Comfy Classic for Mini Babymoon

Comfy Classic for Mini Babymoon

If you follow me on IG you already know that the hubby and I had a mini babymoon, after telling him I wanted to attend a #WhatSheSaid panel discussion happening at the +W Fort Lauderdale Hotel, he thought why not make it a night stay out of it and have one last relaxing gateway before our sweet #babyOlivia arrives, this momma-to-be couldn't have been happier with that idea. Sharing a home with family is not always easy, you don't have as much privacy as you would in your own home and privacy for a couple is highly necessary, so this was a lovely retreat from that. Before the panel we ran down to the restaurant Steak 954 inside the hotel to catch breakfast before it was over. So happy we did, because I had the best french toast I have ever had, you need to try it. The panel was empowering and I got to meet the General Manager Anna who was so lovely, the legendary Patricia Field and my friend Annie Vazquez, where we got to catch up a bit after a few years of not seeing each other. The rest of the time I enjoyed the day with hubby walking around the boardwalk and Las Olas Boulevard, we had lunch, later we sat outside a cafe eating gelato and we people-watched, the weather was perfect, sunny yet with a smooth breeze. 

The next day, hubby set out for an early beach run while I stayed in bed for just a little longer. I then met him at a Starbucks down the street and had a casual breakfast. We came back to the room and got ourselves ready, hung out for a bit in the room to take in our ocean view, and then do one last walk by the beach, wearing the most comfy classic denim dress from Pink Blush, it was perfect for the weather, light and airy, the best part about this dress is that I can wear it long after I have give birth, I call that a win. I am excited to also wear my cardigan and silk robe, that they sent me, so comfy, and because I want you to be comfy too and Thanksgiving is in just two days, I wanted to find a way to say Thank you to my readers, so I along with Pink Blush will be giving away a giftcard worth $75 to one of you, all you have to do is go to my IG to find out how to enter. 

Good luck and Thank you for always coming to CSxE, I am so thankful for your time.

| WEARING | Pink Blush Denim Off -the-Shoulder Pocket Maternity Dress c/o

#BabyOlivia's Maternity Pictures

#BabyOlivia's Maternity Pictures

A month ago we spent the day with our dear friend and photographer +Sasha de Almagro capturing the wonder that is pregnancy, a magical miracle that happens in life. Hubby and I always prefer a simply way of capturing our major milestones, and since we both love nature, we knew we wanted to incorporate that into our session. We decided the day before as is our style, to go to a nearby park to start off the day, where Sasha was able to make us look like we were somewhere other than Miami. I seriously love all the park pictures, but I had to narrow it down for you guys. The day turned out to be perfect, in Miami you never know when you'll get rained on, but the weather gods were in our favor. 

The day was dewy, you could smell the moister still settled on the tree leaves, sun rays were beginning to hit our skins and the park was desolated except from the critters that call it their home. We had the park to ourselves for a good amount of time, undisturbed from pedestrian life. Once we were able to capture enough pictures, we then drove back home where Sasha did an at home session as well, to just capture the very real life of where we will spend most of our time in, in our room. Some of you may not know but my in laws were kind to let us move in with them for the time being and they gave us their master bedroom, which turned out to be the best thing, since we got plenty of space for our own little area and a corner for our baby girl's nursery. It was during the time that Sasha x I were able to recreate a picture I had been wanting to take for so long, and that was the +Vogue maternity shoot of Emily Blunt that they did for an interview for the April 2014 issue, which I posted on my Instagram last night. It's the twelfth picture down, and not to toot my own horn but I loved the way it came out, we took it in the backyard against a beautiful overgrowth of leaves that my in laws actually had the landscaper remove the next day.

The best part of it all is that we were able to have our fur baby Barney with us, a few months back before we got news that we would be coming back to Miami, we thought we would do our session while visiting in July, which was the original plan and we were a bit sad that we wouldn't be able to have memories of this special moment with our first baby (yes we are those crazy dog parents), but it all worked out in the end and we couldn't be happier that he will forever be part of our pictures, after all he was part of our engagement pictures as well. Thank you Sasha for always making us feel comfortable and giving us such beautiful memories.

| PHOTOS by | Sasha de Almagro

The Ugly Side of Pregnancy | The First Three Months

Ok, ok, I know you haven't heard from me in a few months. Frankly, I haven't been in the mood to blog or style any outfits for that matter. I remember thinking to myself that the minute I got pregnant I was going to be one of those bloggers styling lots of preggo looks, but that was not the case for me and till this day, I get a little bit down because of it. Partly, it had to do with the fact that the first three months of my pregnancy were less than fun, I was going through a miserable time. A few weeks after I found out I was pregnant, I began what seemed a never ending horror roller coaster of nausea, vomiting, mood swings, sensitivity to smell and migraines. I had always heard of morning sickness, but I was not at all prepared for what had come, though my symptoms were technically more of night sickness, that's when they would kick in at full force, it was still an all day event. I began to loose weight, nothing was appetizing and even when I did try, I would vomit it all out, there was very few things that I could eat that would not trigger nausea and that was probably the worst of all the symptoms, because if there is one thing I've always enjoyed, is eating. I also stopped cooking for that period of time, I couldn't take the smell of food, my husband could barely prepare anything for himself because I would complain about the smell and he would get frustrated.

The second worst thing was the mood swings I was experiencing, I felt so down, this was especially hardest being away from family, I remember wanting to have my mom around, because I thought, surely she would understand the situation better than the hubby. On top of it, we had just moved into a new home in Frankfurt and I was not to thrilled about it, I didn't like the energy or flow of the home, so that also made me feel so down. I would cry for just about anything and would get irritated at things that I normally would just brush off, this was hardest on the hubby. He was also not prepared for any of this, being that this is my first pregnancy, he nor I knew anything about it other then what you hear from friends in passing and we all know that when your mind is not on the baby making train, all those talks go one ear out the other. He became really worried for me, but also frustrated, I can tell even though he would try his best to not show that he was. He struggled at first to understand what I was going through, I myself was struggling to understand, I barely could handle myself, imagine trying to ask someone else to be able to handle you. I never expected this whole experience to be like this, I kept praying that this would only last three months as my OB would tell me, he reassured me it would pass, but I would occasionally hear from friends that they experienced it the whole pregnancy and that would scare the hell out of me. The hubby started getting better about the whole situation when a colleague at work explained to him that his wife went through the same thing, I guess having a buddy who he could relate things with helped him realize I wasn't going crazy,  that this was all a normal thing for some pregnant women. 

I swear that it all stopped the day I reached the three months, it was like some crazy magic spell or something. I slowly regained my appetite, mood swings were moving along with the passing wind and life started to feel good again, I saw the happy light at the end of the tunnel. Luckily for the hubby and I, things after that were smooth sailing. I started to have that glow that everyone talks about, that face of happiness that radiates and makes people smile. I still get the occasional headache and back pains but there is nothing to complain about any longer.

I decided to share this very personal rough patch with you all, in hopes that this helps any of you beautiful expectant mothers and those who are on the baby making train, because things are not always what you see and I know for myself, I felt guilty and ashamed a bit of what I was feeling but when I started to open up about it, people would share their experience and it all felt more normal. I also was told that if you have really bad morning sickness or symptoms like mine, it's an indication that the baby and you will be in good health, so that made me feel so much better. Anyway, what I am trying to say here is, don't feel bad, ashamed or embarrassed this is all part of pregnancy, some women go through it and others don't and that is OK.

Feel beautiful and happy, that is all that counts.