Maternity Clothes Shopping

I finally went shopping yesterday for some new clothes!  I have to say, I was excited to go, but soon realized the process was overwhelming, and not nearly as much fun as I thought it would be.  I wore the baby bump for some of the clothes to get an idea of what they'll look like - and this is when Ian and I both said WHOA! 

To see myself with that big of bump was startling.  Obviously we know I'll be getting a big belly - but it's hard to imagine what you'll look like.  It was then that I realized my hopes for being a cute pregnant lady (for some reason I've always thought just about every pregnant woman looks adorable - even when they get to the point where they waddle) probably won't be realized - I just look frumpy and huge.  Oh well - maybe all pregnant women feel this way about their own bodies?

I think I had a pretty successful trip.  One of our friends who had a baby about a year ago filled me in on Motherhood Maternity outlet store in Arundel Mills.  It's a bit of a drive (25 minutes or so - not too bad), but considering lots of people say they like their clothes, and that it's an outlet store (read - I'll spend less money) I wanted to check it out.  It was overwhelming - there is so much selection that is kind of all mixed in together without much organization.  So you really have to be willing to sort through things to find the deals and find the clothes that you like and that are in your size.  When I was trying on pants, I realized how comfortable they are and that my current pants are really cutting into my belly.  I think it was perfect timing to buy some new ones!  I focused on getting things that can be layered.  I walked out with the following (and I found pictures for all but one of the pieces of clothing):

• pair of bootcut jeans (with super stretchy elastic waist that goes above the belly - SO comfortable). 

• black dress pants (same waist) 

• black blouse with white polkadots that will be super cute for a dressier outfit once I'm much bigger - it's so lightweight I thought it'd be perfect for when I'm hot in May or June. 

• teal tank top (but dressier than a plain tank) that can be layered underneath a long sleeve shirt for colder days, or worn alone in the summer
• black 3/4 length 3 button light sleeve sweater - perfect for chilly days in the spring or even now- and also it's something I can wear when I'm not pregnant

• organic cocoa butter tummy cream to prevent stretch marks (not sure it's even possible to do so, but I figured, I might as well try!)

I got all of that for about $150 - which I guess isn't fantastic, but isn't horrible either.  I didn't mind spending a little more on the pants because I'll probably buy very few pairs and just change shirts more often to change up my outfits.  I foresee myself getting some very cheap tanks/short sleeved shirts on sale from various places and just layering those.

I also got measured for a new bra - but don't need a new one right now because my size hasn't changed.  I was absolutely shocked to discover this - but it turns out that pre-pregnancy I was probably a small 36D, and now I'm just a full D. Pretty excited that I can wait a little longer to buy bras. 

I also discovered that the H&M at the mall has a very small maternity section that had some cute stuff - but I'm waiting for more spring stuff to come out before I buy more.  I also went to Old Navy and found their small in-store maternity section.

I was too pooped after all of that to look more around the mall.  Note to self, don't wear ballet flats with NO support in them to walk around Arundel Mills Mall. 

Overall, very successful day that will allow my tummy some breathing room.

Upgraded

Remember my awesome birthday present Ian got me a few weeks ago?  Well, within a day of having it we realized something was wrong with the slot where the memory card goes in.  Also, we realized it didn't have the option for live view (where you can just look at the screen to take the picture, versus looking through the little eye piece).  Not that it's a huge deal, but he finally decided it would be easier for us to have an SLR that at least gives us the option to have live view.

He called the company we had ordered the upgraded camera, and the company was awesome.  We shipped it back, and once we were reimbursed and even reimbursed for the shipping back to them, we upgraded.

I had been anxiously awaiting its arrival like a little kid.  We shipped it to his parents house because, you certainly can't leave that kind of present on our Baltimore step without it being snatched by some a-hole.  But they wouldn't leave it at Ian's parents house either.  So we had to take the trip to the shipping place and wouldn't you know, they messed up and sent it out on the truck for a 4th delivery attempt!  So we came home empty handed.  Finally, we got it last night!

