Awww, hey! Nursery Scoop: Furniture

Alright, alright, alright already. I KNOW...it's much easier AND much more fun decorating the nursery when you know what you are having. I have no idea why Clint and I thought we would make it 9 months without knowing the sex. That was crazy. We admit it and have moved on. So now we're on the girl track and things are falling into place beautifully. I'm even making the turn to think we'll be fine in this house.

So we did what everyone says and bought the "Baby Bargains" book this afternoon. We thumbed through that like two goofballs until we got to the meat on cribs. My gosh, that was nuts. Who knew it was like deciding if you wanted to kill your child or actually wanted them to survive the first year of their life. Yikes!

We started our journey with little hope on the first run. Clint typically likes to study it, think about it, process it and digest it for DAYS before making a purchase. I figured outfitting this little one's room would take a good couple of months. I'm happy to report we're now almost finished! We hit IKEA in the afternoon (for the very first time, I will say) and scored two pieces. One has slight damage (but is already put together which is a BONUS) and one piece was ready to move-out and was on sale. SCORE.

My goal is to make this nursery as cute as can be without spending a fortune. I guess that's my typical motto, so nothing has changed. The hunt is all the fun. I want it to be unique, darling and comfortable for Julia, Clint and me. We're getting there.

This dresser will serve as just that...the dresser, but also the changing table. I have ordered green, glass knobs to replace the standard.

This happy, little yellow chest will serve as the book shelf, per se. I grew up with "pretties" and Julia will too! My small collection of Beatrix Potter plates will be placed in here, among some other little delights. And when it's time to move this from the nursery I'm certain to find it another fabulous home. I think towels inside a guest bathroom would be very quaint.

The nursery bedding is heating up! I ran into a road block on Friday, but it's all good. In less than an hour we fixed the problem, and I think it's going to be fabulous! Oh, and the crib is picked out too...all of that to follow.

I hope you all are doing something way more fun than sitting on the computer on a Saturday night. Amazing how life has changed....

Happy Weekend!

Change in Plans

The initial plan of keeping the sex of the baby a surprise was kiboshed in the last 24-hours.
We gave in. We threw in the towel. We decided to find out!

We had the sonographer write it down inside a card and let us keep the secret from ourselves until dinner. Yes, I fully understand we have to complicate things and switch up the typical scenario. We're like that. They're obviously prepared for this request because they have the most adorable little cards and envelopes where they can write your good news.

I think once we got back in the car after the sonogram and the regular doctor's appointment Clint was on 6 different phone calls. I sat there and stared out the window wondering WHAT ARE WE GOING TO HAVE?

We had dinner at Eddie V's and opened the card inside the bar. I won't sell-out Clint completely, but will say he was a sappy, sappy mess. He read the card and it was the sweetest thing.





Pretty sure Eddie V's sealed the deal when they brought out this decadent Bananas Foster Cake alongside Butter Pecan Ice Cream with "It's a Girl" written in chocolate. I think that might be my go-to dessert from now until eternity!

Saving the most important information for last, Baby E (aka Jules) is healthy! 10 fingers, 10 toes, 2 kidneys, 4 chambers of the heart. It's all lookin good and we couldn't be more thankful!
Thank you for continuing on this crazy journey of ours.

Calling All Catholics

Our house has been on the market for 44 days. It feels like an eternity. We've had the general lookers, we've had the very interested, but what we haven't had are offers. I fell in love with a house months ago. They recently dropped the price and we jumped, made an offer and then waited. Waited and waited. They countered, but need to lease back until July 27. Baby E is scheduled to arrive September 19. An entire renovation isn't happening in 6 weeks. So we pulled back. I still have hope. It could still happen.

What's more important than finding the next house is selling the current. I don't see what the big deal is about having two mortgage payments and a baby on the way, but for some reason Clint seems to think it's not a good idea!! I kid, I get it.

So last week my mom sent me the prayer to St. Joseph and suggested we try the whole "bury the St. Joseph statue in the yard" game. Ironically, Clint's boss bought us the statue and suggested the same. Last night we pulled it out, said the prayer and buried sweet St. Joseph in the yard. Hey, whatever works!


Today is the big 18-week sonogram. We're praying that Baby E is growing and healthy. We could get a wild hair and find out the sex. Stayed tuned...

TGIF

Happy Friday! It felt like it would never get here. Finally.
Look at this angel face today. I wonder if he requested to wear kelly green and navy today? He knows me well, and I'm certain he knows it's my favorite combo. I wonder if he knows Baby E's room is going to be in the same color scheme? Alli, this is sure to be an outfit I confiscate.

