this week's clicks.

get your week off to a colorful start...
SWOON.

Mindy Gayer Design Co. via Becki Owens

• Modern romantic wedding inspiration from Ruffled.
• Via Becki Owens, a fresh-meets-farmhouse Napa home.
• Just started following this designer's airy Insta account.
• Fun, colorful, and slightly retro superhero nursery ideas.

SMILE.

• Desktops: Kate Spade, Kelly Sugar Crafts, Natural Dreamer
• Anne tried and reviewed popular meal prep services.
• Currently pinning inspiration for a maternity photo shoot.

FLASHBACK.

• 2016: reader survey results, fave Oscar looks, and my "gateway fandoms"
• 2015: custard yellow picks for spring and spring IG faves.
• 2014: a blast from my high school past and March favorites.
• 2013:a Sunday Social about the 5's and emerald wardrobe inspiration.
• 2012: #FebPhotoADay and chocolate marshmallow cupcakes.
• 2011: wedding planning thrift store adventures and our bridesmaids' dresses.

My First Trimester Essentials

This week, I'm officially in my third trimester of pregnancy. Today I'm headed to my OB/GYN office for a sonogram (hope baby will show his face this time!) and blood glucose test (wish me luck!). The last six months have flown by, so I wanted to take the time today to share some of the items that were lifesavers for me when I was a newly expectant mother!

In my medicine cabinet:

• Prenatal vitamin + DHA - I started taking prenatal vitamins as soon as we decided to have a baby. Depending on the type you buy, you might have to take DHA separately. A lot of women have trouble swallowing their vitamins in the first trimester due to morning sickness - I found that taking mine at night helped.

• Vitamin B6 - My OB/GYN recommends this vitamin along with half a Unisom for nausea in the first trimester. I stuck with only the vitamin because I was worried about what a sleeping pill might do to me at work!

• Tums - A first through third trimester essential for me! Heartburn has been a constant for me during pregnancy - it's caused by higher levels of estrogen and other hormones which relax the esophagus. Later in pregnancy, it can indicate that baby will have a lot of hair, which makes sense since he has my genetics!

• Preggie Pop Drops - These sour candies are great for nausea, and since they look like lozenges they were something I could use at work before I'd announced my pregnancy.

Keeping track of baby:

• What to Expect When You're Expecting - The most classic pregnancy book there is, and the first one I read. Some women don't like it because they think the tone is patronizing or it gives them anxiety about what could go wrong, but I treated it more as a general guide than a Bible and liked knowing the medical reasons why I was experiencing certain symptoms.

• Ovia app - There are a lot of pregnancy apps out there, and I chose Ovia because it had a lot of positive reviews. If you know a pregnant woman who tells you what size fruit or vegetable her little one compares to each week, chances are she uses Ovia. One of my favorite features are the weekly videos featuring a pregnant Ovia staffer.

In my closet:

• Pull-on jeans - One of my first maternity clothes purchases, I found these Jessica Simpson jeans on sale at Motherhood Maternity and liked the under-belly style for early pregnancy - they look just like my favorite skinny jeans.

• Waterfall cardigans - First trimester camouflage! I lived in flowy cardigans before letting people know I was pregnant. I get most of mine from discount sites like GroopDealz and Pick Your Plum.

• Ingrid + Isabel Bellaband - There's a certain phase of pregnancy where the hair tie trick no longer works and maternity trousers are still a little too roomy, and that's where a belly band comes to the rescue - I used it to wear my pre-pregnancy pants unbuttoned and unzipped, then to keep the maternity pants my friend handed down to me feeling snug until my bump had grown to fill them.

On my vanity:

• Burt's Bees blemish stick - During my first trimester, I still had some cystic acne from time to time, and not being able to use topical acne treatments because of the chemicals had me really bummed - I usually swear by benzoyl peroxide. I was skeptical of an herbal acne medication, but this stuff dries up pimples fast, and I probably won't go back to chemical formulas!

• Attitude Blooming Belly foaming cleanser - Knowing that whatever went on my skin could also go through my skin and into baby's body made me very conscious about my daily beauty regimen. I still use Fresh's soy face cleanser in the morning shower with my Clarisonic, and replaced my nighttime cleaner with this formula specifically for expectant mamas.

this week's clicks.

get your week off to a colorful start...

SWOON.

The DIY Playbook

• A calming, cute gray and teal woodland nursery.
• A modern bohemian home tour from the Everygirl.
• This home's design is quirky, modern, and fresh.
• This superhero themed nursery is full of color.

SMILE.

• Desktops: Mospens Studio, Smashing, Flipsnack.
• Pregnant Chicken is hosting a safe sleep giveaway...
• and there's a baby shower giveaway at Tubby Todd.
• I liked Sarah's post on how to turn a bad day around.

