Gifts for Preggos

Long time no shop!
Haha jk, I've been shopping plenty, I just haven't told you about it.
Mostly because my shopping lists have changed pretty significantly now that I am pregnant!

Now sample sales are less appealing because who knows when and if I will ever be able to wear those slinky dresses or cute jeans again. I did go to a few, looking for tunics and long tank tops, but it's not the same.
Sob.

Anyway, there are all sorts of fun things out there that I can buy (just not at sample sales), and that YOU can buy for a special pregnant lady in your life, if you so choose.

U Shaped pillow

$99 Comfort U one piece pillow

As you can see, this mofo takes up THE WHOLE BED.
I asked for and got this very model for Chanukah (thanks, Mom!) and made the bed then threw it on top. There is absolutely no room for husbands or pets when you sleep with this thing. But it's so awesome.
It feels like you are at the bottom of a deep padded well, and unlike Baby Jessica, you don't want anyone to get you out.

I slept in it/with it for one night and am looking forward to doing so again later when I need to.
Right now I am only in my 2nd trimester and not yet physically uncomfortable when trying to sleep, so I am saving this for when it will be a real relief, and for when it's necessary. For now, it's not worth taking the whole bed up.


When I show people a picture of me in it, everyone including the healthy 25 yr old boys I work with has asked if you have to be pregnant to get this pillow. Nope, anyone who wants to be alone in a pillow pit can buy one. Though Amazon might try to sell you some nipple cream for a minute afterwards.


Gap Maternity Jeans

$75 Gap 1969 always skinny moto jean
I have these! Mine were on sale though at the time :P
They are faded black, skinny, and have a normal looking top part and some cool stitching around the knees.

Anyway, my favorite part is that the waistband doesn't look different from real jeans so you don't have to worry about finding a top long enough to cover it.
It has elastic inserts in the sides instead of a big broad panel over the top. See?

If you know her exact size, you can get her a pair. Jeans are hard though, sometimes you really just have to try them on.


Loft dress

$70 Ann Taylor LOFT Maternity spotted dress (plus extra 40% off = $42)

This is only available in XS right now, but one review said it runs big so that might be perfect!
Not sure if I need a dress but this one looks kind of cute.


Max your Mat Leave Guide

$60 Max Your Maternity Leave PDF package
Not sure if this one is worth it, but if it can give me even one more day of paid leave, it will be.
I think I want this.
Here is what the deluxe package comes with:

• Easy to read and print PDF format
• Editable proposal template attached
• Instant download access
• 30-minute consultation ($75 value)
• Telecommuting Proposal Package**
• Part-time Proposal Package**
• Combines leave + return-to-work solutions at one low price

 Maternity tights

$12 Zulily Black maternity compression tights
Click Here For My Zulily invite link which gets us both a discount!

These are things that I would rather not buy, bc UGHHHH so annoying to think about buying new staples just bc my belly is big, but would appreciate having so my tights don't press in on the waist.


Right now Zulily also has some maternity clothes by one of my favorite non-maternity brands, LAmade, so that is very exciting!
I love how soft their cotton is, it is just so comfortable.

Here are some things I like:

$22 LAmade Huckleberry dolman top
Click Here For My Zulily invite link which gets us both a discount!

$18 LAmade black Noah supima foldover pants

Click Here For My Zulily invite link which gets us both a discount!

$18 LAmade twist front dress in Twizzler
This also comes in huckleberry (royal blueish) and imperial blue (turquoise) and I like all 3 colors. Not sure which one would look best on me.

Click Here For My Zulily invite link which gets us both a discount!

Signs that I am gardening too much...

I've been on all sorts of gardening and plant websites recently, hoping that the huge amount of rain we've been getting will lead to spectacular growth for my plants and seedlings. 
And I have come across something I had no idea existed. 

BEHOLD, THE MELON CRADLE! 

$10 for 6 melon cradles

Yeah, it's a piece of plastic that you can put your melon on as it grows to protect the bottom from the ground.

I love my plants, but I am not sure I would buy bras for them.

Supposedly, they help keep the melon from rotting or, god forbid, being kinda flat on one side like the head of a baby who only sleeps on its back.

MILLION DOLLAR IDEA:
Melon cradles but for your "melon up top," aka your head.
Pitch: Do you deform your child's skull and have him look weird in profile photos just to keep him from suffocating while sleeping? Well now you can not kill your kid AND have his head look nice and round with Rebecca's patented Baby Melon Cradle.

Who is underwriting my new business?
Thank you.

Great Online Store: Brika.com

Brika.com is a site where you can shop for handmade crafts that are a little more polished than the average Etsy fare.

They organize their products by "Makers" or by occasion so it's easy to follow a particular craftsman if you want.

I've also been seeing a lot of mass produced stuff being sold on Etsy recently and passed off as handmade, which annoys me. The items on Brika.com are for real.

The categories that Brika features are jewelry, home, art, paper goods, accessories, and children's products.

My picks:



$38 Large tribal cutting board by Richwood creations
This pretty patterned cutting board is laser engraved and comes in either cherry or walnut.
I wonder how deep the engraving is and if it would be hard to clean. It would be such a nice cheese board.



$38 Gray bunnies scarf by Foxy &Winston
Made of organic cotton. This scarf also comes with purple bunnies.
The print is also used on aprons and a cushion cover. I like the scarf and cushion cover the best. Feel free to buy me a few.


