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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

Acadia and Bar Harbor Adventures

Happy Monday everyone! Just wanted to share some more photos from our Maine adventures. The first is from a hike we did in Acadia, followed by photos from Sand Beach, the top of Cadillac Mountain, and 4th of July fireworks in downtown Bar Harbor. It was such an amazing trip, and I cannot wait to go back there again sometime.

This past weekend we had an awesome trip to Maryland celebrating my bff, Teri’s bridal shower, taking maternity photos with Misa*Me Photography (hope to have those to share soon!), and celebrating the pending arrival of our Little Monkey! It was amazing, and I am completely exhausted! We are now back in NY, and it’s go-time for getting this nursery put together. I am so grateful to my family and friends for making the event so wonderful, especially to my Mom, Sister, and Aunt for putting so much time, work, and effort into making everything so great. Little Monkey is a lucky little guy! And he is either going to LOVE or HATE monkeys when he gets here. Haha.

Hope you all are off to a great start this week!

XO,

Gina

Bar Harbor and Mount Desert Island on Dwellable

Wedding Wear

The last weekend of June, the hubby and I headed down to Maryland to see our good friends Kurt and Tiffany tie the knot on the Chesapeake Bay. I struggled with whether or not I should buy a maternity dress for this event, but ultimately decided that it wasn’t worth the expense for one night, since this is the last wedding I am going to be able to make before the Little Monkey gets here. Instead, I decided to wear this number I purchased from Forever 21 a few months ago. I wore it to another wedding earlier this year, and because of the stretchy middle material and the flare underneath the bust line, it works perfectly for my prego shape. I topped off the look with earrings from Amrita Singh (a bridemaid’s gift from my friend Katie’s wedding), and these gold sparkly bow pumps. My husband calls them my “Wizard of Oz” shoes, but I absolutely love them. Before you think I am insane for wearing 5 inch heels while 6.5 months pregnant (ok, so maybe I’m a little insane, but heels just make a girl feel prettier, right?), I did end up changing into flats for the dancing portion of the evening. No one needs a pregnant woman falling over on the dance floor.

Photos by: Zack Notes / Edited by: Myself

Dress: Forever 21 (now on sale!) / Sparkly Glitter Bow Pumps: ALDO / Earrings: Amrita Singh – this pair is also similar / Watch: Michael Kors / Gold Clutch: (old) – similar here / Lip: MAC Candy Yum Yum / Nails: Essie Boom Boom Room

We got back from our mini-vacation to Maine this weekend, and wow did we have an amazing time! I have so much to share from our trip, but first I want to share some fabulous wedding photos from Kurt and Tiff’s big day. I have lots to edit and catch up on from my time away, so stay tuned this week and next for some exciting posts to come!

XO,

Gina

America’s Playlist

Wanted to wish you all a Happy 4th of July week! As you may already know, we are taking a mini-vacay in Maine, and I will also be taking a little break from posting on popcorn and pandas. Although, rest assured, I will be taking many photos while on my trip of course, and will have lots to share when we return.

I decided to put together a little playlist of some of my favorite patriotic American jams. Hopefully you can use these ideas for a BBQ or however you happen to be celebrating this year.

1. God Bless the U.S.A. – Lee Greenwood

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q65KZIqay4E]

2. American Child – Phil Vassar

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3c1x3wcbvAc]

3. American Woman – Lenny Kravitz

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzWHE32IxUc]

4. American Boy – Estelle feat. Kanye West

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ic5vxw3eijY]

5. Born in the U.S.A. – Bruce Springsteen

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZD4ezDbbu4&oq=born%20in%20the%20usa&gs_l=youtube..0.5j0l9.59101.60371.0.61884.15.13.0.0.0.0.138.1150.10j3.13.0.eytns%2Cpt%3D-35%2Cn%3D2%2Cui%3Dt.1.0.0…1ac.1.11.youtube.NSProT_-o3Q]

6. Independence Day – Martina McBride

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VPpAZ9_qAw&oq=independence%20day%20ma&gs_l=youtube..0.5j0l9.37455.41797.0.43532.19.10.0.1.1.0.1302.4006.3j1j0j4j7-2.10.0.eytns%2Cpt%3D-35%2Cn%3D2%2Cui%3Dt.1.0.0…1ac.1.11.youtube.fKC5U7bc-x8]

7. Rockin’ in the Free World – Neil Young

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdiCJUysIT0]

8. American Pie – Don McLean

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAsV5-Hv-7U&oq=american%20pie%20don&gs_l=youtube..0.5.130478.133372.0.134948.16.9.0.2.2.0.793.1970.5j2j5-1j1.9.0.eytns%2Cpt%3D-35%2Cn%3D2%2Cui%3Dt.1.0.0…1ac.1.11.youtube.u1FnLcTufeA]

9. American Girl – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WBWov6nd6E]

10. Pink Houses – John Mellencamp

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOfkpu6749w]

11. Born on the Bayou – CCR

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIjUY3pjN8E]

12. Everyday America – Sugarland

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntQPddLf97g]

13. R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. – John Mellencamp

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dO_QKwtko4]

14. Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue – Toby Keith

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PXSK3iDeAI]

15. Party in the U.S.A. – Miley Cyrus

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M11SvDtPBhA]

16. America the Beautiful – Ray Charles

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRUjr8EVgBg]

Hope you enjoyed this little mix of classic rock, country, and a little dance to celebrate America!

Happy 4th!

XO,

Gina

Fashion for the Fourth

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1. Nautical Knot Earrings: J. Crew / 2. Red Stripe Sperry Top Siders: Nordstrom / 3. American Flag Sunnies: PacSun / 4. Tory Burch Kelsey Laser Cut Tote: Neiman Marcus / 5. Religion Flag Tee: We Like Fashion / 6. NARS Jungle Red Lipstick: Beauty.com / 7. Gucci Envelope Clutch: Profile Fashion / 8. American Flag Shorts: We Like Fashion / 9. Red Retro Sunnies: Liberty / 10. Nautical Stripe Bangle: Coach / 11. Anthony Peto White Panama Hat: Modewalk / 12. Red and White Stripe Button Dress: New Look / 13. Red and White Stripe Tote: Modcloth / 14. Americana Pillow: Calypso St. Barth / 15. Dolce Vita Striped Sandals: Jildor / 16. NARS China Blue Eyeshadow: Beauty.com / 17. Vintage Style Polka Dot Bathing Suit: Unique Vintage / 18. Red and White Sailor Dress: Attitude Holland / 19. Navy and White Sweetheart Dress: Forever 21 / 20. Navy and White Soludos: Shopbop / 21. Marc Jacobs Red Jean Shorts: Stylebop / 22. Fossil Watch: Piperlime / 23. Z Designs Anchor Necklaces: MetroPark / 24. Essie Butler Please: Target

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The 4th of July is right around the corner, and I decided to put together this little red, white, and blue inspiration board to put me in the mood! We are getting extremely excited for our upcoming mini-vacation to the cutest lake-side cottage in Maine. But first, we have a wedding to celebrate on Maryland’s Eastern Shore! We are headed down there tonight to celebrate our friends Kurt and Tiffany tomorrow, and we couldn’t be more excited.

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Happy Friday, and hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

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XO,

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Gina