Good morning and happy April! I hope the start of spring has been treating you well!
March was a productive month! As planned (and mentioned here), I was able to get a start on organizing our home (nesting is always a thing with me, but pregnancy nesting has a level of its own haha!).
Our outdoor renovation had a few hiccups—it started March 8 and was supposed to wrap up 2-3 weeks later. The courtyard, side of the house pathway, and pea gravel garden nook are all complete, though, and look so lovely! The material for the backyard checks was where we ran into problems, but luckily could resolve as quickly as possible. The new tiles arrive this coming weekend and so I am hoping they resume work next week and wrap up by that weekend. I cannot wait to see that area come to life!
I continue to say this, but there’s been so much joy in soaking up projects one by one. You have the time to focus on the work at hand, see the progress, and then fully appreciate and enjoy the fruits of labor! Our garden courtyard feels SO different from when we first moved in… all weekend we kept saying… ‘where are we!?’ — it’s so fun to see our visions come to life. I was telling Matt it’s actually kind of nice that the backyard wasn’t done around the same time—we can hang in the garden now and once the backyard is done, we get to experience this feeling all over again! And the checks… are so fittingly the grand finale. Can’t wait to see how it comes together and to share with you. We have all new furniture on the way, too, which should be arriving in a timely manner as everything wraps up.
Besides that, a bit of same old same over here! Besides the fact that I am feeling *very pregnant these days. I swear as I hit third trimester a couple of weeks ago, I started to feel the shift to uncomfy territory. Also feeling much more sleepy! All is great though, just means we are closer to meeting our girl! I am so glad I got painting out of the way, there is no way I could do that now. I cannot believe our due date is T-Minus 71 days as of today! Nuts.
I also have been spending some time ideating content for the next couple of months leading up to June when I’ll be taking a little time off. I don’t have a full-on plan for maternity leave, but I am going into it with zero expectations and no pressure on myself to do anything other than take care of our little one in those early days/weeks. I know myself and that mentality is the way to go. I also know that creativity/sharing things is such an important outlet for me to feel like myself—so we will see what happens!
Lastly, I want to thank everyone who has decided to join my new membership! I can’t believe we’re almost at 600 members in almost 3 weeks. That just blows my mind and I am incredibly thankful! I had been tinkering with the idea of creating more exclusive content and sharing more of me with close-knit followers. I have to say that after going for it and immersing myself into this new endeavor— I’m so happy I made the jump, it was the best decision. I have been enjoying it so much!
I have a real love/hate relationship with social media. There is so much I am grateful for and it’s so necessary for my work and business, but most importantly, it’s been the best to connect with so many lovely people over the years. The new studio is much more approachable in staying on top of messages/questions/connecting in general, it’s one of the reasons why this new group has been such a treat.
Social media also comes with many cons. There are times I feel deflated and like I give so much of myself and ideas away, and every so often there are some who take advantage. Ever since I took my blog full-time, I’ve learned that protecting and nurturing a passion that is now my livelihood is so important. Whenever I am feeling resistance or hesitance, I have to get to the bottom of why and make changes and find a healthy balance again. This new private membership has allowed me to lift some walls up without holding back the things I am so excited to share. I’m really looking forward to seeing how this space evolves and shapes up with time.
Just wanted to take this opportunity to give you some updates on happening around here! Now on to all things April…
April Agenda
First, I have been counting down to tomorrow! Matt and I decided to schedule a 3D ultrasound since he hasn’t been able to go to any of my appointments. Throughout pregnancy, ultrasounds have been my absolute favorite! It’s just so magical to see the glimpse into my belly and what she’s up to. Matt has been so bummed to not be able to experience those moments, and so I am just thrilled for us to get this opportunity. And, if we get to see a better glimpse of her sweet face (I am not holding my breath because she has proven to be quite a wiggle worm every dr visit!), well that is quite fun, too!
As I noted in March—each month leading up to our due date has a theme in terms of what I am envisioning. April is a whole lot of baby prep/education/classes and enjoying our new yard spaces! We did end up planning a safe outdoor backyard warming and baby shower, too! You may remember me talking about this around my wedding, but I can be quite a non-traditionalist when it comes to these kinds of events. I really don’t like the feeling of having to do things a certain way. I like to add my own spin and tailor to feel more like me/us! In terms of a baby shower, I never wanted to do the typical route. Especially with the pandemic—virtual sounded even less appealing to me. Most importantly, I want Matt there! As I said, he hasn’t been to one dr. appointment and I want him to feel the baby love, too!
We decided to make it a backyard warming since the exterior work will be done by then and a way to celebrate our baby girl on the way! We are planning a big bbq afternoon window for the festivities and will be sending out a spreadsheet to friends so they can pencil in when they want to come by. This way, everyone can gauge windows when they feel the most comfortable. I just wanted to do something fun/casual/”us” and celebrate/catch up with some of our favorite people. That will make us really happy.
In terms of those who don’t live nearby, we plan to schedule some FT calls to catch up! So that will be really nice, too.
Inspired by
The warm weather has filled up my cup! Gardening has been such a soothing outlet lately, too. Also, loving how our home is coming together and am so excited to capture bits and pieces to start sharing this next week. I feel at a really good place as we inch closer to baby girl’s arrival. Going to be such a happy nest for her to come home to.
Inspired by vintage hunting lately, adding unique and charming al fresco tabletop pieces to my collection. With the vaccine rollout and loved ones in our lives getting the shot, it has felt so promising that we might just have a somewhat normal feeling summer ahead. I cannot wait! Craving dinner parties like its nobodies business.
I’m working on a couple of projects this month that I think you will really enjoy! I also renewed my contract with Net-A-Porter again… which makes me cry every. single. time. I feel so lucky to get to work with them—they are my fave! I haven’t talked a lot about this I don’t believe, but they have been such a joy and the best experience I’ve ever had with a partner. They give me complete and total creative direction with each and every piece of content… and are just the coolest/nicest humans. I adore them/the company in general, so having the opportunity to work with them for 2 years in a row now has been one of the most rewarding parts of my career. More to come on this soon.
I owe you lots of posts this month, so I am getting to drafts now. 🙂 Have a wonderful month ahead! xx
Things of note lately
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