Week 18 Pregnancy Journal

How Far Along? 18 weeks

Size of Baby: A sweet potato (5.6 inches)

Gender: Baby girl!

Weight Gain: Gained that Thanksgiving pound that I promised. So ... right back up to my pre-pregnancy weight. Netting zero. (But look at that tummy!?)

Maternity Clothes: Still needing maternity leggings and tights like whoa. Loving my maternity jeans so very much!

Nursery: We got a quote back from the company to re-do our future nursery closet to make it more efficient and baby-sized. All I can say about that quote is: yikes. Looking into other options, maybe even just getting an antique wardrobe for the nursery to store her clothes, shoes and accessories and keeping the closet as it currently is, holding our formal and cocktail attire and my wedding dress.

Movement: Yes yes yes! I was hoping it would happen on Thanksgiving, but baby girl took the reins and let me know who was in charge ... I felt her move for the first time the day after. My mom said she was telling me that we needed to go Black Friday shopping. A girl after my own shopaholic heart.

Symptoms: This week I've had crazy dry hands. Growing belly, normal appetite, tired and falling asleep on the couch by 9pm. Slightly lightheaded sometimes when I stand up quickly. Also, if I eat a really large meal, my stomach feels so tight and painful. So trying to keep that in check!

Sleep: Sleeping great! What a change from those weeks where I was up every single night to potty. I actually look forward to going to sleep at night every morning when I'm making up the bed with Ian. :) Loving the Snoogle pregnancy pillow!

Cravings: I've been trying to be better about eating salads. Some nights I don't really have much of an appetite but I always make sure to eat something, even if it's just a big bowl of cereal. My appetite during the day is great, though!

What I Miss: I'm doing the big cold-weather closet transition and finding some clothes that frankly won't be given any wear this year. See ya this time next year, Old Navy skinny cords.

Best Moment This Week: Feeling baby girl move was an incredible feeling that I'll never ever forget.

Looking Forward To: We have another ultrasound this Thursday and I always love seeing the babe on the big screen!

I'll be sharing the gender reveal photos tomorrow!

A Lovely Greenville Wedding

My friend Kate is one of the prettiest, classiest women I know -- and I know the word "classy" sometimes makes people wrinkle their nose. But I use this term very purposefully to describe her. She is a true lady, and her recent wedding in Greenville, SC was such a reflection of that!

After getting married to her soulmate Matt, they had the most lovely reception at the Westin Poinsett, which is always a treat since I don't get to party there very often. You see, as a freshman ADPi, our chapter was kindly asked not to return after some spring formal debauchery. Whatever. It was totally worth it.

We did earn that right back my senior year, thank goodness. But nobody can say we can't throw a heck of a party. ;)

Kate's gown was so beautiful and feminine -- sleek and covered in lace.

The trio was reunited ... love these girls! I got to love on Ashley's baby bump (she is due about 6 weeks before me, does she not look fantastic?!) and we also got to celebrate Kerry's recent engagement!

Dressing for this wedding was a little interesting -- my tummy wasn't large enough to merit a maternity cocktail dress, so I pulled out this Laundry dress from many moons ago. It has ruching on one side and is very stretchy so it worked. I wore those JCP pink medallion pave earrings I'm obsessed with (on clearance now for $7) and a broach cuff that I made.

Here are the girls from my ADPi pledge class. We made sure to behave ourselves this time around.

As an added bonus, I actually got to meet two new friends, Jennifer and Amy, who read my blog! It was so much fun chatting with them. As you get older, it can be hard to meet new girlfriends, but this blog has been such a blessing in that regard!

The next morning on the way out of town, Ian and I grabbed some Starbucks for the road and drove through my alma mater's campus. Furman is just such a lovely place and not just for the memories I built there. In fact, just the other day it was named one of the 10 uniquely stunning college campuses from around the world! Ian had been there with me before, but it was fun driving slowly through the campus, pointing out my old dorm rooms and apartments as well as my classroom buildings and hangouts.

   

It truly was a spectacular wedding and congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs.!

Our Thanksgiving Dinner

We had a bit of a non-traditional Thanksgiving and it was just wonderful. This year it was just us -- husband, wife, nobody else! We know this will be the very last time that we have a holiday like this, and it was nice to soak that up. The holidays can often times take it out of you ... travel, large gatherings, lots of cooking and cleanup. Our day was simple, easy, relaxing. Perfect.

I did a grocery run on Monday and Ian picked up a few more items Tuesday -- other than that, we avoided the crowded stores. When planning out the menu, we focused on what we really loved and cut out all of the extra side dishes that would just add time and effort. For example, we knew we wanted stuffing and mashed potatoes, so to reduce the starches we decided to forego the sweet potato casserole and dinner rolls.

