Dress Up, Dine In

I'm kind of bipolar when it comes to where I shop. Sometimes I love the draw of big name stores and will most definitely be first in line (with Eileen in tow) when Tiffany & Co. opens here this Spring. Other times I'd rather frequent local places for a more personal experience. I think it's important to highlight these gems that give you a unique gift, look, or good karma for supporting "small" business. The first in my "shop around the state" is OC Tanner . I have been to their old store downtown, their Park City one, and their vault when we used to live up the street in the rental. Their most impressive location by far is their flagship store on State St. With former lives as the city library in 1905 and the Hansen Planetarium in 1965, the building was reincarnated as OC Tanner's in 2009. Inside you'll find it restored as close to the original design as possible and housing some of the most gorgeous jewels and jewelry lines. You feel like a

With the exception of the obvious lifestyle overhaul that comes along with pregnancy, I feel blessed to have "coasted" through it. It really has been an easy go. That made me worried that while I was so preoccupied with work and getting ready to temporarily leave my 25 babies for our new one, I would miss the crazy nesting period. Instead I've pushed my normal laid-back self to the side in favor of doing tons of baby laundry, trying to get on top of all my own personal things that need to be taken care of, and wanting to clean...rather than sleep. The epitome of this mother-hen-ness was me in Home Depot on a Sunday night buying furniture moving blankets so Seth and I could swap the dressers in the front room and the baby nursery. Nesting during the week takes the form of being cranky about not being able to get to the vintage furniture store. We need a small bookshelf for Eileen. That's my mama mission for tomorrow. If I can finish decorating her room by tomorrow too

After living here for three years we've learned to take the weird with the excellent. Fall in Utah is absolutely stunning and makes you really glad you live here. We typically celebrate with a hike through the canyons, but this year we settled for "preggopotamus hiking" to accommodate baby and my growing belly. Fall also means the return of blouse-y tops, leggings, and boots. I've been lucky enough to "fit" into my typical clothes for most of this pregnancy and I aim to continue my boycott of maternity clothes in these final months. Free People (a company I loved pre-baby too) is the greatest of my life. Their flowing hippie fabric lets me feel like myself even while my body is changing. Their tops made an appearance on our hiking excursion and crib set-up. Don't worry, we realize there's more to having a baby than fashion. We've been working on getting the nursery ready. Putting up Eileen's crib was a family affair and quite the adventure.

I pretty much can't manage any kind of a coherent blog post in the middle of the week. Instead, enjoy these bump! pictures where you can witness the growth of our two babies (Eileen and our Ranch). in the beginning @ 5 weeks in the master bedroom @ 10 weeks in Seth's main floor mancave @ 15 weeks in my only pair of maternity pants (Lilly of course) @ 18 weeks before our 1st ultrasound (and before I got the red paint off the molding) @ 22 weeks (and still working on scraping the molding you can't see in this picture) @ 26 weeks in my first day of school outfit (vintage Lilly minus the school appropriate cover-up & minus the red paint!) @ 27 weeks (Eileen's first Gator game day)

After I spent the majority of my summer traipsing around the coasts on ultra fun adventures, it was time to get down to renovation business. I finally got the red paint off the molding in the front rooms. You'll know this is true when I put up baby bump pictures and you can see it in the background. Seth got most of the re-bath off the master bathroom. When the plastic faucet cover wouldn't come off he lit it on fire. The whole family, animals included, spent some quality time on the front porch until the fumes died down. It's one of those things I want to make sure and remember since there aren't too many times we're laughing in the middle of this project. We uncovered part of a delightfully deco tub and hopefully when the rest of the plastic mold comes off we won't find a giant hole in it. I was a little disappointed that it wasn't some Easter egg color but white goes better with the future paint scheme. We also fixed one of our plumbing problems downst

San Diego was incredible. The weather was gorgeous, the company was entertaining, and the best part about vacation is how you temporarily f orget your real life. The whole trip consisted of some form of these things: eating tourist-ing about town (this was taken on my parents' 30th anniversary--aww) shopping (Chungs ensures Eileen will be the best dressed baby in some vintage clothes) celebrating Panda Birthday Week (which, let's be honest, was the whole reason we were in town)

I may have traveled more this year than any other. Vacation lives on tomorrow in the form of a trip to San Diego dubbed "Panda Birthday Week." We'll also be doing other things in addition to celebrating the zoo's soon to be two year old panda (and for me that means shopping). I'm glad to be traveling with the original family. I'm excited too because unless Seth and I take a "babymoon" this will be the last trip before Eileen arrives. I have to admit, I'm also feeling a little lame because I got homesic k while in Kissimmee last month. I mean, how can you stand to be away from family this lovely? I guess there are worse things than to realize you adore your life and those in it.

