What I've Been Reading: October 2012

Can you believe that Halloween is here already? This is the first year in a looonnnggg time that I haven't dressed up and gone out to a bar Halloween party and I have to say it feels pretty strange. I can't wait to dress up our little pumpkin though next year! Oh Halloween is going to be so much fun but on a totally different level. Anyway, it's the end of the month and that means that it's time for my Monthly Must-Read collaboration-- and as far as I'm concerned as soon as Halloween is over, it's holiday time!

Question of the month: What did you eat today?
The question of the month is somewhat ironic and I guess it's the perfect time to let all of you ladies know that I have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes. I talked about how I failed the 1-hour glucose test here and when I went back for the 3-hour test I passed the first 2, failed the 3rd by 4 points, and failed the 4th by 6 points. Needless to say I've been a wreck ever since but after talking it over with Ella and meeting with my nutritionist the other day, I'm feeling a whole lot better. At first I felt so defeated because I have been eating relatively healthy (but I've had my share of sweets too) throughout my pregnancy.

Everyone wants a flawless, perfect, smooth pregnancy, delivery, and baby and for someone who is a perfectionist like myself and a worried mom-to-be, you can imagine how hard it hit. I panicked thinking that my baby was at risk or in harms way but I found out that I can control my situation. I'm taking this very seriously and I'm following my dietary guidelines to a "T." Due to the fact that I'm just slightly over the borderline, my nutritionist feels that I will have no problem taking control and conquering. Best of all, everything. will. be. okay. 

Alright, so back to the original question... I'm still adjusting to my new diet. What I eat hasn't changed much but how often I eat has. I'm snacking a whole lot more and eating smaller portions.

Breakfast: Quaker Oatmeal, two of my favorites are Apple Cinnamon, and Maple Brown Sugar
Snack: half of a grapefruit
Lunch: Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich (I've been craving these throughout my pregnancy so thankfully I can still work them into my new plan) and a Salad with Balsamic Vinegar
Snack: Apple, sliced with Peanut Butter
Dinner: Pan-Seared Chicken w/ Shallots, Baked Sweet Potato, and Broccoli
Snack: Strawberry Cream Yogurt & some Crackers

• Alison*Elle - Alison caused a dressing room scene and lived through the embarrassment to share her story.
• Beautygirl24 - Noelle used one of her favorite bloggers as inspiration to create a pretty outfit.
• Ella Pretty -  Ella attended her first fashion show - and received free pants!
• Lilly's Style - Lilly is enjoying wearing burgundy this Fall.
• Lindsay J Everyday - Lindsay's lovely layers.
• Love, Lipstick & Pearls - Kristen has been Falling into Fashion with these style inspirations.
• Schnelle Couture - Danielle mixed black and brown for the first time and was pleasantly surprised.
• Sequins and Stilettos - Skylette's fall wardrobe has consisted of a lot of skinny jeans and flowy tops.
• The Currently Obsessed - Mehreen's coveting these items ... And recently knocked one off her list!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Rock the Vote- Pregnant Pageant

Some of you may remember me talking about the Pregnant Pumpkin Pageant that we entered here. My husband painted my belly and I patiently watched... for 3 hours! We are competing to win a years supply of diapers- and because a little competition is always fun too. Well this week has flown by and I forgot to tell you that the voting has opened. 

Today is the last day to vote! 

You can sign in using your facebook account and 

you can vote up to 50 times if you just keep clicking the "vote" button. 

CLICK HERE for the link where you can find the famous Nyan Cat.

Thanks for Voting!

Sandy Pink

Hurricane Sandy is coming our way... another year, another hurricane. I don't know what's up with this weather lately but something's gotta give because this is just scary. The winds are howling, it's pouring rain, and thankfully my husband and I are finally tucked away safely at home with our stockpile of supplies. I had a few important errands to run this morning before the weather started getting out of control and I was prepared- rain boots and all.

Pink Sweater- H&M
Black Cami- H&M
Black Leggings- Strawberry's
Rainboots (with a wedge heel!)- Target (old)
If you're preggo do yourself a favor and head out to H&M and load up on these basic camis in every color. They are super long and so perfect for a baby bump. One of my favorite non-maternity/preggo purchases to date.

Black Monday OOTD

It's a Black Monday for sure. I picked out this outfit before I knew the results of my glucose test too. I had my one hour glucose test today and failed it so now I have to go back for a 3 hour glucose test. I also found out that my iron is a little lower than it should be. I'm not concerned about the iron because all I have to do now is take an iron supplement in addition to my prenatal vitamins but I'm so bummed about the glucose test. I'm so scared at the thought of having gestational diabetes but I hear that a lot of people fail the first test and pass the second so I'm trying really hard to stay positive. Any of you ladies have a similar experience?

Sweater- F21 (old)
Leggings- Strawberry's
Flats- Burlington
Necklace- Body Central

BUMPdate: 25 Weeks

So, this BUMPdate is a little different. We decided to get a little creative and enter a local contest called the Pregnant Pumpkin Pageant. This is my husband's work of art. For those of you who aren't familiar with the Nyan Cat, you need to check it out here. Now. It's the dumbest thing ever but it's kinda cute too. We decided to go with spooky scene featuring Nyan Cat delivering a baby girl. Voting starts next week so I'll keep you posted-- hopefully you'll vote for us!

