If you are a new Mom or Mom - To -Be, this giveaway is a MUST to check out!!

The Trendy Mommy is hosting a giveaway from an adorable Etsy shop called LittlePeepsbySuzyD. The blog is great - so fun to check out regardless and the shop is super sweet. I love the patterns on the bibs and the function of the terry cloth underside. As a new Mom to a big spitter upper, I have found that you can’t have enough bibs and burp cloths. It is the one thing I sometimes get dangerously close to running out of despite how many we have in our collection. If I am not the winner (fingers crossed) I will definitely be making a purchase from Little Peeps shop!!

Hope you all like it as much as I did!!!

XX

M

PS. I hope to be back to blogging next week. I will likely start with a lot of Mommy talk & then get back to my regular lifestyle, fashion and pretty stuff posts!

I read a lot of blogs, a lot of magazines and have been doing a lot of shopping with clients. Which means, a lot of browsing ahead of time. This means that there are a lot of things on my many mental and internet gift lists. 

I’ll begin with things that I’d love to get or give. Some of the things are realistic and others are a bit out of my league, but either way, they are all beautiful and fun pieces. This post might be a little long, especially since I’ve been storing up my ideas for ages!

First up, I love all things related to the holiday table. Holiday plates, holiday table decor, name cards, etc. Just makes holiday entertaining feel special and festive!

West Elm Holiday Leaf Plates - Set of 4 for $36 found HERE.

West Elm Stemless Wine Etched Tree Glasses - Set of 4 for $32 found HERE.

West Elm Laquered Wood Tray - Square & Silver is my fave at $24. Found HERE. Great for serving drinks or apps or using as the centerpiece on your table.

These Jay Cobb Linen Napkins would work perfectly with the plates above. So pretty, delicate and fancy schmancy! Via Vintage Fancy. Set of 4 for $16 found HERE.

L’Objet Salt & Pepper Shakers in Gold for $165 via Unica Home found HERE.

I also really love stationary, candles and other small baubles that make perfect gifts. Here are some that I’d like to keep on hand as hostess gifts or to use in my own home during the holidays. You never know when you are going to need to write a Thank You or have friends stop by for a cup of coffee. These little touches will make a great gift or make your home feel holiday ready!!

Snow and Graham is one of my favorite stationary companies. How sweet are these cupcake thank you’s? I think they are perfect to have on hand for sending out thoughtful thank you notes. The Cupcake Thank You is $15 for 6 cards and can be found HERE.

Voluspa are by far my favorite candles. The burn evenly, the price isn’t completely outrageous and your house will smell delightful I promise! For the holidays, I love the Snow Flakes & Frost Pine scents. Did I also mention that the tins are quite beautiful? So, I think they make the perfect gift as well. Great to keep in mind for those last minute gifts you might have forgot about! You can get the large candle (85 hours of burning) for $29 via Candle Delirium HERE.

L’Occitane Almond Shower Oil. This stuff is divine. A total indulgence. I hosted a holiday party once and a friend brought this as a gift. I have been in love ever since. Great for winter because it really makes your skin feel like silk. I haven’t indulged in this in ages, but if I make it out shopping, this might be the perfect winter treat! $22 for the bottle, found HERE. Oh, and L’Occitane, if you are listening, please bring back the L’Vanilla Fragrance. It’s been several years now and I still can’t get that stuff out of my mind. Thanks.

Wheeling Coffee and Spice Company is a local spot just outside my hometown in Wheeling, WV. They do a flavored brew (which they describe as caramel & rum) called Highlander Grogg that is just outstanding. It’s not overly flavored (I know this because even my husband enjoys the occasional cup of this delectable brew), it’s smooth and it’s a real treat. Great to have on hand to treat your guests and even better to give to the coffee lover in your life. If you are from Wheeling, I imagine you know and love this as well and probably send to some of your loved ones who have left the area. And if you aren’t from Wheeling, well, you are in luck, you can get it HERE for only $9.40/lb. 

Lastly, from Anthropologie, some Radiant Votives. The perfect way to dress up your fireplace, dinner table or any other space that you want a little holiday cheer. Or a nice gift for your hostess. Who doesn’t like a little touch of bling? These are $8 each and can be found HERE.

Since being pregnant, I haven’t really been so interested in buying tons of new holiday clothes. In fact, at this point, I am only really purchasing things that are necessary for my comfort or sanity. Like pants that don’t fall down and support my ever growing belly. However, I am quite interested in new baubles. The bigger and shinier the better! Because, that is fun and I won’t outgrow them and I can wear them with tee shirts and jeans after the baby is born! Oh, and of course, most of my friends also like baubles, so they would also make perfect gifts. Here are a few I’m currently obsessing over!

