at it again

Ya know, I started this blog just as an outlet for my hobbies. All unrelated but still fun. I hate to say fitness is not by focus right now, because I'm still working out and trying to do my best at 17+ weeks pregnancy. I actually took my son for a jog in the stroller last night and wished someone were around to take a picture of that sight! A sweaty mess, pushing a stroller, with my baby bulge hangin out. As much as I hate how my body reacts with pregnancy, I feel good about still being able to run on a treadmill, lift some free weights, and keep up pretty well with my previous workouts. (Of course I can no longer do pull-ups- I haven't even attempted, and I've resorted to "girl" push-ups, but I'm still trucking!)
I figure even if I gain 45 pounds again (fingers crossed that I DON'T), at least I'm planning on working out as long as possible, which is already much longer than my first pregnancy!

I put my decorating obsession on the backburner because we moved out to Texas temporarily for the summer, and it's actually depressing when you're stuck in a white, empty apartment for going on 5 months. BUT there is a light at the end of this tunnel!...

From the looks of things, the husband's job has been going so well out here that he wants to make it permanent in Texas, preferably in Houston. Which means buying a HOUSE! And soon! So of course I'm rekindling that decorating fire and concocting all the things I could do when we finally have the space for it!

I've had random strangers ask for decorating advice on rooms, family members who are remodeling, and then also just an idea or product that I love and I just have to get creative with it. So throughout the summer I've had a few projects.. for others, and just for fun.

My parents' new living room they're remodeling

A bedroom I put together for a reader

A random girl nursery that I wanted to design around that awesome rug...no, I don't know what I'm having yet, so this isn't mine! ;)

 And my future bedroom perhaps? =) I'm rather obsessed with neutrals + orange lately

Old Navy vs. J.Crew

I dunno what it is lately but this summer Old Navy has been awesome. Like crazy cute stuff. I got a J.crew catalog the other day and was so in love with all the polka dots but since I'm pregnant going into fall and winter, I get kind of sad because those cute things just don't work too well with a belly.
Bottom line- I still wanna dress cute but don't wanna pay a lot of $$ on huge sizes I never want to wear again!

Enter Old Navy and their knock-offs!

J.crew dot sweater $268

Old Navy $24.94

J.crew again.. same price, and Old Navy has the same thing, just with black dots, for $25

J.crew leopard flats $258

Old Navy spotted flats $24.50.. And I like these ones better! And thus I bought them last week, love them

J.crew- these comparisons are a little bit of a stretch, but for a striped colorblock shirt, I'd say it's still a pretty good deal.

J.crew $49.50

Old Navy $18

Again, not the same but I still think this is cute

J.crew polka dot pants $158

 Old Navy dotted pants $25.00

J.Crew patterned pants (ok they're dots too) $118

 Old Navy chevron pants $27.94

 J.Crew pink skinnies $98

 Old Navy pink skinnies $34.50

 J.Crew gingham shirt $78

Old Navy $23

Happy Shopping ;)

name that celebrity

K so I've seen a few of these floating around and I am DYING. A friend just posted the yahoo link on facebook (thanks Crystal!) and I had to share.

What celebrities would look like as "real people"

Guess who

On my mind

So have you heard of this Fit to Fat to Fit guy?? I may have posted about him before. Anyway, he's a personal trainer who's always been super fit and active- just ripped. He wanted to try an experiment to be able to empathize with the overweight and decided to just let himself go and gain a ton of weight over the course of 6 months, and then spend the next 6 months trying to get back into shape. He's been all over the news, which is awesome since he's local to us! (Eagle Mountain, UT).
Here's his before picture from a year ago...

I guess he gained a whopping 70 pounds in 6 months.

Eating a whole pizza in one setting or a dozen donuts...

 From what I can tell from his website, he's finished those last 6 months, getting back into shape!

So when I first came across this guy, my thought was, wow, he's crazy.. and brave to even try to do this. 

My second thought was, "K you couldn't even PAY a woman to intentionally gain weight like that, even if she could lose it again!" (unless you're Renee Zellwegger making millions to portray Bridget Jones but whatev).

So lately, I kinda had an interesting thought. A woman would never pay to gain weight like that?? Yes, they do, without pay and with much sacrifice. Sometimes several times in their lifetime.
Bye bye to cute skinny fit bodies for 9 months (plus more) to make way for a pregnant belly. I'm pretty sure I know girls who've gained 70 pounds too! And lots of those girls bust their butts to get into shape again after having a baby.

All I gotta say is.. go US!

Don't know who this is, but I hope it's motivating, not depressing for those who still struggle with pregnancy weight, because I know it's not the norm. It's actually quite amazing that we go through these kind of transformations though. We are fit to fat to fit several times over yo!

Brought to you by your friendly blogger, feelin the fat pregnancy blues =)

And I haven't even hit 2nd trimester yet!

our Independence Day

We had a pool party at our complex pool and then headed to Kemah for fireworks =)

I made mini pies on a stick! Courtesy of the Nate Berkus show!

I know we all know what fireworks look like.. But I had never seen them with a Texas full moon as the backdrop. Very cool.

Happy 4th of July!

Happy Independence Day! Hope it's festive and fun and safe =)

 via pinterest

via martha stewart

Pleats and peplums

Let's pretend for 2 seconds that I'm a qualified fashionista and know what I'm talking about with this post.
I am currently mega obsessed with pleated skirts. And peplums. Which is a new term for me. We will get to that.
What saddens me is that I just don't think I can wear either. A pleated skirt doesn't stay pleated as you grow a big ol belly... then they're just flat pleats that make you look fat.

Some of my favorites that I'm coveting from some of my favorite websites:

tobi.com

asos.com. Mega love this skirt

 asos.com also

 asos.com.. Now this has pleating on the SIDES! But alas, I just don't think it's practical for me. They're outta my size anyway BUT it's on sale. So maybe it's meant for YOU!

And onto peplums... The little skirted ruffle

dorothyperkins.com

asos.com... sultry little petite girl. Yeah can't see myself sporting that anytime soon

asos.com polka dots!

 dorothyperkins.com. Now this peplum blazer is pretty dang cute. It's like surprise! Under this ruffle is a big ol baby bulge! Ha... maybe next year....