Do you ever shop Etsy?

Today I got an email from one of those companies that you forget how they ever got your email address in the first place. They sell the most beautiful jewelry. Unfortunately, it's way out of my price range. But inspired by the beautiful jewelry, I started searching for a cute necklace that I could then email to Zac (I know..) in hopes that maybe it would magically end up on my neck ;)

I found the beautiful necklace above for only $18 on Etsy! Now that's my kind of price range! Do you like it? Have any good go-to jewelry shops? I find that Etsy is great for this kind of shopping, lots of affordable, handmade, and unique options out there!

Hope this Wednesday is turning out to be as lovely as you are!

Do you wear heels?

Helllo wild berry pumps! Could you ever see yourself wearing them? They're from J Crew, and they also come in a burnt sienna color that is toned down but equally as beautiful. I was in Macys the other day and tried to convince my friend Kim to try on some pink heels. I think I just wanted to try them on but couldn't justify the splurge. She refused! She said there was no way she would rock those. But I disagree. I think some statement shoes like these can add panché to any neutral outfit, and obviously dress it up a notch.

So do you wear heels? Only on special occasions? To the office? Or never? I wear them when I feel like dressing up for a nice dinner out with Zac or a party/ special occasion. And when I know I won't be walking too much...

Pretty Things

I love my mom's story about the advice she got from her dad about being pregnant: always remember to look at pretty things. So that's my goal for this adventure. There's so much beauty in the world, but sometimes it's easy to get distracted. All I want to do for the next 5 and a half months is to look at all the pretty things. I think my little Apple will somehow see it too, no?

What are your go-to pretty things? I think mine are nature, my dog Brewster, and the stars (which is kinda like nature again).

(photo via crunch post)

baby heart beat

Last week, I heard our baby's little heart beat for the first time!

People kept asking me if I had heard the heart beat yet, before I had. And I have to say, it's surreal. Although, I think the sonogram got me even more. To see the little profile of something that looks like a baby growing inside of you (!), yes surreal.

So this all happened during my first visit without Zac. Poor guy missed out. But it was like a surprise! I whispered to the doctor while I was waiting to hear the little beat, "my husband's going to be so sad he missed this!". But there'll be lots more for him to hear and see in the coming visits. Next visit, we'll find out, boy or girl! Any guesses??

(photo credit unknown)

You, in Malibu?

Can you imagine spending the night at an ocean front property in Malibu? Have you done that before? I remember visiting my high school boyfriend's aunt's house who lived in Malibu, and damn, what a view. The back wall was like one big sliding glass door to the sea!

Today I thought I'd share with you an amazing get away spot if you're ever in town and want to be luxurious. Or, if you live in LA, like me, try this as a 'staycation' option for a special occasion. Zac and I stayed at the Malibu Beach Inn for our 1 year anniversary in October, and it exceeded my expectations. Our room had a balcony overlooking the ocean, they have a private beach with lounge chairs, and the restaurant at the hotel is amazing!

And we booked through Jetsetter (as linked above) and saved a few bucks. If you're budget conscious I would recommend waiting and trying to book for Fall as it is not as expensive, and let's face it, LA weather can accommodate beach season year round.

When was the last time you splurged?

(photo of Malibu Beach Inn King Beach Suite).

Austin and NOLA

As promised, I did my best to take a few pictures of our kick ass southern vacation. We had lots of fun (even without me drinking a sip of liquor!), and saw lots of things, but mainly, we ate A LOT! So hopefully you can get a taste of our adventure below...

First up, we got to zoom around the interstates of Texas in a BRAND NEW Fiat! I loved it, we named her FiFi.

While in Austin, we went to Barton Springs, a natural spring the size of at least 2 Olympic swimming pools! I know it looks cold out, but it was warm and humid. Although, the water was CHILLY, we got in (slowly!). This day was my favorite.

That is the face of a man who just ate some REALLY good BBQ. At Stiles Switch in Austin.

Where do you think the first place I wanted to go in New Orleans was? Cafe Du Monde of course! We went twice in total. The second time we took shelter there during a thunderstorm on our way to the Finals NCAA game, and there was a blackout! It probably lasted about 15 minutes, but it was eerie! (and kinda fun..)

This is what you look like when trying to consume mounds of powdered sugar..

How amazing does this look!? New Orleans is known for it's crawfish, and I have to say this meal was my favorite. We went to a little place called Somethin Else Cafe in the French Quarter. Highly recommended!

One day we went on a Plantation Tour to get a taste of the 'South' and visited two old sugar plantations, one known for its 300 year old oak trees lining the entry way for a 1/4 mile! It was so beautiful. They do weddings, can you imagine!

And of course, we went to the basketball games- the whole reason for the trip! It was fun watching Kentucky, Kansas, Ohio St. and Louisville duke it out for the title, but I do admit, it would have been nice to see Loyola Marymount or UCLA in there! (Don't you love how high up our seats are!?)

I have more pictures, but I would just recommend you go see these cities yourself! They are impressive. And I really don't think my pictures do Austin justice- I was so surprised by how beautiful the city is! And the Texas country side was breathtaking as well. New Orleans was definitely more of a 'swamp' if you will, but that's to be expected. I was surprised to find Austin to be more my kind of town, but if you're into partying it up, New Orleans is the place to be. The live music there was amazing, and my favorite parts were exploring the less touristy side of the area, checking out Frenchman Street and some areas of Marigny.

So here's to exploring new places! And to coming home, because there's nothing like that feeling of sleeping in your own bed again.

Disappointment

You know that feeling where you find out something so disappointing that you are kind of in shock? I don't know how else to put it. I'm sure we all react differently. Like when you get a ticket or find out you missed a deadline for something you really care about. Well, I think my shock turns into sadness/ disappointment mixed with some anger (partially at myself, and partially at usually the 'thing' that caused the heartache).

Maybe this is all a little too cryptic. Basically, I'm upset because of a mailing error. I'm trying to get approved to take an exam to become a licensed clinical social worker.. but that means I must go through the state licensing board to do this, which isn't always the smoothest. Long story short, the letter got lost in the mail. On top of that, they are having me resubmit documents due to technicalities (can you sense my rage?).

I bring this up because when things like this happen to me, I think I feel frozen. Like, ineffective. As in what I've done so far hasn't worked- so what in the world can I do now to make it better? Or, GEEZ, this takes up so much of my energy, time, and emotions, I don't know if I can do this all again today! It's just hard for me. Does this make any sense? I hope I'm not alone.

So I thought I'd bring it up here. Partially to help me cope with my feelings and be able to get the drive to fix everything, partially just to reach out and see if there's anyone else like me, and to verify that, it's okay NOT to be perfect.

(photo credit unknown)