M-i-c, See You Real Soon... Though I had started my return trip to Kissimmee with the intention of retracing the steps of my younger self, I found it was much more enjoyable to just revisit what I could. Plenty of my favorite haunts were reincarnated as something else. My favorite bar was up for sale (gasp!). However, therein lies the beauty of Kissimmee. For every old memory there’s a new one waiting to be made. I was lucky to get to return, to find those old familiar buildings I always wished I’d gotten pictures of when I lived down the street. It was great to have time with family who I wish weren’t on the other side of the country. That is what Kissimmee is…a prefect backdrop for reconnecting and enjoying your vacation companions and scenery. The next time you find yourself there, make sure to take it all in. This is a city with so much to offer and one that reinvents itself constantly. There’s no way to return to that life you lead before but you can always count on

Welcome to the Jungle...Golf My brother and I somehow became big fans of mini golf and Kissimmee offers a lot of options. We stumbled upon Jungle Golf on one of the hottest days of our visit (think triple digits) but thought it would add to the experience of putting through the Serengeti course. They were also offering an amazing summer special that allowed you to play for best price that we found on the whole trip. We were sold! I may really like mini golf but I’m not particularly graceful at it. Jungle Golf had an ideal balance of holes that made me feel like I was better than I was and ones that made me nervously excited. They had done an outstanding job of landscaping their area with desert plants, cheerful animal statues, and the all important misters to cool off with. We may not have succeeded in any hole-in-ones on the free game holes but we had a blast. We felt like we had time to enjoy the game and our competition without being rushed. I also got a magnificent

Susan's Courtside Cafe My old college roommate and all around lovely lady, Ashleigh, works at the Kissimmee courthouse so it was imperative that I meet her on her lunch break and catch up. She suggested a sandwich place that she knew I would love because it was set inside an old house and had lots of rooster decorations. Susan’s Courtside Cafe turned out to be every bit as charming as she described. Walking up that porch to the Cafe is like going to a friends for a visit. We were greeted with friendly faces and an unique atmosphere. The house has been broken up into themed dining areas while still maintaining a cozy feel. Once we placed our orders Ashleigh lead us to her favorite of the rooms. The tabletops balanced on salvaged fire hydrants! While we chatted and waited for the arrival of our food, I couldn’t help noticing all of the architectural details that remained intact in this 1912 home. My husband and I are in the middle of restoring our own “old home” and l

Pirates Always Finish Under Parrrgh! Kristofer and I did the adventure golf circuit like champs and eventually happened upon our most favorite one. Pirate’s Island Adventure Golf at Guide Marker 8 was an excellent mix of visual stimulation as well as challenging golfing. It earned its five beard status of awesome early on. It was also the only course both of us managed to get holes-in-one on free game holes (designated holes along the course that earn you tokens for a free game). We were lulled into a false sense of grandeur afte r those holes only to be met with more dangerous ones on the second level. The water features that we so appreciated for cooling purposes claimed my orange ball when I couldn’t launch it over the waterfall stream. I guess it was karma for me laughing at all the brightly colored bobbing balls when we started. After a good laugh and a replacement ball, we continued through holes that had equally fun obstacles. Despite some of our bad shots we had

Critters Galore at Green Meadows Petting Farm Green Meadows Petting Farm is a field trip favorite during the school year. The tree-shaded animal oasis allows for easy meetings of all of th e critters that call Green Meadows home. The staff leads two hour tours that encourage you to touch most of their furry friends. The experience is punctuated with activities that let you “kick back” as well, ab oard their hay ride and train trolley that shows you just what an impressive piece of land they have. Green Meadows also understands the importance of air conditioning. One of the cutest stops is inside the old barn where guinea pigs, bunnies, birds, and even a hedgehog cool off too. Even in the hot Florida summer, Green Meadows is a tre at. I was surprised to find that visiting the farm was just as fun as when I took my kindergarten class there. Kristofer and I learned new skills like how to catch a duck and milk a cow. We got up close and personal with baby chickens and ducks