Baby shower snaps

This post about our awesome couple's baby shower has been a long time coming! My awesome sisters, mom and aunt threw us the most awesome shower over a month ago, but as such, now being an 8 month pregnant lady sure slows me down. Everything was just awesome. Did I say that already? There were probably over 300 photos taken during their week-long visit, and I haven't really processed them all yet. Here are some snaps from the shower!

It was held at Volo Wine Bar in the Roscoe Village neighborhood during my 30th week of pregnancy. A wine bar, for a baby shower? Yep, and believe me, this scored major brownie points, especially amongst our man friends who were coerced into attending. Open bar? Yes, please. Housemade gourmet appetizers and desserts? Check and check! My sisters thought of everything.

{ my family, minus my bro-in-law who is behind the lens }

We were surrounded by awesome friends, many of which flew in from both coasts, and everywhere in between, to join the celebration!

{ My bestie, Martha, and Maria, all the way in from Colorado, reppin' The U! }

{ The First Wives Club, a.k.a. Book Club 2010 }

{ The original members of Alcohol Club, with Leslee standing in for her hubby Adam }

{ Baby Jack, meeting Baby Jordana for the first time }

{ Baby J }

And of course, there were the requisite baby shower games and prizes. But fun ones––nothing too cheesy––such as the one where guests drew pictures of what Baby will look like. They ranged from the wildly inventive (crazy rock star musician baby) to the sentimental (Miami Hurricane baby) to awesomely hysterical ("Big Head, Big Face" baby, which is what The Fella and I always joked our poor baby would inherit from us). 

And the "Diaper-Off" challenge, where The Fella and I raced each other in a timed contest to diaper and dress our (stuffed) babies from IKEA. Here I am, mortified that my poor diapering skills today would expose me to Annie and Jason, for whom I've babysat in the past...

And here we are, struggling in the proverbial Husband/Wife challenge otherwise known as married life. Sure, as one guest hollered, by now, we would have been pee'd on (twice) and suffered a dislocated shoulder or two!

We finished at the same time, but I won when it was discovered that The Fella's put the baby's clothing on backwards! :)

There are so many more fun snaps, including the handmade diaper cake and cupcake party favors, and I will share these as I get through all the party pix! Thank you to everyone who made this milestone event so fun, memorable and full of joy!

Brunching, Milk & Honey

{ 34 weeks and 3 days }

A-brunching we went today, to Milk & Honey. I won a gift card to my favorite brunch spot during a "Diaper-Off" challenge between The Fella and I at our baby shower. I might have had a 50-50% chance of winning, but I had a 100% guarantee of eating deliciousness at Milk & Honey. Thanks, Mom! (Never mind that both our IKEA stuffed boys, had they been real, would have suffered from dislocated shoulders and shaken baby syndrome during the timed challenge, I won because The Fella's diaper was on backwards. Ha!)

Today was a gorgeous Saturday, sunny with blue skies and teetering the line between late summer and early fall temps. It was perfect for a lightweight silk Winter Kate kimono blouse, leggings and leather boots. We got a table on the patio and I had the Pancakes du Jour––perfect Raspberry Nectarine pancakes with housemade syrup. The Fella had our savory favorite, Crabcakes Sandwich. Afterward, we strolled through Wicker Park to the public library to pick up materials and then down North Avenue back home.

{ Raspberry Nectarine Pancakes }

{ tabletop cacti }

{ The Fella }

Sausage stew

With the return of Fall weather last week, I was in the mood to make a giant pot of stew. Something tomatoey, warm, and full of goodness (a.k.a. veggies). I didn't have a lot of patience to stand around barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen (har har har), so I pulled out the slow cooker and dumped a variety of hearty ingredients in it for two hours on High heat.

