26 Week Pregnancy Update

Hello friends,

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day! Hopefully everyone felt extra special and loved (as it should be every day of the year!) this past week.  My husband really went the extra mile this year.  His efforts really showed as it made me feel like the most loved and blessed woman on planet Earth. :)

On Valentine's Day we also celebrated the start of another week pregnant, yay!  Our little boy turned 26 weeks and is now the length of a green onion.   He is measuring around 14 inches and weights approximately 1 2/3 pounds, wow!  Just as I did last week, I thought it would be fun to document another week and recap my 26th week of pregnancy.  Here we go.

1. How far along? 26 weeks and 2 days today
2. Maternity clothes:  Most definitely.  Maternity jeans and leggins are so incredibly comfortable!
3. Stretch marks:  Still none to report.  Let's hope it continues that way.
4. Sleep: Sleep was better this week thanks to my body pillow-a must have in my opinion.
5. Best moment this week: Getting to hear my baby's heart beat at this week's doctor's appointment!
6. Miss anything: Tea and honey
7. Food cravings: Not yet.  Although, I have been enjoying homemade blueberry pancakes as of late.
8. Anything making you feel sick or queasy: Not really.
9. Gender: Boy!
10. Symptoms: A little fatigue this week but nothing out of the ordinary.
    
11. Wedding rings on or off? On
12. Happy or moody?  Happy
13. Looking forward to:  Working on his nursery.  We have been adding a few things and it's beginning to come together.

Thank you for reading!

Karina

ASK&TELL: ADDICTIONS - His V.S. Hers

What are your addictions in life?
Everyone has their own little addictions and habits.

Here is a small list of things that we both favor and enjoy....
MINES: Candy&Chocolate, Anime, Manga, Drawing, Final Fantasy Games, and Sleeping
HIS: World of Warcraft[WOW], Food, Sleeping, Staying home, and Teasing till I get angry.

I get really annoyed when someone does the same thing too many times and doesn't know when to stop. Kind of like when you someone tickles you and it's funny the first couple of times but then after a while of telling them no more and they keep doing it, you get angry and they act like it wasn't their fault. I am pretty easily annoyed after doing the same thing too many times.

My Fiance, Naiae - [Na- ay], he does that a lot and and usually it's during when he plays WOW(World of Warcraft) and I really need him to do something too. When things don't usually go his way when he's playing games, He get's angry too. Sometimes, I feel like destroying his laptop when he acts like this.
WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS TODAY?!!

We are also trying this thing where we don'try not to go out as much but when needed, we will. It is winter and I really don't want to go out driving in the snowy roads. Sometimes, it will be good to drive on but the at night if it's too cold, the roads slush will freeze and turn into ice. That is the worse of it all THOUGH!!!

I really don't like waiting forever to do something because I feel like the day is wasted but as a guy, he feels like it's okay to stay home all day and I can't handle that. I'm an active person and LIKE TO MOVE AROUND or do something. I don't mind the sitting around and being lazy but sometimes it get old and I get bored easily from just sitting on the laptop all day or have nothing to do besides check or update my Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, or my blog.

I don't know if it's a guy thing but he enjoys just sitting around and being lazy. He can do that all weekend and I can't at all. When we do go out, he doesn't like it sometimes because we either take too long or he just doesn't want to be out. Plus, most times when we are out, he just makes everything seem so bad like, It's the end of the world all the time and KILLS THE MOOD ALL THE TIME!!!



How do I get over this?
Well, to be honest, I don't.....
Some people ask how I easily get over it and I don't. I don't forget or anything. What I do is live to compromise with it. He can have his game, lazy time, and stuff because he likes it. I just have to make sure I plan out my things accordingly so that I tell him ahead of time and at night, He can play games all night or until he's tired.

Just be honest when you can especially when in a relationship. It took us a long while before we got use to each other habits and addictions. I don't support his WOW game because it seems like he's always on it like how he thinks I have too much makeup and clothes which is true. You kind of have to accept it and also learn to limit each other. It never gets easier to be honest but you can always compromise with it which makes it easy for you to be honest about how you want the other to know how you feel about it.

This was something that takes time to get use too and nothing over night.
Especially in a relationship because you want to make sure it's understood on both sides. Don't just assume that they know if you don't tell them. I mean, it's romantic if they just knew and always figured it our easily. BELIEVE ME, I ALWAYS DREAMED THE DAY THAT MAY HAPPEN and once in a while, it really does but don't expect it every time though.



There is never a right or wrong answer about this because maybe your addictions/habits meet half way with others but always remember that it might not and you should also be considerate about that too. Take you time in any relationship like friendship or love. You may never know what others like or may not like/really dislike.

Thank You for Reading. I hope this was useful...

