Mother's Day

Usually Mother's Day is a pretty uneventful holiday for me.  Of course, it usually includes flowers or cards or calls to all of my favorites mothers.  But there's a feeling that accompanies a holiday that you only celebrate from "the outside looking in".  Like when you learn about the holidays celebrated in other cultures and religions and you go to parties and festivals to watch how they celebrate their own.  And sometimes you may eat a latke or run through plumes of chalky colors.  But you're still just observing--standing on the outside looking through the glass at the wonders of the many celebrations that are not your own.

I hadn't really thought much about this Mother's Day and how it relates to me until yesterday I received a card in the mail from a friend that said "Happy Mother's Day".  I had to pause for a minute to wonder if she sent it to the wrong person.  But then, as if she knew exactly what I was thinking, I felt a little squirm in my stomach and remembered that Motherhood is upon me.  Inside me.  Slowly peaking it's little light above the horizon.

So this year I feel slightly different about Mother's Day.  I feel like I've picked a new religion or been reborn in another country.  I feel like this year, I'm celebrating a whole new holiday:  one in which we honor the ones who carry life.  One measly little tiny second of eternity, nowhere near adequate enough, where we stop to say thanks to the person who birthed us, who carried us inside of her, who gave up wine and caffeine and wine and sky diving and wine and yoga inversions and wine for us.  The one who, at one time, had her own heart, and also yours, beating inside of her one body.

This year, as I feel this little one inside of me--another heart, another brain, another set of lungs, another pair of ears and eyes--growing and dancing and exploring, I am so very humbled and so extremely honored to be inducted into this new culture, the culture of mothers.

This Mother's Day, the most I can give to my own Mother and to the many mothers I love and admire, is my promise that I will spend every day of the rest of my life trying to live up to the amazing examples that you have set for me.  And continue to take at least a second of every day to stop and look around and remember what a mystery this all is, and how utterly miraculous that I, and everyone else wandering around here, came to be.

Have a wondrous weekend,
MEL

P.S. That's me today, about 26 weeks into the wild blue yonder.

DIY: Birthday

Recently, I've been on a little bit of a DIY kick.  Everything from decorating to parties to birthdays.  I like to say it's because I'm super creative and original.  However, I think the real reason is that the DIY options tend to be cheaper.  Either way, it's been fun, and at the end of the day, that's reason enough for me.

A couple weeks ago, I celebrated my Mr.'s 28th birthday.  This is one of the most holy of holidays in my mind because it is the day my partner was born.  Without getting too sappy, for those of you who know us, it's no secret that we are a team--best friends, lovers, co-conspirators, and soon-to-be parents.  YIKES!

Anyway, it was important to me to be able to do something extra special for his last birthday as a childless man, so I decided to go the DIY route.  

Here's what I did:

Craving: Fruit & Butter

My grandmother used to make the most sinfully delicious and easiest dessert of all time, dump cake.  Seriously, it was so easy, she would put my little brother and I in charge of making it.  When I was like 8.  And he was seriously 4.  Then, a few years ago, there was the sweetest lady at the church I played at who made her own version of a dump cake and would make it for me all the time.  Fast forward to just over a week ago, I find myself at a rehearsal dinner in the Texas hill country eating blackberry cobbler.  So, now I can't get it out of my mind.  

I need butter and fruit.  Stat.

Here are some particularly delicious looking recipes:

Blueberry Crunch Dump Cake

Stone Fruit Cobbler

Blackberry Pie Bars

XOXO

--MEL

      

Boy or girl??

Well, we've got big news over here!  After two agreeing ultrasounds and a few weeks of private jubilation, we're so very excited to announce that our little Lombardo baby is a GIRL!

I'll tell you that I was pretty shocked as I had myself pretty much convinced it was a boy.  But I think that made the revelation just that more exciting!  Our hearts are overflowing, we are completely over the moon, and we are so excited!

Let the shopping begin...

Clockwise from top left:  

blue moccasins / flower dress / socks / jumper / onesie / pink loafers / 

leggings / cloth diaper / leaf dress / deer shirt / fox flats 

Spring/Winter Wardrobe 101

According to the weathermen, Spring is here.  However, I live in CO and that means that Spring is in fact still Winter.  I mean, we got a foot of snow this weekend.  Highs are in the low 40's today.  Does that sound like Spring to you?  I don't think so.

So, that means that I have to push my winter wardrobe for at least a few more weeks of low temps and try and disregard all the adorable new spring clothing that is now in every store.  But I'm not very good at following the rules.  

Which brings me to today's lecture:  "How to combine Spring and Winter wardrobes"

Lesson 1: The Breezy Blouse--pair a new tissue thin pastel button-down with a wool jacket and booties to stay warm.  Top it off with sherbet-hued glasses for an extra spring in your step.

Sunglasses / Jacket / Booties / Shirt

*******

Lesson 2:  The Silky Shift--Pair a breezy dress with your staple opaque black tights and knee-high boots.  Top it all off with a cozy cashmere cardigan and you're good to go.

Dress / Cardigan / Tights / Boots 

*******

Lesson 3:  The Bright Brogue--Take off your clunky winter boots and throw on some bright kicks to liven up the day.  Pair with colorful jeans, your favorite chambray, and a thick wool jacket, and you're all set.

Jacket / Shirt / Shoes / Jeans

*******

And that concludes the class for today.  Any questions?  Good.  Now go and conquer the last few weeks of this stubborn winter.  

--MEL

Wallpaper

Hello my dear internet cosmos!  Hope you all had a fabulous weekend.  We spent our snowy Saturday inside painting our and baby's bedrooms.  We've been trying to rectify the sheer terror of "builder's brown" that was plastered over every square inch of wall in this house before we bought it since we moved in.  Slowly but surely, we will win this war.

