Nursery Quote Heaven

To know me is to know that I love a good quote. Like, LOVE them. And in thinking about the decor for the baby's room, I've decided that I'm rather fond of the thought of our little one being surrounded by these same inspirational thoughts that make (her) mama's heart smile.

I'm envisioning hanging a few of these prints gallery style in crisp white frames, grouping together a few favorites above the crib, and having one or two of the most excellent ones stand on their own. Besides, I'll need a positive thought or two during those 3 a.m. feedings, right?

via Pinterest

The Baby's Room

In an effort to get inspired for nursery room decor, I've been perusing Blogland and the world wide web to find something that makes me swoon for Baby T's room. And while the options are truly endless from the old faithfuls like Restoration Hardware Baby & Child, Pottery Barn Kids, Serena & Lily, and the like, I think we're going to end up getting different pieces from different places to put together a room that is as peaceful, beautiful and serene as the one in my mind is.

So here are some of my most favorites...I'm really digging the lavender look if we can confirm it's a girl in April. And it just so happens to be one of the spring 2011 pantone colors. Score.

It's funny, I'm usually not drawn to pastels at all, and have even come across a few nurseries that have played with bold colors and patterns that are lovely, but something in me is drawn to the softness of these sweet rooms. Now the only question is, who could I get to help me do that stencil on the walls? I'm 210% in love with it.

What's even funnier is that this baby in my belly won't even know or care about their room until they are at least a year old, right? So really I could keep the room (which used to be our media room that was used maybe three times) candy apple red with the 50' flatscreen and it would never know the difference. But we all know I could never do that.

So for all you mamas and mamas-to-be out there, where did you find your nursery inspiration?
Help a sister out!

Let the Madness Begin

Is it just me or does this weather make you want to quit your inside job and do something that places you outside doing just about anything for the months of March-October? I plan to take full advantage when my maternity leave rolls around, and get that sweet baby out of the house and enjoying the world as much as (she) will let me!

In other news, I filled out my first "March Madness" bracket. Truth be told, Mr. T and I filled them out last year but we didn't put our money where our mouth was, so to speak. So this year, I'm in a pool with several of Mr. T's friends (hello, girl representation) and plan to whoop UP. No mercy, boys. Bring your A game.

So since I know you're dying to know, here are my picks for the Final Four:

Ohio State, Duke, Kansas and Pittsburgh

With OHIO STATE going all the way, baby.

Now let me assure you, my heart belongs to college football, not basketball, in case there is any question. And I truly believe you can only really, really love one sport. But Mr. T gets so darn excited every year when March Madness rolls around that it's easier just to join in the fun. In fact, his college team made it to the Sweet 16 so his heart is invested like you've never seen. So that's exactly what I did. I filled out my bracket, promptly started trash talking on the message board to him and all of his buddies, and plan to take them all down like Julie Brown. If Mr. T is going to be watching basketball for every spare minute of the next three weeks, then I might as well have a reason to watch too. Say it with me: Baby Fund.

So how do I pick the teams in my bracket, you ask? Namely these factors:

First, if I know someone where that college is located and like that person, that automatically gives them an advantage (example: my best friend Stacy lives in D.C., therefore I picked Georgetown in the first round).

Second, if I like that location or general area, then that team also gets an advantage (example: we recently visited San Diego on our anniversary trip to California and loved it, so naturally I picked San Diego State).

Third, attempting to have some sort of allegiance to the SEC (let's not mention how my Alabama Crimson Tide got the shaft), I try to sprinkle in a few teams from the SEC. But I strongly dislike Tennessee, and double dislike Bruce Pearl, so no matter what, I can't root for them. So go Georgia. Why? Because I like Mark Richt, and yes, I know he's the football coach. As I said, my reasoning makes total sense to me.

How about you? Who are your picks?

Birthday Recap and 16 Week Belly Pic

Oh, what a weekend! I honestly can't think of a single thing that could have made it any better. First, we celebrated the ole birthday (by the way, turning 31 was way less traumatic then turning 30) at my favorite restaurant, Red Pony, down in Franklin, with two of our good friends. P.S. Red Pony's Shrimp and Grits = Best meal I've had in months. Seriously.

But this wasn't just any birthday dinner. Oh no, sneaky Mr. T had a surprise planned, and when we walked outside to get in the car, he had a driver waiting for us to take us there in style in a beautiful black Mercedes Benz! I bet I made the baby dizzy I was jumping up and down so much. And grinning from ear to ear for the whole ride. Literally, I couldn't have stopped smiling if I tried. He had even thought to have sparkling water for us to enjoy in lieu of champagne. My husband is wonderful, y'all.

With our wonderful driver, Boyd. Can you believe he's in his 70's? He was awesome.

Love our friends, Liz and Adam! And wow, I look way pregnant here.

I spy a Benz. And a very hot husband :)

So yes, I would say that Mr. T has officially spoiled me. He has managed to pull off a birthday surprise for the 3rd year in a row. Two years ago he proposed (that was a biggie) and last year he helped throw a surprise 30th birthday party. You have set the bar high for yourself, babe!

Saturday brought the most beautiful day we have seen in months, so naturally, I got my hair done to continue the birthday celebration. (Oh yes, my birthday is celebrated for a week rather than a day, starting the Sunday before and ending the Sunday after. I strongly encourage you to do the same.)

