We're Having a Baby!

It's true! Baby West is due 1/1/2019!  

I am so excited that we have a baby on board!  And in this new phase of life I want to take some time to blog about my pregnancy so I can look back one day and remember this blissful time!  So this post will be all things pregnancy and baby and not so much home/decorating related.

I found out I was pregnant on the morning of May 2nd.  I somehow managed to not tell Chris until after work, partly because I wanted to do something special and partly because I wanted to take another test just to be sure.  So after work I picked up a little something to creatively break the news and another test!  To my shock it was also positive so then I just had to wait for him to get home.  I had picked up two books from Barnes and Noble, one children's book called "Just Like My Dad" and then a book for him called "Rocking Fatherhood."  I had them in the bag from the bookstore, along with the tests.  When he got home I let him do his usual routine then told him I had something for him.  I think he had to read both books titles to really figure out what was happening.  I was giddy with joy and it seemed like he couldn't believe his eyes.

We told our parents relatively quickly.  We were invited to a brewery with my aunt and uncle (like my parents) and so it was obvious pretty quickly when I declined a taste of her beer, my aunt knew right away!  We told Chris' parents and siblings mother's day weekend, turns out it was also obvious to them when I was drinking water.  What does that say about me!? LOL

We had our first doctors appointment at exactly 8 weeks which is the first time we saw our little peanut!  I couldn't help but get emotional, it was so overwhelming.  I was extremely nervous because you really hope that everything is okay but you don't know until you see that little baby on the screen and then hearing that the baby is measuring on track I felt a little relief.

I thought it might be good to answer some commonly asked questions!

How are you feeling?
I'm feeling really good!  I have been so lucky to not be plagued by morning sickness.  I had a couple afternoons of uneasiness but that is the extent of it.  I was definitely very tired from weeks 6-11ish.  I couldn't wait to get home and take a nap, but those days are gone and while I'm no night owl (and wasn't before getting pregnant) I haven't been needing 5pm naps anymore.  

Have you had any food aversions or cravings?
My major food aversion has been pulled pork.  We had a family BBQ Memorial Day weekend and had SO MUCH leftover but unfortunately the thought of eating it made my stomach turn (and still does).  I also haven't been wanting meat such as ground beef, but we don't eat a lot of ground beef in general anyways.  In terms of cravings, during my very mild nausea weeks a lot of peanut butter and jelly was consumed.  I have continued to enjoy them and take them for lunch a couple times a week.  I did recently want ice cream sandwiches which could be due to the major heat wave we had though.  

Do you want a boy or a girl?
This question is hard, I would love one of each eventually, so in that "perfect" world the boy would be first.  I do get emotional thinking about having a daughter though.  My mother was not always present in my life, when she was we did not have a good relationship and to this day we have no relationship so thinking about trying to be everything my mother wasn't to my own daughter is something I both fear but deeply want.

Are you going to find out if it's a boy or girl?
YES!  We absolutely will be finding out, August 8th is our anatomy appointment.

Do we have names picked out?
I never realized how hard it would be to pick names until now.  Most names I suggest to my husand I get responses like the following example. 

Me: "What about Kennedy for a girl?"

Husband: "Like the president?"  

He can't separate anyone he knows (personally or in the public eye) from a name.  Another recent example 

Me: "Do you like Ashton?"  

Husband: "Like Kutcher?"  

Has anyone else had to combat this?  How are we ever going to choose both a first and middle name?  

What color will you do the nursery?
Before we moved in, and before new carpet was installed throughout the house, we painted every single room.  Knowing we hoped to have kids one day, we painted what will be the nursery a light gray, expecting to incorporate a gender specific color through decor.  If it's a boy the current plan is to incorporate navy and white.  If it's a girl, the current plan is to incorporate lavender and white.  Lavender is my absolute favorite color so I don't see that plan changing, but I have seen some cute boy stuff in light turquoise and even some orange so we will see.  I plan to do a full blog post of the nursery once it's "finished," so stay tuned for that in a few months!

We have already ordered nursery furniture, from Wayfair, of course.  We chose the Kalani dresser and crib by DaVinci.  They aren't put together yet, but it's on the list for July so we can make sure nothing was damaged in shipment, etc.

We still need so much for the baby though!  We have picked up a bassinet and floor play mat off of swap sites on FB, Chris' mom gave us a new rock'n'play and my aunt took us shopping for baby clothes when we first found out so we have a few gender neutral things but we have a long ways to go.  I've picked up a couple of baskets, small toys and books over the past couple of months as well.  I'm trying to do as much research as I can about what things are a must have and what things are novelties that don't really get used so we don't waste money but also don't go without something super important!

