Cool Coat

I love this peacoat from Ramona West for it's Ali Macgraw/Sally MacMillan 70s chicness.

Have you tried...pumpkin seed oil?

We eat a lot of roasted squash around here in the fall (like at least twice a week). Butternut, acorn, delicata, sweet dumpling...we love them all. Usually I simply roast the squashes with olive oil and s&p, but after reading about pumpkin seed oil, I picked some up a few months ago, and it's been my roasting oil of choice since then.

It definitely has a nuttier, richer flavor than olive oil, but doesn't overwhelm an ingredient as light as delicata. I even used it to roast golden beets, adding a little curry powder as well. The result was a super nutty, almost meat-y tasting beet that I added to a curry dish, then later put on top of a salad.

Last night we had one of our favorite meals: roasted sweet dumpling squash, stuffed with a wild rice pilaf filled with celery, carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, dried cranberries, apples, and walnuts (normally it would also have onions, but since they don't seem to agree with the twins, I can't eat them until I'm done nursing), with a side of wilted kale dressed in a maple dijon vinaigrette. The best part? The glass of Sauvignon Blanc we drank to wash it all down!

Where You Been?

Hey...remember me? So much has happened since I last blogged...

Say hi to Quint and Griffin born on August 12, 2010. It's amazing how quickly life can change once you have a child (children)...in miraculous ways that being pregnant for nine months can't even begin to prepare you for. You gain so much perspective, and these talents and skills emerge that you never even knew you had (like patience...wow--where did that come from?!).

And I'm not working any more (caring for two babies is definitely a full-time job!). So instead of my days being filled with meetings and travel, it's now filled with feedings and play time and laundry and trying to cook a healthy dinner for the hubby and me. Funny how accomplishing just those few things every day seems just huge, and I'm so proud when it all goes well. Way more proud than of anything I ever accomplished at work.

But you know what? I'm still me...and I still love shoes...and good food...and books. And the twins don't yet care about any of those things, so I'm going to try to get this thing going again. I hope somebody's still reading! xo

Shoe of the Day

Darlingtonia Moccasin Co.'s Hitchcock Moccasins...these will be perfect for chasing after two crazy toddlers in the very near future, don't you think?

Don't mess with Texas or...Rhode Island???

I grew up in Pennsylvania but have zero home state pride--unlike the hubby who is 100% Jersey born and bred...and damn proud of it!!! But Rhode Island? Now that's a state a girl can love (this girl, anyway). How cool is this t-shirt? It's had me chuckling for the last 10 minutes.

In fact there are several things in this shop, Bit and Little Bit, that I think I want...like some adorable onesies and bibs for the twins. And what I find even cooler is that the creator of all this cuteness, Hilary Treadway, is also a trained doula! What a multi-talented lady!

(via The Craptastic Voyage)

Walcott, Mystic Seaport is that way...

Mom and I all ready for the NKOTB concert at Foxwood's (I know...we have a major problem!)

Charles W. Morgan restoration project at Mystic Seaport

I climbed 4 flights of stairs to get on the Morgan...I was determined!

Deck prism

Barnacles

My dad at his happiest...ok...actually he'd be happier if he were sailing on that little Beetle Cat in the background.

Steamboat ride

The hubby, playing in the tugboat exhibit.

Getting worn out...and tired of having my picture taken!

Watch Hill, RI...our favorite place to vacation. (The new Ocean House in the background--we WILL stay there one day...just not this summer thanks to the twins!)

I stalk this house in Watch Hill...it's my favorite house in the whole world... I literally dream about it!

When we miraculously wake up one day and are independently wealthy, the first thing I'm doing is buying this house!

Gotta love the salt spray roses!

Sigh...highlights from our trip two weekends ago. I want to go back!!!

The Masque of the Black Tulip

I finally settled in to do some non-baby-related reading this weekend. In the spirit of kicking off summer, I picked up The Masque of the Black Tulip, which has been on my shelf for ages. It's the second in the Pink Carnation series. These books are just so fun and frivolous...the perfect mix of a little mystery/intrigue and historical romance. You know, the perfect summer reading, right?