Football played during the day (which I actually love as Thanksgiving background noise) and I did as much food prep as I could on Wednesday evening and Thursday afternoon. We even were able to get in two walks during the day -- one in the morning with hot chocolate, and one in the afternoon. We walked 2.25  miles total, so not a full 5k Turkey Trot, but still enough to help make up for the big dinner ahead!

I had fun setting the table -- I used a tartan round tablecloth as a topper that I picked up at an estate sale this summer. It matches our tartan plates and saucers from Williams Sonoma perfectly and is a fun nod to Ian's Scottish ancestry. We whipped out the fancy (i.e., non-dishwasher-safe) glassware for the evening, Ralph Lauren stemware and gold-banded Williams Sonoma water glasses. The tartan plates and gold-banded glasses were all post-holiday sale finds last year.

  

Right before sitting down around 5pm, I realized that I didn't have a gravy boat -- for the girl who has every cooking vessel under the sun (according to my husband), I was shocked! Luckily I had two of these little white pitchers so we had our own individual gravy servers. It ended up actually being pretty cute.

Rather than cooking a large bird, I went with a 3-lb turkey breast roast that I cooked in a turkey bag -- so easy, no elaborate carving required, and it still was enough for dinner and next-day sandwiches for two days.

That last-minute grocery store trip Ian took Tuesday was primarily to get canned cranberry sauce. He loves the old school, sliced-right-out-of-the-rippled-can version. I also made fresh cranberry sauce and a cranberry salad.

Another huge time-saver was a pumpkin pie from our grocery store bakery ... delicious and as easy as removing it from the box. :)

 

Before dinner we both spoke about what we are grateful for this year, and boy did we have a wonderful list going. We listened to Edith Piaf on the stereo and mmmmmm-ed through the entire meal. It was so delicious!

 

Our Thanksgiving 2013 Menu

Pepper Vinegar Turkey

Paula Deen's Green Bean Casserole

Pioneer Woman's Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes (halved)

Gravy

Herbes de Provence Stuffing

Whole Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry Salad

Plain Ol' Canned Cranberry Sauce

Pumpkin Pie

I had to get creative with drinks this year and I was so excited to find this all natural cucumber soda at World Market last week. It was so tasty! I would definitely recommend picking this up and plan to get several more for upcoming holiday parties and get-togethers.

And who are we kidding -- the best part of Thanksgiving is the leftovers! Ian picked up the most amazing rosemary bread that made for a delicious sandwich with Duke's mayonnaise, turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce. 

I'm proud of us that we carried off a full Thanksgiving dinner with absolutely zero stress, tears, or meltdowns in the kitchen. It was just easy and chill.  We have so many blessings to reflect on and it was such a special way to toast an exciting year ahead for us.

I hope your Thanksgiving was filled with lots of love!

My Top Five Black Friday Deals

In lieu of a typical Five On Friday post today, I'm going to share with you my top five Black Friday deals. No, this girl won't be getting anywhere close to Target or the mall today (do we even need to discuss how far I'm staying away from Walmart?!) but a little ol' fashioned online shopping never hurt anyone, now did it?

So here are my five -- the five places that have my shopping attention today.

///1/// Old Navy
Old Navy's entire site is up to 50% off, today only. I need to revamp some of my workout pieces so I'd love to have the bubble tank below (you can still look cute and feminine, but the tummy area is forgiving). I can also totally vouch for the skinny maternity jeans which I know won't appeal to all of you, but if it does -- buy them, they are amazing. And I couldn't not include a little wishlist item for the petite bambina. This heather fleece onesie is adorable.

Bubble Tank (sale today $8.00)

Maternity Full Panel Skinny Jeans (sale today $27.50)

Graphic Fleece One Piece (sale today $9.00)

///2/// Rugs USA
Whoa ... Rugs USA is offering 70% off all rugs plus free shipping using code FRIDAY70. So many incredible choices on this site. I thought I knew what I wanted for the nursery but I'm sitting here drawing a complete blank as I peruse the site.

 Radiante Nuan Bright Pink Rug

///3/// Sheridan French
90% off Fall, 50% off Resort. No coupon code necessary! Sheridan French will be closing doors soon so now is the time to stock up on favorites.

