Who Doesn't Love Polka Dots?

Just a few days away from officially being in my third trimester and just as I imagined, getting dressed for the day is getting more and more challenging. I know I sound like a broken record every week, but it's the truth! The worst part is the lack of variety. Not only when you're shopping for maternity clothes (because it's all plain, boring and solid) but when you're staring at your closet every morning trying to come up with a new combination of clothes to wear that day.

Today I'm wearing some pants I got at Motherhood early on. Who doesn't love polka dots these days?! These pants are comfy and great to wear to work so it's a win win.  As far as tops go, I keep it pretty simple so they can be more versatile. I'm learning that necklaces and scarves are your best friend when you're pregnant. Not only do they distract from your ever growing stomach but they also add variety so you can wear your white t-shirt 8 different ways!

 

Linking up with Lindsey @ The Pleated Poppy for WIWW

 

Week 26 Update

Happy Monday everyone! I am finally getting myself back on track with my weekly updates. I think it helps that this weekend we didn't travel or have people staying with us. I feel like I got to recharge even though Monday is still here too soon. I can't complain though, my beloved Redskins finally won their first game of the season! That definitely makes Monday a bit more sweeter.

How far along?: 26 weeks, 2 days
Baby is the size of a: Head of lettuce
Total weight gain/loss: 22lbs
The Bump: Grows daily
Symptoms: Starting to get some lower back pain but nothing too uncomfortable
Food Cravings: Still nothing unique, but I am always wanting something sweet. I am definitely trying to get that under control though.
Anything Making Me Queasy or Sick: Over the weekend I got hit with that first trimester nausea. I really hope it was due to dehydration or hunger and not the morning sickness making it's reappearance.
Sleep: Some nights are better than others, but I'm always getting enough sleep
What I miss: I'm missing beer and wine again. It's that time of the year where the weather is perfect for day trips to vineyards. Not to mention, with football season in full swing, sometimes I just want a beer!
Weddings Rings On or Off: On
Any Names Picked Out Yet: Charlotte Noel
Gender Prediction: Girl!
Movement: Sometimes her movements are so quick and spastic it feels like she's throwing a crazy dance party! It's weird to see my stomach twitch when I'm laying down.
Maternity Clothes: All maternity and still trying to style one outfit 6 different ways so I don't feel like I wear the same thing everyday.
Labor Signs: None.
Best Moment of the Week: I had a complete stranger ask me when I was due! I know I've been showing for a few weeks now, but it does make you feel good (and almost catches me off guard) when people stop to ask how far along you are. Makes everything feel real!
What I’m excited about/looking forward to: Finishing the nursery. I think I will call it done after I complete two more projects and find/hang a mirror!

High Five for the Weekend!

This week has been a good one for many reasons which you'll see below. But what I'm excited for is the weeks ahead. After this weekend, we don't have a free weekend until our little girl is born! Some people would find this exhausting or overwhelming, but I'm excited. Being busy during these last few months is really going to make the time go by so fast!

1. I can't remember the last time I had these deliciously iced sugar cookies. I decided to pick them up last time I was at the grocery store. Best idea ever!
2. I've been working on a big order for a friend who is going on a Disney cruise in November. I'm loving how the bows are turning out!
3. Milo has been the definition of a lazy cat lately. He was turned the other way but I scared him so he rolled over to voice his disapproval. 
4. If you're a blogger, you need this app. You can blog straight from your phone! The possibilities are now endless! Now I don't have to constantly email pictures to myself from my phone, I can just upload them straight to my blog. Not to mention, now I can blog from my bed!
5. As you probably already saw on Tuesday, but by far, the highlight of my week was the surprise baby shower we had while in Richmond. The love and generosity of our friends and family is still sinking in!
6. I know it's supposed to be only five, but I wanted to share anyway. Last night was both my sister's birthday and my parent's wedding anniversary so we all got together to celebrate! It was nice to get to see everyone.

As always, linking up with Lauren Elizabeth for H54F!

Wall Art - Two Tutorials in One!

As the title alludes, this post has two parts. The first part is all about how to make the art, while the second part shows you how to hang it. I assure you, the second part will come in handy to just about everyone. Unless you are just naturally gifted at hanging pictures right the first time. I know I'm not!

