Archives for March 2019

Entertaining in Texas takes on a whole new meaning in the spring and summertime when the temperatures soar into the hundreds and going outside requires an ice cold beverage. We love having friends and family over to hang in our backyard, shoot hoops and swim in the pool, but realized we mostly had ‘indoor’ entertaining items. We had cups, but none that were insulated to keep drinks cold in the heat. We had ice buckets, but none that didn’t ‘sweat’ and leave pools of condensation on every surface. We had beautiful wine glasses, but none that were stemless and good for around the pool. We needed a refresh, and I thought there was no better place to look than The Home Depot.

With entire categories dedicated to entertaining on their site, The Home Depot has thousands of entertaining options to choose from. Also, did I mention that their prices are incredible?! I got a set of 12 {!!} glasses for under $20, and a cocktail shaker {to make margs!} for just $10. All in all, I was able to get two sets of 12 glasses, a 5 piece insulated pitcher set, a cocktail shaker and an insulted party tub for under $200. Especially since we just got married, I wasn’t too interested in spending a ton on more homeware, so The Home Depot was the perfect place for us to look.

So, to break it down, here’s why I chose what I did. I lovvvveee that these glasses are mini as they’ll hold the perfect pour of rosé before getting too warm. This insulated pitcher and matching glasses will keep everything from water to iced tea to bloody marys cold, and I love how much liquid they hold! These larger glasses are great for margaritas {this is my favvvvvorite recipe} which calls for a cocktail shaker – obsessed with the one I got for just $10. Last but not least, this party tub. Man oh man, this will be so great for setting out and filling with anything while we entertain. It’s such a nice big size and love that the ice doesn’t melt immediately {the insulation not only keeps the condensation off my table, but also keeps the ice from melting at lightning speeds} #hallelujah Ain’t nobody got time for a water ring.

I ordered everything online and it couldn’t have been easier – the items showed up in a matter of days, and everything looked great. All in all, the process of ordering my items from The Home Depot website was so easy, and I know that I will do it again next time I’m looking for something specific for my home. If you are looking to update your entertaining barware, then definitely check out The Home Depot! You can’t beat their prices, or their selection!

Photos: The Retro Penguin

thank you to The Home Depot for sponsoring this post!

How do you feel?What has been the most difficult part of your pregnancy so far? Honestly, I feel so incredibly lucky that I’ve had an amazing pregnancy thus far. I feel great and am trying to just take it one day at a time and enjoy the moment. There hasn’t been a worst part! I am not trying to sound cheesy when I say this, but honestly, I really have enjoyed this pregnancy. Even the not so pleasant things like waking up multiple times in the middle of the night to use the restroom aren’t really all that bad – I just fall right back to sleep! All in all, I just feel very lucky.

Will you share any nursery updates? I will in due time! We’ve ordered everything, but nothing has arrived yet so I don’t have much to share other than my inspiration photos and fabric samples. I will share the process as it evolves though!

Did you get morning sickness? What were your cravings? Aversions? I’m so lucky in that I never had any nausea. Prior to getting pregnant I had somewhat of a sensitive stomach, so the fact that I never got sick really surprised me! I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop 😉 The only aversion I’ve really had is to Swiss food {go figure!} I think I just hit my limit during my first trimester while we were there over Christmas and every night it was either raclette or fondue. I told my husband that if I don’t eat fondue or raclette for another year, it will be too soon 😛 As for cravings, all I wanted was anything cold and fresh tasting – smoothies, yogurt, orange juice – it all just tastes sooo good.

How did you deal with exhaustion? And travel? Although I didn’t struggle with nausea, I did struggle with major exhaustion which made traveling abroad while in my first trimester a little more tough! Being overseas was hard because you want to be out and about doing and seeing cool things, and in my case, spending time with my husband’s family. It was hard to feel motivated though when I was always just feeling so worn down. It was like I couldn’t catch up. Plus, I couldn’t eat the meats or cheeses, or have a glass of wine with everyone else so it made the long 10pm dinners a little more difficult to sit through 🙂 I remember one lunch in particular, we were all sitting in this little restaurant eating raclette and fondue {go figure} and I just told my husband I had to go home. I excused myself from the table and walked back to our house and fell asleep for 3 hours. Sometimes you just have to listen to your body!!

How long did it take to get pregnant? I will most likely share more at another time, but we struggled to get pregnant for a long time.

How did you find out you were pregnant? I took a pregnancy test! and then another, and then another….just to make sure 🙂 It was truly the most shocked, and most happy my husband and I have ever felt. There were so many days we thought we’d never see a positive test!

