Happy Monday..a day late

The driving factor that got me out of bed this (and yesterday) morning was the fact that it was a short week! I am plugging along until Thursday at 5 pm when I leave work and get to enjoy a long weekend! :)

This past weekend was jam-packed but super fun! I headed out for a little shopping date with my cousin on Friday night. We had a family wedding this weekend in NY and of course we "needed" a few last minute things! 

I ended up getting a bra fitting at Nordstrom which has been a game changer! I had been complaining for weeks about things not fitting right, but I finally did something about it and boy was I happy I did!

Saturday morning we got up really early and road tripped to New York for the wedding with my siblings. It was certainly an eventful ride, many bathroom breaks and comical conversations.  Once we arrived the comedy continued, our room wasn't ready, none of us had showered, and the church started at 2:30. Luckily my parents stayed the night before so we took over their room to get ready.

We had a fabulous time celebrating a very sweet couple! They had a blast and were so happy which always makes being a guest all the more enjoyable! I only snapped these two pics, I seriously need to get better about that! I loved my BCBG Maxazria (which is now sold out everywhere) BUT I found it on Amazon! I paired it with these amazing Aldo pumps, J Crew crystal earrings, and a suede snakeskin clutch!

I plan on rewearing this dress again for an August wedding where I am sure there will be a much bigger baby bump under there! :)



























Two very dear friends of ours watched Clovis while we were out of town and sent us this cute photo. I missed him very much, but I knew he was in good hands and having a blast with his girlfriend Daisy (our friends St. Berdoodle!)

We headed back home early Sunday and enjoyed lots of snuggles with our sweet boy!

Hope you all had a great weekend! :)

First Trimester Recap

I swear I will try NOT to turn this into a mommy blog! I swear I will try NOT to turn this into a mommy blog! I swear I will try NOT turn this into a mommy blog! 

That was to convince you as much as it was to remind myself! I do want to share this journey with you all but I promise to maintain all of the style, home decor, and entertaining posts that the blog was founded on!

In the mean time here are some updates about my first trimester now that I am smooth sailing into the second!

The ultrasound on the left is from our 9 week scan, the one on the right is at 12w. It was amazing to see how much had changed in such a short period of time. That little hand, seriously?! The cutest! :)

Symptoms: Tired beyond belief, the kind of tired where it hurts to think about getting out of bed in the morning. I was so fortunate to not get morning sickness, not even once! (I know every woman wants to slap me for admitting to this....) My Mother and Grandmother never did either so it must be in the family? Just a side note my Grandmother had twelve children so I don't exactly consider her the "typical" woman but she coasted through all ten pregnancies (she had twins, TWICE!) 

Cravings: I ate my normal foods throughout the first trimester, other than the restricted ones. I still wanted coffee, I know many women who were totally averse while pregnant, but I was not one of those. I did however switch to half caff, cut out all soda and minimized chocolate so I could safely enjoy my one cup a day. I will say with the warmer weather and my DC visit I really wanted a cold glass of Rose'... However, that will have to wait till December (although not exactly Rose' season!) 

Sleep: I think this goes without saying but I slept ALL the time given how tired I was, and with the lack of my afternoon cup of Java! I napped when I got home from work, then showered and went to bed by 9pm every.single.night. I did however wake up nightly from week 7 onward to pee, what a pain in the A$$ that was, and will likely continue to be. 

Best moment: Seeing our little one on the ultrasound screen and hearing her little heartbeat! 

Worst moment: I can't think of anything... except maybe having to keep it a secret?- Not my forte - ask anyone who knows me!

Starting to show?: Just looking bloated. To the point where people will stare but never say anything, talk about uncomfortable! The picture below is at 12w 3 days, I was off to a bridal shower and was hoping no one would notice, luckily they didn't! Don't mind the dog crate in the background, if I wasn't so tired all the time I'd probably have moved it ;)

Gender prediction: According to the Chinese gender chart and Ramzi's we were having a little boy. I then was convinced it was a boy.  Clearly from my previous post you now know we are having a baby GIRL according to our genetics testing.

Speaking of nursery planning, do I have ideas! I will make sure to share that with you all after I have posted about a few parties with fun cocktails (for the guests of course) and my summer style inspiration and anything non- mommy related! 

THANK YOU FOR READING!! XOXO

Three year Anniversary!

It is hard to believe it has been three years since we stood in this cute little Chapel and said "I do". SO much has happened since that day, so humor me while I take a little trip down memory lane! 

