Fall Photo Dump

 I love Fall, most of all. The changing of the seasons feels more important this time of year than any other somehow. Next favorite or significant is the change from Winter to Spring. The rest all blends together, to me. 

Pumpkin patches, crafts, leaves everywhere... excuses to have cocoa with lots of marshmallows... 

Mugs get more significant, and pillows. Home decor as well. 

My kids love the cozy vibes. 

I'm back. Back again. Andrea's back. Tell a friend.

Well now I'm 35. It was a blast from the past, going back through some of these entries over the last few days. I can't believe I've been using this blog since I was 18. 

If my friends and family type their names into the search blog bar, or search by date in the sidebar, all the old photos and stories still come up. 

Almost 20 years, I've had this archive of memories. I think about how that's most of my life. How beautiful it is to see an order, or undercurrent, to all the ups and downs. I would get kind of self-concious about my feelings, and it's easy to stereotype some of my ramblings as young, or erring on the depressive, but I was, and once I get over that, there's some real nuggets of wisdom I was leaving 'future me'. With the advantage of hindsight, I look at the arcs of my different phases and am really touched.

I was telling my husband after the kids went to bed last night, about this. I started this a few weeks after we met, September 2006, when we just arrived in New York City to start college and 'adulthood'. I think I was always in love with him, but didn't really know it, or have the chance to really figure it out until we were ready. There are posts I was too self concious to leave up, where I said I wish my soulmate would get here already, that I'm told I already know him though. Other posts where people would talk about when I'm famous like it wasn't a question. Quotes by Charles Bronson, and Tyler Durden, as if those were my role models. A story from my dad saying I was a ferocious baby, who once tore up a calendar page of a dog I didn't like.

I made a little slideshow of all the images, over the years, to commemorate the occasion.

How do you romance your husband? I'm looking at some of the top rated gifts and is it just me or do they all sort of look like the same three things after a while? How many wallets beard oils and socks does a guy need anyway?

It's March! Pregnancy Safe Natural Self Care Amazon Items

I don't know if anyone else feels like this but winter is almost over and we don't have an excuse anymore! The chunky sweaters won't work to cover everytjing up soon, and after my last post I'm aware I'm in need of some self care. So I made some pregnancy safe choices on Amazon and wanted to share.

23 Week Pregnancy Update // Positive Affirmations

So far life has been feeling like a roller coaster. It just feels like I'm getting blocked creatively, productively, with the house search in today's real estate post pandemic market. I hate the feeling that I can't do something, but even this morning trying to edit the same video I've been trying to about our babymoon weeks ago has been stop and go with the laptop often shutting down randomly. 

I love spending time with my daughter and husband but always feel it's never enough time. Plus we got into a minor car accident the other weekend and it just reminded me that it can all be taken away in a second. 

I want to focus on the good and to manifest accordingly, and hope anyone who sees this can identify and likes this image I saw this morning that helped me feel better.

There is time to move and time to rest. To create and nurture. You hold what you have for a reason, and deserve to enjoy and revel in it. 

As my stomach gets even more uncomfortably big and my mind forgets little things sometimes and I blame it on pregnancy, I want to remember the important stuff and love this time me and my body are in. I know I haven't been able to make as much time for friends or some of the projects I had in mind. But they'll still be there when I can.

Babymoon Travel Tips

We had a really nice time making some memories just the two of us over Valentine's Weekend, as I hit 20 weeks pregnant with our second baby girl. 

1. Choose an easy destination. 

For us, the two big factors were wanting to be still relatively close to a hospital where insurance and quality of care wouldn't even be a question, and not wanting to spend longer traveling than we did at the destination. 

At first we were looking at Hawaii which would be lovely, but from where we live in Maryland it would have been a longer flight than our time there over the weekend. 

Instead we chose one of our favorite cities Charleston, and explored a new one Atlanta to fly home out of. We love road tripping so it gave us a chance to chat in the car like old days and see Final Cut, which I've aways wanted to check out. Final Cut Georgia is located in Martinez, around two hours from Charleston and two hours from Atlanta. Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, and Free People send their slightly damaged wares (or just stuff that didn't sell?) to this huge warehouse. I had heard about it when wedding dress searching back in the day, and was so happy we found a bunch of things for the house, my wardrobe, and baby. 