$150 Bone medium landscape clutch by Arc of LA
This clutch is made of leather with a block print stamped on it.



$28 Mate for Life print
A poster of animals that mate for life like the barn owl and the coyote, and I think it would make a great wedding gift.
There are other great prints, like animals of the alphabet and some simple drawings of cars and buses, which would be good for kids' rooms.



$130 mismatched star cutout earrings
These are fun! I like things that almost match, like the designs on Camper shoes.


$56 Carved Australian Aboriginal II necklace
 The colors and shape of this necklace are unusual. When I first looked at it I thought it looked childish, but my eye kept coming back to it and I think it is really interesting.



$84 Gold dipped leaf necklace
The combination of the geometric shapes and the organic branching is very nice.



$15 Flying orcas journal
The interior pages have drawings of orcas on them too.


$30 Chevron diaper clutch and 2 burp cloths
These look more mature than a lot of the baby stuff out there.

Turn your baby into a mop

This is probably the #1 reason to have a kid:

$34.95 Baby Mop Onesie

It's like a swiffer that someday will need college tuition.

For real though, babies are on the floor anyway, and you have to change their outfits all the time from what I understand because they are always puking or pooping, so you might as well get your floors dusted.

They come in Boy, Girl, or Neutral which I sadly assume means blue, pink, or yellow, but I am not sure.

What do you think of designer kids clothes?

This article highlights some parents who buy their children the latest designer fashions, costing hundreds of dollars.

What do you think about pricey kids clothes?
I don't have any kids but I am pretty sure that when and if I do, they are not going to be wearing Lanvin dresses. Hell, I don't even wear those things.
But honestly I would not even buy kids the designers I can afford and wear.
It seems like such a waste to spend a lot on something they will outgrow so quickly and probably barf or crap on depending on their age.

My view of designer pieces is that they are ok when they are investments in something you will get a lot of use out of and have for a long time.
I wouldn't buy a trendy neon designer top because who knows how long neon will be in?
I wouldn't really even buy a designer gown since I wear them so infrequently and the cost per wear would be so great.
Designer bags or work outfits or shoes are what I would invest in.

Buying designer items for kids totally goes against my system for what o spend money on.

Plus, if your kid was wearing $300 pants, wouldn't yoube worried the whole time she was playing outside with her friends that she was going to rip or stain them?

I would rather have my imaginary kids focus on other things than fashion, even as much as I like it.

While it is true that clothes telegraph messages about who you are and how you want to be perceived, the primary purpose of clothing is to protect your body from the elements. Let's not forget that. You don't need expensive skirts to do that.
And if it is true that what you wear reflects something about you, do you really want your kids to be known or their fancy clothes instead of their personalities or even their own senses of style from the outfits they choose to put together?

Special occasions like a family wedding or the first day of school or a birthday or something might be a time to spend a little more, but there are ways to find a fancy new outfit and feel like you are dressing up without buying a super expensive designer piece.

Two thumbs down for me.

Fun kitchen items from ThinkGeek

$12.99 Equal measure cup
"Laboratory-grade borosilicate glass with the standard ounce and milliliter graduation-marks, but if you look closer - you'll find marks for "volume of half a human brain," and "water in a cumulus cloud the size of a bus."
Holds 20 ounces, or as many grains of flour as there are people on Earth "

$14.99 Splash of milk bowl
This is silicone and not porcelain like I at first thought (and hoped), but I guess that means it is safer for kids

$15.99 Bacon candle
Wake your household up with the smell of bacon, and when they get into the kitchen surprise them with a bowl of kale instead :(

$19.99 Mushroom growing kit
Guys, this is getting ridiculous. I have posted mushroom kits and cheese kits a bunch of times now and STILL no one has gotten me one. Get on top of this.

$24.99 Personal pie kit
This comes with the lollipop sticks and the display and pan to cook the pies in. You make them yourself though, which I guess could be fun but I kind of just want a pie already.

Word to the Wise: Cashmere sample sale in NYC

Christopher Fischer cashmere sample sale
Where/When:  80 Wooster St., (b/w Spring & Broome). June 7-11; Thurs – Sat (10-7p), Sun (11-6p).

Sample Sally has the scoop 

It might not be the best time to be trying on sweaters, but it is the cheapest time! Go get some and then put them in a box for you to open in winter.

Spin Art Kit

$4.99 Spin Art Kit

Do you remember these?
I had one when I was younger and it was the best. My cousins made me a spin art tee shirt that was my favorite shirt for a long time (until it was stolen with the rest of our luggage in NYC when I was 8).

This kit is limited because it only takes the circle things it comes with and you can't put in big pieces of paper.
But for $5, who can complain?

Get it for a niece or nephew and be the hit of the party.

Harvest your own pearl for this necklace

$19.99 Unopened pearl oyster and necklace setting

This set comes with an oyster that has been impregnated with a seed starter which makes it form a pearl over the span of a few years. Basically you put something in the oyster that irritates it, and it forms smooth layers over it so that it stops itching.
A pearl is kind of like an oyster's version of a pimple.

Anyway, you get an oyster that contains a pearl and a metal necklace setting which is silver-plated.
Then you get to open the oyster and put your pearl in a necklace.
I would have loved this as a kid.
It reminds me of those "break your own geode" kits which were awesome.

This would make an awesome gift for a like-minded kid.