NYC from an iPhone

We're back...begrudgingly. We would have preferred to get snowed in while in the city, but we left too early.

Christmas in New York City was magical. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise. Everyone is filled with wonder and good spirits...even the New Yorkers. The smells, the sights, the sounds at Christmas time in New York are to die for. The whole city is on display, and it did nothing but exceed expectations of what we knew we were in for.

Bobby is not a city fan himself, but I think I got him to crack. I went armed with some amazing restaurants to try, and he was happy...so was his stomach. Even if you are not a city fan, or fan of big crowds, don't let that deter you. It only adds to the atmosphere.

I took my big camera to NYC, but the first day realized that no one knew how to use it...so we couldn't get any pictures of Bobby and me together. So, we used our iPhones most of the time. In case anyone is wondering, I use a camera App that works just like a Polaroid camera. Once you take the picture, you actually shake your phone to help "develop" the picture! I love the 70's look it gives to my pictures. More and more, I've fallen in love with the look of old Polaroid photos. Classic. Anyway, the app is called "Shakeit" and I believe it's free or 99 cents.

Here's our big NYC adventure:

Radio City Music Hall theater.

Sweet Potato Pie and Cinnamon Ice Cream at Bar Americain (Bobby Flay's restaurant) on Christmas Eve.

Feeling oh-so-french for breakfast at Balthazar.

Chrysler Building from a distance. One of the most beautiful buildings in NYC.

Brown paper packages tied up with string? No... just Cartier. Wrapped in red twinkle lights.

Bobby at Bobby Flay's restaurant. Very happy after a large steak.

Balthazar. One of the best restaurants, located in SoHo.

Rockefellar Center Christmas Tree. Stunning.

On Top of the Rock with the Empire State Building in the background. It was cold beyond words up there, but worth it for the view!

One of my favorite pictures from this trip. Rockefellar Plaza at night under the hundreds of trees wrapped in tiny twinkle lights. This was our first night in NYC.

Radio City Music Hall at night. I love how this sign hasn't changed in 80 years.

On the Brooklyn Bridge. It was so cold and windy up here, but the view was amazing and the archetecture of this thing is incredible. I took a bunch of pictures with my big camera - to be posted soon. My husband is so adorable here. I love that he looks like a New Yorker here :)

On Top of the Rock (Rockefellar Center) with a view of the Empire State building.

Crumbs Bake Shop was just around the corner from our hotel. Bobby treated me to an Espresso Cupcake with the largest glass of milk you have ever seen. I didn't eat for the rest of the day...except for dinner, when we went to Bobby Flay's restaurant.

Very Happy Girl.

It took us a good hour to figure out how to get ON the Brooklyn bridge walking part. We had to make 3 bathroom stops before we actually got there. We also walked through China Town to get here. Has anyone told you that China Town just smells like fish? Rather unappealing to a pregnant woman.

Merry Christmas, Darling

Happy New Year, too!

It's been a crazy and eventful past few weeks, getting ready for Christmas. Bobby and I have a big trip to New York City planned... I have a feeling I won't want to leave. No worries...lots of eating, walking, and Christmas window shopping will take place. On the agenda: visit Brooklyn for some awesome Grimaldi's pizza, spend Christmas Eve at Bobby Flay's restaurant, have a quiet breakfast in a French brasserie, visit the 4 story GAP and their maternity section, go to the "Top of the Rock," and most importantly, go see the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall!

In other news, I hit the 23 week mark today in my pregnancy! I am almost to 6 months along, which makes me realize that I only have 3 months left. WHATT!?!?! Starting New Years, the nesting phase will go into full swing.

New pregnancy "symptoms:"

- My belly is starting to itch on a regular basis. I don't know if that's from the cold, dry weather, or the baby growing inside (which is now about 11 inches long, and weighs about 1 pound). Thankfully, I have a lifetime supply of Coco Butter to keep my stretching belly from itching too badly.

- Since my last post, I've successfully and single-handedly finished 3 gallons of milk and 2 crates of clementines. I cannot get enough!

- I can no longer lay on my stomach. Like, at all. Even laying on my back is becoming uncomfortable. Bad news for me, since I WAS a stomach sleeper.

- I have heart burn like cra-zyyy! Perhaps it's all the sweet junk I've been eating due to Christmas upon us. Either way. I could beat Pete's Dragon in fire-breathing hands down.

