Friday night fun

V decided to have one last hurrah before Baby K arrives. We spent our Friday night singing karaoke with our many friends. It was a lot of fun! I'm really excited about this next step in our lives and I'm glad we were able to spend one last night having a good time with friends.
The location: Spotlight Karaoke

OOTD: J. Brand maternity jeans. 

Max Azria cut out shirt, similar here. 

Christian Louboutin Shoes no longer available, similar style here.  

On V: Zara Merino Wool hoodie, similar here

AG Dylan Skinny Leg Jeans

Salvatore Ferragamo Parigi Suede driver in gray

The waiting game

38 weeks pregnant! Woah. Almost time.  Today I am still 1 cm dilated, the baby is in the pelvic canal and I am effaced not completely but some.  Dr says he weighs 6 lbs and 6 oz (give or take a lb, lol).  I feel great so far. I'm excited and anxious. Can't wait to finally meet our little guy!  My doc says it could happen at any time but I feel like he'll take his time.  Maybe late next week? I don't know.  I finally packed his bag over the weekend. I didn't really know what to pack so I just packed onesies, diapers, wipes, a hat, mittens, socks, a burp cloth and swaddling blankets. The car seat is installed and my boobs are ready, hopefully I can breast feed successfully. The breast feeding class we attended was extremely helpful. I guess he doesn't need much as the hospital will have things too but I like to be prepared. Oh, I also packed him a toy from our friends back in Virginia.  We are actually using cloth diapers but figured disposable ones would be better while we are in the hospital. I'm only to stay 24-48 hours they said. Don't know why I'm packing so much.
 

31 and pregnant

Not only am I almost 32 but I'm also preggers. My energy levels are about a 6/10 so I take it slow these days. We went to a friend's party Saturday night.  I decided what to wear in no time.  My go to favorite black stretchy dress.  I've worn this dress so many times and in so many ways within the last 9 months. It is a truly versatile piece. I only wore it once pre-pregnancy.  Now I wear it to dinner as shown here, to work and to go out.  I just wore it on Wednesday with boyfriend blazer and Chanel flats.  Last night I paired it with Halston Heritage vest and Max Studio suede open toe boots.  I accesorized with a Chanel brooch.  I'm trying to bring sexy back at 9 months pregnant. HA!

OOTD: White Halston Heritage Vest no longer available, similar here. Riller black dress, similar here, Max Studio suede open toe boots, similar here. Chanel brooch and bag available at Chanel boutique. 

Packing my bags . . .

Ok, I am only packing one bag.  My hospital bag.  I have done extensive research and finally decided what to pack.  I also need to pack the baby bag.  I just don't know what to pack for the day I am supposed to leave the hospital . . .  yes, I'll probably be tired and sore and what not but I want Baby K to have the best first impression of his mommy.  My coming home outfit is going to be centered around the shoes.  V does not want me wearing heels but if they're going to wheel me down in a wheelchair anyway then what does it matter it's not like I'll be walking much and I have had no swelling.  So, I have my options below.  As a back up I am also packing the most comfortable pair of sandals I own, a pair of Gucci thong sandals that have been through so much with me the last few years.  The leather and the tassels are worn but they are still the most comfortable ever!

 

I'm 37.5 weeks and at my appointment today my doctor said: I'll see you in a week or sooner.  AHHH!!! I think he'll be here March 5, 13 or 18.  Not sure but he'll be here soon enough!

 

What do you think of my shoe options? 

 

Christian Louboutin Filo, Christian Louboutin Galia in black, Charlotte Olympia Luna pump no longer available, Isabel Marant Balesi no longer available.  This season's favorite,Isabel Marant Burt.

 

Flash back Friday: Pre-bump 'fits

It's funny how I used to think I was fat and now I'm carrying a human inside of me and I realize that "hey, maybe my body wasn't that bad."  I love my pregnant belly though and if you count the weight I lost and regained during pregnancy I have only gained 9 lbs! Yay, last time I checked at least.  I have 4 .5 weeks left we'll see how it goes!  I always gain weight on my face though so my face is getting particularly rounder.  AHHHH!

Here are some of my favorite pre-bump outfits, deets below. 

Rag and Bone Skinny White Jean, Zara peplum top (similar here), Charlotte Olympia Dolly in leopard



Karen Millen Drop Waist Dress, similar here or here, Christian Louboutin Arborina shoes, similar here

Jovani dress worn as a top (similar here), nude skirt, B Brian Atwood booties

Aqua beaded dress, similar here

Amanda Uprichard tank, Hue lacquer leggings, PJK blazer no longer available similar here, Christian Louboutin booties, Balenciaga bag no longer available similar here

Momnesia

I have a bad case of pregnancy brain. V says that I'm driving him crazy because I'm incoherent and forgetful. It's very frustrating for me because I never forget anything.  Ever. Ever. Ever. 