I'd be interested to know what my momma friends insist I must have before baby arrives!  Please, first timer here, help me!

Love, Britt

Dreaming of Spring in Michigan

Hi!  It's been a while since I've posted, sorry for that!  

"Spring" has been pretty busy with both work and my personal life!  I say "spring" because while technically spring is here, it doesn't feel like it in Michigan.  We have still been experiencing highs in the 30's and yesterday there was a fresh dusting of snow on the ground and I had to scrape the ice off of the windshield.  I'll say, I'm not a huge fan of scraping ice and I don't usually have to, but my husband took my SUV out of town for work so I'm driving his truck, which doesn't fit in our garage (which is strange because our house is only 20 years old and has three stalls).  So much to my displeasure, after searching his cab for a scraper, then our garage I finally found it in the bed of the truck and tried my best to scrape the ice off, which is particularly hard on a full size truck and I'm not even a short person.  It does look like we might see the mid 60's for a couple days before we drop back to the 40's.  As we wait for spring I'll continue to day dream and think up plans on how to landscape our new house for the first time!  

Another thing I get from my Nona is her love for her landscaping and yard!  I remember every year, on one of the first warm weekends the mulch delivery truck would be dumping a huge pile in the driveway.  My Poppy (grandpa) would load the wheelbarrow over and over dumping piles for us to spread.  When Chris and I got our first house, which was much smaller than my grandparents, we went to Home Depot, got our 10 bags of mulch and thought we were set.  Boy were we wrong and after that year we never went back to bag mulch and we just committed to the bulk order.  If you're local to Brighton, we have been using the company Leppek Landscape and will continue to use them at our new house.  Their pricing is the best out of the local options and they also don't have a minimum quantity for delivery, which is great because we can usually get by with less every other year as the brown color we choose is really natural and long lasting.

Here's a picture of our first house, showing off it's lovely landscaping!  You can see we have a variety of annuals and perennials. We were very lucky to have a lot of perennials pop up our first spring at this house.  There were a lot of Hosta's, daylillies and one very big iris.  I had to get my green thumb on and split and replant a lot of the perennials because they weren't spaced very uniformly and just needed some maintenance in general.  There were also two Japanese maples, notice how you only see one, I had to get rid of the other.  *Gasp* I know, I know, what am I crazy?   In my defense, it was to the left of the sidewalk as you walk up to the front door, it blocked the view of the front yard from the living room and I know they are expensive trees but to be perfectly honest I am not a huge fan of them, they just aren't that pretty!  

So in addition to the perennials, we planted a hydrangea that I just adored, you can see that on the far right in the picture above.  We also planted azaleas last summer and then yearly planted begonias on either side of the sidewalk as you approach the door in addition to the pots I put together yearly and scattered them throughout the landscaping (front and back).  You can see our pretty brown mulch, hydrangea and a little bit of the pots in the two pictures below.  💗

Let's not forget the New Mexico state flower, the yucca, as seen in the picture below, in true yucca fashion.  I tried to get rid of it, but if you've ever had a yucca you know it's pretty impossible to stop them so you might as well just learn to love it because you'll have it forever.

Here's a reminder of what our new house looks like, I definitely need to trim up those bushes on the left, do a general cleanup of last year's dead plants and create my pots (thriller, spiller and filler style) but I don't have definitive plans for the rest of our landscaping.  I'm hoping perennials will pop up in a few weeks (if warm weather ever comes) that I can work with so I don't have to buy everything new!  

I've still got a lot to learn, but here are my few tips for beautifying the outside of your home and creating curb appeal:

• Buy mulch in bulk - it's much better to have a real thick layer of mulch than spotty coverage.  You can also use any extra you have in the bottom of your pots.  This is great for two reasons, mulch is really good for plants and it makes your pots weigh a LOT less, making them easier to carry and move around your landscaping than filling it with dirt does!  
• Work with what you have - don't be afraid to split your perennials.  They are generally pretty hardy and it's much cheaper to fill your beds with plants you already have than buying all new, it also helps create a cohesive look to use several of the same type of plant throughout your landscaping.
• Pick weeds as often as you can - if you spend just a few minutes picking weeds every few days, your landscaping will look very maintained and you'll save yourself hours later when you realize a jungle of things have grown that don't belong.
• Use colors that pop - I generally think yellow and white can be seen best from the street, try to mix some white and/or yellow in to grab the eye.

So while we wait for Spring in Michigan, leave a comment and tell me what your favorite part of spring is!  What are your favorite perennials and annuals?  What landscaping or gardening tips and tricks do you swear by?  If it's already spring for you where you live what have your spring projects been so far?

Love, 

Britt

Recent Reads

I'm currently avoiding reading a book that I'm just not that into, so I figured what better way to avoid it than writing about what I've been reading lately!

