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{17} Lately…

Lately I’ve been…

reading What to Expect The First Year by Sandee Hathaway, Arlene Eisenberg, and Heidi Murkoff. Rather than read the entire book all the way through right away, I have decided to read each month as we are all going through it as a family. So far I have finished the first month, and I’m starting on month 2.

writing Well, Nico’s birth announcement cards just came in the mail today, so I am super excited to address and send them out!

listening The Coffee House station on XM Radio has been a top contender for most played the past few weeks. It’s soothing and Nico falls asleep in the car to it.

thinking I can’t believe we survived our first weekend trip to Maryland as a family! Although it was extremely stressful at some points, everything ended up working out well and the bottom line is we did it.

smelling Pumpkin Spice coffee…mmm…

watching Million Dollar Listing LA. My husband used to be a real estate agent, so this is one of the few shows he will actually watch with me.

wishing A lifetime of happiness to my friends Teri and Charlie! They are the reason we went down to Maryland. We celebrated their wedding, and it was phenomenal. What an amazing couple. I am so happy for them!

hoping To survive my first 48 hours as a single parent while Zack goes to Chicago to present at a conference. Hopefully it will be nice outside and Nico and I can take some walks together.

wearing Got dolled up this past weekend for my friend Teri’s wedding, and man did it feel good! Hair, makeup, mani, pedi, a sexy bridesmaid dress…the works. It felt good to be pampered again after rocking sweats for so many weeks!

loving The fact that I have amazing friends and family. While on our first trip as a family, there were some bumps with the weather, traffic, fire alarms in the hotel, etc. I am so lucky to have had my friends and family to help us out on our first trip. From helping me carry diaper bags, driving my car, watching my little boy, holding him during dinner so we could eat, and more. I know I am super lucky to have such wonderful, trustworthy people in my life.

laughing Every time Nico farts, I think it’s the most hilarious thing. What am I, 5?

wanting My bags to unpack themselves.

needing Snuggles from my little boy. I just can’t get enough!

feeling Sleepy sleepy. While we had a great weekend, it was a bit crazy trying to figure out our new normal. Did I mention the fire alarm going off in the hotel? TWICE.

craving These over-the-knee boots by Sam Edelman.

clicking Through photos to try and figure out which ones I want to frame and hang up in the apartment.

What have you been up to lately?

Hope everyone had a nice long weekend! Hope you all have a great week ahead!

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.

Nico’s Newborn Shoot

I am so excited to share these photos of Nico from his first couple weeks of life. Photographer Justin Goldberg of Eudora Video captured these precious moments of our Little Monkey when he was only 11 days old. Looking back at these now after only a month, he has already changed so much. His long, skinny arms and legs have plumped up, and he now has his eyes open much more often. It hasn’t been that long, but it’s hard to remember just how tiny Nico was when he arrived. It just goes to show how fast time flies. I am very grateful to Justin for shooting our first family photo op, and I will treasure these photos forever.

This week has actually been a busy one around here (and busy definitely has new meaning as getting out of the house is a feat in and of itself). I made a Target trip on Monday with some moms/babies in the neighborhood, and took a long walk in Prospect Park with another mom/baby on Tuesday. Have I mentioned how awesome the Cortelyou Moms group is? Amazing. Today, I have a doc appointment, and tomorrow Nico has his. If we make it to Friday on the minute amount of sleep we’ve been getting, we are having lunch with Zack and his coworkers as they celebrate our Nico’s arrival.

Hope you are all having a wonderful week and enjoying this fantastic weather!

XO,

Gina

Happy 1st Birthday to Popcorn and Pandas

Would you believe that today marks one whole year that I decided to make the change to my little ole blog, popcorn and pandas? I know, I can’t believe it either. It’s been a crazy year full of adventures and travel, fashion and fun, pregnancy and now a new baby. It’s been wonderful and therapeutic to have this creative outlet to share with you all, and I am completely grateful that you all have chosen to follow along for this past year.

Below I have reflected a bit on some of your favorite posts this past year:

My first two outfit posts with the amazing photographer Marisa

Reminiscing a Rockin’ Summer

Summer Stripes

Lettered sweaters were my jam

Sported my favorite Halloween costume

Rang in the New Year in Winter White

Foxes became super trendy

I had some ups and downs, announced my pregnancy, and did a cool photo shoot with Justin to find out the sex of our Little Monkey

I added some Flair to my wardrobe

Craved everything peplum

Felt a little Guilty

I ate my first mangosteen

Went to Arizona and saw the Grand Canyon

I made some waves with Waveborn

Made fresh homemade tomato sauce and pesto from the garden

Enjoyed the sunrise on Branch Lake in Maine

Watched as my belly grew larger and larger

And gave birth to a beautiful baby boy

It’s been such a great year, and I am hopeful that this year will bring even greater joy. Thank you so much for following my adventures. Would love to hear any feedback that you have of things you want to see from me in the coming year. What you like/don’t like. What you want to see more or less of (outfit posts, lately posts, shopping posts, personal stories, photography, baby stuff, etc…) I have less free time on my hands, but hopefully I can make things happen!

