So far...

• I haven't had any morning sickness or nausea at all.  I'm so thankful because I wasn't sure what you do if you feel sick while you're on the subway.  That wouldn't be pretty.
• I've been more exhausted than I've ever been.  Wow.  It's like I'm back in design school and just stayed up 2 nights in a row and presented a project then went to the mall to walk around so I don't fall asleep at 11:00am and get my schedule off.  But when that happened a good sleep made me feel better.  Nothing makes this feel better...it starts all over again the next day.  Although I am getting a little energy back now that I'm entering the second trimester.
• I miss having a glass of wine.  There, I admitted it.  Especially when I'm hormonal and exhausted and crying and I know it would chill me out.
• I'm sure my husband misses me having a glass of wine too.
• Pregnancy is ok so far.  I'm not amazed by anything yet, to be honest.  I don't feel like I have another human in me yet, so maybe that why.
• The ultrasounds are pretty cool...I enjoy seeing the little guy/gal.
• I'm ready to start buying cute little clothes.  So, YES, we will find out what we're having.
• I don't like it when people ask me if this was a "surprise" or not.  That seems pretty personal.  I know they don't mean anything by it, but I'm not a fan of the question.
• If anyone attempts to touch my stomach, they can prepare to get their hand slapped.  I don't walk up to you and rest my hand on your stomach, so don't do it to mine.  I'm pretty sure this is how I will react if a stranger tries to touch my baby, so it will be good practice.
• I don't like telling people that I'm pregnant.  It's awkward and strange.  I prefer to hint around and let them say it.  Weird?  Probably.  But that's just me.
• As I sit here in a size 2 skirt and a bra that could serve as a baby swing someday, I think of all the dumb boys that made fun of my underdeveloped body in Jr. High.  Haha, boys. Joke's on you.
• Nothing makes you more aware of others hurting like getting a blessing like this.  It makes me pray even harder for my friends that are so much more deserving than I am and would be the greatest parents.  I hope they can have this excitement soon.
• My NY parent friends have been insanely helpful with the product advice so far.  It's a little different in an urban area than in other parts of the country.  We won't have lots of baby stuff.  There's just no room.  And instead of an elaborate nursery, our baby will have a corner of our room and a really fancy stroller.  It's just the way it is, and I'm glad we have such great friends that will share all their helpful info with us.
• That's it so far.  I don't plan on this becoming a "mommy blog" and I don't know if I'll post pictures of the baby on here once he/she arrives.  We'll see.  Hopefully I'll get back on here more now that I don't have this giant secret and since I have more energy!
• Happy Friday!

A Very Special Birthday

Last week I celebrated my 31st birthday!  It was a great day (other than the fact work was crazy busy that day!)!  Ryan took me to one of my favorite Mexican restaurants and he got a yummy cake!

 He picked up some flowers... :)

 And I got some very pretty flowers from my SIL & family!

 My big gift from Ryan was some Ugg slippers!!  I was so excited because my feet are pretty much always freezing!  These are great and they actually keep my feet warm!

But...this year's birthday wasn't really about my birthday.  It was about this little one's birthday...

Yep!  We'll be celebrating a very happy birthday for a little girl or boy in August!  Aaaahhhh!  I bet you didn't see that coming!  Ha!  More to come!

Before February...

Before another month goes by I wanted to post a quick sneak peek of Christmas dinner.
I made sweet and spicy pecans. The recipe is from 1001 Ways to Cook Southern from Southern Living. My MIL gave it to me for Christmas, and I can tell it will be a great resource.
I set the table with my blue Spode. I love it.
And the cake was from a neighborhood bakery. I even stood in line with a famous actor when I picked it up!
We had a nice day at home and had friends over for dinner. It was a great day!
Now...we just have to make it through these next few winter months! Thankfully it's been pretty mild so far (except its in the teens this morning!). I already can't wait until Spring!!!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

From our family to yours! (A little late)

Christmas...

I'm finally going to blog our Christmas decor this year!  Better late than never, right?!  At least it's before Christmas!

 We have the largest tree we've ever had this year!

 I wanted to add a little something else, since I don't really have enough ornaments for such a large tree, so I went out in search of white branches and I found them for $2 a bunch!  I stuck them all throughout the tree, and I really love the look!

 Our stockings...Ryan, Susy, & Darby

 I used greenery from the tree to decorate the chandelier in the kitchen.

 The nativity from my parents.  It was made by a man that does pottery in Arkansas.

