Maternity Style // Week 17

Guys.  We need to talk about maternity jeans.  I know, if you're not pregnant you're probably like, "no, we actually don't."  But let me tell you, they are a godsend.  And if you're not pregnant and you like eating a lot of food at, say, Thanksgiving... you just might want to grab yourself a pair of these bad boys.  Life changers, I say.  And also: thank god for designers making decent maternity pants these days.  Pretty much every woman from my mom's generation laments to me about the maternity wear options when they were pregnant saying that everything looked super dumpy and gross.  I pour one out for you, ladies (well also: I pour one out because I can't drink it anyway.  Sad face).  These Jessica Simpson maternity jeans are my only maternity jeans and I need to buy at least 1 more pair because they are the only pants I wear any more.  Oh stretchy, high waistband: bless you.  

My "Death before Decaf" shirt has become my new favorite because: irony.  I only drink decaf now, so this shirt is like an inside joke to myself.  I actually got berated (okay, berated might be too strong of a word) by a barista recently for ordering a decaf americano and I was all, "It's for the baby." Already blaming things on this kid.  Apparently I'm still not pregnant enough for people to immediately notice I'm "with child" and understand the decaf thing.  I get it, uppity male barista, I too was once behind that counter slinging artisan 'spro, just give me my decaf crack and let me be.

Top + Jacket (both old) : c/o Modcloth | Jeans : Motherhood Maternity | Shoes : c/o Seychelles
Necklaces : c/o Tribe Jewelry | Shades + Hat : vintage
photos by Dan

Goodbye

Sunday morning, as I was rustling awake, my grampa slipped quietly away. Just shy of 95, his life was something rare, simple, and beautiful. Born in a tiny Alaskan fishing village on the Bering sea, he mushed dogs hundreds of miles, mined and trapped, and was a commercial fisherman from the days of open sailboats through till the days of modern powerboats--most of his life. He fell dearly in love with a powerhouse of a lady, and they lived out their days, crafting a home and family, on the shores of Southeast Alaska. He loved deeply and showed it. Every time we parted ways in the past few years, his eyes were dewy with tears, knowing it could be our last embrace. This past May it was. But I got to share the news in person with him and my grandma that they were great grandparents and show him an ultrasound picture of the baby that was growing inside me, his bloodline flowing through me into the future. He so wanted to make it to his 95th birthday and hold my baby, whose birthday is due to be just a few days after his. But I hope that in lieu of that moment, he's sharing that in-between space with my tiny one, the unborn and newly passed on, crossing paths like ships through the ether. He always called me his WeeBit, and I think that little name will find its way to my babe, carrying his loving spirit with it. 

I miss you grampa. Thank you for giving me an adventurous and creative spirit, for your unending love, for your stories, and for this family you created. You will never be forgotten. 

Your WeeBit

Maternity Style // Week 16

This entire outfit is something that I kept during our pre-move purge because I knew it'd last me through my entire pregnancy.  The top has a peplum-esque bottom to it that is perfect for a growing mid-section, and the skirt, which I used to wear at my natural waist, now fits just right with the waist band above my bump.  I'm tempted to re-style this outfit when I'm well-into my 3rd trimester and see how it works with a big ol' bump.  The peplum top pretty well camouflaged my bump at 16 weeks.  Until I was at least 20 weeks I wasn't really showing all that much and felt weird "rocking the bump," as they say, since it mostly just looked like I ate way too many tacos.  

It's kind of funny realizing things about pregnancy.  I remember seeing pregnancy outfit posts on other people's blogs and thinking their bumps looking cutely styled and, really I'm only just now (I'm 27 weeks when this post gets published) actually showing that much, which means I only have 1 trimester of actual baby bump maternity style.  Kind of funny!  I've heard lots of people say that with your first kid your bump is much smaller and starts getting big much later than with subsequent pregnancies, so who knows, maybe if I end up going through this again someday later, I'll have more weeks of large-bump outfits.  I actually have enjoyed being more incognito with this pregnancy.  I'll tell you, it helps when you go into the liquor store to buy your husband a 6 pack (but I still feel like I'm going to get "caught," even though I'm SO of-age and also not drinking it myself).  Not sure how many more weeks I have of liquor store shopping without dirty looks though...  and really, going in there is cruel anyway.  I miss wine #realtalktho.

