Chasing Cozy

by Leslie Claire

Archives for February 2020

Affordable Bathroom Upgrades That Feel Like a Spa

Bathtub with leather ottoman and bath caddy

Bathrooms often get overlooked when it comes to personal touches in a home. You all know I’m all for making your space cozy, so here are a few bathroom upgrades that won’t break the bank.

UPGRADES

  1. Towel Sets- A completed higher quality towel set will make you feel like a queen. There’s nothing like getting out of the shower and bundling up in a giant plush bath sheet. NO need to share, you can keep these stashed away in the back of the closet for yourself.
  2. Hand Soaps- Upgrade your hand soaps all around the house to soaps you actually love. I recommend buying pretty glass dispensers and refilling when empty. Buying in bulk and saving on plastic is always a win.
  3. Bath Products- There are a million bath products out there if you’re a bath lover. Find yourself a good clean version of the products you like and in scents that bring you to your happy place. Some popular options are scalp scrubs, bath salts and a good body brush.
    Tip: Stash some extras in your guest bath for when you have people stay over. These small touches are what people remember.

These affordable bathroom upgrades are sure to have you feeling like you’re in your own little piece of heaven when you have a few minutes to yourself at the end of the day.

FIRST TRIMESTER RECAP

Pregnancy announcement with ultrasound

I can’t even believe I’m writing this….but we are HAVING A BABY! It still hasn’t fully sunk in.
Now that the news is out I can finally share all the details with you!. This is going to be a longer post, so get cozy.

 

WAIT, WHAT?!

James and I decided that in 2019/2020 we would be happy with getting pregnant, and if it happened, it happened. Even when it did, we were still shocked and so thankful.

One afternoon I felt a little off and the thought popped into my head…am I pregnant? I went to the store and bought half a dozen tests. I’m pretty sensitive so I could tell something was up and took a test right away. I took two pink dye tests and thought maybe I saw a second line, but also maybe I was imaging it?? I told James the tests were negative and moved on.

I couldn’t get the extremely faint possible line out of my head and later that night I dug through my trash like a dirty hamster and picked out the test. I SWEAR the faint line was a little darker and got the prickly sweats. I went back downstairs and googled furiously in front of the TV under the guise of re-watching Schitt’s Creek episodes.

If you know me, you know when I have a hunch I have to FULLY investigate every detail. Turns out, the lines can get darker causing an evaporation line to appear and can give a false positive reading

SO, you guessed it, I went upstairs and took a digital test. Lo and behold, POSITIVE. Cue the hyperventilating happy cries. I went downstairs and definitely caught James by surprise. PLOT TWIST: by the time I took the test to James there was an error indicator that popped up. In the words of Michael Scott: “SNIP SNAP SNIP SNAP!” I resolved to just take another test in the morning.

OK, fast forward to 5:30 am Monday morning. I snuck out of bed to the bathroom since I couldn’t sleep anyways. I took another digital test trying not to get my hopes up. Then BAM, it was positive. I jumped back into bed and was going to tell James that morning. Turns out, he was already awake from hearing me fumble with the wrapper in the bathroom and knew exactly what I was doing. I broke the news to him and we hugged and cried and hugged and cried until reality sunk in a little, and then got ready for work.

I always imagined telling James in a cute way, but that was so far from my mind when I found out. I’m glad we both found out at the same time.

 

HOW I FELT THE FIRST TRIMESTER

WEEK 4-5

I didn’t really have many symptoms except feeling bloated and sore and EXTREMELY tired. I thought “phew, maybe I won’t have morning sickness.” My mom said she never had any so maybe I got lucky. We shared the news with family about a week after we found out.

WEEK 6-13

The morning sickness hit me like a ton of bricks and lasted all day every day. Plain carbs and the toilet were my best friends. I had recently left my job and that ended up being a blessing in disguise. Basically any food or smell made me sick. Even the smell of the dishwasher running, or the hot water coming out of the shower head would get me. Wild, I know.

Life was serving me up a piece of humble pie in a major way. You know how in the movie Matilda, when Ms. Trunchbull makes that poor kid eat that giant chocolate cake? Well, that’s how big my humble pie felt. I had my first appointment around week 10 and had my first ultrasound.

I’m so thankful James was there to support me through the rough part.

WEEK 14

The light at the end of the tunnel appeared. I finally was able to keep some plain foods and water down and started to feel a little more like myself.

SO, WHAT’S NEXT?

Now that I’m feeling so much better, I look forward to celebrating little baby Turner and getting back to work. I am getting back into my daily workouts and making more food, which I’m sure my body is thankful for.

pregnancy journal

I was hesitant to post this because my first trimester experience wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies. It was actually a little bit of a lonely time during the bad weeks since I was always at home, looking for a job (which seemed like an impossible task at the time), and hadn’t shared the news with anyone except immediate family.

But, I feel like it’s important to be honest and talk about those harder experiences. Someone out there may be feeling the same way as you. I know that reading others’ stories helped me get through it. Everyone’s journey is different, and I look forward to learning more through mine!