Cheetah, Cheetah, Pumpkin-Eatah'

Blouse: LOFT.
Belt: LOFT.
Bracelets: LOFT.
Skinnies: F21.

This is the Thanksgiving outfit I was telling all you lovelies about. Minus the Rachel Zoe inspired sequin beanie. I actually have that paired with an all black ensemble. Sometimes wearing black head-to-toe can be refreshingly chic, especially when you wear tons of color like myself. You should try it sometime.

Anywho, Thanksgiving was fabulous, pumpkin pie and all. I didn't even spill on myself! That's a record. 

Now I can officially enjoy all things Christmas (even though we've had our Christmas decor up since the beginning of November... don't judge me). Right now I am sitting in my rocking chair, basking in the ambience of twinkling Christmas lights and watching baby kick and wiggle in my tummy.

I love my life.

Chevron Baby

Peeps, I have 7.5 weeks to go before Baby Rod arrives. 

Can you believe it? Crazy, I know.

As I was taking inventory of the baby stash this weekend and double-checking for missing necessities , I realized we don't have a car seat cover. This became apparent to me when I saw our week-old nephew all warm and snuggly in his car seat. 

Adorable, I tell you. Makes me even more antsy-pantsy to get our little handsome here!

Anyway, I found a shop on Etsy that makes custom car seat covers. For those of you that are mamas, you know that car seat covers can be boring, typical, and just plain over-priced for something basic. 

I pretty much freaked out when I saw I could create my very own custom one for $50 at Chubby Baby. Also, the Chubby Baby Blog is hosting a giveaway for a $100 gift card to her shop (you should totally stop by and enter)!

Do you know what the best part is? It's going to be grey Chevron. Have you ever seen a Chevron car seat cover in the stores? Never in a million years! We are going to have such a hipster baby. 

Here is the fabric...

via

via

The charcoal minky fabric will be for the seat part and the distressed Chevron is for the cover hood! And how amazing does it all look with our diaper bag?

What do you think? Do you love, or do you love?

My Memories Giveaway Winner!

I am happy to announce the lucky winner of the My Memories digital scrapbook software giveaway!

Yay, Cheri!

You are going to love this program! Email me at rodriguez.abbey@gmail.com to get the information for your free promo code!

Thanks to everyone else for entering!

M.I.A.

Sorry I've been M.I.A. lately.

We've had visitors galore, which I love, and I have been enjoying some quality time away from technology! Every once in awhile I think it is extremely healthy and important to detox yourself from all the fun gadgets. It gives you some time to yourself to unwind from the never-ending hustle and bustle of the internet and media. I am thankful for the opportunity to do so!

In other news, I have my Thanksgiving outfit all ready to go. Let me give you a preview.

Picture this...

 With a little bit of this... 

 And a tad bit of this...

It's going to be so adorbs. Can't wait to stuff my face while attempting to be a chic prego mama. Better cross my fingers that I don't spill gravy or cranberry sauce on my new blouse!

Are you going comfy or dressing up for Thanksgiving?

P.S. Hurry up on over here and enter my awesome giveaway! It ends Friday!

Whoa

Two words:

Taylor Lautner.

The only thing that goes through my mind is, how does anyone get that good looking?

(besides The Mister... duh).

Wait a minute...

Two more words...

Kellan Lutz.

Hello.



Going to see Breaking Dawn Pt. 1 tomorrow morning. Nothing like some hot vampires for breakfast! And I absolutely will be able to relate to Bella, as I feel that my unborn child is trying to kill me from the inside sometimes. As The Mister says, looks like Edward is in the running for names for Baby Rod.

P.S. Enter my super awesome giveaway here!

Puppy Love

The other day I pinned a quote that said,

"My goal in life is to be as good of a person as my dog already thinks I am"

Or in my case, dogs. We have two. 

I am grateful for my little furballs. They are my mini BFF's. They keep me company when I am all alone and have taught me to be a responsible adult. And I am pretty sure they have prepped us to become better parents. 

Seriously though.

 Benny, the little black one, is blind and is pretty much like a perpetual puppy (which means lots of attention). Max, the yellow one, has doggy ADHD. For reals. He is out of control. Needless to say, they keep me on my toes and there is a lot that goes into making sure they are well taken care of!

They make me angry sometimes too, since they like to encourage one another to do bad things-- bad things like chew up my favorite pair of flats, but I wouldn't ever give them up. 

I love these little pups!

 Did your heart just melt? You have no soul if you answered no.

P.S. Be sure to skip over here and enter my giveaway! It's AMAZING! You'll be sad if you don't hop on it!

My Memories Scrapbook Giveaway!

First of all, I just need to let you all know how excited I am to be hosting this giveaway!

