More Color!!

Happy Friday Lovelies.

A huge thanks to 79 Ideas to introducing me to Rice. It seems to be an awesome company based out of Europe.

How'd they get their name you ask?

A good friend of ours has made a song for us - called "add some spice to life with rice". We all love it, and are sure you will too!
-Rice, Website

Unfort- it doesn't look like they sell or ship over here. Bummer.

But that doesn't mean that I don't totally adore their stuff:




So colorful and so fun. Maybe someday they will expand to the US. Pretty please.

Well, have a fantastic weekend!! Whoot Whoot.

Summer Color.

Super obsessing over color these days.

Design Sponge.

Design Sponge.


Oh Happy Day via Milk Magazine.

So much so, that here's a sneak peak at some Baby Bedding inspiration:

Throw in some stripes, a few whales, and some white, and that's my Baby Bedding inspiration. You like??

Lounging Love

Hi Lovelies, Yesterday I was recovering from a quick trip to LA for our Niece's Baby Naming. It was super great, but also our 8th trip to LA in a year!!! Wowzers! And our last trip for at least 7 Months! (Can I tell you how happy that makes me!! The trips are always so fast that they are a killer).

While I recover, I wish I could cuddle up on this lounger with this sweet guy:

As seen on: Desire to Inspire.

BUT you can buy any of those awesome pillows here: Graham and Green.

Don't you just die over those pillows?? Something about them are killer.

Happy Tuesday.

Week 17 & 18: Random Thoughts on Pregnancy

Here's just a bit of random thoughts I've been thinking for the last couple weeks.

Of course the main thought- Holy Sh*$, it's a girl!!!

The crazy thing is- the night before the ultrasound I had a dream that the baby said to me, "Mama, I am a girl." I woke up thinking that I didn't need to go to the ultrasound appointment. Cray cray I tell ya.

--I really did think I was having a boy, and it's a bit strange not having to even think about boy names or boys clothes any more.

--I can't stop rubbing my belly. I love it. BUT I have yet to really feel the baby move. BIG Bummer.

--I started prenatal yoga and I love it. I totally started crying at the beginning of class when you close your eyes and imagine talking to your baby.

-- I am an emotional wreck (see above). I cry when watching almost any TV show.

-- I've started to pick out fabrics for the baby bedding- My goal is to do semi-DIY bedding. It helps that we've finally decided on the furniture, including a super awesome crib/bassinet combo on wheels!!

--We have a short list of names, but so far nothing is sticking.

--Our 20 week (well, we had it at 17weeks) ultrasound was completely normal. They measured and took pictures of a billion different things (ok, more like 60), including the brain, heart and kidneys. All is great and normal--- or as great and normal as we can know right now!

--My husband kindly pointed out that I am starting to get that dark line down my belly- linea negra. Thanks Honey.

--In good news, I am 'glowing' aka tanner. In bad news, I swear I losing more hair than normal when I wash my hair.

--I might have felt the baby, but I just don't know for sure. Can't wait until I feel her for sure!!

Here I am, Week 17, Day2 going out for my birthday dinner:

Here I am Week 18, Day 6. Think I popped??

Huck is finally noticing that something is a bit different.

Happy Friday. Hope you have a fab weekend!! We're off to hang with our Baby Niece in LA!

A white lie.

Yesterday I posted about buying these chairs with wooden legs:

Or these guys with metal legs:

Unfort, I told you a white lie. I bought these chairs yesterday afternoon:

Cons:

These chairs were a bit more expensive (with shipping and tax $260 for the pair- well over my $100 per chair limit).

Maybe a tad-less stylish.

Pros:

I think they go with our dining nook table better.

They were on sale and I saved over 100 bucks (with shipping. Down from $319 to $219 for the pair.

I bought them off of one of our favorite sites (we actually registered for our wedding at Viva Terra, but only got one gift).

They are made of recycled metal, so maybe the most Eco-chic thing in our Apartment!

And finally, on a practical, future-thinking note: This was the only chair that could allow us to use this in the future:

A booster seat will save us from having to buy a space-hogging high chair in the future. So a bit of an eco-chic, kid friendly, apartment living practicality purchase, if I do say so myself.

Can't wait to show you them in action. Do you have any super practical or eco-chic furniture?

Dining

Ok, I think I have hinted about our dining chairs for awhile now. To be honest, it's more like a kitchen nook with a table and chairs, not really a dining room or dining table. BUT they say work with what ya got. And I got a dining nook.

