friday link love

I think we all felt this way at some point this week!  As I was driving to Mt. Vernon for work Tuesday, I realized my car thermometer read 1 degree and I thought to myself "the world should really shut down for this kind of weather."  I think this is undoubtedly one of the coldest winters I can remember.  Fortunately, there are things like space heaters, Netflix, and hot yoga to make it all better!  

Here are my favorite links from this week: 

This little girl's reaction to the gender of her sibling to be is hilarious.  

Darrell's really been chiding me to make healthier food, so I'm thinking these fish tacos might be added to the list.

My favorite kind of dancing.

In my effort to make more homemade, natural foods I'm jumping on the "Weekly Bread" train that James @ Bleubird Vintage has started.  Her simple, no knead bread was insanely delicious, and I even ordered a sourdough starter to try that next!

Darrell found this hilarious "anti-parenting" blog this week, and I've been reading back through almost all of his posts.  SO funny.

I realize it's totally frivolous to spend so much on an outfit a child can wear for so little time, but how amazing are the dresses from Tutu Du Monde?

Tina Fey's hilarious prayer for her daughter.

*image via gemma correll

maternity style 08

wearing: coat - jcrew (on sale for $100!), sweater - pink blush, sold out but they have it in pink, jeans - j brand via ebay, shoes - tory burch also via ebay, scarf - target, sold out but i also really want it in navy

Since we're headed into that part of winter where everyone is officially SICK of winter, I've been really drawn to wearing bright colors, pretty much non-stop.  This coat has been on constant rotation, and it's also thankfully one of the coats I have left that will button over the bump.  I just keep thinking, if I can make it until March with at least one coat that will close in the front, I'll be set.  

Pink Blush Maternity continues to be my favorite place ever to buy tops that are no only long enough but really cute, and my search for the perfect maternity jeans has completely ended with these J. Brands.  I was skeptical - I actually did a post a while back about how I didn't think they could possibly be better than the Gap jeans......but I was wrong.  They are crazy expensive, but there are always a few pairs on eBay and if there is one time to buy your clothes on eBay, I think it's while you're pregnant.  They run true to size - Shopbop has some wonky sizing system listed, but thanks to some guidance from Grace I ordered my usual 28 and I love them oh so much.  Note: the denim dye totally bleeds.  Wash them in hot water, then cold, no detergent before you wear them!  My hands were so blue by Saturday night our waiter asked me if I was a painter.  

what i want wednesday + a maternity style tip

I have this scarf in white & silver already (sold out), and it's in fairly constant rotation in my closet.  Scarves are a pretty major staple of my pregnancy wardrobe.  For one thing, they make an outfit something new, which is great when you're wearing the same dress for the 100th time (I'm not buying an entire wardrobe of maternity clothes, and baby girl clothes & nursery decorations are WAY more fun to buy). Also, sometimes when you're pregnant you have these days where you're kind of horrified by how huge your chest looks.  I realize that aspect is many a woman's favorite part of pregnancy, but I was already fine with what I had.  Now at times it seems a little excessive!  Scarves provide a little bit of modesty camouflage.  

This one is great because it's simultaneously a little bit warm, but also super light because it's made of a linen-esque cotton, so I'll be wearing it into late spring.  The dots really do sparkle and shine, and you can wear it on the other side for a more subtle look.  You can get it at Target for only $16.99, right here!  

*No affiliate links!  I just really loved this.  

awkward and awesome tuesday

Awkward: 

Touring daycare/preschools for your unborn child.  There's no way to make the "date of birth" question on the application not weird.  

The stage of pregnancy where no one wants to actively comment on the fact that you look pregnant.  I know they say you're not supposed to say anything, but at this point it would be nice if strangers would just start with that, rather than making me assume I just look like the kind of person who accumulates all extra fat in my stomach.  

We rearranged our entire apartment last week, and now our bedroom is in our former dining room.  We love it, but with our bed centered in the room now instead of pushed up against the wall I keep falling off the bed!  Ridiculous, I know, but apparently I had just become really accustomed to laying on my pregnancy pillow against the wall.  

The food I ate Sunday: Donut for breakfast, french fries & M&Ms for a snack, a lunch of basically casserole at a late family Christmas celebration, and tacos for dinner.  Sooooo sorry baby girl.  In my defense, it was mostly circumstantial and not cravings related...

Awesome: 

Putting together the baby's crib with ZERO drama.  My mom bought us this beautiful Pottery Barn crib, and it literally came in only 5 pieces: ends, sides, and the mattress base.  That was an experience I thought involved squabbling over assembly instructions for sure, but it ended up being so easy and fun to put together with Darrell.  

Speaking of Pottery Barn, we got the rug we wanted for baby's room 20% off this weekend, and they basically NEVER have sales.  Hooray for saving $80!  In the world of way cheaper rugs, we bought this Target beauty for our bedroom, and it is basically my favorite thing in our apartment.  It's so soft sometimes I just squish my toes in a little while I'm putting on my makeup in the morning.  

Baby girl decided to stop attacking my skin with hormones - it's finally back to its usual, drama free state!! I've always been lucky to have easy skin - my entire routine is usually washing my face when I shower with Clean & Clear Morning Burst...and that's it.  But thanks to pregnancy I had bad teenager skin for a few weeks there and was basically clueless as to what to do, so thank goodness it was a temporary flux.  

It was 50 degrees on Sunday, and even though we're in Polar Vortex #2 this week, it was nice to actually get outside and walk the dog.  Only 51 days until spring!  

Lastly, my favorite awesome this week is knowing Baby Hayes is a girl.  It makes such a difference in my ability to connect with her, now that I can really picture her as a little person.  We love calling her by name....which we'll be sharing soon!  

my nursery inspiration

It's nursery decorating time!  And I know what you're thinking..."isn't it a little early for that?"  I am only 20 weeks, but tasks like building furniture & painting aren't for the exhausted and super-pregnant, so we're working on getting most of it completed in the next few months.  I thought it would be fun to share my inspiration for the room.  I've had a very clear vision for what I wanted from the start - something feminine and whimsical, but definitively unique.  Rather than buy a pre-made room from a store like Pottery Barn (although their baby rooms are stellar, and we're using a lot of their furniture & decor) I decided to come up with my own theme.  

Her room will be centered around the concept of "World Traveler: NY ==> Paris."  The colors will be pale mint, white, grey and pale pink, with lots of silver & gold sparkle!  All the furniture is a mix of dark espresso, vintage white/cream, and gold/brass.  

I took a lot of inspiration from Taylor Sterling's nursery for her daughter Elodie, which you can see here!  

Lastly, here's my little inspiration board of additional pieces & art I'd like to incorporate:  

bonne nuit print, grey rug, sequin pillows, bunny ears clock, turquoise cart, cloud mobile, gold side table, pom pom mobile, shakespeare decal, the world is your oyster, c'est la vie print

We painted the room this weekend, assembled the crib, and hung curtain rods & curtains, but I can't wait to share the whole room once it's finished!