Before without the After

I really hate to do this to y'all, but this post is kind of anti-climactic. You see, we did a lot of work this weekend and are making lots of changes around the house. The sad part - we aren't done with anything. So, if you don't mind "before"pictures without the "afters", here you go:

We FINALLY got around to starting the landscaping in our backyard. With an unlimited budget and LOADS of time, this could be the backyard of our dreams. Sadly, both of those things are out of reach so we are just doing the best we can. Let me go ahead and point out the things that bother me in these pictures:

-unfinished back doors (BOTH should be black)

-triangular patio

-dead grass

-faded flag

-ugly electrical/AC equipment up against the house

-ugly growth on the ugly wood fence (which is trying to hide our neighbor's backyard)

-frisbee on the roof thanks to Mark

-unfinished wood fence

Ok. Now that I have that out of the way (I would hate for you to think I live happily in this squalor), you can kind of see what we are intending. We added the pavers to give some shape to the flowerbed and extended it out on the entire left side of the house. 

That's Motley's very pink doghouse hanging out there which is being relocated next to the AC unit. Mark and his dad built it for her a few years ago and she LOVES it. I'm debating painting it a more neutral color (add it to the list), but I love her fun pink house!

We're hoping to find a small crepe myrtle to stick the corner where the two wood fences meet. Unfortunately not many nurseries are carrying them right now so we might have to wait on that.

Plants are expensive. We got 15 one gallon containers of Mexican Feathergrass, 3 Sedum (?) plants, and a pallet of petunias. $150 y'all. We probably need double or triple this amount of plants to really fill it in like I want. #expensive #ripoff

Also pictured: Mark's professional cabling job. Add this to the list as well, and maybe I'll follow up one day on the Time Warner Cable debacle of 2015.

So minus the weed barrier and plants actually IN the ground, that's where we are at the moment. Hopefully we can get the beds more filled in and add some mulch in the next few weeks so we can enjoy our backyard! Mark also needs to level the pavers. 

Speaking of nurseries, guess what else happened this weekend!

This is like a nursery/guest room hybrid at the moment. We traded our guest bed for my sister's crib (perfect timing to move my niece up to a big girl bed!) so the nursery is officially in transition!

I have lots of plans for this room:

remove baseboards

paint walls

paint closet

add storage to closet

add accent wall to room

install new baseboards

paint baseboards

re-hang curtain rod

decorate :)

We have lots of prep work to do before the room really transforms, but luckily we have about five months to get it done!

I promise I'll come back with some "after" pictures once we get there, and I'll be back soon to share my plans for the nursery! Happy Monday!

17 week bumpdate

17 weeks y'all! This first half feels like it has gone by really slowly but I can't believe I'm so close to 20 weeks - the halfway point! Baby boy is doing great in there, moving and kicking up a storm. I love to feel his little jabs!

How far along?  17 weeks

Total weight gain: 3-ish lbs? Not really sure. I haven't gained much and haven't been to the doctor enough to keep track!

Maternity clothes? Things are getting tight, y'all. I've definitely grown more lately! I can still fit into some of my more comfortable pants and one pair of jeans. Honestly, though, maternity pants and dresses are the most comfortable!

Sleep: Sleep is alright. I'm not overly tired usually so I get in bed after 10 and toss and turn all night. It isn't miserable, but every time I wake up I'm usually wide awake for those couple of minutes instead of my usual groggy state. Still feeling pretty rested!

Best moment this week: I scored like CRAZY at the JBF sale on Wednesday. I wrote about it here! Baby boy has way too many clothes (and shoes) already so I've put myself on a shopping hiatus. We'll see how long that lasts!

Worst Moment this week: Monday was just an all around crappy day. You know what makes crappy days worse? Round ligament pain. Youch! Just being uncomfortable sucks. Can't wait until I'm 9 months pregnant...eek!

Miss Anything? Not really at the moment! My appetite is a tiny bit better and it hasn't really bugged me this week. 

Cravings: french fries still...I have lemonade almost every day out of habit. I've been totally into sweets, so much so that I went to the store on Monday (my crappy day) and bought 4 different sweet items. Whoops! Also, I'm not really craving them but sour cream and onion chips taste SO GOOD when I eat them. 

Symptoms:  round ligament pains, lots of little kicks, and headaches!

Looking forward to: hearing the heartbeat at my appointment on Friday and just checking up on this babe!

