Where did the summer go???

Wow, I can't believe it's already mid-August!  Why is it that summer flys by so quickly?  It's been a weird one in LA this year...the weather has been unusually mild, with temperatures averaging in the high 70's, even in the valley!  Normally this time of year, the valley's scorching with temps over 100 on average.  Not to complain though...I was dreading a hot, sweaty summer during my last trimester of pregnancy.  God's blessed all the pregnant mamas in LA with great weather this year.  Hopefully this won't mean we'll have a crazy heat wave in the fall, though!

Second trimester of pregnancy was great - I had tons of energy, slept pretty well, and had a healthy appetite (almost too healthy, since I gained about 25 lbs. during that time!)  Unfortunately, third trimester isn't so wonderful.  The past few weeks have been pretty tough...lots of back pain, especially from the afternoon on, difficulty sleeping at night, heartburn, and peeing every hour has been super annoying.  Good thing there's a light at the end of the tunnel, since the little guy's due at  the end of September! 

I've done a fair amount of travel during my pregnancy.  Here's the rundown:
-March: Pismo Beach for a destination wedding
-May: Bachelorette party in Santa Barbara, 1 year anniversay/babymoon to Cabo
-June: Chicago and San Diego for business trips
-July: Hawaii for a destination wedding

The last trip, while it was super awesome, was definitely tiring.  My aches and pains started after I got home from the airport and haven't really gotten much better since.  Now's the time to take it easy, which means I'll be missing my nephew's 1st birthday in Seattle at the end of the month.

My Retro Baby plus giveaway from Design Mom

Design Mom is giving away a $250 gift certificate to My Retro Baby, a really cute website with all things retro for your little one!  They have all sorts of stuff, from baby clothes to shower favors, all with a vintage twist.  The website itself is adorable too, so check it out!

The most awesome items are the retro pedal cars - check out a few:

The deluxe fire truck classic pedal car.  Look at all that detail!

Pink Princess pedal car.  Totally cute!

Drooling over Dwell Studio

If money were no object, I'd probably buy everything that Dwell Studio has to offer.

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owls sky crib set

owl boudoir pillow

elephant bookshelf

sparrow weekender bag

Photo experimentation

With summer approaching and daylight hours growing longer, I came home from work and played around with taking some pictures as the sun was setting. 

I love the look of shooting into the sun and capturing flare, so I tried replicating it:

(this was the best I could do!)

I've been too chicken to venture out of my backyard with my camera for some reason. 

(morning glory growing wild)

Sophie was watching me quizzically during the entire process.  My favorite subject graciously allowed me to capture one nice photo of her before she went to chase some squirrels.

Baby shower from Twig & Thistle

I opened Google Reader today and saw this super cute baby shower idea from Twig & Thistle, one of my favorite stores/blogs. 

The post includes a link to instructions on making the cute banner above, as well as closeup photos of the letterpressed invitations:

Man oh man do I wish I had a lettepress machine!  Though I have no idea how to use it nor is there any space in my house to keep it, but one can always fantasize about it :)

Baby gear basics

We just found out that a baby boy is on the way and now we can start doing the fun stuff - shopping!

Actually, it's a bit overwhelming.  I didn't realize how much stuff a little infant needs, especially after reading blogs and baby books.  Plus, there are so many choices out there for car seats, strollers, cribs, clothes, bottles, diapers...my head's spinning already. 

I came across this article today narrowing down baby items to the five essentials that a parent only needs.  According to the author, parents really only NEED the following:
-car seat
-crib
-stroller
-bouncy seat (more of a maybe)
-baby bottles

Of course, obvious items like diapers and baby clothes weren't included.  Unfortunately, the first three items are probably the ones that'll cost the most amount of money, especially if you go for top-of-the-line items.  And realistically speaking, who can't resist buying teeny little baby clothes and cute baby room decor, no matter how impractical or expensive they may be?  I should've stopped spending money a year ago to save for our expensive little one.

baby room inspiration

I discussed my obsession with purple and grey several months ago, and recently stumbled across this really delightful baby's room on ohdeedoh.  It has a nice, tranquil ambiance about it.  I've been looking for ideas on how to repurpose our guest bedroom into a nursery and this example is definitely going to be one of the inspiration rooms.
 

Love that mural on the wall!