Spring Wish List

A lot of my readers have requested that I share a spring/summer wish list and though I'll be rocking yoga pants and tanks most days during my leave once the baby comes, there are a few items I've been craving and I even made a few purchases over the weekend.

Now that I'm in my ninth month of pregnancy, I'm finally at the point where I feel like I can buy clothing again.  I tried on a few tops at J.Crew last weekend in my pre-pregnancy size and other than them not looking right because of my much larger bump, they still fit everywhere else so I think it's safe to stick with my regular size at this point. 

The first item I purchased was a "love at first sight" top from J.Crew.  I checked out the new store in Highland Village and there it was, in the window, the last one left in the store. It was a beautiful bright green/emerald color with really pretty flowers on it and I didn't have anything like it in my closet.  Fortunately, J.Crew is having a sale for 25% off plus free shipping (code is SPRINGBEST) so I took the plunge and ordered it.  It probably won't fit me right now (and I don't want to stretch it out) but it will be perfect post-baby. I love the short sleeves and the back of the shirt is super-cute too.

J.Crew swoop top in punk floral (buy here)

I also purchased this pretty sunflower necklace. I liked the shape and I liked the combo of the white stones and sparkly stones as well as the gold chain. A nice/versatile piece to have for summer.

J.Crew sunflower necklace (buy here)

Finally, I ordered a pair of Tory Burch Caroline flats from Saks.com because they were having a 25% off Friends and Family sale.  I had wanted these for quite some time and after wearing the heck out of my Tory Burch Revas during pregnancy I figured these would be nice to have as a new momma because flats are so comfy and easy to wear. Plus, the nude color goes with so many outfits.

Tory Burch Caroline flat (buy here)

Other items I'm loving for spring...

J.Crew Camp Popover in stripe (buy here)

This is one of the tops I tried on with my massive bump---it actually looked nice from the front but from the side it was not good because my belly made it stick out too much. It will work much better post-baby.

J.Crew Tilda Oxford Rhinestone Top (buy here)

J.Crew Linen Soleil Tee (buy here)

Kendra Scott Astra Delicate Earrings (buy here)

Hive & Honey Dress (buy here)

What's on your wish list for spring?  Let me know in the comments below!

DIY: Transform Your Baby Shower Cards into Nursery Art!

When I was thinking about DIY projects I wanted to make for our baby girl's nursery, I had an idea one day while driving to work and I'm excited to share with you the final result.

I love receiving cards and I always find myself keeping them in a box or drawer somewhere and never looking at them again.  I love the memories they represent and so I wanted to find a way to preserve the cards from the baby showers I had.  The solution was to create a special piece of art for our daughter's nursery made out of the cards from my showers.

I thought it would be a fun, colorful piece and I am really happy with how it turned out.  Here's how I made it:

First, I laid out all of the cards I received at my baby showers and removed the duplicate cards (there were quite a few with the exact same design).  Then, I arranged them into color families.

I used a piece of poster board to make a heart shape I liked. It took me about three tries to get the right shape and size. Once I had the tracer ready, I began to find my favorite part of each card and used the heart to trace a heart onto the area I wanted to cut out.  Then, I used sharp scissors to cut out a piece of the card.

Once I had all of the hearts cut out, I used the insert of the IKEA Ribba frame to arrange the hearts to see how many rows I could fit. 

Then, I cut out a piece of poster board that fit into the frame and arranged the hearts into the color order I liked best.

I then stacked the hearts in the order I wanted to have them and then I affixed the poster board to the matting of the IKEA Ribba frame and got out my glue stick.

 I arranged the hearts again and glued each one into place with a regular glue stick.

Here's the final piece!

I decided to use it in the nursery's bathroom because I needed a piece for above the towel rack and thought this one looked particularly pretty with the pink walls:

If you're looking for a special way to make your baby shower or wedding cards a keepsake, definitely try something like this out!  You could do any pattern---polka dots or stars would be really sweet too.

Thank you for reading and hope you're having a great weekend!

34 Weeks!

I had my first NST (non stress test or fetal monitoring) this Tuesday and it was an interesting experience.  As soon as the nurse hooked me up to the monitor she said "wow, you're having contractions! Can you feel those?"  I was taken by surprise because I wasn't really feeling anything.  After about 20 minutes or so the nurse told me that baby was very active with a great heart rate and that she looked great overall. She also told me that I had one big contraction, several Braxton Hicks and had a lot of cramping during my fetal monitoring.