- I've booked our newborn family photographer for when our Peanut first arrives!!! Check them out because they are awesome. They just had a little baby too! The Beautiful Mess, from Charlotte, NC!

- Baby is kicking up a storm! I feel him all the time, and can even see my belly move when he kicks. Everyone says this, but it's the weirdest feeling in the world. I love every little kick though. It means our sweet boy is growing and healthy!

So here's to 23 weeks! More than halfway through. Oh, and baby? Can you puh-LEASE start growing faster so that I can look more pregnant?! Thanks, Mom.

And because I know I won't be blogging before Christmas, here's our Christmas card from Minted.com. And special thanks for Megan Beth for taking our pictures. I will share the rest once I get them all back :)

21 Weeks

Ok, I feel like I've really grown this week, but I say that every week... and I seriously feel like an elephant. Why do I feel so much bigger than I look!? I've had to retire a few of my regular SHIRTS this week. They aren't quite long enough anymore to cover my burgeoning belly. Sigh...

In other news, Baby Boy has been kicking like CRAZY. Tuesday at work, he kicked almost all day long! I probably got nothing done since I sat there like a crazy person staring at my stomach. Oh well. No new improvements since last week.

Thanks MOM for my early Christmas gift... a shipment of maternity clothes from Gap! I bought some new, extra comfortable shirts (shown here in purple. I have the same one in gray that I've been wearing, and I also got it in brown), a cute sweater, and a black wrap dress which will grow with me for the next few months!

We have our next Doctor's appointment tomorrow morning, so we find out the updates from our sonogram and all the measurements that were taken. Pray for good news!

That's all for now! Busy weekend ahead... how many Christmas parties are you attending this year?

Ohhh, We're Half Way There...

*I would like the record to show that I hate Bon Jovi and I'm only using their song line to prove my point. Amen. *

Yes, my darling readers (is anyone left?!)... I am now at the half-way point of my pregnancy. At 20 weeks, my body has changed again! I really don't recognize it as it's doing strange things. Here are the latest improvements:

- I've clocked in 2 pounds of weight gain (after my initial 8 pound loss during the first trimester) overall.

- I posses a much thicker lower belly which seems to be slightly cone-shaped.

- I have an unrecognizably insatiable appetite. Although, I'm still unable to eat a full meal. I rather prefer tons of snacks. Snacks of choice lately include: clementines, grapes, pistachio nuts, Cheerios, Tootsie Roll Pops, and V-8 Juice.

- Baby Barrick is either practicing his future soccer skills, conducting a symphony, or swimming the butterfly stroke. Either way, I can feel him pretty consistently now and it's the strangest feeling in the world! My productivity at work has shifted from answering e-mails to holding my belly and waiting for the next in-utero soccer goal. Bobby was able to feel him kick a few days ago.

- My facial and chest break-outs have significantly decreased in the last week or 2. I had to kick my Mary Kay Timewise formula to the curb, and also my very favorite shampoo. Oh Redkin... how I will miss thee.

- My fingernails are growing like CRAZY. Who knew?!

Here is the 4 week difference... 16 and 20 weeks. Not a terribly big change, but lemmie tell yah. When it's YOUR belly that's growing that rapidly, it's a big change!

We went to register as soon as we found out that Baby Barrick is going to be a BOY! I have to say that I'm rather disappointed with the selection of baby items in the stores. I'm not into the overtly "baby" things like cartoony animals or bold, primary colors. We picked a very soothing color palette, which is surprisingly gender neutral. I always thought that I'd do something pretty gender specific, but turns out I didn't like anything I saw that was gender specific! Oh well, we'll be accenting this with bits of blue and green. Here is our inspiration for our nursery, and we've chosen a "woodland" theme to go with it: owls, foxes, birds, natural wood, etc. I can't wait to get going!

In other news, we had a fantastic Thanksgiving and also learned that Baby Barrick is going to have a new COUSIN! My sister, Christina, is expecting, too! She's exactly 2 months behind me at 11 weeks pregnant. We've talked about this moment our whole lives and now it's actually happening, so it's very exciting!

My Grown Up Christmas List

Ok, so this is my least favorite Christmas song EVER, and I'm warning you now, that I'm not going to wish for world peace (although that would be nice, those politicians are angry people), or no more lives torn apart (although this is a good thing to wish for any time of year). No, my grown up Christmas list is made up of mostly Etsy, and just some all-around fabulous things that would be great to gift to anyone!

