lifestyle Archives - Page 15 of 24

{15} Lately…

Lately I’ve been…

reading Just finished a couple books including Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan, and Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn. Maine was an okay beach read, but I honestly didn’t care for the characters all that much. They were a bit bitchy and whiny, and while they were all family, it was pretty tough for them to all get along. It was a decent read, but not a must for me. Sharp Objects on the other hand was a really good book. If you liked Gone Girl, then you will like this book as well. This mystery/thriller is an easy read that captures your attention, and makes you unable to put it down.

writing Finished all of my thank you notes for the many wonderful gifts we received for our little guy! I’m also writing up my to-do lists for how to train our new employee who is coming in next week and will be filling in while I’m on maternity leave. Can’t believe it’s almost that time!

listening Loving this summer jam, Reload by Sebastian Ingrosso, Tommy Trash, and John Martin. Makes me wanna dance.

thinking It’s been a beautiful week here in NYC, and that I am incredibly lucky the weather has been kind to me this August.

smelling The new Bath and Body works lotion I got for my birthday, Rio Rumberry.

watching A French, indie film called The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. I read the book a few years ago, and have been wanting to watch the movie ever since. It’s a true story about well-known man in the fashion industry who became a paraplegic and learned to communicate and write a novel with the blink of his eye. Fascinating.

wishing That the rocking chair/glider that just arrived for our nursery didn’t feel like it was taking over the entire room. I swear it didn’t look that big in the photos! I think I’m starting to get used to it, but when it first arrived, I was in a bit of shock!

hoping For a fun, yet productive weekend ahead! Planning on finally checking out the Hester Street Fair (for real this time), attending a Brooklyn Cyclones game with friends, and putting in some more work on the nursery.

wearing An old blue/green maxi skirt from American Eagle that I’ve had in my closet for awhile now paired with a coral and white striped maternity tee from Motherhood. Old Navy white flip flops for comfort, and my vintage sunnies.

loving These sexy, fall booties from ALDO. Gah, I can’t wait to wear heels again!

laughing We’ve been listening to all the comedy stations on XM Radio during our past few long car rides. I’m usually the driver, but Zack has had to drive a bit this summer due to my pregnancy sleepiness. We find that laughing while driving is a good way to stay awake.

wanting To be with my family this week in the Outer Banks, NC on our annual vacation. It’s the one time of the year when both sides of my family all get together, and it’s one of my favorite weeks of the year. However, I know I’m staying put in NY for a very good reason! Luckily, the weather has been so great here, and I have been keeping myself distracted with a busy work schedule and prepping for the baby to arrive. I just flash forward to next year when we will have an almost-one-year-old running around with us at the beach!

needing To get my hospital bag packed. Next week I’ll be full term, and they say you could go at any time between 37-42 weeks. I know that is a big, open time frame, but you also never know when the little one will want to make his debut! Therefore, that is on the top of my list for weekend priorities.

feeling Pretty good! Sometimes it’s hard to get comfortable, and I have to pee at all times, but overall, I am feeling pretty good in these last few weeks of pregnancy.

craving Sweets. It’s probably not good, and I typically have a sweet tooth anyway…but I’m finding myself wanting something sweet almost every day now. I guess I can milk these last few weeks while I can 😉

clicking Through many animated commercials that our new clients have done. Been trying to familiarize myself with their work as much as I can.

What have you been up to lately?

Happy Friday! Hope you all have a great weekend!

Love,

Gina

***I was inspired by Tina of Like Ordinary Life to create this post, and she was inspired by Lauren of siddathornton, who started The Sunday Currently.

A Storybook Shower

Last Saturday I was down in Maryland to celebrate a baby shower for my sister-in-law and future baby nephew! It was adorably themed as a storybook shower, with many of the food options based on some of our favorite childhood books. We each also brought a book in place of a card to shower the momma-to-be and start a library collection for her little guy. I am so excited to meet my nephew, and looking forward to introducing our boys so soon! Of course, I had to get our last bump-to-bump shot as well. It’s crazy to think that the next time I see my sister-in-law, we will both be moms!