So I've been playing all day taking random pictures, mostly of Tessa. I'll be posting some of these at some point, just to show you what the pictures look like before we really know how to use it.

Say hello to my new toy:

Black Friday

I've made it pretty clear that I truly dislike shopping.  I get claustrophic and hungry and clammy all at the same time.  People are often rude and invade my personal space and I quickly freak out and have to leave the mall, or find a bench to rest on.  But then I start freaking out about the number of germs I'm breathing in from all the people walking by me.  Basically, I'm a disaster in malls.

In open malls, like at outlets, I do much better.  If I feel claustrophic, I step outside and get fresh air.  And being out in the fresh air in between stores helps refresh me a bit.

All of this leads me to say that going shopping at stores on Black Friday is pretty much out of the question.  So instead - I do most of my shopping online. 

And my big purchase today - Hanky Panky underwear.  Wow - I really wish I could've splurged on something a little more exciting, but what can I say, I love me some Hanky Panky's.  And it cost me a total of $0 because I had a store credit (from the store messing up a previous order - they gave me a big credit).  I'm pretty pleased with me one and only purchase!

Now, we're off to get some thai food!  Happy Friday!

Labor Day Weekend

Before we get into the next weekend, I figured I should probably tell you about our busy labor day weekend. Friday nights are kind of dead for us these days because Ian's long run occurs every Saturday morning. As he's been getting into longer runs like this past Saturday's 14 miler, I've been trying to make something with lots of carbs for him to eat the night before. So Friday I spent about 3 hours making homemade meatballs and tomato sauce to go over pasta. Holy crap it made a ton of food and it was freaking delicious. My one suggestion if you are going to make this is to double the recipe for the sauce. Also, I would add some spices to the sauce to...spice it up. We've been eating leftovers all week!


While Ian was out for his long run, I pretended like I was going to run errands. Really, I was going to pick up his birthday present to give to him early. When I got home I asked him to go out to the car to carry in the bags from Costco because I was just too tired. I watched him from the window to see his reaction when he saw the box for a 46" flat screen TV loaded into the back of my car. He was shocked/excited/shocked. I had been telling him we'd have to wait until I was finished with law school to get a new TV. He had been saving up giftcards for over a year to buy one. So I finally pulled the trigger, took the gift cards and took advantage of a sale they were having that had dropped the price down by $400.


Sunday, I spent most of the day in Arlington for my friend's baby shower. It was a great shower and because there weren't a lot of people there, we were able to catch up a lot. I wish I had taken pictures! She looks absolutely fantastic and truly has only gained weight in the belly region - I cannot believe she's only 4 weeks away! She is one lucky bitch to look so healthy and normal this far along. And the name of the baby if it's a girl: Katherine. I like it - but I may be a bit biased!


Monday, Ian and I headed to Hersheypark, where we used the tickets my mom had gotten us for our 1st anniversary. We had never been to a theme park together before so it was interesting to see how similar we were in terms of the rides we would/would not go on. Monster roller coasters - not so much our style. Moderate and mild roller coasters were totally our style, along with rides like bumber cars. But holy crap, the people watching is AMAZING at Hershey. I have never seen so many mullets/80's hairdos and denim all at once in my entire life. We had fantastic weather, lines that weren't outrageous, and a ton of laughter (did you see my comment about the people watching?!). All in all, it was a fantastic weekend!

Boobs and Bras

Today, ladies and gentlemen, I am going to talk about boobs and the devices we call bras that really are just ways to keep said boobs perky. As I've gained weight, my bras have truly not been fitting. I've been getting the 4 boobs look (where too much is sticking out of it), or the bra just feels uncomfortable, and sadly, they haven't been looking or feeling perky. I have been a 34C for over 6 years, but realized with the weight gain that I think some of it has gone to the boobs. I needed something to LIFT and SEPARATE if you know what I mean.

