23 Weeks

Somehow I managed to miss week 22. OOPS!! But I wanted to go ahead and get caught up so here is week 23. It has been a great week so far. I am a few days away from being 6 months pregnant. Now that is crazy. God has blessed me with such an amazing and easy pregnancy. I am so very thankful!! 


How far along? 23 weeks

How big is your baby?  He is about 11 inches long and weighs over one pound! His sense of movement  is well developed by now, and baby can feel me dance! 

Weight gain? I am not sure of the exact weight gain but I am definitely growing. Luckily I am growing outwards and not sideways. It looks like I have an upside down bowl on my belly. 

Strech marks? Still buttering up the belly. No stretch marks. YIPPY! 

Maternity Clothes? Still wearing my sundresses but I decided to go to Target this week and but my first "maternity" dress. It is red and quite cute. I also had to buy a new bra. HA! I hope those stop growing soon... my back is starting to hurt and I think my alignment is going out of whack... I guess that means another maternity massage! Target has some cute maternity clothes. And they are very inexpensive. Expecting mothers should check it out. 

Sleep? Baby starts moving and bouncing around at night. He is a night owl, just like his mama! Sometimes he will let out a good kick. Maybe we have a soccer player on our hands? Or a punter? I love feeling him move. And I have noticed I rub my belly all of the time now. Even when I am walking around, I rub my belly without even realizing I am doing it. Do all expecting moms do this? 

Best moment of the week? Watching my dad and Erik put up a new wall in the master bedroom and build a massive closet. I was spoiled in college and had huge walk-in closets. So, dad and Erik decided to add on several more feet to my closet to ensure I have plenty of storage space! I am one lucky girl! And going out to dinner to Bonefish Grill with the Huffman's for Gary's birthday. We had an amazing and massive meal. I know Baby H enjoyed it! 

Food Cravings? Chili hotdogs. I was never a hotdog fan growing up. As a matter of fact, I actually disliked hotdogs. But lately I have been craving loaded chili dogs. I had one for lunch and man it was tasty! 

Gender? Baby BOY!!! I think I am pretty set on a name too! But that will be another post. 

Movement? He is a wiggler. I love it!!! 

What I miss? We went for mexican food this week. I wanted a margarita. And I had a hard time not ordering tuna at Bonefish! But my meal was still fantastic. 

Belly Button? Innie but it is starting to look like it wants to change. 

What I am looking forward to? Spending the weekend with the family before I head to LA on Monday for work. I will be  gone for an entire week so I am going to miss everyone. I should get the baby a frequent flyer card... this is technically his third flight. Second to LA and we went to NYC once. He is a jet-setter. 

Milestone? Serious belly growth. 


PS, tomorrow I will take baby bump photos for Sunday's blog post. I meant to take some today but my camera died while I was taking photos of Fender attacking the sprinkler water. 

Murfee Scarf Giveaway!

Pink Preppy Lilly Lover is having a wonderful giveaway on her blog! Check it out HERE! One lucky lady is going to win a Lilly Pulitzer Murfee Scarf in Hotty Pink Uncontainable!!! I would have probably bought this gorgeous scarf but with baby on the way I am trying to be more conservative. Now my money goes towards diapers, rompers and nursery decor. It is still kind of crazy to think about. So fingers crossed I win this beauty! 

Kate Puck Jewelry Giveaway!

Congrats to Southern Living: Preppy Style for having over 250 followers! Due to the support of her followers, she has decided to do a wonderful giveaway. She is giving one pair of Kate Puck earrings away to a luck follower! Kate Puck is a Charleston, SC jewelry designer who finds inspiration in the beauty of the Lowcountry barrier islands.

To enter the giveaway, check it out here!

www.katepuck.com - Kate Puck Jewelry!

Searching for Military Wives!!

As most of you know, I work in casting. I find myself helping out with all sorts of amazing television shows. Right now I am helping Lifetime look for real military wives. If you are a wife of a military man in SC, GA, or NC, and would like more information about this opportunity, please e-mail luckybreakcasting@gmail.com. 


We are also looking for real like Army wives who have been affected by Breast Cancer. They should be community leaders, do gooders and breast cancer awareness advocates. Please let me know if you know any women who fit this criteria!! We really want to honor these women!


Thanks for your help and feel free to pass along this information!!

Please Excuse the Mess!!!

