Jac is a total babe.  She has enviable style. I love her look. And the most amazing thing about it, is that she pulls it off effortlessly.  I love her pompadour and bright colors.

Not to mention, the woman knows the power of a great pair of sunglasses!

I’m such a neutral girl, oddly enough, I was walking on the wild side myself when we met up last weeeknd.

My bold fashion stylings were born more from desperation than creativity, at this point I’m just trying to make it through the next 5 weeks without buying any new clothes. But she has me feeling inspired to add some color and flair to my wardrobe.

Think I’ll give it a shot this weekend!  I’ve got plans both Saturday and Sunday, I’ll have to see how creative I can get, without going shopping of course!

How do you liven up your look on the cheap?

Go here and enjoy. http://www.adenverhomecompanion.com/for-the-love-of-shrub/

But at the end of a long day with Hen Josh needs a little break too. I try to wrangle Hen upstairs with me but you know, he’s 2. He’s not really into laying down with mommy for too long.

I’ll take what I can get though, before daddy comes to save the day.

He reminds me that I have a third trimester “pregnancy pass” and if I need a rest, I need a rest. That’s a good partner right there.

But lately an iced vanilla latte has sounded so good. And when something sounds good, after so many months of deprivation, you scratch that itch.

But, scratching that itch at Sbucks 2 or 3 times a week at $4 a pop can really start to add up.

DIY to the rescue. This isn’t a latte recipe, just easy iced coffee.  There are lots of recipes floating around the internet for cold brewed coffee, and it looks great, really it does, but in Eisenbergia we don’t have time for that. Cut to the chase, brew a big batch of strong decaf, throw it in the fridge. I made my own vanilla and coconut syrups fusing the recipes found at Annie’s Eats and they are just the thing to make boring iced coffee taste special.

The only drawback is that I have to get up early to drink my iced coffee in peace. Henry doen’t understand why I won’t share my “juice”.  Poor kid. Life is hard when you have a mean mommy.

We like to go out to breakfast. But I’m on a bit of a budget kick with my maternity leave coming up, and spring time makes me want to throw all the windows open and hang at the house. So this weekend, that’s what we did.

Friday night I prepped the waffles and Josh did the dishes so all we’d have to do Saturday morning was heat up the waffle iron and cut up the strawberries.

Henry was happy. Josh and I were happy. I love it when I feel like my home is paradise. And this easy breezy breakfast at home felt like paradise.

I’m very much looking forward to doing it again next weekend.

This blog is nothing but a vanity project, my little space on the internet for  navel gazing, let’s get really vain today, let’s talk makeup.

I don’t wear makup to work, and really only wear it at all if I’m leaving the house and I know someone is going to take pictures. That does not mean I don’t have a boat load of make up stashed from my younger days when I… put a bit more effort into it.

I got married, Josh said he liked how I looked without make-up better, started working in a steel mill and it just stopped being part of my routine.

This is me

I like me. I’m an attractive woman. I can say that. It took me a long time to get here. I don’t need make-up and most days I don’t even think about it.

But… makeup can be fun. It can be nice to look in the mirror and see someone a little spiffier looking back at you.

This has been my make-up routine since having Hen.

What I like about this is there are no tools or brushes required and I can get a little spiffed up in about 2 minutes. It’s not a major transformation, but I’m not a major transformation kind of gal. Hide the bags, make the lashes pop, I’m happy. I’ve been wearing liquid liner for years and years, it’s kind of my thing. I’ve never been a fan of pencil… until recently.

So pinterest… there is an entire beauty blackhole to fall into on pinterest, and I usually steer clear, but a friend pinned this 4-minute Mommy Makeup tutorial, and one night I thought… why not?

So here’s the thing. The first time I did the tutorial, I looked like a painted hot mess. I used waaaay too much makeup. I came down stairs and Josh said I looked scary. But I went shopping for a few things I didn’t have good substitutions for in my stash and tried again. And that time, Mr. I-Like-You-Better-Without-Makeup couldn’t keep his hands of me. So much for rising above all that cultural nonsense.

I will say, this looks like a lot (products listed in the original post here) but it really does only take about 4 minutes. And I have to say, I think I look a lot more polished. This is not makeup I’d ever wear to work, but I do think I look good. She does a lot of things (quickly) that I never would have tried, and I really like some of the results, particularly my eyebrows and the contouring around my nose. I’ve never paid any attention to my eyebrows and I think it makes a huge difference. And my nose… well I am currently enjoying some good old pregnancy fat nose, so the contouring makes me feel like myself when I look in the mirror.

