Pink Blush Maternity

I found my favorite maternity shop- Pink Blush Maternity! I thought today I would share all the items I recently picked up from them for this last trimester of pregnancy. All of the items are SO soft and comfortable I cannot say enough good things about them. So without further ado, here we go...

When I first wore this shirt Tim told me I looked like a cute pregnant lady, so I think it's a winner! I love this shirt, it's so comfy and will be great for nursing. 

This top is so comfortable and works with everything. I know I'm in for a hot summer and tank tops already are a great option in the heat we've been having. 

I think I will plan to wear this dress if/when we do maternity pictures. I love the pink and floral and it's just so soft. 

Yes, this is the exact same top I showed above in blue. This top is going to come in handy when nursing/pumping and the pink is just so pretty. 

I have only tried on this dress and plan to wear it for my baby shower. I think it's so cute! I am loving wearing all the pink lately and think this will work great for the shower since it's fairly casual but still pretty. 

This is a knotted tank top and I love the look of it. It's so nice to have tank tops that actually fit my bump!

This shirt is so comfy! I love the knotted look and it makes my bump not look huge which is always a bonus. Like all the other shirts shown, this one is so soft and comfortable which I absolutely love.

I threw this shirt in to my order to reach the threshold for my gift card and normally it isn't something I would pick, but I'm so glad I did! It's really nice to have a plain t-shirt that is maternity. Also, it's my first mama shirt and that makes me happy!

 

Life Lately

 Well I totally missed both posts this week...so I'm popping in now to share a little bit of what we've been up to lately!

As of tomorrow I'm 30 weeks pregnant, so about 10 weeks to go! I can't believe how fast this pregnancy has gone by and am watching the weeks fly by and getting slightly nervous to become parents to a tiny human. 

Last week I was able to see my college roommates; Megan and Laura! Megan's parents had a reopening party in their basement bar and it was so nice to see everyone- it had been almost TWO years since I last saw them!

They gave me the sweetest gift..

It was so cute and I can't wait to dress Ellie in it!

On Fathers Day I had breakfast with my dad and brother and then lunch with my papa and my extended family. Tim spent the day with his dad but I was able to snap pictures of him with his girls before he left.

So sweet! I know he will make an amazing dad to our baby because he already is an amazing dad to these two pups :)

Rory wanted to show off how dirty she was...and all of her toys! How many toys is too many toys??

Last night we were able to meet our newest nephew, Maxon. We took a picture of him next to his cousin Ellie too.

That's what we've been up to this week, what have you been up to?

Pregnancy Products- Must Haves and Passes

 Another Monday! How did we get here again? 

As of Friday I am 28 weeks pregnant and officially in my third trimester! Today I thought I would share the pregnancy products I have tried throughout my pregnancy and whether they are must haves or if I would have passed on them. 

The Snoogle: Must Have!

Up until maybe four weeks ago I would have said this was a pass. I honestly did not find the snoogle comfortable and couldn't find a way that it would work for me. Well, my belly grew and now I cannot sleep without it. I would definitely recommend a snoogle if you are pregnant and having trouble sleeping. I don't use it as pictured but kind of lay wrapped around it. I will caution you that it is quite crowded in our queen size bed right now, and hopefully someday we will have a king size bed but for now with the snoogle it does get quite crowded!

Nursing Bras- Must Have! (But the right one!)

I have bought four nursing bras so far and this pack of three from Amazon are the ones I currently am using and loving! I do hate that they have the removable padding in the cup so I am constantly having to fix them after they come out of the dryer, but they fit nicely and are very comfortable. 

I originally purchased this bra from Target and I absolutely hate it. It felt uncomfortable and too small even though I purchased what should have been the correct size. Maybe my sizing has changed too much during pregnancy and I should've purchased a larger size but I was not a fan. Also, the Amazon bras are much cheaper!

Burts Bees Mama Belly Butter- Okay To Pass

So this belly butter is nice enough, but I'm not sure it has made any difference. I prefer lotion that comes in better scents and this belly butter isn't anything special. I also read that stretch marks are genetic, so nothing can truly prevent them. I don't know that I would purchase this again in the future. I also have sample sizes of different belly butters but this tub is so large I'm not sure when I will get a chance to try them. If I do, I will let you know what I think.

Pregnancy Tops- It Depends!

