Celebrating today with rainbow cupcakes! #lovewins 🌈❤️🇺🇸

These weekly emails from What To Expect are super informative.

Exactly one month from our Mom-Daughters trip to Las Vegas.  I think I found the perfect dress for the Britney Spears show, because really, what other occasion will I have to wear a jeweled back dress while 28 weeks pregnant?

I was tagged by the lovely cmconnors, to post the most recent photo taken on my phone, so I figured why not?

Last night was a bit of a stressful one; I spent the entire evening in work mode, finishing up a tough written assignment for my class, which was due at noon today (I finished!).  I was forced prioritize this and had to miss dinner with friends, and to top it off, my seasonal allergies were kicking my butt.  

Jeff was a dear husband and went to pick up take-out from The Patio for me. This included a half-slab of delicious ribs, three jumbo shrimp and garlic mashed potatoes.  It was just what I needed.  I took this photo only to send to my brother (we often trade yummy dinner pics for jealousy purposes).  It was delicious, and helped me get through a stressful night!

Fall/Winter Maternity Staples

I was asked by one of my wonderful readers, Oh Hi Ohio!, to offer suggestions for maternity staples.  

Let me preface this little post by stating that maternity wardrobe staples are obviously based on the seasons in which you will be in the depths of your pregnancy, along with your work environment, and of course, personal taste.  

Like my first, my second pregnancy will take me through fall and into winter. Last time around I found a few key pieces that allowed me to keep maternity purchases to a minimum, and most importantly, get a lot more use out of great pieces I already had in my closet.  The overall key is LAYER and ACCESSORIZE!

Here are a few staples I believe can work for any and all occasions:

1.  Maternity Tanks-  Next time you visit your local Target, be sure to pick up a few Liz Lange Maternity Tanks in multiple colors.  These tanks are absolutely perfect.  Long, lean, soft, stretchy, comfortable, and absolutely fantastic for layering, which is key in the fall/winter. 

2.  Maternity Leggings/Jeans/Pants-  You are most likely not going to be able to get away with not purchasing some sort of maternity pants. I found that having three key pairs is perfect for the fall/winter seasons.  I would call these three pieces my "investment pieces," as I spent the most amount of money on them, knowing they would be worn constantly.  

3. Versatile Dress-  You can go so many directions with this piece.  I stuck with a couple of solid color dresses that can again be dressed up or down and the layering options are endless.  I wear them constantly to work and on weekends, dress them up, dress them down and always with different accessories to mix it up.  Asos has a nice selection of reasonably priced pieces, as does Old Navy (thanks Profashional)!  

4. Striped Tee-  Great piece to throw in if you are not in the layering mood!

Remember, layering is key for fall/winter pregnancies.  My closet already contains a plethora of different blazers, leather jackets, long and short cardigans, jean jackets, vest, and other jacket types that I continue to wear during pregnancy, and can easily pair with any of the above items.  

Plus, with boot season upon us, shoe choices increase, which can easily switch up an outfit.  Finally, keep all your scarves, fun jewelry, bags and other accessories in rotation, and you will never be bored!

Wishing you the very best with your pregnancy and beyond!  

Apparently a slow news day for People.com

Fall Wardrobe

Although I will be spending the entirety of this upcoming fall season in a few staple maternity pieces, topped with blazers and comfy cardigans, I couldn't pass up this coat I saw on Chrissy Teigen in her Piperlime IT girl campaign.  

I love a great leopard piece, not to mention one I know will work with large baby bump, and after.  

Bonus: $159, plus a Piperlime discount code, plus Ebates = Wow! 

(Photo via)

Time is flying by! 20 weeks today, in this great @dvf maxi dress.

Life Lately...

Hello?  Is anyone still out there?!  I know it has been a while since I've checked in, and I do miss place.  Life has just been happening so darn fast... 

School.  So darn busy.  I'm taking three total classes this summer and it is taking up A LOT of my free time (which is hard to come by to begin with).  Classes are good, I'm really invested, so actually enjoying them, and I've just started looking into job vacancies where I can put all my new knowledge to use.  My goal is by June 2015 to be full-time working in my new field.  I can't believe this career change, which I spent so much time contemplating, is actually in the midst of happening and becoming a reality.   