Happy Bump Day 😉

It’s been a busy week here with long work hours, doctor’s appointments, a dinner date with a friend in town from Detroit, and more. Hope you are all having a good one as well!

XO,

Gina

Milk and Honey

A bunch of new restaurants and coffee shops have popped up in our Brooklyn neighborhood of Ditmas Park lately, so we decided to check out this one last Saturday morning. We met up with a fellow soon-to-be mom at Milk and Honey to discuss the possibility of a nanny share come January. I love the decor of the space, and the breakfast food and drinks were very yummy. I anticipate we will be returning in the future!

Photos by: Zack Notes / Edited by: Myself

Ikat Dress: Borrowed – similar / Tank: Old Navy / Sandals: Dolce Vita / Shades: Vintage / Necklace: Family Heirloom / Watch: Michael Kors / Bracelets: Henri Bendel and Baublebar / Nails: Essie Naughty Nautical / Lip: Lancome Fleur Impressioniste

These pics were taken during my 35th week, and today marks week 36. Eeeek!!

It’s a rainy Tuesday here in the NYC, and I’m wishing I was down in the Outer Banks, NC with my fam at the beach on vacation. But I certainly have enough to keep me busy here at work this week with two new clients, a potential new hire, and lots more.

Have a good one ya’ll!

XO,

Gina

Homemade Pesto Sauce

Our garden has been a hit this year! Especially for fresh, homemade pasta sauces. This was my first venture at making my own pesto sauce, and I have to say, it turned out pretty darn good! Not to mention, it was super easy to make. Thanks Mom!

What you need:

2 cups fresh basil leaves

3 or 4 garlic cloves

olive oil – I don’t really measure…enough so that the mixture ends up like a sauce and not chunky

1/4 pine nuts

1/2 cup Romano cheese

blender or food processor

1/2 cup heavy cream (if you want to make pesto cream sauce)

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How to make it happen:

Put about half of the basil leaves in a blender or food processor with the olive oil to grind up. Once it’s smooth, add the other ingredients (except the cream) and remaining basil and olive oil to grind up. Make sure it is all well blended and smooth.

You can either freeze or use fresh.

Transfer the sauce to a small pot to heat it up. If you want to make pesto cream sauce, you can whisk in the heavy cream right before turning off the heat.

Boil up your favorite type of pasta, and top it with this delicious sauce! Once the pasta is boiled, I drain it and then coat it with a layer of the sauce so that it doesn’t dry out and stick together. Serve it up in bowls, and then top with as much added sauce as you like. I also add some extra grated Romano cheese to the top, because I’m a cheese fanatic.

Delish!

Hope you enjoy, and would love to hear if any of you try this recipe out.

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Happy Monday. Have a great week everyone!

XO,

Gina

Friday Favorites

1. Favorite Summer Drink – The Smoothie

I have been downing one of these almost daily. They are super refreshing and hydrating for my prego body, not to mention tasty. I love to mix it up with different fruits including watermelon, bananas, strawberries, blueberries, pineapples, and more.

strawberry-smoothie-187x300 — Photo from KristenHadeed.com

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2. Favorite Recipe – Beer Can Chicken

My husband made this receipe from Bon Appetit Magazine last week, and it was absolutely delicious! In the middle of cooking, the chicken actually ended up falling over on the grill, and he was convinced it turned out burned and terrible, but I beg to differ! It was juicy and flavorful, and I would definitely request we have this again!

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3. Favorite Wedding Hairstyle – Beautiful Top Bun w/ Headpiece

My beautiful cousin, Alex, adorned this stunning hairstyle on her wedding day last December courtesy of Creations-a-la-Nikki. I love how super-chic and classy her look is, captured by the wonderful photographer Abby Grace.

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4. Favorite Blogger – Keiko Lynn

I have been following Keiko’s blog for awhile now. I absolutely love her retro-yet-modern, punkish-yet-feminine chic style. Her blog is definitely one of those that I go to for inspiration. And her make-up tutorials are phenomenal!

