Real Life: Around here lately...

I have writer's block, y'all.  It's bad.  For days I've tried to come up with something worth writing and find that all my important clothing opinions are gone.  Perhaps I need a little break, but instead I'll talk about what's been going on in my head.

1. Nesting is real
It's so strange to realize that right now, I'm a little bit crazy.  I have always been particular about my home, but now I am greatly distressed by small things like my new vintage dining chairs that need new seat covers RIGHT NOW.  I am attempting to do it myself (what could go wrong?), and now I have hours of work ahead of me and yet another trip to JoAnn's Fabric for high density foam.   Let's not even talk about how much work remains in Baby Cardigan's room.

My chairs are in the background of this ad - aren't they awesome??

2. I've had my nose in a book

This book, to be exact.  If you are a Philippa Gregory fan, you won't be disappointed in her latest novel, which I think may be the last in the Cousin's War series.  However, this time around I grew quickly annoyed by the constant need to reintroduce each character.  Nobody would mention "my brother Richard, the Duke of Suffolk" in an internal monologue.  Especially not for hundreds of pages.

Now I'm moving on to Hollow City, because I loved Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and am afraid I won't finish all the books I want to read before the baby comes.  You'd think I'd use this time to nest some more, but no.  Again, I'm a little bit crazy.

3. I feel super pregnant... and scared.

Up until this point (34 weeks) I've been lucky to be mostly symptom-free, and able to sleep easily and wear lots of cute maternity clothes.  Now that my belly has "popped", I have one pair of jeans that are comfortable and am rotating lots of Old Navy leggings and stretchy dresses.  It's not my favorite look, and my chest has expanded yet again, so even the cute XXL nursing bra I bought at Target to wear at the hospital probably isn't going to fit.  

It's going to be a long six weeks, especially now I know way to much about the horrors of the postpartum situation that I was blissfully unaware of until about a week ago (thanks a lot, birthing class!)  I keep trying not to think about it because I might cry or vomit.  

I'm also dreading breastfeeding, which makes me feel like there may be something wrong with me (calm down lactivists, I'm still going to do it).  Was anyone else just not excited about it at all?  I'm still super pumped about the baby, so maybe I'll surprise myself.  Or I will pump lots of milk.

Look how cute my baby is, though!  I love him. 

4. I can make myself cry in 7-10 seconds.  Too bad I have no need of this (hopefully temporary) talent!

I just timed it.  However, most of the tears come when I see things on Facebook about dogs needing homes.  Luckily, my Stila eyeliner can withstand such situations as long as I don't rub my eyes.

So, what's been going on with the rest of you?  Any other midcentury-philes, book worms, or slightly crazy mommies to be out there?

Real Life: Naming People is Difficult

First of all, I realize that naming children is one topic on which everyone and their cousin has an opinion.  You can't help what you like, and neither can I, so please know that it's not my intention to insult anyone with the following remarks.  If you tend to get worked up about such matters, you may want to come back tomorrow. 

 I just like this picture. (source unknown)

Ok, disclaimer aside, I want to talk names.  This is one of the biggest decisions that I will ever make on behalf of another person and it is weighing heavily on my mind.  I have an ever-evolving list on my phone, and I am married to someone with equally strong opinions, so this decision is probably going to be quite an ordeal.

While I've perused long lists of little boy names, I also love hearing suggestions from other people.  That's where you come in!  Below is a list of my boy name criteria, some serious and some silly, and I'd love to know your opinions. 

Official Naming Criteria and Preferences:

Real Life: Is the Internet Making Us Mean?

 speak no evil print by jennifer avent

Even though I have built an online presence and enjoy social media, I am so glad that it did not exist when I was a teenager and struggling with confidence.  Not that the late nineties were a magical, innocent time, but there wasn't an equivalent avenue for people to flippantly make hurtful comments without the awkwardness that comes with doing it in person.

I recently deleted over 200 people from my Facebook account, mostly for privacy reasons, but in many cases because I just found them to be mean and I got tired of it.  It seems that women in particular seem desperate to reaffirm their own decisions and status by criticizing others and it is seriously making me sad lately.   "Helpful" comments are carefully phrased to subtly put someone down, and in matters of politics or parenting, opposing views are often mocked.  Has everyone always been this way, or did Facebook give us a platform to be bitches in public without consequences?

I know blog comments can be the wild west of the internet (if you want to find the meanest people with wifi, scroll to the bottom of a Yahoo news article), but I recently starting browsing a few parenting blogs and message boards and was really sad to see so much thinly veiled criticism from moms who felt the need to boast when a fellow mother was asking for help.  Statements like "I'd never run off to work and let some strangers raise my kids for me" are clearly not meant to be helpful to a mother seeking moral support and struggling with the reality that her family situation doesn't allow for a stay at home parent right now.  It's not as though anyone has opted out of raising their child, after all.

As a mother to be, I'm worried that this kind of behavior is becoming the new normal.  Never has it been so easy for someone to be shamed, or rejected, and we need to think as much before we type as before we speak.

Have the rest of you noticed this trend, or am I just having an introspective Carrie Bradshaw moment?  (Sorry, I couldn't work "I couldn't help but wonder..." into the post without it sounding completely trite)

Real Life: Things I Don't (Want to) Care About

You know how I said you may see more personal content on this blog now? Well, lucky for you, it starts now.  This is the start of a recurring feature that I'm going to use as an outlet for writing about what's on my mind as I approach some crazy life changes, or less serious things like TV.

Now that you're up to speed, right now I have been thinking about some advice I got from my grandma.  I was going on about work and all the other things on my plate, and she told me "you can't care about everything - you'll go crazy" and she is totally right.  So, here are some little things I've decided not to worry about, and I'm so much better for it:


1. Blog Stats - Did you know that if you get overwhelmed at work and then spend a week in Europe without the posts you planned to prepare in advance, you can lose 30% of your readership?  It's true, and it takes a lot of outfit collages to get it back.  I was sad at first, but when I decided not to look at the Stats tab, blogging got fun again.  I will never have the time to make this site a part time job, but I love that it's become a record of some of the best years of my life and I plan to keep it up.  Even if it starts to feature baby photos and maternity style advice.

 Still worth every lost reader.

2. Repeating Outfits - According to Nina Garcia, style goddess, style has nothing to do with the quantity of things in your closet.  It's about how you mix them, and make choices that are flattering and appropriate for your event.  The idea that people are watching me and keeping track of what they've seen before is ridiculous, when I think about it objectively.  So, as I face several months of limited options, I've decided to quite kidding myself and wear what fits well and makes me feel good.

She knows what she's talking about - just look at the fit of that blazer!

3. Twitter - I've never liked Twitter very much, and I don't think I'm going to do it anymore aside from responding to people who are nice and tweet at me.  

4. Things That Don't Make Me Happy - I know this is easier said than done, but I've started making myself take breaks at work and get some perspective.  I cut back on the overtime, and lo and behold, my life got better and my work performance hasn't suffered.  I was bringing almost all the stress upon myself at the expense of time spent doing things I love like reading, putting in a good workout, and just being with my husband in the 5 child-free months we have left.  If I were less intelligent, I would say my motto is "YOLO", but I'll go with "Carpe Diem" instead. 

Getting enough sleep makes me happy, too. 

Painting by Clare Elsaesser