Calypso Tunic, $50.00

///4/// Walgreens
So I know this is sort of random, but when we are together, my mom and sisters and I have a tradition going of visiting Walgreens every Thanksgiving Day. We stock up on necessities and stocking stuffers, and of course some non-necessities make their way in the cart too. Only my family will understand when I say "Grandma Utz." So when I saw that they are running 25% off the whole store (online using code Turkey25) today only, I had to jump on it. Ian and I have already been there this morning!

///5/// Laura Wyatt Design
Not only is Laura a friend of mine, but I can truly tell you that this girl is quite a talented blog designer. She is offering 15% off all design packages through December 6. If you have been thinking of doing a blog revamp, go ahead and treat yourself (or at least copy and paste the ad below into an email to your significant other or your mom). It seems like every time that I see a great new blog design update on a friend's site, it has been done by Laura. The girl has an eye!

Happy online shopping to you and yours, and if you are brave enough to venture to the big-box stores or malls ... be safe!

PS: If shopping online, don't forget to check my favorite coupon code site Retail Me Not or go through Ebates to save even more!

Week 17 Pregnancy Journal

How Far Along? 17 weeks

Size of Baby: An onion (5.1 inches)

Gender: We found out Sunday that we have a sweet baby G-I-R-L on the way! Thrilled!

Weight Gain: Down about a half of a pound from last week, and I've been reporting on whole numbers, so we will say that I am -1 from my starting weight. Thanksgiving will surely remedy that, though!

Maternity Clothes: Loving my Old Navy maternity skinnies as well as some maternity jeans that my friend Dee is lending me!

Nursery: Now that we know it's a girl, the gears are turning! Too bad I already created a mood board online featuring blue hues -- that's how much I was convinced that we had a boy on the way. :) So happy though for frills, pink, and girly touches in the room.

Movement: Still a big fat no on this one!

Symptoms: I've got some new ones to add to the mix this week. First of all, my belly button is now half as deep as it used to be. And that is a very odd feeling. Also, itchy tummy! That makes me know it is growing (not like it's not evident) so I always run to my oils the minute it gets itchy and reapply them. I use three oils now and alternate them ... the Belli oil recommended to me by two girlfriends (Meggan and Ash), an olive-oil based one I picked up in Asheville on our recent girls trip, and Palmer's cocoa butter oil. Oh, also - is clumsiness a pregnancy symptom? I don't know what's happening but I've been so clumsy lately. If you are at TJ Maxx and you hear something fall off of a shelf on the next aisle over -- there's a good chance it's me.

Sleep: Sleeping great and still finding myself on my back sometimes. When I do wake up on my back, it's not uncommon for my right arm to be numb.

Cravings: No major cravings this week but still loving sweets. And carbs. Not craving vegetables or salads but doing my best to eat them when I can. (Very unlike me.)

What I Miss: Nothing this week. I've got sparkling cider and a cucumber soda from World Market as my Thanksgiving meal wine replacement!

Best Moment This Week: Our gender reveal Sunday takes the cake. I can't describe what a perfect afternoon it was, and I loved finding out the news in such a joyous and celebratory way. If you are on the fence about having one, I would highly recommend it. You don't have to make it huge or crazy or expensive or time-consuming -- keeping it small and intimate was absolutely awesome for us.

Next week I'll post the photos from the party but this one is just too good not to share (and don't let it fool you, because he was totally hoping for a baby girl):

I call it -- "How much did you say weddings cost?"

Looking Forward To: Our last Thanksgiving as a small family of two humans and a dawg :) We will have a very laid-back Thanksgiving this year and I can't wait for lots of couch time and Christmas decorating on Friday! Also -- looking forward to feeling this sweet baby MOVE! Come on, honey!

My Favorite Things: Stocking Stuffers

The best part of Christmas is the stockings, am I right?! This week's Favorite Things link-up focuses on stocking stuffers, and I gathered together some of the items I'd love to find in my stocking -- all ringing up for $10 or less.

And Santa Baby, if you do decide to break the $10 limit, there's just one more little thing -- a ring. I don't mean on the phone. ;-)

...1...

Shiseido Honey Cake Translucent Soap

$9.50 (here)

I love all sorts of girly soaps for our guest bathroom, and this one is almost too pretty to actually use. Almost.

...2...

Paper Source Gold Dot Washi Tape

$5.95 (here)

I'm a big washi tape fan (I'll be sharing soon how I used it during our gender reveal party) and this gold dot version from Paper Source can be used in so many ways. A fun and unique item to toss in a stocking.

...3...

Jonathan Adler Cocktail Napkins

$5.00 (here)

I just can't get enough when it comes to cocktail napkins. I'm bordering on being a cocktail napkin hoarder. This Jonathan Adler mad-libs version is just too fun.

