More Maternity Basics

Okay, so I know I raved about my beloved leggings and kind of thought that would be my sole maternity clothes rave, but I have two more pieces that I must heavily recommend.

Boob is a company from Sweden that makes things that are organic, good looking, and comfortable. I hadn’t bought anything at all from them through this pregnancy ’til a week or two ago when I found two things that struck my fancy at Belly from their Once on Never Off series.

Okay. So these are the first actual maternity pants (that I can actually wear in public) that I’ve bought. Well, unless you count the two pairs of designer jeans that I wore possibly three times each. (Holy discomfort, by the way – why do pants with half panels even exist? They will not stay up and start visibly cutting into the bump as it grows. Hideous, I tell you! I even tried to cut a bazillion slits in one pair to hide the line under my shirt. Let me tell you: disaster. Maternity jeans, in my opinion, stink. The general store stuff unflatter one’s backside as much as any mall pants, and the designer stuff doesn’t stay up. Ridic!)

In any case, these pants are heaven-sent. First of all, I’m getting to a point in pregnancy where it’s getting very uncomfortable to not sit… in a rather unladylike fashion. It’s like sitting with a ball on your lap – instinct makes you want to rest the ball on your legs, but you need a little spread space to make that happen. This creates an awkward situation in anything but stretchy skirts – and pants. These particular pants feel like I’m going to work in yoga gear, but miraculously still look decent. (And I swear I’m not kidding myself, I took pictures first to be safe!)

The skirt is equally dreamy. It’s an ever-so-slightly longer length in the non-belly-panel section than the bulk of skirts that I’ve been buying, which means I can position it more appropriately for a variety of seated positions. It’s stretchy and also feels like loungewear while still looking good.

In addition, the panel on these two pieces is slightly different than what I’ve been buying. Most of my previous skirts have had a full panel that end up practically touching my bra strap in the back, as I really only need that extra room in the front. These two lovelies, however, have a lower panel height in the back, meaning the fabric stops at a lower point, which means less bunching up strangely under cute fitted tops.

Finally, they’re both designed to have the panel able to flip down (without excess material) after the pregnancy is over, so can both be worn post-pregnancy as well. This makes me feel less wasteful in my short-term wardrobe excursions!

These are two basics I wish I’d found in the early stages of being knocked up, but don’t feel guilty about buying so late in the game due to the ongoing usefulness. Also, it’s good to know that the sizing is consistent to your pre-pregnancy size, which I haven’t found to be the case with all manufacturers (no matter what they claim) so they’re easy to buy online if you can’t find any in your neighbourhood.

A Crisp in the Air

With fall most certainly in the air and fresh locally grown apples on the streets, I found myself in a crisp-making mood. I am waiting to make it ’til Thursday when the in-laws will be popping by to see our renos in progress, but in my excitement, I’ve pulled out my favourite traditional recipe for sharing – again, a modified version of what my mum used to always make when I was a kid – in advance!

A Deliciously Basic Crisp

Peel and cut up about five apples or so, and put them into a pretty casserole dish. You can, of course, alternate the fruit based on what’s seasonally available – I often like to combine a big orchard type fruit with a berry, like peaches and blueberries, but you can use whatever fruit you like, as long as it’s about the amount that five apples would be.

You can additionally prep the apples the night before if you’ll have a busy Thursday like mine – just let the fruit sit in lemon water overnight so they don’t start browning, yuck.

Sprinkle lemon and spices over your apples and stir:

• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1t cinnamon
• 1/2t nutmeg
• 1/2 t ginger/cardamom/cayenne/whatever strikes your fancy – select your spices based on the fruit you’re using (I got the cayenne idea that I will totally be trying this week here while Flickr-searching for crisp shots)

And now for the best part: mix until just crumbly, but not beyond that! Use equal parts of all ingredients, and go higher on the measurement if you love the crispy part best like I do!

• 3/4-1C butter
• 3/4-1C brown sugar
• 3/4-1C rolled oats
• 3/4-1C flour

Cover the chopped layer of fruit with this yummy topping and bake at 350F for 40-45 minutes. Serve hot from the oven, and never skimp on the ice cream.

