Nursery Reveal

Anna Claire's nursery is officially finished! Technically there is still one more wall I plan to add pictures to but I am waiting until after she is born and we have newborn pictures! This room has been such a labor of love. I started working on it right after Christmas and we did little projects along the way. I can't thank my husband and father in law enough for helping install shelves, put down new flooring, hang pictures and curtains, etc. They worked so hard!! I really wanted the room to be a light pink with creamy white accents. I think it turned out just lovely! I cannot wait to bring our little one home to this precious space! It is definitely my favorite room in the house and I know Justin feels the same way. We both occasionally sit in there and just look around. It is such a sweet feeling knowing we will be bringing OUR baby home to this space so soon!! 

I've linked as much as I could below... if there is anything I missed that you are curious about just let me know! 

Basket- Homegoods

Darling I love you pictures- Etsy

Crib- Babies R Us

Bedding- Carousel

Dresser/Changing Table- Target

Glider- Target

Curtains- Crate and Barrel

Shelves- Target

Lamp- Target

Side Table- old from Kirklands and repainted 

Rug- Tuesday Morning 

Mirror- Pier One

Pouf Ottoman- Target

Justin's 31st Birthday

Considering my hubby's birthday was on March 9th this post is just a tad bit late. Oh well.. better late than never! This year Justin turned 31 which he said seemed much bigger than 30. He is a HUGE UNC basketball fan and his birthday always falls near if not on the UNC VS Duke game. He likes to watch the game with his friends and family to celebrate so it has become somewhat of a tradition! You can see his UNC/Duke 30th birthday here. Typically I would have hosted everyone at our house but third trimester fatigue was in full force so we switched it up and reserved a private room at Hickory Tavern. It was the best decision to do that! We had the whole room to ourselves, plenty of TV's, I didn't have to cook or clean and everyone had a great time! I call that a win.

I loved how his cake turned out. You have to love Roy!

I love you Justin! I hope you had a wonderful 31st birthday. I love celebrating milestones with you!

-----

And just for fun... Justin's 28th, 29th, 30th and 31st birthday celebration all watching the Carolina Duke game. (:

Weekending

We had such a nice weekend here in NC!! I just love this time of year when the weather is not too hot and not cold. As nice of a weekend as it was it did start out a little hectic in true Friday the 13th fashion. When I got off work I came home to find our dog, Henson, had somehow managed to get an entire bag of semi sweet chocolate chips off of out kitchen counter (he has NEVER gotten anything off the kitchen counter before!) and eaten the entire bag. I am also missing a stick of butter I had out to soften so I think he ate that as well. Chocolate is toxic to dogs and semi sweet more so than some other kinds so our vet suggested we bring him in. We had family coming over in an hour and I had planned to bake a cake and pick up in the house real quick before they got there but instead off we went to the vet. One hefty vet bill later Henson is okay, thank goodness. To add to the chaos when I called Justin to tell him about Henson he left work 15 minutes early to meet us at the vet and left ALL of the meat he had bought to grill that night in the fridge at his work. Dinner that night was a tad bit late since we had to go back to the store for more chocolate chips and meat. Whew, hectic for sure.. but the evening turned around in our favor thank goodness! 

..and we are down to T-Minus 15 days since I took that snap! 

Once all of that was settled both of our parents came over to grill out and install shelves in the nursery. I made a strawberry and feta cheese salad, corn on the cob, a chocolate chip bundt cake and Justin grilled burgers, brats and chicken. It was all so good! I always love showing off Anna Claire's newest items whenever mom or Justin's mom come over so they got to see everything new. After dinner Justin's dad hung a mirror for us and installed some shelves. The nursery is just about complete! I'll be posting pictures soon!

Saturday we were up early to walk in the Holden Beach color run 5K that supported my school. I'm hoping lots of walking may help this baby come on out but we shall see... No sign of that yet (; Afterward it was so nice I headed to the beach for a bit to catch up on some reading and then treated my swollen feet to a pedicure. That afternoon I organized the nursery closet while Justin was golfing. That night we installed the car seat and bases in our cars and finally crashed in bed at .....8:45. True life. 