Happy Friday everyone!!!

XO,

Gina

{16} Lately…

Lately I’ve been…

reading Children’s books. You know…Green Eggs and Ham, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Ugly Duckling, Blueberries for Sal. Starting Nico young and he is definitely soothed when people talk to him, so we are starting a nightly ritual. As you might imagine, I haven’t had much time for grown-up books these days, but I have been glossing over Health, Marie Claire, and Redbook magazines while pumping.

writing The majority of my writing these days has been logging feeding times for my little guy while we made sure he got back above his birth weight. He was born at 5 lbs. 1.6 oz, and dropped down to 4 lbs. 11 oz. At our last doctor’s appointment, he was well above his birth weight, and I’m pretty sure he is still gaining well! We are very happy he is a healthy growing baby boy.

listening Since Nico has arrived, I have been finding myself listening to more mellow jams. My “Relax” playlist on my iPhone has gotten a lot of play lately.

thinking I can’t believe how fast time is already flying. Nico is already over three weeks, and will hit his four week mark this Thursday. Insane! I’m also thinking that I am very lucky I got to enjoy the first family dinner out with my boys last night, and he was an angel the entire time!

smelling Mrs. Meyer’s baby oil. It smells amazing!

watching I basically caught up on every single TV show that I had on my DVR since I’ve been home. Not that I’ve had a lot of free time on my hands, but just a lot of time at home!

wishing For a little bit more sleep!

hoping To find some more time this week to work on this blog. I have a lot of posts I want to share of things that have been going on, but with a new baby on board, it’s definitely been a challenge!

wearing Mostly leggings and sweats lately. Comfort is key when nursing and staying at home. It’s also a challenge finding things that look flattering on you post-partum. What looks “adorable” with a baby bump does not look so adorable when it’s a post-prego fat bump. I am, however, happy to say that we shot our first post-pregnancy outfit shoot this past weekend! It was nice to put on real clothes again (although I’m still in my maternity pants), and I’m looking forward to sharing soon.

loving Being a mommy. As crazy and exhausting and emotional as it can be sometimes…the good times FAR outweigh the bad! I love seeing Nico smile and those newborn cuddles are just the best. He is such a sweet boy, and I feel so very lucky to have him in my life.

laughing Just took a look at my friend’s wedding highlight video, and saw all of us crazy clowns on the dance floor. One friend was even captured mid cartwheel. It was pretty hilarious!

wanting The weather to be nice this week. I have found that when I can get outside at least once a day and out of the house, I am so much saner and happier! Nico also loves riding around in his stroller, so we both win.

needing A mani/pedi. I was supposed to get my last one the week I went into labor, and so that never happened. I keep saying I will do it myself, but how do you pick up a baby with wet nails? Haha. Needless to say, I have also been sporting closed toed shoes when I leave the house.

feeling Pretty good! It took about two weeks for me to start feeling like my normal self again since giving birth. Besides being tired from a few sleepless nights, I feel quite good. I have managed to take some walks in the past two weeks, met up with a new mom group in the neighborhood last week, and I’m loving it.

craving A personal chef and a house cleaner. I barely have time to eat, let alone cook my food or scrub the floors.

clicking Googling three week baby milestones, and catching up on all my favorite blogs I have missed out on for the past few weeks.

What have you been up to lately?

Happy Monday! Hope you all have a great week ahead!

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.

Baby Gender Reveal Ideas {Canadian Family}

Remember our gender reveal for Little Monkey???

Photo by: Justin Goldberg of Eudora Video Solutions

Well, apparently Little Monkey is quite the popular one. Online magazine, Canadian Family has included our gender reveal in their latest article called 8 Exciting Baby Gender Reveal Ideas. I am so honored to be included in their post. Head on over to see my mention as well as 7 other fabulous ideas for mommies and daddies-to-be!

Curious, did you do anything special to find out your baby’s gender? How did you tell your family and friends?

XO,

Gina

Happy Bump Day

Surprise! Happy Bump Day!

Zack and I are so excited to announce that we have a Little Monkey on the way, expected to arrive on or around September 10th of this year. 🙂

Here is a photo from my 13 week sono. I am now at 14 weeks, and happy to be in the second trimester. It’s amazing how much detail you can see, and I cannot believe there is a tiny little human growing inside me!