Ingredients

1lb sweet Italian sausage
4 to 5 large carrots, sliced into big chunks
1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced
2- 30z cans of tomato (I used one crushed tomato and one diced tomato) 
1 bunch kale, coarsely chopped
1 can white cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup warm chicken broth

:: Crumble Italian sausage and brown in saucepan on stove. Remove sausage and add to a slow cooker filled with the canned tomatoes. Then, in the saucepan using the leftover meat drippings, sautee the carrots and fennel until softened, about 20 minutes. Add to slow cooker on High heat for about 1.5 hours. Stir occasionally.

:: In the last 30 minutes of cooking time, add the kale and the chicken broth, which will help compress the kale down into the pot. In the last 15 minutes of cooking time, add the beans.

:: If cooking in your slow cooker on High heat, 2 hours should do the trick to marry all the flavors together into a lovely Fall soup!

:: Serve with rustic slices of baguette, toasted with olive oil, grated parmesan, and cracked black pepper.

Cozy cape sweaters + leather boots

{ 34 weeks and 1 day }

From the front, it may not look like I'm pregnant (although FurFur was unusually interested in my belly this day, so I suspect she thought I was hiding a toy ball under there). From the side, now that's another story! :) 

I bought this roomy knit sweater for $19 from H&M's new Fall collection to get me through these last two months of pregnancy. It's not maternity––although, did you know that H&M carries a small maternity line?? Who knew? (That's where I got these $12 leggings from.) For nearly seven months, I've been trying to challenge myself to wear as much of my existing wardrobe for as long as possible. Aside from buying a few maternity bottoms (there's just no way around that one!) and tops, luckily, I am pregnant during a warm season which allows for blousy bohemian tops and loose-fitting dresses that I already owned. 

As I got bigger in my 7th month, I found that it wasn't too difficult to find a few new pieces in regular styles that I can also wear post-baby, like this cape sweater from H&M. Final consensus: The regular H&M stuff is way cuter than their maternity line, many of the styles can also work for belly bumps, and is low-priced. Sweet!

This is Halloween, this is Halloween

This outfit from last Wednesday marks the return of Fall weather and the first time yet this season I brought out my Tartan mohair/wool cape! It's perfectly cozy for the brisk, windy weather we have here in Chicago. I forgot to take pictures of just the dress I am wearing, which The Fella said makes me look like a cute Halloween pumpkin. I'm not sure whether he is referring to my very round belly or the colors of the dress. Or both. (For the record, ASOS calls it Tobacco and Black.)

In other style news, I have been trying out this high top-knot bun. It's perfect for when you haven't washed your hair in a few days, don't want to brush it, and happens to look good messy! (At least that's what I tell myself.) Two coworkers said it made me look like a completely different person ("glowing," in fact), and that apparently earned me a surprise cupcake from More that day. I was also told I look particularly Asian.
 

Maternity perks

{ 31 weeks }

This is the outfit that made people stand up and take notice. Literally. 

The first time I wore this borrowed maternity blouse was at 31 weeks, almost two weeks ago from today. (Sorry for the delayed posts, I have lots to catch up on here following a very busy and AWESOME baby shower weekend at the end of August, houseguests, visiting friends, work, etc.) 

Apparently this top in particular truly embraces my fuller figure because that day I had people volunteer their seats on the bus for the first time in my whole pregnancy––not just one person, but on all THREE bus rides! (It's a curious fact though, just the day before I had worn a wrap maternity dress, and noone took notice.) Not to mention, I also received more than a few comments by random strangers––like when I walked by Gaylord's Fine Indian Restaurant where they were offering free samples and a nice man on the street said I should take a larger piece because I'm eating for two, and the new FedEx delivery lady who asked what I'm having. And to cap it all off, on the packed train ride home, a lady whom I got squished by asked if I'd like her to ask someone to give me their seat. Sweet.

I wore this outfit again today––albeit I'm a bit bigger since the last time––and the results were the same! I even had a bum downtown wish me congratulations with a big smile. 

Maternity tops have their perks! Thanks, Annie!