my biggest fear

One of my biggest fears during this pregnancy has been watching childbirth videos. I don't know why, but makes me feel like this...

I try to come to terms with this oddity over on WhatToExpect.com.

you are beautiful...

Pregnancy has its good days and bad days, and I owe a lot of my good days to Seraphine Maternity (the maternity clothing line often seen on Kate Middleton, Gwen Stefani, Halle Berry and a host of other celebrity mamas). The clothes are so beautiful -- no matter what kind of day I'm having, they never fail to make me feel fantastic.

Not only was I lucky enough to receive some gorgeous pieces from Seraphine (seen above*), but I also got the chance to meet Seraphine founder and designer Cecile Reinaud who is lovely and amazing and super talented. The whole experience inspired a post I wrote called, "You Are Beautiful During Pregnancy," which is up right now on the Seraphine blog.

Oh, won't you take a look?

*Photos by Kendra Callari

weekend in brooklyn no. 4

We had lots of adult, responsible things keeping us busy this weekend -- sign lease (! more on that in a future post); work out our budget; errands, etc. But we still managed to squeeze in a bit of fun...

I went somewhere I've been dying to go ever since I came to New York. I'll give you a hint... can you guess where I was?

It's Big Gay Ice Cream Shop! This is the "Bea Arthur" -- vanilla soft serve, swirls of dulce de leche, all rolled in crushed Vanilla Wafers. In the background is the "Gobbler" -- vanilla with apple butter and bourbon butterscotch with pie pieces. I can't believe it took me so long to get to here. Best. Ice Cream. Ever. No lies.

I finished the book, The Book Thief, last week -- just in time to see the movie this weekend. Of course, the book was better (the book is always better), and you must read it if you haven't. But I don't care what Rotten Tomatoes says, the movie was really beautiful, too.

We also went to training class with Miss Pancake here.

She's having some lead issues, but she's doing good on her commands. I'm hopeful she'll soon be as consistently sweet as her name suggests!

my baby name disaster

Naming the new dog was easy. (Meet Pancake.)

Naming the new baby was a whole different story... check out my latest on WhatToExpect.com.

sunday routine

I'm truly obsessed with the New York Times regular feature, "Sunday Routine," which chronicles a typical Sunday in the life of a local celebrity. Now, I'm hardly a local celebrity. But I do love my Sundays. So, here's my indulgent riff on this fun little column.

BREAKFAST WARS Dan and I start each Sunday off with the same half-serious argument: Where's breakfast? If I win (and that's been happening a lot lately), we go to Iris Cafe for maple yogurt and granola (me), avocado toast with poached eggs (him), and the best chai lattes in the universe for both of us. If he wins, then it's Le Pain Quotidien for scrambled eggs and Belgium hot chocolate.

GROCERY RUN Sundays used to be the day to be lazy and nurse the hangovers from the night out before. But now that things have calmed down for us a bit, we try to spend at least part of the day planning for the week ahead. This usually involves braving the crowds at the Trader Joe's in Carroll Gardens after breakfast and stocking up on groceries for the week. We're pretty good about eating most of our meals at home and bringing our lunch--but that sort of responsibleness only happens when you have time to plan ahead. And a rolling utility cart to get all those groceries home helps, too!

WORKING OUT THE MIND AND BODY Trader Joe's is quite the project, so by the time we get home we're ready for some relaxation. We spend the next few hours reading the New York Times, watching Sunday morning political talk shows, making lunch, and then--provided we can summon the energy--going for a run or (recently for me) other exercise.

FOOTBALL (SORT OF) During the spring and summer we'll spend the afternoon drinking coffee and walking on the promenade or hanging out in Brooklyn Bridge Park. But in the fall, Sundays are all about football for Dan and the games will be on in our living room for most of the day. Can I tell you a little secret? I'm only sort of watching; I'm in the same room, yes, but I'm also usually reading, Pinning, blogging, or baking a fun treat.

SLOW COOKIN' My grandmother gave us a crockpot for our wedding and we've been using it on Sundays to make a big meal with leftovers that we can eat during the week. Tacos are a favorite of ours, as is shredded barbecue chicken. Today we're making turkey chili!

LIGHTS OUT I wish I could say we turn in early to be ready for Monday morning, but we're usually up late watching Mad Men or Homeland and following the action on Twitter. We're both pretty addicted to double screens--I'm planning to break the habit one of these days.

So there you have it. Not the most exciting day of all time, but a lovely and relaxing and frivolous one that totally recharges us for the week ahead. Let's see how much my Sunday routine has changed by this time next year!

like a bowlful of jelly

I've got another new post up at WhatToExpect.com! Don't worry, this one is way happier than the last one...

weekend in brooklyn no. 3

Today, the first day of fall, was absolutely gorgeous here in Brooklyn. I'm roasting butternut squash from the farmers' market for soup as we speak. In the meantime, please enjoy...

We had drinks with friends at this adorable cocktail bar called Pegu Club in Soho. I was digging the vintage jazz and setting.

We had an amazing dinner last night in Dumbo at Atrium...smoked potato bread, spicy roasted root vegetable salad, chicken with eggplant and yogurt sauce, cauliflower tagliatelle -- seriously, you have to go here.

We took a long walk this morning and had brunch at Buttermilk Channel in Cobble Hill.

I ordered scrambled eggs and salad to be healthy, but then ended up eating most of the what you see in the background there.

I made these chipotle roasted almonds so that I'd have a healthy snack at work this week. Dan was not a fan... but that just means more for me!