You’ve seen me writing about how we’re supposed to be moving to the country at the end of June – to a house on an acreage with stables and the whole nine yards. Without going into all of the nitty-gritty details, even though the property company had cashed our deposit and sent the funds to the owner of the property four weeks ago, they had sold it out from underneath us (the kicker? they “don’t know how they’re going to get the funds back to us”). So now we’re in a position where we need to find somewhere to move to, and quickly. I don’t exactly want to be moving much more than six months pregnant and regardless, we have to be out of our townhouse pretty soon.

Soooo added onto our already packed weekend? House hunting. Basically our life became a little more stressful this weekend. I’m trying to just consider all of this a blessing in disguise to stay calm for the bean. Also, I am really hoping that this turns out to be a good thing – there were several properties that opened up in our original target area in Woodbury, which is really awesome. We saw some this weekend and are seeing more this week – hopefully this whole process moves quickly so that we can still meet our target moving date!

Up until I was about 1/3 of the way into the second trimester, my goal was to avoid buying much in the way of maternity wear at all. I got some cute tunics with side ruching from Victoria’s Secret and figured I could pair those with leggings/jeans+belly band/non-buttoning pants and mix in some of my summer dresses that were already in my closet. Then my belly popped and I realized that I was definitely going to need some maternity pants. I figured I could still just wear whatever stretchy cotton dresses were in my closet for summertime weather. WRONG.

Here’s what happens when you’re pregnant: your belly grows. Duh, right? Well, as your belly grows, those above knee length and above the knee dresses get shorter…and shorter…and shorter. That’s all fine and dandy if you’re heading to the beach, but not so great when you’re heading to a client’s office for the day. So I made it my mission to find some maternity summer dresses that weren’t overly spendy but still fit in with the general vibe of my closet (yes, I do realize that I was incredibly naive to not think of this before. But I’m learning. Roll with me here).

Fast forward to last Sunday. Ricky and I were out running errands and decided to stop at Motherhood Maternity in Woodbury since I despise going to the MOA on the weekends (it’s way too crowded and parking is a pain). I walked in, started checking stuff out…and seriously had to leave. I realize that if I would have really started digging around, I probably would have found a couple of pieces that I liked. But everything that was featured was made from cheap fabrics or had super weird detailing. Like a pair of jean capris that I definitely would have at least tried on had they not had swirly silver thread embellishments around the pockets and down the seams. I just don’t get it: why do some stores think that just because I’m pregnant I’m going to revert to the style I had at twelve years old? I might be preaching to the choir, but there are definitely ways to dress well and look just as fabulous while pregnant as you would expect to look while NOT pregnant.

So we left. We went to Target – the next stop on our errand list – and I was hopeful: Target has a maternity section, I’ve heard that they had some cute, casual pieces in the past. We arrived at the maternity section only to find that they have a total of about twelve pieces. I did actually find a dress that I liked, but the selection was so picked over that there were only XL and XXL sizes left. Apparently I wasn’t the only preggo mama looking for summer dresses in town! Defeated, I decided that my initial reaction to shopping for maternity clothes was correct: it’s a pain in the rump.

On Monday, I decided to check on Target’s website to see if that lone dress I wanted was available in any other sizes. Much to my surprise not only was THAT dress available, there were tons of dresses that weren’t actually IN the stores that I could buy on their website! So I ordered five pieces (plus a pair of poplin maternity capris) – with free shipping and easy returns in the store, I figured I couldn’t go wrong.

My loot arrived two days later on Wednesday. And guess what: I actually like it ALL. I can’t remember the last time I’ve ordered a mass of clothes from any store and liked every piece I ordered. But this stuff is great: the cotton is well knit and the same weight as the regular cotton summer dresses/maxis I usually find at Nordstrom or the Gap. The fit is perfect, although I guess it’s kind of hard to screw up a flowy cotton dress. And the price can’t be beat – since I don’t know if I’ll be wearing summertime maternity clothes anytime in the near future, I won’t feel terrible if I only get one summer of use out of them. Here’s what I got:

This dress by Liz Lange really caught my eye when I was looking online. I thought it might show up and be a little too teenybopper for me, but then I tried it on and it looks awesome on. It fits the right way, it’s not too short and I love the multi colored skirt!