I originally purchased these Isabel Maternity v-neck t-shirts in three different colors and although one is now stained I still wear the other two regularly. I find them to not be long enough and would prefer something a little longer, but I do think they work for the awkward second trimester when you are growing but aren't too big yet. 

I received this mama bunny t-shirt as a gift and have been wearing it quite a bit. It's not made like other maternity t-shirts but is stretchy and has been comfortable so far. 

I have purchased a few tank tops but haven't gotten the chance to wear them yet. I do think having tank tops during a summer pregnancy is crucial and I will be getting more use out of these over the next three months. 

Nausea Drops- Must Have!

My favorite nausea drops were these Munchkin ones that I purchased twice off of Amazon. They helped me tremendously during the first trimester. I did not like these ones by Pink Stork and ended up donating them. If you like peppermint though you might really like them, I just couldn't stomach them with my nausea. 

Stitch Fix- Must Have

Well maybe not a must have...but a nice to have! I love to order from Stitch Fix on a regular basis, but when I mentioned I was pregnant they sent me a ton of items that have been great! A cardigan, leggings, and a dress were my favorites but they have so many items I'm sure if I ordered another stitch I would get more great items. 

That's all I can think of at the moment, what are your pregnancy must haves?!

Saving Money Preparing For Baby- Clearance Diapers & Wipes

On Sunday I ran into Walmart just to do a quick shopping trip and grab a few things we needed. Anytime I'm in Walmart I run through the baby section and just take a look for any clearance- clothing, gear, whatever it is I know buying it on clearance is a smart decision. I had seen a ton of couponers and clearance hunters mention diaper and wipe clearance at Walmart, but couldn't find any when I went on previous trips. This time however I was so excited because I was lucky enough to stumble across not one but two displays of clearance diapers!!!

 
This is the first display I saw which was mostly filled with pull-ups. I know at some point we will need pull-ups but currently I am most focused on diapers so I did leave those behind. I grabbed a few boxes of the newborn diapers because I am assuming that Ellie will be small enough for them for at least a short period of time. We also plan on having another child someday, so whatever we don't use up we will save for the next baby, or pass on to family and friends!

The second display I found was even better! It was packed with Hello Bello diapers in size 2 and size 4. I grabbed the two size twos that I saw and a few boxes of the size 4. Each box was $15 and the smaller packs were $7. My per diaper cost was no more than 20 cents per diaper which is precisely the top amount I would like to pay for all diapers. 

My trunk was filled with diapers and I was so thrilled! I honestly thought I wouldn't be lucky enough to score this deal because my Walmart is notorious for being more expensive then others around the country and I don't see a lot of the clearance that other people report getting. I am interested see if in the coming weeks they clearance out any other items and will definitely keep my eyes peeled. 

As I mentioned, I am working on creating a diaper and wipe stockpile and I plan to spend no more than 20 cents per diaper and 2 cents per wipe. It's been a slow process but here is where my stockpile currently stands...

I am keeping bigger size diapers in the basement along with my overflow wipes. I don't want to put too many in her room so I have been putting them down here for the time being. You can see that I maintain a pretty big personal care stockpile as well. I am trying to keep this stocked so we don't need to run out when Ellie arrives. I would like to have everything we need in our personal "store" so I will keep couponing and looking for good deals!

Not diaper related but on the other side of the basement I keep household goods. There are tons of bottles of laundry detergent, cleaning supplies, paper plates, napkins, dish soap, etc...I know it's not a huge stockpile but I buy in small quantities and am not an extreme coupon by any means. I love that I don't have to rush out to get items because we don't run out of these items. 

In the center I've started stacking boxes of diapers. I also try to keep a stock of toilet paper, paper towels, and gifts here. In the baskets there are razors, toothbrushes, etc... 

We haven't gotten too far in Ellie's closet DIY yet. I did order the pieces we need to get started but I have only taken down the existing shelf and spackled the insane anchor holes someone decided to drill. I plan to have baskets inside of her closet and they will hold the back-up diapers and wipes that we will keep in her room.

The top drawer of her changing table will hold diapers and wipes (see below) but I will put extras in her closet for quick access. The ones I plan to put in her closet are in the picture above. All others will be kept in the basement. I'm hoping that my plan will allow me to "restock" items from the basement when I have the opportunity to but never run out of items in her nursery. I will keep you updated on that particular organization plan when it's in use!