We were married on June 24th 2012, it was a beautiful summer day! We had the most amazing time celebrating with our loved ones who literally traveled from around the world to be there with us. Even as I write this I am overwhelmed with the love we felt that day, not only for each other, but for everyone in our lives!

 

Three days after our wedding we headed to our brand new apartment in DC which was also our first home together. It was one hell of a ride, I remember waking up after the first night and being so overwhelmed with happiness and utter fear. I had never lived that far from home, I knew absolutely no one besides Oliver and I was not working for two months. It turned out to be the best two years! We made friends and memories we will have for a lifetime. We made lots of mistakes, and learned big lessons. Most importantly it solidified the foundation of our marriage. I can honestly say we walked away from that experience better people and partners to one another.

Oliver graduated from his PhD, which was easily one of my proudest moments! In true Rick fashion after any big life event we packed up our stuff and moved. Back to Boston we went. We both started new jobs, and then started new jobs again. We got Clovis, our sweet pup who I can't imagine life without. Then things just settled down for a while which was quite refreshing for us!


























 And then came our biggest adventure yet...after lots of trials, tribulations and tears we are ecstatic to be adding to our family! We will be having our first child in December! I am still overwhelmed with emotions about it all (and I am not sure I can totally blame it on the hormones!). It was not the easiest road to get here, so I count my blessings and consider myself blessed to join the club of Motherhood to a sweet baby...

GIRL! :)

Thank you for reading and following along on our journey! 

XO

Summer Bucket List

Every summer I have a laundry list of things I want to do before Labor Day. Some are day trips, some are silly traditions and some are lofty plans which don't always work out. Regardless I am the Queen of making lists so here it goes...

1. Picnic at Castle Island- we did many of these last summer and I loved every minute- so did Clovis! :)

2. Rooftop dinner at Ristorante Fiore. From the antipasto to the red wine sangria everything about this screams summer livin' and I can't wait to make it happen this summer! :)

3. A beach trip to Narragansett Beach, we took a little road trip down a few weeks ago and it was far too cold to sit on the beach but it was beautiful as always. Oliver actually proposed to me on the sea wall there, so many good memories!!

4. A (who am I kidding MANY) JavaBerry soft serve ice cream cones from  Dairy Joy! Hands down my favorite part of summer! They are only open during the summer season and there is absolutely no comparison. It reminds me of my childhood every time we go back there!

5. Zac Brown Band is playing at Fenway Park in August. I got tickets the minute they went on sale and I absolutely can't wait to go!!

6. Cookouts are a must for the summer, and definitely more than just a few. BBQ, lawn games, and good company is the key to a good time!

7. Making s'mores preferably somewhere fabulous like, at a hotel in Newport for a weekend getaway! (hint, hint Oliver 3 years is coming! )

8. Spending lots of time outdoors, making the most of the good weather before another brutal New England winter falls upon us.

Recent purchases

I post a lot of things on my "wish list" but I don't think I post things I've purchased or love often enough. Here are a few of my recent purchases that I am totally loving!

This Old Navy dress is super cute, I actually wore this to work recently (if it wasn't in the laundry as I type I would have put a picture of myself wearing it..oops!) It is definitely long enough to be work appropriate, the only thing I would warn is it is a bit sheer, I wore mine with a cream slip I had from another dress.  I paired it with these Tory Burch flats but for non work I plan to pair with a belt and these super cute Jessica Simpson wedges from last summer.

 

We had gone to Homegoods to look for a table for a new space in our apartment. I was unable to find anything I really liked so a future trip is in order!

I make it a habit of going through the whole store even if I am there for one specific thing (this drives Oliver crazy!) I usually end up leaving with WAY more than I went in for. One of which was this print. 

I had been looking for something to put in our room above our bed for quite some time. I thought about maybe using some wedding photos but I haven't gotten around to printing any (it has been three years, don't judge!). I loved this colorful print, I hesitated because of the black frame but I figured I can always change it out our paint it if I really don't like it.

Lastly I snagged this Burts Bees lip color recently after borrowing it from my friend AC while I was in DC. It leaves your lips super soft, unlike some other lip colors, and the color saturation is really pretty as well! I highly recommend this purchase!

DC Visit

I mentioned in my last post I was in DC, and I wanted to share with you all the things I did in my short time there. When I found out I had a work trip to Baltimore I was hoping to make a stop by DC to see a sweet friend of mine and visit my old home.