I decided to go and do the dreaded: getting measured at a store to find the right size. I went to a department store and walked up and asked if there was someone who could measure me. This little woman, the bra nazi, nodded and said follow me (in a very thick accent). I walked to a dressing room where she quickly measured me and said: 36. Okay fine. Then she measured for the cup size - D!! WTF!! I can't possibly be a D! So I proceeded out of the dressing room after saying thank you and picked out several bras to try on - some in 36C and some in 36D.

As I'm back in the dressing room, minding my own business while I try on my bras, the bra nazi comes back and asks how things are going. She jiggles the handle of the door to try to COME IN! Not wearing even a bra, I quickly put a bra on and opened the door. She looks down at my boobs and says: What size? 36D I say. She says - YES, you a D. Wouldn't you know - the 36D fit pretty perfectly.

HOORAY I thought. Not so fast. Did you know that companies don't make cute bras for those with larger chests? I searched and searched for any bra that looked somewhat cute and didn't make me feel like a 75 year old (no offense to 75 year olds. I'll be glad to wear one of these bras at that age - but I'm only 26). Ian helped search and he had no luck either. So I ended up buying 2 bras (and got a 3rd for free!) that are quite ugly. Sorry hubby - my boobs may look good with clothes covering the bra, but once the clothes come off, not so hot. (By the way - it seems like I am the only one disappointed by the growing breasts - Ian - not so disappointed.)

And good God - all I could think of yesterday when I heard D was how big my boobs will be once I get pregnant. I might need a crane to help lift those puppies. So any of you larger chested ladies out there - what types of bras do you recommend??

I'm Drinking

Coffee at the moment - but am planning on drinking lots of wine on Wednesday night after I finish this freakin' paper. Maybe I'll blog for you a little tipsy - what a treat that will be for you lovely folks.

I had my first research project due Friday morning midnight, had a paper due today for my elective, and have a 12 pager due Wednesday at 8:45am for my writing course - shoot me now!

Unfortunately this means that my weekend recap is very quick and very boring: I did lots of work. I got up early both Saturday and Sunday. Yesterday I did work from 7:30am until midnight last night.

I will tell you that I finally found time to get some shopping done last weekend which is a huge accomplishment for me considering my mall phobia. I got 8 pairs of shoes fixed and got them back yesterday and I swear like it feels like I just got all these new pairs of shoes because they've needed fixing for months (even over a year for some of them!). My main reason for the shopping trip was to find a dress to wear to my brother's wedding that fits and makes me feel pretty - two things I'm sad to admit are not happening everyday. I went to my stand-by store for dresses (White House Black Market!) and found this beautiful number that I will be wearing on Sunday for pictures and celebrating in NYC:

How was your weekend?

2 New Laptops - What??

I hate Mondays! I hate that with the amount of studying I do on weekends, the weekend just flies right by.

Friday night we had a small get together at our house for the first time. Even though it was small, we didn't manage to get to bed until close to 2 with people staying to hang out and drink. It was a blast! I need to upload the photos from that night. It was nice to have a few law school people blend in with my non-law school friends. It always amazes me how well everyone seems to get along in those types of situations.

Saturday we slept in and sorted out the laptop situation. Currently, I am using Ian's old laptop for school. The school offers a laptop program and I was hoping to buy one through them when their newer model arrives. Well, this lovely computer decided to poop out on me last week, not completely, but as in I have to hold the cord at precisely the correct angle for it to work. I know what you're thinking - we tried a new power cord as well - same issue. So to Best Buy we went on Saturday to get this baby fixed. Well, they determined that the cord thingie is attached to the mother board and when the cord thingie comes off the mother board and becomes loose, you have to replace the entire mother board. Doh! We went home and thought about our options and decided to order a new school laptop for me through the laptop program, and yesterday Ian went and replaced our home laptop. A whole lot of hassle (and money spent) later, I am now typing on our lovely new home computer while my school computer should be here in about 2 weeks. Yay!

