A Necessary Life Skill

Something that I think everyone should be able to do (but not everyone can), is make a good cup of coffee. It's not difficult, yet I feel that this little tidbit of knowledge is often overlooked by many-a-parents. Not mine though. I'm not exactly sure why my dad taught me how to make coffee when I was so young (under 10 I believe)...either I asked because I was curious, or he saw the strategic advantage in training an eager-to-learn child.

I can't remember how often I would do this, but I remember getting up early and putting the coffee on for my parents. My dad would call me 'Coffee Angel' which was the perfect positive reinforcement for me to want to make it for them again.

Isn't it nice to be able to offer someone a nice, warm, perfectly brewed coffee? Yes, I know your Keurig or Tassimo can do it, but I'm still a fan of a big ol' pot of coffee.

It doesn't take much, all you need to know is the ratio. For every scoop of coffee (I'm talking about the little scoop that either comes with the coffee or your coffee maker, put in two cups of water (according to the gauge on the side). Oh and buy good coffee. Making it at home is SO MUCH CHEAPER than buying it out, so go ahead and splurge on the good stuff. If you are feeling really hospitable, you may want to warm the mugs up too - my dad also taught me how to delecately balance their mugs, upside down on top of the coffee maker to absorb the residual heat.

The things you remember from childhood, eh?

Have a great weekend.

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Thirty

Woah. It's my 30th birthday. Today. Like right now (well 9:01am to be exact). I'm also 30 weeks pregnant. Coincidence? You bet.

I am a person who possesses major birthday anxiety. It has nothing to do with age, and everything to do with the pressure of a day all about me. Today though, I'm feeling pretty calm. Perhaps it's because I know it's going to be a pretty busy day and not very birthday-ish (not to worry, Nick has planned a celebration for me this weekend).

Confession: last summer I may have made a statement that if I wasn't pregnant by the time I turned 30, I would be hiding in a corner, wallowing in self pity. Let it be known that it has nothing to do with me believing that you must have children by age 30. Actually, 2013 was a hard year for me because of some extreme baby fever (I'll share that story another day). Anyway, since I am pregnant on my birthday, I feel as though I accomplished that strange goal I set out and maybe that's why I'm taking such a scary year in stride. Who the heck knows.

All I know is, I don't plan on crying today (unlike last night every other birthday), so obviously that's the new thirty-year-old maturity I have now acquired.

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Things I Once Took For Granted

Once upon a time, before I had a human growing inside me, I believe I took certain things forgranted. I am here today to acknowledge those things and highlight them in all their glory. These are just little things (nothing super profound here).

The first one? Home made jam (specifically my mom's). Never have I appreciated jam so much. It's so delicious! But the day I had to use store-bought jam at work to combat a craving for a full blow afternoon tea, I realized just how good my mom's jam is. Children of moms (or dads, or grandparents) who make jam, be thankful.

Second: red wine in the winter. Of course as someone who is a lover of wine, I miss it, but it's sharing a bottle of red wine with your hubby or your friend on a wintry night that I really miss. It's not quite the same watching the other person drink it while you drink something else out of your wine glass...

Third: unlimited, guilt-free, coffee consumption. There once was a time in my life when my roomies and I would make pot after pot of coffee and drink its sweet nectar until we couldn't handle it any longer. Now, I hesitate with one mug because it makes baby girl slow down (which frightens me). On the weekends, I long for two, maybe three, big mugs of caffeine.

Fourth: Baked goods. Since my sweet tooth has dramatically increased, I have a deep appreciation for good baking. Not that I didn't already (since my mom is an amazing baker) but I truly will pass up crappy baking, even if I'm craving it. Exhibit A: coffee cake. I've been dying for homemade coffee cake (with a walnut struesel middle and topping) and I refuse to buy some crappy store-bought cake. I will wait and wait until we track down the recipe.

After re-reading this, it's not so much things I once took for granted, it's food and beverages I once took for granted. Once a fat kid, always a fat kid, I suppose.

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Spring has (sorta) Sprung

I know that spring officially started yesterday, but I had to leave my house at 6:45am so unfortunately there was no chance to sneak in a post. So without any further delay, let's all welcome the first full day of Spring today! I, for one, could NOT be happier to see the end of winter (although it doesn't exactly look like it's gone yet...)

I am really and truly looking forward to spending time outside for more than 30 seconds (or a mad dash to the car). We've got Easter (ahem, chocolate), tulips and daffodils, Spring cleaning, and fresh new grass to look forward to. And as I write this, I realized this little baby will be born in the Spring, too! With so much to look forward to, I'm finally feeling sunny inside.