Ann Taylor Loft’s Multistrand Bib Necklace. I like the layers, the colors and the little touch of sparkle. Not bad for $44.50 (and I suspect if you really wanted this, there will be a sale code right around the corner!!). Easy to wear too! Found HERE.

J Crew Soleil Bracelet. Oh, so sparkly! $58 found HERE.

Madewell’s Rings On A String Bracelet. A little rock’n’roll and only $32!! Found HERE.

Kate Spade’s Mixed Marbles Necklace is a real statement. It’s $295 and available via Bloomies HERE.

Lisa Stewart’s Bloom Ring - that would add a little something extra to the jeans and tee look, no? $98 and found HERE.

I love the sleek look of these Alexis Bittar Tapered Bangles all stacked up!! $55 each via Nordstrom and found HERE. A fun way to add a pop of color to any ensemble!

And there are still more!! But, I’ll leave it at this for today :-) I’d hate to overwhelm you all!!

Enjoy and happy gift giving!!

XoXo

M

Well, hello there world! Again, it’s been ages since I’ve blogged. I’ve tried to identify what causes my lapses in blogging. It certainly isn’t a lack of time or things to say, but I can’t really put my finger on what it is exactly. I enjoy the writing. I enjoy the research. I’m still out there reading other blogs and making comments. I think a lot of it has to do with pattern/structure. I typically had a very structured schedule, rigid deadlines, rigorous travel, work that couldn’t possibly be ignored (assuming I wanted to keep my job). And then, bam, I’m not working full time. It became hard for me to set a schedule for a hobby when I didn’t quite have a schedule for things that actually NEEDED to get done. Also, due to my life style at the moment, not all of my outfits are really exciting enough to photograph and I don’t like the idea of dressing up, taking pictures and then heading the the grocery store or laundry mat like I’m headed to the office or a holiday party. And so I think over the next few weeks, I’d like to work on fine-tuning a schedule for the blog, regular posts with a theme, regular times, etc. It may take me a little time to get that together and to put together what exactly my vision is for this blog, but I’m excited to get back at it. 

And so, without further adieu, I’ll jump right in. On Wednesday’s I’ll post some Baby Love. Where I’m at in this pregnancy journey, how I feel, what I’m thinking about and most likely some really cute things I’ve found along the way. Because seriously, I find a lot of cute baby things. Not all of them seem a “necessity” but all of them certainly seem too cute for words!

Today puts me at week 31. CRAZY!!! I only have 9 more weeks to go. I can’t believe it. The time is flying by and I’ve just been so lucky.

I have seriously loved being pregnant and this is why:

• I have felt great. For the most part I’ve had plenty of energy, very limited nausea, a nice glow and a general feeling of happiness.


• I love to feel the baby move, and boy does she ever! It started out with little swooshes and waves of movement in my belly, turned into quick kicks and punches and now I can typically feel her little bottom wherever she plants it. She responds to the sound of our voice and her movements give me a sense of security that she is doing well and getting bigger. Plus, I feel so close to her when she moves around inside of me. 


• I love preparing for the babies arrival. I have enjoyed learning about each stage of pregnancy, how my body is changing and am in awe of what our bodies can do. It’s a rather impressive process and I feel blessed to be experiencing it. 


• Thus far everything has been picture perfect. My body is doing just as it should, baby is growing just as she should and we seem to be in great health. We are so grateful for this. It is scary in it of its self, but it would be really scary if there were health issues to worry about as well. 


• Oh, and I have always thought pregnant gals were cute. A glowing face, a growing belly and a big necklace always make me smile!

The one thing I have not loved is the heartburn. It’s been intense. From the beginning and getting worse. As the baby moves right up under my ribs it gets pretty unbearable. The good news is that typically if I pop a few Tums I can eliminate it. The bad news is it is caused by everything I eat or drink (water, OJ, bland food, spicy food, it does not discriminate) and so it can be constant and I don’t really think eating Tums all day long is a great idea. And so I save my relief for nighttime. But other than that, it’s been perfect!  

And, as for the baby products that I’m LOVING, well they are just too many to list. But here is today’s top 5.

• Smocked Dresses for baby girls.
  Here is a Viva La Fete dress. Retails for $68 though I have found the ones I have on Zulily for much less. If you haven’t yet checked out Zulily and have kids, definitely check it out. It’s great. Now, about this dress, come on, it’s too cute, don’t you agree? They have them for every holiday or theme imaginable. It’s too early for me to realistically purchase a Christmas dress for next year (though don’t think I haven’t seriously considered it every time these dresses are on sale at Zulily) but I can say with confidence that I think our baby will be decked in something similar on most days next December!

