Baby, Let Me Follow You Down.

This has to be one of my favorite maternity looks. When I wear this I just want a playlist of 1960's Bob Dylan to follow me wherever I go. It just has that feel good, folky, rocker vibe. I saw this Free People Marrakesh Dress on Kelli Murray's blog. She's also pregnant and has the best style. Her blog has been so inspiring for me. I'm so glad I saw her sporting this dress and decided to get it for myself. It's like wearing a night gown. It's wonderfully oversized, I'm in a size small. I love the amber green color it's a gentle, washed out neon. It's such a great canvas for accessories. It's so breathable, relaxed and funky. I feel ready for anything in this look. I love how effortless it is to throw this on and go. It's instantly become my quintessential summer maternity piece. It also looks great with my nude, suede platform sandals. 

Tomorrow I will be 33 weeks! Only 7 more to go until this little one's due date! Daniel and I have been in full blow nesting mode lately. We only have a couple things left to do before her big earth side debut! I'm really looking forward to next summer and having a sweet babe. I can't wait to introduce her to the beach and take her swimming at the pool! So many firsts to look forward to...

// Dress - Free People Beach Marrakesh Dress // Bag - Alexander Wang Marion Bag // 

// Necklace & Earrings - Free People // Hat - Panama Jack // Cuff - Vanessa Mooney //

// Sunnies - RayBan // Boots - Old // Bracelets - Vintage //

Goddess Gown.

I have been meaning to post these photos for over a month. I took these back at the end of June, so my belly is a little smaller. I got this Nicole Miller Artelier gown to wear for my wedding anniversary. I fell in love with the silk material and beautiful phlox hue. It drapes so nicely. I feel like a goddess in it. It's not a maternity dress and definitely fits me a little different. Since it's strapless I opted to wear a nude bra with straps to keep me in check and hid the straps by throwing the lace kimono on over it. I had to go up a couple sizes and plan on getting it taken in once I am done breastfeeding and my body takes its post-pregnancy form. It's such a beautiful, versatile piece. I hope someone invites me to their wedding in a year or two so I can wear it - haha. It has such a fresh, romantic vibe. Maybe I'll wear it again next year on our anniversary. To remind me of our special day I wore my reception shoes and my bridal earrings. I treasure them and the memories they hold. I love wearing them. I am also sporting the lipstick I wore on my wedding day - MAC "Rebel". You can see more about my wedding day here, here and here. By the way my wedding gown was also by Nicole Miller. Even looking at these photos makes me feel all dreamy and fanciful. This baby girl in my belly is making me all sorts of extra girly. My nails are currently painted the same shade as this dress. I will leave you with an inspiring feminine quote: 

"When a woman connects with her magic, miracles happen...She creates the life of her dreams and she lives her divinely contracted purpose." 

- Lisa Marie Rosati

// Dress - Nicole Miller Artelier Jasmine Gown // Lace Kimono & Necklace - Free People //

// Bag - Vintage // Earrings - BHLDN Cristallino // 

// Shoes - Jeffrey Campbell Brazen Platform in Rose Gold // 

Ultraviolence.

Happy Friday!

Summertime, summertime, how I love and hate you. As you can tell from the title of this post I've been listening to some Lana Del Rey. I usually love the summer and make an effort to have many adventures during this time of year. But being pregnant really puts a damper on my summer dreams. A day at the beach is about all the adventure I can handle these days. Being as comfortable as possible is pretty much my priority at all times. I was lucky enough to score this super soft jersey dress from the Mara Hoffman sample sale a few weeks back. This dress is really loose and drapey and I even fit into my normal size small so I will be able to rock this in future summers when I'm not pregnant. I love the black background and bright colors of this print - it screams summertime. Just wearing it makes me feel like I am on vacation. I've had these Marc Jacobs patent leather sling backs for years. I can't believe that even after years of wear and tear they still look good as new. My straw hat, sunnies and punchy lips just finish the look. It's so easy and breezy but packs some punch and fun. This look definitely brightens my mood. 

I'm 32 weeks today, only 8 more to go! Baby girl will be here before I know it. I'm getting sad about her not being in my belly anymore. It's so special feeling her moving around and sharing my vessel with her. But on the bright side I cannot wait to see what she looks like, hold her in my arms and kiss that sweet little face of hers about a million times. I also look forward to having a waist again. I have strangely been daydreaming about post-pregnancy workouts. Haha. I'm a very physical person and being weighed down like this is tiring. I love yoga and walking but I crave getting a good sweat on. I'm thinking of trying kickboxing or a hip-hop dance class. I just want to move.