After cleaning out my parents basement of my childhood things, I came across one of my old diaries. I guess I was always meant to be a blogger... regardless, it had a Christmas list dated September 14, 1992. There are two things humorous about this date. First, I was already drafing my Christmas list 3 months before my parents would even start to think about Christmas (my Mom disappeared for a week straight every year right before Christmas to finish her shopping). Secondly, I was almost 6 and a half years old (2nd grade?) and already wanted baking supplies. Here goes:

- NKOTB tape (NKOTB translation: New Kids on the Block)
- Flannel shirt

- Stirrup Pants

- Boom Box
- Pink Bathrobe with "Minny" Mouse on the pocket
- Radio alarm clock
- A bag of candy
- Molly's glasses (from American Girl dolls)

- Ears Pierced
- Easy Bake Oven with brownie kits
- Oven mits for Easy Bake Oven
- Glow in the dark star stickers to put on my bedroom "seeling" (ceiling)
- Strawberry Astronaut Ice Cream
- Edible Bubbles
- Movies
- A TV for my room
- Computer game for "Where in the World is Carmen Sam Deego" (I was an excellent speller)
- April's Yellow and Purple bikini (that poor bathing suit was so ugly. Gotta love the 80's!)
- SPY swim meet bathing suit
- SPY bag

And that concludes the list. I'm actually surprised that this list was still housed in the diary, since I remember promptly taking my long and detailed Christmas list and hanging it on the refrigerator after drafting it. Maybe I created a new one.

On a side note: I was a strange kid. My family still teases me about wearing Stirrup pants (unfortunately, there is proof that I wore them...along with a "Minny" Mouse sweatshirt), and what 6 year old girl asks for Astronaut ice cream?!

Moving on... my list has changed a bit, and while my kitchen gadget requirements have changed a bit, they still make the list. My poor husband. Trying to finish decorating a new house AND preparing for a new baby does not a happy bank card make! I just like to call it "nesting."

And now for the list (and of these would make great gifts!):

This wreath is to-die-for. If only I could hang it outside on my front door... Embellished with a bright red bow, I think this would look ah-mazing hung in any house for Christmas! (SOURCE).

For the chef or baker in the family: a microplane grater. I've been eyeing these for years now. Every time I grumble when I have to pull out my huge cheese grater just to shave some chocolate or zest and orange. Would be great for topping off Holiday coffee with some fresh nutmeg! (SOURCE).

I think this is the cutest little ornament. I love the rustic qualities and that you can personalize it. Her store, MaternalNEST is awesome and has so many baby things I'd love! If you ever want to buy my something for baby, you won't be able to go wrong here. (SOURCE).

This calendar is so pretty!!! Would love to hang it in my kitchen, or even in my office for some cheering up. (SOURCE).

It's no secret that I LOVE EmersonMade. I own one of her flower pins and I wear it every chance I get. I love her flower hair clips and her new clothing line, but this would make for an awesome accessory (and conversation piece) to any outfit! (SOURCE).

I cheated and bought this for myself already, but this would be fabulous for the baker on your list! I've never seen a cookie-cutter like this before and for the $1.25 price tag, this would make for a perfect stocking stuffer (perhaps before Christmas to encourage some candy-shaped cookies!). (SOURCE).

For Him:

I bought these shoes for Bobby for our winter photo shoot (you'll see on our Christmas cards!) and he's worn them several times before and after. Every time he wears them, people swoon. I take full credit for these since I found them. The price tag isn't too shabby, either, making this a great gift for your hubby or boyfriend! (SOURCE).

Got a man who loves to grill? Don't let the early evenings deter him from cooking out. This grill light attaches to the grill's handle, so it flips down when the grill is open, thus giving him light to cook by! (SOURCE).

Give him a classic look with this traditional Navy Pea Coat. He will wear this for YEARS, and the quality from J. Crew will withstand. It's on sale right now for an absolute STEAL. I just bought this for Bobby as his early Christmas gift (he needed one) and he loves it. Warm, but not too bulky, and stylish yet classic. (SOURCE).

Sleep pants. What guy doesn't like to lounge? The appeal to these is that they are material that are like hospital scrubs and don't cling or get too hot. The drawstring waist makes them comfortable. The blue is classic, in case you can't get your man into Puppy Dog Critter Flannel plants. (SOURCE).

