And I’m back to share the fourth installment of my bump update series! Like I said, in the spirit of documentation — I wanted to make sure these bump updates had a place on the blog, even though my bump is now 20 weeks gone! Like part one, part two and part three of this series — I not only wanted to document my thoughts and feelings each week for myself, but to also share for others who may be coming into a similar stage in their own pregnancy (or are just curious about my experience). I know that one day (and even now, reading through these put me into tears, guys) I’ll love looking back on these photos and notes that were a part of such an important time in our life.
In the spirit of documentation, I wanted to make sure these bump updates had a place on the blog — even though my bump is now 20 weeks gone! Like part one and part two of this series — I not only wanted to document my thoughts and feelings each week for myself, but to also share for others who may be coming into a similar stage in their own pregnancy (or are just curious about my experience). I know that one day (and even now, reading through these put me into tears, guys) I’ll love looking back on these photos and notes that were a part of such an important time in our life.
“The days are long, but the years are short.” We’ve all been told this at one point or another in our life, but no time more than any has this simple statement hit me more than when I became a mother. Instantly, my whole world changed and all I wanted to do is stare at my newborn baby. I didn’t want to miss a moment — I wanted to see every expression and movement he made — from the way his lips pursed when he stretched to his first few smiles, I just wanted to soak it all in. And so I decided to take the time — the time to adjust, the time to heal, the time to snuggle as long as I can, the time to kiss my baby over and over again because truthfully, he’ll never be this little again and for me — taking the time to do just this has been the best decision I could have ever made.
And I guess that brings me to this place — four months later and I’m still slowly finding the balance of wanting to just soak it all in and also get back to doing things I used to (and still do) love. Consider this my notice of heading back to this space a bit regularly — with my sweet sidekick in tow, of course.
We’re days away from Christmas and I can hardly believe where the time has gone! Little Ace is nearly seven weeks old and is getting bigger by the day. Life lately has been a mix of learning new things about our little guy, running our small business (the holidays are our season!) and getting in a little blogging in-between. Knowing that Scott and I are in need of getting up, dressed and ready to be on the go at a moments notice (#newbornlife and #smallbusinessowner) we’ve been reaching for the most cozy and comfortable clothes and shoes in our closet, including these Miami sneakers from KIZIK via Zappos!
Happy December! My oh my — where do I even begin? The past few weeks have been an incredible whirlwind — Ace is just over a month old now (I still need to properly introduce him here!) and we’ve been just adjusting to life with a newborn each and every day! Since he was born, we’ve also celebrated Thanksgiving with family from near and far and welcomed the busiest time of the year for our small business. In years past, Scott and I have always tackled our local markets as a team — and this year is just the same, our schedules just look a little different with our mini guy in tow! On the days that I get out to give Scott a break during our markets (usually with my mom and Ace along for the ride), I’ve been rocking my new BED|STURockaway tote (aka the perfect new mom bag) from Zappos! I love how the leather is naturally imperfect and it can hold just about anything I could possibly need for little Ace — which is everything but the kitchen sink (babies need ALL the things when on the go, haha).
Aside from our weekly markets, our days have been chock full with family time, learning more and more about our sweet guy and getting ready for the holidays! Over the past few weeks, we’ve also had a few hardships to overcome with our little man (a bad case of jaundice early on and since then navigating nursing and a taking care of Ace’s tongue and lip tie — which he’s doing so great with now post-procedure), but each day is surely better than the last and Scott and I feel SO grateful for our new roles as mom and dad!
This little shoot was actually my first postpartum — and while I was a bit nervous to get back in the saddle, it felt so good to do something so normal. I’ve been saying this to Scott a lot lately, but it feels like our life is just the same and oh so different at the same time. Ace has brought so much joy, love and immense happiness into our life and it’s hard to believe that he was ever not here with us. I’m sure you mommas out there will know exactly what I mean!
I hope ya’ll are having an amazing start to your December! Can you believe the last month of the year is already here? Where has the time gone?! Anyways, don’t forget to check out the full BED|STU collection via Zappos! All of their pieces (including the most amazing boots for women and men!) are handmade and hand-dyed — making each item unique and very much its own (just like our little guy)!. This season is also the perfect time to shop around on the Zappos website — they have so many amazing brands and pieces for anyone on your holiday shopping list! Oh, and don’t forget that they have free, super speedy shipping! Perfect for those that wait until the last minute to finish up their shopping — aka me! Be back soon! 😉
This post is sponsored by Kohl’s. I was paid for this post and received the included home goods as compensation.