While reading, I sort of fell in love with that little black and white tulip illustration on the cover, so I started nosing around to see what cool black tulip-themed items I could find...

...like this pretty little painting (I think it would look really cool hung on a black accent wall in a hallway or bathroom)...

...and this Pyrex casserole dish (seriously--is there any pattern Pyrex didn't do?! Gotta love it!)...

...or these sweet, dainty lucite earrings (these totally look like something one of the heroines in the books would wear!)...

...and this enamel brooch.

I've now started on the next volume in the series, The Deception of the Emerald Ring...I hope it doesn't make me want to shop for emeralds! YIKES!

Wedding Bells

Today we are celebrating our 8th wedding anniversary. My how time flies!

I know everyone's wedding day is always exciting, but ours was doubly so because we had spent the previous three years living four hours apart. Having our relationship survive that expanse of time and physical space made us realize how much we loved each other and wanted to wake up in the same place every day for the rest of our lives. I spent the first several months of our married life in this surreal state where I would drive to Seth's office at lunch to see him--just because I could (ok...8 years later I actually still do this sometimes)!!!--and almost every night would say, as we climbed into bed, "It's kind of like having a sleepover, isn't it?!?!"

I have felt incredibly blessed to have Seth in my life--from the moment we met 15 years ago, but the heartaches and joys of the last year have made me feel even more so. He is the kindest, most patient man I know--on top of a million other wonderful attributes. I have always said, "I hope when we have kids we have boys because more men should be like Seth," so I cannot tell you how thrilled I am on our 8th anniversary to be carrying his twin sons.

I had wanted to share more of our wedding pictures, but our computer got a virus over the weekend, so this shot is one of the few good ones I could pull off of Shutterfly. Looking at our wedding pictures is strange for me because my dress, hair, make-up, etc., are not at all what I would do now, but they seemed right at the time. Anyone else feel that way?

Long Weekend To Do List

Let's all watch To Catch a Thief this weekend, shall we?

I always love this part in the movie where Grace Kelly and Cary Grant drive up those steep, curvy Riviera roads to have their picnic of friend chicken and beer. So summery and elegant. And how beautiful are those white driving gloves? Sigh....

Happy long weekending, ladies! xo

DVF does sequins right

I tend to shy away from sequins because they are one of those things that always make me feel uncomfortable. I'm not sure why, because I love them on other people. Plus, they are innately shiny and gaudy, and I innately love both of those things!

That said, these two DVF toppers that went on Bluefly yesterday, could make me change my mind (of course, I'm sure I'll have LOTS of occasion to wear sequins while chasing after the twins, don't you...?).

Is this jacket too Liza Minelli or just too awesome? I can't decide!

The shape of this little floral cocoon feels very 1920s to me. I'd go all Daisy Buchanan and wear it over a tiered lace dress with some t-strap sandals and loads of pearls.

C'mon get happy!

Love this ring! I'm totally digging how the design is clean and graphic, yet kind of unrefined at the same time. Plus turquoise and amber are two of my very favorite stones. And what's more, something about it gives me a strong Partridge Family vibe. Gotta love that, right?!

(via Bella-Bijou Jewelry)

Belly Update: 26 weeks

Per my earlier post, we spent this last Saturday at Mystic Seaport, where Seth was able to snap some fun belly shots while we were aboard the Charles W. Morgan, the oldest surviving whaling ship.

Are horizontal stripes a pregnant girl's best friend? Probably not, but I've loved this little navy and white tunic from H&M maternity anyway.

It was so fun to get away and to feel well enough to travel! This trip didn't exactly count as a "babymoon" since my parents were along (we opted to renovate our bathroom instead of doing a bigger trip this spring...probably not a great choice, but more on that later...), but we had a wonderful time.