So I am currently undergoing a blog makeover!! I am very excited about it. I had an amazing illustrator, Cheryl Edstrom, finish up my header illustration this evening. I absolutely LOVE it!! She made it all from scratch and was sooo fast and easy to work with. I told her I wanted a kitchen scene with a pink stove, myself, baby in hand, my hubby and pup. Then I sent her a few photos of the family. And she came up with this amazing header. I am really impressed with her work. If anyone is looking into doing a "blog makeover," I highly recommend Cheryl for all of your illustration needs. I am going to get her business and contact information from her tomorrow. As soon as I receive it, I will post it on my blog for others interested in her services!

Unfortunately the rest of my blog makeover will not be complete for a few weeks. I am currently on a waiting list. But, I think Carolyn, from "I Love My Blog Makeover,"  is going to start on it on June 3rd. So in the meantime, I do not know how to resize my header properly so it is entirely too big. And I managed to mess up my blog format. But o well, it will all be worth it once it is finished!!

Have any of you ladies used any designers or illustrators for your blog? If so, did you like your finished product? Who did you use? Were their prices reasonable?

Sweet Tea Baby!!

So I am sure most of you southern folks have tried Firefly Sweet tea vodka. It is one of my favorites. A little sweet tea vodka Arnold Palmer is fantastic. It was actually our signature drink at our rehearsal dinner.

And the crazy thing about sweet tea vodka, you can mix it with straight water and it still tastes delicious. The only problem is, you tend to forget you are drinking liquor... so sometimes I have a few too many sweet tea vodka drinks. oops!

Well my hubby Erik is a musician and his band has an awesome song about the south called, "Sweet Tea." It is adorable! It was submitted to the Firefly Vodka's Flavor the Music Competition (in the Pop category) and was chosen as one of the finalists. The winner is chosen by online votes! So if you have a second please cast your vote in the pop category (Peach tea section) for Florez "Sweet Tea." The boys have been crazy busy and fell behind advertising the contest. You can vote once a day so please vote anytime you have a few extra minutes! Hope you love the song as much as I do!!

Vote HERE!! 

Juleps & Jon Jons  blog is giving away a lovely Lilly Pulitzer Market Tote in the Crème Fraiche print!

 Check it out HERE to enter!

Entries will be accepted until 11:30 p.m. CT on Tuesday, June 1st. Good luck!

Giveaways Giveaways!

You can win a $25 gift certificate to the Designs by Jessie store! 

To enter the giveaway check out the details on the Tater Tots and Jello Blog here!! 

Jessie makes awesome handmade items such as:

Black and White Demask Camera Strap

GOOD LUCK!!

I Love Your Blog Award

The "I Love Your Blog Award" is from Same Sweet Girl: Memoir of a Southern Belle. Thanks so much for the fun award! Go check out her blog! It is adorable and she is a Carolina girl. :) 

The rules for this award are to list 10 things I love and pass the award on to 10 other blogs (that you LOVE!). 

Ten things I love:

1. Erik, my "curly" sweet husband 

2. God

3. Family and Friends

4. Thai food

5. The beach

6. Chocolate

7. Football Season

8. Traveling (especially Europe!)

9. My animals (a mini Australian Shepherd, a pug, and a mutt)

10. Sunsets in Maui

I'm passing this lovely award on to:

10 blogs I LOVE!!! So check them out! :) 

1) La Dolce Vita (check out her blog, she has the cutest store, SUGAR!)

2) Shrimp and Glitz

3) Little Me Queen Bee

4) Faith. Love. Happiness. 

5) Southern Living: Preppy Style 

6) The Southern Belle Baby

7) It's The World I Know 

8) Mama's Messages

9) Sweet Southern Prep

10) Juleps and Jon Jons

Monogramed Wine Glass Giveaway!

Ladies, another adorable giveaway! "Sweet Carolina Girl" blog is offering two of these adorable wine glasses to the winner, monogrammed with the colors you want and the personalization! If you want a chance to win, check it out HERE!!

21 Weeks

So I am totally behind on my weekly updates. I will do week 21 today and week 22 tomorrow! :) Then I will be all caught up. 

How far along? 21 Weeks

How big are babies? Fun fact- A 21 week old baby is a fully developed child that lacks the lung maturity to live outside the womb. From this point the child only needs to gain weight and lung maturity to be born. He is the size of a carrot. My sister and I went to the doctors this week and his heart rate is 140. 

Weight gain? I finally started gaining serious weight. It was the first doctors appointment that I had gained any weight. 6 whole pounds. That is a good sign that the baby is healthy and growing.. and so is my belly! 

Strech marks? Not yet. I have been applying the belly butter. 

