I'm busy enough without a baby!

For the past couple weeks I've felt like I've been battling against the clock and a never ending list of work, home and personal things I need to get done. On top of that, I'm trying to eat better and get into a good exercise routine, but I've been eating a little too much Halloween candy and not getting to the gym nearly enough. It's really frustrating!

My work schedule has been really weird and in a 14 day time span I've worked 3 days until 10pm including one Sunday. I came in at 1pm most of those days, but it still really throws off my schedule in every way possible - sleep, eating, workout, cleaning, everything! To make things more complicated, my husband is in class until 10 every Tuesday and Thursday night for his MBA program. This makes for a lot of time apart, which we frankly aren't used to.

We are one of those annoying couples that you see holding hands all the time and we are kind of clueless to how we look when we are out in public! We genuinely like going to the grocery store together (especially now that I'm getting really into couponing) and we typically try to go to the gym together too. So, since he started going to school there are many days we don't see each other until 10 or 10:30, and we only get to eat dinner together twice during the week.

Anyway, all this busy-ness and not getting enough time together has been kind of freaking me out. If we are this busy now - what is it going to be like when we have a baby with this kind of schedule?

I just hope we start adjusting better to it and it starts getting easier. And I know that this is temporary and the two years of his master's program will be done before we know it. But still, it's stressing me out. One temporary solution I've thought about is really trying to slow down on the weekends. Sometimes we are so booked on the weekends with friends or company in town or whatever that we never get anything done around the house or get much down time.

So, hopefully the winter will be a little less crazy and we can spend more time together at home!

Baby Bucket List

There are a few things I'd like to accomplish before we have a baby. I'm sure I'll be adding a lot to this list in the next year - but here are the main things I'm wanting to do:

Before I get pregnant:

• Get in a good workout/diet routine again, lose 15 lbs
  
• Pay off my credit card, ~ $900
• Narrow down baby names to 3 for each gender
• Eat better, take vitamins, prenatal care
  
• Finish the basement, fix up other things around the house
  

Before baby:

• Save at least 8 weeks of vacation days
• Finish the quilt I started in June 2008
• Keep learning coupon tricks, stockpile items
• Go on one more big vacation
• Eat at a really nice restaurant
• Learn to knit baby hats and socks
• Organize photos in albums
• Take a photography class
• Save at least $1000 for baby clothes, maternity clothes and other impulse buys

Will add more and update later!

Baby Name Bonanza

I will begin this post with a warning: I am a little obsessed with baby names!

I have loved names and naming since I was a teenager and I bought a baby name book for $3 at a flea market. Since then I've purchased 4 or 5 more books on names and I've read and posted regularly on baby name message boards.

I realize it's kind of a weird hobby, but I love coming up with combos (first and middle names), sibsets (names for siblings that "go together") and of course dreaming up the perfect names for my future children. I also know a lot about naming trends, popularity, etc. I even read my baby name books before I go to bed!

Since we are getting closer to actually having a baby sometime soon, I'm really starting to try to refine my name choices and get down to ones I can actually imagine using.

I do have some qualities I'm looking for in a name. Nothing trendy or creatively spelled. Must be a real name with meaning. I prefer names that are short or can be shortened into a cute nickname. I want a classic but not boring name - I have a very common last name so it has to be a bit unique. No names with bad associations or are the same or close to kids we know.

Here are my favorites right now:

Girls

• Adele
• Lila
• Maia
• Felicity
• Clara

Boys

• Finn
• Ezra
• Colin
• Owen
• Graham

I have a lot of combos for these names - Neil and I both love Sebastian for a boy's middle name, so I'm thinking that might just stick. As for girls, I love Madeleine, Caroline, Isabel and Annabel for middle names.

There are a few boys names that I love but can't use for a variety of reasons:

Evan - bad association
Miles - bad association
Griffin - our best friends have a dog named Griffey
Kieran - acquaintances have a son with this name
Eli - I work with a female Eli (nickname for Elizabeth)
Kai - bad association (though I love the name Caius with the nickname Cai)

Oh well, this is definitely a work in progress - I'll keep you updated as we get closer to a name. I haven't found the one that I love yet. Right now the front runners are:

Owen Sebastian and Lila Madeleine

Here are some of my favorite baby name sites if you need some inspiration:

Message boards
Behind the Name
Babynames.com

Sites and blogs
Baby Name Wizard
Name Berry
SSA Baby Name Popularity

Loving Fall

Summer is my favorite season, but fall is a close second. I thought I'd share my top 10 things I'm loving this season.

1. Chai lattes. About 2 months ago I stopped drinking coffee, but I've found that a vanilla chai latte is just as enjoyable as my previously beloved pumpkin spice latte to warm me up in the colder weather.
   