 I have garland over the doors in the kitchen.

 I got these great pinecone ornaments from our favorite store in Brooklyn for just $1 a piece!!  They were a great on sale find!  I bought a ton of them.

 I have my grandmother's old tree and my Christmas card wreath in the Butler's pantry.

 I even put decorations in the bedroom this year!  This is hanging from our mediocre light fixture (it's better than what was there!).

 And I added a little touch to the bedside lamps.

That's it for this year!  I hope you have a wonderful holiday season!  So far our's has been great!  I can't wait for Christmas this weekend!!!

Thanksgiving

Ok...so I'm a little late posting about Thanksgiving, but that's ok.

I went down to Arkansas for Thanksgiving this year.  This is the first time in 6 (or 7?) years that we haven't been in NYC for Thanksgiving.  We always have a great time spending it here, and since we usually go somewhere for Christmas, it just makes sense for us.  But this year, we decided since it had been such a long time since I had been home, we would go for Thanksgiving.  We plan on spending Christmas here, just the two of us, and I honestly can't wait.  Sometimes it's nice to have a quiet holiday with just us.  I think we have to remember sometimes that we are our own little family, and we can start establishing traditions and have just as much fun.

We left on Wednesday, landed in Little Rock, and immediately met my aunt and cousins at Big Orange (very yummy!) for lunch.  My mom, aunt, cousins, and I were going to watch Breaking Dawn together after lunch, so Ryan met up with our friend to catch up so he didn't have to suffer through it. :)  Also, during this time we were trying to locate our luggage.  They forced us to gate check our bags in Newark because they said they were out of overhead space, and when we got on the plane the overheads were empty.  We had a very short layover, and our flight was slightly delayed, so we knew our bags might not make it.  Anyway, long story short, my bag ended up in Virginia, Ryan's came to Little Rock, and I got my back the night before we left.  US Airways is not on my good side right now.

So....we saw the movie, picked up Ryan's bag, got dinner, then headed home, 2.5hrs south.  It was so great spending time with my aunts, uncles, and cousins that I don't see that often.  My cousins kids, who don't see me that often, thankfully warmed up to me, and I loved playing with them, driving the oldest to Sonic (per his request...but of course I was happy to oblige), and snuggling.  I'm pretty certain I got a bad cold from the youngest, who is 2.  He was being adorable and gave me a kiss, then when I stood up, he grabbed my legs and gave me the biggest squeeze.  I knew I probably just contracted the cold he had, but since my heart had just melted into a puddle on the floor I didn't really care!

We of course watched the big game on Friday (AR vs LSU).  It didn't go our way, but we knew it would be hard.  LSU is so good this year...I hope they win the National title.  I can't believe I'm saying that, but it would be nice to see.

We all spent time together, then we drove back to Little Rock to have another meal with some other extended family.  It was so great seeing all of them as well.  I can't believe it's been years since I've seen some of my family.  We enjoyed a very good meal there, then came home.

The next time I'm in Little Rock, I plan on meeting up with some of my friends and internet friends.  I feel like I have to switch off seeing friends and family, and this was a family trip...but I miss my friends too!

We got to enjoy our Sunday back in NY, then it was back to the grindstone.  Today I finished all of my Christmas decorations.  I'm sure I'll take pictures and post those soon.  We have the biggest tree we've ever had this year!

I hope your Christmas season is starting out great!

If I had a wedding...

When we were at the very cool cookbook shop in New Orleans last weekend, I was looking for any cookbooks that I had any sort of familiarity with.  They didn't have an Arkansas section, sadly, but I still looked around.  Then I saw this:

I immediately recognized the little church on the cover.  Why?  Because I have this at home:

Growing up we would go to Gulf Shores, AL every year for vacation.  Sometimes we took the scenic route and went through Fairhope and Point Clear.  We always drove by this pretty little church.  It's right along the bay, with beautiful, huge trees lining the road with Spanish moss hanging down.  I always said if I had a wedding, it would be there!  The summer that we were engaged, my mom stopped and took these pictures for me...probably trying to tempt me to get started on wedding plans (little did she know...it was already planned!).

I didn't buy the church cookbook, but I probably should have.  They are always the best...the classic church lady recipes are tried and true!

I thought it was so funny that I immediately recognized that little church on the cover.  Some things you just don't forget...now if I could only remember to pick up my dry cleaning or to buy milk at the grocery store!