great idea: STACKED wine

I love great design, clever packaging and wine. Therefore, I LOVE Stacked wine! I just read about this on jamie of all trades and had to re-post it as well. Stacked wines are wine that are pre-packaged into reusable cups. One stacked wine is the same you'd find in a typical bottle of wine, only you don't need to worry about glasses or a bottle opener.

Can you imagine what a game changer this is for future picnics, outings and the like? There are so many places glass isn't allowed, so this would be clutch! Also, the weight of carrying a wine bottle, additional glasses and an opener don't make for great impromptu boozing in the park like Stacked makes it. I am totally sold.  Chose from 4 glasses of Merlot, Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio.

Buy online or in Southern California for $15 a pop.

One Year

Hold up, how has it been a year since the wedding? I think this must have been the fastest moving year of my life. And here we are, one month shy of our baby's due date. I would have never called that. Tonight we celebrate our first year as husband and wife and will have some of our wedding cake!
Jon, it goes without saying, I love you.

Photos by Kate Harrison.

a ladies lunch baby shower

I feel so lucky to have such a sweet cousin who wanted to throw me a shower, any kind I wanted. Since we already had our big co-ed one, I thought something much smaller with just a few of the ladies I love the most would be a great way to celebrate baby Jonas. She threw the classiest luncheon ever. Take a peek!

The adorable banner greeted us as we walked inside.

The beautiful table settings. 

All the place cards had quotes related to babies and children. 

My sister in law set up a station for us to scrapbook Jonas' baby book. Everyone was in charge of creating a few pages like First Tooth, Nursery, Coming home from the hospital, First solid food and so on. All the pages were decorated so cute and uniquely so now whenever those moments happen, I just have to glue in the photos! Such an amazing time saver.

Beverages.

Peaches & Prosciutto. 

Our beautiful and colorful lunch. 

And lastly, one of my favorite presents: a homemade linen pillow from my Aunt Liana. 

It is sooo beautiful in person. I sure felt the love from everyone that day!

garlands galore!

I have been scouring Etsy for a cute garland to hang above the crib for some visual interest for Jonas and to fill up some bare wall. I know buntings and what not have been overdone but here are some that still feel fun and fresh to me. I have been entertaining the idea of making something myself out of paper pinwheels from the wedding, stay tuned!

Chinese Lanterns, Blue Ombre, Stars and Moons, Honeycomb, Neon and Neutral, Stars.

since we can't just call him "baby"

That's right, we are naming him Jonas! We are in love with this name and our little boy who we already have been referring to as Jonas. His middle name is Pieter, after my grandpa. Pieter is the Dutch spelling of Peter and is pronounced the same way. Pieter is also my brother's middle name. So while his last name represents Jon's family, his middle name represents mine. That was important to me. Hopefully you love his name just as much as we do.

Lately

I am such a sucker for cute packaging and anything by Method, so I couldn't really resist this. The scent is Vanilla Chai, yum. Plus, I heard it's a good idea to stock up on hand soap before a new baby comes since we will be asking all the visitors to wash their hands before holding the baby.

After a horrible day, my sweet husband brought me home flowers to cheer me up. After I cut them and put them in water it wasn't long before they all wilted! What gives? Come to think of it, when I cut the ones in our yard and did the same thing they quickly wilted. Bummer-central. 

A corner in the nursery. Some newborn-ish toys in a wire basket hang on the wall. I love Land Of Nod and everything they have. BTW lots of things would pass for adult decor, too. Basically blows Pottery Barn Kids out of the water.

Funny how my purchases lately are focused more on post partum. Everything I've read says witch hazel will be my friend afterwards when everything is sore and stings. A maxi pad soaked in witch hazel and then frozen may offer some much needed relief.

Gotta love summer dinners where there is always a little stack of fresh homegrown tomatoes on the side.

a birth plan

(couldn't find the original source)

While I am fully aware that I have no idea what labor will feel like, what the baby's plans are and that anything can happen, I still wrote a birth plan. Having a hospital birth, I feel it is very important to be upfront about my wishes and communicate that with all of my providers. A lot of the wording I used was from my hospital's "birth plan checklist". Here is what I have so far:

 

During labor I would like:

-Help with positioning, moving around, and other low-intervention (“natural”) pain relief techniques

-Intermittent fetal monitoring and telemetry monitoring so I may walk around and shower, if I wish

-No IV unless necessary, Hep (saline) lock is fine

-As few interruptions and vaginal exams as possible

-To drink fluids and eat light, easily digestible food, if I wish

-To wear my contact lenses

For pain relief I would like:

-Breathing techniques, position changes, massage, a shower to relax

-Only what I request at the time, I do not want anyone else to suggest pain medication

When the baby comes I would like:

-Pushing spontaneously, no loud “cheerleading”-like yelling

-Use a mirror to see baby crown and touch the baby’s head when it crowns

-Avoid episiotomy by using mineral oil and natural tearing, if needed

-Avoid forceps and vacuum extraction

-Baby to be placed on me, skin to skin

-Breastfeed as soon as possible

-My husband Jon will cut the cord

-Absolutely no formula, sugar water, water

-Absolutely no pacifiers, bottles or artificial nipples

Any questions, I will try my best to answer them in the comments. 