If you don't know about the digital scrapbooking company, My Memories, I am about to change your world. Since many of you are the crafty type like myself, scrapbooking is probably something you love! However, we all know it can be very time-consuming, costly, and possibly leads to carpal tunnel. Or maybe someone just needs to teach me how to hold my scissors correctly and give me a Cricut. Ha.

Well, guess what? Don't worry about spending $200 on a Cricut or developing a wrist problem because My Memories offers digital scrapbooking software that you can get for free! Yes, many of you probably already digitally scrapbook because you are crafty AND techy. That's always a bonus. Good for you. You are ahead of the curve! But for those of you that don't, get pumped.

My Memories and I have partnered to giveaway the My Memories Suite software! It's a $40 scrapbook software program, which downloads quickly to your computer so you can start creating your scrapbook masterpieces immediately! Yayyy.

I just downloaded My Memories Suite about 3 days ago and am beyond obsessed. I have probably spent way too many hours on there, but it is easy to navigate, comes with super cute embellishments and layouts, and there aren't any paper scraps and hot glue strings to clean up when I'm done! Love that.

Here is the first page I completed...

Super cute, right?

Also, my favorite thing about this software is it gives you the option to turn your projects into calendars, postcards, or to print it out and put it into a physical scrapbook. Perfect holiday gift, people. And did I mention this program was rated #1 by Amazon for digital scrapbook software? Just sayin'.

Ok, so now that I have blabbed on about how much I love My Memories Suite, I am going to tell you how you can enter the giveaway for your very own!

Here are the mandatory steps for entry:

1) Visit the My Memories site and tell me which paper pack or layout is your favorite.

2) Follow this blog

Here are additional entries:

1) Follow My Memories Blog

2) Like My Memories on Facebook

3) Follow My Memories on Twitter
4) Share this giveaway on any social network of your choice AKA tell your friends!

Alright lovelies, that gives you 6 different opportunities to win this amazing scrapbook software! This giveaway ends Friday, November 25th at 11:59 pm!

P.S. If you can't wait to win the giveaway and absolutely must have the program now, I have a special gift for all of you readers! Here is a $10 discount coupon off the purchase of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software and a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store. That's a $20 value for free-fiddy. Just click on the picture below and enter coupon code STMMMS93882 when you check out!

Good luck!

Embarrassing Moments

Would you like to read an embarrassing about ze moi? If you love sagas of romance mixed with humiliation, this is just your cup of tea for this Saturday morning. 

 Joining in people's embarrassment is kind of like watching videos of people falling. The funny kind they show on AFV; not the sad where the person was seriously injured and possibly went to their deathbed kind.

Skip on over here to Stilletos & A Fishing Pole where you can read about my featured embarrassing debut! 

Have a fabulous weekend, dears!

Freedom

Veteran's Day.

A day for rest from school. A day off from work (depending on where you work). A day for awesome shopping deals. A day to celebrate my oldest brother's birthday.

Veteran's Day has so many different perks! But do you want to know my favorite?

It is a day where we get to celebrate the sacrifice of all people, past and present, who fight to ensure our freedom. For that I am forever grateful. Without our armed forces defending our liberty, we would cease to enjoy the freedom we often take for granted as Americans. That is the fundamental trait of this great country that allows me to have the opportunity to be grateful for everything else I hold dear in my life-- my family, my beliefs, my individuality, my home, and my ability to choose whatever I want that makes me... well, me.

Thank you, veterans. 

Tunic dress: Aerie.
Belt: LOFT.
Leggings: Target.
Boots: Thrifted.

Crazy Ladies & Baby Crazy

Cable knit sweater: LOFT.
Striped infinity scarf: LOFT.
Striped tee: LOFT.
Bump: The Mister.

My tummy is getting HUGE.

Women ask me all the time when I am due, and they are shocked to hear January 20. Just for your information, that puts me at 30 weeks. However, I look more like 35-36 weeks, which would be practically full-term. 

Nope, nosey ladies. Not even close. Well, kind of close, but still a couple of months. Now you feel awkward for assuming to know everything about being pregnant, don't you lady?

Alas, all this large-and-in-charge business means I will probably have a big baby. To me, a big baby equals a healthy baby. One who will hopefully sleep well through the night because he has some extra chunky-chunk to keep him warm and cozy. 

Needless to say, I am thankful for my healthy, chubby baby in my belly.

Thankful For Animal Control

This afternoon as I was walking into our house, I head a soft meow behind me. I looked around, didn't see anything, and proceeded to go inside. Again, I heard the faint meow and knew it was a baby kitty. Looking more closely to where the noise was coming from, I saw a little black ball in the corner of the parking stall across the way (looks like my motherly instincts are kicking in). Sure enough, a stray kitten was huddled in the corner. 

