Five on Friday!

Joining up for Five on Friday today - I'm really trying to motivate myself to start blogging again before baby girl arrives, so I'm in the swing of things and can use the blog as a way to track our daily life once she's here! So, with that, I present a December/Christmas-themed Five for you!

1. Deck Them Halls 
I wanted to wait until we were at least in early December before we started decorating for Christmas - Thanksgiving wore me out, prepping the nursery and baby laundry has been on my mind, and I admittedly wanted it to feel more like Christmas outside (it was warm-ish and rainy a few days this week!). Now that I've had Christmas music playing as my soundtrack all week and am sipping a hot chocolate at my desk, I am officially READY to decorate! We're going to get our tree tomorrow morning, and we'll work on decorating everything throughout the day. There's something about this being our last Christmas just the two of us (three, counting Molly) that makes me really want to just enjoy every second of the month of December that I possibly can. Goodness knows this time next year things will be different with an 11 month old baby girl!

2. Baby Girl Clothes
It has taken everything in me to not buy all of the sweet holiday outfits for CFK to wear next Christmas! Our bank account is going to be in serious trouble if Baby Gap and Janie and Jack are anything like this year (and let's face it, they always nail the holiday apparel for littles!). Not to mention holiday jammies - what's cuter than a little one in Santa jams? Nothing, I tell you! 

Full disclosure, this last one might have made its way into my shopping cart. I mean, it's perfect for Valentine's Day, yes?

3. Me Want Cookies.

Call it Christmas, call it cravings... whatever you call it, this gal is wanting COOKIES. I have a million Pins saved of various holiday cookies and (much to Brian's excitement) have decided I'm going to bake a batch this weekend. My plan is to bake a few, freeze a few (for when cravings hit - thanks Mal for that idea!), and to bring a few in to work on Monday. Lord knows if they're in my house, CFK will surely be able to tell and urge her mother to indulge... and indulge again. I'm determined to sample all of these before 12/26!

3-Ingredient Buttery Shortbread Cookies

White Chocolate-Dipped Peppermint Sugar Cookies

Easy Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Bites

4. Yankee Swap

We were invited to a Yankee Swap party with a bunch of Brian's friends and their wives/girlfriends. It's been FOREVER since I've participated in a swap that wasn't either with family or girlfriends, and I'm at a loss as to what gift I should take! The limit is $20, and I know zero guidelines on whether or not it's a joke swap or "stuff you can actually use" swap - I tend to prefer to buy for the stuff I can use swap, personally. Any ideas? I'm so bad at this stuff!

5. Kindness at Christmas

Maybe it's being a grown-up at Christmas, or maybe it's the fact that we have a baby on the way, but I've felt more and more of a pull this year to be purposeful with acts of kindness towards others. I know that we want to raise our daughter to know kindness and how good it feels to help others, especially at this time of year when so many people and families struggle. Brian and I put together a huge donation pick-up for Big Brother, Big Sister, and I'm searching for  somewhere to volunteer for a day around my birthday. I'm making an effort to do little things that I likely forget about too often - letting someone go ahead of me in traffic, holding the door for a hurried shopper when we're out and about, paying for the person behind me when I get coffee in the mornings, making myself smile when I feel like I'm getting stressed and worked up about silly things, like waiting in line or someone cutting me off in a parking lot. 

They may seem small, but it's the little things that build up to make my heart feel really full, particularly at Christmas time when I realize how blessed I am to have a roof over my head, a loving husband, a wonderful family and extended family, our sweet Molly girl, and this sweet little baby on the way.

Five on Friday!

Happy Friday, friends! 

{one} Pregnancy Brain 

My newest "pregnancy is so fun and surprising" discovery this week? That "pregnancy brain" is REAL. So far this week, I've driven to the train to pick up Brian... on the day that he drove his own car to work; left the house for work in my rubber flip flops instead of work-appropriate shoes (and didn't notice until I got to my desk - thank goodness for my backup drawer!); was rinsing the conditioner out of my hair in the shower... as I realized that I never shampooed it first. 

