I Am the Bargain Hunter of the Century!

I AM AWESOME.

I told Dave I am going to turn into one of those women that will only buy things on sale - and it started yesterday. I went to the Burlington Mall specifically to look at refrigerators at Sears. I struck out big time there - the unhelpful salesman showed me 2 options - one for $3000+ and another for about $2500 and said those were the only models that would work for me. I think you're lying to me, dude. Scram.

I decided to head over to Pottery Barn to look at lighting. And then I stumbled upon this little beauty:

This is the "Hyde" table by Pottery Barn. It originally retailed for $700. I got it for the amazing price of $384.97. It was considered damaged because it was a floor model. I tell you in absolute confidence that there is nothing wrong with this table. Pottery Barn's loss, my gain.

Dave and I had been hunting for a farm table, and I was getting a little resistance from him. I wanted an antique one, but Dave thinks that I only like things that look like they have been beaten to hell for the last 50 or so years. This may be true, but only half true. Why buy an antique in perfect condition? I like things well-loved. Anyway, he was super stoked on the table. Now I just have to figure out how to get it to the house . . .

It will look so good with our Tolix chairs!

Who's In There?

Forty weeks is a long time to wait!

Dave and I decided to not find out the gender of our baby - in fact, that was a decision we made long before I was ever pregnant. My mom didn't find out what my brothers and I were going to be, so in the name of tradition I didn't want to know either. It's been really fun to guess who this little baby is.

Initially I think we all thought that it was a girl - that is all we could ever imagine having. Then we switched to thinking it was a boy, and now I am back to thinking it is a girl. We don't care one way or the other if it is a boy or a girl, as long as Baby Wall is happy and healthy.

In case you haven't noticed I really like buying things for Baby Wall on Etsy. Not knowing the gender of our baby has made it very hard for me to buy clothing. Vintage baby clothing can be super cute - especially for girls. Older boys clothing seems to be primarily made of polyester, and include vests and ties. Not really my cup of tea (unless it include anchors or sailboats in some way).

If we end up having a girl, you can be sure you will see at least one of these on her:

And these are adorable and will work either way . . .

Seriously, that denim vest KILLS me. It will look so good with the baby checkered Vans that our friends Brittain and Finkle gave us!

Recent Acquisitions

I was starting to feel a bit of panic because we didn't have a stroller or car seat for Baby Wall. When my mom came to visit 2 weekends ago we made this one of our missions. We went to Isis in the Prudential Mall and they gave us a small crash course in strollers. Initially I thought I wanted a 3-wheeled one, perhaps the B.O.B. - I was quickly redirected. We ended up with this bad boy below. It's easy to function, has a bassinet which can also be used for travel, and lots of attachments once the Davis-Wall family grows. I won't lie - strollers are really expensive, and this one seems to be no exception. We will just have to get lots of use out of it with Baby Wall #1, and all Baby Walls to come.What parent doesn't love a Bumbo? We are stoked on the color.
We didn't have a globe before I bought this awesome one on Etsy. I tried to go for half practicality and half aesthetics. I love how it looks so mid-century, but it is definitely showing its age. It still has the USSR on it. Dave kept asking my mom to find countries on it that had yet to be established . . . Also, Massachusetts is about the size of a pinhead, so we might have to get a big state map or atlas down the line.
My co-worker, Shailah, and I have been discussing a mutual love of old school charts recently. A while back I had been pining over one of birds, but it sold before I had a chance to get it. This one was still available so I scooped it up. Baby Wall has a woodland theme going on, so this will fit in perfectly. It's in amazing condition, still has the original metal bar at the top, and is from the 1960's. I'm a big fan of the raccoon down there in the bottom corner.

Almost There

Baby Wall is almost here! I am at about 38 weeks, getting bigger by the day, and my feet and hands are more swollen by the hour. We are getting prepared for everything to come. We finally bought a stroller and car seat (thanks Mom & Dad!), the hardwood floors are being installed in our new house this week (which means we can move in by the end of the week!), all baby classes have been taken, and I am meeting with a pediatrician on Wednesday.