Yesterday I double paid a bill because I'd forgotten I'd already paid it.  That's not that bad but still. I have to set reminders on my phone so I won't forget to do things.  WTF?! The really bad thing is that I accidentally deleted A LOT of my pictures from my blog. Pictures dating back to September. I tried to re-upload them but blogger is giving me an error so I'm going to need a few days to fix it. Ahhhh this is so frustrating. Oh well.

Update: I was able to restore my pics! Yay, I had to google a lot to figure it out but I did it!  

This is from the Oprah website. 2009. Go figure.

• The brain shrinks during pregnancy—it does not lose cells but changes metabolism and restructures. Then in the final one to two weeks, the brain begins to increase in size again and construct maternal circuits. It does not return to its former size until about six months after giving birth. "We don't know what it's doing but we think it has something to do with redeveloping the mommy brain's circuits, but also maybe even letting the fetus 'snack' on the mommy's brain," Dr. Brizendine says.

Read more: http://www.oprah.com/health/The-Female-Brain#ixzz2rrlJAlsV

Well if baby K is snacking on my brain, go right ahead baby.  Mommy wants a smart boy. 

My pregnancy brain tally:
- I double pay bills
- I lose train of thought
- I confuse myself more than usual
- I confuse my husband because he says I haven't been speaking in complete sentences

The most frustrating thing of all is losing my train of thought in front of a patient.  They laugh and think it's cute, I don't! It's embarrassing. 

To make matters worse I am in complete denial of what's ahead.  I have a business, work part time and have this blog and I am about to have a baby and so far I think I am going to be able to handle all of it.  One of my colleagues told me that he supports me 100% but that he won't blame me if I don't go back to work on Sundays.  That's my favorite day to work! The good thing is that as a business owner I have the freedom to alter my schedule to fit my mom duties and in the future hire someone to work part time so I don't have to work 7 days a week.  Our baby's pediatrician is right across the hall from my office so it's super convenient.  There's also a nanny service in my office, it's called my receptionist.  She's great! V telecommutes so he is staying home with the baby so that's going to be perfect! Right?! Besides men aren't judged for bringing home the bacon so why should career oriented women be any different?

Maybe life doesn't have to be completely different after baby . . . maybe just maybe I can juggle it all.
Stay tuned . . . due date March 10!

 

What do tigers dream of . . . .

. . . when they take a little tiger snooze?

This post isn't about tigers.  It's about my prenatal yoga experience.  I have never been able to successfully complete a yoga session.  I could never keep up with the breathing.  I've had bad sciatica for about two years now and it's worse now that I am pregnant so I decided to give prenatal yoga a try. 

My friend and I found a Groupon for Joy Yoga Center in the Washington corridor.  So we decided to check it out.  I must say I am very pleased.  I love my instructor! Absolutely love.  She has one of those voices that makes the back of your neck tingle and she is so sweet.  We introduce ourselves every class and we share our experiences with the group.  On our first session I told her my previous yoga experiences and she was very nice and said she would try to focus on the breathing more, she said some instructors don't.  So far it's been great.  My sciatica is better, my neck and shoulder pain are gone.  I love it.  I feel very zen. 

Based on this great yoga experience my friend and I decided to add another class during the week.  Joy Yoga only offers one on Tuesdays so I told her that the Motherhood Center offered a free class if you checked in on Yelp! so we went on Thursday.  OMG! What a difference.  This is like hard core yoga. Seriously. The other class is baby cakes compared to this one and all this instructor says with each pose is "3 rounds of breathing".  I don't know when to exhale or inhale but thankfully because of the other class I did pretty good on this one not great but otherwise I would have been terrified.  I left that class sore and bewildered.  Now I know why Jennifer Aniston has such an amazing body and attributes it all to yoga.  It's because yoga is hard and extremely disciplined. 

I left that class with so many questions.  How can these pregnant women be so flexible? And why is it called tiger pose? What is the point of me doing this crazy pose up against the wall? I've never seen a tiger pose like that. Tigger bounced on his tail. 

Even though this class is a lot more intense I am very happy with it.  I am going to continue yoga two times a week, Tuesdays at Joy and Thursdays at Motherhood Center. 

I am a complete convert.  I think yoga is amazing.  I'm even considering a doula . . . that's how much 4 prenatal yoga sessions have changed my life. Actually, I'm not really considering a doula, I thought about for a hot second and yoga hasn't really helped with my anxiety that much yet but it has helped with my aches and pains. 

Here are some of my favorite poses, probably because they're the only ones I can somewhat do comfortably, I still need more practice.  

Tree pose. Tiger pose. Squat. Happy Baby.

OOTD: Aneka by New Balance yoga pants, Tie Dye Balance Collection tank, Hind long sleeve top
Calvin Klein workout pants, mpg top *
*All my workout clothes are either purchased at Marshall's, TJ Maxx or Nordstrom Rack. 
 