I know everyone has their opinions and stuff about this but this is just how I deal with it in my everyday life with friends and family. Feel free to leave you opinions in the comments and I like to know how you deal with it. Thank you again.

♥XOXO♥

P.S. I was actually really hesitant to answer this question...

Update: New Living Room!

Hello friends,

As promised, I am bringing you the first installment of my new home tour series.  If you read my last post (here), you already know that my husband and I moved at the end of December.  Now that we are all settled in, I thought it would be fun to share a bit of our new space with you all.

Fortunately, we didn't have to spend a single dollar on new furniture because everything we had fit just right.  All I did was rearrange some pieces (my favorite part!) and the place came together quite nicely.  I must say, moving is no joke but having the opportunity to rearrange furniture was so much fun!  Here are a few pictures I took of our new place.

I am loving this white chair in the living room.  We previously had it in our bedroom but I like the nice touch it adds to this space!

Watching movies has been so much fun with this setup, we love it!  This Target TV stand was moved from our bedroom to this space and I like it here so much better.

 

So pleased with the way this little corner turned out.

 

This side table has been one of my favorite HomeGoods finds by far!  By the way, can I just say that the Peach Market candle by Bath and Body Works smells amazing!   

The placement of this mirror came as an accident but I like the way it opens up the room.

I'm a big fan of all the natural light in this room.

This is what I was able to put together without buying any new items for the new house.  I am quite proud of this accomplishment!  I'm trying to simplify and only have items that I truly enjoy without crowding our space with unnecessary things.  Plus, my focus has been on my little boy's nursery.  I am having so much fun decorating his room on a budget, it's challenging but rewarding at the same time.  I will do a tour once his room is complete...can't wait!  

Thank you for reading. :)

Live Simply.

Karina

Moving Update and a Big Announcement!

Hello friends,

It's been way too long since my last post but there is good reason for this absence.  Let's jump right into the fun and exciting news first, shall we?  My husband and I are expecting our first little bundle of joy at the end of May!  We are beyond thrilled and so thankful to God for blessing us with the gift of life.  A couple of weeks ago we had the pleasure of finding out that we are expecting a little baby boy!  Words can't even begin to explain the sense of joy we feel every time we think about our little boy.  Here is a picture of him at 23 weeks, isn't he precious?

So far my pregnancy has been relatively tame, thank God for that!  I didn't experience any morning sickness, just a bit of nausea at the beginning.  I had a few cravings at about 2.5 months (soups and fruit) but nothing else since.  Here is a quick little update on my pregnancy thus far.

1. How far along? 25 weeks and 2 days today
2. Maternity clothes:  Yes!  I am mostly wearing regular tops with maternity work pants and jeans.
3. Stretch marks:  Not yet.  Let's hope it continues that way.
4. Sleep: Not great.  I totally miss being able to sleep for 8 hours straight.  Although, I feel my body is preparing me for what's to come, haha.  My hubby bought me a body pillow this week and it has made a huge difference.
5. Best moment this week: Buying baby his crib and dresser. :)
6. Miss anything:  Yes, Teavana tea or any tea for that matter.
7. Food cravings: Nothing so far. Still waiting for that crazy middle of the night craving.
8. Anything making you feel sick or queasy: Nothing that I can think of.
9. Gender: Boy!
10. Symptoms: Restless leg syndrome (I think this is what I've been experiencing) and shortness of breath.
11. Wedding rings on or off? On
12. Happy or moody?  Happy
13. Looking forward to: Getting the glider we ordered last night!

As for our move, we moved at the end of December and are finally settled into our new place.  We had plenty of help during the move (thank you family and friends!) and are so happy to be all done with packing and unpacking.  Moving during the holidays is no joke, but we still managed to enjoy precious time with family and friends.

I will be posting pictures of our new living room sometime this week.  We haven't purchased anything new for this house since moving in (well, only for baby's room) yet it looks a bit different due to the furniture arrangement.  I have been focusing on baby's room as of late and can't wait to have his room all put together!  Once the room is complete, I will definitely do a nursery tour.

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!  Thank you so much for reading.

Karina

ASK&TELL: When is the right time?

ASK: Hi Franny. I was wondering how young were you when you first applied makeup because people think I'm too young right now to apply makeup and what kind of makeup remover and masks do you use?

Makeup differs on people and also on what kind of style you like. I don't believe there is a right or wrong age to start makeup at because my nieces and them love makeup because they think it's fun but it's not like they are wearing eye linear and foundation. They just like the brushes and the blush.
I personally don't think that there is a wrong age because makeup is something that is never going away. Some people may think you are too young but it really just depends on how much makeup you are wearing. I would say wear less when younger because you skin is still growing and you really don't start developing acne until you are 12-14 years of age. That is when you really want to maybe pay attention on what you are doing like showering, sports, skin care, what you applying to your face, and what kind of food.
Not saying that you should not eat anything but maybe take notice of little things like how for some people, chocolate makes people break-out a lot and for some, no. Just something to definitely keep an eye out if you are at this age because I never knew and I broke out badly around my cheeks and nose are until I started using cleansers and other products but now begins the true problem though and that is, which is the right product for you to use to cleanse you face.

