April Favorites | 2016

It's the end of the month! That means it's time for a slew of Favorites posts and videos to crop up all across the internet. I actually have some things I've been in love with during the month of April so here's mine! Enjoy!! :)

Home

Dry erase board with days of the week from Target

I've been meal planning for about a month now and had been writing everything down on a piece of paper and sticking it on my refrigerator. But after four weeks of that I think it's safe to say I've made it a habit and I think the $3 I spent on this was justified. It helps us remember what we need to defrost for the next night and then we just erase at the end of the day.

Swell water bottle 9 oz. (swellbottle.com)

I have had this metal water bottle for a few years, actually, but have recently pulled it out and have been using it to help me track how much water I'm drinking. It's especially helpful at work. It's a small enough size that it isn't too heavy and fits in my bag.

Beauty

Rimmel Stay Matte Long Lasting Pressed Powder in 001 Transparent

Even though I just bought this powder this month (Target Haul video) I have been using it just about daily since then and I can confidently say that it's as good as everyone says that it is.

Milk Makeup Gel Brow in Pilsner

I got this as a sample in my most recent Birchbox (April 2016 Birchbox video) and I really like it. The color is a cool brown and it is so smooth to apply.

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in 355 Aflorable

This is the perfect cool toned baby pink color.

Maternity Clothes

Tank tops from the Liz Lange Maternity line for Target

I got this in both gray and white and I keep checking back whenever I'm at Target to see if they have my size in black. These are so amazing because they are the same as the basic tank tops I normally get from Target, except that they FIT! They are not ruched on the sides but there is extra fabric in the front so the side seams lay straight and it doesn't pull funny around my belly. They are also nice and long and everything that needs to be covered stays covered. If you watch the video you can see the difference between these and a non-maternity tank top because I had one underneath the white one. My 28 week belly is really pushing the limits of my clothes!

Thanks for reading!

:) Alice

So Much Fruit | Tasty Tuesday

Breakfast:

I started eating dates in my oatmeal this week instead of raisins.  They are so good!  They are very sweet and melt in your mouth.  But they are super sticky so after taking the pit out and chopping them up I needed to wash my hands because I was a mess!  This is my normal oatmeal with walnuts and flax, cooked in almond milk and also a half a banana on top.

Lunch:

I totally forgot to take a picture of my lunch but you can see it in the video below if you are interested.  I had leftover pineapple fried rice that I had a few nights ago for dinner.

Snacks:

Breakfast and lunch were kind of close together because I slept late today...actually I was up at 6:30am but then I fell back to sleep around 8am for a couple of hours.  Anyway, there was a long time between lunch and dinner so I broke it up with two snacks.  First I had vanilla flavored Greek yogurt with strawberries and then I had these sourdough crackers with hummus and cheese and one of those tiny little oranges.  Seriously, I feel like I ate fruit constantly all day long!

Dinner:

Steve made dinner tonight!  We had brown rice, asparagus and baked chicken with a sweet and spicy orange glaze/sauce.  He has made this before and it's so delicious.  It's a recipe from Martha Stewart. (Sticky Orange-Glazed Chicken Thighs)

Dessert:

I'm writing this at 11pm and I'm really sleepy.  I decided that a cup of tea was a good enough dessert for the night so that's what I'm drinking right now as I finish this post and my video processes.  I'm super proud of how much water I've had today: I'm currently at 8 glasses.  That plus the tea and a little more water for later with my vitamins and I think I did it! :)

Thanks for reading!

:) Alice

27 Week Pregnancy Update

How far along? 27 weeks, 5 days

Total weight gain/measurements: I gained another 5 lbs in a little over 4 weeks. That brings the total to 15 lbs up. My belly is still 37 inches like last week.

Maternity clothes: I got a second pair of black maternity leggings. I got them at Target and I think I like them better than the Motherhood ones I have. They are a little slimmer fitting so I feel better about wearing them out of the house. I also got two maternity tank tops at Target. I LOVE these. They are exactly like my favorite normal tank tops except that they fit! :)

Stretch marks: Nope.

Sleep: I think I need to figure out a new pillow arrangement. I'm getting uncomfortable again.

Best moment this week: Helloooo, third trimester!

Miss anything? I was out to eat with friends and I felt a little nostalgic wishing I could have a beer, but I don't really miss it enough to be upset or anything. I just sometimes think, oh it'd be nice to have one, but it's not like a craving or anything.

Movement: The baby is really filling up the space in there. I felt a really distinct body part last night. I'm not sure if it was a foot or an elbow or what. It helps to make it seem like there's a real baby in there not just the rumbling idea of one.

