A while ago I went on a mini re-decorating spree with ikat pillows and some other accessories. I never did post about my new decor additions in the dining room so I thought I would share that with you today. It is not decked out in fall attire yet but I love the neutral colors and I think it goes great with the current rug.  The old set up was not as cute.

 table runner: pottery barn, placemats: HomeGoods, chargers: target, napkin rings: world market

 i like how the light blue in the runner matches the subtle blue in the rug

 who doesn't need a mini olive tree and artichokes! both pottery barn.

 white dish: HomeGoods, pears and artichokes: pottery barn. cards courtesy of my friends for Baby B :)

a closer look

Be sure and stop by Schue Love and check out her pretty Fall mantel. I love it! Do you love mercury glass? I think it would be so pretty for Christmas time. 

What are your plans this weekend? We are staying home and on Saturday my friend from San Diego is coming to visit and stay the night. I'm sure we will go eat good food and watch a movie maybe. Yay for being home two weekend in a row! Who am I?!?!

Yesterday was just one of "those days." At 4:45 in the morning Bella heard a raccoon through our open window and jumped through it and went CRAZY! Being startled in the middle in the night is no fun especially since we didn't know what she was after. I had a hard time going back to sleep and then the alarm went off at 6:00. Time to prepare for no sleep I guess! I crashed last night on the couch at 8:00. Ridiculous... yes! Necessary...yes! Yesterday I did make some very cute unisex baby purchases and while I wanted to try and only post about baby on Mondays let's face it...this is as exciting as my life gets right now and I love it! So without further delay...

 it says "cal poly baby mustang"

 mooooove over Bella...here comes baby!

 i ordered this in size 18 months because it's very unisex and if baby is a girl i want her to look like a girl while wearing this (aka yellow head band, girly hair etc) am i over thinking this? yes. oh yeah and I calculated it...at 18 months it will be october...perfect fall sweatshirt!

 hello?! you can't have the sweatshirt without the pants!

cal poly mustang rattle...he/she will love slo whether they want to or not! 

Well that's it for my first purchase! It's Thursday. I cheated and posted baby. Shoot me. Did you/ Are you planning on buying your college's gear for your child?

...is gold! I've been seeing the glitter polish trend around many blogs lately and decided to give it a whirl. I love all things shiny and sparkly so I knew this would go over well. I used a sheer pink from OPI "Pink- ing of You" and topped it with some glitter that I got for my 16th birthday in high school. No joke. That stuff is ten years fabulous! I tried to have the glitter start out thick at the tips and slowly fade out towards the base of the nails. Next time I think I would use the glitter polish instead of the loose glitter because it was a little chunky and is starting to come off the tips. But overall I was pleased with the results. This would be super cute during the holidays too!

 everything is cuter with a bump :)

So are you going to try or have you tried glitter nails? Have a great Wednesday!

Ever since I was little my mom would make her famous banana bread. It was a treat really (and once you look at the ingredients you will know why) and only made an appearance a few times a year. I happen to love all things with banana in the recipe and this one tops the list. It is moist and heavenly to sum it up. I had some bananas that were going bad so I froze them and decided that yesterday was the day to bake some bread!

ingredients: cinnamon,  bananas, sugar, flour, oil, eggs, baking soda, vanilla,

 mix it all up

bake for an hour and voila! I do realize this loaf has a "saggy" center. I like it this way...extra moist! 

Combine:

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 cup oil (so healthy!)

2 cups banana

1 tsp baking soda

3 tsp vanilla

3 eggs

2 tsp cinnamon

Grease pans (I used two of what is shown) and bake on 350 for one hour. Enjoy!

PS not that I need any gifts in the near future but this blog was so interesting and I totally plan on choosing one of these gifts for my next mommy friend. :) 

Last Friday Baby Bushman was 11 weeks old! He/She is about this size of a fig (whatever that is) and measures about 2 inches long from head to rump. He/She weighs about 8 grams (1/3 oz.). According to my baby books he/she is past the critical stage of development and just has to keep growing. Crazy!

