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.