I think it's just some weird way I'm reacting to having a girl, but...
I AM SO MUCH more girly lately than I ever have been. I've been buying all sorts of dresses (wearing a cute one from Target today), lip gloss and lipstick, as well as being given fancy, smelly lotions and potions from a co-worker. Last night, I sprawled out in the glider while watching The Wire with the hubby and delighted in pouring SJP's Lovely lotion all over my pregnant belly. It was such a nice indulgence, especially because I didn't have to pay for the frou-frou lotion (co-worker's step-mother works for Vera Wang Perfume, so she gives her samples.) Today I think I have the most moisturized belly in the world.
The weirdest part of this is that I have generally been a tomboy. I mean, unless you count all the high-school years in which I wore girly clothing to seem cuter to boys. But really, I'm a jeans and tank top kind of girl. But something in having a girl baby has opened this door to a land of flowy skirts, dresses, pink things and soft fabrics.
Weird!
Friday, June 27, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Other Ways to Give
As we're about to welcome our new lil gal to the family, we know that some will want to give a gift, but won't have the means. Certainly, Tim and I have been there ourselves and want to emphasize that, for those who can't afford a baby gift, there are wonderful things you can do as our friends and family that are no less precious to us!
As parents to be, we'll need some support as we adjust to our new life plus one! So, we'd more than welcome you, our friends and family, to give us the gift of companionship and friendship.
When the baby comes, we'll need Family and Friends:
*to bring over dinner (nothing fancy)
*to visit with Brooke during her maternity leave and go on walks/outings
*to offer up basic activities (going to a park/going on a walk/etc) to get Brooke and Tim out of the house.
*any other chance to hang out and de-stress.
Besides hang-outs and visiting, if any of our crafty friends would like to help, we could gladly use:
*knitted soakers for our cloth diapering
Just wanted to remind everyone that some of the best gifts don't cost a thing!
As parents to be, we'll need some support as we adjust to our new life plus one! So, we'd more than welcome you, our friends and family, to give us the gift of companionship and friendship.
When the baby comes, we'll need Family and Friends:
*to bring over dinner (nothing fancy)
*to visit with Brooke during her maternity leave and go on walks/outings
*to offer up basic activities (going to a park/going on a walk/etc) to get Brooke and Tim out of the house.
*any other chance to hang out and de-stress.
Besides hang-outs and visiting, if any of our crafty friends would like to help, we could gladly use:
*knitted soakers for our cloth diapering
Just wanted to remind everyone that some of the best gifts don't cost a thing!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
etsy woes
I've had some issues with Etsy. Or, rather, I should say I've had issues with some sellers on Etsy. I love the fact that it's this neat, online place where artists can sell their goods. What I don't like is that, being a lady who has pretty good sewing skills and a knowledge of fabrics, as well as a what I would think is a good eye for design...
1) Many sellers greatly overcharge for their products. Just because you see someone else, who happens to have AMAZING draping/sewing skills and good fabric/design choices can get $150 for a dress doesn't mean your work is worth that. A simple, "pillowcase" style cinch top made in cheap quilting cotton is not worth $50. HARDLY. Also, a very basic a-line dress in stretch fabric isn't worth $200, either. Before you sell anything online, consider your skill level as a craftsman and be honest about the quality of your product. Otherwise, your stuff will sit on Etsy for months and annoy people like me who keep finding your crap every time they search for good stuff. The one good aspect of this is that seeing these poor quality items makes the good stuff all the more noteworthy.
2) Sellers list key search words that don't fit their products just to get more hits. This especially applies to maternity items. When searching the word "maternity" on Etsy, I get results for clothing items that could never EVER in a thousand years work for pregnant women. Tight, form fitting blouses, sleek, non-stretch dresses and tailored pants (without an ultra low waist or tummy panel) are listed with the term "maternity" for no reason. The only thing I can guess is that either these people are totally ignorant or are trying to muster up more hits. This also happens when I search "vintage." I keep on shaking my head thinking, "either you have no clue what vintage means or you're just using this b/c it's a hot term."
3) Sellers are not held to task for not fulfilling their orders/having items arrive different than promised. I bought a tummy panel off of etsy back when I was about 3 months preggo. It just came about a week and a half ago. Doing the math, that means it took her TWO MONTHS to get this fulfilled. And when I did, one of the tummy panels wasn't even sewn together! YEAH! You heard me, I got two squares of white cotton I can only guess were meant to be sewn together, but shipped out anyways. I went back and checked and this gal has TONS of negative marks in the past few months, all with the same crit: seller never responded to my inquiries, seller never sent package, items arrived in the wrong size/cheaper fabric than pictured. I've since complained to etsy and hope they'll do something about this, but I'm not holding my breath. It seems others commented on complaining to etsy, to no avail. UPDATE: just went to check on my complaint/communication with said seller and their shop has been deleted. TRIFLIN!