Family.  Other than growing in my career, we are also growing in our little family, as Conor is going to become a BIG BROTHER in December!  We are thrilled Conor will have a little brother so close in age.   I still can't believe we will have two BOYS under two for a short time; things are certainly going to get downright crazy around here.  

Pregnancy (Round 2).  Now that I'm a few of weeks into my second trimester, I'm starting to get a bit of my energy back.  I remember being tired the first time around, but what I've been feeling up until very recently has been absolutely crippling fatigue.  Hopefully the worst of it is over, and thank goodness for the help I've had with Conor these past couple of months, because that little guy slows down for nothing and no one.  

Anxiety.  I'm not very open with my struggles, but anxiety/depression is something I have dealt with for 16+ years now, and with the help of medications, therapy, and support, I have been able to enjoy life tremendously.  While pregnant with Conor, I chose to go off all medications and try to deal with my struggles "on my own" (under the close supervision of my mother/therapist).  It was a very trying time, and with the declining health of one of my beloved dogs, compounded with the stresses of becoming a first time mom, it was one of the most challenging times of my life.  I made the decision, when I found out I was again pregnant, to carefully ween off medication this time as well (still carefully monitored by mom/therapist).  I'm finding it a bit easier this time around, maybe because I know what to expect, maybe because I'm willing myself to think positively, maybe because I have a really happy toddler who keeps me VERY busy.  Maybe it's a combination of all those things, but so far so good!

Conor.  This guy is just the greatest, happiest, craziest kid around.  He's practically a grown up.  We are spending the summer exploring and have been having lots of fun.  Most warm weather afternoon are spent at the pool, and Conor is becoming quite the little fish.  

Summer.  Overall, this summer has been a pretty good one.  I've had the opportunity to spend time with family and many friends, and even relax a little bit in the evenings, when I'm not working on school related stuff, while overindulging in watermelon sorbet.  Four weeks left until it's back to work, so I plan to make the most of it.  

All of YOU.  Thanks for sticking around.  I miss you guys!

Always.  

Voicing his long list of complaints during his 1st haircut. (at Cool Cuts )

Weekend in Boston

I had never been to Boston, so when I found out six of seven months ago that I would be attending a wedding out there, I was excited.  

Excited because I'd never been, but more importantly, it meant the opportunity to finally meet Christina!  I messaged her a few months back to ask if she'd be available for lunch or a drink and was thrilled to find out she'd be around this past weekend.

Meeting up with Christina was awesome!  Definite highlight of my weekend.  We had lunch near my hotel, at McCormick & Schmick's, and talked about everything from her amazing gladiator sandals to our mutual love of Hart of Dixie.  

I'm glad to call her an RL friend now, and cannot wait until she visits Chicago!  

After our lunch, I headed to meet Jeff to do a few touristy things.  First on my list was Cheers!  

We also got to see the Boston Marathon finish line on our long walk around town, and I had the best root beer float from an ice cream truck by the park in Boston Common.  This was my first time leaving my little guy over night, and I was a little emotional before we left, so we even picked up a cute little Red Sox hat for Conor as a souvenir.    I would have loved to attend an actual Red Sox game, but we had the rehearsal dinner that evening. 

Sunday morning I had the most amazing breakfast sandwich ever from Mike and Patty's, then walked over to Drybar for a blowout.   Oh, what I would do for someone to blowout my hair on the regular...

Jeff and I cleaned up all right for the wedding that afternoon/evening and had a fun time.  

I wore a gorgeous Temperley London dress (via RTR), and paired it with a crystal Bauble Bar necklace, my grey suede Manolo BBs, and favorite YSL clutch. 

(Sidenote- I didn't even have to pay for my rental because my original choice was ripped upon return, so I had to quickly choose another dress under pressure.) 

Overall, it was a fantastic weekend.  And, I did better than I thought I would leaving Conor for the first time, but I sure was excited to see my guy upon returning yesterday!

So maybe that's not entirely true... (at Drybar)

The last 6 times I've flown I've have a small child on my lap, so this is quite a bit different. See you soon East Coast and @christinaconnors!!

Oh my everything.  This Chanel look is what dreams are made of.

(via)