Bathroom updates ...

We made the trek upstate this past weekend to visit my family and, just as importantly, check in on our UpstateHaven! We couldn't wait to see the progress on the upstairs bathroom and pick up some much needed materials for my Uncle to install (he is our contractor).

The first major item on the list is the installation of a new shower stall in our bathroom. Up until this point in time, the upstairs bathroom was a half bath with only a toilet and a sink. We had some major closet space in the next door bedroom that could be reclaimed in order to put in a shower, so we went for it! Normally, if we were talking city apartments, I would have given anything to give up a shower to convert it to more storage, however, this house of ours is not lacking in the storage space department, so shower it is!


* Apologies as usual for the crappy pics... I just can't seem to get my act together with the Nikon.

Almost as important as the shower is our upstairs heating ... or lack thereof. Our heat vent in the bathroom used to be on the lower right wall and did not put out much of anything, especially heat. My Uncle had the genious idea to re-route the vent to the floor, directly under the area where our new sink/washstand will be. You would not believe the heat that pumps out of that little guy after that small change. Apparently it now comes up directly from the heating system in the basement, hence more output.

* Old vent

* New vent

Also, I should include a pic of the current state of our bathroom ... it isn't pretty ...


* Bathroom as it currently looks, shower is right thru the door and in to the right ...

Our new bathroom sink and washstand (read later post on this) was just delivered and ready to be installed from Restoration Hardware. Here is a pic of what it looks like:



We also put in an order for marble floor tiles at our local Home Depot ...


The tiles we picked up for our shower are super plain, so there is no need to post a pic of them. They are your standard 6"x6" bright white ceramic tiles that we will use on the 3 walls as well as the ceiling to keep things interesting. We also picked up our shower head/faucet controls, again nothing crazy or uber fab.

This weekend we will be working on picking up a medicine cabinet as well as a sconce for either side of the mirror. Thinking of hitting up both Home Depot and Restoration Hardware. Any other stores that are worth a look?


Is it Friday yet?

Better yet, is it 5:30 on Friday yet? Let's just say work has become intolerable now that none of my regular clothes fit me anymore. I have exactly 1 pair of maternity work pants, 2 pair of regular work pants that were always too large on me that I can squeeze into and then 0 maternity work appropriate shirts, since there is nothing worth spending money on out there unless, as stated before, you want to look like you are 60 years of age. I cannot justify spending good money on items that age me or will not be worn after the following 18 weeks, umless it is for my weekend wardrobe ;) Then I have no qualms spending money ... Why am I not working in a different industry again? One where I could wear jeans and whatever I want to on a daily basis ...

Ok, enough of the negative aspects of this week... on to more positive things! Hubs and I will be going upstate tomorrow night after work ... I cannot wait to see A. my family... it has been ages since I have been upsate it feels like B. the progress on our upstairs bathroom and new back-entrance light fixture (thank you once again West Elm) C. spend some much needed time away from the rat-race that is NYC and get back to some low-key/pressure free living. One day I hope to actually be able to spend whole weeks upstate rather than the 48 hours (if even) a weekend allows for currently. It's so refreshing not to feel the pressures of the city.... feeling like you need to dress a certain way, buy the big ticket items and the constant comparisons to your peers that you put yourself through. The city can be tough but we still love it for many other reasons. I guess we will stick around for a few more years ;)

To leave this post on a good note, below is an updated photo of the progress baby and I are making.... unfortunately, my thighs are also making progress of sorts haha




The last hoorah ...

not really... I'm just being a bit dramatic ;) Last night was our last Valentine's Day without a baby in the picture and we decided to take it easy at home with some Lobster, Oysters for the Mr., arrancini for our app and cupcakes for dessert (I also may have enjoyed a small glass of champers to celebrate the special day).


* ... because what is lobster without the corn?


The Hubs also treated me to a lovely bouquet of flowers and a fun Valentine's tote bag to carry my belongings to work each day! Thanks Mags :) All in all it was a great, relaxing VDay and I look forward to being able to have a little one to share in the festivities with us next year.

