When people ask me how many months along I am, I stutter, stammer and blurt out the weeks. “I am ____ weeks along” and then I let them figure it out in months. I just don’t think in months, I think in weeks. I didn’t get it until I became pregnant but there is just something satisfying about counting down the weeks. Does it make it go by faster? I don’t know if it does but I can say that my pregnancy has gone by very fast. I can’t believe that I have only 5 to 10 weeks to go. (Crazy broad timespan I know, but that’s how my midwife has trained us to think.) Hey little buddy in there, how about a compromise of 7 weeks from now because that would be just dandy.

Since I pregnancy doesn’t last forever and since the end is actually in sight, we thought it would be a good idea to get a few photos of us now before I get any puffier. (Side note: Aside from the puffiness, I really can’t complain, this has been the best pregnancy everrrrr. No problems, healthy, feeling fantastic most of the time, etc.)

Thank you to Carissa for taking our photos for us!! We went out yesterday morning early and it was really windy and surprisingly cool outside. (I should bring the disclaimer that certain body parts really don’t look that Gumby-ish in real life, it’s the 24mm lens.)

“Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it.” – Russel Baker

“Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them.” – A.A. Milne

I’ve been drinking my coffee from this small little cup, which I have had since the time my bedroom walls were The 100 Acre Woods. It is the perfect amount for me, and I can usually finish it before it gets cold.

I like comfortable clothes. Sometimes I like them just a little too much, which can lead me to staying in my pajamas most of the day. My love of soft cardigans and slip-on flats has often earned my style the description of being…well, let’s just say beyond my years. Below are a few pieces of clothing that are easy-going without being sloppy, in my opinion. Gray (or is it “grey”? I never know) always makes me cozy, and I like the “lounge” feel of open-front wraps. The Vans pictured here I recently purchased and they are great – however, my oldest sister tells me she could have found the same shoe at Walmart. Maybe she’s right. In an effort to add a little sparkle to this simple, everyday look, I am trying to accessorize with jewelry more, like the bow ring.

“The finest clothing made is a person’s skin, but, of course, society demands something more than this.” – Mark Twain

Last month I began taking a French class, and let me tell you, it is hard. After hours of studying the French language, I often get discouraged and would like to throw in the towel. So, yesterday I made a small list of French things that I love, which will hopefully help to re-inspire me with reasons to learn français. It’s worth a try, right?

1. The movie Sabrina. It’s one of my favorites, both the original with Audrey Hepburn, and the remake with Harrison Ford. Very romantic.

Linus: [while slow dancing with his brother's girlfriend] How do you say in French my sister has a yellow pencil?
Sabrina: Ma soeur a un crayon jaune.
Linus: How do you say my brother has a lovely girl?
Sabrina: Mon frère a une gentille petite amie.
Linus: And how do you say I wish I were my brother?

“A woman happy in love, she burns the soufflé; a woman unhappy in love, she forgets to turn on the oven”

2. French Berets. They are really cute and fun to wear, especially paired with a scarf during the winter.

3. The Madeline books. They are stories about a little French orphan girl who often gets herself into trouble. I picked a few of them up at a yard sale about a year ago and I think the illustrations are very sweet. “In an old house in Paris that was covered with vines, lived twelve little girls in two straight lines. In two straight lines they broke their bread and brushed their teeth and went to bed. They smiled at the good and frowned at the bad, and sometimes they were very sad. They left the house at half past nine in two straight lines in rain or shine. The smallest one was Madeline.”

4. French toast, french fries, and french bread. All very tasty reasons to press on and learn how I might order them in a restaurant in France, if I should ever travel there.

5. The music of Feist, Corinne Bailey Rae, and the“Paris” album by Putumayo. All of their albums feature songs with some French lyrics, and I’d like to know what I am saying when I sing along. That would be good.

There, now I already feel more inspired. La vie en rose!

Here is my first style board of the year. (Sorry, I didn’t get to do one for January because of the holidays and getting back into the swing of things.) Remember, this is a monthly feature so come back in the beginning of March for something new.

This month, in an effort to realize a style for myself that doesn’t involve spending much money, I’m focusing on wardrobe staples. I’m learning more and more that if you love fashion and style in this economic age, you have to learn to be a really thrifty shopper with an ingenious eye for seeing the potential in a single item of clothing. If it can’t be re-mixed in a handful of different ways, why bother?

So here is my little list of things that I think are wardrobe staples for me:

• Oversized denim men’s shirt with black skinny pants
• Denim jumper-esque dress
• Basic striped boatneck tee
• All purpose cardigan
• Tweed shorts
• Plaid button down
• Navy pencil skirt
• Gray skirt (with or without tights)
• Bonus: Sailor-inspired coordinates
• Easy canvas pull ons
• Vintage-inspired oxford pumps (so trendy right now but still such a classic look)
• Simple oxford flat

My staple items all have a definite menswear vibe in a neutral palette which I really love as a base for layering on girly, pretty things in bright colors or patterns. Each one of these pieces could be worn any number of different ways using various seasonal accessories. To me, their silhouettes have a timeless appeal that I won’t have to worry about going out of style in 6 months.

So there’s my first attempt at a style board. I used a mix of Polyvore and Photoshop to create it.

I have never considered myself to be a very crafty sort of person. Well, maybe in the tricky, wily sort of way, I sometimes do. But when it comes to the arts and crafts, no. In fact, I’ve always looked a little enviously at those scrap-booking, painting, knitting, make something out of nothing, kind of people. However, this past Christmas I was inspired to make a present for a dear friend of mine. I set out to Jo-Ann’s, unsure of how or if my ideas would materialize. I am glad to say it turned out to be a very satisfying experience. So much so, I took some pictures to show you.

This is a jar of fireflies, or lightning bugs, as I often call them. To make the actual flies, I doubled a sheet of white tissue paper and cut five small rectangles out. Then I twisted the center of each and wrapped brown wire around the middle, so as to create a mid-section. The tissue paper wings I trimmed into their final shape and hung them by clear string. At this point, I had painted a one-part mason jar lid and poked five holes in it to pull the string through the top so I could glue them in place. The lid was then an eye-sore of strings and glue. This I solved by taking the center piece of a two-part lid and hot-glueing it on top of the other. You know what the best part is? The fireflies light up in the dark because I painted their wings with glow-in-the-dark paint.

This is a bouquet of flowers. These are not just any flowers, though. These are paper flowers, which means they won’t ever wilt. Okay, okay. Maybe they aren’t as beautiful as the real deal, but they’re brown, or in brown’s same shady family. Sadly, brown flowers don’t actually exist and my friend has always wanted them to. So, I faked it using green floral wire, scrap-book paper cut into different sized hearts, and beads from an old necklace of mine that broke. (It didn’t really break, I had to cut it up because it was hopelessly tangled). For a vase, I used a smaller mason jar with a painted brown lid.

Happily, the present was a success.

Here is a sampling of the music I have been listening to this month. Iron & Wine is a new favorite of mine. Yes, I know I am a little late in catching on to how great they are. Their music is warm and comforting, like candlelight and a soft blanket. Corinne Bailey Rae makes really beautiful music. The other night I discovered she has a new album out titled “The Sea.” I purchased it without hesitation and I am happy to report no feelings of regret. It’s just a lovely as her first. Enjoy!

Welcome to the first post of a new feature we will be doing at the end of every month. Nothing groundbreaking, just a little compilation of the tunes we’ve been enjoying lately. Here’s my playlist for January and I expect Carissa will post hers sometime soon.