...4...

World Market Grapefruit & Tangerine Hand Cream

$4.99 (here)

Grapefruit and tangerine, two of my very favorite winter citrus fruits. I love World Market and this hand cream looks beautiful, too!

...5...

Swedish Fish

My candy of choice. Obsessed.

...6...

Essie "Using My Maiden Name" Polish

$8.50 (here)

I've really been into violet-hued polishes lately and this Essie version is really calling my name.

...7...

Philosophy Sugar Sprinkles Lip Shine

$10.00 (here)

I love Philosophy, I love pink, I love lip gloss, and I love anything named "sugar sprinkles."

...8...

Crate and Barrel Bakers Twine

$9.95 (here)

Similar to the washi tape idea, for a crafter's stocking, I think this would be so much fun!

So happy to be linking up with Cheers Y'all and Down With The Dearmores again for this exciting link-up. Head on over to their blogs to see what fellow bloggers are loving in their Christmas stockings!

Tutus Or Ties, What Will It Be?

What a weekend we had, and it ended in such a special way ... a small gender reveal party yesterday afternoon with some of our closest family members and friends!

We surprised my parents by letting them be the ones to do the honor of opening the envelope. It was one of the most incredible moments of my life -- hearing from my Mom what our first child would be. So, so special.



My two biggest hints about the possible gender of the baby were a) zero morning sickness, and b) baby's low heartbeat (it's around 140 right now). Those two signs made me think boy, boy, boy. You can see the absolute shock on all of our faces hearing that we are actually expecting a sweet baby girl!

So now I'm just convinced that, due to those two hints above, my baby has two amazing traits already: she is considerate of her mama, and she is cool as a cucumber!

Thank you all for the love on Instagram ... you sure know how to make a girl feel special! Ian and I are absolutely overjoyed at the thought of having a DAUGHTER. A sweet, sweet DAUGHTER.

Bring on the pink!

Five On Friday

I'm thrilled for so many reasons this weekend ... a relaxing night tonight at home with those I love, a wedding of a very dear girlfriend tomorrow, and a very fun get-together on Sunday afternoon! Here's my Five on Friday, truly hope you will join along! Remember, if you don't have a blog, you can still tell me your five in the comments section below.

O N E
Last night we had supper club at my friend Noelle's house and she made the most amazing soup and sandwiches! The soup was just perfect for this time of year -- it was Cooking Light's white bean and pumpkin bisque (recipe here). The dollop of pesto on top was the crowning jewel. If you are looking for a good seasonal comfort soup, I would highly recommend this one.

via

T W O
So I know I talk a lot about how we get a pizza almost every Friday night. Bear with me one more time, this story is cute. Not only is the pizza from pizza department of our grocery store delicious, but the young girl who works there almost every Friday night is the absolute sweetest! She just adores me and Ian for some reason and always tells us that she just loves how happy we are. When we picked up our pizza last Friday and got it back home, I noticed she had a little artwork on the box for us. How awesome is this girl?!

T H R E E

Thanksgiving is around the corner and I'm geekily excited about next day sandwiches. Nothing beats turkey with Duke's and some salt and pepper on white bread, but this recipe below is going to need to make an appearance at our home this year!

via

Ingredients 

1 bun, sliced in half 

1 tablespoon mayonnaise 

1 teaspoon dijon mustard 

1 tablespoon cranberry sauce 

2 slices roast turkey breast 

2 slices swiss cheese 

2 slices smoked ham 

2 slices dill pickle 

Directions 

Assemble the sandwich and brush the outside with a bit of oil. Grill the sandwich over medium heat until golden brown on both sides, about 2-4 minutes per side.

F O U R

This Sunday is the big day ... is Baby R a little he or she?! I am so excited to share this moment with loved ones! If you haven't voted yet in the sidebar poll, now's your final chance!

F I V E

This is the time of year when things just start going at warp speed. Do you agree? Christmas comes earlier and earlier and retailers are just chomping at the bit to get us in their stores. Family tensions can run high and our schedules are just bursting at the seams with commitments. I am vowing this season to focus on the true blessings and leave the stress and the worry and the hurry at the door. I vow to focus on love and thankfulness and fireplaces and hot chocolate and cuddling and dog walks.

///// your turn! /////

I hope you will join this link-up along with me and my wonderful co-hostesses -- Darci, Natasha, and Christina. Playing along is simple!  Just write a post about five things on your mind today, anything goes really, post the logo below on your blog, and then enter your post address below in the link-up section. It's a great way of meeting new friends and getting more eyes on your cute blog :)