepenos!

Now we are lucky enough to live in an apartment on the first floor with a patio & a small patch of grass that gets sunshine all day!

We decided to build a mini raised garden bed in that little patch of grass (all the old ladies are totes jealous). We planted jalepenos, green peppers, buttloads of basil (can you tell we love basil???) and two types of cherry tomatoes. We also have parsley & lavender growing in pots.



We're really living the high life now. Although we still have to worry about the pesky wildlife thieving our goods.



Friday, June 3, 2016

Friday I'm In Love

Happy Friday!!! (and more importantly, National Doughnut Day)


It's the first weekend of June & with Memorial Day already behind us, it is surely the unofficial start to Summer! My favorite season for sure with all the warm sunshine & water. 

The weather is supposed to be sun filled & perfect. We're headed to a local festival along the Erie Canal that we've heard a lot of great things about. We're also making our first trip of the season to the farmers market & I can hardly contain myself. I will be stuffing my pie hole with the fresh blueberry, cream cheese filled bagels. They're my jam.

What will you be doing on this glorious weekend?


These photos will blow your mind.

Mean tweets to kick off the NBA Championship games.

26 TV events you can't miss or can save for a rainy summer day (letter "G" is depressing & can't wait for letter "X").

I might be behind on this, but I had my first "cold soup" & it was ahhh-mazing! Here are some recipes to whip up on those hot summer days.

A children's hospital where pets can visit. Yay!

Magazine cover talk.

Two words: Ryan. Gosling.



Have a happy, happy weekend! :)


Wednesday, June 1, 2016

33 Weeks!


How far along: 33 weeks - baby is the size of a honeydew melon.
Gender: Not finding out!
Weight Gain: 24 lbs.
Stretch marks: Not one. Fingers crossed.
Maternity clothes: A couple of maxi dresses.
Sleep: Pretty good.
Best moment of the week: The beautiful, beautiful weather!
Worst moment of the week: Getting caught in a thunderstorm with a dog that is absolutely petrified of thunder.
Miss anything: Being able to tie my shoes easily.
Movement: Yep.
Cravings: Fruit & fresh vegetables.
Symptoms: A little nausea after I eat.
Belly Button in or out: In.
Queasiness or sickness: None.
Looking forward to: The movie "Me Before You" comes out this weekend & I'm so anxious to see it. I loved the book.