Nursery Decor

I have been agonizing over how we are going to decorate our nursery ever since we found out we are having a little girl. I've never been a "pink" person but I thought when else is pink decor appropriate than for a baby. I've been to Home Depot about 4 times to pick up paint samples. Each time not being completely satisfied with the shade of pink I picked out.

This has been going on for about the past month. Things started to change when I came across Little Crown Interiors. They have some of the most adorable nursery designs. These are some of my favorites: 

Love this sectional and the draping fabric

Monogram? Yes, please

So, after seeing this I really loved the wall paper and ordered some samples online. I now think we are set on this wallpaper:

In some of room designs they paint the other walls pink, but I think that's just too much pink for me. I color matched the silver/grey background of the wallpaper and I think we're going to paint the other three walls that color. 

It doesn't photograph well but there is a square sample of the grey paint next to the wall paper. I'll post pictures when we get everything decorated. 

Picture of me at 23 weeks. Less than half way to go!

Baby Elle at 21 weeks

Latisse: After stopping treatment

A common question I get about Latisse is, "Will my eyelashes go back to their original length if I stop using Laitsse?" The simple answer is yes. I now have first hand experience of seeing results after stopping Latisse. I love Latisse however it's is pregnancy category C which means affects on the unborn baby are unknown. So, longer lashes will have to wait until after this baby makes her debut.

 Before Latisse

12 Weeks into treatment

5 Months into treatment

4 months after stopping Latisse

It looks my left eyelashes are hanging in there a little better than my right ones. I've just stocked up on some good mascara to ride out this pregnancy.

Perfect Summer Snack

After enjoying a wonderful brunch with the husband we strolled down to our local farmer's market to take a look around. After spotting this bunch of basil I knew what I would be making tonight to watch the Laker game. BRUSCHETTA

 Farmer's market produce is like nothing else

 Beautiful heirloom tomatoes

Go Lakers!

Bruschetta Recipe
5 large tomatoes, diced
1/2 medium onion, diced
4 Tsp. fresh basil, chopped fine
2 Tbs. fresh Italian parsley, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together, combine well.  May sit for several hours in the refrigerator, bring to room temperature. Serve with toasted baguette.

Any of these ingredients may be adjusted to your taste.

Toasted Baguette

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

One large baguette, sliced ¼ inch thick on the diagonal.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.

Add the baguette slices. Brush one side of baguette with olive oil, salt, pepper, crushed garlic and Parmesan cheese. Toast very lightly, just until slightly golden.  You want the bread to be firm enough to hold the tomato mixture but not break your teeth. Enjoy!

My Fabulous White Coat

I was bestowed my first coat during our White Coat Ceremony in PA school. A White Coat Ceremony involves a ceremonial "robing" of students in white coats when students transition from preclinical to clinical health sciences. You can see in the picture below that student's white coats are traditionally short and you are able to upgrade to long white coats after graduation.
I had two of these during school. I wore them to death by the end of my clinical rotations, they were permanently dirty!

Now as a full fledged PA it's all about the long coat. At my practice I am able to wear either scrubs or business attire. While I love the luxury of hopping out of the shower, opening the dresser drawer, and thinking to myself..."blue or green scrubs today?" I really do prefer wearing normal clothes. I would say I split my time 50/50 between the two. When I wear my scrubs I do not wear my white coat. I really like wearing my white coat. It has so many great pockets I can carry everything I need.

I've gone through several white coats but nothing like my most recent coat. Last fall I was fortunate to meet the owners of Medelita at a the SDPA conference. They were absolutely wonderful people and took such pride in their product. Their hard work really shows in their product. Their lab coats and scrubs are fabulous! I picked up the estie lab coat. It is worth every penny.


The cut is so flattering and the fabric is practically indestructible (so necessary in dermatology)
The only white coat I'll ever buy again :)

Melasma, one more reason to stay out of the sun

My melasma, worse under my eyes (I know it's not that bad, but having treatments at your fingertips makes it frustrating to look at every day)

Melasma is a common skin condition that causes a tan to brown discoloration on sun-exposed areas of the face. Cheeks, upper lip, forehead and chin are the most common areas for melasma to form. Pregnancy, birth control pills, and sun exposure often trigger melasma.

Sun exposure can trigger melasma because the pigment-producing cells in the skin (melanocytes) are stimulated by ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun. The most important factor in the development of melasma is exposure to sunlight. Without the strict avoidance of sunlight, potentially successful treatments for melasma are doomed to fail.

When I talk to patients about melasma a common comment I get is
"but I don't go out in the sun".
I ask them:
"Did you drive here?"
"Did you walk from your car to the office?"
-Then you are getting sun exposure.

Treatments for Melasma:

• First and foremost religious use of a good sunscreen is the most important factor in treating/preventing melasma. Read about what to look for in a sunscreen here.
• Topical depigmenting agents:

1. Hydroquinone- available in 2% over the counter and >4% with a prescription
2. Tretinoin & 4% Hydroquinone combination(Tri-Luma): by prescription only. Studies have shown that the combination product is more effective but has more potential side effects like redness and dryness.