Food Cravings:

Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope.

Gender: We don't know but I had another weird dream that I had the baby. This time it was a boy. So that's one dream for each gender so far! Ha ha!

Labor signs: Nope.

Symptoms: I have peeing way more now than I had been.

Belly button in or out? In.

Wedding rings on or off? On, but I've noticed a couple times they've been a little more snug at the end of the night.

Happy or moody most of the time: I like being pregnant. :)

Looking forward to: Privacy...the leaves are starting to show up on the trees and I'm lucky enough to have a bunch of trees around my apartment. I don't worry too much about privacy in the city because there really isn't any but when the leaves fill out it will be a little nicer.

Thanks for reading!

:) Alice

Lunch In The Park | Tasty Tuesday

It's Tuesday!  In my pregnant-centric world that means that it's the end of week 26!  Say good-bye to the second trimester!!! :)

But really, I know you came here for the food...

Breakfast:

I tried a new yogurt and I really liked it.  It is the plain whole milk Stonyfield Greek Yogurt.  I put raspberries and a little honey on top.  I also had a decaf black coffee and water.  I thought we were going to go out for breakfast but then we waited and made it lunch so in the meantime I had a little blood orange.

Lunch:

These pictures are from Sunday when it was so sunny and warm out.  I bought a sandwich to eat in the park.  I think it had turkey and ham as well as cheese.  The best part was that on one side it had this sweet apple spread and the other side had a pickled pepper spread.  It was warm and melty because they put it in the panini press.  I wanted an iced coffee but they were out of decaf so I got a decaf iced Americano instead, which was really good!

Snack:

I was way too hungry to make dinner without eating something first.  This was a half eaten hummus, cheese and kale sandwich from lunch the day before.  Ha ha!  I also had cucumbers.

Dinner:

Comfort food!  I made homemade macaroni and cheese with whole wheat pasta then I baked it with chicken and bread crumbs.  I had planned to put carrots in it but realized that I completely forgot about that as I was about to take it out of the over.  So I just cut them up into sticks and we ate them raw.

Dessert:

I've been drinking raspberry leaf tea once in a while throughout my second trimester.  I actually drank it before pregnancy to help with cramps every month but I stopped drinking it for the first trimester because it didn't sit well in my stomach then.  But I like it so it's been nice to have it again.  My dessert tonight was a little plate of gingersnap cookies.

Thanks for reading!

:) Alice

26 Week Pregnancy Update

Wow! 26 weeks!  My second trimester is coming to a close.  I didn't really think I'd get to this point until now when I'm actually at this point.  I've included a few appendix scar update pictures at the end of this post in case anyone is interested.  Just a reminder I had my appendix removed when I was 8...so that was just about 25 years ago!  I have had some pain as the skin around it has been stretching through the second trimester but it is the same pain that I felt as a growing child and just a little worse than I get normally if I have gas that moves underneath it.  It's also more itchy than the rest of my belly but not too bad.  So far it hasn't been a huge deal, but it's definitely a noticeable thing.  I was really paranoid about it before getting pregnant and there aren't a lot of people with abdominal scars from childhood sharing pictures or experiences from their pregnancies so that's why I keep talking about it. :)

And now for my 26 week update:

How far along? 26 weeks 4 days

Total weight gain/measurements: 37 inches

Maternity clothes: Nothing new this week.

Stretch marks: There don't seem to be any yet.

Sleep: Fine.

Best moment this week: Going out for a walk without a jacket!!! Yay Spring!

Miss anything? Nope.

Movement: There has been lots of gymnastics going on in there. My belly moves around a LOT.

Food Cravings: Not really.

Anything making you queasy or sick? When I eat too much at once I feel a little sick. I've had to start making all of my meals a little smaller than they've been because I'm running out of room in there!

Gender: Not sure but I did have a dream that I gave birth and people were referring to the baby as a “she” but nobody ever specifically said girl so I was confused and wasn't sure. LOL!

Labor signs: None.

Symptoms: Really itchy boobs. Also, I've noticed they are starting to leak more. It's probably the sexiest part of pregnancy so far.

Belly button in or out? In, barely.

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or moody most of the time: Mostly happy.

Looking forward to: My next midwife appointment (also not, because I have to do the glucose test again.)

Thanks for reading!