If you asked me about a month ago if this was all going to work out, I would have most likely said no. It has been hard for us to find the time to do anything. Between lots of Dr's appointments, trying to figure out what is going on at the new house, and both Dave and I working full time - it doesn't leave time for anything else. We have been running around like crazy people. Most days conclude with one, or both of us, falling asleep on the sofa.

Yesterday was my last day of work for a while, so it feels good to know that I can focus on essential things from here on out. You know, like the birth of my child. No biggie.

Here is how things are looking (although this was actually a few weeks ago, so I am definitely bigger now):

On a side note; do we think I could make this work as a baby bag? I mean, it's really cute - but I'm not sure how organized it will keep me. You really can't go wrong with a stripe though.Also - I really want to get these for Baby Wall. The fox is named Liam and the raccoon is named Reginald. They can both be found on Etsy, made by Sleepy King. Adorable!
More to come soon!

Lighting!

Really, I never thought I would be the kind of person to get excited about lighting.

But recently I am all about some industrial looking lighting. I find that porcelain or enameled industrial lights in green or white are pretty easy to come by. When I stumbled upon these copper beauties on Etsy, and I was smitten. The copper is just a touch different, and a little warmer.

I will need to have the light rewired, but it will be so nice with a wood table, and our birch wallpaper! It is officially the first new purchase for our new house!

Oh, and yay! We got the house! It was a long, drawn-out process, but everything is settled now. Electrical is updated, the oil line is soon to be fixed, and hopefully the radon will be no more by the time we move in. We will close at the end of February, but for now there will be lots of meetings, signings, and many questions to be answered. First order of business once we own this house: Goodbye mauve carpet, hello hardwoods.

Hard Ball

Trying to buy a house is tough business.

Dave and I have been home hunting for months - at first passively, then actively. We looked all over - Beverly, Salem, Marblehead, Newburyport (which is a dream but too far from the city), Hingham, Belmont, Arlington, Concord (too expensive), and then finally Maynard.

I accidentally stumbled upon Maynard on a trip to an apple orchard in Stow, which is one town over from Maynard. I loved the area. There are lots of farms and orchards, lots of nature, a cute little town center. I took Dave out there one day so we could look at a few open houses, and to my surprise he loved it too. We met with a realtor and started looking much more seriously.

At first our realtor sent us to a few open houses, wanting to know our feedback so we could give her a solid idea of what we were looking for. After that she took us out to see a handful of homes in a single day, which left our heads spinning a bit. One of the homes we looked at we really liked, but it seemed like too much of a project.

The home in question has mauve and baby blue carpeting, a baby blue bathroom, old lady wallpaper, oil heat, and a lovely original 80's kitchen. But it also has a lot of things we have been looking for. It is a single family ranch with 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, well-maintained, and central air!

The home in question also has an offer on it - made by Dave and I. The process has been like pulling teeth so far, primarily because this house is an estate. Three children are dealing with the sale of a home that their parents built in the 80's as their retirement home. I would only expect this to be an emotional sale for these kids, but good lord . . .

We have gone through inspections, and there were a few red flags waived - which we anticipated. The roof, hot water heater, a furnace are all near the end of their life span. Hello, Big Money. There were also some issues raised with out of date electrical, some small leaks, and an out-of-date oil line that MUST be updated. Oh, and our radon test? Terrible. The results were 14.4 and 14.6 pCi/L. Now, I don't really know what the hell this means as far as measurements go, but the EPA limit on radon in households is 4.0pCi/L. EEK!

The problem is that the estate holders are fighting us every step of the way. Everything we ask them to repair they somehow take as a personal jab at their deceased parents. First it was the amount of money we offered them for the home ("an insult to [their] parents"), then it was asking them to fix the electrical. From what I understand, their father was an electrician. Therefore, asking them to fix electrical problems that were raised by the home inspector is also a slight towards their father.