*Please excuse the no makeup, messy hair look going on here. It was a long night.
The painting took about 3 hours to complete.*

Size of the baby? 

The size of an eggplant (9 inches, 2lbs.)

Total Weight Gain/Loss? 

20 lbs. & I'm not happy about that!

I'm waiting on a new belt for our treadmill and it can't get here fast enough.

Maternity Clothes? 

Some basic maternity tops and jeans mixed in with non-maternity clothes 

Stretch marks? 

None. 

Best Moments? 

My parents gave us the greatest gift- we got a crib last weekend! We started moving things around in the nursery and my nesting is in full effect.

Movement?

Our little girl is a night owl. She loves to move around right around the time that I'm getting ready for bed.

Food Cravings? 

Still chocolate, oh and fruit too.

Anything making you queasy or sick? 

Not really. 

What I miss? 

Being able to drink alcohol. My favorite beer (Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale) is in season and I can't drink it.

Nausea/Vomiting?

None.

Symptoms? 

Heartburn, almost every night now.

Labor signs? 

No way!

Gender?

Girl

Belly Button In or Out?

Still in but it's slowly starting to protrude.

Wedding rings On or Off? 

Still on!

Sleep?

It's a lot harder to get comfortable now that I'm getting bigger so I often wake myself up when I move around in my sleep.

What I'm looking forward to?

My baby shower! My mom is hosting it at the cutest place and I'm so excited.

OOTD Black & Brown

I did something new. I mixed black and brown. That is a color combination that I never in a million years thought that I'd pair together but I surprised myself and I really like it.

White Button-up- Aerie
(I think it's supposed to be a night shirt but it's long and it's a bit too fancy for my pajama standards anyway)
Leggings- Strawberry's
Pink Undershirt- Old Navy
Leopard Flats- Charlotte Russe (with DIY cap toes)
Brown Belt- I forget! It came with a dress I think
Pearl Bracelets

Pregnancy OOTD's

I've gotten a few requests to post more OOTD's. I'm still taking maternity style day by day and just learning what looks right and what doesn't by trial and error (and trying on whatever still fits). 

Plaid top- Max Azria/Miley (old)
White T-shirt- F21
Leggings- F21
Flats- Dr. Scholl's
Silver Bangle Bracelet-gift

White Long-sleeve- Liz Lange
Gray Sweater- Marshall's
Jeans- Motherhood Maternity
Pink Leopard Scarf- Strawberry's

-Excuse the mess behind me and the grainy iPhone photos, please. This weekend we switched rooms, moved a bunch of things around, threw things away, donated a bunch, and organized to make way for our baby girl. I'll post photos soon of our new bedroom. The nursery still has a long way to go but I'll be sure to post photos of that when it's all done too.- 

California Trip: Monterey & Carmel

Monterey

Monterey Coast & El Torito Restaurant
We ate here and not only did we have a beautiful view but the food was delicious too,
well worth the long wait.

Relaxing at our hotel and enjoying the fire along side the coast.
Apparently, I was the only one who found it enjoyable to sit outside in front of a fire, listening to the waves crash because everyone was inside at the bar. Maybe being pregnant isn't so bad after all because otherwise, I would probably be in the bar too! By the way if you are planning on staying in Monterey I highly recommend the Intercontinental because it it beautiful and it has the best views.

Space-like seaweed that we found all along the coast.

Carmel
Carmel was such a cute little town sprinkled with cute little shops and restaurants. 

Carmel

There are 2 more parts to coming up to recap our California Trip:

• More of the Coastline & Big Basin State Park 
• Hearst Castle

California Trip: San Francisco Part 2

We took the tour of Alcatraz Island and saw the prison the was once the home of Al Capone and so many other infamous prisoners.

Alcatraz Island

View from the top of the island

View of the Golden Gate Bridge from the island

Inside the prison

The cold choppy waters surrounding the grounds.

Pier 39 Sea Lions
After our tour of Alcatraz we wandered around Pier 39, visited the sea lions, and had some lunch at Boudin's (which by the way is amazing- I had the Pesto Roast Beef Sandwich and my H had the Clam Chowder Bread Bowl).

Golden Gate Bridge
After spending 4 days in SF we finally ventured over the bridge and traveled to Sonoma (wine country) to visit some family and some wineries of course.

Kunde Winery (where Bottle Shock was filmed)

Wine Cave at Kunde Winery

Ledson Winery
This place was breathtaking. You can have weddings here too- can you imagine how magical ?!

California Trip: San Francisco Part 1

We started off our trip with checking out landmarks like Billionaire Row. I had to get a photo of Danielle Steel's house because she's my mom's favorite author and I just so happen to be named after her. The first leg of the trip was all about the views, you'll see what I mean...