Anyway, as we continue to trudge through the never ending wall reformation, I am becoming more and more intrigued with the idea of wallpaper.  No, not the floral kind your mom had on her dining room walls in the 80's.  Wallpaper is back with a stylish vengeance and it's ready to take over.  I'm particularly into the super graphic prints that tend to be a bit more whimsical.  I think if you're going to put a print over an entire wall, or room, it needs to be fun and not too serious.

I'm starting small and we're covering just a tiny sliver of wall in the baby's room with this graphic whimsical print (UPDATE! According to the website, this wallpaper is no longer available.  I'm convincing myself this is just a major technical error and not the truth. Breathe in.  Breathe out.):

Kalahari Vignettes Wallpaper, Anthropologie

And if in fact the damn website is telling me the truth, here is a round up of some other amazing wallpapers that I also love:

Origami Wallpaper, Dottir & Sonur

Wallpaper Owls, Mini Empire

"Hand made", Paper Boy

And this is technically not a wallpaper, it's fabric--but how awesome would this big colorful graphic be on a wall:

"Zahara", Alexander Henry

Now, if we could all hold hands and pray to the Anthropologie gods for the return of my beloved wallpaper, that would be great.  I appreciate you in advance (did you listen to this amazing This American Life recently?  I am totally obsessed with that saying now).

--MEL

Body Basics: dry skin edition

Hello my dear internet cosmos!  Hope you all had an awesome weekend.  Ours was spent mostly huddled inside as we got our first real snow storm of the year (and of our lives), and after watching cars get stuck in the middle of our street, we decided not to brave it.  And lo and behold, I look outside right now and it's snowing again.  Shocker.

We also spent the weekend reflecting on the unbelievable amount of love and support we received from my last post--I really never expected to see so many well wishes in our lifetimes.  We are so very grateful for you all.

So between being pregnant and living in CO in the winter, one of the most important lessons I have learned is:  MOISTURIZE.  You thought you were gonna get something deep and profound, huh?  Well, winter at 5400 ft. and pregnancy hormones will teach you real fast that remembering to pack in as much moisture as possible is about as profound as it gets.  Plus, when you're pregnant, it's easy to obsess over ever ingredient of what you put on and into your body, so finding products that are safe and natural are an added must.  And it can get real expensive real fast buying every all-natural moisturizing beauty product you can find before you actually find what works for you.

And that's where I come in:  in hopes that you may have a bit of an easier go at it than I did, I put together a little cheat sheet for all of you searching for the perfect products.  Here we go:

1- Burt's Bees Richly Replenishing Body Lotion.  I searched and searched for a lotion that wasn't greasy, yet was still thick and super hydrating and this is the hands-down winner.  Plus, it makes you smell like a cake, in a non-barf-inducing-knock-you-over-the-head-and-out-the-door kind of way.  

2- Manuka Honey Night Cream.  I've found that no matter what face wash or daily face lotion I use, this is the only thing that ensures that my face stays hydrated.  I put it on after a lazy swipe of a cleansing cloth before bed and I wake up with noticeably more moisturized (and clearer!) skin.

3- Rosebud Salve.  I have spoken before of my love affair with this stuff and I swear it will never die.  In addition to using it on my lips and dry cuticles, I've starting dabbing a bit around my eyes if they feel extra wrinkly and dry and rubbing it on (and possibly in) my nose as the big bad pregnancy hormones turn my nose into a rock garden.

4- Giovanni Smooth as Silk Deep Moisture Shampoo.  It is borderline impossible to find a good hippie-shampoo that lathers and moisturizes like all the non-hippie shampoos out there.  And I have a particularly thick head of hair that demands a good moisturizing cleanse, regardless of my geography or the status of my latest pregnancy test.  This shampoo is the clear winner.  You'll never know you're skipping out on all the gunk and grime that makes other shampoos so silky smooth.

5- Sedu Anti-Frizz Polishing Treatment.  No matter how wonderful your shampoo is, the second you throw a hair dryer on your head, your hair is gonna go flying.  This argan oil serum is unbelievable.  I literally use ONE drop of this stuff after drying my hair and it makes my hair shine like the dickens.  That's right.  Like the dickens.  I'll even use it on my second-day-without-a-wash head of hair and it gets rid of the static without making my hair oily.  Seriously.  Buy it now.

6- Kiss My Face Peppermint Foot Creme.  When I first moved here, I tried to lather up my feet with regular body lotion at night and put on some socks and head to bed, but alas, I'd wake up in the morning with no socks on and feet dryer than they were before.  Now, I've found the trick.  Every morning, before I get out of my house shoes, I'll put this all over my feet, put my super soft wooly house shoes back on, and not take them off until I'm putting on real shoes to walk out the door.  Works like a charm.

7- Burt's Bees Baby Oil.  Yes, I know it's for babies.  Yes, I realize you are not a baby.  And no, you do not have to be pregnant to use this.  All I know is that if it's safe for baby's skin, it's probably safe for momma's skin, and it's certainly safe for everyone else's skin as well.  Once or twice a week, I'll squirt a little of this onto a wash rag and wipe it over my entire body at the end of a shower and then rinse.  It is outrageous how much more moisture this adds to your skin.  Before I lived in one of the most scorched places in the US, I would use just this at the end of the shower and not even need body lotion.  That's how good it is.

8- Origins All-Purpose High Elevation Cream.  I keep this in my purse and put it on my hands multiple times a day.  I think the name speaks for itself--it was formulated for us up here in the clouds and it is heavenly.  A little bit goes a long way thankfully because it's certainly not cheap, but it's the absolute best.

Hope this helps!  Now go and save your dry skin!
--MEL