My friend Brittni gave me a bunch of diapers that she had leftover from her girls and I happily brought them home! I love all the Honest diaper designs they are just so cute! 

I would love to know if you stockpile anything in your house and if you built up a diaper stockpile before you had your kids?

Have a great day everyone!

Front Garden Update

On Saturday my mom and I had a garden center day! We spent the morning visiting a few local garden centers and then had a lovely lunch. We had such a great time and both of us kept commenting on how nice it was. I love spending time with my mom and now that I have gardens of my own I actually enjoy going to garden centers, something that has long been one of her favorite activities. She managed to do a good job at passing down her love of gardening to both my brother and I because we both love to buy plants and see nice looking gardens!

I picked up five new plants on Saturday and a little garden friend! Since our front garden is in the sun 90% of the day I always try to pick plants that do well in full sun. The plants I picked up were; Russian sage, Iberis in pink ice, a pink azalea, a dwarf butterfly bush in pink micro chip, and a dwarf Alberta spruce. Tim and I had a gift card from his parents for a local nursery Clark Farms so I was able to pick up the azalea and butterfly bush there. I actually picked up the other three at the Walmart garden center and they were all on clearance! I have no problem buying clearance plants and trying to make them work in my garden.

Now for a quick look at the garden...

This was on Saturday evening and you can see the Russian sage and iberis on this side of the garden. I needed to fill that middle area and am hoping that since they are perennials they will come back each year and fill this area nicely. I can foresee adding other plants in here in the future because a garden is never full, but for now I am really loving have a couple of plants to fill the void.

On the left side of the garden you can see the dwarf alberta, the butterfly bush and the azalea lined up nicely here. My mom has the same spruce in her garden and it doesn't get very big at all but adds a bit of green in the wintertime which is exactly what I'm looking for. I love the colors of the butterfly bush and the azalea and know they will get larger in time and I am looking forward to seeing them take up more room in the garden. Also, you can see my little hedgehog friend who I picked up from HomeGoods for only $17! I was looking for a little garden friend and was thrilled when I found him because everything else was too large or too strange looking for me. 

Some closer looks at the new plants. That azalea has the most stunning pink color!

I also checked on our little garden near the road and am happy to report that everything I planted last year came back and the evergreens are still in good condition. I think we might need to limb up the tree though so it looks less like a bush. I am hesitant to do it though because it's been so healthy and I really don't know much about taking care of trees!

Yesterday Tim helped me bring the bird bath around the front and it's now living next to the spruce. It looks a little tall for the area currently, but once the spruce grows a bit and we fill in more areas I think it will look so nice out there.

Next weekend we plan to mulch (it got up in the 90s this weekend and we just couldn't bear to be outside long enough to get it done) and then hopefully the front gardens will be complete for the season. 

As for the backyard? Well, that's a work in process which we hopefully will complete soon too!

Have a great day everybody!

 

May Empties

Today I am sharing all my empty home and beauty products from the month of May. I managed to get through quite a few products.

Bath and Body Works Beach Bliss Handsoap- I liked this hand soap. It was a great scent and the packaging was super cute. It's a super beachy but low-key scent, exactly how I like my hand soaps to be!

Folex Carpet Cleaner- I love Folex! This stuff works miracles and we were constantly using it when we brought our newest baby into the house. I've already repurchased this on Amazon and I'm sure we will be buying more in the future.

Lysol Wipes- My go-to for all bathroom cleaning. I keep this in my stockpile always!

Kaboom Bathroom Cleaner- I love to use this in my shower and have already repurchased it. It works so well and I think it makes cleaning the shower/tub more fun when the product changes color. 

Downy Unstoppables- I can't do laundry without these anymore! Well, I can but I don't like to! It makes everything smell so nice and I've been purchasing these whenever I run out but I do already have several backups currently. 

Bath and Body Works Twisted Peppermint Body Cream- A little off season but I am working my way through my lotions slowly but surely. I liked this but I don't think I would repurchase this particular scent in the future. I liked it but there are definitely scents I prefer more. I do like the body cream instead of body lotion though! My skin is super dry and this definitely helped.

Fantastik Antibacterial Spray- I was using this for my kitchen counters and thought it worked pretty well. I did not repurchase this though and instead bought the Honest antibacterial spray. 

Mrs. Meyers Basil Multi-surface Cleaner- My favorite multi-surface cleaner! I love the way this smells and will keep on repurchasing it. I always know that basil sounds like a weird scent but it smells so great.