- Using Cleansing Products - 

I can't say what is a good cleanser because my skin type may be different from yours and may have different reactions to products. I have used American cleaners such as Neutrogena, Clearasil, and more but for me, they make my face either too dry or too oily so I use Asian facial products and also sometimes clean my face with natural homemade scrubs. My personal skin type is normal/dry and that really depends on the season because during the summer, I may develop a bit of an oil skin due to the heat and sweat but then in the winter, my skin gets dry very easily from the cold and plus, it snows where I am too.
You really have to test a lot of things like when you test makeup but make sure you are reading what kind of skin it works best on. If you use facial mask, most times they are universal for all skin type but when it comes to certain individual products, some may work better or worse for your skin. You have to be careful though because your skin may really act up when using products.

When I shop/look for products in makeup/skin care, 
I usually look for:
FOUNDATION:
   + Tone/Color - You want to match it as close as possible to your skin so it doesn't look unnatural
   + Finish - Test the products if you can and see what kind of finish it has on you skin.
          Is it a matte finish? Does it look natural? Is the foundation blend in my skin?
   + Mineral/Loose Powder - Make sure you are not allergic to anything in the product.


 SKIN CARE/ CLEANSER:
   + Functions - Every cleanser has a function and each one is different.
          Did you pick the right one you want? Repair skin? Toner? Makeup Remover? Skin Whitening?
   + Size - If you can purchase a sample size, try it. This will save money if you don't like the product.
   + Ingredients - If it's natural or has anything I can't use that may have a reaction on my skin.
          Your face has a lot of sensitive spots that can be ruined. Look carefully at the ingredients.

ALSO LOOK FOR REVIEWS but ask questions such as skin type because they might have a different type of skin than you for sure. Everyone doesn't have the same skin tone at all so for others, it may work better or worse.

Cleansers I Recommend for First timers:

FOREVER 21 LOVE&BEAUTY Makeup Remover [ PHOTO FROM: FOREVER 21 SITE ]

 I personally like this makeup remover. It is affordable at a price range of USD5-USD8 and that is not the only reason, it removes my waterproof makeup with no troubles for me. I have been through about 4 different make up removers and this one doesn't make my skin feel oily after the use and not only that, it makes my skin feel refreshed after one use of a towelette. I definitely recommend this makeup remover for anyone and they have it in different scents and types from Lavender, Aloe, and much more.

Apple Peeling Whitening Gel by Arrahan [ PHOTO FROM: GOOGLE SEARCH]

I have used this product for about a year now and I love how well it works!! My boyfriend/fiance purchased this product for me thinking how I may like it and I actually fell in love with it. It removes the deep dirt within your skin and leaves you skin very refreshed and cleansed. I like seeing the removal of dirt from my face even though it's kinda of disgusting knowing how much dirt was built up in my skin. You can purchase this product on Ebay and I HIGH RECOMMEND THIS PRODUCT.
When using this product, only us it twice a week so it doesn't sweep away your natural oils from the skin which helps prevent acne and other breakouts you may have.

Strawberry Pure Essential Sang Sang Pack by VOV [ PHOTO FROM: KOREABUYS.COM ]

This gel type mask from a tube is really nice and you don't need apply a lot either. This was another thing my boyfriend/fiance had purchase for me when shopping. I love the way it smells and how it keeps my skin fresh and soft. This is a gel mask you have to apply and it works fantastic. It makes skin look radiant and feel soft. Not only that but moisturizes and boosts suppleness in the skin. It's kind of hard to find this product on Ebay because I've looked but if I find a site, I'll list it below.

Kao Biore Nose Pore Pack Cleansing Strip [ PICTURE FROM: KAO.COM ]

I have small blackhead around my nose and it's not very noticeable but I do have quite a lot there and so I use this to remove the blackheads and it works great. You get to see the results of the blackheads be pulled out and you only need one strip. The consistent use is every 3-4 days, use one strip to make sure black heads are removed and this is when you first use this product. After the first 3-4 weeks of using it, once every week or every 2 weeks. I have been using this product for about 5 months and I use it about once every 4 weeks or month so in the long run, it is a great investment if you have a lot of blackheads. 10 strips come in 1 pack.

This is all for this post. Thank you for the question and hopefully I can answer a lot more. Hopefully this was helpful to you and until my new ASK&TELL post, thanks for reading!!!

♥XOXO♥