With the holidays right around the corner, Scott and I have been prepping and preparing for not only our busy season with our small business, but also the birth of our little guy! Knowing that he could have come any day (he was born on the 3rd of November), we’ve been working hard on wrapping up a few projects and getting our home ready for the chilly and cozy season ahead [because we hear things are a little harder with a baby around, ya know 😉 ]. Knowing how much we loved our experience with shopping at Kohl’s this summer (they have a huge selection of quality home essentials!), we decided to head back there to shop their November Home Sale, which is running right now from November 7th through November 18th, so we could shop a few of our favorite brands, including Serta, Columbia, The Big One and CuddlDuds for amazing pieces and prices all around!
While our space might be small (#tinyhouseproblems), we like to think that the holidays and winter months sure bring out the best in it — warm blankets, fluffy pillows and the coziest setup you ever did see! Knowing that our bedding was going to need an update to accommodate for the cooler temps we’ll be having here shortly (and a few warm days here and there as well), we opted for purchasing a few pieces that could not only work in our bedroom, but also in our living space and even in the baby’s room — for those late-night feeds, ya know!
Staring with our base, we opted for a fresh set of the Columbia Cooling Sheets in white! We had previously purchased these sheets the last time we updated our bedding and have been loving them ever since! Being nine months pregnant, I was running hot, hot — so having a cool base has felt like a must. Now that this baby has come, though, I’m ready to switch to using the Columbia Performance Flannel Sheets — which I know will be extra cozy and warm during the holidays!
Up next on our list was a new comfy and holiday appropriate quilt set! Kohl’s had SO many cute ones in their sale, but this Reversible Quilt Set by The Big One in Gray Plaid quickly caught my eye. I wanted something that could feel festive, while also mixing well with pieces we already owned — like that rust throw and my beloved furry pillows! Scott and I are both big fans of how comfy the quilting is on this and am really enjoying a change from our usual comforter! Plus, our space feels that much more festive now!
Now that we have the basics down, we decided to add a few accessories that could not only work in this space but throughout the whole house as well! First up, these CuddlDuds Sherpa Oblong Throw Pillows that I am OBSESSED with! They’re perfectly oversized and super soft to the touch — perfect for our bedroom or living room (especially on movie nights — The Holiday, Love, Actually — anyone?)!
To wrap things up, the last item we grabbed was this CuddlDuds Plush Sherpa Fleece Throw! I am honestly so excited to have this cozy throw in our home and can already imagine our baby wrapped up in it during the colder months. Plus, the pom poms on it are super cute! The buffalo plaid print of this same throw looks so warm, as well, and would add a festive flair to any space.
Now that our bedding is updated for the months ahead and we have a few pieces that we can mix in and out of our space for a festive, cozy look — we’re all ready to get things moving around! Lots of holiday markets, our baby boy’s big arrival, Thanksgiving, Christmas — bring it on! Don’t forget that you can now shop Kohl’s November Home Sale through November 18th, including cozy brands like Serta, Columbia, The Big One and CuddlDuds all at such amazing prices! What spaces in your home are in need of a holiday update? We may not have a guest room, but if we did I would also be updating it with cozy bedding for the holidays ahead — eck!
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With the countdown on to the most wonderful time of year, Scott and I are preparing for what it set to be our busiest and most exciting season yet for our small business and growing family! Not only are we gearing up for our local markets, pop-up shops and in-store events with Citizen Home Decor, but we also just welcomed the newest member of our family, a precious baby boy named Ace! Knowing that this season in life will be filled with busy days, sweet baby snuggles, late nights and many trips to our local post office to ship off orders, having our Wi-Fi (and life) working in top-notch order has become a must. This is where the sweet folks at Samsung come in, who we’re excited to be partnering with to integrate their all-new SmartThings Wifi, a Wi-Fi system and smart home hub, into our house to help us to easily manage and accomplish our day-to-day tasks as small business owners and new parents.
Since Scott and I both spend time working from home, having reliable Wi-Fi is a must in our household — but up until now it hasn’t always been easy thanks to the older internet lines throughout our neighborhood and the far placement of our router. After installing SmartThings Wifi hubs in the main living areas of our home, we’ve been so impressed with how smoothly our Wi-Fi (and life) has been running since. Over the past few days, SmartThings Wifi has worked to eliminate the dead zones we were having (my favorite corner of the house being one of them) and improve speeds as it learns more about our network with its Plume AI-based Wi-Fi technology, which learns and adapts to your Wi-Fi usage and devices. It’s also capable of adapting in real time to any interference — which were able to closely monitor via the Plume app! We both see this as being such a huge bonus, especially since we’ve been in a time crunch trying to get as much work done before baby arrived, thus needing our Wi-Fi to run seamlessly.