What have you bought for the baby so far? Besides the furniture and items for the nursery – nothing! I’m having a baby shower so I will most likely wait until that to see/asses what I have and go from there 🙂

Did you only want junk food? There were a few days or weeks in the first tri where I really craved funfetti cupcakes – I would make a batch and maybe eat two or three in one go. But as quickly as that craving came, it went and I haven’t had any other real junk food cravings that are out of the norm {I have been eating a lot of pizza, but I always eat a lot of pizza so nothing new there ;)}

When did your bump start showing? My bump only recently really popped – I’d say right before I went to visit my sister in California {I was around 19/20 weeks}. I took the baby announcement photos when I was 17/18 weeks and was sooo hard to get my bump to show up in the pictures! I remember eating a big breakfast and chugging as much water as I could so that the bump would look more significant. In reality, the bump didn’t really pop until a few weeks later – and now, I feel like I am full on bumping!

When did you tell family and friends? Close family + friends knew right away, and extended friends + family we told closer to 11/12 weeks {we told both of our extended families on Christmas when I was ~11 weeks} We announced to you guys when we were 18 weeks!

When did you finally feel safe in telling friends? We felt pretty good telling friends + family around 11/12 weeks, but wanted to wait to tell the world {you guys!} until I had had my anatomy scan and gotten the all-clear from our doctor that everything looked good.

Make up and skincare routine? If you’ve been following me for a while, you know my make up routine is very simple {+ very boring!} I just wear some powder, fill in my brows, and wear mascara. That hasn’t changed with pregnancy. As for my skincare – this has changed a lot! Working on a post for you guys 🙂

Are you going to share name? We will share name once the baby is born!

Are you scared about the actual birth? Yes and no. I trust the doctors and know from friends and family that in the end, it will all be ok. I’m not petite per se, but I am small boned, so I am nervous about how it will all go! BUT! With that being said, I know lots of women who are smaller than me and who have given birth without any issues so I just try not to think too much about the negative things that could go wrong, and just think positively about the potential experience of it overall.

Most surprising thing about pregnancy? That I’m almost 6 months and still feeling great {all things considered!}

Any sickness remedies that helped? I didn’t struggle with nausea but I’ve heard ginger chews work like magic. My friends swear by these. My mom loves ginger, so she actually also eats them as a breath freshener! I love ginger too 🙂

When did you first realize you were pregnant? How were you feeling? We waited two weeks and then took a test {I never tested early – too emotional!} Physically I was feeling normal, emotionally I was a nervous wreck.

What were your first symptoms? I’ll never forget how odd it was to get out of breath going up my stairs. I remember thinking “how!? I’m just a few weeks pregnant!?!” But apparently it’s totally normal because your body has increased levels of progesterone which can make breathing a bit more difficult as your body adjusts to the new hormonal levels {who knew!} I also had a heightened sense of smell – I could smell everything. I actually enjoyed that because typically my sense of smell is just average so it was fun while it lasted {it faded as I transitioned into my second trimester}

How long did it take for you to get pregnant? A long time – but not as long as some! We feel really blessed.

What are the doctors appointments like? How many blood tests? Most normal pregnancies/patients see their doctor around 8 weeks, but I saw mine right away. You don’t want to know how many blood tests I had to do {sometimes one every other day, for weeks!} But if you are ‘normal’ you shouldn’t have to do more than 1.

When did y’all find out the gender? How many weeks? We found out right before we left for Germany! I was ~15 weeks.

How has it been adjusting to your growing belly {body?} Honestly, my body hasn’t changed all that much yet. Although now, being almost 6 months, I am noticing changes daily! I find it all exciting and new – I’m just so grateful to be where I am that I try to remember what a blessing it is to grow this little human. Bodies bounce back – I’m not too worried.

When did you know you were ready to try and get pregnant? I have loved children for as long as I can remember. I’ve always had such special relationships with my nieces and nephews and even my campers from when I was a counselor called me ‘Mama B.’ Being a mother has just always, always been something I’ve wanted, so I knew as soon as we got married, we would start pretty soon afterwards.

Are you scared of being a mom? Not at all! I’m so, so excited.

Did you use anything specific apps/tools to help you get pregnant? I used these ovulation sticks which were really helpful, and tracked everything using the Ovia Fertility app. It was helpful for keeping track of my periods, peak days etc so I wouldn’t have to remember everything when the doctors asked {sometimes they want to know months of information so it was super helpful to have it all stored in one place on my phone!} With that being said, I wouldn’t rely on the app to accurately predict your high or ‘peak’ days – I found that it was often wrong. Just use it to keep track of your personal information and that’s it. The ovulation sticks were the best bet for getting accurate peak information.

