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I got the Julep DD cream in my June Julep Maven Box . In fact, the DD cream was the only reason I got the box! I'm a sucker for exciting new products, even when I'm not sure that I'll like them. I have worn this several times because I wanted to be sure to give a good review. Julep DD cream is pretty darn similar to most other inexpensive American BB/CC creams. That is to say, underwhelming. A little bit goes a long way. It blends into the skin nicely. The product claims to be buildable, but I saw no noticeable difference with added layers. It did an okay job of evening out my skin tone. I have a strong dislike for the dewy look, so I set with a light powder to make my finish more natural and less dewy. I feel like it does smooth out the finest of lines. It's got SPF 25 broad spectrum, so that's a major win for me. By the end of the day, I basically had no product on my face. It had all melted away. If you have good skin and just need a little ...

High-low dress from Marshall's // homemade beaded earrings // Aerosoles sandals Here we have a high-low dress. Wasn't this an '80s trend? I'm pretty sure I saw Barbies in high-low dresses back in the 80s. Like my initial opinion on skinny jeans, this was a trend I've been hesitant to take part in.  And I'm thinking that pregnancy isn't exactly the best time because my little belly just makes it a higher-low dress. Despite my dislike of the trend, I fell in love with the colors and pattern in this dress and decided I'd try it on anyway. That's all I needed and I was won over! The lack of waist of any kind coupled with the string-y belt thing that I can belt over my belly are also fab features of this piece. I wore this dress to a wedding on Saturday (congrats Jenny & Brian!) and I felt like such a sexy pregnant lady! It's a great lightweight summer dress and I love that I'll still be able to enjoy this dress even afte...

Happy 17 weeks! I got a couple of new bras! Hallelujah! Still in my regular clothes with use of the bella band or bodystyler. Having to switch OBs due to insurance purposes and it's proving more difficult than I thought. Who knew it could be such a debacle trying to get your records faxed from one office to another? I let TWO friends rub my belly this week AND I didn't hate it as much as I thought I would. I've had to [temporarily] retire certain items in my closet and that bummed me out for a bit. Things that chinch at the natural waist just don't work for me anymore! I wore a maxi dress to one of my photo sessions this week and I got a bug bite right on my belly! How did that even happen? My belly button is getting shallower! My mom wanted to go to a baby store, so we did. She ended up buying me some baby things! Like this pack of aden + anais muslin swaddle blankets  that I really wanted. :) I haven't felt the baby yet, but hopefully soon! ...

Yesterday, I treated my sweet friend Nicole to a belated birthday lunch. She didn't have a particular place in mind, so at my husband's enthusiastic review, I decided we should check out Green Lettuce . He said it was healthy and delicious, the salads were huge, and that I'd love it. Oh, and that it was a Middle Eastern place. Yum! Unfortunately, I happened to pick a day during which there was a lunch-time baseball game going on. Greenville Drive games always mean that West End parking is a huge hassle. Fortunately, both Nicole and I managed to get lucky and find parking spots right away. WIN. I decided to be all bloggy because I felt like my blog was getting all boring with the pregnancy talk and I wanted something else to share. Delicious food is always a pretty good blog topic, right? However, I decided this after I left the house, so all I had was my phone. So please excuse the poor photo quality!  While they had tabbouleh, hummus, dolma, etc, I...

Saturday was the first of what will hopefully be many wonderful quarterly meet-ups of the South Carolina branch of the Southern Blog Society . We met up a LeGrand Bakery and it was wonderful! I got a chocolate croissant which was delicious. I wish I had taken more photos of all the amazing looking treats they had, but I guess I have a reason to go back! :) SBS member Michelle { Pink Champagne }, Dixie { RSVP Greenville }, SBS contributor Will { WAC AVE Street Photography }, me!, Andrew { talesfromtheroof.tumblr.com }. I love a good girls' pic! And these were the sweetest girls. I had so much fun getting to know them over messy, flaky, delicious croissants! SC SBS members : Michelle , Will & me! There are a few more local SBS members who couldn't make it...too bad! Hopefully next time! :) It was a good time! We each shared a little bit about ourselves and our blogs. But not in the boring way that I'm making it sound. We didn't go around...