Heaven!

Deals and Excess

I always have internal battles about shopping online. I like to buy local whenever I can, but the allure of the recent flash sale type sites is a tough one to resist. The online shopping thing drives Dave bananas, as he’d prefer we skip the deal and put the money into shops in the city, but I have a real thing for convenience as well, which gives online shopping a late-evening appeal that normal stores can’t offer.

Philosophical issues aside, in seeking clothes for myself, I have a tougher time with the online purchase – you never really know how things will fit and it becomes a bit of a challenge. But kid stuff? My assumption is kind of that everything fits. And everything is half off, thereby making the nice stuff all the more affordable? Oh my.

With that, I bring you BabySteals. I made my second purchase today – the first consisted of a few muslin swaddling blankets from aden + anais, which are quite pricey at the boutiques I frequent. I look daily but buy only when the deals are great and I particularly love the item. And I’ve had my eye on this Hatley stuff for a little while, but couldn’t bring myself to order any at the original price.

Now check out the sharks:

And then these little green lambie ones:

So cute. So cute! It’s funny, people always think of me as a big shopper, but I am really not. I’ve made seriously few non-essential purchases for this kid’s life entry, and he’s less than two months from hitting the streets.

And with that, I feel compelled to ask: how do you feel okay about buying a few nice things without letting the too-much-factor into your house? It seems harder when it comes to kid stuff, not simply because it’s terribly cute, but because everyone and their dog wants to give you the stuff they don’t use anymore!

Thoughts?

In Tile

Yay! More reno progress shots. I know, the week isn’t even done yet, but they have gotten a lot done this week already and, well, Dave did a photo shoot without me even asking so I am thrilled to have new pictures!

This first shot captures a major level of reno in progress. The tile in the shower hasn’t been grouted yet, but it’s all laid – the grout itself will add another element, as it’s a lovely grey shade that will act as another accent. The floor is started and will be finished this weekend. The paint is done. (For the accent wall, we went with the unusual choice of a contrasting colour to the blues/greys/etc. found in the tile which should also look great with the walnut of the vanity, it’s a rusty red-orange. We ended up also using the same glass tiles as act as an accent colour in the shower for the floor of the shower – the dark grey slate tiles were too big to ensure flatness on the shower floor, and the small glass tiles allowed us to reduce the volume of separate elements happening in the room anyway, which is probably a good thing considering the various design risks we decided to take!

Anyway, this is the view from the corner opposite where the door will hang. Purty!

The view from the toilet corner, this goes to show the spaciousness of the room – that wall on the right is the side of the shower. Those things sticking out of the wall are the plumbing and sconce things where the vanity will be.

And the lovely view from the corner where the tub will be. I think the neutral walls are just a stunning colour, just the right amount of tone to offset the white of the subway tile but still super, super neutral in order to ensure good lighting on the face when doing makeup. Indeed!

So remaining to be done? Well, the tile gets finished and grouted, baseboard and trim get laid, lighting is hung, and fixtures get installed. We are calling the glass guy about doing that part of the shower tomorrow, as we couldn’t have him in ’til the shower was done enough to get exact measurements, but that only goes a week between measure and installation. The vanity and showerheads don’t come ’til later in the month so we have a bit of a wait on that finish line. That said, the rest of it will likely go into mid-to-late next week to and, in short, it’s a mere week tops ’til I don’t have to take those occasional middle-of-the-night bathroom breaks all the way downstairs. Whoo whoo!

The World’s Best Pumpkin Pie

With Thanksgiving around the corner, I’m planning the dessert portion of turkey dinner, which this year will be hosted by my sister-in-law. Thus, it’s time to save this somewhere instead of asking for it every year. Without another second of anticipation, here is my favourite pumpkin pie recipe, care of my mum!

Pie Crust

I have always wondered why people don’t just make this from scratch, as it’s so bloody easy. Store-bought can’t begin to compare to how delish this crust is!