As you can see, my belly is really filling out and getting SUPER heavy. I've definitely got my waddle on! At our appointment last Thursday (I got to see the twins on my birthday--how cool was that?!), we learned that they are each weighing in at approximately 2.5 lbs, which is the size a single baby should be at this point (usually twins are a little smaller!). We also got great news in that I passed the diabetes scan and also that the right twin's amniotic fluid is not increasing at all and might even be a little bit less than it was a month ago when we learned that he had too much. Overall, they just keep saying that they look really, really healthy, so we are feeling very relieved and blessed (albeit very, very uncomfortable!).

Blue Monday: Mystic Seaport

Sigh...slowly coming back around to reality today after a wonderful long weekend spent in Connecticut and Rhode Island to celebrate my birthday.

I've got lots of pictures from our trip to share once the hubby downloads them, but in the meantime, I thought I'd post this sweet vintage postcard from Mystic Seaport. Have you ever been to the Seaport? It rocks, if you like that type of interactive museum experience (which I do). I've been going there, literally, my entire life, and it's one of my favorite places ever.

p.s. Did you happen to catch this awesome documentary on the history of whaling on PBS? It was really, really interesting, and I learned a lot (like that Quakers were the main inhabitants of Nantucket and the biggest whalers back in the day...odd that a group that so aligns itself with peace would have been so heavily involved in such a brutal industry, eh?). This show totally inspired Seth and I to read Heart of the Sea about the gruesome voyage of the whaling ship, Essex.

Perfect Outfit

I'm such a mix-and-match kind of shopper and outfit builder that rarely (okay--almost never) do I see a picture that makes me say, "Oh! That's a perfect outfit! I would buy every single item and wear them exactly as pictured." Usually I instead take a bit of inspiration from this picture and that, and then piece them together in my own odd kind of way, you know (I know you know)?

But for my money, this picture from Anthropologie, dear readers, is of a perfect outfit. I want it all. Okay--maybe I could live without the grey jeggings since I already have skinny grey jeans, but the top, necklace and shoes should be mine...to wear once the twins are born, obviously! This would be a great 'mommy' look, don't you think?

Belly Update: 25 weeks

I almost look non-prego here, don't I? Is there a belly in that dress...?

...oh yeah...there it is!

They're ridin' low and heavy!

Jacket: Vintage (previously seen here)
Dress: Liz Lange Maternity
Shoes: BCBG
Jewelry: Mix of vintage, Stella & Dot, gifts from hubby, and Banana Republic
Umbrella: Burberry (a very nice gift from a former coworker!!!)

My 25th week is up today!!! I don't feel like the size of my belly has grown too much in the last few weeks, but it's definitely gotten a lot heavier and more cumbersome. Two weeks ago the twins were weighing in at 1.5 lbs (baby A...aka 'Lefty') and 1.75 lbs (baby B...aka 'Righty') respectively. We have another appointment tomorrow, so I'll be curious to see how big they are. I think they must be getting really strong because their movements and kicks are just unbelievable now. My entire belly undulates and sometimes they kick so hard that it startles me! Honestly, feeling them move is the best part of being pregnant. And as I get closer to my due date, it's becoming harder and harder to wrap my mind around the fact that there are two little people inside of me!

In other baby news...it's been over a week since I've had to take a nausea pill, and I'm eating more foods all the time. It still feels really exciting to feel hungry and actually want to eat after so many months of feeling so sick! We also finished our HypnoBirthing class on Monday night, so now I'm even more jazzed to birth these guys naturally. I also got a recommendation on a really great doula, so I'm getting in touch with her this week to see if she is available to work with us.

Next up: TACKLING THE NURSERY!!! Stay tuned....

Lonely Legs

Wow. Isn't this a gorgeous photograph from Jacqleen Bleu? The lighting, colors, and those lonely legs feel very Edward Hopper-ish to me.