I had seen this particular maternity dress in the stores a couple of months ago – but didn’t buy it because it was still kind of chilly outside and I wasn’t really ready to think about summer clothes. I like the multi-colored front, this ditty will be great for running errands all summer.













Orignally I wanted this maternity dress in the coral/orange-y color, but they didn’t have it in my size so I ordered it in black (I’m actually wearing it today!). The ruffle around the top is really sweet and I love the way it fits. I needed a nice little black maternity dress anyway (which I didn’t realize until I was getting ready for an event last week and realized I had nothing to wear…), so this is going to work out super well.

I also ordered this blue maxi dress, this deep plum maxi dress and these little poplin capris. I know what you’re thinking: that blue dress is tye-dyed! But it’s much less hippy-dippy in person, I promise. There were a couple of other things I definitely would have ordered, they just didn’t have them in my size! Anyway, here are some shopping tips for those of you that are preggo like me and driving yourself crazy looking for maternity clothes in the stores.

• Get online. There are a ton of stores that carry maternity inventory that they don’t put out in the stores. The maternity body by Gap line is super comfy and I’ve heard that the Gap maternity jeans are a great choice as well.
• Realize that you’re going to have to try stuff on to get the sizing right. And don’t forget that your belly is still growing, so it’s ok to have a little extra room in your clothes (hence why I love flowy tops and dresses…)
• Maternity pants and dresses are a must. But you can find a lot of blousey tops in the regular sections of your favorite stores that will accommodate your belly. If you’re picky like me, this is a great option for finding tops that aren’t so…maternity looking.

1. Sometimes Pretty much all the time when I’m at the store or catch people looking at me, I instinctively start rubbing my belly. You would think that this is because I feel protective of my unborn child. But really it’s just to show that I’m pregnant, not chubby.

2. Instead of thinking about things that need to actually be taken care of for my house right now – like vacuuming or grocery shopping – I instead calculate out the difference in diaper and Dreft prices from store to store.

3. I forget things constantly – mostly because I think about far too many things at one time. Pregnancy brain doesn’t help matters. So when I’m on the phone with people (like my mom) and forget what I was going to say next, I make her listen to me recite a laundry list of whatever was going through my head until I remember exactly what I wanted to say. I’m sure it’s much appreciated.

4. Apparently, now I blog at nearly eleven o’clock at night. Because I know that if I don’t write this stuff down now it will be forgotten by the time I wake up. Really, I’m thinking of ya’ll that read this – I know you don’t want to miss out on these important thoughts on the pregnancy crazed.

What you’ll need:
Enough baked potatoes to feed your family
Olive Oil
Sea Salt

There are no real measurements because it’s dependent on the size and quantity of the potatoes.

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Scrub the potatoes with a hard bristled brush. Using a knife, make four punctures into each side of the potato, about an inch apart.
3. Pour a palm sized amount of olive oil in your hand, use a pastry brush to coat the potato with olive oil.
4. Sprinkle the potato with sea salt.
5. Bake for one hour.
6. Top with your favorite fixings (I like sour cream and a little freshly grated cheddar cheese!) and Enjoy!

It was a dreary, standard Saturday in March. I got up early to get to my boxing gym – I had an hour and a half on the mats and in the ring before the rest of my day started. Yes – I was a single girl living in the city. I boxed three days a week and was planning on getting into the competitive circuit by the end of the summer. While this came as a surprise to most of the girls I knew, there was one person who didn’t find it odd at all: my close friend Jenny* – like me, she was just as into getting dressed up as she was into super workouts. In fact, it was Jenny’s birthday party that night that I was planning for as soon as I got done boxing.

I left the gym pouring with sweat. That’s what happens when you box – you sweat like a banshee! On my way home to shower, I talked to Jenny while she was at work. We talked about what we were going to wear (BCBG), what kind of cocktails she wanted (skinny girl margaritas) and where she wanted to go that night (somewhere downtown). As we were talking, Jenny casually mentioned that she had been talking to an old high school friend on facebook, that he and his friends were going to be out that night and that they wanted to meet up with us. I didn’t think much of it, only because she didn’t go into too much detail.