Based on a recommendation from a friend, I started The Grant County series by Karin Slaughter.  I'd never read anything by her before, but after just a few chapters of the first book, Blindsighted, I knew she was going to be an author I like.  I would classify this series as a thriller with romance mixed in.  It follows a doctor (who is also the coroner) in a small town and her ex-husband who is the police chief through several years of personal loss, drama and heartache.  Every book was a page turner, I highly recommend picking starting this series!

http://alphareader.blogspot.com/2010/07/broken-grant-county-7-by-karin.html

One of my favorite bachelor alums is Ashley Spivey who is not only a feminist and skincare addict, but she's also really funny and loves to read.  She started a book club on Facebook, that I of course joined immediately.  The page has monthly book club voting, book exchanges and also provides a forum to discuss books you've recently read or to get recommendations on great reads.  Click here to go to the Spivey Book Club page if you're interested in joining.  Don't forget to answer the questions in order to be allowed into the group!   Anyways, Ashley herself recommended a book called All Is Not Forgotten by Wendy Walker, and wow, it was really, really, incredible.  It is written from a very interesting perspective which pulled me in from the start.  

https://www.amazon.com/All-Not-Forgotten-Wendy-Walker/dp/1250097932

Now let me tell you about a book I read in ONE DAY.  I started it on my lunch break at work, and then finished it after work.  I'm serious, 300 something pages, in one day.  I could not put it down.  I even ate cereal for breakfast to limit the amount of time I was not reading because I had to know what happened next.  The book is The Couple Next Door, by Shari Lapena.  Read more about the book here if you'd like!  

The Light We Lost is a book about a couple who met on 9/11, in New York.  Reese Witherspoon chose it as her February book of the month for her book club and I did really enjoy this book about this couple and their relationship spanning many years. 

https://www.amazon.com/Light-We-Lost-Jill-Santopolo/dp/0735212759

Onto the book I'm avoiding, it's called Coming Up for Air, and sadly it just doesn't compare to the amazing books I've read lately, so that's disappointing.  I'm committed to getting through it, even though I've now had to renew it from the library 👀.  My goal is to finish it this weekend while my husband is out of town, I have plenty of time on my hands to accomplish this goal!

Next on my reading list is The Last Mrs.Parrish.  I've heard amazing things about this book, it's another Reese Witherspoon recommendation as well, she picked it for her December 2017 book club book.  I've also got The Heir and The Spare on hold at my library, which if you know me, you know I love me some British Royals and so that's why I can't wait to get my hands on this royal inspired fiction.

Leave me a comment to let me know what you've been reading lately!  I am always open to suggestions and book discussions.  I keep adding to my digital book list on my phone, you can never have too many books on deck!

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend.

Xo, Britt

This Weeks Menu

Things We're Eating this Week!

We recently started and ended the meal service Home Chef.  We did it for a few weeks, and I did really like it, but I felt the value wasn't there when I looked at the meals we were eating and what I really thought they would cost if I bought the ingredients myself.  And here's the thing, I like cooking!  I am happy to try new recipes I find on Pinterest and I am not lacking time for grocery shopping, which is where I feel the meal service companies can really benefit folks.  Also, I was still having to go to the grocery store weekly because we don't only eat dinner three times a week and we need breakfast and lunch items too.  Overall I did like the variety of meals I was eating, but I couldn't justify $60 a week for three dinners, plus a decent amount in groceries.   

Home Chef

With that being said, I am back at my first week of cooking based on my own planned meals so I thought I would share a couple of our favorite recipes and a new recipe we tried this week!

Monday - we had a favorite in our house Baked Pesto Chicken.  I found the recipe on guinesskitchen.com and we really like how fresh this meal is!  Not to mention we also recently got the Costco size and brand of Basil Pesto and now I find myself pinteresting (that's a word right?) "recipes with pesto" because I can't get enough of it!   Back to the recipe, I've embedded the link above but essentially you coat chicken in pesto, bake it, add fresh tomato slices and mozzarella (I prefer fresh) and bake it for a few more minutes and it's done.  It's really very simple and like I said really delicious.  Along with the chicken we had a side salad and used our favorite dressing Garlic Expressions.  If you haven't tried this dressing yet, stop everything you're doing and go to the store immediately.  It's in the vegetable/fruit section of my grocery, it's low calorie and incredibly flavorful.  I haven't tried it this way, but it can also be used in pasta salads or as a marinade!