• Medium strength chemical peels: This medical strength of peel should be done under a doctor or PA's supervision. Spa-grade peels are not strong enough to treat melasma. You should peel from these peels. Usual down time is 2 days with your skin peeling similar to a mild sunburn. Nothing too bad. I tell my patents do the peel on a Thursday, you'll peel over the weekend and be fine for work on Monday.
  

Since I'm pregnant topical depigmenting agents and chemical peels are out for me so I have just been stepping up my sun avoidance with:

A wide brimmed hat

Large sunglasses

and my fav sunscreen: La Roche Posay

No one can be expected to avoid the sun live like a vampire their whole life. You can only try your best and be prepared when you know you are going to get sun exposure.

What can you do when you're pregnant?

While there are many things I knew were off limits with pregnancy (a nice glass of red wine, sigh) Until you are pregnant I don't think you can truly appreciate what you have to give up. Things I am especially missing:

Latisse and Botox

Chemical Peels

Tri-Luma (just as my melasma is getting worse)

Brie

Mimosas

Annual Memorial Day girls trip to Parker, AZ (no fast boat rides)

Iced Coffee

Something I have a new found appreciation for since becoming pregnant:

The ability to wear scrubs to work since none of my work slacks fit anymore

Gender Reveal Party

One thing that has been occupying my time and keeping me from my blog is that my husband and I found out we are expecting our first child in October. We couldn't be more excited. I love any excuse to throw a party and pregnancy milestones are no exception. My husband could not keep the initial discovery of the pregnancy a secret (he told our family within 24 hours of us finding out). I told him when we found out the gender I had to have a gender reveal dinner. I've seen these done on other blogs and I thought they were so cute. So at 18 weeks we got our families together to announce our big news...

When I saw this cake online I knew I just had to have one just like it. Mine is from the Cucamonga Cakery, the same place that did our wedding cake.

As you have learned my husband cannot keep these things a secret for long. Because of that I had to order everything in advance. I ordered these adorable cake pops, 12 with pink champagne cake and 12 with white champagne cake dyed blue for the gender reveal.

Everyone gave their gender vote. Nearly 50/50. We handed out the right colored pops and everyone bit in at the same time.

A little blurry but It's a Girl!

The cake was not part of the actual reveal but I just had to have it.

Baby Elle at 18 weeks

18 weeks

I'm Baaaack...

Oh my where has the time gone. I knew I had not blogged in a while but 6 whole months? Geez, I guess I was consumed with work, life, volunteer commitments and more. I am very excited to be back. If you're still a follower thanks for sticking around. More to come...

poseprints

How cute is this website?

poseprints.com

I am seriously thinking about getting these for Christmas Cards. We are spending the weekend in Half Moon Bay and are planning on taking pictures up there for a card but if those don't turn out I may have to order some of these. How cute would these be for a baby shower or save the date. You can make your own poseprint and add it to your facebook page.

Me:


Get Your Own Pose @ www.PosePrints.com

Speaking of this weekend. I cannot tell you how excited I am for my little weekend getaway. As you may have read previously in a post one of my best friends works for The Ritz Carlton and we get amazing friends and family discounts. I have heard from many people that the Half Moon Bay Ritz is one of the nicest ones. This weekend I will be going up there with my husband and his family.

Amazing


Girls are having a spa day while the boys golf


S'mores on our patio


yummy...

I'm in charge of martinis for our s'more night.

I was thinking a chocolate martini but I think that would be too much, Any suggestions?

V is for victory, barely but still a victory

This weekend I was in Phoenix for the USC vs ASU game. My husband and his family flew out on Friday morning on my father-in-laws plane. Since I had to work Friday I flew out late on a Southwest flight. As I'm reading the Skymall magazine I smell something a little funky. I look down and I see a shoeless foot propped up on my arm rest. Look, I'm exposed to strange odors and different body parts in my face all day long but I could do with out a stinky foot 2 feet from my face. I gave her a few minutes to see if she would move it but she didn't.


So I passed the flight attendant this note:

The flight attendant laughed and 5 min later asked her to remove her foot.

I was nervous about being away for the weekend away from my team in training team. I hooked up with the Phoenix team and we ran 6 miles. Everyone was extremely welcoming. It was beautiful running on the canals.


After a good run it was off to the game.
The weather was perfect. No sweater needed.

USC won, barely. It's pretty sad that as a USC fan if you don't blow a team out of the water then it's not a true success.

A quick trip. We left early Sunday morning. We had to cram 4 sets of golf clubs in my father-in-laws plane. It was a tight squeeze.

USC head covers of course

FIL and Mike the pilot

View from the plane

I'm actually back in Arizona right now for the SDPA conference. I'll give an update about the conference soon!