Baby Shower

On Sunday my family and my girlfriends came together to celebrate my baby shower. It was a small gathering at Ouisie's table. I was very pleased with the results. It was simple yet tasteful, just what I wanted. Blue and white hydrangeas were the flowers of choice and we had building block/umbrella centerpieces. The food was delicious. Guests had their choice of crab cakes or rockefeller oysters for appetizers. The entrees were an ode to our heritage . . . sort of . . .  greek salad with salmon, enchiladas and parmesan crusted chicken. The chicken was the neutral dish but it was so good. The cake was so yummy that I didn't want it to end, it was Italian with buttercream icing.  The food, cake and flowers were all provided by Ouisie's.  They also made the personalized menu cards.  V and I made the umbrella centerpieces.  As favors my sister made chocolate cake pops, they were so good!

We ate lunch, played games and I opened gifts.  Typical baby shower.  We played Who Am I?, Who knows mommy best, baby trivia, and baby shower around the world.  People also guessed the baby's birthdate (which we won't know until later) and guests decorated pages for an alphabet book.  It was such a great shower and 4 hours went by so fast.  I am so thankful for everyone who came and to my mom and sister who helped with the planning!

The one thing I forgot to do was hire a photographer so my sister had to take pictures.  I wish I would have hired one to capture all the special moments, other than that everything was great!

Outfit details will be revealed at next post . . . stay tuned.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pregnant life . . . Work, work, work

I work 7 days a week so I'm all about comfort. I have to make sure I have enough funds to not work for 6 weeks, cover my bills and pay someone to fill in for me so in the meantime I have to hustle. I'm lucky that I can work for so many days at a job that I love. 

Since I spend so many days at the office I really stopped caring about what to wear. Take yesterday for example I put this outfit together in 5 minutes. The top is cute, the leggings are cute, the blazer is cute and the shoes are cute. Now, does the combination look cute enough?! I'm not sure. I wanted to wear this outfit with my tall boots but I couldn't find them and I wanted to wear my faux leather motto jacket but I couldn't find it either.  I wanted to wear my hair down too but I didn't have time so a bun it was! Do 4 rights make a wrong?! You be the judge.

I took these pics in my office which I thought would be kind of fun since I spend a lot of my days there.

Ok, I'm off to watch the Golden Globes!

OOTD: Tart leggings, Free people dress no longer available similar style here, Christian Louboutin wedge booties, LaROK short blazer no longer available similar here. 

Happy New Year

2013 was a hard year but I look forward to 2014 with an open heart and a positive outlook. Things will be a lot better. Though 2013 was trying I am very thankful for many blessings and life lessons. I think back at January 1, 2013 and I would have never imagined what God had in store but tis is life. No regrets and always see the good in any situation.  We look forward to our biggest blessing our baby boy. ETA: 3/10/2014

I wish everyone a prosperous 2014!

About last night . . . Outfit deets.

Cut 25 Yigal Azrouel, Christian Louboutin Arborina (similar here), Juicy couture statement necklace (similar day),  South Moon under bangles (similar here).

Pregnant life: to party or not to party

You smoked crack . . . I'm watching one of my favorite season 1 Girls episode, the one where Shosh smokes crack. It's 1:53 AM and I just got home from the bar a little while ago. I'm drinking chamomile tea, eating cookies and watching Girls. I left my friend's birthday party at Gaslamp. It was fun but I am just overwhelmingly tired by midnight these days. My lower back, butt and legs hurt. Also, let's not forget I'm in my 30s and my energy levels are not those of my 25 yo counterparts.  Actually, while watching this Girls episode I realized that Hannah, Marnie and Jessa don't really want to be at this warehouse party.  So maybe being 25 and 31 isn't that much different . . . .but then I realized that at 25 I was still going buck wild.

When I look back at the ridiculousness that was my 20s I literally cringe. I had a great time obviously but nothing that needs to continue on in my thirties.

So now I'm not only faced with assuming an appropriate social life in my 30s (I have traded in nights at the club for nights at the movies, dinner dates and nights at the theater) but also assuming an appropriate social life while being pregnant.  Will people criticize me for being out without my husband at a bar with my 6 month pregnant belly?! Will people assume I'm drinking because I'm at a bar? After a while I realized I didn't care. I think I still deserve to have fun.  So, the biggest decision I faced last night was: should I wear a black bra or a nude bra with a black sheer blouse? I decided to wear the nude bra since my body is nude colored.  The sheerness of the blouse is magnified with the flash, it's like those red carpet moments when you notice a nip slip after the photo's been taken.  In normal lighting it's not that bad.

If my skin looks extra radiant it's probably a combination of my "maternity glow" aka bronzer and drinking like 100 oz of water a day. 

Hope everyone had a great weekend!! Tootles.

 Hue lacquer leggings, BCBG sheer blouse no longer available but similar here and here. Sam Edelman Mila boots, also here.  Accesories: Aqua statement necklace, similar here.  Movado watch.  Roberto Coin bracelet.  Chanel Purse.