As I may have mentioned earlier, I purged our kitchen table earlier this year. Here's what we've got going now, I've turned our old desk into our table:

Second, we bought this (awesome to me) bench from Cost Plus with a $50 off $200:

Sure it's an outdoor bench, but it looks much more gray in person and so far we've gotten a few compliments on it. I am also in the mist of making a bench seat for it, but haven't quite finished that yet.

Third, since we need to make room in our bedroom, I am seriously considering painting this chair a glossy white, recovering the seat, and bringing it into the dining nook:

Finally, I want two more chairs. As I said recently, I have been eying some chairs on o.co and I finally have some b-day money to spend on them.

Ideally, I love these with the wooden legs:

BUT since our table has white wire legs, I am leaning towards these guys:

Anyone have an opinion?? Obviously, you can tell that I love the look of eclectic chairs grouped together with a gray and white 'theme.'

Oh, and don't your worry your pretty little heads, I have an idea of how to add a pop of color. Just have to put my words into action first.

Our Grainy Lounger

Lovelies, I finally have a few pictures of our new lounger with our new pillows!! Yippeee.

Remember the one we bought from the C&B outlet at a RIDICULOUS price.

But before I show them to you, I have a question for you fabulous photographers. We have a sort of lame-o Canon Point and Shot. It's two years old, and recently, the pictures I have been uploading are super grainy. Any chance that it is user error and I can fix it? Or do we just need a better camera?

So I apologize for my lame-o grainy pic.

But do you like the couch and pillows??

Now that we've added the pillows, I love the couch.

(Pillows left to right: Ikea, homemade, CB2, homemade Ikea fabric, Ikea, homemade Knoll 1960s fabric, homemade Ikea fabric, blanket: Ikea)

BUT. There is always a but, right?

WARNING: if you have animals- this is not the couch for you. It shows animal hair (dog and cat) like nobodies business. And even with an aggressive use the of the spray bottle, a new cat scratcher, and putting blankets on the corners, the cat likes to use it as a scratching post!! Yikes. It's already showing wear and tear after two months.

Once we have a kiddo, I doubt this couch will make it very long. So honestly, it's super comfy cozy and I can already see us getting cozy with Baby Jaws on this HUGE guy, but it's close to a purchase fail. Maybe a C+ (plus for comfort).

Before you forget, any camera suggestions??

Huh?

Interrupting the talk about babies and hospitals to bring you a post that shows that good design can cross languages. I have no idea what this post says, but I love this kitchen:







Particularly, these blue chairs.


I have been eying the white ones on o.co for months. And with a little extra birthday money they just might be mine very soon!!

Finally, thank you thank you for all the well wishes for our baby-girl-to-be and for my little Niece. While a bit more complicated than previously thought, my Niece is hopefully going to be out of the PICU this afternoon and on her way to recovery.

Here's to a speedy recovery.

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods.

Well Wishes

Lovelies, a huge thank you for all the Baby Girl love yesterday. I have an even bigger favor to ask today- maybe the most important ever.

My little Niece is undergoing surgery for a pretty intense case of juvenile scoliosis. This little girl means the world to me, so any thoughts or well wishes that you could send her way would be greatly appreciated.

HUGE thank you in advance.

Happy Happy Birthday to Me

Received the very very best birthday present today.

Sugar and Spice and everything nice.

It's a girl.

Over the moon excited.

Week 16: Predictions

Today is officially Week 16 Day 6. I was going to skip a post for this week- still exhausted- same old, same old...

BUT then I realized that in a few short days we get to find out the gender. Can I get a whoot whoot!!??

So today maybe my only chance to ask for gender predictions! Of course, I have done some highly scientific gender identifying tests to try to identify what might be growing inside of me, here are the results:

1. First Motherly instinct/intuition: Boy.

2. First and only dream about the baby: Girl.

3. Chinese gender chart: Boy.

4. Craving sweets: Girl.

5. Putting a ring on a string: Boy.

6. My Mom says I am carrying high: Girl.

7. Mr. Spice and I think I am carrying low: Boy.

8. My face is totally broken out: Girl.

If you are counting- that's 4:4. Needless to say, I am starting to wonder if this baby is just genderless. Well, not really, but it just means that I am super anxious for next week.

Any guesses from the general public??

I promise a pic next week- opps.

