Birthday wish list

My birthday is coming up really soon... (in 2 days to be exact) I'll be 29... the last year in my 20s... I'm a little scared to turn 29 because that means that the next year, I'll be 30.  I used to think 30 was so old, but I'm almost already there!  I don't feel old, but then again, I do.  Anyone understand what I'm trying to say?  haha Well, here are some things I thought I'd want to celebrate the last year of my 20s (just in case you wanted to know).  :)

 



1. kate spade scarf  2. sparkle belt   3. booties  4. envelope clutch   5. watch  6. tibi dress  7.pajama set  8. scented candle

Oxblood legs + gold tips

{dress - kenneth cole // tights - target // shoes - nine west // necklace - jcrew}

Happy Monday, everyone!  How were your weekends?  John and I had a movie date on Saturday and saw Les Miserables, and I was literally miserable watching it.  After an hour or so of the movie, I started feeling sick... like physically sick as in I'm-about-to-vomit-from-nausea-if-I-don't-leave-the-theatre-right-now-sick.  I'm not sure if it was the angles of the scenes or all the screaming/singing, but we left about 20 minutes before the movie ended.  We didn't get to finish the movie, but we got the gist of it and are thankful we had an actual one on one time (which you don't get much of once you have a kid).

I had to add some color to this black bag that I wore as a dress so I added the colored tights and my fancy necklace.  I think the outfit turned out pretty well.  ps.  How cute are my nails?  I did them myself and am totally loving the sparkly tips!

pregnancy update:

week - 35

weeks to go - 4 more weeks til my csect!

size of baby - 5.25lbs-ish

emotions - like I'm sooo done being pregnant, but then not ready to have this baby yet...

weight gain - I don't step on the scale anymore

cravings - nothing specific



DIY - name plate (baby girl name revealed!)

Although I complain a lot about being pregnant, I am honestly extremely excited that we are pregnant to have our second child.  I am even more excited that we are having a baby girl!!  I've completed this quoted canvas for her room so far and now made this name plate for her door.  I haven't revealed the name of our toddler on this blog yet, but since I've made the decision to tell you our baby girl's name (which will be Jordyn), I guess I will also tell you our boy's (which is Jaylen).  We obviously went with the 'J' theme since John and my name (Joyce) also start with J.  Anyway, here are the simple steps to creating this cute name plate.

1 & 2.  supplies - plate (step not shown: spray with paint and let dry), white spray paint, 6 round wooden slabs, decorations, and various scrapbook paper
3. use the round slabs as a stencil and cut the paper
4. use glue (mod podge) to stick the cut paper onto the slabs
5. print out name (I used the font 'backspacer' and made the letters about half an inch smaller than the pieces of the slabs)
6. use wood glue to glue the slabs (and any other decorations you'd like) onto the board

I added ribbon to the back of the plate to hang on her door.  Easy enough, right?  I just love the colors I've chosen for her room.  (coral, orange, some neutrals)  She'll be in our room for awhile so there really was no need for decorations yet, but some things are just too exciting to wait on.  :) 

Third trimester

{sweater dress - juicy couture // shirt - gap maternity // tights - nordstrom // boots - nine west // bag - lv // bracelet - jcrew // earrings - anthropologie}

Happy Monday, all!  Today, I'm going to use this blog to vent a little about being in my third trimester.   I've been carrying this baby for 34 weeks, and let me tell you, it is no picnic.  If you've never been pregnant or you've been pregnant and you're one of those people who just LOVE being pregnant, you might not relate to this post.  

I hate the weight gain (32lbs already!!), the mood swings, the frequent trips to the bathroom, the swelling of the legs and feet, the lack of energy, the developing of tiny but very noticeable stretch marks, the ever-growing dark circles underneath my eyes from lack of sleep, the random pain from the ligaments stretching and braxton contractions, the sinus drainage, and the need to avoid certain foods and medicines.  I know in the end, every one of these inconveniences will be worth it, but for now, I must complain.  

I also cannot wait to use the 98% of my closet that are being neglected right now.  It may sound super shallow, but I miss looking in the mirror and thinking "I look pretty good" or "this outfit is pretty cute".  It's not like I ever worked in fashion and definitely cannot claim to be some 'fashionista', but I miss being able to dress 'normal'.  Looking through some of your beautiful blogs with your even more beautiful outfits make me miss it even more. 

 

How do you cope with feeling down and not yourself?  Thanks for reading and for the encouragements!

Recipe - cheesy biscuits

When I bake, I usually go for something sweet that we can eat for dessert.  But when I saw this super easy recipe, I had to try it myself.  The end result were these cheesy, moist, and delicious biscuits!  Enjoy!!  :)

A skirt to a dress

{dress (skirt) - old navy (similar) // belt - forever21 // cardigan - anthropologie // shoes - nine west // earrings - anthropologie // bracelets - jcrew}

Good  Monday, everyone!  This weekend has been both eventful and productive for us.  My awesome friends threw me a baby shower; we had great food, super cute presents (my favorite here-with tutorial), and just a good time catching up and chatting.  I didn't take my camera, so I couldn't take any pictures, but some of my friends took some with theirs so I'm waiting for them to load them up.  For this outfit, I actually pulled up my long maxi skirt that I wore here and made it into a tube top dress.  It totally worked well, and I survived another weekend without maternity clothes! Yay!  :)

pregnancy update:

week - 33

weeks to go - 6 more weeks to go for my scheduled c sect!

gender - girl

size of baby - size of a pineapple

weight gain - 31lbs... goodness... how many more can I gain without popping?

movements - a lot... she's kicking me in all sorts of places!  kind of hurts at times...

Recipe - cranberry orange scones

One of my favorite sweets to get from Starbucks is their orange cranberry scones.  They go perfectly with a tall cup of their vanilla latte that I usually get (it's been decaf lately).  So, when I found this recipe on Pinterest, I had to try it.  These turned out pretty similar to the ones from Starbucks, but a little less sweet and maybe even tasted healthier.  John and my mom munched them up and were gone in a day!  Enjoy!!

Something borrowed

 

{shirt - banana republic (men's) // pants - old navy maternity // shoes - nine west // bag - lv // necklace - jennifer zeuner // bracelet - jcrew // belt - uo}

Happy Monday, all!  Why is it that weekends fly by so quickly?  I just love spending my weekends with my boys, John and bb.  John's such a great dad and helps so much.  Speaking of, this shirt I'm wearing on this post is borrowed from John's side of the closet.  It's just sad that I can fit into a men's large (having to fold the sleeves twice), but at the same time, pretty grateful that I have my hubby's clothes to borrow.  My belly is just getting bigger and bigger, and I still refuse to buy any maternity clothing (the pants on here are hand-me-downs) so I opted for an even better option.  :)

pregnancy update:

week - 32

weight gain - still about 30lbs :(

size of baby - she's now about 4lbs 11oz. according to the technician

cravings - nothing special

swellings - legs... especially at the end of the day... 

something new - we got to see her through the 3D sonogram!

Just a quickie

{top - gap maternity // pants - jcrew // shoes - nine west // bag - louis vuitton}

Here's a super quickie outfit post.  I took these pictures a little more than a week ago so thought I'd post them up today.  Happy Wednesday! :)