Maternity Clothes? Not yet. I am still wearing sun dresses. They seem to work well. I don't want to wear maternity clothes till I absolutely have to.

Sleep? I am feeling lots of baby movement when I lay down to sleep. It doesn't keep me up but I usually try to stay up and wake Erik so he can feel it too. 

Best moment of the week? Going to the doctors and having a great check up and hearing his little heart beat. It is amazing to hear his little heart. 

Food Cravings? I had a lot of sorbet this week. Not craving anything specific but I still have a great sweet tooth. 

Gender? Baby BOY!!!

Movement? He moves quite a bit! Especially at night. 

What I miss? Wake-boarding and playing catch. I am afraid to do anything too physical. So I will have to wait till next summer to play. 

Belly Button? Innie

What I am looking forward to? Living in our new home! 

Milestone? Both Dad's painted the rooms upstairs in the new house. Baby H has a baby blue room. Still determining how I want to decorate but it is fun to see the baby's room! 

Overwhelmed with Possibilities!

To all of you mothers out there, 

I need your help!

I just started making my baby gift registry. And I am having a hard time... Who would have thought Target.com would have 110 highchairs to choose from!? 

I didn't know where to start. I tried separating them into "Best Seller" categories and "Highest Rating" categories, but a ton of these items seemed to be best sellers and highly rated. 

I came across one highchair that I was familiar with, the Boon Flair Pneumatic Pedestal Highchair. The little guy I nannied had it. And it was SOOO easy to clean. I loved it. The only thing I am concerned about is that it doesn't look very comfortable... And it has a very "modern" appearance (I am usually a little more traditional.) But as far as ease and durability, it seemed to be great when I used it in the past. 

Boon Flair Pneumatic Pedestal Highchair - Blue/White

Do any of yall know of a great high chair? If so, please share. I am overwhelmed with baby products and possibilities! Thanks so much!! 

Free Chick-Fil-A!

So I will admit it, I am seriously obsessed with Chick-fil-a. So obsessed, I actually want a Chick-Fil-A franchise one day... yes, I am being dead serious!

Anyways, I am soooo excited about the new Spicy Chicken Sandwich they are offering this summer! YUM!! Hope Baby H likes his chicken sandwiches with a little kick!

Best Part... they are giving away FREE SPICY CHICKEN SANDWICHES!!!

All you have to do is sign up HERE and they will e-mail you a coupon for a free sandwich. Gotta love a bargain!

Are you thrilled? I know I am!

Gilt Goodies!

Awhile back my friend Corbin told me about a fabulous website, Gilt. Gilt is an amazing online store that offers designer brands at huge discounts. They put up new items every day. They have women's clothing, shoes, accessories, and jewelry. I bought several Shoshanna dresses and got them at a fraction of the normal price. The also have great home items. And they even have children's clothing, room decor, and gifts. 


I saw a few really cute items for sale today! In order to shop on Gilt you have to become a member. But the best news is, membership is FREE! And if you opt to receive e-mails, you will get notifications when new brands are put up for sale. This is great because the good stuff goes fast. Here are a few of my favorite items that are currently up for sale:

Sky King Tricycle:

(It comes in baby blue, baby pink, or red!) 

Normally $279.00 on SALE for $170.00

Oscar de la Renta

Retail $665.00 Gilt SALE $229.00

Pink Speedster

Retail $395.00 on SALE for $250.00

Marc by Marc Jacobs

Ikat Bikini Set Retail $178.00 Gilt SALE $89.00

If you want to become a member of Gilt and take a look at all of the other items for sale, click here and sign up. It only takes a minute! And you will be set up for huge savings! 

Monogrammed Photo Frame Giveaway!

Look how precious these monogrammed picture frames are!! Brooke over at Shrimp and Glitz is giving one away! Her sweet momma actually makes and sells these and she is going to give one away to a lucky winner next Wednesday, May 26th! In order to enter the giveaway check out her blog here! 

"A sailor’s joys are as simple as a child’s." - Bernard Moitessier

So today I decided to post a few of my other favorite nautical themed items from Etsy. Which one is your favorite? Erik thinks Jon Jons are not "manly enough" for his son. Haha! He said I can only dress him "cute" for one year. But I think he will learn to love them once the little guy comes along.  In the meantime I am buying a few Jon Jon's in 2T's so I have an excuse to dress him "cute" for awhile! ;) 

Little Crab Beanie! 

Check it out here! 

Squid Onesie 

Check it out here!

Whale Jon Jon 

Check it out here! 

Sailboat Jon Jon 

Check it out HERE!