And it's a fantastic thing that it pooped out on me last week so that I had time to get a new one, because, I have my first law school paper due on Friday! On that note...I will be quite busy this week trying to do that. Eek! Wish me luck:)

Oh and I managed to fit in another 90-minute hot yoga class yesterday. I'm a little sore, but I think the soreness will subside much more quickly than last time. However, I still sweated just as much - I'm hoping maybe I will stop sweating like a hot pig eventually in these classes!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. PS - How beautiful has this weather been!!

Signed

Saturday - we signed our new lease! It was a very exciting feeling to be picking a place of our own and feels more like our own place since it's brand new.

Sunday, we were busy furniture shopping. Our old couches were about 15 years old, a bit dirty, and just plain run down. We decided to head to Value City Furniture since they were having a big sale. It was a very successful shopping trip and we ended up with a new sofa, chair & 1/2 and a matching ottoman. Here's a picture of the three new pieces (actually I don't think this is exactly what we got but the color and shape are almost identical):

We then took a side trip to Ikea, where we purchased a couple new throws for the new couches, and Ian was desperate to get rid of the crappy old TV stand I had in college, and so we purchased this:

It looks black but is actually black/brown, and we bought 3 cute little baskets to go on the bottom shelf to hold stuff in - but got them home and realized we bought the wrong size - DOH! I hate when that happens. Oh well - looks like we'll have to go to Ikea again and get sucked into spending more money. Ikea has a way of doing that to me - part of it is I get a little confused as to where I am as a whole, and they have lots of cute things that I could always use. Do I need them - no. But I like them so inevitably we end up spending money on stupid stuff that we don't need.

I've been busy making lots of phone calls - calling the new gas and electric company to transfer the bill to our name as of the start of our lease, arranging an appointment time for them to come out to turn on the gas, booking the movers, and a whole other list of places to call before we move - Comcast to switch locations, alarm company to set up appointment to turn alarm system on, current electric company to close our bill on the last day we're in the apartment. Moving in one word: sucks!

We did find time to watch Fool's Gold - I don't recommend it. I loved Matthew and Kate in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (one of my fave movies), but their chemistry just wasn't there in this one. I think it mostly had to do with a poor storyline.

And I'm super delayed in finishing up our honeymoon recap! How was your weekend?

Online Shopping Sales = Dangerous for Kt

People should start receiving their invitations today in the mail. I am super excited to be able to start checking the mail for the response cards! There's something so thrilling about running to the mail and there being something that's there besides a real estate brochure or the weekly coupons.

I have also heard about the lovely shower invitation that everyone has received - except for me! Apparently, our mail must've lost mine somehow. The girls resent one out yesterday so hopefully it'll be there for me tonight.

Speaking of receiving more mail, I still haven't heard from the last of my law schools. The fact that I don't know where we'll be in 3-4 months is getting to me. I would like to have some certainty and as I run to check the mail every evening when I get home, I can't help but be disappointed when there's no new news. I'm a very impatient person - I want to know now, NOW!!!

No more wedding related news. I did do some online shopping recently. I figured with all the upcoming wedding festivities that I'd find a use for these two dresses from J. Crew:

I had been scoping out that white dress for awhile because I refused to pay the $140 original price. Well - I finally found it on sale, and then found the blue dress and decided to buy both of them because of the sale. Yikes - sales apparently are dangerous for me!

Rambling

Our trip to visit Pittsburgh, primarily to see U. Pitt was very...helpful. We left on Thursday night after Sarah and Carlton moved into our place with their adorable little Chaz (a havanese) to watch Tessa for the weekend. After getting the pups a little calmed down, we headed out at around 9:30ish.

We arrived in Pittsburgh around 1:15am to the Wyndham hotel walking distance to the campus. It looked a little dingey, and the hotel wasn't much better, but I just assumed it was because just about anything looks dingey at 1:15am when you're exhausted. We checked in and I wish I had taken pictures of our room, although pictures can't really explain to you the smell that was in the air. It smelled like the entire hotel had been washed with old lady, musty soap. Yummy. The lighting in the hotel was something that made me think the hotel room could be rented by the hour - it was dark even with every light on. Ian announced as we were laying down about to fall asleep that he would only be changing his clothes in the bathroom for fear it would end up on the internet.

