What's in a name?

Hey y'all!  Happy Monday!  I picked up a little something while shopping the other day, and just wanted to share :)

So I don't know what motivates you when you are out shopping, but I'm a little all over the place.  Sometimes, I have a specific color, or 'vibe' I'm going for.  Sometimes I just want a top, but I'll go with whatever strikes my fancy.  Or I'm in the mood for something sparkly.  It just kinda depends on the day.  Well, last week Target had my favorite Essie nail polishes on sale, so I knew I wanted to get one.  Let me just pause here and say that Essie makes gorgeous nail polish!  The colors are so beautiful, and they really last.  For someone who's hands are always in dishwater, or bath water, thats super important.

Anywho, I knew I wanted some new polish, and that I wanted something pink.  Oh and something that would be a good color throughout the fall.  So not to neon or bright.  Normally when I put this many guidelines on what I'm looking for, I'm just not going to find it.  Like how hard is it to find an orange maternity shirt?  Apparently impossible when I want one.  But I digress.

I went in search of my perfect fall pink, and started picking things up off the shelf and casually reading the names.  Essie always manages to have cute names for their polishes :)  Which is when I found this gem.

Eternal Optimist.  I almost just tossed it in the basket after seeing that, without even really looking at the color.  I mean, who doesn't want a little optimism right on their fingers?!  But I stopped to check out the color.  Because at almost $8 a pop, this is not the cheapest nail polish.  And guess what?  Its gorgeous!

I gave myself a little mani/pedi yesterday, and I'm in love!  Its a beautiful neutral dusty pink.  Like a pink nude.  Love!  And every time I glance at the color, I think 'eternal optimism', and it makes me smile :)  A little reminder to look at the bright side!  I may start picking nail polishes purely by name from now on :)

FALLing in Love

So reader be warned, this post is going to be all about food.  Actually, if you are hungry, I suggest grabbing a snack before going any further.

Got your snack?  Awesome, lets do this :)

For those of you who don't know, I'm pregnant.  Also probably not news, I live in central Florida.  So while I love fall, its not really a season we get here.  Instead, we have a shift in temperatures from 90 to 85, autumn decorations at Disney, and all things pumpkin flavored.  And let me tell you, I count down the days until that explosion of pumpkiny goodness.  Namely pumpkin ice coffees!

Can't you just taste that cold pumpkin goodness??  Just me?  Maybe its a heightened pregnancy sense, who knows.  And while this is a yearly classic for me, there are some new-to-me things I've tried this year that are rocking my life.

Pumpkin spice m&ms.  Oh.my.goodness.  I am ashamed to admit I sat at the computer reading blogs one night and killed almost half a bag of these.  don't judge.

Dunkin has another slam dunk out this season (see what I did there?).  The pumpkin pie donut.  Basically its a frosted donut filled with pumpkin pie filling.  If you like pumpkin pie, you are going to flip out when you try this donut :)  I think between the donuts and the coffee, Dunkin is trying to put me in the poor house (and much larger pants) this season!!

I actually tried these little gems for the first time today.  The caramel apple milky way.  I picked up a bag out of curiosity.  I will be purchasing three more because they are magical.  Its basically a little wrapped bite of caramel and chocolate covered apple. 'Nuff said.

I also just tried this for the first time today too!  (stop it I can tell you are judging me!)  We thought today was 'Talk Like a Pirate' day at Krispy Kreme, and while going through the drive thru for our free glazed donuts, I couldn't help but sample their pumpkin treat too.  Unfortunately, talk like a pirate day is tomorrow.  Fortunately, the pumpkin cheesecake donut is freakin amazing!  And I'm not sad that I'll have to go back tomorrow for free donuts :)

So since I can't have fall weather, at least I can satisfy a craving for seriously bad for you fall food!  And now you can too!  Your welcome :)

ps. If you show up at Krispy Kreme in central florida DRESSED as a pirate, they will give you a dozen free glazed donuts!  Don't know if this is nation wide or not.  Challenge accepted anyone?

Turning Two

Hello all!  How have you been?  It has been FOREVER since I've made a post.  Bad blogger, very bad.  In my defense, we have been sick, and then planning for a birthday party, so its been a little crazy around here.  Ok, enough with the excuses, onto the post!