Does your man love Mad Men as much as you do? Bobby and I have become attached to that show (not the most moral show, but MAN, I love the clothes and style!). Have your man sip Don Draper style with these silver-rimmed double Old Fashioned tumbler glasses, just like the ones from the show. How great would these look on a bar at Christmas?! If you want real vintage glasses from the 1960's, try Etsy.com. They have a lot of sets! (SOURCE).

There you have it! Have you finished your Christmas shopping yet? I'm about 75% of the way there. Living in the country forces me to shop online. Over the 3 years I've had to do this, online retailers are offering online shoppers some really awesome deals...sometimes even better in the store. I always Google "Coupon Codes for __________" (insert any store name) to find free shipping or a percentage off my order. Most of the time, I can always find something for an even better deal! What are you Christmas shopping tricks?! Are you the shopper who is finished by Halloween?!

It's a....

BOY! Baby Barrick is a boy!

*Note to self: Look less awkward in action pictures. Thank you.*

We had our 19 week sonogram at the hospital on Friday that revealed everything is healthy and normal with our sweet boy! He weighs about 8 ounces and is about 6 1/2 inches long. We ate lunch right before the sonogram, so he was moving around a lot at first. Then the food coma kicked in, and he started yawning and then fell asleep. It's quite amazing to see this living thing moving around inside my belly!

I've been able to feel our little peanut moving around consistently in the last week, which has been such a strange feeling, but good to know that he's moving around. Despite my ill-fitting yellow top in the pictures, I feel like my belly has popped out a little bit in the last week!

For the record, we have picked out our boys name, but aren't revealing it until Baby Barrick is born. Sooorrrrryyyy!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We sure have a lot to be thankful for.

...and now, off to Black Friday shopping (online) and to register for Baby Barrick at a baby superstore. I'm dragging Bobby along, so it should be interesting!

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Bump: Week 16 & 17

Ok, ok, ok... so the last time I took a belly picture was when I was 13.5 weeks along. I thought I would be more diligent about taking belly pictures every week, but I just haven't felt like it!

(I'm actually just annoyed that I don't have much to show for all that sickness, so I didn't want another reminder of what I DON'T have to show for being pregnant. Boo).

So to appease the beckoning crowds, here are baby bump pictures from last week (week 16) and this week (week 17)! I really feel like my tummy is growing, so *fingers crossed* that I'll be popping out soon! I'm lookin' a little rough, so please forgive the dark eyes and cranky smile.

16 weeks here

17 weeks here

New symptoms: Crazy heartburn, appetite has returned (for the most part), skin is breaking out (lovely), hair and nails are growing like crazy

Cravings: Pizza, Tacos, anything Citrus

Turn-Off's: Chicken or any kind of white meat, anything chocolate (except hot chocolate)

We've purchased the Consumer Reports book of Best Baby Products (found on Amazon.com HERE) and have been browsing through it for research on big ticket baby items: strollers, car seats, cribs, baby monitors, etc. I've also started about 38953 baby books, all of which are sitting on my night stand.

Baby Barrick is currently about 5 ounces, which is about the size of a turnip, and also about 5 inches long. I should be able to feel the baby kick in the next few weeks or so, but I think I've already felt some fluttering...

Our next big milestone will be the day before Thanksgiving when we can find out the baby's gender! I'll do a big reveal on here, so check back soon for that news! And yes, we are finding out.

The big, bad basement project is still under weigh! I have absolutely no pictures of the project this far, as it pretty much looks the same as before. Plumbing is almost finished and framing will be finished in the next 2 weekends. 5 months until Baby Barrick gets here, so that's our deadline.

Ok, I am probably boring you right now, but thanks for checking in! I am unbelievably busy with MB Photography this time of year, so I apologize for the lack of updates. I can assure you that once December and January roll around, things will be slowing WAYYY down and I will actually have time to blog about this baby and our crazy, little life down here in Southern Maryland.

Thanks for checking in!

Pretty Please?!

Can someone please buy THIS for me for Christmas AND convince my husband that it's AWESOME?! How clever!

If only we didn't have a brown front door...

What's on your Christmas list this year? My family has discovered the beauty that is Amazon.com Wish Lists. It's great for my non-tech-savvy Mother, so she can just print them off and run around to the stores (haven't gotten her to shop online yet, which I think my Dad is happy about).

A Pink Replacement

Do you think Killian would be mad if I traded him in for one of these?

It was too cute, I just had to share.

Wet Nose

This nose is in my face each morning when I wake up. Oh, how I love his little gray spot.