• Knits for babies - Like knit hats, knit cocoons, all things knit for a little one are just too cute. I love this Etsy shop called Oops I Knit it Again (and isn’t that a funny name?). Here are my favorite pieces from the shop. 

A Mitten Cocoon for $44. Such a sweet baby pic!

The Let It Snow Beanie for $24. So sweet!!!

And, the Lavendar Lilac Ribbon hat for $18. I’ll have to keep the babies head covered when we head out in February, won’t this be the cutest way to do that?

• Ruffled and embroidered butts. Oh, how I love ruffles and embroidery on the butts of a baby girl. February might be a little cold for this look, but come summer time I think it will fit right into her spring/summer look!!

Here is a Pink Polka Dot version from Lullabye Bird’s Etsy for $18.50. Oh, with a onesie….so dang cute!!

Or these Sissy Britches for $23.95 from Honey & Child’s Etsy shop. Oh, my!!

Or, what about these Personalized Bloomers via Sew Bizzy Stitchin’s Etsy shop for only $14. They would also look very sweet on the baby girl! Decisions, decisions!!

• Baby Shoes - I love shoes. I love baby shoes. I think our baby girl will look so cute in her ever growing shoe collection. Here are some cute ones I found on line. They are actually from a little shop in my neighborhood that I’m always peeking into called Pink Olive (if you live it Park Slope, it’s worth checking out).

Pink Mary Janes- $36

Gold Moccasin’s for $28 by Trumpette.

Lady Bug Mary Janes for $32

• LuLu’s Then & Now in Park Slope. This is a new second hand shop in Park Slope and I’m totally smitten with it. There were a few things left on my registry that I needed to pick up and I thought, maybe I should check here first. I did and boy am I glad! I was able to score several of the items we needed at 50% of the cost AND all of the items I purchased happened to be brand new in the box! The baby clothes are often new or very gently worn because it’s hard to know how much to buy in the beginning, everyone gets a lot of gifts and babies grow fast! So, purchasing some second hand items has been a perfect way to add the pieces we need without breaking the bank. In Brooklyn? This is a MUST see place!! Decorated beautifully, the staff is friendly and helpful and the merchandise is in great condition. I love stopping by each week to see what is new!

And, there you have it. My latest thoughts, cute finds, etc!

It feels good to be back.

XoXo

M

P.S. As the Holiday’s Approach I may do an overwhelming amount of gift lists. Things I’d like to give or receive. Low end. High end. You name it, I’m listing it. I don’t have many presents to buy this year, so I’ll definitely be doing the research for all of you :-)

Awww, I’m back again. I am now 22 weeks pregnant. I’ve flown by the half way point and I can’t even believe it. I have taken pictures at 20, 21 and will again for week 22. So, I’ll start back at week 20 and move forward over the next few days. I’ll also be sharing some of my thoughts, some of the baby things I’m coveting and some of the baby things we’ve added to Baby L’s ever growing arsenal. 

It’s so crazy to think that we are beyond half way to meeting this little princess. Everything under the sun makes me emotional right now. Seeing those adorable little sleepers we ordered hanging in our bedroom area = tears of excitement!! Seeing how sweet all of our friends are with kind words of encouragement, special little gifts and extra phone calls = more crying. A slightly sappy ATT commercial? Yep, you guessed it, more crying!! I’m kind of out of control!

So, at week 20 it is more than apparent that my growing body is housing a baby. And, I love it! Before there were times where, although it was clear to me that I had a baby bump, it may have appeared to outsiders that I was just a little chubby (at 5’3 that isn’t my favorite look). But now, it’s officially a baby bump!! I tend to accentuate the baby bump with belts and scarves too!

Oh and I’m feeling her move….like a lot and it is AWESOME! I get such a smile on my face each time I feel her flutter. It is seriously one of the most amazing feelings. It’s like a little sigh of relief each time, like, ah, she’s adjusting or stretching!!

So I’m pretty sure I wore this get up to no where in particular. The grocery store, a walk in the hood and then to Target. Cute, comfy and casz!

I feel like this outfit is chic, but still has a little edge to it as well. With the patent belt + rougher J Crew necklace.

And a little more of that beautiful bump :-) 

These pictures make the bump look a little bigger than she really is at this point. I had a lot of my girlfriends get nervous I might be having twins after seeing this. I think it is probably the angle of the pic combined with the belt & tight tee!