That afternoon we headed to East Nashville for a fun baby shower for our friends Alison and Justin. I would show you a picture of the guest of honor but you would hate her because she's due next month and has only gained 15 freakin' pounds. The nerve. I can't believe I'm friends with someone who would do that to me and make me look terrible when I gain a LOT more than that. She seriously looks great. But the shower was lots o' fun and we got home just in time to make it a movie night. I had rented The Town on Netflix and while it was nothing like I expected, I do give it four stars. It held a pregnant woman's attention on a late Saturday night, so that is to be commended. I'm notorious for falling asleep about 10 minutes in...just call me Grandma these days.

Oh and I can't forget another fun thing we did on Saturday...our 16 week bump photo shoot!
We took these right before we headed out for the shower. And as you can tell, Mama and Baby T are most definitely growing! I had to unbutton my pants for the first time after our post-church Sunday lunch. The baby seemed to like it better that way. :)

Birthday Bumpdate!

A 16 week bumpdate that happens to fall on my 31st birthday? Which also happens to fall on a glorious, sun-drenched Friday after a week of gloomy weather? With plans to have dinner at my favorite restaurant with some of my favorite friends tonight? You BETCHA. :)

So let's celebrate with some photos, shall we? The 16 week belly pic will be taken tonight, so sorry to be a tease. Those are coming. But I have something I think you'll like instead...

Y'all. That is our BABY! From top to bottom, the photos are the profile, the "baby booty" shot, the cute little feet, another booty shot which may or may not tell you the gender, and two photos in 4-D of the whole sweet thing! Can you believe it? Isn't technology AMAZING?

So here's the story...we went in for our 16 week appointment, asked all our questions, and then asked for an early ultrasound (it was scheduled for our 20 week appointment). Because my OB rocks, she was able to squeeze us in that very morning. And because the ultrasound technician uber rocks, she talked us through the whole thing explaining all those teeny little parts and movements and gave us about 16 beautiful photos to keep, as well as a surprise DVD of about 20 minutes worth of the ultrasound so we can see Baby T moving and kicking up a storm. Not only that, but here's the best part...she let us record the sound of the galloping (158 heart rate) baby's heartbeat on my iPhone, so now I can listen to it anytime I want. Which is about every other 10 minutes. Best idea ever. I could have hugged her. In fact, as soon as I got up from the table and wiped the goo off my stomach, that is exactly what I did.

So here's the big news. When looking at that sweet little "bottom up" shot on the screen, the ultrasound tech said she couldn't be positive, but things are looking very much like a GIRL! Trying to contain my excitement, I said "Really? As in what percentage would you put on it?" To which she responded "Mmmm, I would say 96%." Oh, I could have just cried!!! No wait, I did cry. Goodness, I can't remember anything anymore - pregnancy brain is in full effect! But y'all! A beautiful, healthy, measuring-just-perfect baby girl...my heart could just explode I'm so happy. And she was a whopping 5 inches and 5 ounces, growing like a champ! We won't know for sure until our next appointment so I'm not shopping just yet, but things are looking like sugar and spice and everything nice, and honey, I hate to say it, but I told you so. I've been feeling girl for weeks. Don't mess with a mother's intuition.

What a perfectly perfect birthday gift. Feeling blessed beyond belief. Happy birthday to ME!

Calling All Mamas To Be!

Are you ready for this, expectant mamas? I'm SO about to make your day. As in you're going to want to come through your computer screen and kiss me. Look what I just discovered (thanks to my BFF Stacy who shares my love and borderline obsession for Rent The Runway and sent me a link to its cute maternity-wearing internet cousin)...

Presenting RentMaternityWear.com, my pretties! It is going to change. your. life.


Here are the deets (straight from the website):


Rent a gorgeous, new, designer maternity dress direct from the top maternity fashion designers — such as Christian Siriano (winner of Project Runway) Maternal America, and Olian Maternity — for up to 70% less.

One-week maternity dress rental rates start at just $35, and our affordable maternity wear collection means you can enjoy the perfect maternity dress at every stage of your pregnancy — from ‘just beginning to show’ through ‘a few months after the baby arrives’ — for less than the price of one little black dress!


What got me salivating is that you can rent in one or two-week increments, rather than just for a few days. So if you have several social occasions in one week, you have one fabulous dress you can wear to all of them, rather than pay an insane amount for a dress you may never want to wear again. You can rent by price, by occasion, or by whatever strikes your fancy.

And what is striking mine is this little number, for an upcoming work event in April (though I hope my bump isn't quite that big just yet):



Also adoring this LBD with fun crochet trim:


But what I'm really dying to find is a maxi dress like this one, but that will fit my 5' 2" frame (maxis are always about 3" too long on me):

But maybe, just maybe, it might work if I wear my fab new kicks (a birthday gift to myself purchased on a recent trip to New Orleans). Don't you just LOVE them? Me too. :)

So go check it out, all my prego friends! But don't steal one of my favorites unless you live far, far away from Nashville. :)

Coincidence?

So the iPad 2 comes out next Friday. Which happens to be March 11. Which also happens to be my birthday.

Coincidence?

I think not.

Push present?

Perhaps. :)