Oh, bother.

We are in a bit of a holding pattern now. Who knows what will happen. We have tried very hard to not get emotionally involved in this home, because you never know what will happen. But of course, I already started picking things out for our house:

Cute things for Baby Wall's room . . .

And some nice lighting . . .

Perhaps a Julia Child inspired pegboard in the kitchen . . .

This wallpaper for the dining room . . .

With this table (minus the bench) . . .

Fingers crossed.

4 Months In

I am 4 months pregnant this week. I feel like I am a little more comfortable with people knowing that.

I thought I was going to love being pregnant; that I was going to be good at it. I'm vegan and healthy, I was so good about taking my prenatal vitamins before I even got pregnant. I may not exercise a lot (or at all), but I thought I would take some mommy yoga! Let me tell you, I suck at being pregnant.

Once I found out I was pregnant, I didn't really believe it because I didn't feel pregnant. My appetite was still pretty healthy, and I had no morning sickness. The only way I was certain was because of the complete and utter exhaustion that I felt (and that 3rd pregnancy test I took). I could sleep for 12 hours if you let me. This, I found out, is pretty normal. Your body is going through crazy hormonal changes, and you are making extra blood for an extra human. Apparently this tuckers you out.

And then about week 6 it all changed. It started with the nausea. Dull, constant, and nagging. I could still eat for the most part, but nothing really sounded good. Slowly I started getting sick. Sometimes in the morning, sometimes at night - sometimes all day. Let me tell you, the whole "Morning Sickness" thing is a myth! It is quite literally all day sickness. I was starting to lose weight, and I had a hard time staying hydrated. I tried every over the counter remedy, and everything that was recommended to me. Ginger candy, ginger tea, peppermint tea, sniffing fresh cut lemons, hot lemon water, not taking prenatal vitamins, taking B6 . . . the list goes on and on. Nothing worked. I finally had to get a prescription for something pretty heavy duty from my doctor. The medicine works, but I still vomit. Instead of throwing up all day every day and eating close to nothing, I can now eat limited foods and I am only getting sick a few times a week. I still feel nauseous almost all the time.

The crappy thing is that all literature about pregnancy, and almost every single woman I talk to, says that this all ends around the beginning of your 2nd trimester. It is so discouraging to get my weekly email from thebump.com which tells me about the progress of my pregnancy, and it says things like "you are in the honeymoon phase of pregnancy." It feels unfair. Is throwing up 2 times a day a honeymoon phase? Not for me it isn't.

In addition to the extra extended morning sickness, I have been dealing with the following things:

• I salivate a TON. I have to chew gum all day long, or I have to spit every 30 seconds
• Nose bleeds. My nose doesn't gush blood or anything, but it's there. Always.
• Cold-like symptoms, but no cold. I sneeze a ton, I cough, I get runny noses.
• I smell EVERYTHING. And it all makes me want to hurl. I currently can't stand the smell of cooked onions and garlic, coffee or coffee breath, and most of all: Anyone that smells like booze. Riding the train on a Friday morning, after a Thirsty Thursday, is a small form of torture. I could walk through the train and point to every single person that was out drinking the night before. But they all sit next to me so I wouldn't have to go far.

I'm sure there are more, but those are the most unusual. Or I thought they were unusual. These are the things you are never told about pregnancy unless you look a little harder for the information. It makes me feel like everything written about pregnancy is written by a man. They just put the most basic facts in a book and called it a day.

I want to be good at being pregnant. I want to feel happy about it. I want to be able to eat and drink like I normal person. I want to be able to leave the house without a plastic bag in case I have to throw up. (Seriously, I would have been so screwed without this. I have tossed my cookies in the car a handful of times.)

Sometimes I feel like the worst pregnant woman in the world.