I'm Going To Miss This

I have never been a morning person....ever. I love 'sleeping in' and I get my best sleep from about 5-8. Luckily, Tully enjoys sleeping late, too. He usually gets up between 8 and 8:30. For someone who used to linger in bed every morning just trying to get '5 more minutes', waking up and waiting and wishing my babe would hurry and wake up seems strange. I love my mornings with Tully. He's the happiest first thing in the morning and we get in a lot of smiles, giggles, and serious conversations. When I head back to work full time (Im there part time now) in a couple if weeks, I'm going to miss these easy, laid back mornings. We are going to have to trade back porch swinging in our pj's, for getting ready in a hurry and making it to the coffee shop before its time for work. With all of this being said, I am very thankful I have a job and even more thankful that I don't have to be there until 10am and Tully can be there with me. The summer is coming to an end and everyone is going to be adjusting to new routines. Here's to new beginnings and savoring every sweet moment of summer we have left!

Here's a sweet pic of my boy in his favorite spot. And yes, he's in his diaper because that's just how we roll.

 

 

Baby's First Trip

We left last Thursday evening for our first big/long trip with Tully. I was super nervous about the long ride because in the past, Tully has proven to HATE his car seat. I knew if we could get through the ride, the rest of the trip would be a breeze. We left in the evening when Troy got off work. After stopping to drop Lexie off with my mom and to grab something to eat, we were off. Tully fell right to sleep as soon as we got going. I was even able to ride up front with Troy for a while! :) Tully slept for a few hours, woke up to eat and be changed, and then went right back to sleep. Is this really my baby?! Then I started thinking we were going to be in for a long night when we finally stopped for the night. Nope! We stopped around 12:30am just a couple of hours outside of Atlanta. Tully ate again and went right back to sleep and slept until 9am! I knew he was an angel before the trip, but he was just trying to prove what I already knew!

We arrived in Atlanta just before noon, got settled into our room and then headed off to market. I had appointments to tend to while Troy played daddy daycare. Troy got to see what all he misses out on while he's at work, including being pooped on! Tully went through 5 outfits that afternoon. I'd say he broke daddy in good!

 

My first appointment was with some of my favorite reps. The Spring 2014 collection is AMAZING! I loved it so much, I pushed up the delivery dates so it will begin arriving in December. I was also happy to learn that some of the companies I order from are changing their policies. With so many online/Facebook 'boutiques' popping up all around, policies need to be in place to protect those of us with storefronts. Customers look at the prices of items at these online only boutiques and then see the prices in-stores and think we are price gouging. That couldn't be any further from the truth. With an actual physical location comes a lot of overhead, AKA bills.....including but not limited to RENT, utilities, payroll for employees, and much more! I met a sweet girl from the western part of NC who has a cute boutique and was all to familiar with the drama that comes with retail. It was nice to network with her and other ladies who all see eye-to-eye. Anyway, my favorite line is enacting a policy that states only brick and mortar boutiques can sell their clothes. Hallelujah! That means anybody and everybody can't buy their line and sell their items from their Facebook page, where they have NO overhead. That's enough about that. Here's a picture of some of their 2014 collection and I am IN LOVE!

Cute shorts, rompers, tops, dresses, and tunics in these cute, cute prints are scheduled to begin arriving at DD in December! I.Can't.Wait.

 

I also ordered a ton of fall inventory that will begin arriving this week and I came back with a big load of accessories. I think this was one of my most successful market trips ever. And in the shortest amount of time!

 

Thankfully, we were also able to fit in a little family time while we were there. We went for an evening walk around Centennial Park and took Tully to his first Braves game. He loved the city. There was so much noise and so much for him to look at. He stayed occupied with the sights and sounds the entire time.

 

 

Tully also loved all of the lights, music, and announcers at the game. We've learned, the louder it is, the happier he is. As soon as we arrived at the game, it started pouring down rain. Luckily, we had not walked out to our seats yet, so we escaped being soaked. One of the nice attendants told us about a certificate we could get at guest services to commemorate Tully's first trip to Braves Country. So neat! The rain finally stopped after about an hour and it was time to watch so ball. We left during the 8th inning hoping to beat the traffic and the score was still 0-0. The Marlins scored during the 9th inning, to win the game 1-0. We are excited to have started this tradition for Tully and can't wait to take him to more games. Daddy is hoping Tully is going to love baseball as much as he does.