I've been having a really great time getting the nursery together, but something the room lacked was art for the walls. I don't want to overdo it because I know once Charlotte is here, we will hang pictures of her and things that reflect her personality as she gets older. But I didn't want to wait for all of that. The room seemed too sterile, so after much deliberation as to what the project should be, I settled on Disney princess silhouettes. The goal of this room is not to overdo the Disney theme, which is why I've been trying to keep it subtle. So many people are shocked that the room isn't themed Minnie Mouse!

Materials:

Silhouettes - $5

Scrapbook paper - $0 (already had)

9 Frames - $45 ($5 a piece)

Glue or tape - ($2)

To start, I needed to find all the princesses in silhouette form. I thought this would be a simple Google search, but boy was I wrong! I wanted my silhouettes to be the same size, look and feel so since Google had failed me, it was off to my trusty companion, Etsy. I found the perfect listing that gave me 11 different princesses to choose from for only $5! Since it was an instant download all I needed to do was make them the color I wanted and print them out on cardstock. For the background I used the same scrapbook paper from the bookcase I made.

Cutting out the silhouettes was much more time consuming than I imagined. Just put on some good TV and get to cutting! Trust me, It's worth it in the end. Once they are all cut out, it was time to place them with their corresponding papers and glue them down. My paper was 12x12 and my frames were 8x10 so I trimmed down each piece of paper before gluing the princesses down in the center. Once they were all attached, I put them in their frames and they were ready to hang!

This is the part that usually gets everyone worked up: hanging pictures. I too am one of those people. I tend to put about 8 different holes in the wall to hang one thing before it is even. For this project, since I had 9 frames to hang in a very particular pattern, I really wanted to get it right the first time. Pinterest led me to this little trick.

Materials:

Pen

Paper

Tape

Hammer

Nails

I took my scrapbook paper, since basic computer paper wasn't big enough, and cut it down to the exact size of my frames.

Then I found where the nail would go and poked a hole in the paper with my pen.

 

All that was left was to tape these little templates to the wall and get them just right!

 

Since the whole was already marked, I took 9 nails and hammered one in each of my templates while they were still on the wall. Then I took the paper off and hung my pictures! How simple is that?!

I love how these turned out and I feel like the nursery is finally looking like a livable room! It feels good to finally have something on the walls! I hope you found this tutorial helpful if not for anything but to hang your pictures.

Week 25 Update

I promise starting next week, these updates will be on Mondays again. These past two weekends have been crazy and I haven't had a chance to sit down and blog. This weekend in particular was very busy but soooo worth it!

It all started with an innocent trip to Richmond. We had been planning on going down this weekend to attend a friend's end of summer cookout. She sent out invites and everything! We drove down Saturday morning, and spent some time with my in-laws by going to various thrift stores hunting for maternity and baby clothes. Then it was time for the party. The four of us drove over and expected to spend the afternoon/evening hanging out with church friends and old family friends. Little did we know, this end of summer cookout was really a surprise shower for us! When we walked in we were so shocked to hear everyone yell, "Surprise!". When I saw my parents and sister (who live up north where we live), I completely lost it. I was so touched and speechless! My husband was just as shocked as I was. I can't believe he didn't know!

It took a little bit to process everything. And after we asked a thousand questions as to how this all transpired, we settled into our little party. The theme of the shower was diapers and I couldn't have been happier. Everyone warns you at how expensive diapers are, so when we opened package after package of diapers, I grew increasingly more and more excited. I think I have enough diapers to get me through the first 6 months of Charlotte's life!

Here are just a few pictures I have from the party. Thank you again to all our friends and family for their love and support this weekend. We can't even put into words how lucky we are to have each and every one of you in our lives.

 Such a cute diaper cake!

This was the same bassinet my husband slept in. My mother-in-law fixed it up to make it match the master bedroom. This is so special for so many reasons. 

 

Look at this cake! I wish I could explain to you how massive it was! I love how classic and simple it looks while still being super personal!

Now let's get on with the Bumpdate!