On Sunday we took a tour of the hospital. It was so nice to see what we can expect when the time comes! That night some of our friends had us over for prime rib, mac and cheese, green beans and blueberry cobbler. It was all delicious and such a nice way to end the weekend! I'm super sad the weekend is over but ready to kick start this week because it means we are one day closer to Anna Claire's arrival! Have a great Monday!

Weekending: Baby Shower

Oh Monday.. I am coming off of spring break and heading back to work and I have to admit I am less than thrilled. It was SO nice to have last week off to rest, clean and soak up the sun. I need a large cup of coffee to kick start this rainy Monday!  Moving on to this past weekend.. 

Friday the weather was so nice. I took Henson to the beach and we knocked out a 4.5 mile walk and even managed to soak up some sun. On Saturday we headed to Justin's hometown to go to a family members second birthday party. It was supposed to be outside but because of the rain had to be moved in. I hated that for them but it was still so nice to see everyone and turned out to be a great birthday party! 

On Sunday, Justin's mom and some of her friends hosted the sweetest baby shower for us! Her home is gorgeous and everything was just beautiful. The food was amazing and little Anna Claire was definitely showered with lots of goodies! It was really fun because a lot of Justin's friends were able to come so the guys hung out in the game room watching the Masters while the girls attended the shower inside the house. It was fun to have Justin there and for everyone to get to mix and mingle some! 

36 weeks and 5 days 

It was such a nice weekend. I'm so sad it's over! Now I'm off to warm back up my cup of coffee and attempt to power through this Monday. Have a great day friends! 

5 on Friday

I can't believe it's already Friday! This was my spring break and it absolutely FLEW by. It has truly been a wonderful week. We had sunny pretty weather every single day so I've been able to go on hour long walks and even get a little bit of sun laying out at the beach! This time of year has always been my favorite because you know summer is just around the corner. Which brings me to my number one 5 on Friday.. 

One

On Monday Justin had the day off work and I had a doctors appointment in Wilmington scheduled. He hasn't been able to come to most of my appointments because of work but he came to this one and we made a day out of it. It was upper 70's, sunny and the perfect day! We went to my appointment and listened to the precious heartbeat of Anna Claire which never gets old and then had lunch on the water in Wrightsville Beach and ran all sorts of errands. By the end of the day my feet were swollen but it was worth it because we got so much accomplished and had such a good time! We go to Wilmington all the time but rarely go to the restaurants in Wrightsville.. we saw several we want to try so we will be back! 

Two.

I am obsessed with Anna Claire's coming home outfit from Liam and Lilly. It is the softest newborn white onesie with delicate pink trim and matching blanket. I got her monogram embroidered in light pink and bought a little bow hat to complete the outfit. It is so soft and just precious! Now I'm ready to put it to use and bring her home! 

Three.

Lately I've heard so much about Grove Collaborative so when I heard about the special they were recently running I jumped on board. (I don't think it's still going on sadly but they do it fairly often so I will let you know when I hear about it again!) I'm a HUGE Meyers hand soap fan but this time decided to try out some of their other products and I now have a new obsession. The Geranium Room Freshener Spray and the Spring Peony Multi Surface cleaner. Oh my goodness.. they smell SO GOOD. I had never used a room freshener spray before but it is amazing. It instantly makes your room feel cleaner and smell heavenly. These two products will be staples in my house from here on out. I'm going to to try some new scents but these will be hard to beat! 

Four. 

For one of my baby showers I decided to whip up a little thank you gift for the host and I thought they turned out so cute! 

Five. 

I am in a small group with a group of ladies that meet once a week. We are about to start going through Genesis and I am so excited! I think it will be such an interesting book to really dig into. We are using this guide- I'll have to report back how we like the guide once we start next week. If you have the opportunity to join a small group in your area I highly recommend it! 

Broccoli Cornbread

A while back my mother in law made broccoli cornbread and I immediately requested the recipe because it was so delicious! Since then I've made it several times and it never fails that someone ask me for the recipe. If you need a simple recipe to bring to an event give this a try! 