Okay okay, it wasn't THAT bad in the end. The hotel just seemed worse because of the time we checked in.

Anyways - we woke up early on Friday morning, grabbed breakfast at the hotel, then made our way to the law school to sit in on a class - Constitutional Law. I loved the idea of walking around the city so easily. It was very nice not to have to drive everywhere. Lowlights about the school: it's run down. The building itself is in need of some updates and we sat in the back of the class and were straining to hear the professor. They didn't really have anything that they were raving about - like some schools rave about their new and improved library or facilities, etc. Also, a few red flags came up when talking with some people from the school. The majority of those who graduate stay in the Pittsburgh area, that the top 25% of the school have more options in terms of where they go from there. It worried me and didn't make me feel like this was the best legal education I could get.

We visited Squirrel Hills and Shadyside, two areas of Pittsburgh that are very cute neighborhoods. While these areas certainly had a charm about them, I didn't fall in love with the city. I couldn't see myself there - it was very cold, very dark, and wasn't a place I would've felt comfortable walking home at night after staying at school late to study. I felt that the charm Pittsburgh did possess wasn't something that would have lasted for our three years there. We did have a great time visiting and liked certain things about it. But since our primary reason to move there is for me to get a legal education, and it doesn't seem to be the best education I can get, I think we have ruled it out as a possibility.

That was our weekend:) We are heading out on our big road trip tomorrow night. I went to the grocery store to stock up on snacks for the car ride. We will drive to NC tomorrow night, spend the night, then continue down to Miami on Thursday. Friday, there are information sessions all day at U. Miami and Saturday we'll visit neighborhoods for housing. Then we'll head halfway home, spend the night, then finish the trip on Sunday. Ahhh - I'm exhausted just typing that out - I can hardly imagine how exhausted I'll be on Sunday when we arrive home!

Oh - on our way home from Pittsburgh we stopped at the Prime Outlets in Hagerstown. I bout a few new pairs of shoes and some clothing from Old Navy and Banana Republic. I found a pair of cute white ballet flats from Aldo for $40 that I wanted, then realized I can possibly where them for the wedding! I'm all about comfort - that and I can't wear heels because my ankle is still hurting soooo comfy white ballet flats sound about right!

Tonight, we are packing and then finalizing our guest list, then sending it off for our invitations to be finished! I got a call last week and my wedding dress has arrived!

One thing I can't wait for is to be in warm weather in 48 hours!

Bullets

I'm all over the place today. I have to bullet it up to make this mish-mosh have some sense.

Movie Review:

• Simpsons movie: Prior to watching this movie, I had never watched an entire Simpsons episode. I know, something must be wrong with me, I was deprived, whatever. Because of this, I really wanted to watch the entire movie so I could understand what it's all about. Well, I fell asleep about 15 minute before the movie was over and when I woke up the next morning, Ian had already sealed the movie back up to ship it. Jerk! I couldn't believe it. He just assumed I didn't want to see the rest since I had fallen asleep. Actually, it's because we're wedding planning and I'm running around like a crazy woman getting everything done - I'm tired, I can't help but fall asleep sometimes. Anyways, from the part I did see, I liked it.
• The Talented Mr. Ripley: I have always heard that this is a great movie. Well it was! It was disturbing, intriguing and entertaining all in one. Certainly worthwhile to see. And Jude is a hottie in this movie!

Weekend Highlights:

• Went to the eye doctor for a screening for glaucoma (my grandma had it which makes me a suspect) and my eyes are perfectly fine.
• Selected our readings for the ceremony and selected our music for the bridesmaids entrance, my entrance, and our exit.
• My future hubby showed his support of my health kick by ordering me these new running shoes!! I love shoes - even running shoes. They make me happy.