Up until now, I swore I never had any Braxton Hicks. It turns out that when I thought I was just feeling baby pushing really hard inside of me, thinking it was just her moving in there, that was actually a BH contraction.  Now that I know what they feel like from the fetal monitoring, I have been noticing them---it really feels like a sudden tightening in my belly---like the baby is balling up and pressing hard...and then it releases. I'm also noticing a feeling of more pressure lower down in my abdomen (basically it makes me have to pee all the time), especially when I'm walking.

I was surprised to hear about the contraction during the NST. The nurse told me my OB will probably do an internal exam at my 36 week appointment (where I'm also having an ultrasound to check baby's position and growth) to check for any dilation.  I'll also have NST every Tuesday until I hit 38 weeks. 

The baby is still in a transverse lie. I've been doing inversions and I also got on all fours the other night with towels to cushion my knees and crawled around on our hardwoods for 20 minutes to try to get the baby to move positions. My OB recommended I crawl around like this---haha, it definitely felt awkward but if it helps her turn I'm all for it.  Of course I had to make this time as productive as possible so I totally got a Swiffer duster and dusted my floors as I was crawling around. Might as well, right?

I think the NST made me kind of have more of a sense of urgency when it comes to preparing for the baby.  Suddenly I felt like I had a really long to-do list. 

So these last few weeks I'm just really focusing on getting items off of the to-do list. I'm going to wash the newborn and 0-3 month clothing, organize the closet by clothing size, start packing the hospital bag...etc.  Just preparing/nesting.  I did organize the baby's dresser over the weekend with dividers I got at IKEA so that is pretty much all set.  The nursery also still needs most of the artwork hung but that doesn't take long at all and I'm still waiting for a few pieces to come in.  The nursery is looking great though so I know it will be done pretty soon.  I've also been ordering all of the final items we need for baby online and those have been arriving at my doorstep.

We took our infant CPR class last week and next Friday we have a class on breastfeeding followed by infant care the week after. I really hope to be able to breastfeed so I think it's great to educate myself as much as possible. There are also excellent lactation consultants at the hospital---I hope to see one shortly after I deliver to ensure baby has a good latch, etc. I feel fortunate to have those wonderful resources available to me.  My H is also very supportive so I think it will be good for him to come to the class so that he too can learn about the challenges and learn to be a good cheerleader for when times get tough (because I've never known one woman who said "breastfeeding was a cinch!" so I know the extra encouragement and support will be much-needed).

How far along? 34 weeks (I do these a week behind as a recap of the previous week, so I'm actually 35 weeks today).  Just FIVE more weeks to go!

Total weight gain/loss: Probably around 25 lbs now I'm guessing? I will find out for sure at my 36 week appointment. The baby feels heavier now, it feels a lot harder/more uncomfortable to move around these days.

Maternity clothes? Like I mentioned last week, I'm really content just rotating a few outfits---my favorite being my GAP maternity skinny pants, a long tank and a fitted blazer. It just works for me and it's comfortable. On weekends it's either Lululemon gear or maxi dresses.  I thought I'd really be into styling myself during pregnancy, but the truth is that it's easier to just stick with the same outfits.  I think it will be fun to re-discover my closet when I go back to work after my maternity leave since I haven't worn a lot of my clothes in so long. Mostly, it's just me being lazy though. I have a ton of tops I could wear that still fit me...but it's just so easy to throw on the tried and true in the morning that I don't even think to look in my closet anymore. I also pretty much always wear flats now.

Stretch marks? Surprisingly not yet---I say this because my belly button, especially where the holes from my piercings are feels super tight and stretched out. I have a feeling the holes could just stretch any day now (BTW I don't have piercings in them now and haven't in years, but the holes haven't closed completely). I'm continuing to use Belli's Elasticity Belly Oil, Mamma Mio Tummy Rub and Mustela double-action stretch mark cream in rotation. 

Symptoms: Still rib pain on the left side, tiredness, occasional lower back discomfort and at night before bed I will sometimes have cramping sensations that radiate down to my thighs. I also feel a lot more pressure and have BH contractions daily. Also---the leg cramps---OMG the leg cramps. I have leapt out of bed many a night yelling profanities and jumping onto my leg to stretch the muscle out which is the only thing that provides relief. Charlie horses= not fun.

Sleep: I am sleeping okay---I do wake up sometimes at 4, 5 or 6 a.m. and just can't get back to sleep.  I usually end up getting on my iPhone for a bit and trying to read something to make myself sleepy again. I'm also still getting up to pee about 3-4 times a night.

