Picture of the Week- Pumpkins!

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Bumpwatch Week 37

How Far Along: Just finished our 37th week! The Bump says the baby is the size of a wintermelon, to which, The Boy says baby sites be crazy (he is even more impressed with this week's vegetable Pumpkin, because these vary quite a bit in size). Next time, we will judge the baby's size by desserts. So at 37 weeks, it will be a very very big piece of cake.

Best Moment of the Week: Shelly had Aisley! She is very cute and hairy (who would have guessed!), and fresh babies just look so fresh I can barely stand it. Shelly had a planned induction a week early, but it seems to have gone well, and she generally makes the whole birthing thing seem pretty easy, so I am happy she went first. Happy this sweet baby is here, though it is always a bummer when big things happen, because it just makes you that much more aware that we all live far apart. Still, yay babies!

Most Interesting Prego Quirk: I am barely moving at all now (like getting 6,000 steps or less a day) and have long agonizing debates about whether to eat healthier (Halloween week was great for treats, but now we have that post-holiday regret thing going on) or to just say "F it" and enjoy the last few weeks of not having to feel too guilty eating whatever, because I am ballooned anyway. You get to the end stretch and start thinking about whether to transition where you can or go out with a bang, and I have to be honest, I think maybe going out with a bang is the right choice. I mean, if I commit to carrots and celery now, while I still have a giant riverdancer up in my ribs sucking my ability to spell out of my amniotic fluid, it isn't going to help me feel patient. I kid, but only sort of. May as well embrace the tragic landslide of the third trimester.

I Would Really Like Some: Baby Yoga (God help us all). I missed both of my classes last week for reasons I couldn't help, and I think it actually did really help keep me feeling fresh and flexible and such. Will get back to it this week.

 

Bizarro Thing No One Warned me About: Ok, they do warn you about this, but man, carseats! They also make putting baby furniture together sound difficult, but apparently those people didn't also move into their first house the same year, because it really didn't make a scratch. On the other hand, car seat pamphlets say all sorts of stuff, much of which is pretty confusing and sets multiple goals at once. 

Seattle has a famous Car Seat Lady, Sue Emory, who comes to your house to make sure you do it right. Not only did she make sure our base was put in perfectly, but she became the first person who said our 2005 Neon was actually a great idea for putting a baby in. Truly, she said if The Boy's family talks us into getting rid of it, she wants it. This whole pregnancy, I have felt like I was riding with Vin Diesel in a tin can death trap, so the news and explanation she gave us was pretty shocking, but I think it gave us a bit of a boost, and now the car seat is in, so that took a big thing off our list.

So really, the car seat thing is way harder than it seems like it should be. Nothing wrong with asking for help.

And The Boy?: Still freaking out, but we are reaching a weird point where the must do list is almost completely finished, so his panicking is less clearly directed? Also, the Car Seat Lady loved him (as well as the neon), and it always improves his mood when he can tell he is someone's favorite. Today he needs to put doorknobs with locks into the doors (for the sake of our many visiting parents), and I think we are hanging the art in the nursery, so nothing much will be left to do.

Looking Forward to: SAM date! The first Thursday of ever month, you can do art walks in Pioneer Square and go to SAM for free. So we are planning on doing that this week, and I am psyched about it. Otherwise, I am trying to destroy my quota for work early in the month so later I don't have to worry about it. 

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Quote of the Week- Thank you, Carrie Fisher

"Everything grows rounder and wider and weirder, and I sit here in the middle of it all and wonder who in the world you will turn out to be." -Carrie Fisher

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Today's Viewing- An Affair To Remember

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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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6 Happy Things for Halloweenies

1. "She is an ache in the stomach when I am away from her." -Richard Burton on Elizabeth Taylor- I just thought that quote was really sweet and lovely.
2. Former Bond Girls who sell Nude Paintings now- It's a wonderful world we live in. Just so weird.

 3. Small kids in costumes- I really love all these skunks and dragons, though my favorites this year were Cindergrella and one of the box head guys from Minecraft. So cute!
4. Voting! We found multiple very helpful Seattle voting information sites online (just to get historical perspectives on the conflicts and to check the narratives we had heard against something else). Did everyone else get to voting too?

5. Our eyeball chandelier- Spooky. Scary. We really committed everything to our breezeway to try to scare children. Based on their threats later, I am going to guess we didn't succeed, based on their threats later.
6. Almost 10 trick or treaters! So apparently all the kids in our neighborhood go as a group, which is awesome, but it also means that the whole event took about 30 seconds. That was a bit of a bummer. Still, it was neat to actually have people come, and it was fun to see all the neighborhood kids dressed up and excited, even if they did want me to smell their feet.

One of the kids who came was allergic to dairy and I didn't have any candy for him. I felt horrible, and I have been thinking about going to buy something and take it over to their house. Too weird?

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Kathryn, in 1950s-style lace wedding dress.

Dear Reader,
You may remember an earlier glimpse of Kathryn…? Well, it's high time for a look at her super-cool Liverpool wedding to Greg…

As a successful make-up artist herself, Kathryn has a great sense of style and knew exactly what she wanted for her dress and for the day itself.

Kathryn chose 1950s-inspired Blanche lace wedding dress from my Heavenly Collection. In her own words…

"The search for the perfect dress took me all the way to London. I always knew I wanted a short 50s style dress because I’m only 5ft 2in. I just felt they suited me and I love the big skirt. I dragged my friend round lots of shops and the very last dress I tried on at 7pm in the evening was the one! 

Helena's studio at Heavenly Vintage Brides is bursting at the seams with the most vintage wedding dresses I have ever seen. Helena was amazing and made sure everything was just perfect for me. The gown I bought wasn’t vintage, it was one of her own designs and it was perfect."

Kathryn teamed her dress with pretty Rachel Simpson Eva shoes, and a neat birdcage veil. Her favourite colour is green (her engagement ring is an emerald of course!) and so all other accessories - from flowers to bridesmaid dresses - followed her pretty green colour theme...

And the theme followed through to the venue, Camp and Furnace - a giant industrial space in downtown Liverpool - with a 'picnic' lunch for sharing, delivered to the guests in baskets. 

Now let's end with a few words from Kathryn about her day…

"I loved the whole ceremony! walking down the aisle and seeing all my loved ones meant so much to me. Seeing my 91 year old Nan on the front row looking up at me that meant the world.

Your wedding day really is the best day of your life so cherish every single minute of it. Don’t be nervous because everyone who is there is there for you and loves you. During the wedding breakfast take a minute and sit back and have a good look around because it’s the only time you will get all the people you love in your life in one room. I just want to do it all again!"

Thanks for stopping by to see Kathryn's wedding. If you'd like to see more, check out the post on Rock My Wedding. 

Love

Helena

Heavenly Vintage Brides

Shoes – Rachel Simpson

Hair – David Anthony

Bridesmaid’s Gowns – Rock My Vintage

Groomsmen – Topman and Urban Outfitters

Florist – The Bouquet Factory

Fire-eating / Entertainment – Meddling Pixies

Venue & Catering – Camp And Furnace

Photography – S6 Photography

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