In lieu of Valentine's Day yesterday, I started to put together a "to-do" list of sorts of things that we would like to do as a couple that we may not get a chance to for a few months with a newborn. So far on the list:

1. Dinner at a high-end restaurant
2. Beach Vacation this Spring

Now I know there must be at LEAST 5 more items to add to this list, but I cannot even come up with one other thing that we can't do with a newborn along for the ride.

Any ideas out there from experienced parents?

Excuse the absence ...

Life has been a bit busy lately ... Dr. appointments ... social obligations... work .... not to mention all I want to do is hibernate, so I have turned into a big time grouch as of late. I think the long weekend in Miami really threw me for a loop because all I can now think about is either relocating to a warm beach environment or making a vacation plan for late March/early April that involves solely lying on the beach, drinking smoothies and doing nothing else. I don't know how people really enjoy their pregnancies, especially people living in the Northeastern part of the US. I know I always told myself this blog would be 100% dedicated to our house and the renovation process... however, since not a lot is going on there right now, I thought we could discuss pregnancy and all her glory ...

For the most part, I have been sailing through my pregnancy ... no morning sickness, no real tiredness that everyone talks about during the 1st trimester and I have been fortunate enough to stay on the smaller side of the scale up to this point. Some of the not so nice things happening...... my chest outgrowing all of my clothes at a pretty rapid rate (if you know me, you know how I feel about large chests... ), I no longer fit into any of my work clothes and have you seen the stuff out there for pregnant peeps? The only designs worth checking out are from Hatch and who can afford them? I certainly don't want to put my family in the poor house for a dress or two. The designers out there should be ashamed of themselves!!!!! Who, in their early 30's, wants to look like a 60 year old? Certainly not I! Dressing myself for the next 19 weeks should be a very interesting challenge. That pregnancy glow you are supposed to have, YEAH RIGHT! I maybe had a glow after I got back from Florida due to my sunkissed skin ... now I just look swollen and pale as a ghost. Not a good look for someone increasing in size .... let's just put that out there. I was really hoping my massage yesterday would have given me a brighter outlook on life ... and while it made me giddy for a couple hours and look less pale than usual, it just didn't hold the miracle of glowiness and happiness that I had hoped for ... *sigh. It was an awesome massage, don't get me wrong .... I felt really relaxed afterwards and thinner after all my knots were worked out, but just the thought of work on Monday and my lack of awesome wardrobe made me grouchy all over again.

I really am hoping my marriage makes it out of this pregnancy alive haha. If I were Magnus I would run and hide everytime I entered the room ;) 

As much as I complain, I feel unbelievably thankful that I got pregnant as fast as I did, I have been feeling really good and this babe is as healthy as one can be, but I think people should be more upfront about the not so thrilling thoughts that one goes through during a pregnancy ... why all the lies ladies? We should be telling eachother, straight-up, how it really feels to go through these 10 months of nothing but changes to our bodies/hormones/emotions.

I'm hoping to not only fit in more UpstateHaven postings, but also some REAL pregnancy thoughts throughout my next 19 weeks. Here's hoping I find the key to improving my outlook and my mood in general. Maybe a vacation is really the only ticket!

Post-Vacation Blues ...

I think I am experiencing the post-vacation blues this week. When I first landed back in the city after my warm Miami jaunt, the weather was sunny and gloriously warm for late January, but now that the winter has settled back into my bones and there are no vacations in my near future, the winter BLAHS have set in BIG TIME!

Maybe a trip to the UpstateHaven next weekend is exactly what I need to feel rejuvenated again. Granted, there won't be any beaches or warm weather, but this city has been making me insane as of late. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE living in the city and feeling the special pulse that it has, but sometimes it just feels like it sucks the life out of it's inhabitants (or maybe that is the 1lb bag of dark choc peanut M&Ms that beckons me from my desk drawer daily haha)! 

Whatever the case may be, it's time to bust out of the city again and get back to nature!


* Land at my Dad's hunting club

Time to plan another trip somewhere warm this spring as my body cannot handle these temps, as unseasonably mild as they may be. I think I may be turning 70 this year as opposed to 32 ;)