During this time of year, most girls holiday wardrobe shopping consists of fun, figure flattering dresses, sparkly shoes or those sassy skinny jeans. In one of my recent, not to mention very frequent trips to Target, these two items made my shopping trip and are currently waiting to be worn in my hospital bag.

I am by no means complaining either because hopefully this time next year, I will have my body back but something like a cute, comfy pair of pjs will make this next month or so a little easier of a transition. Well that, and I’ll be able to hold this sweet, little, innocent baby here very soon. I cannot wait. I’ve enjoyed making her feel at home in my tummy for the last nine months. 39 weeks tomorrow!

Since Ava is already in her big girl room, which is technically the biggest room and the one Mike and I would have made the master if a full bath wasn’t off of our current master bedroom, we had to do some major overhaul to our fourth bedroom that, up until two months ago, was basically a continuation of our storage room in the basement. When we initially moved in, we painted it grey in case it would have been an office but we never got that far so knowing we liked the grey base color, a lot of the nursery pins on Pinterest I liked had mint, coral and gold colors in common. Plus, Ava’s colors in her room are lavender, pastel pink and a little gray so wanted to change up the color palette.

The gold pouf was a no brainer when we committed to the gold color and something I had been eyeing in a couple of fashion blogs and catalogs. This one I bought on amazon but Land of Nod also has a very similar one that looks just as adorable.

This tassel/fabric banner I made myself with materials all from JoAnn Fabrics. I had made a pink fabric banner for Ava’s first birthday last year and loved it so much that I knew I wanted to do something similar in the nursery, especially since the space is on the smaller side but this makes just the right statement.

These prints I found on Etsy and bought the frames at JoAnn’s. I actually took one of the prints in with me when I was shopping for the fabric on the fabric banner to make sure it would match.

Isn’t that just the cutest grey elephant you’ve ever seen! I’m thinking I may need a cute grey elephant fitted sheet to tie it in even more. I promised myself I wouldn’t go the Pottery Barn route this time because they can get so expensive and there are several other cute baby retailers out there but I am a fan of their sheets. 🙂

Being somewhat in the middle of having a sick toddler, I feel like I need to document what I would like her to remember when she’s older, since I tend to draw a blank in the heat of the moment myself and ideally can look back at this for friendly reminders of what’s working for her now and that still applies to us adults for kicking a fever and/or cold…

Promise Mommy…

…you’ll drink plenty of fluids and yes, that can even include juice if it makes you feel better.

…you’ll have a humidifier handy or go run out and get one, even if it’s the last one in the store, is shaped like a frog and goes by the name, Freddy. He’s pretty stinking cute.

…you’ll try these three things: a spoonful of honey, a cool washcloth on your forehead if you’re running a fever and snuggling up to your favorite movie.

One thing about me… I am all about sharing fashion and beauty tips with girlfriends and love when they share tips in return. A co-worker of mine always seemed to have the cutest outfits so I finally asked her where she got the blouse she had on that day and she said Stitch Fix. I had to ask her what exactly that was, since it was the first time I was hearing about it. I didn’t need much convincing to check it out and was so glad I did.

If you’re not familiar, you go on to their website and fill out a fairly detailed style profile, including everything from style preference and price range, down to your bra size. It allows you to put any specifics in a note to your stylist and select how often you would like to receive shipments of the five pieces your stylist selects for you. In my case, I selected every other month for the time being. The part I like best is there’s only a $20 styling fee so worst case scenario, if you receive your box of goodies and don’t like anything, you are only out $20.

They also provide you with a fun styling pamphlet with a couple of suggestions on how to style the pieces you receive. These are the three (minus the one in the bottom right) I decided to keep out of the five I received so I would say my first Stitch Fix experience was a big success!

A work trip recently took me to beautiful Dana Point, California. Luckily, I didn’t have to worry too much about any packing challenges because I had a daily uniform but did pack a couple of things just in case we finished early one night. This maxi dress from Target was the perfect thing to bring since it was not only easy to pack but is super comfy as a non-maternity piece for being four months pregnant. 🙂

The Beach Hut was a cool little sandwich spot we found on our last day. I absolutely love finding off the beaten path places like this. For some reason, they always make my trip. Well, that and the fact I finally had In-N-Out Burger for the first time. It’s funny how, after eating nicely prepared hotel food for a week, how you end up craving a plain old cheeseburger.