 

 

 

That pretty much sums up Tully's first trip (he was good OTW home, too :) ). It was a fun time but we are happy to be home and settling back into our routine.....which now includes WORK. That's right, maternity leave is officially over. Sigh.

 

Thanks for reading. Have a blessed day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I Grow Up....

When I grow up.....I want to be an interior designer! Ok, not really but I think it would be so much fun to be able to shop for home décor and spend someone else's money while doing it. Since being home on maternity leave, I've wanted to redecorate my whole house. I have made some (non drastic) changes. I finally added window treatments to our family room, repurposed some old furniture, and I'm still working on an Ikea Hack for the guest bedroom.I'll post pictures of those projects sometime later. I also completely redecorated the shop. I L.O.V.E the way it turned out. I am so obsessed with the settee. I really wanted to keep it and use it at home but I really have no place it really 'fits'.....unless I were to change everything and I think Troy would have a fit. So, I'll just keep it at the shop (for now). I am using it as a prop in Tully's 3 month pictures in a couple of weeks. Can't wait to see how they turn out. Anyway, here's a picture of my design board I used for redecorating Downtown Diva and a picture of two of my oh.so.cute employees....Kate and Natalie!

I found the settee at jossandmain.com and everything else is from overstock.com! These are two of my favorite go-to sites for home décor.

 

I'm also working on helping my mom redesign her formal living room. She was wanting to go a little more modern than what she currently has but also keeping a traditional feel. I created a design board for her also. She loves everything but the couch. As soon as she finds a couch she loves, hopefully we will see this room come to life! Here's a peek at her new room....

 

 

Have a great night!!

 

 

 

 

The Blog Gets a New Look!

I've been wanting to start back blogging for a while, but I wasn't sure where to start. Ever since Tully was born in May, I've been making changes at the boutique, redecorating my house, and trying lots of new recipes (thanks to Pinterest). Not to mention, adjusting to being a mom.

As far as the new name, I'm not a 'diva' at all. :) I'm actually super laid back, easy going, and quiet. It just fit since the boutique is called Downtown Diva. The 'dudes' are my husband and baby boy, Tully, who was born May 7th. We can't forget about the dog, Lexie. She was my first baby and the boutique's mascot. Everyone just loved coming into Downtown Diva to visit Lexie. Now we'll have Lexie and Tully. There's really nothing sweeter and nothing people love more than a sweet puppy and a sweet baby boy!

I'll leave you today with a current picture of Tully. Boy has he grown so much since May. I miss him being a teeny, tiny newborn. But it's so much fun to see his personality develop. I melt every time he smiles. I'm pretty sure that smile will get him just about anything he wants from his momma one day.

 

 



32 weeks (almost)

Thinking back over the past week and a half, I can't believe my baby shower has come and gone and all of Tully's things are washed and put away. I. Can't. Believe. I'm. Having. A. Baby. In. A. Few. Weeks. It all seems so surreal. Thinking back to just a year ago this month, I wasn't sure I'd ever have a baby as my doctor revealed that IVF was our last option to try to get pregnant. Now here we are, just about 8 weeks away from meeting our baby boy. Thank you, Lord, for answered prayers.



How far along? 32 weeks

Total weight gain:  As of my appointment last Friday, I was up 11 lbs.

Maternity clothes? Yes and no. I have a few basic maternity pieces but I'm still able to use a lot of my pre-pregnancy clothes.

Stretch marks? No. Fingers crossed it stays this way!

Sleep: Still sleeping really good. Thankful for good sleep still!

Best moment this week: I just love feeling Tully move. I can feel his little foot or bottom depending on his position. It's so cool.

Miss Anything? Nope!

Movement: YES! Best part of everyday!

Food cravings: Starburst Jellybeans.....where have you been all my life?!

Anything making you queasy or sick: No

Gender prediction: We tripled confirmed......baby is definitely a BOY!

Labor Signs: No!

Symptoms: Heartburn, frequent trips to the bathroom, no bladder control

Belly Button in or out? In, but on the verge of poking out

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Beyond happy!