In news around town, the Cool Thursdays Concert Series has started at the Arboretum. Have you been? Clint and I checked out Hard Night's Day last night. What fun! There was an array of people out there. One couple up front got their Beatles groove on and danced the entire time. That was entertaining. Clint said it looked like my mom dancing! Lots of kiddos out enjoying the fresh air and beautiful scenery. It's a nice treat for people to sit on grass, drink some wine and enjoy the view of the lake. It almost felt like summer camp. Once the sun went down I was almost convinced to make-out. Kidding.


We're going again next Thursday with some friends to see the Killdares. The more the merrier!

Have a good weekend and send some good vibes to Alison if you can. I'm sure she'd love to welcome Baby G into the world sooner than later! Fingers crossed and lots of prayers it's this weekend!

The Boob Tube

Y'all watch a lot of tv? When I traveled I didn't watch too much. By the time I got home I was behind and it was more of a hassle to try and keep up with the story lines than to just skip it. Clint would tivo Grey's Anatomy for me, but otherwise, I didn't stay intuned with much. The last couple of seasons I have been watching a lot of tv. Too much.

Sidenote, what in the world did we do before tivo/dvr? Watching tv with the commericals is brutal. Especially with 15 hours of American Idol on a week. Not to mention, we no longer base our evenings around what is on each night. Watching on demand is genius. Do you remember when you knew the exact line-up each night? Cosby's on Thursdays.

Let's chat.

Nurse Jackie. You watch it? I love this show. I have a very big crush on the Euro doctor. Anyone from across the pond steals my heart. I miss Sopranos too, so Edie Falco is a warm, welcomed face.

American Idol. Yeah, I'm watching, but this is probably my last season. I have a crush on Simon. When he goes, I go. Not to mention, the contestants just aren't cuttin it. Sad. It was a good show.


How about Sarah's House on HGTV? It's probably my favorite show right now. LOVE IT. Love her and her assistant, Tommy. I want a Tommy. Everyone should have a Tommy. I think it comes on Saturdays. Tivo it, forget about it and then find it as the sweetest little treat when you crawl into bed on Sunday nights. The farm house she's re-doing right now is divine!

Modern Family. This show is hilarious. Al Bundy has been resurrected as far as I'm concerned.
Brothers and Sisters. My brother makes endless fun of me (among a lot of other shows I watch) for watching this one. I love Sally Field. I guess it started with Steel Magnolias. I also find Rob Lowe to be HOT. This season it's just getting so cheesy it's sad. I still watch and yes, I did watch that awful movie they put on Sunday. Sad to see it go down. Calista Flockhart bugs, but I had even started to warm up to her.


Hello gorgeous!


This one is completely embarrassing. At least I'm admitting it. 90210. It's awful. Don't tune in. Take my word for it. Sometimes terrible, highschool tv is just good for some reason. No further explanation. That about wraps it up. I miss Sex and the City so much. All time favorite. I also miss Sopranos.

Can't wait for Dexter and Entourage to come back! Those are certainly staples.

What do you guys watch? Do I need to add anything to my line-up? Don't answer that, obviously I don't.

Happy Thursday...we're almost to the weekend!

And not to worry, tomorrow morning I will start my day with the Today Show.

I heart Matt Lauer.

Whatcha got in that cup?

Not to worry, I'm back. Feelin better now that Monday's behind me. I'm coming to grips with the master plan pertaining to my house. I know you all have been worried sick!

Today I would like to share some thoughts and suggestions for drinks while pregnant. If you're not pregnant and don't plan to be skip this post entirely. It will bore you to tears. For the rest of you let me save you some heartache and leg work...and for those of you that have been through this before, WHERE THE HECK HAVE YOU BEEN? Could have used some help over the last 4 months!

Here's the scoop on what I used to drink.
Morning: STRONG cup of a latte. Seggafredo Espresso splashed with some frothed, steaming milk. Perfect jump start to the day.
Afternoon: Diet Coke or Iced Tea. I like to continue just enough of the jitters to keep me going. Evening: Wine or Beer.
I would splash some water in there, but not nearly enough. Needless to say, when I became pregnant my drinking habits had to come to a halt. ALL OF THEM. That was hard. It was like going to immediate rehab and having no clue how you would manage.

After 17 weeks I have found some things to pull me through! Let's start with Starbucks. The most fabulous OB/GYN, Dr. Speight, is pretty lenient on most things, but caffeine is not one. She said even decaf Starbucks coffee was a bit much and I should only have 1/2-3/4 cup of a Tall. I just threw in the towel all together...let's face it, what is the point of decaf? I mean, really?