I’m not sure if you’ve heard of YouTube sensation, Bethany Mota but you may have also seen her on a past season of Dancing With The Stars. She has taken YouTube by storm and I believe she averages a few million hits for each video she posts. For some reason, her videos remind me of a simpler time and that you are never to old to be creative and make things fun, which I need to remind myself of from time to time. I think I stumbled across them after a midnight feeding when Ava was real little and was hooked. They are only about 5-10 minutes in length and are light-hearted topics like holiday ideas, makeup, healthy snack options, etc. One of her videos that I particularly liked and completely stole this idea from is her Morning Routine: Summer 2014 video.

You cut a cantaloupe in half, shell out the seeds and start to fill it with whatever your heart desires. In this case, she filled it with yogurt, granola and fresh raspberries like I did in this photo. Brilliant, refreshing and delicious!

I can’t believe how long it’s been since my last post. It wasn’t because I didn’t have 100 different topics floating around in my head but this past month, I made it out of the first trimester and we finally started spreading the exciting news that baby #2 is on board! In that timeframe, we also found out what the sex is… A BABY GIRL! We couldn’t be more excited and now that I am getting my energy back, I hope to be back in action.

One of the reasons I love to travel so much is getting to learn about new places, new cultures and if I’m being honest, eat their yummy, local food. Two places that I had the opportunity to go to, on back to back weekends this past Spring, were Mexico and Nashville. It was my first time to Mexico and my second to Nashville. Both were very different trips and probably couldn’t be on more opposite ends of the spectrum. Mexico was just Mike and I at an all-inclusive resort and Nashville was an all girls trip for my cousin’s 21st birthday.

Mike and I knew we had a small window to get away and I told him he had to plan this one because I missed out on our Korea trip two years ago because Ava was only a couple of weeks old. I pointed him in the direction of Costco Travel and told him to make magic with his miles and he did! Needless to say, the main thing I was looking forward to, food-wise, in Mexico was the guacamole and margaritas and they did not disappoint. The main thing I was looking forward to on our itinerary in Nashville was something a little more basic… the pancakes at Pancake Pantry. I wish I could explain what makes these pancakes so delicious but you really need to try them for yourself. We also took a trip to Arrington Vineyards (last photo below) which was a picturesque little afternoon if you’re looking to get just outside the city during your stay.

Don’t get me wrong, it can definitely be more of a logistical challenge with a toddler to try to get away, even if it is for the weekend and I miss her like crazy but the way I see it, if you make travel a priority, just like anything else, you will see to it that it gets done.

Here are some highlights from my trips:

This picture really did capture exactly how I was feeling that day. Plain old tired. It had been a long week and that morning we took Ava to the zoo which was very fun but very active and come 12:30/1 p.m., a.k.a nap time, I typically hit a wall but I love this outfit so much that I had to capture it before I put it off any longer.

The pants I found at Kohls, specifically Lauren Conrads line, and they are super comfortable and versatile so I could easily wear them to work, church or even out on the town. Since we have a no shoes in the house rule, I didn’t sport the fun strappy flats I wore with them the other night but the sky’s the limit with shoe pairings for these pants. There’s not much to say about the t-shirt other than I believe a gray t-shirt (ideally, more than one) should be a staple in every girls wardrobe. I found the jacket at Forever 21 and as someone who’s low on time in the morning when running off to work, loves this jacket because it never wrinkles and is lightweight. It’s perfect heading into the summer months, especially if you have a frigid office and need a little something to throw over that blouse or button-down.

Here’s the un-cropped, true glamour shot that includes Ava’s baby stroller, her neon green bib in the lower right hand corner and a handful of ingredients on the kitchen counter that I had put out to make zucchini muffins.

It’s no secret, I love my accessories but the ones I have found tricky to wear, both day and night, chasing after a toddler are bracelets. This combo I tried over the weekend seems to be the best fit for adding a little something to my plain old t-shirt or tank during the day and then transitioning to a nicer outfit for dinner out with the girls.

The turquoise ones I got from Kohl’s over the weekend and came as a set from Lauren Conrad’s line. They’re nice and stretchy and the little gold circles don’t snag on things, at least not so far. The second and fourth bracelet are both from Stella & Dot. The poppy orange one with the little buckle is called their Enlighten Bracelet. All net proceeds benefit Every Mother Counts, a non-profit organization dedicated to making pregnancy and childbirth safe for every mother. Whenever I find a cute piece of jewelry that goes towards a great cause, it’s a no brainer in my mind. Who doesn’t like giving back, while looking stylish.