Basil Pesto Chicken

Tuesday - we tried something new, Greek Feta Turkey Burgers sans bun!  I love feta, seriously I love it so this was a no brainer for me.  I did modify it slightly for Chris because he is not a feta fan.  He tells me this story of his younger days, he worked at Little Caesars where the feta came in a huge bin (I picture a Home Depot orange bucket with lid) and when he opened it, it smelled like the worst dirty feet and so ever since he won't dare give feta a chance.  So for him, I used shredded colby jack cheese as a substitute (I also added Zataran's blackened flavoring to his because I know he likes it).  I was anxious to try them because they did seem to be a little loose while I was cooking them, I think because I only chilled them for a half hour or so instead of the recommended an hour, but nevertheless they were really good and FRESH.  I feel like that's the theme of the week for us, fresh, healthy food!

Greek Burgers

Thursday - yes I skipped Wednesday, we are naughty and ate out.  In my defense there's this restaurant by us that does $1 bottles of domestic beer and sometimes we give into those hump day temptations and have a couple cheap beers and dinner.  Okay confession over, onto Thursday.  We really like stir fry in our house and this is a great way to switch up your typical stir fry with chicken.  The recipe is by Yellow Bliss Road and it's called Teriyaki turkey rice bowl.  It's carrots, broccoli and ground turkey simmered in a homemade teriyaki sauce, its relatively quick to whip up and it has a lot of great flavor.

Teriyaki Turkey Rice Bowl

Tonight we will probably have tacos, I do have to pick up some guac mix and Coronas for my hubs but I don't have anything exciting to add about tacos because I really don't fancy them up, wraps, ground turkey, onion, lettuce, cheese, salsa, the usual.  

I know it can be hard to get out of the weekly grind and everyday recipes, but I really encourage you to try to throw at least one new recipe in a week, you might just find your next new staple dinner!  

Have a great weekend everyone!  

Love, Britt

Hi!!

Let Me Introduce Myself!

Hi!  My name is Brittney, but my friends and family call me Britt, and you can too!  I am a Michigander wife and dog mom.  My husband and I recently purchased our second home in a southeast Michigan and the plan is for this house to be our home for a VERY long time.  I always cared about decorating and trying to make my house look pretty, but with this new home, I cannot turn my decorator brain off, I just want to make it picture perfect and beautiful all the time!  I also recently discovered amazing bloggers like the wildly talented Kelley Nan, the hilarious and thrifty My Vintage Porch, and I can't forget the incredibly sweet Julie from The Design Twins who have really inspired me to create and share my home for the world (or my 3 followers) to see.  You have to start somewhere and this is my where.

Our New Home!  Purchased September 2017!

So where do I get my decorating bug from you ask?  My Nona!  My mothers mother has always had a huge talent for creating beautiful spaces, using unique pieces.  My Nona and Poppy currently live in Florida, but I'm hoping to visit them sometime in the next six months and when I do I will be sure to photograph their home for you all to see.  I also plan to sit down with The Nona (as my husband calls her) to pick her brain on decorating and hopefully share some knowledge with you all!

The Nona and I on my Wedding Day

Back to more about me!  That is what this post is about right!  My favorite stores to shop home goods are:  the Homegoods, TJMaxx's, and Marshall's of the world.  I also really like At Home, and Target on occasion.  My favorite music is country, Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts, Jason Aldean and Lady A are my favorites.  I work in the healthcare industry, but I'm non-clinical, I stay on the business side of the blood!

As I mentioned we don't have any children, just my fur baby, Guiness.  My husband and I met on St. Patrick's Day 2009, and so keeping with the spirit of our relationship for our dogs name is kind of special to us.  Yes I realize we spelled his name wrong and no we didn't realize at the time, but it just makes him extra special to us. 

Guiness Sherman West

My husband Chris and I met at college, Central Michigan University, located in Mt. Pleasant, MI.  My husband studied engineering and I studied business, specifically Business Administration with a concentration in Health Services (what a mouthful).  While we met on St. Patty's Day, it wasn't a love at first sight thing, I was in a different relationship at the time.  Sometime after that ended, I was moving to a new apartment and was looking for someone with a truck to help me move.  I happened to text Chris, even though we hadn't talked since St. Patty's Day to see if he had a truck (I knew nothing about him y'all we only met the once) and it turned out he did!  Being the super nice guy he is, he immediately said yes and we kind of hit if off from there.  I hit the jackpot in husbands, I am type A, slightly neurotic at times and I have a weird obsession with the British Royal Family and he loves me just the way I am.  I am SO thankful for CMU, Fire Up Chips!  

My goal is to blog about my life, from home decorating, DIY projects, home transformations, cooking, traveling (the little that we do) and everything else in between!  I'm looking forward to this journey with all of you!

#athomewithbrittneywest #homedecor #midwestliving #michigander #dogmom #countrymusic #DIY #decoraddict