Top (thrifted) + Necklace : Free People | Skirt : c/o Modcloth | Shoes : c/o Moorea Seal
photos by Dan

A little home update

We've been here for... 3 weeks?  Dang, time flies!  I've been plugging away on house projects which has helped this place start feeling more and more like home.  One huge thing that makes a place feel homey is getting art on the wall.  I have a ton of art, some of it my own from my printmaking days in college, and most of it by other rad artists and printmakers.  My favorite thing is that quite a bit of the artwork I've accumulated has been by local artists.  I love supporting local artists and makers when I can, and it's really awesome now to have art on my walls that reminds me of Tacoma because it was made by Tacoma artists.

sources for above artwork/pieces: 
Chalkboard key hook : Urban Outfitters | Cadillac Print : mine | Block Party Print : Year Round Co.
Camera Print : Christine Berrie | Redhead print : mine | Wintergrass print : Beautiful Angle
Bright Side print : A Vintage Poster

A big project I wanted to get done was our standing desk area.  We don't have a room in this apartment that could really work as an office, but this corner of the entry/living room was a dead space that I felt would work perfectly as an office space with a standing desk.  I originally had a regular desk in this corner, but it felt too big and in the way, the standing desk not only is much lower profile (it's only 18 inches deep), but since it's custom built I could make an L-shaped desk that gave us twice as much desk space, plus kept the baseboard heater uncovered (which will be ideal come winter).  Another bonus?  It's just 10 screws into the wall, so if it ever needs to be removed, the clean-up is super minimal and it's back to being the boring old corner it was before.  It's built using the same ideas as the standing desk in my old office, but with a few updates, like copper legs!  I plan on sharing a DIY soon! Now: figuring out what to do with those blank walls behind the computers and wrangling all the cords under the desk.

Another big change is our chalkboard wall!  It hasn't finished curing yet so I haven't covered it with chalk yet, which is why it looks decidedly more BLACK than our past chalkboard walls.  I'll be covering it with chalk this week, though, so it'll look a lot more textured and light after that.  Still, I couldn't resist getting all the art on the wall.  Even so, I love how crisp that wall looks compared to what it was before (it used to have a sponge painted texture of different shades of taupe).  I was a little worried it could make the space too dark, but I really like it and once the kitchen gets brightened up with white paint and cabinets, I think it'll look a lot less dark in the space as a whole.  Plus, since our space has a super open layout, the dark wall is totally fine.

Chalkboard wall art sources: metal gem hangings : c/o Modcloth
We're Waiting Here print : Beautiful Angle | Tacoma Artwalk + A Lemon and a Lime prints : Year Round Co.  | Cactus print : Odd Daughter Paper Co. c/o Moorea Seal
The World is Your Oyster Print : Rifle Paper Co. c/o Moorea Seal

Lastly, here's just a tiny peek at our bedroom.  This room will probably end up being last to get finished, but I'm really happy with our bed situation. We put the bed in the middle of the room and created a faux "wall" with the hanging flag to create a walk-in closet (and to hide the open closet).  Any way, this room is pretty low on my priority list but I'm happy with this little spot!
(Flag + quilt via Urban Outfitters, Pillowcases are vintage).

Maternity Style // Week 15

All hail stretchy fabrics!  This is one of the few dresses I kept in my closet to move up to Anchorage because I knew it'd be able to grow with my growing belly (sidenote: is there any other word besides "belly" and "bump"?  Belly makes me think of jelly... jelly bellies?  Eh. I guess bump is less visceral at least).  This is one of my favorite dresses in my closet but it's just a smidge too fancy for everyday wear, at least for me, so it rarely gets to make an appearance.  Solution: I just need more fun events to attend.  Now to figure out how to procure invites to events in which this dress would be appropriate garb...

The blogosphere feels so different from even a couple years ago, or perhaps I've just fallen out of the scene.  I remember going to so many blogger events and meet ups, does that still happen or am I just one of those people musing on about "the good ol' days?"  Perhaps in my sabbatical from blogging I just lost touch with any local bloggers or blogger groups.  As an introvert I find it's definitely easy to sink away from events and groups and just live in my own "fishbowl."  But I see the ocean out there and I ache to be a part of it.  Now I just have to Finding Nemo myself out there...

Dress : c/o Modcloth | Shoes : c/o Moorea Seal | Necklace : c/o Jewelmint