Best moment this week: Getting to hear baby's heartbeat on the fetal monitor and finishing up a few art projects for the nursery.

Have you told family and friends: Yes!

Miss Anything? Just being able to sit comfortably at my desk and just be comfortable in general.

Movement: She has been pretty active lately. I would say she has more active days than non-active. She is much bigger now so her movements are much different than the little kicks and popcorn popping sensations I used to feel. I also notice she seems to be having hiccups more often.

Food cravings: Honey Nut Cheerios with milk, Subway, cookies n' cream ice cream 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope

Have you started to show yet: Most definitely!

This was actually taken at 35 weeks

Baby is a: Girl!

Belly Button in or out? Outie but flat.
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: I've been emotional...and happy...and just anticipating everything to come...
Looking forward to: My maternity photos next week!
Thank you for reading and for all of my pregnant readers, please feel free to check in below as well and let me know how your pregnancy is going :) I also welcome everyone's advice and comments about pregnancy!

Creating A "Pretty Little Liars" Inspired Hairstyle

Experimenting with new hair styles has me convinced that I need to try them more often.  Every time I switch it up a little, I get lots of nice feedback from co-workers who are used to my same-old look everyday. It's so easy to get stuck in that rut of never trying something different because it's easier to just go on auto-pilot in the mornings and style your hair the couple of ways you always do.  That's why I'm glad someone's taken all of the guesswork out of creating these styles so they're easy enough for the average non-hair pro to achieve.

Today's style is something ideal for a date night or other special occassion.  It's not too fussy, totally easy to do (it took me way less time than the first hairstyle I tried) and it's overall just a nice, soft, voluminous look.


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I followed the tutorial above by the lovely It's Judy Time and I absolutely loved the results.  The only difference is that I curled my hair instead of keeping it straight.  I created this style on third day hair, so having a little curl gave me extra volume to work with and also really brought out my newly touched-up ombre color.

The thing I love most about this style is the volume it offers at the crown. It really sets it apart from an everyday style, but it's not so fancy that you can't wear it to work, Iike I am today. You also have the option to middle or side-part this style, but I chose a middle part since that's more my day-to-day look. It might be fun to try a side part with the front pieces for a night out.

All you'll need to recreate this look is a teasing comb, some bobby pins, a brush and if you want curls like me, a curling iron and some hairspray.

Here's how it turned out:

What do you think of this style?  Check out It's Judy Time's video above for a step-by-step tutorial of how to achieve this look---weather your hair is straight or wavy!  I promise this one is super easy and quick---and best of all, I can totally see it working on hair that's been at the beach all day and is full of texture---so it's perfect for summer, which is just around the corner (even though in some parts of the country it doesn't feel like it quite yet!) Wishing you all a great week!

This is a sponsored post via BlogHer.

DIY Nursery Artwork: Pretty Balloons

I really wanted a few of the artwork pieces in our baby girl's nursery to be hand made and I'm currently on my third piece so thought I would share a quick tutorial. You can see my DIY gold polka-dot piece here.

This one was actually inspired by something I saw on Pinterest, but I went in another direction with mine:

My finished piece

The original inspiration piece on Pinterest

I had wanted to recreate the above piece at my baby shower, but I ended up with an idea I liked better (which I'll share with you soon!) and decided to just do a piece with plain balloons.  I went with a mint color palette.  The nursery colors so far are soft gray, white, mint green and little touches of gold.

Here's what you'll need to recreate this piece:

• Scissors
• Glue stick
• White poster board
• 3 sheets of scrapbooking paper (feel free to use any color or print combos you love---mine are from Michael's Arts & Crafts)
• Twine string, ribbon or yarn
• Pencil
• IKEA Ribba Frame (the large size)

Step one is to trace a balloon shape onto a piece of poster board and cut it out. I freehanded mine until I got the size and shape I wanted.  Then, I traced and cut out 10 balloons of the light mint and medium mint colors and five of the darker teal color.  I didn't end up using all of the balloons I cut out but it was nice to have extras.

Once you have all of your balloons cut out, you'll want to take your large piece of poster board (I got mine at a local Kroger but you can get them pretty much anywhere) and cut a piece out that fits behind the matting of the IKEA Ribba frame.  Then, from the backside, tape the poster board into place so you can get to work!

The most frustrating part of this project was placing the balloons and string.  First, I laid out the balloons and arranged them into a pattern I liked.  Then, I glued the balloons in place, one by one---you'll see in my final piece above that I layered some of them.