Then I roll over, and another beast is snoring in my face.

It's a good thing we have a comfortable mattress, otherwise I wouldn't be able to sleep!

I just wanted you to know. That is all. Good-bye forever.

To Set a Table

I love formal entertaining. Like, love love it. I think there are few things that are more fabulous than a fancy dinner party. Unfortunately, I think it's a lost art these days, and "dinner with friends" has turned into crashing around the coffee table with paper towels as napkins. Don't get me wrong, I love doing this on weeknights when I just don't feel like cooking, but when guests are involved? I love the opportunity to break out the full force of my silver, Kate Spade China, and cloth napkins!

When I was in high school, I used to cater for the most wonderful catering company in Annapolis - Ken's Creative Kitchen. They pride themselves on preparing amazing food and also having the most professional and knowledgable staff of any other catering company. I always enjoyed the experience of catering fine events because I got to learn the essentials of setting tables correctly and thus, throwing a formal dinner party (or wedding, etc). From then on, I have always inspected formal table settings. It's a minor irritation when the bottom of the plate and the bottoms of the silver do not match up. It's also makes me want to go around the table and change things around when the sharp edge of the knife does not face the place. "Calm Down," I have to say to myself sometimes. When Bobby notices me inspecting the table on which we'll eat, he rolls his eyes and quickly pulls me away.

Is it really that big a deal? No, but if the Queen of England ever came to eat with me on Primevere Street, then I'd be ready and proper. And now, I've probably eliminated myself from any dinner invitations in the future.

So, for those of you who may be wondering where the wine glass goes in relation to the water glass, or what fork you should start with when there are multiples, here's a wonderful guide I found that will ease all your troubles.

And, in case you were wondering... you lay plates on the left side of whomever you are serving and remove them from the right side.

Meat should always be served on the plate at 6:00. That's all for now.

Until next time,

Mrs. Hoity-Toity Pants

One Year

A lot has happened in a year. I know, I know... time flies, right? We're all about maximizing time efficiency in this house, so let me re-cap all that's happened down here in case you missed it (or in case you have a poor blogger on your hands).

- One year ago TODAY, we moved into our first house! We shook those shiny, new keys all the way down Primevere Street to open our door and do "snow" angels on our brand new carpet.

- Shortly after we moved in, Bobby started work on THE DECK. Thwarted almost every weekend by unseasonably cold rain, a few snow storms, and no wife to help him nail boards against the house, it took us (and by us, I mean Bobby) about 10 months to finish the deck. Last weekend, he put the last nail in the coffin by staining the deck and thus blessing it as "complete." Now, if only I could find outdoor throw pillows to go on our new deck furniture this time of year...

- One project that I haven't even mentioned on here is the basement project. So, I have no pictures of what the basement looked like before we started. Fail. BUT, now this is what it looks like. We're attempting to finish it before the end of the year. Having a finished basement will add another living space for our newly expanding family, another bedroom, and a full bathroom. This bedroom will be our new guest room, as our existing guest room will be transforming into a nursery here in the next few months. And no, I don't have anything nursery-related planned yet!

The stairs are directly to the right. Straight ahead will be the bedroom, and behind me will be the living space.

The open space will be a living space with a TV and our poor red couch. Right next to the utility tub will be the bathroom (behind the wall) and to the left of the bathroom will be unfinished storage space. And, you know, Killian's little pan. There will also be a finished storage area under the stairs, which isn't visible in this picture.

- My photo business officially became MB Photography, LLC and I shot a total of 22 Weddings and no fewer than 50 other sessions with TONS more to go yet this year. And yes, I will be continuing my Photo Business in full swing next year after Baby Barrick arrives. We've been so blessed with this business as most of my picture-taking happens on weekends, when Bobby will be able to watch the baby. It's a huge feeling of satisfaction for me to be able to contribute financially to our family AND do something I absolutely love. Thank you, Lord!

- Hmm.... the last thing that happened this year? Oh yea... we got pregnant! We took belly pictures when I was 8 weeks along, but they are lost somewhere on my Mac and I can't find them. So here you have me at 13.5 weeks along. Not much of a belly yet, but I can feel it growing!

There's a little bump there, right?! Right?? Ok, so most of the bump may be from the Asiago Bagel I had at lunch...

Whew! It's been a busy year, but thank you all for following along! Coming in the next few weeks: gender announcement, 3-D Sonogram pictures and more!