Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Fit Pregnancy

Now that I am finally feeling good, I have decided that I really need to dedicate more of my time to diet and fitness. I spent the latter part of my first trimester napping, and the only foods that were actually appetizing were waffles, pancakes, and french toast. Needless to say, by around week 12, I quickly realized that if I continue down this path.. I may be in a little bit of trouble. Since I came to this realization, I have been hitting the gym about three times a week. I've also been paying much more attention to all the other food groups... ya know like fruits and veggies... maybe some protein every once in a while. When it comes to the gym, I definitely don't do anything crazy, but I do spend some time doing light cardio on the elliptical or treadmill, and then I add in a bit of core strength training when I have the time or energy. Since I have made these simple changes over the last few weeks, I have been feeling great. My lower back pain is gone, and my overall energy level is much improved. I found a great website on pinterest, called fittamomma.com, that offers a large variety of great exercises for pregnancy. I also started reading the magazine, FitPregnancy. I highly recommend giving both a peek.

Monday, March 25, 2013

Maternity Street Style

a few chicks who have this whole pregnancy style thing really figured out. kudos to them. 



honestly, no one tells you how challenging it is to make your growing body look attractive before the real bump arrives. i'm currently in the ... 'look a little chubby' phase of pregnancy, week 17.  i cannot wait for this belly to pop so people don't have to wonder if i've just totally let myself go in 2013. 


Wednesday, March 20, 2013

first day of spring. thank the lord. bring on the sunshine.

Monday, March 18, 2013

Happy 28th Birthday to this handsome, kind-hearted man. I am so very thankful to be married to this wonderful guy. He truly is my better half. I could not imagine life without him. 
xoxo

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Lunch Date!




Welp, if I'm gonna be preg, I'm at least gonna try and do it in style. Gotta lunch date with my girls tomorrow and I'm rocking the floral, because it's suppose to be 50 degrees and I want Spring so badly.


Monday, March 11, 2013

The Only Way to Travel

For all those travelers out there, this post is dedicated to you!

Kiel and I LOVE to travel. We take, at minimum, at least two trips a year. I am sure that our ability to travel will be changing a bit once the little one shows up; however, I am somewhat determined to not put traveling to a complete holt. 
Since Kiel and I travel so often, (and we aren't made of money) we have had to figure out a way to vacation on a budget... and the way to do that, is to rent a home. Not only are home rentals extremely more affordable than hotels, but they give you the ability to pretend you're a local for a week. The only, and I mean only, downfall of renting a home on vacation, is that you often need to rent a vehicle for the week, as well. For us, renting a car, is all part of the experience and allows us to explore the destination at our own leisure. On our first day of vacation, we often cruise to a local supermarket and pick up a few staples; such as coffee, creamer, fruits, and breakfast pastries. Purchasing these few items will allow us to get through mornings and early afternoons on a budget. We like to save our vacation spending for things like dinners out and adventurous excursions. 

We have rented homes in a numerous locations, both US and abroad. From the Finger Lakes in NY, to the shores of the Hawaii Islands, to the heart of the French Riviera... we have honestly rented all over!

We stayed in a condo rental on the coast of France for our honeymoon. We found a lovely rental on homeaway.com, that was just breathtaking. The pictures honestly don't do it justice. Below are some of our photos of the rental. We had sweeping views of the Mediterranean, and were located just outside the city of Nice. It couldn't have been a more romantic destination.


Photos of our stay in a hawaiian bungalow on the north shore of Oahu, HI. This rental was absolutely perfect for us. We spent each night in a luxurious california king bed. We road our bikes to breakfast and the beach each morning. And we spent our evenings on the lanai, sipping home-made pina coladas while listening to the waves crash on sunset beach. It was picture perfect.



And now for our most recently rented property.. our coastal cottage on Anna Maria Island, Florida.
We honestly cannot wait to fly south in April. Bring on the sunshine!






Friday, March 8, 2013

One Last Little Getaway :)





Kiel and I are going on a little getaway this April.. I guess you could call it our 'Babymoon'. One last hoorah before our lives change forever (and I mean that in a really good way). We found a lovely little home rental on Anna Maria Island, just south of Tampa, Florida. The little beach town looks like an ideal location to travel to while pregnant. I am so excited to swim in our own little private pool, bask in the sun on the sandy white beach, cruise around town on our beach cruiser bikes, and indulge in frozen, fruity (alcohol-free) beverages. I couldn't be more ecstatic to be getting away with my hubs.