Christmas-ing

I can't believe the holidays are almost here. It took us a little while to get into the holiday spirit, but we're finally there.. I mean, it's official. No, the lighting of the Rockefeller Christmas Tree doesn't make it official, nor does the holiday shopping.

In our house, we know it's Christmastime when Folgers brings back their holiday commercial. For those of you not familiar with this gem:

 Can we talk for a second about how creepy this commercial is? Is it just us or is there a weird brother/sister dynamic in play here?

Well, either way... Our house is all decked out (kind of) for Christmas.

Can't believe we'll have 3 stockings next year!!

Wrapping gifts is my favorite!

And our friends sure have been on top of it this year getting their holiday cards out. Sadly enough, we opted to not send Christmas cards this year with everything going on and because we'll be doing birth announcements this spring.

You'll notice I haven't gone on my usual rant against holiday yard inflatables this year. This video should explain why:

For reference, our house is the first one with the porch lights on. We are one of the only houses on our street that did not put up any outdoor Christmas lights, so who am I to start knocking on those who at least did SOMETHING outdoors (inflatables or not)? The hubby promised me that we could do lights next year. I'm documenting this right now.

Anyways, we'll be spending a few days in Houston visiting family for the holidays and then will be in nursery overdrive until we head back to work in January.

Hope everyone has a lovely Christmas surrounded by those you love most!! xoxo

Baby List-ing

Wow, no blogging for three weeks and then three posts all in one week. Can you tell my hubby is out of town?

Plus, whenever I come across something I think is cool/useful/fun, I can't help but share!

So, I just told you about our baby registering, which went relatively smooth, but I was also doing some researching online to see if Etsy had a baby registry (they don't)... but can we talk for a second about the fact the Etsy DOES have a wedding registry?!

Ummm, friends who are getting married: can someone please take advantage of this?! No more registering for ugly wall art at Bed, Bath & Beyond (or was just that us that did that...?). I love the idea that you can pick out super-cute, hand-made home items that guests can buy that you will actually WANT to display in your home. Hopefully, someone takes advantage of this soon!

On another note, I did come across a service called BabyLi.st. (And yes BabyLi.st is the actual URL.)

Basically, it allows you to register for anything that you can buy online and it aggregates it into a registry list. It adds an "Add to BabyList" button to your browser (just like the Pinterest "Pin it" button) so you can easily add things to the list. It's great because it allows me to keep track of things I'd like for the baby and then you can share it with friends and family in case they'd like to buy something from that list. I, by no means, EXPECT people to buy from the list as it's a little less "essentials" and more "things that I'll probably end up buying any way" but I always love giving a personal, cute gift that I know someone actually wants. For me, it's definitely acting as a "bookmark" for things I'd like for the baby or his nursery (such as a cute diaper bag tote, a baby book, crib sheets, a crib mobile, etc.).

So, for any Mommies-to-be out there, you should totally check it out! Has anyone used it before?

Adventures in Baby Registering

Several weeks back, the hubby and I took off on a random Friday to spend the day together and knock out our baby registry. A few people scoffed at the idea that we could knock it all out in one day, but let me tell you, we were quite prepared. In the weeks prior, I had done my research (online, consumer reports, asking friends for recommendations) on baby products, so equipped with my list (a pretty detailed spreadsheet, which my accounting hubby enthusiastically approved of), we set off for Target and later, Buy Buy Baby.

Why did we register at Target? Um, well for one thing, it's maybe one of my favorite stores. And two, it's an easy, non-intimidating store for friends without babies to shop in. One of my non-Mommy friends swears she had a panic attack inside the baby humidifier section at Buy Buy Baby... and no one wants that, right?! I didn't understand her until I turned to go in that section and got hit with a weird-smelling steam. (Needless to say, Baby Benson is going sans a humidifier...) But Buy Buy Baby was where we really got down to business with the larger items and other items that Target didn't carry in-stores.

The list helped us be adequately prepared, but Greg still got to make important decisions like hooded bath towels - monkey or frog? Monkey, great. Swaddlers - blue print or animals? Blue print, check. He did, however, politely bow out when it came to things like breastfeeding accessories, understandably.

We still have a few outstanding questions such as "to jogging stroller or not to jogging stroller" and if the answer is the former, do you go high-end or low-end since it's a back-up stroller? We're still figuring that out, but overall, the list served us well.

Best part of the shopping experience? Um, duh. VIP parking...

Living Room Refresh: Part Deux

Yes, I'm still working on updating the living room. I got a little side-tracked, but have finished another step in my living room refresh project. I'm still working on what I want to do with the artwork above the couch. The hubby never liked it and I've recently come around to his way of thinking. I ordered a cute fabric to wrap the canvas in as a temporary fix, but after the fabric came in, I decided I didn't like that anymore... We have a new game plan, so hope to get around to that project in the next few weekends. So, I'm skipping step #2 for now and moving to step #3. Pillows.

I spent about 3 hours one Saturday morning in an Etsy vortex and when I came out on the other side, had ordered about 5-6 new throw pillow covers. Our current throw pillows were ones that came with our furniture. They were fine and did their job for more than 4 years, but it was time for a change.

I ordered my throw pillows from this shop, where I've ordered before and this shop, which was a little pricier than I usually like, but they had some great pattern and are very high quality. I got the pillow forms from Joann's Fabric for 40% off (their down alternative pillows are a little more expensive, but they really are the best).

Uh-oh, we're totally busted. Yes, that's a puzzle on our coffee table we're working on... Nerd Alert!