At seven, Jenny showed up at my condo – we were going to make dinner and then get ready with my roommate, Katie*. I whipped up a lovely raspberry jalapeno chicken flatbread (still one of my favorite recipes to this day) and we hung out on my patio reading magazines for the better part of an hour. When my roommate got home, the getting ready process – our favorite part of going out – began! We turned up some music, made some Skinny Girl Margaritas (thank you Bethanny Frankel) and played around with our make-up.

Around ten, we called a cab to bring us downtown. I lived in a condo on the cusp of downtown Minneapolis, so it generally didn’t take all that long to get a cab. Thirty minutes went by and we hadn’t gotten the cab call (we’re waiting downstairs for you!), so we called the cab company again. Apparently the cab driver had been by but hadn’t called – which is their standard procedure – to let us know that he was there. They assured us that there was a cab driver in the area that would be back to pick us up momentarily.

Finally, at 11:30, a giant van of a cab showed up to pick us up. I kid you not – this van probably could have seated twelve people. It was decked out like a little fiesta inside, complete with lights and tiny sombreros around the perimeter of the roof. Oh – and it may have been the stinkiest cab I’ve ever been in in my life. As we were riding, our cab driver told us he had a trivia game for us to play and whipped out a few Trivial Pursuit cards to ask us questions from. It was strange, but very memorable to say the least. Throughout all of this, Jenny was on her phone viciously texting away.

“Who are you texting?” I asked.

“That guy I was telling you about, the one I went to high school with,” she replied. A few moments went by, “actually, I think you’d really like him!” Five minutes later she’s putting his phone number into my phone – “my phone’s going to die, text him and make sure he meets up with us!” And so I did.

Me: Hi, this is Cortney. I’m Jenny’s friend. Her phone’s going to die and she said to make sure you meet up with us.
Him: Ok. Where are you going?
Me: To the Loop. It’s on Washington.
Him: Ok, we’ll head that way. By the way, my name’s Rick.

After we arrived at our destination, I continued texting this Rick. We were meeting up with a group of friends from college, so you would think that I was engrossed in conversation with all of these people that I hadn’t seen in months. Oh no, I was engrossed with my phone: we texted until he got there. The place was packed, so he had a hard time finding me.

Him: We just got here but I don’t know where you are.
Me: I’m towards the back and I’m wearing a sparkly dress.
Him: Ok. (ten minutes later) I still can’t find you.
Me: I’m wearing a sparkly dress at the back of the bar.
Him: I’m at the back of the bar and I’m wearing a white shirt, I have a bald head.
Me: (ever the fashionista) Look for the silver sparkly dress, you can’t miss it.

At that point, I ran into a friend of mine that happened to own the establishment we were at. I stopped to talk to him and when I turned around, there he was: the bald headed, white shirt wearing guy that I’d been texting.

“Sparkly dress – I’m Rick,” he said.

1. Lower back pain: I finally understand those women who talk about how much your back hurts by the time you’re five months along. To the point where you can’t imagine what your body is going to feel like at nine months. Some days, my back cracks every time I stand up – like it’s popping back into place. Best remedy? Heat. A hot shower or a heating pad seriously seem to help.

2. *TMI* The worst gas ever: I feel like I constantly have a little gas bubble sitting in my belly. A lot of water with lemon helps. Carbonated drinks only make it worse, so drink them with caution!

3. Killer heart burn: Supposedly this means that the baby is going to be born with a full head of hair. At the rate we’re going, he might just come out with a hairy chest, too. At this point, Maalox lives in my fridge (and in my belly).

4. I thought that I was getting the whole pregnancy face thing this weekend. Really, it was just some serious bloating. The remedy? Again, water with lemon (it’s a natural diuretic) – now I can see my cheekbones again!

