How far along: 23 weeks

Musings on Weekly Photo: Sweater borrowed from one of my generous co-workers!

Weight Gain: 12.5 pounds

Maternity Clothes: Yes. My co-worker lent me her maternity suit jacket for a work meeting. It worked like a charm!

Fruit of the Week / Size of Baby: Pomegranate

Movement: He’s been moving and shaking all over the place.

Cravings: Still loving on the Cheez-Its but no other cravings.

Annoyance: Baby and I made a work trip to Atlanta this week and oh.em.gee the leg swelling after my flights. Out of control. I leave next week for another trip so this Mama is on the hunt for some compression hose. Sexy.

Highlights of the Week: Matt and I registered at Babies R Us this weekend. We were given ‘rewards cards’ for our wallet/key chain for all of the diapers we will no doubt be purchasing en masse. He insisted on putting his card in his wallet right then and there. It was like he had officially received his Dad Card. Cue the “awws”

We spent our first day soaking in the sun on the beach and doing a little bar crawl along the boardwalk. Big Deans, The Whaler and The Waterfront Café if you’re ever in the area and in need of adult beverages and an ocean breeze. We felt extra cool on our bicycle built for two. The boys were slightly mortified.

Day two was spent taking in the fanciness that is Beverly Hills. I can’t help myself, every time we pass the Beverly Hills sign I start singing Cookie Time from Troop Beverly Hills.

Here we are in all of our touristy glory!

We made a quick detour for Sprinkles Cupcakes (Red Velvet for me and Blueberry Lemonade for Matt) on our way to Hollywood for our Starline Double Decker Bus Tour. But that adventure deserves its own post. I mean it is on our Sand Bucket List and all!

We spent another day at The Grove hunting celebrities. We saw AC Slater filming his show Extra and Vince Vaughn. For journalistic integrity I will conceded that the boys were the ones who actually saw Vince Vaughn. Mel and I were too busy scouring the sales racks at Anthropologie. Executive decisions were made that it still counts as a celebrity sighting because we have a picture. So there.

After our brush with celebrity fame we were off to the Dodgers Game. New Dodger gear for the boys. I find this traitorous as they are both Cubs fans.

Another celeb sighting at the Dodgers Game. Nakia from The Voice belted out the Star Spangled Banner and Take Me Out to the Ballgame.

We wrapped up the last day of whirlwind fun at Universal Studios. Plenty of fun and food was enjoyed there!

Whew! Just recapping our adventures makes me tired. We had so much fun with our Iowa pals and can’t wait to have them back. Hopefully they’ll bring their super cute baby Emma with them next time!

What’s the most touristy thing you’ve done while on vacation? Ever rode a bicycle built for two?

1. Everyone needs some good summer time tunes. Kenny Chesney is my main man to set the drinking, grilling, good time state of mind.

2. I, along with the rest of the blog-o-sphere are in love with these outdoor pillows. At $24 for 2 you can’t beat the price. I think these will be making an appearance on our patio shortly.

3. Toms. These comfy, casual shoes are rocking my world. I had never heard of them until we moved out West. The company is actually located about 5 blocks from our place. I love their styles and their mission. For every pair of shoes purchased, a child in need gets a pair.

4. Homemade ice cream. I don’t think there is anything better! We have the Ahrens’ secret family recipe that we’ll be relying on this year to beat the heat.

5. My beloved Townie. I can’t stress how much I love this bike. It’s pink, it’s a cruiser and it has gears. Glorious.

6. The smell of burgers on the grill is the official sign “it’s summer!” We were gifted this fabulous grill for Christmas. We need to put it in a place of honor instead of balancing precariously on our old bench.

So, what’s your favorite season? Any summer time must haves that I need to add to my list?

I was originally looking for a Des Moines map but couldn’t find anything out there. So I pressed purchase and waited for my gift to arrive. Well wouldn’t you know, the fates had aligned and Ork Posters and Raygun (Greatest Store in the Universe) collaborated on Iowa posters. Cue the Whomp whomp sounds. After getting our poster in a frame ($25!) and on the wall we’re convinced that we love it enough to add a Des Moines print to the mix. Check out Andrea’s here.

Not only is our poster cheering up our bland hallway, it hides an ugly apartment secret. Our circuit box is smack dab in the middle of that wall. Hello, architects, NOT aesthetically pleasing. Bottom line, we love our Ork Poster. Have you snagged your neighborhood print yet? Or better yet, are there any other map enthusiasts out there?

I loved reading all of the Christmas wishes in the comments and Laura Johnson is our big winner. Laura, I hope you share what you pick out with your winning moolah!

True Random Number Generator Result: 8 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

The festival was described as “an all-night cultural experience featuring original commissions by artists that re-imagine Santa Monica Beach as a playground for thoughtful and participatory temporary artworks.” For all of you uncultured folk (like myself) out there I’ll break it down for you. There were lots of black lights, fog, techno music and big screens. Also, every single person there was cooler than us. Seriously.

Some of the exhibits were really cool, almost Cirque du Soleil-ish. I wasn’t able to capture most of the exhibits with our little point and shoot camera but I managed to get a shot of Matt and I perusing the local art. This year’s Christmas card photo perhaps?

Overall, it was a pretty neat experience (and free!). The exhibits were pretty spread out and unorganized. It practically gave my event logistics heart an anxiety attack but I think they were focusing more on the art than anything else. We rounded out the night with drinks on the pier with friends and found ourselves home at 3:00 am. That alone gives my hip-ness score +5 points. Next year we’ll know to bring our own glow-sticks and we’ll fit right in with the hippies locals.

Have you been to any local art shows? What’s your take? Maybe you went to Glow, what was your favorite part?

Photos courtesy of Marc Pally and Frank Rozsay

Since I was already there I had to peruse the marketplace for any must haves. I found some cute $5 prints to add some color to our white kitchen. There isn’t really a great spot to hang this so I just leaned it up against the backsplash. I think it does an ok job of breaking up the white tile abyss.

I also snagged this $12.99 fur rug thing. I think it looks pretty snazzy on our bench in the guest room. Lulu is in love with it. We keep finding her curled up with it. We now affectionately call it the Polar Bear.

That’s all I grabbed! I even resisted the tantalizing smell of the cinnamon rolls. Can I get a round of applause for practicing restraint at the Swedish Furniture Wonderland? It is much easier said than done my friends!

Have you snapped up any great deals lately?

A Hawkeye loss (boo!), a cactus and a clever postcard. It’s the thought that counts, right?

What’s your favorite souvenir to bring home?

Delicious Pork on a stick. Oh, Iowa, I have missed you!

I was happy to see our Hawks whip ISU in a 35-7 game.

It was fun to see everyone and the weather was perfect. You can’t beat a fall day in Iowa City!

Luckily, the University Alumnae Club is serious about rounding up Hawks living in LA.We had an early 7 am wake up call for the 9:05 kick off (darn Pacific time!). Matt enthusiastically zip tied our Hawk flag to our fence while playing the fight song on repeat. I’m sure our neighbors adore us.

We hit the road on our cruisers for the 5 block ride to Barney’s Beanery aka Hawkeye Heaven. The Hawks were lined around the block! It was so fun to see everyone representing in their Black and Gold.

We pulled up a seat with some fellow Hawkeye transplants while enjoying drink specials and watching the team add a W to their roster.

We’ll definitely be back to cheer on our team! Do you have a special place you watch your favorite team pummel their opponent? Or do you prefer to tailgate in the comfort of your own home?