Here are a few things for more Spring-spiration (get it?).

So happy Friday everyone! Enjoy this first weekend in Spring.

Photos: top - my own; two; three; four; five

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Happy St. Paddy's Day

For the most part I've been able to cope with no alcohol whilst growing this little baby. One thing that is really making me miss it? Today. St. Paddy's day. Perhaps it's just the nostalgia I'm feeling for my university days where it was a full-day event but even last year we had ourselves a nice little pub date with family and friends and pints of beer. I'm sure I'm romanticizing it in my mind, since for the vast majority of St. Paddy's Days I was likely passed out by 11pm, but since I'm feeling whiny about missing out on all the beer-drinking, Irish-dancing-fun today can someone please go out drinking on my behalf?

To those who are celebrating today have fun! To those who celebrated over the weekend I hope your hangovers are tolerable today ;)

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Happy Bump Day

Happy Hump Day! or should I say, Bump day! I haven't given you a bump shot in awhile so I figured today was a (sort of) fitting day to show off the progress. Yesterday was the first day that someone (a stranger) in public acknowledged my pregnancy. She took one look at me and offered for me to go in front of her in the checkout - how sweet! I felt totally special (but I politely declined anyway). So here we are at 28 weeks, 12 more to go :)

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Monday Morning Inspiration

Well I don't know about you, but last week was a crazy week at work for me. So here I am on the doorstep of a new week (a week that has the potential to be equally as busy as the last) and I'm choosing to have a positive outlook this morning. I thought I would share these positive vibes with you. So let's pretend it's not feeling like an hour earlier than it really is (thanks daylight savings time), grab your caffeine of choice and go kick some Monday ass.

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New Traditions

Lately, Nick and I have started a new tradition (albeit a temporary one), breakfast and coffee in bed on the weekends. It must have started because it's just too damn cold to get out of bed in the morning, but we've managed to keep it up every weekend. We take turns making the coffee/grabbing breakfast and then we crawl back into bed and eat, drink and enjoy.

We both know this will come to an end when the baby is born, so maybe that's what makes it feel extra special now. It really beats the alternative though (which would be getting up, getting breakfast and plunking down in front of the tv). We can just stay in that half-sleepy cozy mode, talk and wake up slowly. Even if Nick is heading out to the gym, I'll still have my coffee in bed. Trust me, more people should do this.

Have a great weekend!

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Nursery Inspiration

If you follow me on Pinterest, you'll know that I've been busy pinning to my baby board a lot lately. I'm trying to compile the bits and pieces of inspiration for baby girl's room. Although we've been told we're having a girl, it's just one of those things you can never be 100% sure on until the baby arrives, so we're still going with a fairly gender neutral design. We're painting the room a very pale grey to make it a soothing space and I plan on using gold dot decals like confetti to create an accent wall. The furniture will all be white, with the exception of an old dresser that we're repainting in a grey slightly darker than the walls (DIY post to come). I found these baby animal photos and now I'm obsessed. I'd like a grouping of three, but how can I decide which ones to get? I'm open to suggestions!

Images 1, 2, 3, 4

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The Oscars

Did you watch the Oscars last night? What did you think? Ellen is such a fantastic host. People actually laugh at her jokes and she definitely takes some of that stuffy-Oscars-edge off. I was pretty accurate with my predictions, and I have to say I'm glad Gravity didn't win anything for acting/best picture. The technical stuff I can understand. I was really happy to see both men from Dallas Buyers Club pick up awards, and now I have 12 Years a Slave on my 'to watch' list.

Of course they always leave the best awards to the end, so I had to force myself to stay awake to see the best parts. Although the other best part (perhaps the part I like even more) is the red carpet. Overall I thought the major players played it safe last night. There wasn't anything too outside the box, which (although to be expected) was a little disappointing. Anyway, without further adieu, here are my picks for best dressed last night:

Charlize Theron - that dress was anything but basic black.

Lupita Nyong'o - maybe it's just because she is one of the most beautiful people ever, but she easily made the list.

Emma Watson - when does she not look amazing?

Portia De Rossi - finally a dress with some visual interest. What a beautiful piece of work.

Kerry Washington - maybe it's the baby bump and matching glow, but she simply looks stunning.

Those on the list of not-so-best-dressed for me? Anne Hathaway and Anna Kendrick

Ps. How gorgeous is Jared Leto's mom?

Pps. The gents really stepped it up too. My pick for best dressed is Kevin Spacey - loving the navy with touches of black.

Images via Just Jared

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