For these reasons, I've found myself avoiding Etsy, save for sellers I know/trust. I feel like it's such a cool site set-up, but I'm tired of all of the poor examples of craftsmanship outweighing the good. I think I lost it when I saw a simple wrap skirt that I KNOW has about $15 total fabric value with novice-at-best sewing skills and MAYBE an hour tops to make for sale at $75. I'm sorry, but I don't think your crappy sewing skills are worth $65/hour, honey. Just sayin.
1) Many sellers greatly overcharge for their products. Just because you see someone else, who happens to have AMAZING draping/sewing skills and good fabric/design choices can get $150 for a dress doesn't mean your work is worth that. A simple, "pillowcase" style cinch top made in cheap quilting cotton is not worth $50. HARDLY. Also, a very basic a-line dress in stretch fabric isn't worth $200, either. Before you sell anything online, consider your skill level as a craftsman and be honest about the quality of your product. Otherwise, your stuff will sit on Etsy for months and annoy people like me who keep finding your crap every time they search for good stuff. The one good aspect of this is that seeing these poor quality items makes the good stuff all the more noteworthy.
2) Sellers list key search words that don't fit their products just to get more hits. This especially applies to maternity items. When searching the word "maternity" on Etsy, I get results for clothing items that could never EVER in a thousand years work for pregnant women. Tight, form fitting blouses, sleek, non-stretch dresses and tailored pants (without an ultra low waist or tummy panel) are listed with the term "maternity" for no reason. The only thing I can guess is that either these people are totally ignorant or are trying to muster up more hits. This also happens when I search "vintage." I keep on shaking my head thinking, "either you have no clue what vintage means or you're just using this b/c it's a hot term."
3) Sellers are not held to task for not fulfilling their orders/having items arrive different than promised. I bought a tummy panel off of etsy back when I was about 3 months preggo. It just came about a week and a half ago. Doing the math, that means it took her TWO MONTHS to get this fulfilled. And when I did, one of the tummy panels wasn't even sewn together! YEAH! You heard me, I got two squares of white cotton I can only guess were meant to be sewn together, but shipped out anyways. I went back and checked and this gal has TONS of negative marks in the past few months, all with the same crit: seller never responded to my inquiries, seller never sent package, items arrived in the wrong size/cheaper fabric than pictured. I've since complained to etsy and hope they'll do something about this, but I'm not holding my breath. It seems others commented on complaining to etsy, to no avail. UPDATE: just went to check on my complaint/communication with said seller and their shop has been deleted. TRIFLIN!
For these reasons, I've found myself avoiding Etsy, save for sellers I know/trust. I feel like it's such a cool site set-up, but I'm tired of all of the poor examples of craftsmanship outweighing the good. I think I lost it when I saw a simple wrap skirt that I KNOW has about $15 total fabric value with novice-at-best sewing skills and MAYBE an hour tops to make for sale at $75. I'm sorry, but I don't think your crappy sewing skills are worth $65/hour, honey. Just sayin.
Monday, June 23, 2008
The Changing of the Guard
I finally did it yesterday. I packed up all of my pre-pregnant clothes that no longer fit me and my swelling belly. This was a very hard task for me, as it represented so many things.
Firstly, that I have gotten so much bigger that all of the form-fitting, sleek and sexy tops I loved wearing before have to be relegated to storage. Though I've never been twiggy or anything, I've always prided myself in my Marilyn Monroe curviness and hourglass figure. Now that I'm starting to go more towards Violet Beauregard a la Willy Wonka, it's both exciting and a bit depressing. It's really awesome to feel like I look like a mommy, but sad to feel like I'm losing my sassy, sexy, pre-baby self.
Secondly, it really solidified how real this all is. Sure, being pregnant is an all-day, every day kind of thing, but there are times when I just sort of settle into being pregnant and forget the whole, "OMG new human life you'll have to rear and not just carry around with you everywhere you go automatically," kind of thing. So, that's a bit scary.
On another level, it makes me see how many clothes I buy that I either forget owning or could care less about. This makes me feel like a wasteful, fiscally flippant woman who is prey to whatever latest fashion is forced on her. I can't say how many times I found myself going, "oh wow... I own THIS?" It was kind of sad. But also awesome because I discovered a lot of great items I forgot I bought and am now reveling in pretty and flattering pregnancy clothing.
But on the whole, it feels refreshing and great. It feels like I am owning motherhood more, that I have thrown off the denial of the me I was before and am surging ahead, full-sail into being a mommy. And dealing with all my crap that I had ignored for months makes me feel like I am taking charge of my old, bad ways and creating new, more efficient ones. Go me!
sigh... but I still need more cute pregnancy clothes. Because putting all the other stuff away made me realize that I now technically have about two pairs of pants and six shirts total that I can wear to work. EEK!
Firstly, that I have gotten so much bigger that all of the form-fitting, sleek and sexy tops I loved wearing before have to be relegated to storage. Though I've never been twiggy or anything, I've always prided myself in my Marilyn Monroe curviness and hourglass figure. Now that I'm starting to go more towards Violet Beauregard a la Willy Wonka, it's both exciting and a bit depressing. It's really awesome to feel like I look like a mommy, but sad to feel like I'm losing my sassy, sexy, pre-baby self.
