Category Archives: Favorite Things

New Favorite Thing

March 10, 2015

I’ve gotten to the part of pregnancy where I’m feeling really tired and heavy a lot of the time. Carrying around a bowling ball in your midsection all day long is no easy feat, and my hips, knees, ankles, and feet are well aware of just how much weight I’ve put on. By the end of the day my body is so exhausted, even just getting up off of the couch is like an endurance exercise.

Because of how uncomfortable I’ve gotten over the past few weeks, I decided to do something I hadn’t done since I was a kid — take a bath.

KC and I went to Target last weekend and picked up a bath stopper (I don’t know what kind of drain plug they used back in 1926, but whatever it was I’m sure it was lost in our house long ago) and some bath salts (no, not the drug kind).

Our tub isn’t a big soaking tub, or really anything luxurious by any means, but man is it relaxing to hang out in there for a bit. There’s something about getting the weight off of your lower body for a little while during pregnancy that is just magical (even if my big belly sticks out over the top of the water line in our tiny tub).

So if you’re feeling a little stressed, or maybe a lot pregnant, try a bath! It’s totally my new favorite thing. Light some candles, get a good-smelling bath soak, put on your favorite Pandora station and you’re in business.

Favorite Things / Pregnancy

Second Trimester Favorites

February 11, 2015

It’s kind of crazy that I’m in the final weeks of the second trimester already. I’m having a little trouble comprehending that I’ll be in the third trimester at the end of the month. Third trimester sounds so… like, “this is happening.” Like, you’re gonna have that baby soon. This is partially because the third trimester is the shortest of all three (I wasn’t aware of this before getting pregnant, so if you already know the trimester breakdown, just bear with me for a sec.) Your first trimester lasts from 1-14 weeks, the second from 14-28 weeks, and the third from 28-40 weeks (or whenever you deliver). This means that the third trimester is a mere 12 weeks long, assuming you get to a full 40 weeks at the end (which, many people don’t). So if you go into labor early? It’s even shorter.

I mean, math.

Anyway, enough about how I’m kind of freaking out, let’s talk about what’s been working for the second trimester!

Sleeping: The Bump Nest pregnancy pillow has been such a lifesaver throughout this pregnancy. Like I’ve said before, I’m normally a stomach sleeper, so learning to sleep on my side has been quite an adjustment. The Bump Nest pillow is amazing because it’s super soft and fluffy, but way more supportive than a regular pillow would be. My pillow started to sag right at the top of the hook, so I started using a regular pillow up there to support my head (which is actually a lot more comfortable for me anyway). If you’re pregnant and you’re still trying to figure out how to sleep comfortably — I totally recommend this pillow (but troubleshoot a little with adding a couple extra pillows — that’s how I like to use it!)

Clothing: I’m still totally obsessed with the Ingrid and Isabel Bellaband, which I wear with my regular pre-pregnancy jeans. I did buy some J Brand maternity jeans, which I like OK, but they’re a little too big on the top still and so tend to scoot down throughout the day (nothing like having to yank your pants up all day long). However, they were great last week when I was in New York and wearing fleece tights under my clothes, because they’re super stretchy. As for tops, Gap has been such a lifesaver, as a lot of their tops are long enough to go over my bump still, without me having to buy maternity-specific shirts only. (A note on this, I do have some maternity tops from Pea in the Pod, which I absolutely love; but it’s nice to buy some stuff that should work both during and for some time after pregnancy, since it’s not pregnancy-specific.) My favorites of the moment are these fluid long-sleeve pocket tees and the quilted-panel fluid tees.

Workout Wear: I had this idea that I wouldn’t need to buy new workout wear for pregnancy because Lululemon stuff is so stretchy. Um, FALSE. First, Lulu stuff is really stretchy, but there are a few issues — 1. The pants tend to be really tight right along the lower belly, which is suuuuper uncomfortable during pregnancy, so those are out; and 2. the tops “fit,” but I’ve become so, um, voluptuous that it was getting a little bit, like, PG-13 (I like to keep my workout wear PG at the very most.) So anyway, these high-waist Beyond Yoga leggings have been amazing for pregnancy. They’re not actually maternity pants, but they’re super soft and stretchy without the intense compression of Lulu leggings, so they’ve been perfect for teaching and taking class. As for tops, the Gap Fit line has been where it’s at. I bought the breathe tank and long sleeve and the motion tank and long sleeve tops. These tops are not only affordable (hiiii, Lulu, I love you, but I’m not gonna spend $500 on a pregnancy-specific workout wardrobe), they’re super comfy, stretchy, and flattering. And, again, because they’re not “maternity,” they’ll work post-baby too.

