A SLOW ROAM

This past weekend, Grace, who I've known forever but hadn't seen in a while came through RVA with her husband for a visit and we did a quick hop, skip and roam through Carytown. It was good to catch up with an old friend and it was good to have an excuse to check out pretty odds, ends, and trinkets on a hot weekend day.

GETTING OLDER A'INT FOR SISSIES

A fun article by a tried and true stylin' lady (she's 90 now!) who keeps it together and dishes out some good advice.

32 WEEKS

I feel large. Sometimes I feel like a graceful large lady, other times I feel like an uncomfortable and sweaty large lady.

There’s no more guessing or mystery anymore, strangers straight up ask me, “When are you due?” This means that there is absolutely no question in their minds that I am a pregnant lady.

I get easily excited about little girl/baby outfits.
I also get easily excited about home décor. Thank you, Pinterest and HGTV.

Strangely, or maybe not so strangely, one of the things I’m really looking forward to about not being pregnant is being able to sleep on my back.

I’m starting to get really specific in my prayers about what the labor is going to be like. First order of importance is that the baby gets in a position optimal for birth. C’mon baby, you can do it.

- At 8 months - 

Pros: We are that much closer to her arrival

Cons: Back aches, leg aches

Currently craving: Watermelon

Outlook on the coming of baby: I hope you are healthy!

Feelings about husband: This time of preparing/nesting/waiting together is sweet and precious. It will never be like this again and I must remember to savor these last few weeks. 

MEXICAN CORN AT THE CONTINENTAL

Watermelon is my summer staple food. Corn is a close second, especially when it is grilled. We can’t use our grill right now, but thankfully The Continental has this amazing Mexican corn on the cob on their menu to address my hankerings. It’s fresh corn on the cob with lime butter, cumin, and cheese, and it is delicious. I will probably be going back for the main purpose of ordering some more of that corn, and to maybe also try their lobster roll.

It was as if the weather knew that it was a long weekend and the sun decided to shine on in all its glory. It was hot and humid and I liked it. I also liked all the things we got to do this weekend (even though we never got around to strawberry picking, no matter how many times we tried.) It was a great weekend, but do we all agree we could use another couple of days off?

HAPPY FRIDAY

Happy long-weekend Friday! You made it! Let's celebrate with some quick pictures and links from around the web that I've been looking at this past week: 

If you don't live by the sea and can't take morning dips before work in order to get fabulous sea salty hair, try this! 

I LOVE this pillow from lemlem. It's a tad out of my price range, but I'm daydreaming about having a couple of these on the sofa in our new place.

How awesome is this dresser transformation? More here. 

a lovely long crinkle skirt for the summer!

perfect for the memorial day weekend. 

FAREWELL BUT NOT FOR SO LONG

It really stinks when friends have to move away. It’s not as stinky when you remember that they are moving for a great reason and that moving on and up is always a good thing, but still the tendency is to want to be a little bit selfish and hoard the good quality people all to yourself. I’ve been having this feeling repeatedly the past few months as I’ve heard news of friends moving away and will have to insist that no more friends move away please. Well this past weekend, there was a ‘FINE-Memphis-you-can-have-them-but-not-forever’ party for Jon and Amanda, and all sorts of people showed up to share in this sentiment and we hope they felt the love. Onward and upwards, Tobins!

RECENT EATS

Reed's Ginger Beer: Freshly brewed from sparkling filtered water, sweetened by a blend of Canadian white water clover honey and pineapple juice from concentrate, fresh ginger root, lemon and lime juices and spices. Delicious.

You know what else I’m really into right now? I’m about to tell you: eating beans, toast, and bacon together. It is so so good. We were at the World Market (which may just be my favorite store at the moment) with some friends the other day and they pointed me towards a can of beans that were supposedly delicious. And one of these friends being British- he said he eats it with toast, and I reminisced about how I used to eat beans (in tomato sauce), toast, and some sort of ham or sausage for breakfast every single morning during the month I was at Cambridge and thoroughly enjoyed it. Also, sometimes I had it with fresh tomatoes and always with some tea. When I came home I recreated the meal and was happy to find that the Heinz beans indeed were tasty to my liking, and since then I’ve wanted to eat this meal several more times.

Friends from World Market

31 WEEKS

 


31 weeks is when it becomes a little more obvious that my gait is turning into a waddle, rather than a walk. I officially feel like I am carrying a watermelon around the front of my body, all the time. Try it, walking around with a big watermelon. You’ll find yourself doing a little waddle and sympathizing with a 31 week-pregnant lady - that’s what it feels like, except your arms don't get as tired. Strangers sometimes still call my bump, a little bump, and I have to refrain from looking at them like they are crazy because it looks massive from my point of view. Granted, the change is much more apparent when I am sans clothes, and believe you me, both k. and I stare at it wide-eyed, in mild disbelief at how big it’s getting. And there’s still 9 more weeks of growing to do!

I think I can tell that she’s getting stronger because her movements sometimes hurt now. It’s not just little jabs and kicks, it’s more like the feeling of being elbowed or rolled on. Her bones must be getting bigger? Probably due to the growing size, I feel more aches in my back, hips, and in the back of my legs. Enter, pre-natal yoga. Thank you Netflix and all your yoga videos (DVDs? what do you call them when they are on Netflix? movies?) I remember when I did pre-natal yoga at about week 20, I got really bored, but now I'm do grateful for it because it helps my joints breathe.

PRE-SUMMER NIGHTS

It is mighty fine to be able to spend warm days/nights in backyards of friends, especially when it means I get full on guacamole, strawberries and sparkling beverages.