So today officially marks our little guys second birthday.  Queue the tears.  I cannot believe that two whole years have passed since he joined our family!  I look at him and I am so in awe of what he can do, his sense of humor, everything.  All the personality packed into that small boy just blows my mind. This year we've watched him learn to walk and talk, and its been such an adventure.  He is so loud, and full of energy, and just says the funniest things.  To hear his tinny voice say 'I think so mommy' or 'I don't know eiiiiiiiither!' is precious.  To see him pick up any toy, declare it a hammer, and whack everything in sight drives me bananas!  But it is so very him.  To have him walk up and kiss my belly and say 'baby sister' melts my heart.  So to celebrate all of the amazing things that make our bean so very special, we wanted to throw him an awesome birthday party!

Anyone who knows our little guy, knows that anything with wheels is pretty much his jam.  Cars, tractors, construction equipment, Gage loves it all!  He also really digs the Cars movies.  So, we went for a Car theme this year!  We actually rented a room at Disney's Art of Animation Resort, a Cars suite.  And then had friends and family join us poolside :)  For a while I felt kinda like we were cheating.  I mean, I didn't make a ton of decorations, or cook any food, or plan a bunch of great games.  But I'm so glad we kept it simple this year!  With all of us being super sick the week before, I think I would have been crazy overwhelmed if we hadn't just done something easy.  And he still had a blast!  Rather than spend the day taking a bunch of pictures, I just sat back and enjoyed catching up with friends, and watching him have a good time :)  Took some time to just enjoy the moment.  He was so funny about opening presents.  He really wasn't interested, and just wanted to play with the very first thing he opened :)  And he tried to sing along when we sang 'happy birthday', and actually was excited to blow out his candle.  All in all it was a great day, that ended with a very worn out boy.

We only stayed at the resort for one night, but that was plenty.  Someone refused to sleep in his pack'n'play.  So after a night of being kicked in the back, I think we are all grateful to be in our own beds tonight :)

When we got home yesterday, we had one final gift to share with our little guy.  His first bike!  Dano was so excited to put it together for him :)  He considered it a sort of daddy right-of-passage.  And bean loves it!  I forsee many afternoons spent pushing him up and down the street :)

Well now I need to go find some tissues.  As much as I love to watch him learn and grow, its killing me that its all happening so quickly!  Slow down little boy!  Hope you all had a great weekend :)

Its a ...

Hi all and happy Monday!  We had our 21 wk ultrasound last Thursday, and got some exciting news :) We are expecting a little girl!  It feels so complete, we have our little man, and now we'll have a little miss.  I'm looking forward to adding bows and dolls to our current car and lego chaos :)

Now that I am 22 wks along, I think I'm starting to feel more physically.  I can really tell that I have to slow down at times.  And I've been having some sciatica issues, which are no fun.  I constantly stretch, or have Dano massage it, but its still unpleasant :(  I'm also getting a lot more movement from baby girl!  I feel like she is constantly bouncing and flipping throughout the day.  I'm just waiting now for the stronger kicks that Dano and beanie can feel :)

And with the announcement of a girl, comes excitement for all things girlie!  I'm so excited to do a beautiful soft nursery, and pick out sweet little girl clothes :)  Little boy clothes are definitely cute, and I have fun dressing Gage, but come on.  Its almost unfair how cute little girl things are!  I mean, ruffles on the butt?!?! tutus?!?!  How does anyone resist??  Oh and bloomies.  During the summer, she will be in a cute dress and bloomies every.single.day.  Its gonna happen :)  And since I am living in a land of pink and pretty, I thought I'd share some of my inspiration pics for the nursery!

How sweet is this?  I love the wall color and chandelier.  And that pale pink dresser is precious!

A pink accent wall?  I think I may just have to do it!  Dano told me to 'do whatever you want', so I plan to really make this a girlie and sweet space!

I love the idea of possibly adding a pop of contrasting color on the dresser.  Just to break up all the pink and gray :)

And wow.  Just wow.  Restoration Hardware knocked it out of the park with this one.  Knocked it out of range of my wallet, but its still gorgeous to look at :)  Oh and as pretty as that mirror is, it looks awfully heavy.  Don't know how I'd feel about something that ginormous hanging over my itty bitty baby.

So there you have it, a little pink and pretty for your Monday :)  This week I am attempting some potty training with little man.  I'm terrified and excited all at the same time!  So once I come out on the other side alive, I'll be sure to share!  Wish me luck :)

Half Way There!

Hello and Happy Tuesday!  So I have to tell you, I had a total 'whoa, wait, really?' moment the other day.  I'm 20 wks pregnant!  Which means this pregnancy is half way over!  Ah I can't believe it!!  But I need to back track a little.  Since I haven't given an update in a couple weeks :)

These are my 18 wks pics.  Why is it that my belly feels hugemongous (yes thats a word)  but when I look at pictures, I feel like I don't look very pregnant?  I mean seriously, I feel like I have a basketball under my shirt, but no one else can tell.  Not that I'm super anxious to truly be that big.  Everything is sooo much more difficult once you reach that super sized stage of pregnancy :)

During week 18, I had a check up.  Just a boring routine one, and everything is right on track!  I was measuring 18 wks, and babies heart beat was 150.

