Maternity Style // Week 31

Mmm, lazy Sundays are so nice.  We went out to brunch this morning with family, then went shopping around town for some warm clothes, since winter is fast approaching!  Our lake is totally frozen now and the nights are falling well below freezing, which means snow should be here shortly!  

Dress (similar) : Thrifted | Boots : c/o Cat Footwear | Hat : c/o Moorea Seal
Necklace : Free People

Your Brave

Last night I was over at my parents' and they have been performing an archeological dig of their home office this past week, unearthing thousands of power cords to devices that probably don't exist any more, tons of documents that are useful only for shredding and recycling, and old laptops which function mostly as external hard drives for photo storage.  Anyway, they'd pulled out my mom's old laptop from circa '06-'08 and it's screen saver was a slideshow of old photos taken during those years.  One of the big things that happened was our 2007 family cross-country RV trip and hidden amongst the photos of us standing in front of national monuments and at national parks, there's a photo of a 70's Winnebago RV.  It's not a Brave, but it's the same generation as my Braves, and I remembered how that trip galvanized my love for them, and my desire to live mobile.  I went back to college that fall and started making art about and of Winnebagos, and a year after graduation, got my first Brave.  

As far as talismans go, I don't recommend something that takes an oversized garage to house, but we all have those talismans that we hold dear that represent more than just the object itself.  While what the Brave represents for me has always been in my heart, that summer of 2007, being on the road with fellow RV residents, and finding my love for 70's Winnebagos galvanized that meaning into something more tangible and real.  My Brave represents freedom, living life on my terms, living sustainably, feeling wild and untamed, exploration, creativity, the beauty of necessity, being in nature, the sacred sanctuary of the road, meeting new adventurous humans, and so much more.  The Brave encapsulates so many of the things I most value in life.  Like a locket worn daily, I keep the image of her close to my heart, reminding me of those things.

My talisman is a ridiculously large vehicle, what is yours?  What is the image or object that always hones in on what you value, what you desire for your life, what makes your creativity come alive?  

Maternity Style // Week 30

Starting to feel kind of like a house, which makes sense, because there is an ever-enlarging human residing inside me.  Two more months of this, woof!  Last night we built my crib, so the baby's room is slowly, very slowly, coming together!  I've been enjoying my lazy, slow mornings snuggling in bed with Dusty, knowing the my days of full nights of sleep are numbered.  

The past couple weeks I've been so focused on shooting weddings and sessions that I've dropped the ball on organizing and decorating the apartment.  It's hard finding new places for everything to go, and I desperately want to paint all the walls and make things feel fresh, but stuff takes time.  I forget that in our old house I'd left our living room half painted for about 6 months, and that it took all of the 3+ years we lived there to get every room looking the way I wanted.  I can be so impatient at times, I think of a project and want to do it immediately.  But that's not the way life works always. So I'm learning to be more patient and take projects as I can.

Top : Thrifted (Forever 21) | Jeans : Flying Monkey | Boots : Kensie Girl

Maternity Style // Week 29

Two months to go and I'm starting to feel very pregnant.  It's still so bizarre to me that I even am pregnant.  Sometimes I'll just stand in the mirror and be like, is this real life?  Still haven't started working on the nursery.  Still haven't come even close to picking a name.  Have bought some clothes, and my baby shower is on Saturday, so this baby thing is sinking in at least a little!  A stranger asked me when I was due yesterday, so I guess I'm at the point now where I look actually pregnant, not just ambiguously rotund.  Now excuse me while I go take a weeklong nap because I'm an insane person and scheduled a 15 hour travel day with 3 flights at 7 months pregnant...

Top : Thrifted (Free People) | Leggings : Motherhood Maternity | Boots : Vogue Footwear
Hat : c/o Moorea Seal | Necklace : Free People | Cardigan : c/o Modcloth

10 Favorite Fall Recipes

Fall flavors are some of my favorites, and with chilly mornings and the leaf covered ground, I'm totally in full-on fall mode.  Besides the obvious (pumpkin), fall is full of amazing flavors, from winter squashes, to apples, and everything is hearty and filling.  And, well, it wouldn't be a fall recipe list without plenty of pumpkin recipes, which I have included aplenty.  My stomach is growling just putting this post together!  

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Homemade Applesauce

Pumpkin Cookies with Maple Icing

Gourmet Chorizo Mac + Cheese

Perfect Pumpkin Bread

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Pumpkin Chia Pudding with Persimmon and Granola

Poached Apples with Candied Pecans and Whipped Cream

Mushroom Butternut Squash Gruyere Tart

Pumpkin Caramels