With the SmartThings and Plume apps, we’re also able to manage all of our smart home products — including our Samsung TV, outdoor cameras, music players, etc., along with creating custom automations to simplify our daily tasks! A few of my favorite features and automations thus far have been freezing devices while I download or upload large image files, setting the internet on our phones to pause while we eat dinner (because ya’ll know our days as a duo were numbered!) and monitoring our TV to ensure we have top-notch Wi-Fi strength when we’re finally ready to settle in for the night and watch an episode or two of something fun and quirky before we finally call it a night (which are slowly starting to turn into late night viewings during 2AM feedings around here).
Now that our home and Wi-Fi are in working order, there’s just a few other things I wanted to share that we did to help us better prepare for the baby’s arrival — all tips and tricks that other parents (many small business owners themselves) have shared with us over the past few months.
Surround yourself with family and friends that can help support you during those first few weeks!
Meal prep (or as I call it — shop prep) and keep a stockpile of food in your freezer so that when baby comes, you’ll have a handful of meals ready to go that you can easily warm up. Gotta keep those minds and bodies nourished, folks!
Set up an out of office on your email so that your clients know you’re currently in baby bliss and will get back to them shortly (promise they’ll understand).
Schedule any payments, social media posts or reminders now so that when baby comes, your business can continue to run without you having to give it any thought.
Accept that at the end of the day, baby will come when they want and you’ll never be entirely ready. Enjoy this time and know that you’ll always be grateful that you did!
I would love to hear your thoughts on preparing your home and/or small business for the arrival of a new baby! Also, let me know if you’ve tried out or plan to try out Samsung’s all-new SmartThings Wifi in your own space. There’s so much it can do to automate and make life easier, which I know we’re even more thankful for now that our baby boy is here!
With fall in full swing — and the end of this baby bump in near sight — I’ve had my heart set on adding a few quality pieces to my autumn wardrobe. Cozy sweaters (to wrap around baby), felt hats (to shade he and I from the desert sun) and comfortable booties for walking around in while we both get some much needed fresh air. Knowing that I might need to give my usual tall booties a break for awhile (at least until I get my pre-baby balance back — I’ve been so clumsy the past few months), I’ve been on the hunt for a low pair that would go with everything and would be super comfortable to go on long walks in with baby boy in tow. After spotting these, Two24 by AriatJavea booties — I knew I had found the ones!
If ya’ll aren’t familiar with Two24 by Ariat, they’re a brand that prides themself on artisan craftsmanship with the use of the finest leather, classic silhouettes and touches reminiscent of their equestrian heritage. All of which hit home for this gal who appreciates quality, classic styles and equestrian inspired pieces. And knowing that I couldn’t wait until this little guy arrived to take them out for a spin, Scott and I headed down to our local pumpkin patch for a walk through the pumpkins, along the corn maze and a hot apple cider for two.
I hope you enjoyed a peek at one of our last fall dates as a duo! Our little guy is due in less than two weeks and we can’t wait for him to get here — promise to keep ya’ll posted over on my Instagram when he does make his big arrival. In the meantime, don’t forget to check out the full collection of Two24 by Ariat at Zappos and be sure to utilize their amazing free 2-Day shipping if you do end up picking up a pair or two for yourself! They have SO many cute booties, boots, mules and more. My girl, Chelsea, is actually rocking a pair of Two24 by Ariat Jubliee mules over on her blog and they look SO cool with her cozy, autumn outfit!
Happy October! My favorite season is officially here! The start of my favorite month, and what could possibly be BABY MONTH — is off to chilly start here in the desert. 70 degrees may not sound cool to lots of ya’ll, but to us desert rats — it’s sweater season around here! 😉 Anyways, to say this season holds change for us would be a drastic understatement. With the arrival of our baby boy in just a few short weeks, this season is sure to be our most exciting, life- changing and beautiful yet! And knowing that baby boy will be here during the peek of the fall season (and possibly before Halloween), I wanted to write down an autumn bucket list of what I would like to do during his very first and incredibly special season with us (even if some of these might be done before his arrival!). Without further ado —
Autumn 2018
Decorate our home for Autumn/Halloween
Carve a pumpkin
Roast pumpkin seeds
Watch Hocus Pocus, Casper & The Addams Family
Have a hot apple cider
Go to a pumpkin patch
Bake GF pumpkin chocolate chip cookies
Celebrate the love of my life’s 30th birthday
Give birth to our baby boy — 😉
Take our first set of family photos!
Go on lots of morning/evening walks
Celebrate the little guy’s first Thanksgiving with family and friends
Learn how to properly sling/wear baby boy
Visit the Desert Botanical Gardens
Take baby to his first Phoenix Flea
Get to know our baby boy — coos, cries and all <3
Give ourselves grace during this challenging and beautiful season in life
I would love to hear all about what’s on our Autumn bucket list this year? Pumpkin patches and corn mazes? Fall baking? Drives to see the leaves! Let a very pregnant gal know!