• Celebrated Lisa's 25th birthday in Baltimore. Here's a picture of a few of us with the birthday girl - today is her big day so Happy Birthday Lis! We have plenty of stories behind our night out, including a stripper (who you'd never in a million years suspect to be) was in line in front of us pulling her pants down to show everyone her new tattoo on her cheek that says "Made in Korea", or the girl in line that asked a girl in our group to unbutton her jacket so she could see her boobs, ahhhh the class of power plant bars. A guy actually asked his girlfriend to marry him on stage at Howl at the Moon. It was quite a night!

• Ian bought his groomsmen their gifts and I have to say the idea is quite fun.
• I bought my bridesmaids part of their gifts. I still have one more thing to get each of them.

Speaking of ceremony music, I'm having issues figuring out the regular music for the ceremony. If you are Catholic and know of songs or have had to do this, recommend some for different parts of the ceremony! We already have my entrance song, our exit song, and some songs for the bridesmaids entrance and prior to the ceremony music (for when people are just walking in). It's a Catholic mass but somehow when it came time to picking out music, I can't even remember all the different parts of the mass where I'll need music. And are there guidelines to the music I pick?

And in order to not jinx myself, I will not name the videographer that I just sent a check to. I don't want to hear that we've been dropped again so I'll just wait to tell you about it once we receive confirmation.

I'm crossing more and more off our list which means I'm starting the week off as one happy lady.

It's So Official

Now that the STDs are out and we've been hearing that people have received them, things seem right around the corner! It's hard to believe we're right about 5 months away now:) Here is the STD we sent out (and if you haven't received it - you probably should in the next day or so). We're excited to use the picture Kim and Jeremy took - we love it! And Lauren's design is perfect:)





Friday night we went to La Panetteria Ristorante Italiano in Bethesda for some old-fashioned italian. It was so delicious and very well priced! Check it out (on Cordell across from Caddie's). I'd post their website but they don't have one. Try the Tortellini with Amore sauce - delicious.


Saturday morning, I met Maggie and Abby for breakfast and then Abby and I went to our Cookie Decorating class at L Academie de Cuisine in Bethesda. I cannot rave enough about it. We had the best time! Here's a picture of the two of us as chefs:


Saturday evening, we babysat for a friend from work. Her little boy is 6 months old and too cute. I wish I had taken some pictures!


Yesterday was a hectic day! We were out running errands and finishing our registry for 7 hours. I am happy to say that we're finished except for adding the rest of our bathroom decor choices (towels and accessories). We had the hardest time with three items: bedding, everyday dishes, and shower curtain/bathroom decor. It's not even that we had trouble agreeing on things - but more so that we had trouble finding anything that we really loved. There was some disagreeing on the bedding pattern - Ian likes manly bachelor-pad-looking patterns that although are nice, are also very dark and too modern for me. He likes things that are dark brown or gray and very modern, clean lines. I like lighter, more girly with some type of pattern but not too flowery. After 6 hours, we went to Crate and Barrel to pick dishes AGAIN and came across our bedding that we both like!! Here it is:)


Registering for the most part was somewhat fun. It's only after you've been to the stores for the umptieth time that it becomes not-so-much fun, and becomes stressful. You see, I HATE malls. I like finding things and spending money, but actually being in the mall I find excruciating. Most husbands would probably like this because it means less time spent in malls for them as well. But Ian is a big shopper - he could shop for 12 straight hours go to sleep and do it again the next day. I get claustrophobic, hot, very moody, hungry, achy, thirsty, and probably more than anything - my germaphobic tendencies start making me panic. I do much better shopping at outlets, for instance, because in between stores I am able to be out in the fresh air away from all the germs and people. Because of this, it makes the whole registering part more of a chore than it should be. Ian loved registering (until the stressful part of not being able to find anything we life).


Anyways - after 7 hours of malls, I was cranky and exhausted. I think I'm actually still recovering!


We also watched The Birds this weekend. I had watched it when I was in 6th or 7th grade and I remember being so scared. Ian hadn't seen it and wanted to so we watched it this weekend. For some reason, I didn't find it scary this time - and I'm a weenie about any type of horror movies. Ian found it hilarious actually. Oh well - still worth seeing as I can see that at the time it was made, it was probably very scary!