Week 15: Exhausted, again

I desperately want the exhaustion to end. That is all.

Week 14: A mess, agian.

I am a mess, again.

Hours after writing my Week 13 post on how I felt SOOO much better, I felt like a 2 ton truck hit me with a load of bricks. I have been close to a walking zombie ever since. So freakin exhausted, still.

I thought I wasn't doing too bad until I heard Mr. Spice tell his entire family on Father's Day that I have good days and bad days, and that today wasn't such a great one. Ouch.

I will admit that was only a few hours after I bit his head off for not letting me have cereal before we left the house to go to brunch. New household rule- feed the pregnant woman right away!!!

I am now STARVING from the time I wake up until right after lunch. Basically, I eat two breakfasts, pre-lunch, and lunch every day. Dinner too, but food in the morning is the most important part.

I am also full time in maternity pants- or should I say pant. I've bought three pairs of pants- and so far the The Perfect Pant, aka a pregnant women's dream, aka sweat pants that I wear to work- are the only keepers.

I did buy a 'super cute' and 'super expensive' pair of leggings to go under dresses. I spent the whole day with the crotch of the leggings around my knees all day long, which made me want to shot someone.

Of course, I bought them at a store with a horrid return policy, and after fighting with the women about how the super expensive leggings were a piece of crap and that I would no longer shop there- she FINALLY returned them for store credit.

Yet only after she shamed me and told me they were a small independent shop (btw, they have three stores)- and I told her that I completely agree and that in NO WAY was I trying to take advantage. Needless to say, I am not excited about going back to the store in the near future.

To top it all off, I confirmed that I just look fat on the bus yesterday. I stood the entire way home while I watched two 20-something girls and a 20-something guy chat merrily about their favorite bars. As they were sitting at the front of the bus under the sign that read "By law you must vacate seats for seniors and disabled people"- you can guarantee that I was sticking my stomach out at them and throwing daggers with my eyes.

But the worst part, I have totally been that person. I've seen a women's belly that might or might not be pregnant and not given them my seat. Yikes. I know common courtesy is to not assume that someone is pregnant, but at that moment I was so upset at myself for not giving up my seat previously. Urg, the double edge sword of early pregnancy.

With that, I am off to get a bagel with cream cheese, yummm. So hungry.

Week 13: The Announcement

Week 13 started with an emergency trip to Gap Maternity for some jeans. I may or may not have wanted to cry at work due to the tightness of my pants even with the belly band (PS skip the belly band, I wore it like 4 times and went straight into maternity pants- no looking back now).

I also finally told work today!! It helps that I work at a place that is so accepting (well, except for that one guy in another department who apparently likes to tell folks not to have kids due to overpopulation- surprise, I haven't rushed to tell him the news yet).

Overall, they are truly happy for me, and while I won't be taking a full year- they reminded me that they do have to legally keep my job open for an entire year if I so choose it (just to clarify, that'd be an unpaid leave of absence).

Also, THANK YOU for all the awesome love and congrats when I announced the news on this little old blog. Little Jaws is loved.

Speaking of Little Jaws, it's a perfect peach (I switched over to the Bump because I didn't want to have to refer to my kid as a medium sized shrimp).

As for me, my energy is completely back- whoo hooo. And I think I am actually starting to enjoy this little adventure. I even started looking up baby gear- which I had stopped from week 5 to 11 due to the first trimester blues.

I also started to get my first bits of unsolicited advice. Wow, those were uncomfortable. Basically, I have no desire to figure out my birth plan at the moment- or to read a library of books on having a baby the natural way. I also have not decided on what sort of child care option we are going to use, but I do know that not working is NOT an option for us.

Knocking on wood, this baby will come out at some point, and I have 27 more weeks to figure out how that is going to happen, and another 5.5 months after that to cement down child care. Some may call it denial, but whateve.

The first of many parental decisions that works for me- keeping myself in the dark as long as possible.

And with lack of a better bump watch picture, here we are an an awesome wedding in Seattle:

Week Twelve: Huge Sigh of Relief

Can I just tell you how much better this week has been? The fog of week 5 to 11 is starting to lift. It's like I am me again. I feel like singing like Ariel in the Little Mermaid-- ahhh ahhh ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. (sorry I can't sing for the life of me)

Not only that, but we got to see Baby Jaws on the ultrasound yesterday-- it was one of the most amazing experiences of my entire life. The little one looks like a mini human and was bouncing all over the place. If you've never experienced an ultrasound in action- it's a billion times cooler than looking at those black and white photos that people post on Facebook.