5. Iron mouth: I brush my teeth and within two hours I have that metal mouth taste again. It’s so gross, but thankfully no one seems to think my breath actually smells. I tastes like I rubbed pennies down my throat. Gross, right? The best fix seems to be gargling with Crest Pro Health mouthwash, but be warned: anything you eat or drink after gargling with this stuff will taste funny for about three hours anyway.

During the winter, I made this all the time when Ricky was super busy with work because they take all of five minutes to whip up. He would keep them in his truck to snack on throughout the day. Ricky absolutely loves them, which I find funny because I memorized this recipe in the fourth grade. Who knew I was learning to be this great housewife all the way back then!

What you’ll need:
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar, set aside in a small bowl for rolling the cookies in

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix together the peanut butter, sugar and egg. I use a hand mixer because it’s easier for mixing the peanut butter than a counter top mixer. Make sure the ingredients are well mixed together – you don’t want any sugar clumps remaining (in the picture above, I didn’t coat with sugar because I was feeling a little lazy).
3. Roll the dough into 1 inch balls, coat in the rolling sugar. Place on cookie tray.
4. Use a fork to make an “x” on each of the balls of dough.
5. Bake for about 7 minutes (you’ll know they’re done because the sides of the cookies will splinter a bit).
6. Cool and enjoy!

2. This kid has been moving around like a soccer player in the World Cup. I don’t know why I’m using soccer references, because I don’t particularly like the sport that much.

3. Green olives sound really delicious right now. They’d be more delicious stuffed with blue cheese with a side of martini, but that won’t be happening for about another four plus months. Drat.

4. The lovely Lucy keeps stealing my slippers and trying to chew them to bits. I’m not quite sure why they’re so appealing, given she has a million toys of her own, but I’m guessing it has something to do with the fact that they are furry. And smell like feet. Dogs like stinky things.

5. Not to say that I have stinky feet. I’m just, you know, saying that sometimes slippers smell like feet. Which isn’t always the best smell in the world.

6. I made homemade pizza dough for dinner. I mean, we’ll have more than just the dough. It will be an actual pizza. I’m just impressed that the girl who once-upon-a-time didn’t cook more than steamed edamame and baked chicken can actually make homemade pizza dough. All in the course of a year, my friends.

7. 41 days until I am officially a country girl. I.can’t.wait.to.move.

8. I need new a pair of maternity jeans. This whole regular jeans with a belly band is cool and all, but we’re at the point where my jeans won’t zip. At all. And you can see the line of my unzipped zipper through the belly band. Time to upgrade, before I seriously embarrass myself.

9. Slowly, I am beginning to realize the need for a little bitta coffee in my life. Except I need a new coffee maker. I really only make one cup at a time, so the single cup brewers make sense. Except I want to use my own coffee instead of the little packs. The Hamilton Beach single brew machine seems to be the only one that offers both…anyone tried it before??

1. I know that I want to have custom bedding made. This is for a couple of reasons: first, I don’t want a bedding “set”. With all of the recent studies on the relationship between SIDS and bumper pads, I don’t want a bumper pad. Second, I don’t want the theme to get overly cutesy, which is easy to get wrapped into with a “set”. You can buy the matching lamps and rugs and bedding and diaper holders and…yeah. It gets a little over the top. What I really want is a super voluminous bed skirt in a simple but elegant blue fabric. I figure the sheets will be changed often enough that a couple in neutral colors will be just fine. I’ll probably have the curtains made to match the bed skirt, but that’s about as matchy-matchy as this room is going to get. (I actually found a seamstress that makes beautiful bedding, we’re just working on picking out the fabrics now!)

2. My dad is going to paint a big, canvas mural for the baby’s room. This will be about as theme-y as the room gets, but I think it’s going to look really cool! He gets to decide what to paint, but we’re currently throwing around rockets and airplanes, cowboys or classic Winnie-the-Pooh.

3. Depending on the layout of the room, we need to find a really fantastic bookcase or shelves. I’m leaning more towards shelves because I worry about the bean trying to climb a bookshelf once he’s mobile. Plus, I don’t want a million trinkets and toys in his actual room – they can be distracting when a kid is trying to sleep! But we’ll see about that once the rest of the house is settled in.