Sixteen weeks! I'm waking up more during the night now. Not to pee, but to change positions or because I'm sweaty. So, that's fun. This week, I finally realized that I am in serious need of a new bra. Luckily, someone didn't pay attention to the details of my lingerie shower invitation about four years ago and bought me a bra that was too big. Never returned it because I took off the tags before checking the size. Guess I finally grew into it! In other news this week, I hate the idea having my belly touched by most people. This means certain family members come up and touch it just to be obnoxious. My brother rubbed my belly with enthusiasm at his step-daughter's birthday party. And then I fell over. I feel like I haven't been super positive on this blog about my pregnancy yet. I am loving being pregnant! I find my quickly changing body a bit weird sometimes, but not weird in a "I hate my body" kind of way. Which, actually, is how I...

Ambiance Apparel top // Mossimo jeggings // Aeropostale sandals // Kate Spade necklace // no-name beaded necklace // shell cuff from the Philippines // homemade beaded earrings It's been a while since I wore an outfit that made me think, "Oh, this is a good one, I've got to blog this." But this one did it for me. I really loved this outfit! Oh, and if you're wondering why I'm looking at the phone in the first photo it's because my phone has an app that turns it into a remote for my camera. WIN. This makes selfies so much easier because all I need is my camera, my tripod, and my phone! I can adjust exposure, focus, etc, all from the phone, so there's no running back and forth. The second photo I wised up and set the camera to a 2-second delay. The tank I'm wearing is another Ross find, as have been most of my shirts, lately. I fell in love with the pattern and decided to make the shirt work! Coral is also my summer fave. I actually...

Black and gray top from Ross \\ necklace from Colombia \\ J. Crew jeans \\ Banana Republic wedges I bought this top from Ross in the juniors department. I think it looks maternity-ish because of the ruching, which I thought I would hate. I actually really like it, though, because it hugs my belly and is also nice and drapey. The maternity style is IN, have you noticed? I've seen so many tops lately that have pleats or ruching or just extra flowiness in the belly area. They looks SO maternity to me. I even had to put one back because it looked like maternity clothing before they started making cute things. Of course, maybe that's just me. I've never made a point to buy flowy, blousy clothes, so I would never pick up a drapey top. I do have a few ruchy tops that people never thought were maternity until I wore them with my belly. The necklace is one Mike brought back for me on when he went on a misson trip to Colombia earlier this year. He always bring me...

It's Ipsy day! Yay! It's always fun to see the hot pink padded envelope in the mailbox. Ipsy went totally different with this month's bag. And I mean the actual bag, not the contents. The bag is a hot pink translucent vinyl tube. The theme of this month was "beach beauty" and it included tinted moisturizer and beach spray, which, I guess made it sufficiently beachy. POP Beauty Pouty Pop Crayon in Fuchsia Flirt (Approximate retail value: $4.17). Receive 20% off your purchase at popbeautycosmetics.com . Enter code: POPLUVISPY at checkout. I like that this is a twist up crayon and not the kind you have to sharpen. I very much dislike sharpening crayons. I don't have this color in my small lip product stash, so this will be a good addition. This crayon is nice and creamy I don't think you can buy just one crayon, but you can purchase a set of six from Ulta for $25 . BH CosmeticsCalifornia Collection Eyeshadow Sample (Approximate retail val...

Fifteen weeks! Aww yeah! Still feeling great. I love being pregnant and knowing that there is this little person inside of me. A little person that my husband and I made. How crazy is that? Of course, it's also kind of bizarre to think that there is a little person inside of me. My growing belly is also a little disconcerting. I keep half-expecting it to be gone when I wake up in the morning. Kinda like a food baby, you know? But it is always still there! (Of course!) It's also a little weird when your belly starts to get bigger and it's a good thing. I said this to some people and they looked at me like I had a third eye. I could hear them thinking, "Well, of course your belly is going to get bigger!" And, yes, I know, it's inevitable. It's going to get bigger. It's going to get a lot bigger. I love my little growing bump, but sometimes I find my quickly changing body a little disconcerting. Anyone else relate? As far as symptoms g...

Well, not really weekend. More like Thursday and Friday snaps. But this past weekend felt sooooo long, am I right? This summer, Mike has been making some of the most delicious litte pizzas. This is one he was making for lunch on the 4th. Homemade dough, a touch of olive oil, basil and cherry tomatoes fresh from the garden, homemade mozzarella (yes, my hubby makes the best mozzarella cheese!), and topped with some freshly grated parmesan. Yum! As always, when anyone is doing anything, Bella is underfoot. That's just how she rolls. Last weekend, Mike went to his softball game and it took him longer than I had anticipated to get home. I was sitting at my computer when I heard him come in and I asked if he had run to the store. He walks into the dining room holding a bouquet of flowers. "Yes! Because I thought you might want these." What a sweetie! I was soooo swoony that my husband had brought me flowers just because. I was super bummed that I ...