As for me, I started looking more pregnant last week ( to me anyway) and only my "fat jeans" are able to still be buttoned. When I put my skinny jeans on I'm rocking the Bella Bands. :) They are stretchy pieces of fabric that look like layering T's that go around the top of my jeans so I can wear them unbuttoned. Can I just say I may never give these up even after the baby?! As for my work attire I have been wearing all my pencil skirts because I know I won't be able to wear them much longer! I did tell my principal and co-workers about Baby B and they were thrilled (phew!). But I'm holding off on the parents till their kids start asking me why I'm getting fat. :)

 

 I tried really hard not to arch my back in this photo...it's just curvy I guess!

This week I have a genetic screening test that tells me if our baby may have defects. :( Sounds scary (and it is) but Matt and I decided that if our baby is going to have problems we want to know about it so we can prepare ourselves mentally and also by gaining more knowledge on the topic. Pray for a healthy baby!

 Cutest Mom-to-be gift! My friend Page bought me these bracelets for when baby comes. They are safe for baby to chew on and mom still gets to add some style to her sweats outfit.

Add a pop of color and keep baby happy! I'm thinking white tank, jean shorts, and a colored scarf would be adorable with one of these!

Well that's it for now! I'm still feeling great but I do like to go to bed early (9:00) and I HATE picking stuff up off the ground (this will get worse no doubt). I also like to put my hand on my belly in public places to try and show people it's a baby and not fat. :) I just can't wait to see what we are having and I also can't wait to feel the first kick! We're so in love...

LAURA from about a girl! Congratulations and be sure to email me ASAP so I can send your bracelet away this weekend! Thank you to all who entered and supported Briana Rene Designs.

So I feel like everyone is posting about Fall lately and now it's my turn. I seriously look forward to each season so much and find myself saying "_____ is my favorite season!" Insert all seasons in the blank. Because the truth is that I can not just pick one. Whenever one season is finished I am so ready for the next one to begin. Not that I experience so much change living in southern California but it's enough for me to notice. And let's face it, I'm so over the 105 degree heat and ready for fall to come so with that said "Fall is my favorite season!" Here are some things I'm loving for Fall...

You know I struggle with an obsession over nail polish....here are essie's fall colors. adore. 

 

Can I be adorable like this girl? Pregnant and stylish! I love. 

Butternut Squash Pasta?! So delicious... I order it every time we go to Italian restaurants. Recipe here.

 

Eat this for dessert. Seriously a friend made this for me once and it is now my go to dessert for fall. Unbelievably amazing and I always get complimented on it. Try it! 

Try decorating with white pumpkins. I use them every year and I think they make Halloween/Fall a little more elegant. I also love white at Christmas time mixed in with the red and green.

I also love big chunky cable knit throws in white (of course). I bought one on sale at Pottery Barn and it looks quite nice on my couch. :) 

Ok, I had to throw in a baby item. Um but really how cute is this?!? (please be a girl, please be a girl) 

Ah fall, so glad you're here. This weekend Matt and I are HOME! And we are thrilled. So so happy not to be going anywhere this weekend. We have big plans to garden, organize the garage, and go to church. Crazy huh? :) And you know what? I don't care that our plans are totally low key. I wouldn't have it any other way! I hope you have a great weekend and I look forward to seeing you at Maternity Monday! :)

I have decided that Pinterest and Etsy are taking the world by storm. I went to my best friend's son's first birthday party on Sunday and seriously everything was so adorable. Many of her ideas were from either or both of the above websites and I was just smitten! This girl has mad skills in the party planning department and I can't wait to show you the pictures! Sign me up for April 2013 when it is my baby's first birthday...this girl is hired! By the way she has two of the most attractive kids I've ever seen.

colored sugar dipped lemonade cups and colorful straws via Etsy

DIY with the cricut

adorable centerpieces with polka dot balloons attached

DIY fabric banner (can double for christmas!) and lanterns

DIY cricut banner

DIY pom poms, table runner, chocolate dipped Oreos, cupcake toppers etc! wow!

it was a lot of work but it looked amazing!

uncrustables for the kids (ok and me too) as well as deli sandwiches, grapes, and chips!

amazing oreos and the cake that I wish Reid shared. :)

opening his Meowmusic from Matt and me

older brother helping with gifts :) notice the shirt from Etsy!

she stayed up till 1:45 painting this beast the night before. worth it? I think so! 

So what do you think? Better than your last birthday party! It was better than mine for sure! I can't even wait to plan something like this for Baby B's first birthday! She gets mommy of the year award!