// Dress - Mara Hoffman Modal Swing Dress // Sandals - (old) Marc Jacobs //

// Sunnies - Tom's Lobamba // Hat - Panama Jack // Earrings - Anthropologie //

// Bracelets - Vintage //

Pure Heroine.

I'm feeling electric in this look. I found this dress at Urban Outfitters on sale for $10! I have been feeling so huge, awkward, bloated and hot lately and it's nice to have little dresses to just throw on. I love the open back and print. The black and white tie dye makes me think of an electrical storm, it's like this dress can shoot lighting. I paired it with MAC X Lorde's lipstick collaboration - "Pure Heroine" - its such a moody, fun purple. I love that it's just purple enough to make me feel edgy but not so dark that it gives off a goth vibe. It also matches my gel mani. 

I'm nearly eight months pregnant and my body is just retaining water like it's my job. My legs, arms and hands are all so puffy all the time, no matter how much water I guzzle. It makes me feel pretty crappy about how I look. And even harder to get dressed. And sleep is something I wish for as I toss around every night, wishing I could get comfortable. August is going to be rough for me, I am bracing myself. Between the heat, aches and pains and sleepless nights - I'm really going to have to try to stay positive. Come September I will be ready for this little baby girl to enter the world. 

I keep reminding myself it's all just temporary.

// Dress - Ecoté // Bag - Alexander Wang Marion Bag // Earrings - Free People //

//Sunnies - Ray Ban Wayfarer II // Bralette - Free People // Boots - old //

// Necklace and Layered Bracelets - Vintage // Cuff - Vanessa Mooney //

Nutella Brownie Balls.

If you follow my blog, you know I have made cake balls before. But I was wanting some super chocolaty Nutella ones when it dawned on me to make them with brownies instead of cake and Nutella in lieu of frosting. I improvised the recipe and they turned out amazing, much better than cake balls if you ask me. The sea salt is the key - it just brings out the sweetness so much more. 

Ingredients:

-Brownies (either from scratch or a box - I used Ghirardelli Triple Chocolate Brownies)

-Molding Dark Chocolate

-Nutella

-Coco Powder

-Sea Salt

It took me a few hours to make and yields around 24 Brownie Balls.

Step 1: 

Bake the brownies and let them cool completely. I cut mine into pieces so it would cool faster.

Step 2: 

Crumble brownies into the smallest pieces you can. They don't crumble as easy as cake does, so do your best to break it up.

Step 3: 

Mix in Nutella. I ended up adding around 4-5 Tablespoons. My brownies were really moist and didn't need a ton of Nutella mixed in. 

Step 4: 

Mix Nutella into crumbled Brownie with your hands until it is well combined.

Step 5: 

Roll into 1" balls. 

Step 6: 

Melt molding chocolate in a double boiler or two pots like I did. Make sure you stir the chocolate periodically. This helps it the chocolate on the bottom from burning and keeps the chocolate smooth.

Step 7: 

Once the chocolate is smooth and creamy, dip each ball in with a spoon and roll it to get an even coating. Place on cookie sheet/plate to cool.

Step 8: 

While the chocolate coating is still hot on each ball, sprinkle coco powder and sea salt on top. I did this one by one after I dipped each ball before the chocolate cooled. That way the coco and salt stay on and dry into the chocolate.

Step 9: 

Refrigerate for at least an hour. Make sure you take them out about at least an hour before you want to eat them, so the chocolate coating softens just a little. 

Step 10: 

Eat, Enjoy and Be Merry! 

Fourth of July.

 Happy 4th of July America! It's good to be free! I am also 29 weeks today, only 11 more to go! My chest and belly are getting so big, I barely squeezed into this non-maternity dress. It fit so much better a week ago. But I wanted to feel festive and this sheer tomato red dress is so easy and breezy. 

The 4th of July is one of my favorite celebrations. It's good to be thankful for our freedom and the BBQs and fireworks are pretty great too.  I usually spend this time at the beach - swimming in the ocean and enjoying the sunshine.  I am a little bummed I can't enjoy myself more, but there's always next year. I'm going to keep it pretty low key today, I've been feeling light headed really easy lately. I just want to eat some yummy burgers or tacos and watch some beautiful fireworks this evening.

HAPPY FREEDOM DAY!!!!! 

// Dress - (old)Silence + Noise from U/O - similar here // Hat - Panama Jack // 

// Necklace - Free People //// Cuff - Vanessa Mooney // 

// Boots - (old)Free People X Jeffrey Campbell // Sunnies - Warby Parker //