Mondays with no internet and springtime

Happy Monday! Again...

Our weekend was wondrously wide open, just the way I like it. We started it off at one of our favorite restaurants nearby, Urban Rio. It's a sister-restaurant to Urban Crust, a pizza place I've spoken about MANY times. If you're in the area and love fajitas, you have to try Urban Rio because they have THE BEST fajitas ever. YUM!

We woke up Saturday to the lovely reminder that I had switched our internet provider and our previous service had been cut off. Let me just stop here and say that I HATE ALL INTERNET PROVIDERS. If you or someone you know works for at&t or Time Warner Cable, please tell me how to get around all the tomfoolery they 'offer'. As of today, there is a strong possibility we will not have internet until NEXT Saturday. So, yeah. I'm currently sitting in Panera watching Mark study and using their super-slow internet. I did, however, get some mac and cheese out of the deal, so we're even for now.

After Mark got over the worst news of his life (the internet being down), we spent the weekend switching between blissful laziness and home organization. We have a lot to do before baby gets here which includes a total re-org of all of our closets so we did a little of that. I also did a little flower shopping and spruced up the inside and outside to welcome in the warmer weather (82 degrees this week, y'all!!!) 

Overall, I've loved our pared-down technology weekend and I feel great about all that we got done. Anyway, enough of my talking, here's what we accomplished in pictures!

Green! And colors! And flowers!

During

After...with lots of room for baby clothes!

The office closet was taken over by Mark...for now.

TJ's got me...Texas bag, flowers, and all!

I knew I saved these Dr. Pepper bottles for something good! 

My new lavender plant is sitting pretty over there in the corner...

Here we are again, Monday. I hope you all had a great weekend and have a great week ahead!

(linked up with B loved Boston today!)

Five on Friday - a random assortment

Happy Friday friends! I'm teaming up with April for Five on Friday. Check out my week below!

one.

This month has totally been a tease. First, we had ice and sleet, then we had snow, then we had more snow, then we had rain, rain, rain, rain. Then we had this:

...and now we have more rain, rain, rain. This is TEXAS. I'm ready for spring/summer. The hotter, the better! Now who's with me?!

two.

I've talked about my job a couple of times before, but I've been out and about this week and snapped some fun pictures. One of the best parts of working in design is seeing the before and after (nope, not picking out throw pillows). Plus, I'm a big nerd and like to hear all of the construction details without actually being responsible. We have several clients in this building so I got to see the progress! #werk

three.

I finally got my very first bumpdate published. Sorry it took me so long! The belly is just now flourishing so I feel like now is the time to share it. Like I said before, I take a photo pretty much every day in the bathroom to document my progress, but those don't really see the light of day...until now! haha below are this week's pictures. The day my 16th week started, I seemed to have grown! I'm enjoying this little belly now and I'm excited/nervous for what the future belly will look like!

four.

On Wednesday night I went shopping with my sister. A stay at home mom, she is an avid shopper and knows how to find a bargain. If you know me, you KNOW I LOVE a bargain, so I jumped right in on her shopping 'ritual'. She shops at a consignment sale called "Just Between Friends" (JBF) that happens twice a year. Several cities/areas host the sale so we signed up for the Dallas sale. There are at least 5-6 sales in the DFW metroplex alone. Basically, consignors (regular people like you and me) sell their items at prices that they have chosen. It's like 100 garage sales of just baby/maternity items all in one warehouse. They did a first time mom's pre-sale night on Wednesday night so Angela and I were there when the doors opened!

It's SUPER overwhelming as there are piles and piles of items and tons of people looking for 'the good stuff' but there is plenty to go around for all. I bought 23 items for an average of $3.63, but that doesn't include that 1 "item" sometimes included multiple onesies, shirts, etc. I got New Balance shoes, Carter's, Gap, H&M etc. clothes as well as tons of other brands - and the most I paid for one item was $6. It is crazy, y'all! 

Here's a SMALL sampling of what I got...

The last day of the sale, everything is marked down by half price. Granted, things are picked over, but half of $6 and less is a STEAL! I am sure that I'll be participating in these sales as time goes on. Check it out in your area if you love a good deal! 

five.

Spring is alllllmost here in Texas and the landscape is proving that to be true! The grass is turning green, the trees are budding, and I'm getting the itch to do yard work!

Last weekend I picked up these boston ferns and had Mark hang them on our front porch. 

I love them!!!