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, melted
1 medium onion, chopped
1 10 oz. pkg. frozen chopped broccoli (thawed & drained)
4 eggs, beaten
6 oz. cottage cheese
1 tsp. salt
8 1/2 oz. box of Jiffy (or any corn muffin mix) 

Combine all ingredients except muffin mix. Then stir in corn muffin mix. Grease 13 x 9 inch baking pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Simple right?!

Pregnancy Update Weeks 35-36

How far along?

36 Weeks + 1 Day

Size of baby?
6 pounds and 19-22 inches long

The size of a large cantaloupe 

Movement?

Strong movements often that don't hurt but definitely cause a lot of pressure and sometimes take my breath away. This is one of the few pregnancy things I will actually miss! 

Symptoms?

Still some back pain (although it has eased up slightly), "heavy" feeling, slight swelling and a huge nesting instinct! 

Sleep?

By 9pm I'm exhausted and fall asleep super easy. After that though, I toss and turn all night long and get up about 4-5 times to go the the restroom. Pregnancy insomnia is a real thing.. I often find myself wide awake at 3 am unable to fall back asleep for about an hour. So I guess you could say sleep isn't the best right now, ha. Oh well... my body is just getting used to a lack of sleep in preparation for baby! 

Weight gain?

30 pounds

and if I'm being honest this has been really hard for me! I know it's all baby and her health is the most important but it can be difficult to watch your body go through such a huge change. I'm trying to remember to give myself grace and just let it be. Comments from other people can sometimes take me off guard. I know they don't mean any harm but to a super sensitive pregnant lady things like "your stomach has gotten huge, I can see it in your face, you look like you could go any day now.. " can really mess with your emotions. Okay, rant over. I had to get it out! 

Workouts?
Trying to walk 30+ minutes a day.. I'm doing so much better at this now that the weather has warmed up! 

Cravings/aversions?

Still loving cereal and fresh fruit. Starting to crave all the summer time foods like tomatoes, corn on the cob, watermelon, etc but I think that has more to do with the warmer weather than pregnancy. 

Maternity clothes?

A necessity but trying not to buy anything new at this point. I did pick up a nursing bra and nightgown. I can't wait to be back in normal clothes. 

Hubby?

 He had Monday off this week so we spent the day together running all sorts of baby errands and going to my 36 week doctor appointment. He hasn't been able to go to most of my appointments because of work so it was so fun for him to get to go to this one with me! 

Nursery?

Slowly but surely getting there! We have ordered some shelves for the wall and a new mirror. After that I think we will almost be finished!! 

Looking Forward To?

I have a baby shower in Justin's hometown this weekend that I'm excited about. I'm also just really excited about Anna Claire's arrival. I don't want to rush things but at the same time I just can't wait for her to get here!! My doctor told me at my last appointment if I were to go into labor they wouldn't stop me.. they would go ahead and deliver. That was so crazy and surreal to hear! 

Baby Shower

About three weeks ago I had my first baby shower hosted by my sweet grandmother and sister. I can't believe it took me so long to recap it on the blog! We have just been so busy and the tiredness lately has been no joke. Any who.. better late than never! (and yes, I'm wearing the same sweater from my Easter pictures but like I said it was three weeks ago! oh well.. (; ) 

This was my first baby shower so of course I was so excited! It was held at my grandmothers home in my hometown. I got to see a lot of people from my hometown that I haven't seen in a while so that was really nice. My grandma and sister worked so hard on all of the little details and it turned out so cute! I loved the little banner of smocked dresses and little bubbles! 

All of the food was delicious. They served spinach artichoke dip, mini pimento cheese sandwiches, meatballs, fruit, donuts, ham and cheese roll ups with honey mustard, punch and the most delicious cake pops. My sister learned to make cake pops and she does such a good job!

It was such a sweet shower and I enjoyed it so much! Anna Claire was spoiled with tons of goodies. We had so much fun bringing it all home and starting to organize her things in the nursery. It's been a puzzle trying to figure out where to put things but it is so much fun!