Little Monkey is so photogenic already. He/She even waved for the camera! (either that or L.M. was still fist pumping from the Swedish House Mafia concert…or sucking his/her thumb?) I’m going with L.M. was saying “Hello” and “Happy Birthday” to Dad last week.

It’s been a bit of a crazy adventure so far, and we are both looking forward to what lies ahead…specifically this weekend, I’m thinking my wardrobe needs an update of clothes that actually fit…

Happy Bump Day!

XO,

Gina

‘Tis The Season for Giving

‘Tis the season for giving! Since I already shared my holiday wish list, I thought I would provide some helpful ideas to think about when shopping for loved ones this year. I assume most of us have started at least perusing, but for those of you who haven’t quite gotten into the holiday spirit, maybe this inspiration board will give you a little jump start. Whether you are shopping for your mom, dad, husband, wife, best friend, or boss, I hope you can find something on this list your family and friends will enjoy.

For…

1. The Sister or Best Friend: Floral necklace from Baublebar

2. The Hipster: Nerd Glasses from boohoo.com

3. The Make-Up Hoarder: Urban Decay Naked 2 Eyeshadow Palette from Sephora

4. The Party Girl/Boy: Corkcicle from Uncommon Goods

5. Hostest with the Mostest: Darkest Night Red Wine Balloon Glass from Mikasa®

6. The Ski Bunny: Coal Creme Pom Pom Beanie Hat from Zumiez.com

7. The Sassy Girl: Essie Nail Polish from Target

8. The Bicyclist: RED Trace Audio Classic Helmet from Zumiez.com (Also works for skating, skiing, and snowboarding)

9. The Future Photographer: Vintage Toy Camera Onsie from Etsy

10. The Glamour Girl: MAC Russian Red Lipstick from Nordstom

11. The Dad, Hubby, or the Music Junkie: Big Blue Studio Wireless Bluetooth Speaker from Brookstone

12. For Sister or The Organizer: Kate Spade Wallet from Piperlime

13. The Mom, Grandma, or Someone Sweet: Amazing Grace Set from Philosophy

14. The Athlete: Pure Balance Water Bottle from Lululemon (made of glass covered in silicone, so no BPA!)

15. The Boss: Steve Jobs Biography from Barnes and Noble

16. The Tea Drinker: Breville Ikon Electric Tea Kettle from Gracious Home

17. The Cold Weather City Dweller: Volcom Earmuffs from Swell

18. The Coffee Addict or The Comedian: Mustache Mug from Customized Girl

Happy Shopping!

XO,

Gina

Mom’s Turn for a Birthday Shoutout

My Mom and Dad are literally two days apart in age. They usually end up celebrating their birthday’s together (much like my sister and I did growing up), but I figured I would give them each their own individual shout out on the blog for their special days this year. So Mom…now it’s your turn…

She’s the one who tucked us into bed at night. She’s the one who said goodnight at the bottom of the stairs. She’s the one who made up songs with our names in them. She’s the one who performed these songs while giving us a bath. She’s the one who always tickled our backs. She’s the one who made us dinner every night. She’s the one who also made us eat it whether we wanted to or not. She’s the one who drove us to soccer and basketball practice. She’s the one that was cheering or coaching at every single game. She’s the one who watched TGIF with us on Fridays. She’s the one who thought of cool birthday party ideas. She’s the one who took us shopping. She’s the one who helped us with our homework. She’s the one who helped us study until we were falling asleep with our books in our laps. She’s the one who took me to her lab and showed me what scientists do at work. She’s the one who helped me apply to thirteen…yes thirteen different colleges. She’s the one who went with me to visit a lot of those colleges. (Loyola New Orleans was particularly fun.) She’s the one who understood the true meaning of being a Terp since she’d experienced it herself. She’s the one who taught me how to balance my checkbook. She’s the one who still pretends we are five years old when we are coming down the stairs on Christmas morning. She’s the one who cooks Christmas dinner every year. She’s the one who has her own special Redskins touchdown dance. She’s the one who makes sure there is always food in the fridge when I come home to visit. She’s the one who comes to visit me in New York City. She’s the one who is afraid of the subway. She’s the one who shares my love of singing. She’s the one who plans our OBX vacations. She’s the one who sacrificed so much for us throughout the years. She’s the one who taught me how to be a woman, a daughter, a friend, and hopefully one day a mother myself. She’s the one who has no idea how much she means to all of us.

She is my Mom.

Love you so much Mernie! Hope you have a fantastic Birthday! XO.

At my 8th grade graduation. Look how stunning she is!

228257_555185612078_5596554_n — My bridal shower with my main girl

317191_10100548880321288_771106430_n — Photo courtesy of Joe Brier from The Happy Couple Photography.

59460_10101362998801328_988486883_n — The fam

383696_10100700083119668_1892271096_n — Me and my gorgeous Mama