I still have LOTS of work to do outside but the green ferns gift me a jump start to keep going!

Also, our pretty camellias are blooming! These are such a nice welcome into spring!

Happy Friday!

16 week bumpdate

I finally managed to get a "bump" pic! I've been taking them in the mirror almost daily but I ALWAYS dreamed of documenting my pregnancy with weekly bump pictures...granted, I wasn't really showing at all until about week 13, but still! The bump has pretty much stayed the same since then, so we'll start at 16 weeks and call it good! So with that, here's my very first "bumpdate"!!!

photobomb by curious firstborn Motley

How far along?  16 weeks

Total weight gain: 2-ish lbs? Not really sure. I haven't gained much and haven't been to the doctor enough to keep track!

Maternity clothes? I can still button all of my normal pants, but I have a couple pairs of maternity work pants that are way more comfortable and it's finally getting warmer so I think I'll be wearing lots of dresses! 

Sleep: Sleep is...not too much different than normal. I have my 'off' nights where I don't sleep well but a normal night always includes a lot of tossing and turning. I usually wake up with round ligament pains of some sort, but those aren't too bad.

Best moment this week: We named our baby!!! I'm super impatient, especially when my mind is made up, but (I think) I gave Mark time to really think about our options and we mutually decided on a name together. Don't get your hopes up though, because we aren't sharing until his birthday!

Worst Moment this week: Baby boy has been kicking a lot lately (I feel SUPER lucky that I've felt him now for two whole weeks! I've even felt a good 10 kicks/movements from the outside.) but on Saturday or Sunday I think his sleep schedule was off and he wasn't moving as much as he usually does. His sweet spot is after dinner when I lie down on my back, and he wasn't moving. I got a little freaked out but luckily he answered right back and gave me a good 4 kicks on Sunday!

Miss Anything? Honestly, just feeling normal and being able to eat more. Pretty much nothing sounds good to eat and I'm ready to be able to stomach much more! I was thinking the other day and my thought was "I'm just tired of eating!"....words I thought I'd never say!

Cravings: french fries, lemonade, Panera mac and cheese, and 'cookies with icing'. Super healthy, y'all.

Symptoms:  round ligament pains, nothing sounding good to eat.

Looking forward to: heading to the JBF sale tonight with my sister! I've been saving my money because I feel like this consignment sale is going to take a big chunk of it. I'm so excited!!! I'll come back to let you know what I got!

Travel Diaries: the many decisions of a girl's trip

So, I have some girlfriends and we like to eat. We like to eat, gossip, shop, and laugh. But above all of the eating, gossiping, shopping, and laughing, we like to travel together. 

Each one of us has a bit of wanderlust and travel bug in us at one time or another, and while we're usually dreaming up of going somewhere like this...

(our honeymoon on Kauai)

...we've somehow ended up staying in the great state of Texas. There's a LOT I can say about Texas though, and we haven't even covered half of it! We've been to Austin, Fort Worth, Dallas, Houston, and Fredericksburg (sometimes more than once) together and no matter the circumstances, it's always a blast. 

Naturally, when I told them I was pregnant about a month ago, they insisted we do a babymoon. No, Mark's not coming, it's just a girl's trip! As usual, we spoke about grand vacations in Colorado or Utah, but after we took a breather and looked at our schedules, we realized another Texas trip was the most realistic.

I have to say, though, we are all pretty excited about this one! We are pampering ourselves with a trip to the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa, in (you guessed it) San Antonio. Growing up in Texas, San Antonio was a must-see when you were about 12 but then after that, you remembered the Alamo just fine and the city is usually overshadowed by the much "cooler" and more diverse city of Austin, just an hour north. When I proposed this hotel to my friends, one goes "San Antonio, really?" but once I sent her the link, she changed her tune and said it looked REALLY nice. 

Situated north of the city, we'll be on this expansive resort with the best looking pools I've ever seen in Texas. Y'all, they have an adult pool! This 6 month prego mama is going to be ALL about that! Plus, that lazy river is going compliment our lazy bodies pretty well all weekend!

Part of staying in the resort means that we want to take advantage of all of the amenities. When we were booking at about 9am the other day, we were all drooling over the menus at the multiple restaurants. We are DEFINITELY staying on site for dinner!

We are all SO excited for this girl's trip to catch up, relax, and get in some quality girl time in this beautiful area of Texas. We wouldn't have it any other way!