:) Alice

My scar doesn't indent as much as it used to but it still isn't totally flat.  It's kind of fun to watch it all evolve. :)

Shopping At Target | Beauty, Shoes, Maternity Clothes

I recently bought a few things for Spring at Target and thought I'd share what I got with you.  They've got some really cute shoes right now because we're about to get into sandal season.  I also got some beauty goodies and a couple of things to help round out my warm weather maternity wardrobe.  These are things that I bought while we were out shopping a couple of weeks ago.  If you saw our Shopping & Easter vlog then you'll know how fun it was for Steve to help me try on shoes!  Ha ha!  Socks and shoes are getting a little more difficult with this baby bump in the way! :)

BEAUTY:

Rimmel Stay Matte Long Lasting Pressed Powder - 001 Transparent

I needed to replace my Laura Mercier powder (which I love) and I really wanted to see if I could find something that worked at a drugstore price.  I just can't justify high end makeup at the moment when I have to buy new bras every couple of months.  The Rimmel Stay Matte Long Lasting Pressed Powder is widely used by Bloggers and YouTubers so I picked one up in 001 Transparent and so far, so good!  :)

e.l.f. Small Smudge Brush and Blending Brush

I also added two new e.l.f. brushes to my collection.  All of the e.l.f. brushes I have are so soft.  The Small Smudge Brush is my new favorite because it is not scratchy at all, which is key in a brush you are trying to use under your lower lash line.  The Blending Brush is also very soft and fluffy.

Neutrogena pure & free baby sunscreen SPF 60+

I bought the baby version of this sunscreen because it is the same as the Sensitive Skin Suscreen version for adults.  The only difference is that on the day I was at Target they had the larger size available in the baby version so that's what I bought.

SHOES:

Layla Sneakers

I am so happy with the shoes that I found!  I have been wanting to get some cute white sneakers for so long and I love these.  I really like the black line detail around them because it really pops against the white.

 Lilac Gladiator Sandals

These low brown gladiator sandals are perfect for summer.  It's basically like one long shoelace that you weave around and tie behind your ankle.  I've been wrapping them once around my ankles for now but they do look cute with just a bow tied in the back without wrapping them the extra time.  I checked to see if that would look cute before buying them because I will be 9 months pregnant at the height of the summer heat and I'm assuming my ankles will swell.  Wrapping anything around swollen ankles seems like the opposite of cute so it was important to me to get something that can potentially grow and change with me.

CLOTHES:

Maternity V-Neck Tee

 So this picture is a total fail.  The color of this maternity tee is so pretty.  It's a really warm shade of purple and I really love how it looks.  But in pictures and even in the video it looks like a very cool shade of purple.

White Maternity Shorts

I rolled up the bottoms of these maternity shorts to make them a little cuter.  They have pockets in the back and I think they will look great with any color t-shirt.  I also think they'll work with the white sneakers or with any of my sandals and flip flops.

Have you done any shopping for the new season?  Let me know what you got!

Target Haul | Beauty, Shoes, Maternity Clothes

Thanks for reading!

:) Alice

Rainbow Desk Organization

Despite the gray skies and the rain pelting my windows, I've got a cheery view in front of me as I write this. I am in love with my freshly organized desk drawer! There is nothing better, in my opinion, than a color theme and the kaleidoscope of rainbows happening in this drawer have been making me happy all week.

The desk is the Micke desk from Ikea and the main drawer is huge. Without dividers it's really easy for all of your supplies to turn into a jumbled mess. The problem is that dividers can be really expensive. Even so called “affordable” dividers and bins can add up if you need to buy a lot of them. I reused the bottoms and tops of some old Birchbox boxes. I had them hanging around anyway and they brought a little extra color into the drawer.

I kept the pens up front because I use them the most. Behind those I have sticky notes, tape and other standard desk supplies. I also had a couple of boxes that thank you cards came in and that filled up the rest of the space nicely. (Go figure, this desk drawer was not designed to specifically accommodate Birchboxes! Ha ha!) I also keep a little tripod and the cord I use to connect my camera to my laptop in there.

You can't see it in the picture but I've got just enough room to keep my stapler and my phone stand tucked in on the left. The white plastic bins that are peeking out in the way back are really old. I don't remember where I got them but I used to use them in my kitchen in past apartments. The drawer doesn't open up enough to access them easily so I've got spare pens and pencils and some other back up items stored back there.

Favorite Pens:

PaperMate Injoy

Sharpie Fine Point

Petikan Fineiner 96

Thanks for reading!

:) Alice

25 Week Pregnancy Update

How far along? 25 weeks 5 days

Total weight gain/measurements: Just about 36.5 inches around.

Maternity clothes: I got two more maternity t-shirts at Old Navy this weekend. I got a mint green one and a light gray one. I also bought a pink maxi dress for summer. It is a maternity dress but it can double as a nursing dress because the top is a wrap style, which is good for breast feeding. Luckily for me everything was on sale! :)

Stretch marks: I thought I saw one near my belly button but now I think it was just a mark from my pajamas while I was sleeping. Ha ha!

