Life Lately: Volume 20

Happy Friday from Nashville! I’m here for a few days with my closest college friends and we’re having a ball. Now that we’re all married, and there are kids involved, it’s hard to find times when we can all get together on our own. We planned this trip months ago with no husbands and kids allowed, and I’m so glad we did.

I was feeling nervous to travel in my third trimester, but two of the girls have babies, and totally understand when I need to slow down. I wore compression socks on the plane yesterday to battle swelling and they worked like a charm. I pounded coconut water for electrolytes in my Uber to the airport and drank a ton of water on the actual flight, and I was just fine.

The beginning of the week was a little bit chaotic. My sister is staying with us for a week with her pup, and the two dogs are non stop. It’s exhausting! They eventually tire each other out but it’s kind of crazy for most of the day. Needless to say, Anel and I won’t be getting a second dog anytime soon.

Amid the canine chaos, I had a really scary and painful leg cramp in my calf on Tuesday night which resulted in me not going back to sleep after 4am because I was so afraid it would happen again. It then triggered a bunch of fears around how I’ll survive contractions… I was a hot mess on Wednesday. Of course I had a two hour shoot scheduled first thing in the morning! Luckily we got it all done and I can’t wait to share photos of my kitchen with you on Monday.

This weekend

While Nashville is great and we have a lot of fun things planned, I’m actually most excited for Sunday afternoon when I head back to New York… to see Hamilton! My dad and his wife bought tickets for the whole family for Christmas, and our show is finally here. We all know all of the words to every song and are Hamilton super-fans, so Sunday is going to be very special for my crew.

From around the web

The anti Pepsi ad. I can’t get enough of this Heineken ad that brings opposing political views together in an incredible way. Unlike Pepsi’s recent blunder, it hit the mark perfectly. I had full body goosebumps by the end.

An emotional post. I’ve always loved Emily’s blog, and it broke my heart to read about all she’s been going through lately. I love that she was open and honest about it in this post. Then a few days later she announced the launch of her shop. I’m obsessed!

Palm leaf travel mug. My friend Ashley just sent me the cutest palm leaf travel mug from her latest line. I love the pattern and the shiny gold top!

My new favorite podcast. Thank you to the amazing readers who recommended the podcast, S-Town. I was hooked from episode one and now can’t wait to find out what happens but also never want it to end!

The realities of freelance. My friend Jess wrote another great about about what it’s like to work for yourself. So spot on.

Reading list. Victoria put together a great reading list for spring. I’ve read a few of the books on it (The Futures, The Perfume Collector) and loved them, so I’m trusting the rest of her picks too! She also posted an amazing looking tahini Caesar salad that I’m def going to try next week.

Exposing bots. Fohr Card is finally doing what all of us honest hard-working bloggers have been hoping for… exposing Instagram users who buy fake followers (bots). Two thumbs up!

What HBO’s Girls got right. Was anyone else sad to see Girls end a few weeks ago? I was majorly disappointed by the series finale, but here is what the show got right.

Chambray jumpsuit. I love the cut of this jumpsuit so so much. If only I could fit my belly into it!

Organize your leggings drawer. I wear leggings almost every day of the week, especially now that I work from home. My leggings drawer is always a hot mess, no matter how hard I try to keep it organized. This technique might just be a game changer!

Affordable maternity dress. cute floral maternity dressI love this … and it’s only $65.

Green juice gummies. Ok, wow. I don’t even know where to start here but two of my favorite brands (Sugarfina and Pressed Juicery) are collaborating on a green juice infused gummy candy. You guys, this is my dream come true!

Blush moto jacket. I’m majorly lacking in the spring jacket game. Kind of dying to add this oversized pink moto to my closet. Thoughts?

Cleaned up Pad Se Ew. Gwyneth Paltrow’s healthier version of one of my favorite Thai dishes looks phenomenal. I’m adding her recipe to my list for next week!