(via Jacqleen Bleu's Etsy shop)

Blue Monday: Maternity Bathing Suit

You know how terrifying picking out a bathing suit is when you are your normal size and physique? Okay, now imagine the horror of putting on a bathing suit in the last trimester of a twins pregnancy. Welcome to my world, ladies!!!

With Memorial Day rapidly approaching, I'm realizing I can no longer avoid the reality that I must bite the bullet and buy a maternity swimsuit. When my bff, Nicole, was pregnant last year, she bought a suit from A Pea in the Pod. It was adorable, but frankly, I just don't want to spend that much. So I'm considering this paisley number from Old Navy because one of my favorite bikinis of all time actually came from there about eight years ago. It was super, super flattering, so I'm holding out hope that ON's maternity swimwear will be the same!

DC...I'm missing you!

For the last four years I've spent this week in DC for work meetings. Other than my annual travel to Chicago in August (hello fall shopping on Michigan Ave.!!!), DC has always been my favorite trip.

But this year, due to the twins and the fact that I'm not returning to work, I'm here in Ithaca, in a funk, missing DC terribly. I've been trying to snap out of it all week, but the reality is, I just really want to be in our nation's capital.

Here are some things I'm missing most:

• Dinner at Firefly (the picture above is from two years ago when some really good friends were living in DC). I discovered this little gem four years ago and have gone back every visit since. The last couple of years, my trip has been timed perfectly with their special of sauteed morel mushrooms and fiddlehead ferns, which is--hands down--one of the best things I've ever eaten. That said, the truffle fries also rock.
• Shopping at Secondi and Carbon...especially Carbon. This store has the best selection of really awesome, yet really comfortable shoes. And what's really cool is that even though I only go in there once a year, the owner totally remembers me and my previous purchases! Now that's some customer service, eh?
• Pizza at Sette Oseteria. I order the same thing every time: Rucola e Finnochio (a salad of arugula and shaved fennel with pecorino and a lemon vinaigrette) and the Margherita Classica. The crust on this pizza is just magnificent...so thin and crispy and flavorful. Plus, after being inside all winter, going to Sette is usually one of my first chances at dining al fresco. Considering that it's been in the 40s here all week, enjoying a pizza outside in Dupont Circle sounds fabulous!
  
• Breakfast at Teasim. Homemade granola, fresh squeezed o.j., and a cup of really strong, really fragrant Earl Grey...what's not to love?
• Pollystyle baked goods. They sell these goodies at Teaism, and I always head there on my first day to buy a bag of the rice crispie treats with dried cherries and apricots to eat during the week (okay, okay...I confess...last year they were gone by day 2), then on my last day buy another bag to bring home.
• Strolling through the National Zoo. The zoo is right up the street from where my meetings are held, and I always have one afternoon with a few hours to kill, so I brave the wild packs of elementary school kids and walk through the zoo. The pandas are always a treat (of course!), but my real favorites are the giant South American guinea pigs.
• A kickass room at the Omni Shoreham. The first two years I traveled to DC, I stayed at the Carlyle Suites, which was amazing, but the cab rides to my meetings were really pricey, so the last two years I've stayed at the Omni. Somehow I've lucked out both years and gotten really awesome rooms. Plus we are members of the Omni "select members" thing, so I get free breakfast delivered to my room every morning, which for some reason tickles me to no end.
• A disgusting burrito lunch at Chipotle. We don't have Chipotle here; we only have Moe's, which is soooooo not the same thing (in my opinion). I'm really not one for fast food, but there's something about Chipotle I cannot resist.
  

I hope you can see now why I'm so miserable. I mean the work part of the trip is always great, and I'm missing that, along with the friends I always see, but the food...and shopping...and FOOD is really what I'm really longing for.

Christen...Elle...E--please go shop and eat A LOT this week for me, won't you?

Blue Monday: Gap Demin Sandals

YES!!! These must be mine!!!

(via Refinery 29)

Belly Update: 23 weeks and counting...

Ever wondered what approximately 24 inches and 2.5 pounds of babies looks like?!