Sleep: Most nights it's fine.

Best moment this week: I was really happy that I was able to put together a cute outfit this weekend to wear to a bridal shower. (As a comparison, today I'm wearing my husband's sweatshirt.)

Miss anything? For some reason I've been missing coffee a lot this week. Maybe it's because I'm getting more tired as the weeks go on.

Movement: The baby definitely has some specific active times each day. There are a couple of hours that it moves a lot in the morning and then around 6pm my belly starts going crazy! I don't feel a lot of big kicks during the rest of the day, just the occasional movement here and there. The pregnancy app I have said that in the last couple of weeks the baby should have started to get into a sleeping/waking cycle and I definitely think that has happened.

Food Cravings: Cheese.

Anything making you queasy or sick? If I eat too much sugar I feel a little queasy. That happened this weekend after the bridal shower I was at. I had a couple of brownies and a cupcake. I didn't feel that great after and I think that's why.

Gender: We don't know.

Labor signs: No but I have had two dreams this week about specifically telling people that I was not in labor yet.

Symptoms: Steve noticed a slightly dark line starting to show up on my belly. It is really faint and doesn't quite make it all the way to my belly button, but it's definitely there. I think they call that line the linea negra and I'm wondering how high up it will end up getting. I had to have him angle the mirror in our bedroom for me so I could see it because I found that I really can't see the bottom part of my belly anymore. Ha ha!

Belly button in or out? Still in...for now.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or moody most of the time: Happy unless I'm tired or hungry.

Looking forward to: A free weekend. :)

Thanks for reading!

:) Alice

What I Ate 04.05.16 | #TastyTuesday

Breakfast:

I had a pretty big breakfast today.  I had banana bread with peanut butter and vanilla yogurt topped with a peach and raspberries.  This was also my second glass of water for the day.

Lunch:

Lunch was just left over Chicken Pad Thai that we got the night before.

Snacks:

Two snacks today!  These were spread out during a long afternoon stretch between lunch and dinner.  I went for the healthy and filling option of nuts and dried cranberries along with a couple of slices of cheese first.  For my second snack later I went for some potato chips.  I had those while I was taking a little break from editing videos and I also painted my nails.  I used the Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Hardener as both the base and top coats.  For the color I chose the Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtremewear in No. 270 Lacey Lilac.

@ alicemanfrida on Instagram

Dinner:

Pasta with meat sauce is a standard dinner at our house.  We had elbow macaroni so we added ground beef, a jar of sauce and lots of veggies.  There is green pepper, onion, garlic, asparagus and kale in there...along with lots of Parmesan cheese!  This is the best way to use up veggies that are hanging out in the fridge before they go bad.

I did something a little different this week on YouTube and filmed a Trader Joe's Grocery Haul instead of filming what I ate.

Thanks for reading!

:) Alice

24 Week Pregnancy Update

How far along? 24 weeks 5 days

Total weight gain/measurements: 36 inches! That's a half inch bigger than last week.

Maternity clothes: I've been wearing Steve's sweatshirts at night lately because they are more comfortable than mine are now.

Stretch marks: Still none.

Sleep: This week I've noticed that I'm getting sleepy a little earlier at night so I've started going to bed between 10 and 10:30pm.

Best moment this week: I signed up for a childbirth class. It doesn't start for a while still but it feels good to have it sorted out.

Miss anything? Nope.

Movement: Tons of movement! It's gotten a lot stronger and sometimes you can see the outside of my belly move. It's really weird! :)

Food Cravings: Nothing specific...maybe chocolate.

Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope.

Gender: We don't know.

Labor signs: Nope.

Symptoms: My hair is overwhelmingly thick. It's driving me crazy actually. Ha Ha! The other thing that was new this week was I think I had a Braxton Hicks contraction. It just felt like my uterus got really tight, like a kinked muscle but not painful at all, and then it relaxed after a few seconds. The pregnancy app that I have on my phone and some books and other things I've checked all say that you can start to have some of these every once in a while starting around 24 weeks.

Belly button in or out? Still in.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or moody most of the time: Happy. I really like being pregnant and I love feeling the baby move. Even when it feels a little weird or uncomfortable it's still nice because it's basically just a few months of my life that I get to

Looking forward to: Once again I am looking forward to Spring weather! It snowed a little yesterday and now it is is snowing A LOT today! It's April 4^th! Come on Spring!

Thanks for reading!

:) Alice