New outfit

I have an outfit for my baby shower! Not just my baby shower either, my sister and I are having a joint shower. It's in Ohio in February.

 

I have struggled with buying "maternity clothes" during my pregnancy. I'm not a big shopper in general, and to spend money on clothes I only need for a short and specific season of life is galling. However, I decided that a plain black was out for the shower (it'll probably be the only one I ever have) and therefore a new outfit was in order. Below is the picture of the dress I found (on sale, free shipping). It's navy with green and white accents. I think it's rather darling. I also think I'll get use out of it at church this spring, maybe my Easter dress this year? And I also think it's a bit Kate Middleton.

 

Once I bought the dress... well I bought new shows too.

 

I've been hunting for Kate Middleton knock-offs for, oh, two years now. And finally this year they are everywhere! I really did need a nice pair of black pumps. My old standbys bought in my college days are beyond being presentable any longer. And I found a pair that look almost exactly like Kate's court shoes (that's British for pumps/heels). They're not as tall, thank heavens. I also found a darling suede wedge that looks very much like some of hers. So I bought the black pumps and the suede wedges in navy blue. The navy pair are to go with my dress for the shower. I can't get a picture of them to save or copy, so here is the link.

 

I'm so looking forward to getting all the goodies in the mail. I just hope everything fits well and looks as nice on and together as it all does right now in my head!  

 

Snacks

 

I went downtown to check out a local health food store/bakery/deli (Amazing Grains). I was pretty underwhelmed. Darn it! I was really hoping to like it. My visions of a friendly local health food mecca were soon replaced by a small, actually tiny store, none to clean or tidy, a "café" that was a few tables in a dark, uninviting back corner, and a staff that never even acknowledged me much less offered help or local tidbits. And it's not as if they were busy, I was one of maybe 4 customers amongst at least a half a dozen staff doing ... well I'm not sure what they were all doing. I doubt if I'll ever venture back.

 

Anyway, in an effort to salvage the trip I picked up some snacks. Chia crisps and dark orange chocolate. the crisps are okay, not great, not terrible. The chocolate is divine! I'm going to have to see if I can get it on amazon.

 

Chant

  Voices: Chant From Avignon  This is my new favorite CD. Before you think I've really gone crazy this time, let me explain.

I've talked about the BBC show Call the Midwife recently. Part of the show (and their soundtrack) in chant. The nuns in the convent chant prayers, psalms, etc. It's really pretty, peaceful and relaxing.

Then the other morning on the classical XM station in the car they were doing a special about women and Gregorian chant. It was really pretty.

So I looked this up on Amazon. It's great background music, reading music, falling asleep music. I just had to share!

Fun Internet Stuff

Since being stuck in a hotel room for the last, well technically month, I've been doing a lot of internet surfing.

There has been far too much Pinterest lately:

 

 Pin/Photo Source

I've seen only two weeks of late winter in this new state, but already I am convinced that gardening and farmers markets will consume whatever summer there is here. Which inevitably leads to canning and preserving to make it last through these long and harsh winters. This actually looks like a really great resource!

  

Pin/Photo Source

 These are called buttermilk beignets. What that means is fried dough and obscene amounts of powdered sugar (one of my favorite things on earth). Need I say more? These will be made once I am in possession of my own kitchen again.

 

Pin/Photo Source

 I love chickens. I love eggs. One day I want a picturesque little backyard chicken coop. I do understand the ridiculousness of this Pin. But it illustrates that I've been on that website far, far too often as of late

 ~

I've been listening to a lot of Pandora. Now that's not particularly unusual. What is a smidge unusual is that I'm actually paying attention to it, bookmarking songs, albums, and artists that capture my attention. I've been listening to my country hymns station mostly; because it's comforting, because the lyrics help me get through some of these not so fun days, and because it reminds me of my Grandma P.

 

Here is some of my newly bookmarked music with links to the MP3 files and song previews.

 

  Roots Run Deep

"A new record is refreshing amongst the many modern worship albums that have been released lately. Here we have a collection of untraditionally traditional Sunday morning hymns played in a modern fashion by this singer/songwriter Jadon Lavik."

 

Firecracker

I'm not typically a folk music admirer. The a capella song Long Time Traveler on this CD caught my attention. Beautiful song.

 

The Living Room Sessions

Instrumental Hymns on the piano. When I heard one of the songs on Pandora I had to find out what CD it was from. Piano music always reminds me of my Momma. This is very soft and pretty.

 ~

The rest of these internet finds are random and in no particular order.

 

Downton Abbey Puzzle

 

Nerd alert. Yes, this is a 1,000 piece puzzle based on a BBC/PBS show. I realize this puts me into the cool things 80 year old ladies enjoy category. I'm good with that. I really think I need to buy this...

 

Modest Maxi

I. Love. This. Dress. It just looks so darn comfy! It's not even available until the end of April, but I'm seriously considering a pre-order. I'm also considering sleeping in this as well as wearing it to church.

 

Sun Gold Tomatoes

I had pretty grand gardening plans for this spring and summer. Since we'll be apartment dwellers instead of home dwellers, this severely cramps my gardening style. However, I am determined to plant a few things! I want my own herbs. And I am going to order these little gems; the sweetest darn tomatoes you'll ever taste. It's like eating candy. I don't even really like tomatoes, especially not raw, but I pop these like crack candy. Side note: this is one of my favorite seed catalogs/websites!