It was the first time I had been back since we moved. There were moments where it still felt like home, and then completely foreign a moment later. Just like any city the turnover of restaurants, coffee shops and activities is high. Many of the "new" spots that had opened as we were leaving had already been replaced, even our old neighborhood had changed so much!

So here's the breakdown of my 24 hours in the city!

I flew in Thursday morning at 7:30. I landed and jetted over to my friend's apartment with just enough time to change, hop in an Uber, and head over to the graduation. Just a little background for a minute, when I lived in DC along with working in the cardiac ICU I also taught clinicals for a nursing school. My students were graduating on Thursday, I was so happy the trip worked out and I got to see them graduate. It was such a proud moment for me, I felt like I was a (very) small part in their success- such a proud mama bear!

After the graduation I rushed back across the city to my friend's apartment again where I changed (lots of outfit changes occurred!) and we headed to the paddle boats on the Tidal Basin. Note to self, sundresses on a paddle boat are NOT a good idea! We even managed a few selfies and monument shots! :) 

Thanks to the infamous traffic we were rushing across town to the most fabulous lunch at Iron Gate, where we sat out on a beautiful patio. We were envisioning future parties there, maybe someone's 30th!;) The food was incredible, we went with some of the "small plates". The light wasn't perfect for photos, but it created a beautiful atmosphere for lunch!

When we finished lunch we headed for afternoon mani's. It was so lovely to sit back and get pampered a little after such a long day of travel! We headed back to AC's apartment for a little afternoon nap before our big night out.

Once we were finished primping we went to POV which is THE rooftop bar in DC for post work bevies. It has a view of the city that is unmatched! If I were smart I would have taken more pictures (total blogger fail) but I was far too busy catching up with some lovely ladies.

The much awaited dinner was amazing- we dined at Le Diplomate. I ate my weight in their cranberry bread and cheese plate. The food is amazing, a testiment to the high standard they have maintained is how difficult it is to get a reservation there. AC made them months in advance, and even then you don't have too many options for times.

We got up relatively early on Friday and grabbed some donuts from Astro Donuts and coffee from Baked and Wired because you can't just stop at one place for breakfast! We sat in Georgetown for a while watching the world go by and just catching up. The maple bacon donut from Astro's is something dreams are made of! If you live in DC or plan to visit it is an absolute must! Just as a side note, Astro's sells donuts & fried chicken, could you think of a more interesting combination?

P.S. how cute is little Jackson? He is the sweetest boy! He is one photogenic boy who has made an appearance in the Washingtonian- no big deal! ;)

As for Baked & Wired, lets get one thing straight. They are hands down the BEST cupcakes in the city. I know people talk about that other cupcake store you know the one with the TV show. I assure you if you go to B&W you will not be disappointed!

Shortly after breakfast I headed to Baltimore for the conference, which despite being super informative was tough to compete with my fabulous DC visit. You can't ask for much more than amazing food, the sweetest friend & hostess and endless laughter.

I've said it before but girls weekends are good for the soul! 

Memorial Day Weekend!

I hope all of you (who live in the U.S) had a great Memorial Day weekend! We kept things pretty low key around here which was perfect after my whirlwind DC trip last weekend.

We did have time for a BBQ at my Parents' house so naturally I had to make a festive dessert. However before the cookout we grocery shopped, did laundry, cleaned out two closets, and the entire house before noon which was amazing, but also super tiring. I had plans to meet a friend for lunch so my sweet Husband offered to "throw together" the dessert for the cookout as I was going to meet him there later. It was very nice of him but I kindly explained I was planning to blog about it so I wanted it to look good as well as taste good.

I'll give it to him he did well :) and he took pictures, clearly someone has been watching me!

He also commented on how easy it was so I'm sure you will think so as well! Also as a side note this would look great in a trifle bowl but I am not confident Oliver knew what that was or where to find it ;) It doesn't look half bad in that Le Creuset either!

Here's the recipe:

- Angel food cake (I cheated mine is from Trader Joe's!)
- Vanilla pudding
- Strawberries
-Blueberries
-Cool whip

Chop up the cake into small pieces and place in the bottom of your bowl, mix in vanilla pudding and create a layer, top with blueberries. Next layer do the cake and pudding topped with strawberries. Alternate until done, and top with cool whip. Add decorations as you see fit!

We are headed away with friends for July 4th and I am definitely bringing this along! 

What are your go to summer desserts?