One of the things that I thought would be great to have once Baby L arrives is a portable diaper changing deal-io. Something that I could lay down and change the baby girl on when we are on the move. Of course, if that something could also be stylish….well then, much better. And, I found that My Chickadee makes little diaper clutches that suit this need exactly. I found this out via Georgie Girl’s blog. She happened to be having a giveaway and her blog is totally adorable. So I thought, what the heck and guess what….I won!! I was so excited!! My clutch arrived this week and it is absolutely adorable. If you have a little one or need to buy a baby gift, I think this ranks as one of the most functional, well-made, unique, well-priced and stylish things I’ve seen yet! I keep thinking it would be a great shower gift!! I’m so excited. Thanks to both Georgie Girl & My Chicadee for this treat!!! 

I also would really love a stylish diaper bag. Something functional but not pink and brown or too over the top. Just yesterday morning I got an email (not to me personally, it was a blast) from Kate Spade. They have some great new bags that are functional and still quite stylish. Here are the ones I think are most lovely (though, of course, they are all quite beautiful). This is a bit of a dream for now, unless of course, I win the lotto between now and baby time!

First, is the Splodge Dot Randi Bag. It’s $425, seems plenty roomy, functional and adorable! You can find it here.

I also love the Nylon Maryanne bag. It’s $475, seems slightly larger, really sleek (would go with anything), has great chain detailing and seems like it could be wiped down easily. And it can be found here.

And so there you have it. Baby, baby baby!

Have a great week!!

XoXo

M

Saturday night we had a little date night. We cooked in and had burgers. Really good ones too. In fact, I’ve been craving burgers rather regularly and we recently discovered a really good burger joint in our hood. It’s called Bark. Basically it’s a hotdog place that also has burgers (and fries and chicken sammies and the best black and white milkshake around!). The burgers are think and crispy with delicious pickles and special sauce and a sesame seed bun. They use only local and mostly organic ingredients. They disclose all of their suppliers which I think is pretty cool. But, we can’t eat there every night so we chose to recreate the meal at home - and the hubby did a great job!

We then went out to see his bandmate do a show. We went to a place in Willimsburg called The Lovin’ Cup. Cute joint. I had a strawberry lemonade at the bar. MMMMM!

And so this is not me trying to look sexy, nope, just stretching. We didn’t remember to take pictures before the show so these are afterwards and I’m clearly a little sleepy :-) But I thought the dress was pretty cute, so I thought I’d still share!

And just for fun, one more pic :-)

Happy day!!

XoXo

M

Friday night we went to the movies. There aren’t so many movie theatre’s nearby to our apartment. One shows more independent films, two are small and the third is basically a bit of a shit-show. None are closer than 10 blocks to us. And so, we have a lot of good intentions but rarely make it out. When we finally do, we always enjoy it but we don’t go often enough. We went to see ” The Switch”. I thought it was cute. Predictable, yes, very much so, but also funny. I thought Jason Bateman was great.

It was cool out on Friday night and I hate to be cold in the theatre. So I came prepared with a sweater and extra scarf. Yeah, I know it’s August (or it was then :-).

This was our first trip to the movie theatre we choose. It’s the theatre in Windsor Terrace. The theatre our flick was in was the smallest theatre I’ve ever seen. There were maybe, at best, 30 seats. 30 really gross seats to be exact. I’ve never seen anything like it really. Strange.

I tend to put my hand on my belly, hoping to feel baby L move it….move it!!

Oh, and I can I just say….September? Really? Where does the time go? I can’t believe summer is nearing an end. Though since today was in the 90’s it sure doesn’t feel that way! But, I always look forward to fall. Boots & sweaters & jeans & football & crisp cool morning. Ahh, yes!!!

XoXo

M

Last week was week 17 in the pregnancy. I’ve been feeling good and starting to show a little more each day. I should start to feel the fluttering baby any day now and I just can’t wait. I’m always kind of waiting for it now since I know it could happen at any time!! We also found that the baby can now hear things. We are now preparing what music we want to play for the baby and what books we want to read. They say that if we do this consistently once the baby is born those same songs and books can be used as a trigger to help the baby calm down/relax. Cool, right?

Last week the weather dipped down into the 70’s….cue the angels singing! Talk about sweet relief. Phew, that little taste of cool was just what the doctor ordered. And this was what I wore to trivia night.

I’ve been thinking a lot about what I’ll be able to wear during the pregnancy. Seems like several of my existing dresses and tops will work for at least some portion of the winter. My pants, however, not so much. Though I’m not showing too much just yet my pants are already a little uncomfortable but I’m not sure I love the pants with the enormous nylon front. So, I’m going to try some with side panels. We’ll see. Anyone have any suggestions?

And so, there you have it!!

Happy Tuesday all!

XoXo

M