2. Patterned tights. I'm loving this trend - I am really only into the subtle geometric patterns so far, but cute hosiery is definitely easing me into colder temps in style!
3. Scarves. One of my favorite accessories. I have a lot of lightweight pashmina scarves and I love sporting them all through fall and winter.
4. Football. I'm starting to really become a football fan. I cheer for the hometown Cincinnati Bengals and the Steelers because of their QB fellow Miami-grad Ben Roethlisberger.
5. Fall colors for decor and fashion. I've gladly traded in my lemon yellows and hot pinks for dark plums, rusty oranges and chocolate browns. It's fun to switch it up.
6. Lotion. I have really sensitive dry skin so I'm holding tight to my lotions and creams to avoid any problems this winter with dry skin!
7. Candy corn. Never was a fan of this stuff until I found out about combining it with peanuts. So yummy! Tastes like a payday candy bar.
8. New TV shows. We don't get many channels with our HD rabbit ears - but I'm loving the new seasons of Amazing Race and Biggest Loser and my favorite new show GLEE!
9. Trying new recipes. I've been cooking a lot of casseroles and other new dishes for fall. It's fun to experiment with new meals and I'm hoping to break out the crockpot soon.
10. Snuggling. I can never seem to get warm in my house so I love snuggling up with my husband in bed or on the couch. He may not have a lot of body fat but he's the comfiest snuggliest person I know!
    

Bitten by the bug

My husband Neil and I are high school and college sweethearts and have been together since we were 16, and married for 3 1/2 years. We've been talking about when we might start a family for awhile - we've actually been saying "in a couple years" for almost 4 years now!

To be honest, we've bounced between waiting until we're in our early 30s to start or to try to get pregnant as early as next year. This summer, we had pretty much settled on waiting a few more years - since I just turned 26 in September and Neil just began a two year graduate program and is not working full time. Well, this all changed after a quick weekend trip to Alabama to see our dear friends Mike and Angela and their new baby Anna.


Me and Anna.

Anna was born around Easter so she was not even 4 months old when we went down south to meet her. We had an absolute blast with our friends - we tried to get them out of the house without the baby and let them have some adult time with us. But to be honest, I loved every minute of being with baby Anna! She is an extremely good baby - rarely cries, will let anyone hold her, sleeps through the night, and just is happy and smiley all the time. She is what some people call a "trick baby" - she tricks you into wanting one because she is so good!


Neil and Anna.

But I loved all of it. I loved playing with Anna, holding her, feeding her, seeing her wake up after a nap, everything! I talked a lot with my friend Angela about her pregnancy, the birth, being a mom, just the whole experience, and I started immediately getting a little bit of the baby bug!

While we were packing up the car to head back to Ohio, I was really sad to leave Anna because I knew I was going to miss so many milestones and so many things until the next time we see her. Neil and I started our drive and after talking about how much fun we had we both agreed that we really wanted to have a baby!

Mike and Angela didn't make it look easy necessarily but they made it look possible. We know there are a lot of sacrifices when you have a baby at our age - not going out as much, etc.. but I could tell how absolutely in love they are with their daughter and how much their relationship had grown because of her.

After the trip we had started talking a lot more about our timeline and what we were both thinking in regards to starting a family. We have an idea about when we might start trying which we don't want to reveal yet - but I think we both are definitely on the same page about having a baby "in the next couple years"!

Really excited!!

My Fall Wishlist

fall needs by lindsaymiller

1. Plaid top - Plaid is huge for fall, so I'm hoping to find a cute long sleeved plaid top. I've seen some with a ruffle, which would be fine for me. I'm loving the ruffle trend too - so plaid and ruffle together are even better!
2. Black pencil skirt - This is a basic that I definately need for fall/winter. I have a couple pencil skirts that I love, but not one in basic black. I'd love to find one at a good price that is lined.
3. Comfy sweater - I need replacement for this great sweater that my mom got me a few years ago that is just about worn out - its cream, cozy and warm with a fuzzy hood. I'm keeping my eye out for anything super comfy and bulky for winter.
4. Plaid scarf - Here we go again with the plaid. I have a lot of scarves, but only a few patterned ones. I thought plaid in a bright color would be cute with my black winter coat or with a cardigan. I'm looking for hot pink or purple.
   
5. Ruffle top - This particular top is a Miley Cyrus for Walmart top - and it's actually really cute IRL. I'd like to snag one of these since its only $10. It comes in red, cream, and black and probably some other colors I'm forgetting. I think this will be a good layering piece for under cardigans this fall.
   
6. Black skinny jeans - I'd love to find a pair for less than $25. I definately want a very skinny leg, but the hardest part is finding a high enough rise so that they are flattering. Definately on the prowl for a pair of these.
   
7. Gray winter boot - Since I cannot afford Uggs nor do I particularly like them, I'm looking for a non-Ugg cozy winter boot. I've been watching the price on a pair at Target. I definately want them tall and gray since they will go with all of my winter coats.
8. Black blazer - I have a ton of blazers, but none in solid black. I want a very traditional cut, lined, 2 or 3 button blazer that is preferably under $30!
   