This little treat is the Decaf Passion Iced Tea from Starbucks. It's so yummy and is just the thing when you're just about over water.

Moving onto Zoe's. Side note, Zoe's is awesome...and all of their cheese is pasteurized, so eat up! In regards to drinks, yep, they have Decaf Diet Coke in the fountain and Decaf Iced Tea!

I'm sure you're all familiar with the non-alcoholic beers. They're not great, but on a sunny day on a patio while your husband enjoys a Michelada, it does the trick! COLD BEER (or as my uncles say, "Colbeer".) sometimes it just does the trick!

So there you go on new options in the decaffeinated, non-alcoholic drinking department. The first couple of weeks I thought I was going to cry drinking water alone. Bubbles, no bubbles, it gets old. Maybe this will help!

Cheers!!

MONDAY

It's Monday. ALL. DAY. LONG. I'm in a foul mood. I would use another phrase to describe my mood, but it's not all that lady-like or appropriate. We'll leave it at foul. What is causing this foul mood? In general, my house that's up for sale. I'll stop there. I would hate to ruin your Monday too. So, since I'm not feelin it today I will leave you with this. I think if I keep looking at this picture my mood is sure to improve. Maybe it will start to feel like Friday.

Henry Thomas Maynard, 6 months old and looking as cute as ever.

Names

Picking a name for a baby is tough stuff. It is your NAME. The identifier for the rest of your life. Yikestown! I hope we can nail it.

Here's the deal, when your last name is Smith, Jones, Hayward or Parker you have it made in the shade. It's basic and you can do something a little trendy or different and not create an awful mouthful for a 1st grader.

I have Encinias. I love it and certainly wouldn't change it, but here are the issues. It starts with a vowel. So, it can sound a little cartoon-ish with something like Emma. Emma Encinias. Not sure. That happens to be a family name for me and I LOVE it, but just not diggin it. Next issue, it ends in a 's'. So, Thomas doesn't work because it's Thomas Encinias. Lots of 's' and hopefully my child won't have a lisp, but in case...nope, can't do it.

I had lunch with some dear friends yesterday from Dallas Fan Fares. It was so fun to see all those faces I used to be around every day. They were all so sweet and excited about the pregnancy, but naturally, the typical first question is, "So, when do you find out what you're having?" Then we go through the whole, "Well, we're not." Then the, "WHAT?" And on the story goes.

So when that convo subsides we move onto names. Everyone wants to know names. Seems that there is some confusion when I verbally say the names....so here they are written. If you don't like them or hate some kid from 3rd grade with these names please don't tell me. I have been down that road with Clint and there is ALWAYS some kid he couldn't stand with a name I love. These work for us. Don't hold me to it, I reserve the right to change my mind up until 48 hours after birth.

Girl:
Julia Aleen Encinias
This is my great-grandmother's name and my grandmother's name. I adore it. Don't rain on my parade. When Clint and I concluded on this he said he would call her Jules. My heart melted into a pile of butter.

Boy: As of now it's looking like
Beck Edward Encinias
Beck is my great-grandmother's maiden name and also my middle name. Edward is Clinton's father's name and also his middle name. I think there is something very neat about using the paternal grandfather's name for a boy. It makes them proud and so happy to hear. I know my father-in-law is so excited to see his son have a child. We'll see if this one's a boy and can carry on the names!

So readers...POST your comments, what's in a name for you? Family, trendy, classic? A name from your favorite book or movie? Every name has a story...what's yours?

Overwhelmed

Overwhelmed is how I feel when I get on ebay or Craig's List. I always hear people swear by these sites and get AH-mazing deals. I get sad. I want those deals. I want a house that doesn't look straight out of Pottery Barn or in my case, flipping Hobby Lobby and Kirklands. If that's what you're sportin, it's all good...I'm just TIRED of it. Tired of the dark Venetian bronze chotskis and dark wood picture frames. Ready for some light, bright and not so matchy-matchy. And on that note, why did Pottery Barn tell me it was cool to buy a red couch in 2005? I want to burn that thing to the ground. We'll get to that room re-do after I nail down this nursery.

Anyhow, a blogger out there is doing just about the coolest thing ever. You can hire My Favorite and My Best for $25 to do the Craig's List shopping for you! How cool is that? You throw her some ideas and she comes back with the most ridiculous finds you can imagine. Since I've been floundering on some of the elements in the nursery, you can bet I'm going to her for a few items.
Check out her post today. My mouth is still open.
Beware, she's crude, crass and uses profanity...but I think she's hilarious and a true one-of-a-kind!