{two} Baby Registry 

We're basically done with our baby registry, save for one last trip to Buy Buy Baby tomorrow morning to do a walk-around the store and see if we're missing anything big, and to make the final decision on our carseat and stroller. Right now, we're between the Maxi Cosi Mico Max 30 + UPPAbaby Cruz or Baby Jogger City Select, or the Britax B-35 Elite + Baby Jogger City Select. We've "test driven" them multiple times and have read tons of reviews, but we're the first in our group of friends to have a baby, so we don't really have anyone with firsthand experience. Any insight on these options, ladies? 

The registry as a whole STRESSED ME OUT because how in the heck do I know what my baby needs/wants/will like? And once you start researching, reading reviews, and getting opinions, it jumbles everything up that much more. It's been so fun but also so overwhelming!

{three} FALL

I don't know if it's this pregnancy making my already low tolerance of the heat THAT much worse, or just my love of fall in general, but I am SO OVER SUMMER and ready for the cool, crisp weather that fall brings! Not to forget, all of the pumpkin candles, sweaters + leggings, and two of my three favorite holidays! 

{four} Stranger Things

Brian and I have officially jumped on the "Stranger Things" bandwagon... and haven't looked back. We watched four episodes in two days, and are planning to finish Season 1 tonight! I'm so not a sci-fi fan, but it's not TOO sci-fi. It's a good storyline and cast, and while there are a few science-y elements, there hasn't been anything that's made me roll my eyes too hard... yet. It reminds me of The Goonies in a way, although that's a movie that I'll watch any time I come across it on TV, so that may not be saying much. Long story short, if you're looking for a new entertaining show to watch, give this a shot!

{five} Busy Busy!
Tonight and tomorrow are going to be a continuation of all things busy in our world. Brian's grandmother is celebrating her 90th birthday this weekend, so lots of family is coming in from out of town for her party. We're all having a casual dinner tonight, then (as I mentioned) Brian and I are heading home to bingewatch Stranger Things. Tomorrow morning, we have our last few registry errands to run, and I'm making time for a much-needed mani/pedi, too. The birthday girl's party is later in the afternoon, so that will go into the evening (always fun to see everyone). And Sunday brings the highly anticipated day of painting color samples in the nursery! I'm planning on that being our semi-relaxing day, and am totally making Stephanie's biscuits for breakfast, and something in the crockpot for supper. Temps will be in the 70s, so I'll light my new Sea Salt Pumpkin candle (heavenly!) and pretend that it's already September.

Last but not least, Happy Birthday to our DeeDee,
and Happy National Dog Day to my Molly girl!

five on friday!

1. I've been craving  blueberry muffins like crazy, so I'm thinking these blueberry lemon cream cheese muffins (have mercy!) are going to be breakfast one of these weekend days!

2. Our guest room has been used in quite a while, and I realized this week that I need to whip it into tip-top shape FAST, considering we're hosting people as early as next weekend. On the fun side, I have to find a replacement bedding set, a new rug, and a couple of art pieces for the walls (HomeGoods, here I come!). On the down side, the room needs a deeeep clean, which I think is staring me in the face come tomorrow.

3. We have two weddings next month and I'm on the hunt for comfortable, flattering, non-form fitting dresses to wear. I've been scouring Nordstrom, Loft, little boutique shops... and I can't make a decision to save my life. I'm not really showing yet but am figuring I will be to some extent over the next month to month and a half, so definitely something flattering yet flowy. These are a few of my favorites (no affiliate links) - what do you think? I'm loving the maxi but don't know if I'd die of heat stroke...

Love the fit and flare style of this one.

This striped pretty looks too cute and fun... but maybe too little girl-ish?

Obsessed with this!

This Loft dress has the potential to be adorable... or fit me like a sack. But a cute option for the rehearsal dinner.

Loving this color!