The little guy was hurt. Apparently, some cruel woman hit him as she was driving by, or so my neighbor said. He was limping really bad and crying... made me want to cry with him.

Being the insane animal lover I am, I rushed to his aide by getting him a tiny bowl of milk and a blanket to snuggle in. The Mister did his duty and called the city's animal control department. We would have kept him, but he was in a bad way and we already have 2 dogs. I don't want to be that crazy lady living in an apartment with a million animals like they do on Hoarders.

Anyway, minutes later Animal Control came to kitty's rescue. They will be taking him to the Humane Society where a vet will fix him up and adopt him out. 

Animal cruelty is so wrong. It literally makes me furious and depressed to the point of tears all at the same time. Therefore, today I am so grateful for animal control programs and the measures they take to provide safety and good homes for all of the wrongfully treated animals out there!

Thankful For Family

There are a lot of bloggers out there who are dedicating many of their posts to things they are thankful for, being that it is the month of Thanksgiving! It's only appropriate, right? Usually I have strange aversions to jumping on the band-wagon about certain things, but I am diving full speed onto the band-wagon for this.

In my life experience thus far, gratitude has been a pivotal characteristic in helping me achieve the happiness I possess.

Happiness doesn't come from the number of shoes and clothes lined up in the closet. Happiness doesn't come from owning the latest technology. Happiness doesn't come from the square-footage of a home and all of the fabulous designer furniture inside of it. 

Often I get caught up in the materialistic, consumer-driven world. Honestly, it's hard not to. I'm a girl. I'm a girl who loves fashion and sparkly, shiny things. Don't get me wrong, it's a good thing to have a comfortable life and have needs and wants provided for. But bottom line, happiness doesn't come from the amount of material possessions owned.

Any good thing in life stems from owning an attitude of gratitude (yes, I'm getting cheeky with the rhymes--it's the holiday season, and therefore I have the license to get as feel-goody as I like). When life gets crappy and it feels like everyone is out to get you, the best remedy is to take stock of the good things that are in your life. When life is awesome, counting your blessings leaves you feeling that much more warmy and tingly on the inside, and will usually lead you to help others so they can enjoy that peaceful feeling for themselves.

Now I will share my first thankful thought of the month...

I am thankful for family. 

Life would get pretty lonely and pathetic without them. It's nice to know there is always someone out there who will listen to me complain about being a whale of a pregnant woman, or to send me random letters in the mail. It's fun receiving picture texts of what family members are doing and to share in their excitement. It's rewarding to be the shoulder to cry on for a family member who just needs to vent.

My side of the family: The Fish Family.

Me and two of my five brothers, Tyler & Chad.

The Mister and his parents.

My father-in-law, Tim & my sis-in-law, Stephy.

Me, Matt & Tim playing The Beatles Rockband. Goodness, I love that game.

I love you guys. Thank you for being my family.

Sunday Evenings

This is what last night looked like at our house.

Heater has officially been switched on, the Cocomotion is in full use, and Christmas movie watching has commenced...all while snuggling with The Mister on the couch!

I love my life.

Make it a magical week!

P.S. Check out my featured post today at La Vie Petite!

We Did It!

As many of you know, I was selling Hope necklaces to support Breast Cancer Awareness month.

My goal was to raise $100  from sales to donate to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation and...

WE DID IT!

Thank you to all you who supported this cause by spreading the word and by purchasing items from my shop, Sprightly So.

I will continue to donate 10% of proceeds from all purchases to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation throughout the holidays, so be sure to stop by and take a look! The necklaces make awesome gifts for the holidays, and I take custom orders!

Thanks again for all your help!

DIY Stencil Pillows

It is absolutely amazing what pillows can do for a couch. In our case (no pun intended), pillows have blossomed our little, tiny, hand-me-down couch into a cozy, festive spot to hang out!

These fun DIY throw pillows add the perfect amount of TLC! 

The burlap pillow covers are especially awesome for the fall/winter season because they have a fun texture and are easy to add personality by stenciling fun designs and words!

Here is the blank slate I started with. It doesn't look terrible, but this pillow definitely looks a little homely and is missing the finishing touch.

Let's get this stenciling party started!

Materials:

-Pillow cover

-Cardboard

-Stencils

-Acrylic paint

-Sponge brush

Directions:

Step 1) Place cardboard inside pillow cover to provide support to stencil on and prevent bleeding

Step 2) Place stencil on desired position on pillow. Make sure to measure the placement so it is symmetrical and balanced!

Step 3) Holding stencil in place, dab paint onto stencil until completely covered. Remember, dabbing is the key to stenciling--strokes just make it messy!

Step 4) Add embellishment stencils around the word to give it more visual interest

Step 5) Let air dry about 30 minutes and put pillow cover back on. You now have a finished product that looks absolutely fabulous!

Isn't getting crafty the best?