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5. Favorite Funny Video – Dad Life

This video actually reminds me more of my own Dad, than of my husband, but who knows, it could only be a matter of time once Zack starts rockin’ the Dad Life style as well! Haha.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOKuSQIJlog]

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Hope you all have a fantastic weekend. We are headed down to Maryland for one last quick trip (before we hibernate in NY until the baby gets here) for my sister-in-law’s baby shower for my future little nephew! We are so excited our boys will be born right around the same time. It reminds me of growing up with my cousin, Marisa, and I hope our boys create the same type of long-lasting friendship that we did throughout the years.

Happy Friday!

XO,

Gina

Skirt the Issue

Got an ever-growing baby bump, and can’t really wear sweats and a t-shirt to the office? No problem…skirt the issue! Luckily, I can pretty much wear whatever I want to work on a daily basis. However, when I have meetings or lunches with clients or advertising creatives, I do like to look presentable! This particular day, we were having a birthday lunch at the Mandarin Hotel for my boss and I, who both have our birthdays around the same time. The meal was delicious, and the view overlooking Central Park was even better. I scored this outfit at Motherhood Maternity, and both top and skirt are quite comfortable, yet presentable for the workplace.

Photos by: Zack Notes / Edited by: Myself

Skirt: Motherhood Maternity / Top: Motherhood Maternity / Shoes: Sam Edelman via Nordstrom Rack (sold out) – also like these / Sunnies: ModCloth / Bag: Longchamp / Watch: Michael Kors / Bracelets: Henri Bendel, Baublebar, Gorjana / Nails: Essie Rock the Boat / Lip: Lancome Groupie

My husband and I had a BUSY weekend. Unfortunately, we never made it to that Hester Street Fair (don’t worry girls, we will make it before August is through!). However, we made LOADS of progress on our little boy’s nursery. I completed all of my thank you cards, Zack installed the carseat and built the stroller. We figured out how to use all the stroller seats and attachments. We built the bassinet stand, swing, rock and play, and activity gym. We cleaned out the entire living room (so we can now sit on the couch), and found a place for almost everything, set up his dressers and started decorating the room. We decorated his name in wooden letters, adorned an entire wall in monkey and tree decals. We built a crib…loaded up shelves…I think there is actually more we completed if you can believe it, but my brain is too tired to think straight anymore! Not to mention my body. All this while 8 months prego, and a husband running a fever. I have to say, we were pretty proud of ourselves.

After all our hard work, we decided to treat ourselves to a little dinner out last night at a new restaurant in the neighborhood called Wheated. They boast fresh Neapolitan pizza. Let’s just say we will be returning! This whole area on Church Avenue is actually booming with new businesses and restaurants, so we discovered a whole slew of places that we need to try in the near future.

It’s a gorgeous day in NYC. If every day in August is like this for the rest of my pregnancy, I promise to never complain! It’s amazing. Hope you all had an awesome weekend, and wishing you a very wonderful week ahead!

XO,

Gina

Monkey Business

When we came up with the name “Little Monkey” for our future babe, we never realized how much this name would take off! When we started using the name, we didn’t know if we were having a boy or a girl. Once we found out, we decided we wanted to keep his name a surprise until his arrival, so again the nickname, Little Monkey, stuck. It seems that is has stuck with everyone else as well! My mom, sister, and aunt threw us a beautiful monkey themed baby shower for our little boy, and I swear, I didn’t know this much monkey stuff existed! Monkey cake, monkey diaper tower, monkey onesies (for many different months and hardly any duplicates!), monkey sheets, monkey towels, monkey blankets, monkey backpacks, monkey toys, and the list goes on and on. At this point, it literally looks like a monkey exploded all over our living room. Our family and friends have spoiled us with many wonderful gifts for our little guy. We are so grateful and appreciative to have so many great people supporting us and loving us and our little one on the way. And one thing is for sure…he is either going to really love or really hate monkeys at the end of his first year! Here are a few photos from the shower. Hope you enjoy!

IMG_0009_Layers_v1 — The ladies behind it all! Thank you so much!

We had our second prenatal pediatrician consult this morning, and still have one more to go before we decide on a doctor for our little guy. Had a good doc appointment yesterday, and it looks like he is growing strong! Still working on “project nursery”, and think it’s going to take quite some time before it’s complete, so hopefully he continues to hang out inside for a little while before making his grand entrance.

