The deets: Amazon maternity suit on me; GAP kids suit and Target suit on Isla; hat is old MANGO but similar here; shorts are old Ingrid and Isabel maternity similar here; Sunnies were from Oui Fresh but they have since closed, here are similar adult and kids versions.

Lets just start by saying WOW what a change of scenery for us from the last ~100 days of quarantine life. It was so very needed and so good to get out of our bubble. We felt totally safe the whole time, we stayed in a big house with two other families that have been really careful and didn't really venture out anywhere but the beach which was across the street so I want to get that out of the way.

When a spot opened up in a beach house our friends were throwing together last minute we jumped on the opportunity to see Nags Head, NC for the first time. It was just a four hour drive from us which is basically the same as traveling to my family up in NJ so it didn't seem like to much of a task. Isla, however, is in a phase where she hates being in the car seat from the first minute we put her in so we attempted the leave at bedtime strategy which was actually pretty successful! The way home was torture since we didn't do the same. Also the swelling in my extremities is insane this pregnancy so after we emerged from the car I basically had no ankles - the cold ocean was a nice relief. 

Isla was hesitant to say the least. Day one was a little overcast and she spent basically the entire time on a chair sitting on one of us but did have some fun floating in the private pool after. Day two was better she ventured off the towel and started putting sand on Mike and playing around with the beach toys and in little bits of water away from the shoreline. By day three she was still terrified of the ocean but would have us fetch her pails of water to play with at a safe distance. My goal is to have the family on the beach at least once a Summer since that's what I grew up doing and we initially were headed for Delaware in June but the trip was cancelled due to Covid. I am so happy we got here! Here are some pictures I took of days 2 and 3. So grateful for good friends and my little (growing) family.

The deets: Gal Meets Glam Dress on me; Isla's jellies + sweater (dress is old); photos by Rebecca Honeycutt Photography.

I am thrilled to announce that we'll be welcoming a new baby BOY into our family this October (see Isla's pregnancy announcement here)! We always planned to have another baby pretty close to Isla turning two for a multitude of reasons and got really lucky (we used this same tool). They will be almost exactly two years and one month apart. I am happy I get to reuse all my same maternity clothes and we can also use some of Isla's neutral stuff for him since we'll be in the same seasons for size.  

My morning sickness kicked off literally week 5-6 which is SO early but since I had been through this before I didn't have to wait until 10 weeks to chat with a Dr. and get some help. I have a lot of feelings about being pregnant/possibly giving birth during a pandemic but also found the one silver lining which is that I was spared my 50+ minute bus commute during much of my most sick weeks. Did I still vomit most days between 6-15 weeks? Yup, but at least I got to do it from the comforts of my own home and sweatpants, right? 

While this pregnancy was pretty similar in how nauseous I felt (started to let up right around week 17 - same as last time) it was/is still so much different than my first in a lot of ways. With Isla, my sickness was steady all day. With baby boy, I would wake up feeling okay and then slowly decline throughout the day, peak vomit time being around dinner. I am also SO MUCH more tired. The Dr. says it's because I also have a toddler this time around but it really feels like much more than that. I physically can't keep my eyes open at some point in the afternoon no matter how much or little I do that day. I literally feel like I took NyQuil and need at least 45 mins to function (another COVID-19 silver lining - I usually can while Isla naps). My cravings are also so different! With Isla I couldn't get enough dairy, bread, and sweets. This time, while I still WANT those things, they make me feel so weird after I eat them. I crave brine-y/salty/spicy things. I actually wanted to DRINK the salty vinegar juice that a jar of hot peppers came in (WHAT, WHY?). I also was so grossed out by meat last time that I would wear a mask around the house when Mike cooked it, while this time I was into meat the whole time. Strange, right? I guess some of the old wives tales are true.

I am currently in my 20th week and can't believe baby boy is HALF WAY BAKED! It's going by so fast and I feel like I am not able to cherish this special time like I did before. Going to try to slow down a bit and enjoy it this summer since it's likely my last baby. 

Sometimes I forget how much I love DC. We (well at least I) walk around bundled to the nose with our blanket scarves until what feels like MAY just trying to survive whatever winter vortex BS is coming at us on our morning commutes...and then springtime arrives and shakes us all out of our winter fog with the most stunning display of cherry blossoms. It's basically like the fancy nature version of the Met Gala to commence the best chunk of the year and in 2019, I was HERE FOR IT. I did a quick engagement shoot for some friends during peak bloom and got some photos of these babies in all their glory. We later had a little picnic with some friends who also have adorable babies and capitalized on the opportunity. Isla had a little love connection on the picnic blanket! You definitely don't need a real camera or to be into photography to capture their magic, I saw some amazing iPhone pictures of them this year but here are a few I was able to get last month. 