Finally, I cut random pieces of twine string that I got at Michael's Arts & Crafts and tried to affix the strings with glue underneath the balloons.  I couldn't find my glue gun---but if you have one, I would use hot glue to place the strings because it is hard to get them to stay put, especially since they have a natural curl to them. You could also use ribbon or yarn and make your life a lot easier---but I loved the look of the twine.

Once I had the strings in place (I used my iPhone as a weight to hold the bottoms of the strings down), I tied a twine bow around the strings.  Then, I spent some time getting the actual piece into the frame and making sure the strings laid nicely.  The glass of the frame kind of pushed them down and it all worked out. It's kind of trial and error with this one.

Overall, I'm happy with how it turned out---now I just need to figure out where to hang it.  I'm kind of in a place right now where I'm realizing that I have way too much gold art for the nursery (not hung yet, thankfully). I need to eliminate some of those pieces and add in some more neutral pieces to balance things out. I LOVE gold prints, but it was just getting to be a little much.  The best part is that some of the gold prints I was going to use in the nursery were actually originally intended for other rooms in our home, so I'm going to hang them elsewhere.  Thank goodness we still have nearly six weeks left to add all of the finishing touches!

Good luck if you try this one and thank you for reading :)

33 weeks

I had my 34 week appointment a day early this week and I mentioned to my OB some of my worries about the baby's movement.  Some days she is so active that I wonder why I even worry...and other days I panic when I don't feel her for a few hours or feel very minimal movement throughout the day.  My OB put me on a fetal monitor during my appointment yesterday for 20 minutes for what's called a non-stress test (NST).  I had heard of them before but never had one.  The baby was really active during the test and her heartbeat and everything else was great (also, no contractions at all detected, which didn't surprise me because I haven't yet experienced any Braxton Hicks).  

My OB ordered me to have a 20-minute NST once a week for the rest of my pregnancy. I was surprised that my OB recommended this but I also learned through both my OB and an online forum for moms and soon-to-be-moms that it's not uncommon--- a lot of women have NSTs throughout their pregnancies and especially in the last trimester. More than anything, it feels reassuring to know that the baby is okay---and also to know that if anything was out of the ordinary, I would know sooner.

I'm a chronic worrier and I was actually really proud of myself during this pregnancy for being relatively calm and anxiety-free...until third trimester came along and then a lot of my worries just flooded back. I think it's normal to feel anxious at this stage because it's so close and you've got all of this anticipation and you just want your baby to be okay. I'm glad my OB errs on the side of "better safe than sorry." I have a family history of clotting issues so it provides more peace of mind for me to have weekly monitoring for these last several weeks.

Speaking of my OB appointment, another thing we discussed is baby girl's position.  She is still in a transverse lie so my OB ordered an ultrasound for my 36 week appointment in two weeks to check on both position and growth.  I have started doing inversions from spinningbabies.com as well as pelvic thrusts to try and get the baby to turn.  I know I still have time, but the larger the baby gets, the more difficult it can be for baby to turn (though it's still possible, of course, some babies turn at the last minute).  She seems comfortable in there but I'm trying to do everything I can to get her to turn because I'd really like to have the option of a vaginal birth.  If she is not turned by 36 weeks, my OB will schedule a c-section and then of course that will be cancelled if she does end up turning prior to that date.  I'm not willing to try an external version---the success rate is not high (and the baby can turn back around even if the doctor manages to turn the baby) and the risks are personally something I'm not willing to chance.  I know there are risks with everything, but even my OB does not like to do external versions and I value her advice and experience.

At the end of the day---my birth plan has and always will be to be educated about my options and then to make choices based on what is best for the health of the baby and myself.  I don't have a "dream" birth plan---my only wish, hope and dream is that I am holding a healthy baby in my arms at the end of it all---and that I'm healthy too. 

That may sound cheesy but that's truly how I feel.  Labor is unpredictable for every woman. You don't know how you'll feel, how your body will react, etc.  I always wondered how someone could say "I would NEVER get an epidural" because I always felt that's a decision I personally couldn't make outside of the moment of actually being in labor and experiencing those sensations---and then deciding what I wanted based on that.  I think every woman should do what she feels is right for her and her baby---I'm just very open to whatever kind of experience brings my baby girl into this world safely.  

There are of course some things that I do really care about when it comes to my post-birthing experience---and those are immediate skin-to-skin and attempting breastfeeding as soon as possible after delivery.  Other than those two things, I really don't have a pre-determined vision of how it will all go.