• 1/2C shortening (I prefer to bake pastry with cold, unsalted butter, which makes for a more shortbread-y type base, but I just read online that half shortening and half butter apparently makes the flakiest and tastiest crusts – I might just mix that up this year!)
• 1C flour
• 3T cold water
• Shake of salt

This makes a single crust, but double it up and you’ll have a second one for a quiche if your heart so desires! Use the pastry cutter, roll it out on waxed paper, and place over the pie plate. (You might also consider refrigerating it for half an hour before you roll it out – my brother-in-law does this and his pies are really good!) Use floured fingers or a fork to shape the edges.

Pumpkin Pie Filling

I have a new pumpkin butter that I might somehow try to incorporate instead of the pumpkin and sugar, but this is the original recipe.

• 2 eggs slightly beaten
• 1 + 3/4C canned pumpkin (pure pumpkin, not mixed with anything else – the C is cups, not cans!)
• 3/4C sugar
• 1/2t salt
• 1t cinnamon
• 1/2t ginger
• 1 + 1/3C canned evaporated milk (again, cups not cans!)

Mix it all together, easy peasy. I also sometimes play around with the spices, throwing in some allspice or cardamom if I feel so inclined. In any case, just pour the filling into an uncooked pie shell and bake at 425F for fifteen minutes, then reduce heat to 350F for another 45 minutes.

Do not serve this alone. Make homemade whipped cream (heavy cream, beat in a cold metal bowl with a cold mixer, no other ingredients allowed!) and don’t skimp on it on a single plate.

Heaven!

The Modern Dance Costume Essentials

So I have spent way more money on clothes than a sane person should while pregnant, but you know what? It’s hard to find nice things, and I have a business to run that requires me to look a certain way. (I swear to god, I’d better find someone good to give all of this stuff to when I’m done, because it agitates me endlessly that I’ve spent this much and it might not get into good hands. But that’s another story.) In any case, despite this ridiculous level of spending on boutique-y things, I have made only one purchase that I think was truly spectacular. And I am here today to harass you into buying them too.

The Ingrid & Isabel Belly Leggings.

You see, even pregnant, I remain me. Every day, I wear something pretty – pencil skirts are my personal pregnancy favourite, but I also have a number of dresses that combine knocked-up function with a modern form factor. I ensure this blonde bob is styled exactly as it has always been. I put on makeup, never skipping a step. I go for regular manicures, pedicures, and stay true to my waxing rituals so that my eyes are always as bright as they can be. I wear pointy four inch heels. I may be the size of a house, but I like to look… just so.

That said, the second I get home from a busy day at the office or in meetings, this same me that I’ve always been has immediately swapped out lovely day gear for still-sweet but cozy home gear, i.e. yoga pants, i.e. half of Lululemon’s catalog. However! While many of my Lulu faves still fit, sometimes even stretchy yoga pants start to feel a little… constricting. I know! It’s tragic, both in the sad and embarrassing sense. But it’s a fact. Sometimes the belly feels a bit smooshed.

Early on in the pregnancy, I discovered the bottom half of what friends have now deemed to be my Modern Dance Costume. These stretchy Belly Leggings fit like a flipping dream, are so dreamy-soft you can hardly stand it, and – most importantly! – give the midsection more than a little breathing room, allowing the developing kid ample space for motion and allowing you ample space for a piece of vegan chocolate cake. Um. If that kind of thing strikes your fancy.

In any case, I have a few pairs now and literally wear these things daily. I sometimes also toss them under a skirt or dress for an alternative to stockings or tights, and – though I haven’t found a tunic that I love enough yet – I hear they’re also great with other wardrobe essentials. I couldn’t have made it through these last eight weeks in particular without these blessed things, and they’re the best maternity purchase I’ve made to date.

Walled In

Another week down, and only one (!) to go in the magic that is our bathroom reno.

The plastic to your left is where the door will be, and the big metal frame thing is the wall that the vanity goes on. You can see the shower in its grey cementboard glory.

This shot is taken from the corner where the toilet will be – look at those glorious walls!

And this is taken from the corner where the tub will be – you can see the general layout probably best in this shot.

Isn’t it thrilling? This week will consist of tiling, painting, and installing the fixtures. The vanity and sink unfortunately couldn’t be rushed, thus aren’t being delivered ’til between the 23rd and 26th of the month, but the rest should theoretically be done this week. We still have to pick up all the small pieces (extra shelving, big glorious mirror, new towels, curtains, toilet paper dispenser, etc.) but the guts of the room will be complete!