Wearing:
Vintage jacket - 1918 Vintage
Wife beater - stolen from the hubby
Jeans - H&M maternity
Turquoise and brass necklace - Stella & Dot
Turquoise enamel bracelet and ring - vintage

Wow. I've made it through 23.5 weeks, ladies!

We were at a little party on Saturday afternoon and someone asked me if I was enjoying being pregnant. My honest response was simply that I feel unbelievably blessed and thankful to be having this experience after thinking for so long that I wouldn't get to, but that no, "enjoy" is not exactly a word I would marry with "pregnancy." I'm totally jealous of those women who love, love, love being pregnant!

That said, my love for these little guys seems to grow in leaps and bounds every day as I feel them squirm and kick almost non-stop now. And I find myself having really funny conversations with them...like my left twin kicks really, really hard, so every time he does it I always say, "Good job, buddy! That was a good one!" Isn't that silly? Seth catches me and says, "Are you talking to the boys?!" He thinks it's so cute.

On Thursday we go back to our doctor for further testing to find out why our right twin has waaaaaay too much amniotic fluid. We're praying that the problem has just gone away in the last two weeks, but if it hasn't then I'll be tested for gestational diabetes. Considering having twins puts you at a much higher risk for g.d. and throwing in the fact that diabetes is rampant in my family, I'm guessing (hoping--because I cannot even let myself consider that it could be something wrong with him!!!) that is the problem. Please send good vibes our way!

Pretty Pink Pedi

I got a pedi at lunch today (I'm treating myself to a pedicure every two or three weeks this summer since already I can't reach my toes!!!) and stepped out of my polish comfort zone to try OPI's Elephantastic Pink. All my toes have seen for the last two years is OPI's Over the Taupe, so this is really a radical departure. But I'm loving it!

It's bright, but not too bright, and it's the prettiest corally-pink. It would look amazing with a tan, but alas a girl can't have it all.

Have a lovely weekend, ladies! xo

Scary or Cool?

I'm definitely leaning towards cool, but it's probably too bizarre/scary for the nursery, huh?

(via utilitarianfranchise)

I like this haircut/wig...

I have a confession to make: Sometimes when I'm really, really, really bored I read celebrity gossip blogs. I do. I'm not proud if it, mind you, but I do it nonetheless. It's mindless. And sometimes mindless is just what you need.

Anyway, I recently came across this picture of Jessica Simpson with short hair (it's a wig!), and I really like that cut. I've sworn I'm not going to do the "oh my gosh I'm a mom now I better cut my hair short!" thing, but honestly, I was thinking about going back to short before I even got pregnant. What do you think?

p.s. I saved this picture without noting the credit. If anyone knows please send it a long (and then I will know that you, too, share my dirty little secret of celebrity blog reading!!! wink...wink...).

Ithaca Farmer's Market

Saturday morning was absolutely gorgeous here, and we were up and out of the house before 9 a.m., going to our favorite nursery to buy tomato and pepper plants, stopping at our local Tractor Supply Co. to see the baby chicks and ducklings (it was hard to leave there without one!), running bathroom renovation errands, and hitting the Ithaca Farmer's Market. It was a great morning. I picked up two gorgeous bags of baby salad mix, French breakfast radishes (my favorite!!!), and--most importantly--we ate.

I had my favorite sampler platter from Macro Mamas, which is a different mish-mash each week of a hearty grain, beans, and various cooked and raw veg all topped with a salad and this amazing poppyseed dressing they make (I'd kill for that recipe...that's how good it is!). It's a ridiculous amount of food (and this is the SMALL!!!). Seth always ends up getting at least half, but while he waits...

...he scarfs down one of the most incredible egg rolls ever: crispy, but not greasy, with a filling that's tender-crisp, incredible homemade duck sauce and Chinese mustard to dip in, HUGE, and only $2.

Come visit me...we'll go to the market!

p.s. Note to self: new camera + unshowered, make-up free Saturday morning errands = a scary combo! HA!