Hope you are all having a great week!

XO,

Gina

A Summer Shower

Recently, the matrons of honor along with the bridesmaids (myself included) and close family threw a beautiful wedding shower for our dear friend Teri that was all about the details. Starting with the “guestbook” above made out of a Jenga game, the delicious mimosa bar with fresh fruit, customized “Rome” (her future new last name) gift bags for the guests, handcrafted custom made gifts, and carefully designed centerpieces, this shower definitely showed both creativity and care in every aspect of the event. All of the bridesmaids are currently married, and Teri was involved with each one of our weddings. This was truly our chance to give back to her and show her how much we appreciate having her in our lives. A custom slide show was designed with photos of her and her fiancé and their loved ones, and we also played a little game where we interviewed her fiancé, Charlie, on camera to see how many questions they could answer the same. It was a great time, and we hope that Teri enjoyed being showered with love on her special day. The countdown to the wedding in October is getting close, and I am definitely getting excited to see these two tie the knot!

IMG_9951_Layers_v1 — This was one of my favorite gifts that she was given, handcrafted by a guest on canvas.

IMG_9952_Layers_v1 — This cool handcrafted water container was first personalized with puffy paint, and then painted over with chalkboard paint, so you can actually write on the outside! So great!

Hope you enjoyed the photos from the shower!

The weather has been beautiful in NY so far this week. I have been super busy both with work and life. Just trying to find a moment to breathe…

Enjoy your Wednesday!

XO,

Gina

Beach Bum

The hubby and I spent my birthday weekend with a beautiful little day on the beach. The weather was gorgeous, not too hot, with a lovely breeze, and the water was the perfect temperature for swimming. It was such a relaxing day to get a little sun and some reading done. Seeing as we went to Brighton, we decided to embark on some Russian cuisine at the casual Ocean View Cafe for dinner, which was very delicious and definitely recommended. After our beach day, we showered up, and went to sing a little karaoke at Mr. Biggs in Hells Kitchen with friends. It was a perfect day!

Dress: Gifted – similar / Medallion: (old) – similar / Hat: P. Luca for Barami / Tote: Obaz / Flops: Old Navy / Shades: Street Vendor – similar / Nails: Essie Rock the Boat

The tribal tote pictured above was a b-day gift from my awesome hubby, and the fedora was a little something I picked up at a boutique near my office last week.

Besides celebrating my 29th birthday this weekend (we also had dinner at the amazing Vitae), we were also able to get some errands done, and start on “Project Nursery.” While we still have a ton of work to do, it was nice to get started with a big dent of progress. Today marks 34 weeks; time is inching close and closer until the day we will meet our little man.

Hope you all are having a great week so far.

XO,

Gina

Florida Style in Maine

For some reason, this dress reminds me of something I would find in a Florida boutique. Maybe it’s the soft colors, the silky feel, or the floral print. I found it on sale at Francesca’s (non-maternity score again!), and had to have it for my summer trip to Maine. I wore this on our last night out to dinner in Elsworth (at 30 weeks pregnant), added the belt, and some gold accessories to complete the look. I am still reminiscing about the amazing view we had from our lake house.

Photos by: Zack Notes / Edited by: Myself

Dress: Francesca’s / Shoes: Dolce Vita (on sale!) / Belt: ? / Necklace: Family Heirloom / Watch: Michael Kors / Bracelet: Henri Bendel / Earrings: gifted / Nails: Essie Forever Yummy / Toes: Essie In the Cabana / Lip: MAC Snob

It’s overcast and cooler today in NYC, and I have to say I’m actually grateful! It’s been brutally hot for my prego body, and today’s cooler temperatures made my walk to the subway this morning a bit easier. Today I hit the 33 week mark! One month away from being full term. Holy crap. We were able to get rid of our guest bed last night, so we have some space to work with in trying to get the nursery together. I also managed to schedule our pediatrician consults, so hoping to make a decision on that in the near future.

I’ve got a busy day at the office today with a few meetings and lots of resume reviewing.

Happy Tuesday!

XO,

Gina