4. I don't care if we're in the middle of summer and a semi-heatwave. I've had a MAJOR hankering for chicken and dumplings... and cornbread. I think I just figured out what my Sunday dinner is going to be this week...

5. We have a busy little weekend lined up. Tonight, we're meeting a potential dog sitter for Molly while we're away for a couple of days at one of the aforementioned weddings, then plan to plug through a few episodes of Bloodline with calzone and... iced tea. Because that's the same as wine, right? Tomorrow, we have big plans to stop by Buy Buy Baby for registry ideas and to "test drive" a few strollers, and then we're off to stock up for the big post-golf tournament party next Saturday. Sunday is set aside for lots of yard work and cleaning out our garage, as well as getting our guest room together for friends and family that we'll be hosting over the next several weeks! 

Low-key and just us, which is much needed - the calm before the summer storm, y'all.

five on friday

{one} dry bar southern belle
Santa brought me a bottle of this drybar Southern Belle Volumizing Mousse for Christmas and I am a woman OBSESSED.  I spritz and add it from my roots through the ends of my hair on days that I need a little more height in my tease and whenever I'm curling my hair.  It smells absolutely fabulous, and is light, not heavy and sticky which I've found with a lot of the other mousse products that I've tried.  Getcha some-- tease it to Jesus, ladies!

{two} house of cards 
Brian and I have started watching House of Cards on Netflix and are seriously loving it.  Kevin Spacey is one of my favorites to begin with, and the show is just so clever and well-written, which I honestly think can be hard to come by these days.  And Robin Wright is just gorgeous.  Seriously.  Bonus?  Mr. Spacey has an intense Louisiana drawl going on, and I just love it.

{three} closet cleanout
We've been saying for the past three weekends that we were going to clean out our bedroom closet and the coat closet to make donation piles and FIND ALL OF THE SPACE, and I've finally reached my breaking point of hearing Brian yell from the closet "I can't find it!  It's not in here.  I looked." while I walk in and immediately pull out whichever tie/shirt/shoe he's searching for.  It's honestly organized... just an organized mess.  So we'll be spending a chunk of our weekend doing that.  On the bright side, I already have a list of organizing essentials to pick up at Target tomorrow morning that would most certainly make the process less painful (the big red bullseye to the rescue, per usual).

{four} relax
I've been making a conscious effort to really take time for myself and take time to breeeeathe since the kick-off to this busy 2014, and so far, I feel like I've done pretty well.  I typically have so many little things to take care of that I let them build up and overwhelm me, and I end up running around completely NOT calm and NOT collected, and probably leaving Brian wondering what in the hell he's signed up to be a part of for the rest of his life (in my defense, he knew my crazy before he put a ring on it).  

So now, instead of racing around in the mornings to get myself ready, pack lunches, make coffee, etc., I'm setting my alarm 20 minutes early to do my hair and makeup with a cup of coffee while enjoying a little Good Morning America, and I'm taking an extra 20 minutes before I go to bed to pick up around the apartment, straighten the kitchen (HATE getting up to a dirty kitchen), prepping lunch stuff... the things that stress me out in the mornings.  I'm also in bed by 9pm every night with a book and a candle burning.  I'm so highstrung and "I need to have that done yesterday even though it's not due until next week" that making myself just take a breather and take care of myself is doing wonders for me.  Next stop, trying out a yoga class (no, I've never taken one; yes, I think it would only further save my sanity).

{five} superbowl
Let us not forget that this Sunday is Superbowl Sunday, aka, The Day to Eat All of the Food Things and Drink All of the Alcohol.  Since Brian's beloved Patriots and my Cowboys aren't in the game, we have zero plans to do anything elaborate, and I'm MORE than okay with that.  Since I can't punish my man for me being on my fun food and drink cleanse, I'm considering making a snack or two for him to enjoy.  A couple of the contenders (from April?

Buffalo Chicken Bites

Pretzel Bites with Cheese Dipping Sauce