Secondly, it really solidified how real this all is. Sure, being pregnant is an all-day, every day kind of thing, but there are times when I just sort of settle into being pregnant and forget the whole, "OMG new human life you'll have to rear and not just carry around with you everywhere you go automatically," kind of thing. So, that's a bit scary.
On another level, it makes me see how many clothes I buy that I either forget owning or could care less about. This makes me feel like a wasteful, fiscally flippant woman who is prey to whatever latest fashion is forced on her. I can't say how many times I found myself going, "oh wow... I own THIS?" It was kind of sad. But also awesome because I discovered a lot of great items I forgot I bought and am now reveling in pretty and flattering pregnancy clothing.
But on the whole, it feels refreshing and great. It feels like I am owning motherhood more, that I have thrown off the denial of the me I was before and am surging ahead, full-sail into being a mommy. And dealing with all my crap that I had ignored for months makes me feel like I am taking charge of my old, bad ways and creating new, more efficient ones. Go me!
sigh... but I still need more cute pregnancy clothes. Because putting all the other stuff away made me realize that I now technically have about two pairs of pants and six shirts total that I can wear to work. EEK!
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Cloth Diapering
We are planning to cloth diaper our baby. This desire is due to the double benefit of being kind to the environment and saving some cash. My mom cloth diapered me and I have been assured that it's not extremely difficult and definitely saves dough.
Since I've had a few people ask about what gifts they can give to help with cloth diapering, I figured I'd post links to the type of cloth diapers we're going to be using. For those without kids yet, delving into the world of cloth diapering these days is like signing on for a minor in college- there's a ton of products out there and one learns a lexicon of new terms, such as: AIO (All-in-one), soaker and pre-fold.
So, I'm listing these links to help those who wish to help us by gifting us cloth diapering goodies:
Newborn Sized Diapers:
Kissaluv's Newborn Diapers- SIZE ZERO- any color works for us.
kissaluv's boosters
All-in-Ones
BumGenius All-in-Ones
Fuzzi Bunny- any size from small on up is welcome. Any crazy color you see fit.
Accessories:
Baby Balm
foaming baby wipe solution
Gift Certificates
If you want to help with cloth diapering but are totally daunted by all the choices, feel free to give us a gift certificate to Jillian's.
Click Here
Just a note: This post is NOT an expectation of gifts! I'm posting to answer questions for a few people who expressed an interest in giving a gift to help with cloth diapering, so don't feel like it's pressure to get us anything.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
thrifty baby clothes!
Stopped by the thrift store at work and picked up some sassy baby duds! Got a fabulous khaki/tulle skirt, an octupus and sea life onesie, a Ralph Lauren (oh how shi-shi!) lavender/white floral outfit (dress, over dress and bloomers) AND a totally awesome pink brocade chinese outfit!
SCORE!
Monday, June 2, 2008
Dream Dinners- The Greatest Idea EVER!
My friend Amy, who is soon to be a mama (any week now) posted on her blog about one of those Let's Dish kind of dinner making places. In case you've never heard of them, they're these shops where you go online, sign up for meals you want to buy (in servings of 3, 6, 8) and then you create them in your shop and take them home to cook later. It's kind of like a fun, reasonably healthy way to pre-make a week's worth of dinners so that you can come home from work (or take a few minutes from dealing with your new baby) and have a nice meal. I've heard of these before, but I never thought about them in a new-parent-resource kind of way.
Well, I just checked them out and it's BRILLIANT. Tim and I can go to Dream Dinners' website, choose a bunch of dinners, then I or Tim or both of us can show up at the location near us, make all the dinners at once then freeze or refrigerate them for use. This means our dinner prep and cook time would drop from one hour plus a night to fifteen to twenty minutes. Not to mention, it's way cheaper than our current weekly budgeted dinners (for the price of one week of groceries, we'll get close to three weeks worth of dinners)! I'm so excited, can't you tell?
And the very very best part is that we just so happened to get a deep freezer that came with our house, so we are set and ready to roll! Tim and I are going to try it out and see how it goes. If it works out, we may just be doing this as our new weekly dinner regimen!
:)
Well, I just checked them out and it's BRILLIANT. Tim and I can go to Dream Dinners' website, choose a bunch of dinners, then I or Tim or both of us can show up at the location near us, make all the dinners at once then freeze or refrigerate them for use. This means our dinner prep and cook time would drop from one hour plus a night to fifteen to twenty minutes. Not to mention, it's way cheaper than our current weekly budgeted dinners (for the price of one week of groceries, we'll get close to three weeks worth of dinners)! I'm so excited, can't you tell?
And the very very best part is that we just so happened to get a deep freezer that came with our house, so we are set and ready to roll! Tim and I are going to try it out and see how it goes. If it works out, we may just be doing this as our new weekly dinner regimen!
:)
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