How far along?: 25 weeks, 3 days
Baby is the size of a: Cauliflower
Total weight gain/loss: 20lbs
The Bump: Feeling HUGE!
Symptoms: Starting to feel a bit uncomfortable. My stomach sometimes feels so tight it's going to burst! I know it's only going to get worse in the third trimester, but I can't believe it's already feeling that way.
Food Cravings: Not a real craving, but I'm so thankful for candy corn season to be upon us. This is the first time I've been able to eat candy corn without feeling incredibly guilty about it.
Anything Making Me Queasy or Sick: A few times this week I went from zero to starving in about 3.5 seconds. When I get that hungry, it turns into nausea, just like in the first trimester. Good news is, a little snack fixes me right up.
Sleep: I don't feel like I'm actually asleep. I don't know if it's the vivid dreams or the fact that every time I move I wake up, but I'm starting not to feel well rested.
What I miss: Mobility! I can't sit on my legs or cross them for long periods of time without feeling incredibly uncomfortable. I'm also noticing just bending over to get things off the ground is more challenging than ever.
Weddings Rings On or Off: On but getting tight
Any Names Picked Out Yet: Charlotte Noel
Gender Prediction: Lovely little girl
Movement: I think she got stronger this week. I am feeling her kick and move a lot stronger than before
Maternity Clothes: Found some great clothes at the thrift stores in Richmond! I'm very excited for the cool weather to come for good so I can start styling my new-to-me clothes
Labor Signs: None.
Best Moment of the Week: My husband finally felt her kick! I was laying in bed and could see my stomach twitching so I called for him to come feel and sure enough, he felt her! I think he thought it was a bit weird, but deep down I know he loved feeling her moving around.
What I’m excited about/looking forward to: Almost the third trimester!

H54F - New Things

This week flew by! Sorry for being MIA this week, I feel like I never caught up from the weekend. I'm one of those people that needs the weekend to reset. This weekend was a fun one, but tiring. We were busy with a minor home improvement project and my in-laws were in town so we spent the weekend running all over the place. We got a lot accomplished and this week's high fives are all about the fun new things from the week!

1. Spent a few hours with my littlest niece, Sadie. Napping like a little diva already.
2. This may sound crazy, but iOS 7 was definitely the highlight of my week. I love the new look and welcome the change that many people are apprehensive about. It feels like I got a brand new phone without paying for one! Winning!
3. Milo likes to be as helpful as possible around the house. I was building a bookcase (see #5) and he decided to supervise.
4. Here is a sneak peak of a tutorial I will be doing for you next week. It's another nursery project and I'm so happy with how it turned out. Things are really starting to come together!
5. The bookcase that my desk was attached to used to only by 2 cubies wide and 4 long. I was quickly running out of room, so when I found a 4x4 version on Craigslist it was fate! The guy even had it disassembled for me and when I got it home it took me less than an hour to build and swap the old for the new. Now I have more space then I ever could have imagined!

Linking up with Lauren Elizabeth for H54F!

Week 24 Bumpdate

What a GORGEOUS weekend we just had! Now that we are getting closer and closer to the third trimester, everything is starting to feel more and more real. I finally sat down and focused on creating our baby registry. It was such an overwhelming task and I kept putting it off, but now that it's done, it feels so good!

How far along?: 24 weeks, 3 days
Baby is the size of a: Cantaloupe
Total weight gain/loss: 20lbs
The Bump: Steadily getting bigger
Symptoms: I know I've said it before, but getting winded is so annoying! Going up a few flight of stairs makes me feel so out of shape!
Food Cravings: Still nothing in particular. I like sweet things after I eat a meal, but let's face it, I've always been like that.
Anything Making Me Queasy or Sick: Nope!
Sleep: I feel like I toss and turn a lot more than usual, but really I think it's just because I wake up every time I move at night.
What I miss: Energy! I have none. I get tired out by the littlest of tasks
Weddings Rings On or Off: On
Any Names Picked Out Yet: Charlotte Noel
Gender Prediction: Still a girl!
Movement: Nothing really changing on the movement front. Still feels like little flutters and rolls.
Maternity Clothes: All I wear is maternity clothes. Unless I'm just arounde the house, then it's my husbands clothes. I have suddenly outgrown all of my tshirts!
Labor Signs: None.
Best Moment of the Week: Getting some help with the nursery! My in-laws came up this weekend to help with house projects and we cleaned out Charlottes closet! It feels so good not to have an avalanche of junk tumbling out at you when you open the closet doors.
What I’m excited about/looking forward to: Still waiting for that moment my husband can really feel her kicking. I know it will be soon.