Finally, I have been really curious about BB Creams, it seems like everyone I know is excited about them and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

Garnier was the second BB Cream I tried, the first one (L’oreal) was not a good fit for me, I looked like I was wearing an orange mask in their lightest shade but this one is nice, it sort of smooths everything out, still lets my freckles show, and doesn’t feel heavy. A little eyeliner right in the corner and a coat of mascara, this is subtle enough that I’d consider wearing it to work.

So what do you guys think? Any recommendations I should try and report back?

So here we are. 33w5d. And looking all sorts of pregnant. Enjoy this sexy peek into my work day via this bathroom selfie.

So I haven’t talked too much about what’s going on with this pregnancy because I’m in total serious denial.

And no, I’m not talking about the clubfoot or the Down syndrome.

I’m talking about… this breech baby.

That’s right. This guy is breech.

Now, before you say “You’re only 33 weeks” I’m almost 34 weeks. Babies with Down Syndrome who are breech are less likely to turn due to their lower muscle tone so my midwife and my MFM are both preparing me for what may be my next harsh reality.

Here is the thing. I’ve been traveling OVER AN HOUR to my midwife appointments in the hopes of having the birth I envision.

Obviously my low to no intervention dreams went out the window when we started seeing 3 different doctors for the baby. But my midwife agreed that as long as no health issues preclude the possibility, I should still have the birth experience I’ve been planning. Nothing we can do now but wait and see anyway.

But, this… no way around this breech business. I could maybe find a doctor to deliver breech vaginally, and I will do my best. But I’m not holding my breath.

I do still have time for him to flip, and I’ll hold out hope until the very end. I’m doing the things I can to to influence that (so please, please, spare me your suggestions, I’ve heard them all, really, this is not new information). I’ll try an external version in a couple of weeks if all else fails.

However, I’m trying to get ok with having my uterus sliced open.  I am not ok with it. I’m not. People say that a healthy baby is the only thing that matters. I disagree. I think it’s the most important thing, but not the only thing. I believe birth matters.

And I want to be at my best for this guy who is going to need his mama at oodles of doctors appointments in the first few weeks and months of his life. We are already going to be robbed of our babymoon, I am not ok with the one last normal thing we had together, his birth, to be taken as well.

And I’m pissed that this is happening too. Not surprised, as this is the everything-that-could-go-wring-will pregnancy, but pissed.

]]> http://www.themaidenmetallurgist.com/2013/05/15/33w-5d/feed/ 16 http://www.themaidenmetallurgist.com/2013/05/14/farmers-market-season-2/ http://www.themaidenmetallurgist.com/2013/05/14/farmers-market-season-2/#comments Tue, 14 May 2013 12:22:47 +0000 The Maiden Metallurgist http://www.themaidenmetallurgist.com/?p=3566 We like farmers markets more than rational people should. An excuse to get out of the house, somewhere to go on a Saturday or Sunday morning, fresh overpriced breakfast and seasonal produce all in one place. I think, maybe, we are “those” kind of people. Yupsters.

I’m ok with it.

This little monkey keeps me busy while we wait in line for 15 minutes for our $8 crepe.

Live music, compostable flatware, kids and dogs everywhere. We are surrounded by our people.

On Saturdays I love to head up to the big Green city Market in the city. After breakfast we walk through the Lincoln Park Zoo and the Lincoln Park Conservatory. Henry loves the zoo, and I adore the conservatory. It might be my favorite place in the city.

On Sunday, we woke up in the mood for doughnuts! Good thing there is a little stand at the Frankfort farmers market where they make doughnuts fresh while you wait and serve them hot.

And while we aren’t big on giving Henry sugar, I love it when his little voice calls to me from my back asking “one more doughnut?”

Whenever I come along Hen wants to walk one of the dogs himself. He will not abide Josh or me holding the leash and frankly, he’s such a little guy he really can’t be the only one holding the leash. If  Ty took off Hen would never be able to stop him, and he’d get hurt in the process.

Out of necessity on our walk yesterday I decided to let Murph off his leash and use the second (shorter) leash to keep hold of Ty so Hen would stop screaming “STOP IT” (I was holding on to Ty’s leash) and just enjoy the walk. It was a pretty good solution. Everybody except Ty was happy.

Poor Ty, he puts up with a lot.

It wasn’t until we were nearly home that Josh discovered and even better solution…

Hen was happy to hold a leash that wasn’t attached to a dog at all!