Any signs that you were pregnant before you found out? So many symptoms of early pregnancy are the exact same as for your incoming period, so I tried really hard not to let myself symptom spot {harder said than done!} You will drive yourself crazy though symptom spotting so just try to keep yourself busy and not think about it. The body is unpredictable and just because a symptom has never showed up before doesn’t mean it necessarily a sign of early pregnancy.

How has your nutrition/diet changed? Besides trying to eat more, my diet hasn’t changed all that much. As I mentioned above, I’m always craving cold, fresh food so I’m definitely eating more fresh fruit, smoothies, yogurts etc.

How do you eat healthy when all you want to eat is bread? Ha! I don’t hold back – I swear, carbs are my primary source of calories, so I especially indulge while pregnant! Baby gets what baby wants! 😉 I will say though, that I am typically a very healthy eater – I just prefer a lighter meal over heavier options, so it hasn’t been a huge issue for me.

Have you been super crampy? Only when I’m not drinking enough water! Call me crazy, but I didn’t really realize that I had to be drinking so much more water than normal. I knew I had to up my intake of calories, but water had just never crossed my mind. I notice I tend to get crampy when I slow my heavy intake of fluids.

How did you get through social events without telling people? Can I just take a second and tell any and everyone reading this a PSA: Please NEVER EVER EVER ask your friend, family member, acquaintance  or stranger if they are pregnant. THEY WILL TELL YOU if they want to share, otherwise! Just keep your thoughts to yourself because you never, ever know what someone is going through. For the most part, people are smart enough to not say anything, but if I ever got in a situation where someone asked me why I wasn’t drinking I just said I didn’t feel like drinking, or I was trying to be healthier {stupid excuses, but I tried to keep it relatively honest/simple}.

Compression socks – splurge or save? Ha! This question made me laugh – I wouldn’t know, as my compression socks are from Walgreens! They have been great and since I only wear them every few weeks or months, I haven’t really felt the need to splurge on a pair. I have heard good things about this brand though, and they are cute! So, maybe one day.

How much weight have you gained? I’m naturally thin, so gaining enough weight for this pregnancy has been a concern for me since day 1. I ask my doctor every time I see her if I’m on track and so far, so good! All that matters is that baby is healthy {97th percentile for weight!} so I feel really good about that right now.

Where will babymoon be? TBD but we have decided to take our babymoon post baby’s arrival. This is somewhat unconventional, but I’ve had a number of friends do this and recommend it so that mom {me!} can take full advantage of sleeping in, drinking all the drinks, and relaxing {our goal is to go when baby is 6-8 weeks old}.

How did you tell your husband you were pregnant? I took the test in the morning when we were together! It was such a sweet moment <3 I love that we experienced the surprise {and shock!} together.

How to best support friends experiencing their first pregnancy – the do’s/don’ts! I have so many thoughts on this! I am going to put together a list of items I think any pregnant mama-to-be would want based off items I bought for myself right away {and throughout}

What prenatal vitamins are you taking? Oh goodness – I need to find better prenatals! The ones I’ve been taking for 2+ years are fiiiiinnnneee {and they taste good!} but I’m sure they full of unnecessary sugars and chemicals so it’s time for me to make the switch. I’ve heard great things about this brand so I’m actually going to buy some today and start taking them instead.

Did you workout? I used to workout several times a week, and then last year, while going through some stuff, I was advised to take time off. I started going on long walks instead and have done that until now. I’m cleared to start working out again, but I’m just nervous. I think I’m going to start doing prenatal yoga though! That seems like an easy way to get back into things – and I’ve heard it’s great for getting your body and joints ready for labor.

Will you feature your baby? Will you share pictures of the baby? We have decided that we won’t be featuring the baby. I know it will be sooooo hard as I will want to share everything with you guys and show off how sweet and cute and cuddly he is, but in the long run, we decided that it’s best to give him a life free of social media so he can be his own little person 🙂 I don’t want him to grow up with a camera in his face recording all of his daily moments – I want to just be with him in those times and enjoy them! Plus, I don’t want any of my children to feel like they have had their lives exposed on the internet {not so much of a big deal when they’re itty bitty, but once they’re older, it could get weird!}

Thank you to everyone who sent in questions -I honestly can’t stress enough how lucky and blessed I feel to be pregnant right now, so just trying to enjoy every minute of this sweet time. If I miss any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments and I will get to them as soon as I can! Hope y’all have the best weekend! xx