Skin and Beauty: I’ve still been loving (and using religiously) the Burt’s Bees Mama Bee Belly Butter. It’s nice and thick and moisturizing without feeling super greasy (and no stretch marks! …Yet.) My skin has been pretty dry since becoming pregnant, so I’ve been using Tarte’s Maracuja Oil on my face at night. I like that it’s a natural product (good for pregnancy!) and that it moisturizes without me feeling like I’ve just rubbed Vaseline all over my face. And in the event that my face decides to be a total a-hole and be dry and break out, the Burt’s Bees Herbal Blemish Stick has been my go-to.

Well, that’s probably a good enough list for now. Let me know if you have any specific questions on any of the stuff I’ve listed or any other things I’m using — happy to share!

Favorite Things

Ice Cream Delivery

January 28, 2015

I may be way behind the game on this one, but KC and I just tried Instacart for the first time the other night — have you guys heard of it? I had a craving for ice cream (how cliché, right?) and KC was a little under the weather and so wasn’t willing to run off to the store to fulfill my every wish and need, unfortunately. (To be fair, he basically did this every night during the first trimester when I felt like complete garbage and couldn’t pin down what I wanted to or could eat until about 15 minutes before I actually ate it.)

I, being tired (and a little bit lazy), did not feel like putting on real clothes, getting in the car, and braving the crowd at Safeway just in the name of Ben and Jerry, so I checked out Instacart. Instacart delivers groceries to your door from a number of locations (near us they go to Safeway, Whole Foods, Berkeley Bowl and Costco) and offers free delivery on your first order over $10. Plus I found a coupon for $10 off our order — way too good to pass up! We ordered a random assortment of treats — Its-Its, 2 pints of ice cream, and a pack of tortillas (for dinner later this week) — and got the update from Instacart that our order would be at our door within 2 hours.

By the time we finished watching Downton Abbey, an adorable girl showed up on our doorstep with our bag of goodies — without us ever having to leave the house.

Um, it was kind of magic.

So, in the event that you’re super busy (or just lazy like me), you should check out Instacart. And as if you needed more incentive, here’s a code for $10 off (just because I like you): click here for coupon code. (Code is good for the first 5 users.)

Happy shopping!

Favorite Things / Pregnancy / Relationships / Travel

Babymoon

December 17, 2014

As much as I hate the word “babymoon” (like, what does that even mean?) I’m totally not against the idea of a babymoon (which, in case you’re not familiar, is a little trip you take with your spouse before the tiny babe comes and upends your whole life. — It’s a positive upending, just to be clear.)

We’ve decided to jump on the bandwagon and take a little trip to New Orleans before I’m officially on the no-fly list. KC and I had some money to Southwest, courtesy of giving up our seats on one of our flights over Memorial Day weekend (we made almost $900!) which was set to expire basically on my due date. Plus, we have a credit card which earns us United miles (it’s amazing — we’ve both flown to Europe twice in the last 2 years alone just on miles!) We figured we’re a ways away from heading back overseas now that I’m incubating a tiny human, so we opted to use our points to book our hotel stay in NOLA. Overall, it’s turning out to be quite the affordable adventure, which is awesome because now we can spend all our hard-earned money on important things like beignets, fancy dinners, and beignets. Even though I can’t really partake in the fun nightlife in NOLA, I’m really excited to have some time to just relax and soak up a new city (I’ve actually been once before, but it was a very short trip for a work conference, so I didn’t really get to experience much of the city).

