I mentioned in my previous post that the third trimester was my favorite. Yes, I was large and in charge and had issues lifting my body out of bed in the morning, but overall, I felt so great and my excitement was at its highest for sure! Everything was becoming so real and I was ready to meet this baby!
So much happened in my third trimester. I had so much energy and I channeled it all into making business moves, executing home renovations and nurturing my social life.
BUSINESS THANGS
I quit my full-time job in July just before we went to France. I worked remotely for this job so it was nice that I was able to be home, and I actually wasn’t even planning on quitting. However, despite working from home, this job in particular was the most high-stress job I have ever had and it required frequent travel. The job was taking its toll on me and I was so stressed out, working from 6am to 6pm, and I knew it wasn’t healthy for my baby. Thor (husband) and I talked it over, assessed what our financial position would be without my income and both agreed that I would eventually become a SAHM (stay-at-home-mom) so why not just get rid of all my stress now and open up my days to focus on baby.
With that… I am the type of person who needs to be stimulated and social with other like-minded adults. I followed this entrepreneur group for women in the Phoenix area on Instagram called the Dames Collective and they posted that they were looking for another Main Dame to head up their programming and events. This literally felt like the perfect thing for me to become involved in because it was super part-time with monthly events, and I would get the opportunity to work with a partner and network with amazing business-women in my community. I applied and interviewed with the creator of the Dames Collective, Chanel Sonego, and the Phoenix Main Dame who heads up social media and marketing, Becca Booker. It was about four weeks before my due date when I was told I received the position! It was the perfect thing to get my brain jogging, still do what I love and keep myself sane (v important).
If that wasn’t enough for me to take on right before delivering my first baby, I also launched my event planning business, Salt Fringe Events! I spent a few months working with designer, Megan Howard, on the logo and branding, built up the website myself on Squarespace and announced it to the world on IG, of course. I instantly received inquiries and even booked a couple clients, all while wrapping up work for a client who got married in October. It all felt like such a great start for me.
HOUSE UPDATES
This was a lot of work but a lot of fun! I took nesting to an entirely new level with this and honestly it really was so extra. I’m lucky that Thor absolutely loves updating the house because he was fully on board. Here’s what we did:
- INTERIOR PAINT Our house came with a brownish tan color that was way too dark for my taste. We went with Pure White by Sherwin Williams.
- CABINETS & HARDWARE There was no way we could paint the interior without changing our cabinet color so we took on this task as well. This was hands down the most annoying thing in our home update process. The company we worked with did a decent job overall, however, their communication skills and ability to set expectations with clients is incredibly lacking. We were originally excited to work with them because they said we would only be displaced for 14 hours while they knocked everything out in one day. At the end of the day, I went back to the house and the entire place REEKED of chemicals and looked like Dexter just set up his kill site. These people were out of their minds to think that a pregnant chick was going to sleep there. And they continued to tell me it was fine????? Wtf. I was able to book a hotel but it was just a pain the ass and a fuck up on their part to not set this expectation with me from the get-go. I wouldn’t have been so pissed off otherwise. Regardless, the cabinets turned out pretty well, as did the black hardware we swapped out. If you want to know the company so you can use them or avoid them, just DM me lol.
- BACKSPLASH To keep things simple and sleek, we stuck with white, regular-sized subway tile. We took it all the way up to the ceiling for a more dramatic effect and opted for gray grout as opposed to black. I love black grout but I just felt nervous that if it wasn’t done right, it was going to look like nasty-dirty-ass grossness on my walls.
- GAS RANGE STOVETOP / OVEN We wanted a gas range because a) cooking with one of these vs electric is so much easier and all-around better, and b) they look way fucking sleek especially if you get the ones without the back thing that sticks up against the wall or whatever. We went with this 5-burner gas range from Lowe’s.
- WALLPAPER To add a little more umph to our house we wanted an accent wall in our mini front entry area. We also wanted an accent wall in the nursery. I am obsessed with the wallpaper we used by Serena and Lily; it’s called Feather (in the color Bone). For the nursery we went with this white brick wallpaper by Crate & Kids.
***BEFORE & AFTER BELOW!
THE SOCIAL STUFF
Tackling the house and the work stuff was, well, work. So I wanted to throw in the fun stuff too like the obvious baby shower celebrating our little boy! This was such a beautiful day and a great time. Check out my baby shower post here. I also scheduled my maternity photoshoot, which was a fun way to remember my time with a bump and celebrate my pregnancy. Check out my maternity photoshoot here.
Three weeks before I had baby, I was a bridesmaid in mine and Thor’s best friends’ wedding. I was massive to say the least and wearing heels carrying the weight I was carrying was miserable. I couldn’t even put my own shoes on. But we had such an amazing weekend reuniting with our college besties. PLUS, the wedding had a donut wall. As in a wall of donuts. CAMONNNN. I ate three obviously, while dancing with my belly.
Thor and I hosted our first Thanksgiving in our home with family. My mom and I put together a delicious menu and cooked all day together, which I loved. I thoroughly enjoy cooking and being in the kitchen. It’s my favorite place in a home. It was our last holiday without a child so we made sure to relax and really just enjoy it. And that we did!
Lastly, and literally like four days before baby arrived, I indulged at El Chorro with my college babes. This restaurant is a must visit if you ever come to Phoenix. Their sticky buns are to die and they serve them BEFORE dinner. Uhhh HELLLLL YESSSS. They truly know the meaning of living. Or they just knew a pregnant chick was amongst them. My girlies and I frequently get together for dinners, lunches and brunches and we knew this would likely be our last without a baby in tow. So we lived it up, naturally.
Okay so I said lastly up there but this is the actual, true “lastly” last moment of enjoyment before baby. And the moment that I think began labor for me. It was Christmas time and I knew that I wouldn’t be able to get out much to see the beautiful decorations around town. Thor, myself and my parents decided to go downtown to check out this pop-up Christmas bar at the Hotel Palomar and then walk around to see all the fun Christmas-y activities happenin’. We enjoyed lunch at the Arrogant Butcher, hit up Miracle Pop-Up Bar for some non-alcoholic drinks and then people-watched (my fave thing to do) at the outdoor ice rink. With all the walking we did, I was starting to feel baby drop. Like reeeeallll low. I was getting really uncomfortable and had to call it quits. Low and behold, the next day, labor began. This is the last pic I got before heading to the hospital!