Bath and Body Works Black Cherry Merlot Candle- I always want to like this candle but it's never my favorite. It throws off a ton of scent so if you are big fan of the scent, then you will love it! I always like it, but because it's so strong I get sick of it so quickly. I am going to try to remember to not purchase this one in the future. 

Bath and Body Works Tiki Beach Candle- I liked this candle, but it was a typical beach scent. It is nice if that's what you're going for but I am definitely going to try out some different scents next time I go stock up at Bath and Body Works!

2 Cake Batter Chapsticks- My favorite chapstick of all time! I have a huge back stock thanks to my husband :)

Bath and Body Works Endless Weekend Shower Gel- I love, love, love this scent. I will keep repurchasing this both shower gel and lotion as well as the hand soap. It's always one of my favorites and if you are heading to BBW you should check it out!

What products have you used up lately?!

 

Garden Updates- 1st Round

 Hey everyone, happy Tuesday! I hope you all had a wonderful long weekend and took the time to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. It was a rainy weekend here in RI, but I still managed to get some things done around here. 

I wanted to share some garden updates I made back in April since I am planning on doing some more gardening next weekend and can then share the completed look with you guys soon! Tim and I bought some mulch and are hoping that we can get everything planted and the mulch down maybe next weekend? Pregnancy has made my ambition to do project go wayyyy down but I really want our outdoor areas to look complete this summer.

So, anyways! Back in April Tim and I headed to Home Depot and picked up some plants.

I picked up some annuals and a few perennials. I wanted mostly perennials because that makes it so easy year after year keep the garden looking nice. I do love the color of annuals however and was happy to grab a few that could withstand the direct sun they would receive in our front garden. The previous owners of our house cut down every last tree so we have a very open front yard. Whatever we plant out there needs to be resilient!

I planted the salvia in the center of the garden, hoping it will bring a beautiful purple and also grow pretty big as the years go on.  I then grouped three of the annuals together in the front of the garden to add some immediate color. I plan to get some more annuals to fill this in. 

The salvia closer up! I'm hoping this does well because I just love how pretty it is!

On the left side of the garden I put sedge because I think having some ornamental grass will be nice on the side of the garden.  I also love that it is basically impossible to kill and super low maintenance. I also put the same few annuals grouped together in the back to tie in with the ones I planted in the front. This will also add some color. 

I also wanted to share the free tree I got this spring. The RI DEM was giving away free trees and I selected  a London Planetree. We placed it in our front yard to add a little coverage. I love that this tree is expected to grow fairly quickly and even looking outside now it has added so many leaves since this picture. I can't wait to watch it grow and add some coverage in our front yard. 

We have a garden up by the very front of our yard and in the fall I planted a bunch of tulip bulbs. I was shocked that every last one of them came up this year! I will be adding more bulbs this fall so we can really fill this garden in. The tulips are all dead now and I really need to get out there and clip them down. It was so nice to have that pop of color when spring had just begun and we needed to see some signs of life. I also am loving that we had some evergreens in this garden which stayed nice year round and the other perennials we planted last year came back this spring. 

Here's another view and you can see how this garden relates to the front garden.  I am thinking about adding some pink annuals in the very front of the garden now that the tulips have gone by. We have a drive by baby shower planned for July and I would love to have something pink up here but I also am worried about having to lug a watering can out there every day in the summer...pregnancy problems :)

I have been busy sketching out my gardens and what our plan is going to be for the new gardens we are making in the backyard. I need to replace one boxwood that isn't doing really great and I would like to add evergreens to the left side of the garden. I also am planning on moving my bird bath from the backyard to the front garden if I can make it look nice with evergreens around it. I also would like to get a few small items to add into the garden. Little animals or something like that? I plan on purchasing a bunch of plants for the back yard and a few more for the front. Our side garden is where I planted the hostas but I will share that when that garden is extended along the fence because right now it's just three hostas along the side of the house. 

I know that my gardens are super young and need time to develop but I have a hard time not filling everything in immediately. I don't want it to look like it's overflowing but I do want it to look more full than it does now. 

As I said, my plan is to head out to buy plants this week at some point and then get everything mulched over the weekend. Hopefully I'll be able to share a garden update with you next week, but if we don't get everything done, don't be too shocked- I am pregnant after all! :)

Have a great day everyone!