On a totally different blog shopping note, have you been over to Jenny at Little Green Notebook? You better hurry....she's cleaning out her basement and selling some fab fabrics. I scored this gorgeous Imperial Trellis for the baby's bedding. I just know Baby E will love kelly green like I do! Wait to see how this all unfolds!

Happy Shopping!

Have you seen this?

I bought this at the store yesterday. It's pure laziness. I have every single one of these dry spices in my cabinet and could have whipped this dish up on my own. But something about these little containers of spices just called my name. I couldn't help but buy it.

I haven't been cooking AT ALL lately, so I figured if this could help me make dinner it was a step in the right direction. It worked.



I used Pinto Beans instead of black beans. Naturally, I didn't have black beans and thought I did. I also used Bueno Green Chilies instead of Old El Paso. Old El Paso is forbidden at my house. If you use Green Chilies take a moment to buy the "good" kind at Central Market. Clint will be proud. It looks like these.

I didn't get a finished product picture, but it was pretty good. For a no-brainer meal you can throw together while holding a fussy baby at 5:30 it wasn't half bad!

A new (good) kind of Easter!

Happy Easter Monday!
This year was a new kind of Easter...a little guy was involved. The cords have been cut on Easter baskets for us "kids", but it's okay because all the love goes where it should be...the real kiddos! We've already discussed that next year Henry will be old enough to get his hunt on and that will be a whole new ballgame. The excitement a child brings at the holidays is priceless!

Little Henry wasn't sure about the Easter bunny at brunch, nor did he understand why he had on his monkey suit for the day. But he looked too darn cute!
Here he's trying to wake up and catch some action, but he's not sure he's ready yet.



Uncle Clint found the little man an Easter egg! He couldn't have cared less what was inside...he just wanted the ENTIRE thing in his mouth.



Uncle Clint is sure partial to his "Hankers Spankers". And I'm pretty positive Henry loves his Uncle Clint too!


I hope you all had an uplifting and very blessed Easter!

Thank you!

I have forgotten to thank Carrie at Sweet Faerie Designs for designing my blog. She is so great to work with and stays completely patient with someone like me that has no idea what she wants! If you need a blog face lift or are thinking of starting a blog see Carrie for some help.

Sweet Faerie Designs

Birthday Dinner!

Moving onto the fun of birthdays...let's talk food!

My birthday is March 31. My anniversary is April 2. This year, Easter is April 4. Can you find the common denominator here? FOOD! Last night started mine and Clint's festivities weekend. This year is extra special because it concludes with Easter. For me that means a lovely brunch full of fabulous food and a dessert buffet to boot. For Clint it means lent is over and he can relax with a bourbon. Should be a good, good day!

Last night we checked out the new Neighborhood Services Tavern. It's sister, Neighborhood Services on Lovers is one of my favorite restaurants in Dallas. I think it's such a nice change from the stuffy steakhouse. Great, unique food, fun atmosphere and service that is exceptional.

We started off with a yummy fried asparagus. Served with a drizzle of lemon-dill sauce. Anything with lemon and dill is typically right up my alley. This was no different.




For the main I ordered the nightly pasta, which was house made fettuccine pasta served over a Pomodoro sauce and adorned with shrimp, Andouille sausage, olives, capers and tomatoes. Out of this world!



This guy had


the nightly sandwich special; Andouille Sausage with red peppers, caramelized onions and spicy mustard. It was served with frites that give Houston's a run for their money.


Dessert you might ask, shear delight. Butterscotch pot de creme. I love butterscotch. I choked on one of those disks as a young tot at my grandmother's house. One would think that would have scarred me for life. Nope. You got butterscotch, and I'm eating it.



Nope, not done talking about that either. It came in that precious little jar and served with wooden spoons. One blogger recalled they are like the spoons you used in elementary school for your ice cream cups. It was exactly that. This dessert was so rich and delightful and so fun to eat!

The bill came inside an old book and we were given Junior Mints as we departed.

I had to scope out the bathrooms because NS's bathrooms are cool. I figured these were close to the same. Yep, cool.

Don't you love when they provide mouthwash with cute little cups? I think that's nice.
Who doesn't love ice in the sink? And the outdoor fixtures?

If you live in Dallas put it on your list. If you're coming to visit put it on your list. If you don't live here and aren't visiting put Dallas on your list and get there. It's cool AND good. Hard to come by both.

**Sorry these pictures were taken without the flash making them hard to see the details. There was a food critic seated next to us, and I didn't want to look over the top. Trying to keep it sly.

This is just the beginning on the food festivities. I'll brief you on the rest after the weekend.

Cheers to a Happy Easter Weekend!