Awards and Other Unmentionables

I'm so excited to tell you that I've been featured on another blog. Anna over at Fash Boulvard featured me and few other bloggers in her post with mustard/golden colored pieces. Check it out!

I was also nominated for the Liebster Blog Award. For any of you who don't know what that is, the Liebster Blog Award was created to discover new blogs with less than 1000 followers. I was nominated by Haley Valerie. Thank you so much!

The rules for this award vary, but these are the ones that I am following:

• List 11 random facts about yourself
• Answer the 11 questions which are given to you by your nominator
• Ask 11 new questions for all the Bloggers that you nominate to win the award
• Nominate 9 bloggers with less than 1000 followers for the award
• Go to each of the blogger's pages to let them now about their nominations
• Thank the blogger who nominated you by mentioning them and link it back to their blog on your post
• 
  

11 Random Facts:
- I play piano and a lead pianist at my church
- I speak two languages - Russian and English
- I love shopping with my husband 
- I'm a clean freak 
- I wanted to be a judge when I was little
- I have very low pain tolerance (and I'm due in <2 weeks. Good luck girlfriend!)
- I've never been in the hospital- no surgeries, no broken bones, no ER visits and no serious illnesses.
- I'm an Evangelical Christian
- I always wanted a large family with 4-5 children but this pregnancy is making me reconsider it. 
- I did not like my husband when I met him. We were hanging out in the same youth group for a while but I did not ever think that I  fall this guy. I fell  hard and never regretted it since! 
- My two favorite women in the world are my mom and my sister. I also have the most adorable niece.


My  Questions:

• Why did you start a blog?
• Cats or dogs?
• If you could meet one famous person, who would it be? 
• Do you have siblings?
• Who's your favorite blogger? (link up)
• Are you an early bird or a night owl?
• If the world would end tomorrow, what would you be doing today?
• What is your favorite food?
• If you could travel the world, what is one place you would definitely visit? 
• What is your biggest pet peeve?
• What is your favorite TV show?

Questions from Haley Valerie:

1. What is your middle name?
Alexandria

2. What is your favorite movie?
The Notebook - I know it's cheesy and such a chick-flick but I cannot help myself and cry every time

3. How long have you been blogging?
Almost a year - I'm a newbie

4. What is your favorite beauty product?
Bare Minerals foundation. I love how light it is

5. Coffee or Tea?
Always tea with honey and lemon.

6. If you could have one wish granted what would it be?
Being able to see the future. I'm a perfectionist and want to avoid mistakes

7. Who is your favorite celebrity?
I don't think I have one. Not really into Hollywood

8. What is your favorite book?
Gone with the Wind. I must have read it about 10 times and it never gets old

9. What is your dream job?
Teaching College Mathematics 

10. What is your biggest pet peeve?
Clean bathroom

11. What inspired you to create a blog? 
I started following fashion blogs and one really stood out. The very first blog I started following was by Jessica Quirck at What I Wore. She started very small and was persistent enough to make it a success. It inspired me to start my own blog and follow through with it.

I nominate 

The Double Take Girls
God Bless Our Nest

Butler Party of 2

Mama Style

Creamy
Here and Now
Lam in Louboutins
Brandon and Shelby
Racing Towards Joy
Something Devine

No Rush

This black maxi is the only thing that fits my big belly at this point.
Miss my regular clohes

It's been all about birth, baby and other pregnancy related things here but that's my life. And since this blog is about my life - there is no way of getting around it all.
After reading this post by an awesome fellow blogger, I have been thinking.
I've decided to consciously enjoy every single moment of every day until our baby boy arrives.

 People keep asking me how long I have left and that unintentionally reminds me that it's
getting VERY close but he's still not here.

 It seems like we rush through a lot of things in life but this time is not going to ever come back. 

I'm not going to be just wife, sister, daughter and friend. I'm going to be a mother. 

You can't rush through motherhood.
You can't rush through life. 
God is giving me this time to reflect and learn to trust Him to give us our boy at a perfect time.

So while I wait... 

Spending lots of quality time with hubby, sleeping in when possible, shopping, watching movies and  just enjoying time together. Ohhhh yes, still debating on the name.
Spending time with friends and family, hanging out with my mom and sister.
Reading a few baby books and one just for pure pleasure of reading.
Trying different recipes - cooking and baking deliciousness.
So take your time baby boy (reasonable amount), get strong and big (not too big) to face this currently-below-zero-temperatures world.

Hearty Potato Soup {recipe}

recipe courtesy of The Pioneer Woman

 Lately, I have been making lots of food.
What else is there to do when the temperatures drop into negative zone Fahrenheit?
Brrrrr. But-freezing cold. 

I mean, I am hungry pregnant lady after all.

Staying at home, and baking and cooking up a storm, makes my husband the happy beneficiary of the happenings. I don't know why and what's happening here but nesting is definitely getting to me. 

I think I'm reading more food blogs than fashion anything right now. Washing floors at least twice a week, scouting for pillows for my new couches and just organizing the house like crazy.

Well, at least the house is clean and there is always food. Delicious food. 

I got this recipe from The Pioneer Woman and it's perfect. It's so hearty, thick yet perfectly creamy. 

