Life Lately: Volume 11

Happy Friday! This week was a bit of a whirlwind, and I’m glad it’s over, to be honest. On the positive side, my family came to visit on Monday and I got some great QT with my little brother, Jackson. Although he’s only six years old, he’s beyond excited to become an uncle, and kept kissing my belly and talking to the baby. It melted my heart! On Tuesday, I went to my very first prenatal yoga class, and am so happy that I did. It felt so good to stretch out my hips, and I came home that night rejuvenated and with more energy than I’ve had in a while.

Apparently, I overstretched though, and I was up for most of the night with insanely sore hips. The next day, I felt exhausted and nauseous, and ended up canceling my whole afternoon to sleep it off. So I finally caved and bought a Snoogle pillow. They’re quite the eyesore, but everyone keeps telling me it will help with my nightly hip pain. I’ll keep you posted as soon as it arrives!

After that, the week got better, and I was able to accomplish quite a bit, hike with Boots, visit my friend’s new baby, and hang out with my female entrepreneur group last night, which always makes me feel motivated and rejuvenated.

I want to thank you all for your helpful feedback yesterday. I think the general consensus is that I should post maternity content 1-2x/week, so I’m going to try and stick to that.

This weekend, we’re driving down to Philly to spend the weekend with my sister and her boyfriend. Our fingers are crossed for good weather. In the meantime, enjoy some of these links (I have a lot this week) and have a great weekend!

Custom Art Giveaway: I teamed up with my favorite local artist, Julia Contacessi, to give away a piece of custom art! You can see the piece that I have in this post. Scroll down to enter or click here to see more.

Wicker Bag: The bag in the photo above is just too cute, don’t you think? It will be perfect for my trip to Charleston next month. Buy it here.

Sail to Sable Spring: One of my favorite preppy (Connecticut-based) clothing lines just launched their spring collection , and man is it good! Some of my top picks are this cowl neck striped shirt with gold buttons down the back, a cashmere tassel sweater, and this pretty off shoulder dress (that I wore in this post). Shop the full collection here.

Oh, Padma: If you’re a Top Chef fan like I am (How good is this season, btw?!), you’ll enjoy this interview with Padma herself. She includes a pretty amazing ginger turmeric margarita recipe that I plan to make post baby!

Wrap Top: I am loving the crazy silhouettes for spring, but a lot of the more flamboyant pieces are super pricey. This one-sleeved wrap stripe top is my dream, and it’s under $80. I definitely can’t wear it right now, but you probably can. Do it for me!

Dresser Hack: Because we’re creating a nursery in the room where my office is currently located, I have to move my office and closet into one big “cloffice” space in the coming months. I’m trying to think of budget-friendly ways to do this, and one of those is to make my IKEA dresser a little more chic. I love this IKEA hack and want to do something similar in my own space.

Pinteresting: I went on a bit of a pinning spree for the first time in months. I forgot how much I love Pinterest as a platform to discover beautiful things!

Bump Stripes: Nothing is fitting quite right these days, so I’m bookmarking a ton of maternity clothes for spring. I love this simple striped dress that I know will be on repeat through my due date. Why do maternity clothes have to be so expensive though? Sheesh! I’m planning on popping by Old Navy at some point this weekend for budget-friendly maternity dresses and tops. They have a great selection, apparently.

Orange is the new Black: Hallie looks downright chic in her orange flutter sleeve coat. I’m loving her look in this post.

What’s in your Hospital Bag? My friend Arielle, shared an insanely long list of things in her hospital bag. I love some of the products she chose for a calm environment during labor.

Good Vibes Only: A lot of you guys were asking about the Good Vibes Only sign that I keep on my desk. You can buy it here. I also love this What Would Beyoncé do version.

Recipe of the Week: In Florida, I picked up a copy of Bon Appetit at the airport. I earmarked a bunch of recipes, which inspired me to actually get a subscription to the magazine. This week, I made their charred chicken with sweet potatoes and oranges and it was delicious. Ingredients like feta cheese, Casteveltrano olives, chickpeas, and blood oranges caught my eye. They made the dish vibrant with flavors. Get the recipe.

Boost your Creativity: I’ve been feeling a bit of a creative slump lately, so this Glitter Guide post on 5 ways to boost your creativity couldn’t have come at a better time.

Bon Voyage: I’m majorly obsessed with Gray Malin’s newest series, Bon Voyage. I think I need The Blonde for my office gallery wall.

Prenatal Yoga Resource: My friend Kristin sent me her prenatal yoga and pilates DVD this week, and I’m obsessed. She also has some great online classes that you can buy. She is a pilates instructor to the stars and really knows her stuff!

Oscar Swag: Damn, it must be nice to be an Oscar nominee.

Currently Reading: Still on Bringing up Bébé, but I’m going to finish it soon, so I need some good recs to start next week. Have you read anything lately that you couldn’t put down? Please share!