Fourth Anniversary Inspiration- Fruit and Flower Inspiration and Fun

By your fourth anniversary, it sure can be easy to phone it in. Just head out to dinner and call it a day. I know we did that here way more than I would have liked, but we are also 9 months into a pregnancy, so I forgive us. Some years you just aren't going to nail it.

On the other hand, I think this anniversary (and it's fruity theme) actually lends itself to TONS of cool and fun ideas for activiities and decorations. You can do this one WELL, my friends. Do better than we did.

 Make this year a fun memory, not just a throwaway.

What to Do

The ideas on Pinterest for this anniversary are particularly lame. Basically, just fruit puns. I have nothing against fruit puns, but its no inside tent or leather den or really anything fun. But clearly, they have missed the boat here, because I think so many great ideas are waiting to happen!

1. Berry-picking- I know it sounds cheesy, but we have had the best time doing this. Living in Northern California, we could actually go pick strawberries right by the beach. Can you hear the sea lions when you look at this picture? Needless to say, it was cool. Lots of areas, rural and urban have picking farms nearby, and dependent on your anniversary date, you could do whatever is seasonal and available. Then go home and make something with it. It's an activity that is out of the ordinary, but it won't break the bank either.

2. Start a garden- Are you a late-spring/ early-summer couple? You got this. Plant something. Plant a bush or a tree in the anniversary's honor, and every year you can see how much it grows. Don't have a yard? Plant an herb garden you can use at home OR look and see if there is any planting that needs done in your neighborhood. You could even volunteer together for replanting somewhere or to work for a day in a community garden. It can be so fun to get your hands dirty, and isn't it always somehow better to do this kind of thing for someone else?

A good way to revise the flower/ fruit theme is "Growing." Your marriage isn't new anymore, but now we all know the secret that things don't stop growing just because they aren't saplings. Think about things that grow in your life and build your anniversary plans around keeping things growing.

3. Go to (or Make) Dinner Together- We went out for a fancy dinner this year, and when food is part of the theme, a dinner makes sense (otherwise, it can feel a little bit like the easiest possible answer).But I do think food in general makes sense, and if you have a fruit that especially resonates, you could pick it as a theme for food for the week!

Do a fun fruit salad. Or carve something out of fruit? I want to see some anniversary- themed watermelon sculptures!

I mean, come on. From Seasons of Joy

Maybe try a whole week of new recipes? Could you make a whole week of mango meals? Or try all the weird fruits in the grocery store you never go near? I think there is a fun adventure here waiting to happen. On that note...

What to Eat

This anniversary screams cake, so I am kind of freaking out that I haven't picked a cake (or its toppers yet). How do you pick when there are so many good options? Two years ago I made a lemon cake, and I will be honest with you, it wasn't that good. I obviously didn't pick the right thing. So this year I am looking for some fruity inspiration:

from Design Sponge

Pie! I love this anniversary pie from Design Sponge. So simple and chic, and it might be a good choice if you aren't a cake couple. I love this heart pie crust as well.

from Eat Spin Run Repeat

Fruit Cake. You can do an actual fruitcake for a Christmas anniversary, but how cool is this for summer anniversaries? I love Eat Spin Run Repeat's step by step tutorial, but you really could make an amazing cake with whatever fruit you like (or matches your wedding colors).

Just a Regular Old Amazing Cake. There is infinite pinteresty goodness around cakes with fruit. This is a goldmine, so you only have to find what idea fits you best. I had all sorts of ideas, and our cake was jank. I mean, really jank. Such a mess that I won't even put it up here, which I am never above doing. So let's look at other people's successes and ignore my 4th year failure:

from Baker by Nature

Baker by Nature has a recipe for a seriously beautiful lemon and blueberry cake. So nice, and it looks so pretty.

from Dagmar's Kitchen

This chocolate cake by Dagmar's Kitchen was the vision I had in my head when I thought about the cake. So pretty with the chocolate and the berries. Someday later I will make this cake. This one from Tastes Better from Scratch looks like a nice combination of the two.

from Plain Chicken

Lemon Sour Cream Pound Cake from Plain Chicken looks less fussy but still very pretty. Might be a good route if you don't have a ton of time.

Ok, these are my best fruit and flower ideas! What did you do for your 4th anniversary?

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November Fashion Inspiration and What Worked in October

 November Fashion Inspiration

So, I am going to go out on a limb and guess this won't be the lookingest month for me, but I figure if you just make a habit of still trying even when your body is putting up a very strong fight for you to look crazypants.  I started to get a couple things that lend themselves to being squishy and nursing. In November, I probably won't graduate out of maternity clothes, but I am still hopeful to come up with some good stuff. Here are some of my inspirations that I am thinking about:

from https://www.etsy.com/listing/118763439/nursing-necklace-teething-necklace-for?ref=favs_view_20

from https://www.etsy.com/listing/192898439/flower-mama-nursing-necklace-with-fox?ref=favs_view_18

Nursing and Teething Necklaces- I didn't even know this was a thing, but it is pretty genius, and they can look pretty nice. I know this might be more helpful in a few months, but I like the idea of having chic looking jewelry that is meant to be in a baby's mouth/ covered in slobber.

The Boy got me a nursing cover that looks like an infinity scarf, and I bought 2 more big blousy button ups like this one to wear for Thanksgiving (I hope!), so this (minus the boots, which is a shame because they are amazing) is basically my plan for postpartum nursing outfits- warm, layered, with fabrics that pull away from my body rather than sticking to it.

I have also started thinking about getting dresses that work for nursing without being too dowdy, and was looking at dresses like this one. Perhaps a battle for another month, once I have a better sense of what I am working with (because I have never had a worse sense of what my body is going to be doing in 4 weeks, 8 weeks, etc). Still, it's kind of fun to be working on a whole new game plan again!

What Worked In October

 I don't have a ton of pictures from this month, because I mostly have to remind The Boy to take the weekly picture for BBG's book. This is when we hosted the Apple Pancake Breakfast at our house. The sweater was a mistake, I think, this turned out to be my best maternity dress- lower cut neckline (seriously, this is important!) and it doesn't cling at all.

 When my Mom came to visit, she bought me two new shirts, both of which are the right kind of clingy and mostly look nice, I think. It makes little sense that clingy would still look better once you have expanded to this level, but it really does help the situation.

 Probably my best effort for the month- I bought the sweater for after the baby comes (I thought it looked like fall and Christmas so it should fit the coming seasons. I still am not sold on the big baggy sweaters in general, but I do think it looked nice and feels cozy. Also, thank the heavens for boots. They are like a fresh haircut- you don't have to do much to look put together if you have boots on.

 This outfit went out with boots too, but they didn't make it through the shelf-building process. Leggings, boots, and a dress worked as my uniform this month (and will probably get me through November as well). Also, the bangs are almost completely grown out, which means I will have to cut them off again.

I don't even care how dorky this is. On Halloween, I wore it with hair clippies that look like skeleton hands. Because I am classy like that.

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