I can’t believe it. I am ecstatic!

Girls Who Love Boys Who Love Girls

After a recent fascinating discussion on Hitched! about gender issues, someone posted this. Fascinating!

When I was a kid, I didn’t play with boys. My sister was the type of girl who had boy friends – and I don’t mean boyfriends (I was indeed the type of girl who had plenty of those, hah) but boy friends, the kind that help you get to know how the other sex operates. I was always a little nervous around boys. I didn’t know much about them. I had no idea how they worked. They didn’t seem terribly fun. They never seemed to make magazines or radio stations or write stories. They were always pushing and fighting and playing sports. I wasn’t particularly interested in them and, as I got older, I mostly just wanted to make out with them. I didn’t have any real understanding of the whole male experience.

This year, however, I did a bunch of work with the White Ribbon Campaign and that, coupled with the fact that we’ve got a small boy on the way, got me thinking pretty extensively about the whole thing. Admittedly, I’ve always simply assumed being of the male variety was pretty easy and without any major challenges. But I’ve learned that it’s not – and in order to push forward equality, it’s just as important to think about what needs to change in the male experience as in the female one. After all, how can we raise a generation of young women who innately understand that they are as deserving of respect as their male counterparts if their male counterparts don’t equivalently learn not only that they are a part of this respect-giving culture, but why it needs to work the way that it does in order for all people to share in a more equal society?

Interesting stuff.

Doctor-Hunting

I had my almost-thirty-one-week midwife appointment today, and she told me it’s high time that I hunt down a family doctor, seeing as this creature will need immunization stuff done around the two month mark.

Right.

So let me start by saying that I am very much for our healthcare system. I think it’s great that it’s free for everyone and I love that we’re all safe. I am even one of those people who never, ever, ever complains about paying taxes. I am seriously happy that I live in a country where we’re all okay when it comes to emergency situations. But… I haven’t had a family doctor since I was a kid. And it’s starting to bug.

When first moved away from home and lived in Antigonish, I relied on campus doctors. In Halifax, I went to a healthcare centre. Here in Toronto, I’ve been to a number of different clinics. I’ve dabbled with doctors over the years. I’ve tried a few out, even – but I’ve never found one I liked enough to consider sticking around. And getting those very few that I was able to trial? Total ordeal. Without fail.

But now that lazing about and relying on clinics is no longer really an option, I have to get on the case. Yet the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario’s Doctor Search no longer gives me an option to find only those doctors accepting patients, and my area returns a list of 160 professionals. Given such ridiculous results, I find myself at an obvious answer for someone who raves about word-of-mouth for a living: why not ask friends nearby? Where do their kids go?

And this is the problem: You know what? I don’t know people with kids. I mean, yes, I have a few girlfriends with wee ones, but nobody lives near me – and their doctors certainly aren’t in my neighbourhood. Indeed, despite the fact that we live in five minutes walking distance from no less than five different public schools, I don’t even know where those kids live. Perhaps I should skulk about one of these institutions around 3PM and follow some kids home in order to hunt down their parents to conduct a Q&A about neighbourhood amenities.

Alright, fine. I’ll avoid the creepy and stalk the 160. But I’m not going to like it.

Two Weeks Down…

Two or three to go!

The insulated wall is where the 5′ long vanity will be set. The door is directly across from that insulated wall, making the vanity the first thing you see.

The room looks skinnier than it actually is here because of the lens Dave used to capture the whole thing, but you get a sense! The freestanding tub will be on an angle in the corner where the big window is – then I will sit in that tub staring out the window at the glowing CN Tower. Dream!

And a shot from the croner – the wooden box-looking thing in the top middle-to-right of the shot is where the spacious shower will go. The toilet will go in basically the bottom right of this shot, in the corner of the room farthest from the door.

It smells so good in there right now with all the freshly cut wood! With the subfloors fully down, electrical ready, and plumbing roughed in, this week will consist of finishing building and insulating the walls, prepping the floor for tiles, and then we get to tiling and installation. So exciting!