Try it for yourself.

Ingredients

6 slices Thin Bacon, Cut Into 1-inch Pieces

1 whole Medium Onion, Diced

2 whole Carrots, Scrubbed Clean And Diced

3 stalks Celery, Diced

6 whole Small Russet Potatoes, Peeled And Diced

6 cups Low Sodium Chicken Or Vegetable Broth

3 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour

1 cup Milk

1/2 cup Heavy Cream

1/2 teaspoon Salt, More To Taste

Black Pepper To Taste

1/2 teaspoon Cajun Spice Mix

1 teaspoon Minced Fresh Parsley

1 cup Grated Cheese Of Your Choice

Preparation Instructions

Add bacon pieces to a soup pot over medium heat and cook bacon until crisp and fat is rendered. Remove the bacon from the pot and set it aside. Pour off most of the grease, but do not clean the pot.

Return the hot to medium-high heat and add the onions, carrots, and celery. Stir and cook for 2 minutes or so, then add the diced potatoes. Cook for 5 minutes, seasoning with salt, pepper, and Cajun spice.

Pour in the broth and bring it to a gentle boil. Cook for 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are starting to get tender. Whisk together the flour and the milk, then pour into the soup and allow the soup to cook for another 5 minutes.

Remove half to 2/3 the soup and blend in a blender/food process until completely smooth. Pour it back into the soup pot and stir to combine. Let it heat back up as you taste for seasonings, adding more of what it needs. Stir in cream, then stir in parsley, reserving a little for garnish.

Serve in bowls garnished with parsley, grated cheese and crisp bacon pieces. 

*** I love to eat it with black yeast dough Russian bread. It reminds me of home.

Ready. Set. Go.

Since I don't know how big he's going to be, I packed a newborn and 0-3m outfit.
What am I missing?

I've asked several people and the opinion is split on whether or not take clothes to the hospital.
What else am I missing?

At this point the nursery is completely finished - it looks so darn cute. My hospital bag and his diaper bag are packed. All that's left is to wait and see. 

Honestly, I think every mother is worried about the birth process and for me, being the control freak that I am,  it's hard to let go. I have absolutely no control over the entire thing as it's very unpredictable. 

But I have decided not to let the worry get to me - I can't fix, help or speed up the process by worrying. So I'm going to try to enjoy these last couple of weeks as a preggo woman. I'm going to soak in the freedom that I still have (trip to B&N anyone?) and the inability to tie my own shoes. 

As much as I can, I ask for advice from experienced mothers, read other people's blogs and opinions on everything from Pitocin to a birthing ball. But until I go through it, I don't know how it is, although it's good to be ready. For everything. 

Nifty Thrifting

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You just received that Pottery Barn catalog and swooning over a rustic table with modern chairs on page 15. The price on that thing? Ridiculous, and you know it. So what to do? Find one and make it your own. At a thrift store

I love thrift store shopping - it's fun, unpredictable and always low-cost. I have been asked on multiple occasions how do I find clothes that look so good when I tell them it's from thrift store. 

There are a couple of tricks.

 Now that we are in our new home, I'm scouting for one-of-a-kind accent pieces, but it's not easy. 

Here are couple of tricks on finding the 'this is so lovely/cute/gorgeous! where did you get it?' piece.

Quality, over quantity. Browsing the racks and rows of old, used furniture, don't think about getting more stuff. Let's face it - you probably have a million sweaters so when picking out clothes, look for unique patterns, familiar store tags and little to no use/wear. I know that the low prices are tempting but select only the best, even if you have to walk away empty handed. Unless you want your closet looking like thrift store itself.

Take your time. Thrifting is time consuming. Nothing is laid out for you and matched like in the department store. There isn't a sign saying "This table is very sturdy. Just needs a fresh coat of paint" Dig through everything. Be patient. You never know.

Distinguish between junk and treasure. This is hard to do at times. When looking for furniture make sure it's sturdy, has no cracks and isn't going to fall apart the minute you put it in your trunk (they don't do refunds). Learn to recognize good quality and sort of have a vision.

Be consistent. You have to be a regular at any thrift store, because nothing is there for very long time. Check the stores often and ask when they receive major shipments, or days when they put out new stuff. Know the sale days. Yes, they have those. Even Salvation Army has 50% off everything day. So what if it's cheap when you can get it cheaper!

Have a goal in mind. Don't just go in aimlessly looking for something. You will never find it. And if you do, it turns out you didn't need it in the first place. Only because you see $0.99 price tag on it, doesn't mean you have to get it. You are more likely to find specific pieces when you know what you are looking for. There is a lot of junk in those stores. But when you know you want that cute little frame with Victorian border so you can spray paint it the color you want and proudly display it over the fireplace, your eyes will ignore the junk and help you find the piece you are looking for.

Never mind the stigma. For some people, it's demeaning to go to a thrift store. It's below them for some reason. Either they are too proud, or too stuck up, or too rich (I mean, good for them) to thrift. There is nothing embarrassing about finding good stuff for cheap and turning it into a one-of-a-kind treasure. If someone gives you a weird look about going to the thrift store, just ignore it and think about all the money you are saving your family (if aren't buying junk that is).

I'm a thrifter and I know it!