Looking forward to: Finishing the nursery. Okay, it's basically finished other than hanging a couple of things on the wall. I don't know why I keep procrastinating this!

Baby Shower

We had our baby shower on Sunday. I had been looking forward to it and dreading it for so long. Showers have always seemed awkward to me. I felt the same way at my bridal showers. It's just weird sitting in front of a ton of people and opening gifts. On the other hand, I'm so thankful to have had such a nice shower and for all of the wonderful gifts. We had a ton of people who helped give the shower so no one person had to do a lot. Here are a few pictures from the day. I can't believe Tully will be here in 9-10 short weeks. That seems SO close!



29 Weeks.....and I'm a bad blogger!

Everytime I sit down to blog, something always distracts me and I have to tend to whatever who or it is. I actually have 3 drafts that I've started but yet to finish. I may or may not get around to those.

Today, I am 29w1d. Aside from a stomach virus I had two weeks ago that left me with busted blood vessels in my eyes (and still haven't healed), I'm still feeling great. Yes, I'm starting to feel super tired in the evenings and I still have frequent heartburn (at our last ultrasound we could already see hair!), but it's really nothing worth complaining about. I still get annoyed by people who frequently complain about pregnancy. I realize every pregnancy is different and many have it way worse than I have, but no matter how bad it may get I'm thankful everyday for my baby boy and that I get to experience pregnancy. There was a time not too long ago where I didn't know if I'd ever get to experience this and to me, that was way worse than pregnancy could ever be. I guess it's a infertility thing. It seriously consumes your whole life and leaves a permanent scar. I found a link to a great article on Pinterest, of all places. She explains it perfectly and in a way I'm not sure I ever could.....even though it describes my exact feelings. Sometimes it's just hard to put it all in writing.

In other excting news, I had another ultrasound this week. Just a day shy of 29 weeks. I'm pretty sure I'm being biased, but I think my Tully is the cutest.....well most beautiful baby I've ever seen. I even asked my mom and grandma if it was just me or if they thought he was that cute too. Of course, they said they have to agree with me. I guess we are all a little biased towards this baby boy. He has the sweetest chubby cheeks already. I hope he doesn't mind all of the kisses he's going to be getting. I feel like I should warn my family and friends and apologize ahead of time for being a baby hog! :)
Here are a few pictures of our little cutie. We almost didn't get any because he kept his hands AND feet in front of his face the entire time.

 

 

Something else I had planned to do was a weekly update. Here's a Week 29 update. I won't make any promises to do every week from now until Tully is born, but I'm going to try really, really hard! Oh, and I forgot to add, I've sneezed and peed on myself.....twice. I didn't think that would ever happen to me, but it did. Now everytime I sneeze or cough, Troy asks me if I need to change my pants. :)

How far along? 29 weeks

Total weight gain:  As of last Friday, I had gained 9lbs. I gained a lot before I was pregnant, so I've really tried to pace myself. I don't deprive myself. I even have chocolate cake for lunch some days.....especially since I passed my glucose test.

Maternity clothes? Yes. But I can still where my regular pants with a BeBand and I can still where a lot of my regular tops. I'm hoping by the time I'm really big it will be warm enough to just wear maxi dresses. I'd so much rather buy clothes for Tully than myself. Yep, that's happening!

Stretch marks? No, thank goodness. I feel like it's coming though. I check everyday....I also lather up with cocoa butter everyday.

Sleep: I still sleep pretty good. Aside from waking up regularly to go to the bathroom, it's all good. And I always fall right back to sleep.

Best moment this week: Definitely seeing Tully via 3d ultrasound. He looks like he has my chubby cheeks and he has Troy's mouth for sure.

Miss Anything? Nope!

Movement: YES! All the time!

Food cravings: Chocolate! There was one day I really wanted banana pudding. Of course, no where here has any so I settled for a banana cream pie Blizzard from Dairy Queen.....it was just as good!

Anything making you queasy or sick:  No

Gender prediction: We tripled confirmed......baby is definitely a BOY!

Labor Signs: No!

Symptoms:  Heartburn, frequent trips to the bathroom, no bladder control

Belly Button in or out? In, but on the verge of poking out

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Beyond happy!

Looking forward to: My baby shower next weekend and of course holding this sweet boy for the first time!

Have a great weekend everybody!!
xo, Candace