KC and I have made traveling a priority in our life together. I caught the travel bug the first time I headed to Europe in 2003 (I’ve been overseas 6 times in the last 11 years as a result) and worked hard to convince KC to scrimp and save up for a big trip that we finally took together in late 2012. Since that 2012 trip, KC has been fully on board with my travel addiction, and is always quick to support the argument of, “That isn’t that expensive for a flight/hotel/trip/whatever,” or “We’ve got this many miles on our card — where are we going and when?”

A few things we’ve learned over the years are to take advantage of vacation time and PTO through work. While many people let their days build and build and only take a few hours here and there for sick days, appointments, etc., we opt to take a chunk of time at least once every year or two and get away. We also make sure to be flexible in the dates and months we travel (did you know it’s cheapest to fly in the middle of the week?), so we’ll often take two weeks for Europe going Tuesday-Tuesday or Wednesday-Wednesday. And the two times we’ve gone to Europe have been during the off-season in November and May. (PS: Christmastime in Europe is magical. I can’t wait to do it again someday.)

We’re also pretty savvy in our spending, in the name of future travel. When I was traveling a lot for work, I decided to sign up for a United credit card to take advantage of all the awards miles I was racking up. While the card does have a yearly fee (I think it’s $50 or $100), we use the card for almost all of our regular purchases, and have racked up enough miles for two round-trip tickets to Europe each year (which is worth wayyyy more than the $100 fee to us!) And even though we’re not using our miles to head off on a European vacation in 2015, we got 5 nights at a 4-star hotel in downtown New Orleans for free with our points. Not bad considering we just jetted off to Amsterdam/Scotland/Ireland in May.

Do you make travel a priority? What are the tips and tricks you’ve picked up over the years?

And I’d love to hear if you took a babymoon — was the getaway nice before your whole life changed? I’m kind of freaking out a little. (Just a little.) 😉

12 Dates of Christmas / Favorite Things / Holidays / Relationships

12 Dates of Christmas (two through five)

December 8, 2014

We’re on a roll with the 12 dates of Christmas over here — I dare say we might even exceed 12 this year! (And good thing too, as I suspect our date nights are going to be a little fewer and farther between once the bambino arrives next year.)

We started off strong by hitting up Camino on Friday night for dinner. Camino is one of my favorite restaurants, and it happens to be just blocks away from our place, which is a nice bonus. I had been bugging KC to go to Camino for awhile, since it’s now crab season. Camino always does crab in the fireplace during this time of year and it’s sooo delicious. KC and I went to Camino for the first time for our 6 year anniversary (almost 4 years ago now!) and I had the crab — I’ve been hooked ever since. Their cocktails are amazing too, but sadly I wasn’t able to partake this time around. 😉

We had a nice long meal — sharing some cheese and bread, a salad of bitter lettuce, puntarelle, and lentils, I had the crab with farro, KC got quail, and we shared persimmon pudding and some almond/chocolate cookies for dessert. It was perfect.

We talked about the baby (how it’s weird to be pregnant — in a good way), plans for the future, our upcoming anniversary, and all other sorts of things. It was so nice to get away and connect, and it really reminded me that we will definitely need to make an effort to find time for just the two of us once the baby comes.

Our second date was on Saturday night, which was KC’s office’s annual holiday party. It’s a huge event — everyone gets dressed up and the company goes all out, with multiple open bars and food stations. Luckily, an H&M dress I’ve had for a couple years still zips over my bump, so I was able to get all dolled up for the evening (maternity tights and all). The party was fun — a bit of a whirlwind. And dang my legs were tired by the end — pregnancy + heels is not a joke.

Our third date was going out for brunch on Sunday morning. After teaching Saturday morning and then attending two (!) holiday parties that same day, I was pretty tired for most of Sunday. KC and I slept in and then rolled out of bed and made our way back to Camino for brunch. I could barely function, being so tired from the day before, but it was a nice way to spend the morning nonetheless.

We capped off Sunday night by having dinner at home and watching The Family Stone together. I made a big pot of soup and whipped up some Christmas candy for a work event. Honestly, there’s not much else I enjoy more than just hanging out at home with KC, especially during the holidays. It feels so nice to just slooow down a little and take some time together.

I hope you all are enjoying the holiday season. Only 7 dates left! Merry merry.