Now, all I need to do is replace the above the couch artwork and do a bit of zhushing/adding small decor items. Easier said than done as we're also starting to work on the baby's nursery, organizing guest room closets and replacing all the carpet in our home. We'll get around to it, though! :-)

Hungry Lady: Eating for Two Edition

Well, I've been doing quite a bit of cooking and trying out new recipes. I'm not sure if I'm trying to compensate for the fact that I didn't get off the couch for my entire first trimester or looking ahead to much of the same for the third, but while I have the energy and appetite, I thought, why not cook?!

You may or may not have seen these before on Pinterest, but thought I'd give you the run-down on two new recipes that are definitely worth trying.

Skinny Spinach Lasagna Rolls
On a scale of Lazy to Julia Child, I award this a solid Betty Crocker. It was delicious, made enough for plenty of leftovers and was relatively easy. It took about 30 minutes of prep and about 30 minutes to bake. Here's the full recipe, but note that I subbed regular lasagna noodles for whole grain and added more spaghetti sauce than it called for because "I like things saucy."

(via)

Crawfish & Rice Casserole
Considering Greg and I both lived in Louisiana for several years of our life, it should come as no surprise that we both love seafood. So, when I stumbled upon this recipe, I knew I had to give it a whirl. My gem of a husband took the lead on this one and honestly, it was kind of a lot of work. We also did 1/2 crawfish (frozen from Kroger) and 1/2 shrimp and opted for instant microwave rice because we're lazy like that. It was delicious. Despite it being a huge pain to cook, we'll definitely be cooking again! (Recipe here!)

(via)

(our photo - it was much more appetizing than it looks!)

Oh, and after only a little over two years, I finally put on my big girl panties and decided to get real place settings for our dinner table. Yay for being an adult!

(Don't mind the Joe's cup...  :-)

Let me know if you give these recipes a try! And follow my appropriately named "Mmmmm" board on Pinterest!

Pregnancy: Week 18-21 in Review

Well I feel like I've definitely gotten in the swing of this whole pregnancy thing. Here's a quick look at the first few weeks of my second trimester:

Feeling? I feel fantastic! I'm definitely growing, but I'm still comfortable and feeling good overall. So, I'm trying to do as much now while I feel good!

Weight Gain? About 8 pounds as of today.

Baby Size? We've graduated from a bell pepper to the length of a carrot. According to my all-knowing BabyCenter app, he weighs about 3/4 pound and is about 10 1/2 inches long.

Maternity Clothes? Yes, my normal wardrobe has shrunk in size... But I've found some cute maternity tops and I finally broke down and bought some maternity jeans. I'm still rocking the belly band with my work dress pants, but those days are numbered. My favorite thing to wear is my maternity leggings (they are from H&M and they have a full belly built in - most maternity leggings I've found sit below the bump). If only those were considered "business casual"...

Cravings? Nothing specific, but I still love anything salty and fruit. I'm eating lots of pineapple, strawberries, apples and bananas. I still think about french onion dip quite often, but I've cut back (for the sake of maintaining a not huge ass).

What I Miss? Every once in a while, I miss being able to drink a nice adult beverage (especially on a really nice day on a patio). But other than that, I'm just really enjoying this part of pregnancy.

Fears? Why yes, I have a mountain of them, but I try to focus on the small ones such as the fact that my belly button is getting shallower. I don't know if I'm destined for a maternity "outie" but my fingers are crossed that I'm not.

What I'm Looking Forward To? We've painted the nursery (pics to come!) and now we're getting started on some other nursery projects, which should be fun. Baby registry day is coming up this week, too.

Best Moment? The baby has started moving so much. I feel him every day and I absolutely love it! Greg even got to feel a kick for the first time this weekend. :-)

Breaking my cardinal rule of no iPhone in the mirror pics, but Greg was out of town!

It was Halloween. I couldn't help myself...

Nursery Prepping

Well, the time has finally come for us to start on our baby's nursery! We were waiting on our ultrasound (which happened a couple of weeks ago) to confirm that it was a boy (it is!) before we started anything.

Our sweetie!

But now, it's full speed ahead! The hubby's busy season starts in January and while the vision for the nursery is clearly mine, Greg is definitely the man who's making the vision come alive. So let's get to my master plan:

The Idea:
Well, really the look I'm going for is theme-less; nothing against nurseries with themes, I just want this room to be classic. We're shooting for neutral and not too baby-ish. We can add wall art and of course, toys, to make it look like a nursery, but I like that he can grow into it.

The Color Scheme:
Gray & Navy with shots of Kelly Green - The walls will be gray with lots of gray accents, but we'll add navy and throw in a pop or two of bright green to liven up the space. (I'm still finalizing paint swatches for the green color!)

When I fell into my Etsy vortex a few weeks ago, I came across this throw pillow that so perfectly fits my color scheme. Of course, I had to order it. Where it will live? I'm not sure yet, but I love the J.Crew-esque design. (It's by Jillian Rene Decor and all of her stuff is gorgeous/high quality!)

The Furniture:
I think we'll go with white furniture (crib), but I've been wanting to get a great dresser for the changing table that we could re-do and paint in a bright color. Lucky for me, I have an awesome husband and Connor has a great future daddy because when I found a dresser on Craigslist weekend before last, Greg agreed to drive me to a tiny town east of Dallas (about an 85-90 mile round trip!) to pick up this gorgeous dresser from an antique shop.

We're both so in love with the shape. It's a vintage French Provincial dresser and it's in amazing condition; it's so beautiful in person that I think it's going to be hard to paint over the beautiful wood, but that's still the plan. We also love that if we decide to take it out of his room, we could strip it, refinish or repaint it and it could live in a guest bedroom or even as a buffet table in a dining room.

Well that's as far as we've gotten, but we'll be sure to update you along the way!