FLASHBACK.

• 2017: My February favorites (update post).
• 2016: The V-day tag, Literary Junkies, cozy Pinspiration, and what was in my purse.
• 2015: the MoonCats scarf I still wear all the time, fave Oscar looks and an Oscar-inspired outfit for the PMT Style Challenge, my fave pins, and blog loves.
• 2014: my blog loves and shared my fave Oscar fashion, hair, makeup, and accessories
• 2013: fave Oscar looks, Gold Rush cupcakes, City Hall weddings, and winter in IG.
• 2012:inspiration for a feminine winter wedding.
• 2011: my favorite folk and classical instrumentals for weddings.

this week's clicks.

get your week off to a colorful start...

SWOON.

Andrea Anderson via Project Nursery

• An eclectic, masculine home tour from Apt Therapy.
• Crushing on this bohemian camp themed nursery.
• A calm, coastal inspired nursery from Table + Hearth.
• An amazing nature-inspired bridal shoot at Mag Rouge.

SMILE.

• Desktops: Red Stamp, Mel Armstrong, Inkstruck, TIMS.
• From Camille Styles, creative Valentine's Day date ideas.
• Love Haley's post about allowing others to care for her.
• Thinking about trying this Lenten decluttering challenge.

FLASHBACK.

• 2016: favorite looks from the Grammys and Instagram faves,
• 2015: a business casual V-Day look, my second Stitch Fix, and February faves.
• 2014: sporty s-t-d ideas, the Olympics, and Sochi and Team USA wardrobe picks.
• 2013: inspiration for a poppies and lace wedding, the Cupid Swap, Cinderella-inspired wedding ideas, Oscar Party tips, and February blog loves.
• 2012: a couple of V-Day snapshots, and a peek at  my weekend.
• 2011: our wedding inspiration in textures, V-Day as an engaged couple, flower arranging, and contemporary instrumental wedding music.

currently [february 2018]

finishing: the recruitment process for my school's 2018-2019 class! For those of you who may not be regular readers, I'm an instructional coach and the director of a public school-within-a-school for eighth grade students that focuses on Project Based Learning. This is our first year and it was awesome to see that the word has gotten out about our program and we will need to do a lottery for admissions since we have more applications than spots. I've had about 20 current students helping with sharing information about our program at meetings with parents, students, and seventh grade teachers, and I've also been fielding a lot of parent phone calls.

wishlisting: felt letter boards! I'd been seeing them on Instagram for a while, of course, and thought they were cute, but never felt like I needed one until I started thinking about how useful they could be in photos of Baby Quinn when he starts reaching milestones. Emily from Jones Design Company did a letterboard round-up on her blog recently, and I'm leaning toward this one from Target - I like the square shape and the price is right.

subscribing: in the process of creating our baby registry, we realized how many baby things we just knew nothing about, and left the stores with several items on the helpful checklists they provided still unchecked. I put Mr. Q in charge of research monitors since he is our household technology enthusiast, but for everything else I have really appreciated the product reviews on Lucie's List and subscribed to the newsletter for helpful advice delivered weekly. 

watching: the Winter Olympics! I was a little underwhelmed by Pyongchang's Opening Ceremonies, but I'm enjoying watching some of the events this weekend. Growing up in the 90's I pretty much became a lifelong fan of figure skating, and I've fallen in love with married pairs skating couple Chris Knierim and Alexa Scimeca Knierim while watching them compete in the team event. Also, Leslie Jones from Saturday Night Liveis live-tweeting while watching the Games and it's hilarious.

hearting: I've been Pinning a bunch of floral manicures lately and considering trying nail wraps again (I didn't have the patience for the application process the first time around, but I love the idea of perfect nails for 2 weeks). So perfect for Valentine's Day!

Linking up with Anne from In Residence

this week's clicks.

get your week off to a colorful start...

SWOON.

Project Abode

• A creative Harry Potter nursery from Project Abode.
• Calming nautical nursery inspiration from A Lovely Lark.
• A fun wedding with lush florals from Melissa Oholendt.
• From Style Me Pretty, a fresh, colorful farm wedding.

SMILE.

• Desktops: Cross Cards, Elizabeth Graeber, Uppercase.
• These Lunar New Year mugs are a perfect little gift.
• My Modern Met rounds up kids' books about artists.
• Cute printable unicorn valentines from Lia Griffith!

FLASHBACK.

• 2016: 80's-inspired pins, blog loves, and fave fictional galentines.
• 2015: a Pin-spired outfit and a letter to my younger self for the Circle.
• 2014: faves for February, lessons from 2013, and details from Sochi.
• 2013: Ideas for a V-Day girls night in.
• 2012: my first ever round-up of blog loves.