How amazing is our new watercolor of Gus the dog!? Artist Bruna Mebs has done an illustration of Mazen and a watercolor of my parents’ home, and we’ve added this lovely painting of Gus to the collection. It was a gift for Thomas for his birthday! Bruna is offerig you all 15% off of custom artwork with the code KATHEATS on Etsy. If you order in time, a painting would make a wonderful holiday gift for someone who ‘has it all.’
YHL Furniture
Did you see that Young House Love has a new furniture line at Wayfair!? I love everything about their style! The scalloped sideboard above is my favorite piece, and I wish I had a need to buy this table!
Let There Be Smart Lights
Our house is getting smarter by the day! We now have six Alexa plugs that control our main floor and bedroom lights. Since my hands are often occupied with a baby, it has been amazing to control the lights with my voice! On the main floor, Alexa controls the three lamps there if we say “Alexa lights on/off.” We also have the Christmas tree on a timer plug but you can voice activate it too by saying “Alexa turn on tree.”
When we go upstairs at night, we say “Alexa goodnight” and she turns off the main floor lamps and turns on the upstairs ones. We have my nightstand lamp along with a new Himalayan salt lamp on two plugs up there. The salt lamp is great for nighttime with Birch when I need light but want to keep things dim. It creates just the perfect amount of light to see for diaper changes and nursing. We just say “Echo (because we have an Echo up there) turn on salt” in the middle of the night and we can see without getting out of bed.
Finally, we have the Amazon Cloud Cam (which I bought bundled with the Echo Spot which has a screen) as our nursery monitor and it’s been going great (for the few crib naps we get.) I LOVE that we can see it from our computers and phones. Another great bonus is that I can get a motion alert on my phone anytime he moves, so I don’t have to always be watching the screen. I didn’t know if we would like it more or less than a traditional baby monitor (which we still have) but so far, liking it MORE! At night when he moves to his nursery someday, we can use the Echo in our room to keep the screen on him.
Bra Style
Thanks to all of you who recommended the Brooks Juno for nursing. The velcro-down straps are great and it has great support. I’m still wearing my sports bra on the outside of my workout clothes for home workouts. It’s low on fashion but high on functionality!!
Leggings Update
And finally a leggings update. The current four pairs in my rotation are:
- Lululemon Align II 25″
- Athleta 7/8 Tight
- Lululemon Wunder Under High Rise 7/8 Tight – 25″
- Amazon 90 Degree By Reflex High Waist Power Flex Legging
Favorite overall: Align. They just fit better than the Wunder Unders and the waist is the most comfortable. They do have a little pilling in the crotch but I don’t wear them for workouts. I think they look best with clothes too! I sort of wish I’d gotten a second pair instead of the Wunders but I’m happy to have both. I’ve decided the Athletas are my favorites for workouts, and the Amazon ones are a bit too compression-y and tight but I still like them a lot for the price. I just never reach for them unless everything else is in the laundry.
That’s a wrap!
Do you feel like the Align or Wunderunders got stretched out while you were pregnant, or do you still wear the same pair postpartum? I’m 32 weeks and starting to resent my maternity jeans, but not sure I want to invest in an expensive pair of leggings that won’t fit properly after 2 months. Thanks!
Not stretched at all! That’s what they promised me at the store and they were right.
Awesome, thanks! 🙂
We purchased a salt lamp when we had a baby this summer and it was the best! The light is perfect for seeing in the middle of the night without being too bright! Love the painting of Gus!
Oh gosh, I love that drawing! One like that would make the perfect gift for my best friend this Christmas. She loves her dog so much! 🙂
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
One of these will help with the pilling. My daughter has used one on her lulu’s for a couple years now with now issues.
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_5?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=fuzz+remover+fabric+shaver&sprefix=fuzz+%2Caps%2C176&crid=2ALKYB2WBK6SS
Thanks!!
OMG, I love the Brooks/old Moving Comfort sports bras! (And cute colors – love that pattern on yours!) Do you still use a nursing tank under? I thought it was super handy when I was nursing that the velcro straps were basically the same as a nursing bra!
Did Brooks buy Moving Comfort? I was wondering!! And yes, I’m wearing the nursing tank and then just throw the sports bra on top, but the velcro down will be awesome whenever I’m out of the house.
Oh my gosh, I’ve been meaning to say THANK YOU for posting about the Align leggings a while back. They have changed my postpartum life!! Just had my 3rd baby and 3rd c-section, and I went out and bought 2 pairs the day after we got home from the hospital. I have been alternating them every day. They are really super comfy for post c-section because of the high waistband and snug fit. I haven’t even felt like I needed to wear the stupid abdominal binder from the hospital because the leggings seem to do the job just as well and are so much more comfortable. I SO wish I would have had these after my previous c-sections! Love them!
Yay!!
Can you explain then “sports bra on the outside” hack?! I love hearing your efficiency tips and am wondering if I should try it out, but can’t wrap my brain around why it’s easier since both the tank and bra open up to nurse! Thanks, and you look great! Can’t believe you just had sweet birch!
Well now that I own a Velcro down sports bra it’s not as much of a hack as it previously was but I still think it’s easier to just take the bra off for a longer session than Velcro down because of all the fabric in the way.
This is so random. A while back I put Chickapig in my Amazon cart since you raved about how fun it was to play. I just never got around to actually ordering it. The other day my husband said, “I ordered that game for (our daughter) you had in the cart.” She’s 6. He says from what he read a 6 year old can play it, so he assumed it was for her, ha! Have you played with Mazen? I honestly don’t know anything about the game, but couldn’t remember you playing it with Mazen. I thought it was a game for adults. Thanks!
Haha!! I actually haven’t tried playing with Mazen. However, I do think after a few practice games he would get the hang of it. It’s not hard, but there are some specific rules they must learn. At the least you should keep it and play with your hubby and try again when your daughter is a year older!!