Thanks for being respectful, in advance! ;)

our maternity shoot

Jon and I had such a great time shooting these pictures with Catie Coyle a few weekends ago. We met up at Pigeon Point Lighthouse in Pescadero, a first time for all of us. And so random because our engagement photos were shot in the small town of Pescadero also. It was so windy and cool but she managed to get so many amazing shots. We are so happy we decided to have the shoot done, when during an otherwise busy time it's really easy to skip stuff like this. I hope you enjoy. :)

All photos by Catie Coyle. 

If you are in the Bay Area and looking for a photographer for any occasion, we highly recommend her! 

She helped shoot our wedding too and she is seriously such a joy to work with.

sneak peek!

Here is one shot from our maternity session with the amazing Catie Coyle! I can't wait to share the rest with you once I sort through everything. Happy Thursday! The weekend is almost here. :)

lately, via instagram

Pete checking out the rug we got from Urban Outfitters for the nursery. // Catie Coyle shooting away during our maternity photo session. // An adorable shirt I won from a Darling Clementine blog giveaway. // Our tomatoes are doing really well this year! // First shoes. Need I say more? I die. // Beer and a Bloody Shame (Bloody Mary without Vodka-get it?) //

clean up!

I have always been interested in keeping my home as safe as possible, but that doesn't mean old habits are hard to break. With my pregnancy I have been trying harder than ever to rid our house of unnecessary chemicals. We still have a lot of old school cleaners and I have since retired them to the garage. They can be used out there until they run out and then we won't replace them.

I guess I should say that if you aren't intimated by making your own products, these items are mainly what you may need to clean your whole house! I am not here yet, so I buy lots of products from Method and similar companies.

Glass cleaner swap. Ditch the Ammonia-containing Windex. 

Ammonia exposure is linked to liver and kidney damage and 

the EPA says it's a toxic chemical that causes lung and eye damage.

Powder Cleanser swap. Ditch the bleach-containing Comet. Bleach, where do I even begin? First, most people don't know that it takes 30 minutes before the active ingredients in bleach to work/disinfect. I doubt most people are just letting bleach or bleach-containing cleaners sit for 30 minutes before scrubbing anyways.

All-purpose cleaner swap. I have been most concerned about cleaners sprayed on my kitchen counter tops. Think about it, its near food and where you prepare food. Why would you want any chemicals being spritzed nearby? I have been using Method all-purpose or their kitchen cleaner for years and love all the different scents. 

Some other favorites. The woman who helps cleans our house a couple times a month actually suggested the product on the far right for bathtubs. The Method bath line is aggressive on what it needs to be, but you don't feel like you're choking on the fumes. Mrs. Meyers is another great brand we love. 

We typically use Method laundry detergent but I read great things about Charlie's Soap, especially for baby items. Plus I prefer powder over liquid detergents because traditional jugs have over sized caps and vague instructions to encourage overuse. Also, if you smell detergent on dry clothes, it means you used too much.

What do you use at your house? Any tips or great products to add to my ever-evolving list?

some thoughts at 32 weeks

{yes}

It's been pretty hard to blog lately. Mainly because I am so busy and partly because whenever I have something to blog about its pregnancy or baby related, I take a pause and don't post it. I see people make excuses all the time when they get engaged or pregnant, "don't worry! this won't become a ____ blog!" And isn't that funny, because they are our blogs after all. But here's the thing, with 8ish weeks left to go until my life undergoes the hugest transformation yet, that is all that's on my mind! Truth. From walking around in this body that feels beaten up, to researching sleep sacks online, to taking childbirth classes after work, to decorating a nursery, it's pretty much all-consuming. Here are some other things going on in Holly's head:

-I never feel like I got that pregnancy shiny, beautiful, thick hair. But there have been some changes! I don't shed for one. After showering and brushing my hair only 1-2 hairs come out. The floor mats in my car are not covered in hair anymore. Also, I used to have to wash my hair everyday-very greasy hair that doesn't even get refreshed with dry shampoo. Now that isn't the case, it doesn't get greasy as fast. Odd. 

-Everything I read about 32 weeks says there is less room for the baby so be prepared to not feel the baby move as much. Not the case. He is moving more than ever! So active, this little one. Does that mean he won't nap or be crazy active out of the womb? Who knows. 

-We have a first name picked out. BUT! We haven't told anyone yet because we are still deciding on the middle name. We will reveal once the whole thing is settled on. 

-Our fourth and final 'low intervention' childbirth class is on Monday. Do you think I will feel prepared fully after that class? No. I might want to try Hypnobirthing or go to a Bradley class in addition. 

-My nails grow so fast. SO FAST. Guys, it's crazy really. Pedicures don't last as long anymore because they grow out so quickly and need to be cut. For my fingernails its super cool since I normally would bite my nails the second they got long but now it's not enticing me being they all are long and healthy, constantly! Boring. :)

-I have wanted to be a mother since as long as I can remember. I cannot wait to hold this little baby. Jon thinks he will come next month, but I think he might hold out until October. We shall see.