Then I totally spaced and didn't take a picture for week 19.  But I did discover something new and delicious!  Have you tried Lays Dill Pickle chips?  If not, you should.  Like, right now.  They are a lot like a salt and vinegar chip, with a hint of dill.  I can feel my feet swelling just talking about them :)

And now I'm in week 20!  On the left is 20 wks with Gage, and the right is 20 wks with gummy bear.  I feel like I look exactly the same, except maybe I'm carrying a little higher?  Can't decide.  I'm starting to feel more movement.  As I type this, the baby feels like its trying to escape out of my right side.  No amount of rubbing and encouragement is making it better lol.  Also, this little one is very vocal about sleep position preferences.  If I lay on my right side for even a moment, I get really sore.  So I'll be sleeping exclusively on my left side for the next 20 wks :)  Oh, and getting up to pee 2-3 times in the night has started too.  I don't think that happened to me until much later on last time!  Fun times!

In other fun news, we have scheduled our anatomy scan!  August 22nd, we'll find out if we are team blue, or team pink.  I can't wait :)  I feel like once we know, the planning and fun can truly begin!

Making An Entrance

Hello friendlies!  Welcome back to part 2 of my little 'use what you've got' makeover!

So I left you with my newly created play area.  Which worked out so nicely that I just had to keep going :)  Enter our very boring entry way.

Not so inviting to just walk into huh?  Just a little shelf to kick your shoes under, and some pictures.  We can do better!

And all it took were some command strips, two coat hooks, and some mirrors I made a while ago.  I never could find the perfect spot for them, until now!

One command strip for each mirror :)  The mirrors are just wicker chargers that I glued round dollar store mirrors in the center of.

Then stick 'em to the wall!

I got hubby in on this project :)  Since I wanted to be able to actually hang things (like the diaper bag) the hooks needed to be placed in studs.

 

And voila!  I used the extra command strips to hang some pictures we already had on the other side.  A mini wall gallery, if you will :)  Oh, I also switched the breakfast nook and play area curtains.  These are so colorful and fun, which just works for a play area!

So now we have a functional, prettier space to greet us when we walk in the door.  And I always know where my keys are, for now :)  

Switching It Up!

Hiya!  How are you?  I finally feel like I'm coming out of the cloud of tissues and orange juice that surrounded me all weekend :)  Even my poor hubs has ended up sick!  But after a morning spent hitting everythinginthehouse with disinfectant spray, I feel like the germs are finally leaving us :)

Its the end of no spend month, so how about a little no spend makeover?!  This is part one, I'll show you the rest of our little transformation tomorrow. 

Do you ever have a space that just makes you feel itchy?  That's how our 'dining room' made me feel.  I put it in quotes because its really just a part of the living room, that happens to have an overhead light fixture in it.  Have I mentioned that the house we are renting has some serious layout issues?  Like the breakfast nook and dining room are basically the same size, and in the same space?!  Bizarre.

Anywho, back to my itch.  Our dining room (pictured above)  was completely unused and nonfunctional.  It pretty much ended up being a dumping ground.  Oh, and another area to decorate during the holidays :)  But I think something important about making a home work, is using spaces how you see fit, not necessarily how they were designed to function.

So after being over the gigantic round table, that just doesn't work in this house, I decided to do a great furniture shuffle.   And turn our dining area into a play area!  Oh, did I also mention that we got a bunch of furniture with the rental?  So lame.  You should see our garage /shudder.

But the name of the game is work with what you've got, right?

So I moved bean's little Ikea shelf out of the corner by the couch, and brought it over to the dining area.  I pulled out a rug I've had sitting in the spare room doing nothing, and set up his little table and chairs.  It didn't take two minutes for Gage to come over and claim his space.  So at least he will find the area more functional :)

 

I also moved the painting I made a while back, to hang over his toy storage area.  It helps the space feel more complete, instead of feeling like 'hey this is where we dump the toys'.  The room has been like this for about two weeks, and its been a total 'why didn't we do this sooner' moment!!  It gives Gage so much more room to play, and our tv area is much more relaxing now that it isn't covered in toys.  

Its really fun to see how a little rearranging can make something work soooo much better!  So what have you shuffled in your house lately?  Anyone else with a room that makes them itchy?