Going to the same restaurant we went to on our mini honeymoon in Charleston, and visiting some of our favorite haunts also meant a lot!

If there's a place you've always wanted to go, you can plug the location into Skyscanner or similar apps, to watch flights and make your dream real, for the best price!

2. Pay to upgrade. 

The last thing you want to be is the stressed out pregnant person in line at the airport. There are so many chances for things to not go right, that whatever you can do to remain comfortable, I recommend. We flew Southwest, and because we were a little late doing pre check-in, we would've been one of the last to board our first departing flight. Out of 143 people I think we would've been 122? To watch all those other passengers board while I stood waiting would've made the start of our trip awful, and there's probably no chance my husband and I would've sat together. Paying $30 to upgrade made a huge difference. We were in the first row of the plane, and were able to get off our flight super fast and get to relaxing! 

This goes for hotel upgrades too! When we checked in, because we'd made an account beforehand and were members, Mark and I got a better room with patio, and a free drink without asking!

3. Look at alternate transportation options. 

The line to get a rental car where we'd reserved was crazy. So many people were lined up at Avis even though we were one of the first from our flight to get there. I think we would've been waiting an hour at least. But because I hadn't paid with my credit card yet (it would've been at pickup) I was able to cancel on the spot without getting charged and Mark found us a cheaper rental for the same distance and dates, at the company next door. 

Some cities also have unique ways to get around labeled as excursions. Carriage rides, bikes, or scooters can be really romantic and get you in the most quality time (make each moment count!) before baby comes. 

4. Bring clothes for any weather. 

I'd looked up weather conditions beforehand, but God will surprise you! A sweater I didn't think I'd need became a staple for overly conditioned airplane interiors and one day it wasn't supposed to get cold but did. If I could recommend one nice outfit, one very comfy maternity outfit, and layering piece set at least, I think you'll be fine. 

Fall Craft Ideas | Packing Halloween Orders | Everything I Eat in a Day ASMR Vlog (Spend the Day With Me) 🎃

 8:28 Pumpkin Print Craft Idea (Salt PlayDough: 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup salt, splash of olive oil. Bakes at 250 for an hour)

9:58 ASMR Cooking Cutting, All the Meal Prep! Simple Thai Coconut Chicken Soup with Rice (Adapted from Hello Fresh)

13:47 Halloween Orders! 

14:20 Family Time (Daddy is making Aoife a Kitchen Tower!)

15:02 Dinner, Green Chef Veggie Thai Ginger Curry Dish

I filmed a little 'spend the day with me' vlog sharing some fall handmade craft ideas, meal ideas (including a warming Thai Chicken Coconut Soup that is super easy), and packing up orders. All orders this week get a special Halloween thank you card!

MY MORNING ROUTINE FALL 2021 VLOG

I love waking up with the crisper fall air in the mornings lately, and thinking through my morning routine to share with you guys was a nice exercise in being more intentional and organized with my time, which is I think an inevitable side effect of the season when it's harder to be out and about all day (rainer, colder, etc). 

It's a blessing to still get these days with Aoife while she's still small, and I count myself truly lucky to be able to work from home doing freelance work and the codex club orders for the time being. 

We're nearing the end of her breastfeeding journey too, and let me tell you, it's a harder emotional time than I thought it would be. The way she snuggles in with her legs tucked in on top of mine is the cutest thing, and I dread thinking of when our kids won't need us as much. 

Hope you enjoy the video. For now, life is good. I make eggs in the morning, I play in the park with her, and it's awesome. Yesterday I watched her practice using a fork, which she's pretty good at actually, for almost an hour. Yep!

macbook laptop inspirational desktop wallpapers

I've been making these macbook laptop desktop wallpapers for myself recently and wanted to share. They're my take on a living vision board that you'll be reminded of frequently. If you'd like one as well, or you'd like me to give a how-to demo, let me know! Please contact me before downloading or using for information on copyright sharing and artist credit.