One of the reasons I don't want to become too wrapped up in a formal plan or vision of how I hope my birthing experience will go is because I don't want to potentially set myself up for disappointment during such an emotional and life-changing time.  I don't want to put myself in a position where I will be upset if something doesn't go the way I had hoped---because labor is just one of those completely-out-of-your-control things...so to try and fit that experience into a really constructed plan isn't a good choice for me.
Usually I like to feel in control and have a plan for everything in life---but this is one of the few areas where I have an "anything goes" mentality.  I've heard from so many moms and read a lot of birth stories online where women were really disappointed with their birth experiences and my motto has always been healthy baby in my arms= successful and amazing birth experience, no matter how it all went down. This isn't to say that my "plan" or way of thinking will ensure that I am happy with every aspect of what ends up happening, but I think it will allow me to have a more open and relaxed attitude.  Only time will tell.

Did you have a birth plan/vision of how your birth would go when you went to the hospital or was your attitude more like mine?  

How far along? 33 weeks (I do these a week behind as a recap of the previous week, so I'm actually 34 weeks today).  Just 6 more weeks to go! Eeeepp!

Total weight gain/loss: I found out at my 34 week appointment that I've gained 22 lbs. so far. 

Maternity clothes? I'm basically wearing a uniform at this point. I've moved all of my favorite pregnancy tops to the front of my closet and I just rotate like five different outfits.  Not exciting, but I'm still working full time and I need to be comfortable at work.  Most days I wear my black GAP skinny pants with flats and a tank and blazer.  Sometimes I wear a stretchy-material dress. I'm also still wearing the shelf bras that I talked about in last week's post. On weekends, I pretty much exclusively wear maxi dresses or Lululemon gear.

Stretch marks? Not yet, I'm continuing to use Belli's Elasticity Belly Oil, Mamma Mio Tummy Rub and Mustela double-action stretch mark cream in rotation. 

Symptoms: The same as last week---rib pain, tiredness, back pain when I'm sitting for a long time and overall just feeling more emotional.

Sleep: I feel like I get a good amount of sleep. I never feel too draggy in the morning, but I get really tired around 3 PM everyday. I am still waking several times a night to pee, as expected when baby is on your bladder.

Best moment this week: Celebrating our baby girl at my second baby shower and spending time with one of my best friends Heather who flew in from Canada. One of my best friends from back home also gave birth to her beautiful baby girl last Saturday and I had a total meltdown when I saw her photo (total ugly-cry).  I am just so happy for her and was so overwhelmed with emotion that one of my best friends became a momma. Love that baby girl so much already.

Have you told family and friends: Yes!

Miss Anything? Being able to sit at my desk without being incredibly uncomfortable

Movement: As you read in my post today, some days baby girl seems to be having a dance party and other days she is kind of on and off with her movement.  Today, for example, she has been all over the place rolling, kicking and swooshing around in there.  I find that when I'm really busy or walking around a lot I feel her less. I know it's normal for babies to have periods of wakefulness and sleepiness---I find that if she has a super active day one day, she will be quieter the next day.

Food cravings: Honey Nut Cheerios with milk, Reeces peanut butter cups, cookies n' cream ice cream 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really.


Have you started to show yet: Most definitely!

Taken at 33 weeks, 3 days

Taken at 33 weeks, 2 days

Baby is a: Girl!

Belly Button in or out? Complete outie and oddly flat.  I am not regretting piercing my belly button...twice (top and bottom) because those holes are not looking good all stretched out. They never closed even after years of no jewelry in them and now they are taking on a whole new look.

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy---and emotional.

Looking forward to: 

Thank you for reading and for all of my pregnant readers, please feel free to check in below as well and let me know how your pregnancy is going :) I also welcome everyone's advice and comments about pregnancy!

Recent Purchases...

When my friend Heather was in town from Toronto over the weekend for my second baby shower, we had such a blast having some much-needed girl time and that included some shopping.

Heather got some pretty great deals at the 290 Premium Outlets and I picked up a few items from Kate Spade---all were 40% off!

The first item I purchased was this pretty color block zip case.  It can fit an iPad and would also be ideal for travel (makeup, toiletries, etc). The outside is like a coated canvas so it won't get dirty easily. I actually may use this in my diaper bag to carry some baby items like diaper cream, wipes, etc. The outlet price on the bag was $65.00 and I got an additional 40% off.