9. Brown tweed cap - I have a newsboy cap like this in black, but I think I need one in brown as well!
10. Taupe flat boot - I'm planning on buying these exact boots from Zappos. They are Steve Madden, and I think a pretty good deal for $80. I'm planning on wearing them with jeans and dresses.
11. Crisp white shirt - The quintessential basic. One that I do not have. Plan on wearing this with pretty much everything I own.
12. Black flats - I have a pair of black mary jane flats that are cute, comfortable, but they are getting scuffed and worn out. I'd like to get a simple pair of comfy everyday black ballet flats.
13. Metallic mocs - I have gold ballet flats, but I'm hoping to find a flat moccasin style shoe in bronze, gold or pewter for fall.
14. Drapey cardigan - I have so many cardigans, but many of them are cropped, and not exactly on-trend at the moment. I'm searching for a few lightweight drapey cardigans in neutral colors that i can wear open or belted.

Decorating for fall

I got the urge to decorate this weekend - so I bought a few new accessories and knick knacks to make my house feel a little more like fall.

I focused mostly on the mantle - I bought some leaves and berries swag for $5, some fake pumpkins for $3 and added those to some other things I had around the house already.

It's still not perfect, but I'm going to look for some other things this week - I might change things up and use a couple of lanterns like these:



And I'd love to create a garland to drape underneath the mantle like these beauties:


from Stop Staring and Start Sewing


from Taylor Design


from all sorts

I'm thinking this might be a good project for this coming weekend!

Stay tuned for more fall decorations - the dining room centerpiece is still in progress!

New necklace!

So, I went shopping today for fall decor and I was really trying to focus on a hunting down a few specific items and not get distracted by clothes, shoes or jewelry. I found a lot of great stuff for my house (more on that soon) but I did find an awesome necklace for an incredible price at Kohls.

This necklace was originally $22, and I got it for $6! But I would've been willing to pay more - it looks so much like this pearl cluster necklace from Jcrew, just with more browns and bronze stones:



I'm so excited to wear it with all of my browns, creams and tans this fall and winter!

A mighty fine life, indeed.

While trying to come up with a cute name for my blog I couldn't really find anything that sounded just right. "Lindsay's Life" sounds absolutely boring, and I'm pretty sure that's what I called my first website I made on geocities when I was 13. So that was out. I tried to come up with some titles that incorporate my last name but they ended up sounding like an advertising slogan for a certain beer company.

So, how did I settle on "A Mighty Fine Life"?

Well, one of my favorite movies of all time is Newsies, the Disney musical about newsboys in NYC at the turn of the century. I have fond memories of watching it in the movie theater when I was 8 or 9 and absolutely loving it - dancing and singing to all the songs. Since then, I've seen it over a hundred times. It doesn't hurt that gorgeous Christian Bale is in it!

The opening song "Carrying the Banner" is one of my favorites because it introduces all the characters - well, one of the lines in the chorus is "a mighty fine life!"

I thought it summed up what I think about my own existence - very lucky and happy with where I am with a nod to a fun little movie I love!

Let's get it started

Hey there. Well, I'm starting a blog. I've actually done this a few times before! I created a short-lived blog about my daily fashion choices which quickly fizzled. I realized I didn't really want to take a photo of myself everyday, and I wasn't quite sure anyone else wanted to see one! I also started a blog a few years ago to help support my goals for exercise and weight loss - and I eventually lost interest in that blog too.

So, I thought I'd be more interested and more interesting in writing in a sort of all-inclusive, no holds barred type of blog. Without any restraints I will hopefully be free to blog about whatever I feel like on any given day. My interests are kind of all over the place - so don't be surprised if I touch on any of these topics:

1. I love fashion, and I follow about 30 different daily fashion blogs. These are incredibly creative, fashionable women who somehow make the time to look fabulous and take great pictures of themselves everyday! I'm inspired by them, and plan to share some of my thoughts about fashion and maybe even a few outfits on this blog.
   
2. I am a librarian and I love reading. I tend to blow through quite a few books per month, and I'd love to share my thoughts on recent books I've read, all time favorites, and share reading suggestions. My favorite genre is definitely memoirs/biographies but I love good fiction and young adult books too!
3. My husband and I have owned a home for about 3 years - so I have a lot to say about the joys and pitfalls of being a homeowner. Our house is only about 7 years old, so no big renovation projects yet, but I do a lot of decorating! We are hoping to finish our basement in the next year - a huge project!
   
4. We are hoping to become a family of 3 in the next couple of years. I've been obsessed with baby names forever, but have just recently developed an interest in all things baby! I've been researching just about everything there is about fertility, pregnancy and motherhood.
5. One of my goals before trying to get pregnant is getting back into shape. I go through phases of being really gung-ho about healthy eating and exercise OR not really caring at all. Right now I'm trying to get myself in gear and get serious about being healthy. I'm hoping to drop 15 lbs before next summer.
   

So, I have a lot of stuff in my head and can't wait to start getting it all out there.