Danielle's Steel's House

View from the top of one of the streets on Billionaire Row.
For those of you who don't know, Billionaire Row is in the Pacific Heights and it's one of the most expensive neighborhoods. If you stroll down B.R you'll see the mansions of people such as the University of Phoenix heir- Peter Sperling, Levi Strauss heir Peter Haus, and Getty Oil heir Gordon Getty.

Next up was Alamo Square- home of the Painted Ladies,
where the famous opening credits of Full House was filmed.
I was a huge Full House fan so this was pretty awesome to see in person. Admit it, you were too.

Then we went to Buena Vista Park where we hiked through the trails
and saw some more amazing views of the city.

View from Buena Vista Park

We drove along the twisty, curvy roads and finally made it to Lands End lookout which is at the top of a mountain. 

We visited the site of the Sutro Baths which back in the day were really amazing. A couple was actually posing for wedding photos down below but you can't see them because the fog was starting to roll in at this point. 

The Palace of Fine Arts was an beautiful sight to see too. It was built in 1915 and the architecture is gorgeous. It reminded me of a building that you would see in Italy. 

Vacation Outfits

I thought I would kick off my vacation recap with some outfit photos since I've been getting a lot of requests to do more OOTDs (especially now that I'm preggo). Normally when I think vacation I think warm, beachy, and summertime but this vacation was a lot different. We were in northern California and we were near the shore most if the time so it was cold (50's & 60's F) but then when you drive inland the temperature rises about 20 degrees, it's insanity. We had a jam-packed agenda and most of my outfits were pretty casual and comfortable. I didn't have the time to even think about getting an outfit photo some days so here's what I managed to get photos of:

Top- H&M
Leggings- F21
Flats- Dr. Scholl's

Top- H&M
Jacket- H&M (old)
Leggings- Strawberry's
Scarf- eBay
Flats- Charlotte Russe (diy cap toe)

Top- Liz Lange
Sweater- F21 (old favorite)
Leggings- Strawberry's
Flats- Dr. Scholl's
Necklace- thrifted

Top- Liz Lange
Sweater- Lauren Conrad
Scarf Belt- (so old)
Leggings- F21
Flats- MIA

Top- Liz Lange
Fleece- Old Navy (last year)
Jeans- Motherhood Maternity
Flats- Dr. Scholl's
Necklace- Body Central

...then nighttime came and it got really cold so I broke out the winter scarf (Pac Sun) and fleece gloves.

I swear I wore jeans more than once this whole trip but yes, I really do live in leggings anymore. And yes, I know I wore my Dr. Scholl's flats a ton but they are SO comfortable and we did an insane amount of walking so comfort way the key to my outfits last week. I'm wearing most of my pre-preggo clothes still and just mixing in a few basic maternity tops and a pair of maternity jeans here and there. 

Next up in the vacation recaps are:

             ...San Francisco & Alcatraz (2 parts)

             ...Monterey, Carmel, Big Sur, 17 Mile Drive (2 parts)

             ...San Simeon, Hearst Castle & Big Basin Redwood Forest

What I've Been Reading: September 2012

I'm back from California! We made it home safe and sound last night after 9 long days of traveling. We had a great trip -which I will recap soon- but I'm pretty exhausted and happy to be home. Nothing feels better than sleeping in your own bed when you return from a vacation. Anyone else feel this way too?

I can't believe it's October already. I really need to get my butt in gear and start nesting. Our little girl will be here in just 16 weeks!!!

Question of the month: What bath products are you currently using?
Shampoo: This month's shampoo is Herbal Essence Color Me Happy but tend to switch out my shampoo every so often because I feel like my hair gets into a rut and tends to look better if I switch things up every month or so.
Conditioner: Aussie 3 Minute Miracle. I love this stuff, it smells great, it conditions well, and it's affordable enough to use everyday.
Body Wash: St. Ives Vitamin E, Philosophy Snow Angel, and Philosophy Coconut Frosting are my favorites
Exfoliant: Homemade Sweet & Spicy Sugar Scrub. This is really easy to make, all you need to do is combine the following ingredients in a container: 1 cup of brown sugar, 1 cup white sugar, 3/4 cup olive oil, 2 tsp. cinnamon, and 2 tsp. nutmeg.
Moisturizer: Palmer's Cocoa Butter (great for pregnancy), Vaseline Firming and Radiance Lotion, and my newest addition is Lush Charity Pot (with Cocoa butter and Almond Oil)

• Alison*Elle - Alison's treated herself to a birthday splurge from Chanel.
• Beautygirl24 - Noelle celebrated her birthday in a sparkling gold skirt.
• Ella Pretty -  Ella's dressing for fall - she's loving her chambray shirt & heart scarf.  
• Lilly's Style - Lilly's is enjoying mixing bright colors.
• Lindsay J Everyday - Lindsay's been loving leopard.
• Love, Lipstick & Pearls -  Kristen has been loving jeweled headbands for fall.
• Schnelle Couture - Danielle revealed all of her party details and the gender of her new baby!
• Sequins and Stilettos - Skylette has jumped into two fall trends in one with bordeaux and printed pants!
• The Currently Obsessed -Mehreen loves her Chanel this Month (and this Chanel "esque" tweed blazer!)