The second item I purchased was a black and white bird print makeup bag. I don't take makeup to work with me (other than lipgloss) and I don't touch up my makeup during the day, so I don't need a makeup bag for daily use but wanted to get this one for travel.  It is large enough to fit all of the makeup I'd take when I travel but like the bag above, could also be used for toiletries.  I like to take one bag for makeup and one for hair products and toiletries when I travel, so I'm glad I have the two.  The regular store price on this bag was $80, the outlet price was $50 and I got it for 40% off of that price.

The last item I got at Kate Spade was this tee.  I loved the minty color with the contrasting sleeves and pocket.  I got a size medium and it fits over my pregnant belly right now---although it won't in a few more weeks, I really bought it to wear post-baby.  The outlet price was $55 and I got it for 40% off of that price. You can buy it here on zappos.com or here at Neiman Marcus (also on sale!).

The next item is a chambray shirt I picked up at Forever21. I have been searching for a chambray shirt that fits really nicely for a long time. I had purchased two others from Old Navy---one of them was even in the tall length, but truthfully, neither fit how I had hoped they would.  I still wore them, but I was always on the hunt for one that fit better.This one is absolutely amazing. It's super long and every part of it fits really nicely.  I got a size medium and it's perfect. Right now, I can button down up until the last 2-3 buttons which can't button over my belly---but the shirt looks super cute layered over a tank with the last couple buttons undone or just completely undone.  I also like the way it looks paired over a maxi dress right now.

You can buy this gorgeous chambray top right here :) Best $20 you'll spend!

This is the outfit I wore to work today at 33 weeks, 5 days pregnant---and I have to take a quick moment to rave about Lululemon's Cool Racerback Tanks. They have really been incredible to wear throughout my pregnancy.  They are super long, fit over my belly, stretchy and not at all sheer like some tanks get when you stretch them a bit.  They also come in an extra-long length (but only in select colors). I find the regular length to be pretty long anyway.  You can check out all of the seasonal colors here.

Wishing you all a wonderful week and thanks for reading!  Have you made any purchases recently?  Share them below!

Baby Shower #2

What an amazing weekend I've had!  It all started on Thursday night when Heather arrived from Toronto.  We immediately went out for delicious Mexican food (everyone who visits wants to do this first thing!) and then we spent the rest of the night relaxing and catching up.

Friday morning, Heather and I headed to hotel ZaZa to visit the spa and treat ourselves to manis and pedis.  It was really relaxing and it was nice to have a full day of girl time.  We ended up staying at the hotel for a bit and laid out by the pool and ordered some lunch.  There was a snowstorm in Toronto on Thursday when Heather left so the warm sunny weather here was a welcome change.

After Hotel ZaZa, we drove to the 290 outlets to do a little shopping.  There were so many amazing sales and Heather got some beautiful items from Kate Spade and Tory Burch. I couldn't resist Kate Spade's 40% off sale so I also picked up a few items---I'll share those in an upcoming post. 

The next morning was the day of my baby shower and I was so excited to see my friends and enjoy yummy food.  Candice did such an amazing job putting everything together and I'm so thankful to have her as a friend. It was so wonderful to spend time with everyone and I got a lot of great advice from the mommas at the shower---some of the gals had babies within the last two years so I always love getting feedback about which baby products they love.

Here are some photos from the shower...

Delicious food---mini sandwiches, caprese salad, fruit and scones

made-from-scratch lemon raspberry cupcakes my friend and awesome co-worker baked

mimosas and champagne with frozen raspberries

All of the girls

 Before all of the guests arrived...we had a little fun with the balloons...

okay, a lot of fun...

 I love these pictures so much!  I will probably end up framing a few of them eventually.

After the shower, Heather and I headed to the Galleria to do a little more shopping (the prices are a lot better here in the US) and then we headed home to get ready for dinner.  We went to Katsuya in West Ave. and it was amazing.  Heather and Kevin enjoyed amazing sushi and sake and I absolutely loved the chicken dish our waiter recommended and I also had a delicious salad with miso dressing and an incredible dessert called Fuji apple. I have to give a major thank-you to our waiter---"Tall Paul."  He is honestly the nicest waiter I've ever had. He's passionate and knows what he's talking about with all of his recommendations.  He made our dining experience even better with his great attitude and approachability.  We had never been to Katsuya---it has a really nice vibe, pretty decor and most importantly the food is top notch. I would definitely recommend it if you are in the area---and ask for Tall Paul---he's the best! :)

We finished off our weekend with brunch at Backstreet Cafe this morning (also delicious, one of my faves!) and then we took Heather to the airport to make her flight.  I'm so glad she visited.

In front of Backstreet Cafe

I hope you all had an amazing weekend and thank you for reading!