As a side note - like how I said last month there? I quite like this not being a blogger thing. I feel lighter and, more importantly, zero guilt about the last post being dated six whole weeks ago.   

After dusting off my camera to snap some shots of the family last Saturday, I realized I hadn't really used a new lens I purchased for myself late last year as much as I thought I would after having a baby. The iphone is just so much more convenient for photos on the fly. I decided to really just play with the manual settings until I got more comfortable with it and my little I made a great model for the occasion since we were just playing on a blanket on the living room floor in her jammies. I spent thirty minutes or so just snapping photos adjusting as I went, but I love how a few of these portraits came out of her just being her, eating her rattle and snuggling with her pink blankie (her security blanket). I have tons more to learn but feel excited about getting better at it and being able to capture her for years to come. Her eyes are so beautiful at this age, I hope they stay!

Hello and welcome to the new face of Currently Coveting. I know I have taken a lot of time off from blogging in the last few months and I would love to just blame it on the tiny human that is currently taking command of most of my waking hours but it's been more than that. My heart has weighed heavily for months thinking to myself over and over again.."what to do about the blog?"

My first thought was to just shut it down completely. I was very seriously thinking about throwing in the towel and calling it a good run, because it was. I love this blog and have poured countless hours of work and love into it over the years, but frankly, laying in my pajamas and snuggling with my child, attempting a new recipe from my Cravings cookbook, catching up with girlfriends, or even organizing my fridge are all things I would rather be spending my time doing over stressing about posting my next #ootd.

The time and energy it takes to first capture whatever I am wearing to an event or holiday, finding links to those things I am wearing, loading and editing the photos, getting the outfit post up in enough time for the links to still be current, then promoting the new post on Instagram & Facebook while attempting to keep up with hashtags only to have the whole process start again literally the day after you get something up is just not something I have the drive for anymore and I have come to really be at peace with that fact.

The stress about how much time had passed since the last post was just too much to bear and for what? It wasn't fun to be worried about it and also so unnecessary. I am not a full time blogger but felt this need to be doing the same things that women who do this as a full time job were doing, which is crazy. I would be overcome with a tinge of guilt each moment that slipped through my fingers that was "instagrammable" that I didn't capitalize on and I am done with that. I have no extra sliver of life left to waste with that emotion, especially since going back to work full time. Every moment outside of work is precious.

Then I thought about re-branding. For a long time I have felt this secret wave of ickyness when someone would refer to me as a "fashion blogger" because I truly didn't mean for it to turn into a fashion blog. I don't know what I am doing more than half the time, I know people in my immediate circle that are MUCH better at it (and don't blog about it) and I really have zero business telling anyone how to dress. I did try to simply showcase the things I happened to wear without coming off like I was some kind of fashion expert but the weird feeling was still there. I realized I didn't want to re-brand what was, I wanted to fully start over.

I needed to figure out a way to archive the old "Currently Coveting" (I couldn't full on murder her) while also creating a new space to begin anew. When I stripped away all the things that were making "blogging" unenjoyable for me I realized I was left with a love of capturing moments with my camera, editing those photos, and writing a bit about where/when I was in those moments. I don't know why it's taken me this long to figure it out but I clearly wanted to transition to more of a "journal/diary" space  long ago where I could focus on my actual life, my family, my friends, my trips, our holidays, etc. So that is where we are now. I am so very happy you are here and would love for you to stick around. Please visit my FAQ page to get more insight on the transition and what changes you can expect.

Now about these photos...our little tribe of three was all set and ready to take little miss Isla to her second 1st birthday party of the month when we got a flat tire on the way. We made a valiant attempt to fix the issue by stopping at two separate gas stations for air but alas, the tire would not cooperate. Luckily, we were only a mile or so from our home so we turned around, settled back in on the rainy afternoon, and were left all dressed with no where to be. Mike decided to get back into his comfy clothes but since Isla was looking cute as a button in her little floral blouse I decided to dust of the old DSLR and snap some pics of her. She just turned 6 months old and is starting to hold her own weight very well. She can stand assisted and sit up on her own. I love this age and how cuddly she is. I could kiss that peach fuzzy head all day.