So the ultrasound was more than just to see the Baby. It was part of my three part genetic testing that I told you about last week. So far the numbers look fantastic and even the Doctor was excited to hear the results. One thing I did learn, age is just one factor in the results. At almost 32, I shouldn't worry about my age and the pregnancy.

Little Jaws was measuring just over two inches and is the size of a Precious Plum. I am starting to look real thick in the middle. My pants are actually fitting a little better because my bump has kind of moved up- if I wear my pants low enough, I look like I've been drinking too much beer over the last few months (I wish).

We also met with the Doctor yesterday, and it was just to chat. Other than my weight (I've gained none so far- thank you nauseousness!) and my BP, they didn't need to do anything to me. As my Doctor said, pregnancy is a really natural process so they try to interfere as little as possible. My Doctor did recommend switching off my prenatal for the next month to Vitamin B6 to get even more relief from the nauseousness and to get a bit more energy! Apparently, for now, the folic acid, which is important during pregnancy, has done it's work.

Feeling great and excited to jet off to Seattle this afternoon for a good friends wedding. I am going to try to squeeze into my rehearsal dinner dress from my wedding. It may not be pretty. Wish me luck!!

Here I am last night at 12w4d.

Happy July!!!

Hello Lovelies, are you still there? I promise the pregnancy updates are almost caught up. It feels like they are taking forever.

BUT good news. It's July!!! And July 4th- my very very favorite holiday of the year is on Monday!!

Hope you have a fabulously sparkling holiday!!

A holiday that includes a pool and sunshine would be even better!!

Padraic Cassidy Architect.

Best to you and your family. Oh, and be safe!

Week Eleven: Some Relief

Finally, some relief from the nauseousness and the exhaustion. Hallelujah, it feels like a miracle. Even right now, I am feeling slightly nauseous, but it is soooooooo much less than it was that I'll take it.

Yesterday was our second anniversary, and I still can't believe that two years ago we were off on our honeymoon adventure and this year we are on an entirely different adventure.

Of course we ate cupcakes from our wedding on the roof top deck we got married on.
I heart Miette and Hotel Vitale!!

With a bit of relief from the nauseousness, I am FINALLY starting to get excited. I am still freaked out, but I am SO ready to (1) stop telling folks not to post anything on Facebook just yet, (2) tell my MIL that she can finally tell her friends, (3) tell everyone at work, (4) announce it on this blog, and (5) start showing already!!

That last one may sound crazy, but when you are preggo and not showing it feels like a sham and for awhile you don't want people to know because you (mainly me) are still trying to process the whole thing, but now that I am starting to feel better, I just want it all out there.

I also feel that I have ants in my pants to hit the 12 week mark, but even more importantly, one week from today-- we get a sonogram!! Whoot whoot.

Today I am also going in to start a three part round of genetic testing called Integrated and Sequential Screening.

Honestly, I am not sure how I really feel about this. We are doing the least invasive of procedures- today I get a pinprick, next week a sonogram, and in a month- another pinprick.

With screening in both the first and second trimester this test is about 90 to 94% accurate. I am nervous of the outcome and even more nervous about a false positive or false negative. But at the end of the day, we decided to go forward with the screening because if our little Jaws is going to need some extra love and care, I want to be as prepared as possible. I guess I'll know more in a week, but until then I have to focus on helping grow a strong healthy baby inside of me!!

Positive thoughts.

Oh, one last thing- Those two pounds I gained last week- well, that was bloat and I have now lost them, but I do have an emerging belly. My fat pants are starting to get real uncomfortable real fast, so I did get a couple things from Gap Maternity and a dress from Pea In the Pod for a few upcoming events.

Here I am post anniversary lunch- in my new maternity dress. I am pretty sure the pouch is mostly a tummy full of cupcakes and Slanted Door:

___________________

Update: So I went in for my pin prick yesterday and I ended up having full blood work taken. Apparently, I was supposed to do this a few weeks back but was never told. I pretty much had a full melt down because not only was I totally nauseous, I also had to miss my hair cut appointment because it all took so long. Tears were shed and they had to give me apple juice to calm me down afterwords.

My long way of saying -- don't mess with a pregnant lady!!

And YES, my emotions are officially out of control. I cried during the movie Bridesmaids.