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Happy Sunday lovelies! I'm sure many of you know this already, but tomorrow July 1st, Google Reader will be no more! So for the nearly 700 of you who follow my blog through this platform that means you will lose the list of blogs you follow! Make sure you switch over to Bloglovin' today if you haven't already and follow A Little Bit of Lacquer there!

I've been using Bloglovin' for a while now and am now adding the rest of the blogs I follow on Google Reader to Bloglovin'. I love the gorgeous display, how easy it is to discover new blogs, and the fact that you can organize your blogs into groups! If you're already using Bloglovin' but haven't imported all of your blogs from Google Reader they make it easy with an "Import from Google Reader" button. If you're just signing up you'll also get a prompt like this to make it easy:

To get to Bloglovin', just click any of the links in this post or press the "+" button up in the top right corner of my blog to get directly to my blog's Bloglovin' page! Let me know how it goes and how you all use Bloglovin'! Enjoy your Sundays!!

Stripes and Scars

I have been without internet all week and finally lugged my laptop to work to actually be able to share a post with you all! I've been going crazy! Today I'm just sharing a casual weekend outfit perfect for a super hot day in Boston (those of you in the area know the last few days have been scorchers!)

JCPenney top (similar here), Asos Maternity cut-offs (here), Target sandals (similar here), thrifted Dooney and Bourke bag (currently on ebay here), Mauii Jim sunglasses (here), gold watch (similar here) 

And on another note… one of my favorite things to learn about people is where their scars are from. Scar stories I call them, and you learn so much about people (especially their childhood, which is where many of us accumulate the majority of our scars). 

Not sure if you've noticed before but I have a huge scar on the back of my right thigh. I used to hate it, hide it. But now it's a part of me, as cliche as that may sound. It was from a large congenital nevus (a big birthmark or mole) that had to be removed because of its' malignant potential (the chance that it could turn into cancer). 

And with this mini scar story and these hot summer days, it's a perfect time to mention SUN PROTECTION!!! As much as I enjoy the sun and the beach and the lake and all the glory that comes with these things, remember that they are always to be enjoyed while wearing SPF! The official recommendation is SPF of 15 or greater, but I always like to wear SPF 50 or more. 

Here are a few other tips for sun protection:

• Make sure to apply before you head out (at least 15 minutes). Not only does it work better, but it sucks rubbing in sand as you apply your sunblock. 
• Make sure you apply enough sunblock! Most people don't actually apply enough to cover all of their skin; if you think you might be skimping, you are! Really massage that stuff in ;)
• Don't forget lip balm with SPF! Nothing worse than sunburnt lips (and skin cancer can form there too!)
• Wear protective clothing like a great panama hat or flowy coverup to better protect your skin, and don't be ashamed to hang out in the shade! Especially midday (between 10 and 2) when the sun hits us the hardest!

And with all of that said, go and enjoy your weekends!! Thank you as always for stopping by! Hopefully next week internet will be back to normal and posts will be more frequent!

Maxin' Out Part 3

Huge, pregnant, and sexy are usually not compatible in the same sentence, but somehow in this dress I feel both wildly huge and sexy, yay dress! And comfy which is a super win. Added to the fact that this dress was less than $20 at my local T.J.Maxx? I'm definitely loving this stretchy jersey maxi that completes part 3 of our Maxin' Out week! 

This is a total date night look, make sure to check out Part 1 (girl's night) and Part 2 (casual weekend) for more ideas on how to wear a maxi with or without a bump! Happy Friday loves!

T.J. Maxx dress (similar here), Zara pumps (similar on sale here), gold watch (similar here), clutch from small boutique (similar here)

P.S. Linking up over at the lovely Marionberry Style, check it out here for more gorgeous maxi looks!

Maxin' Out Part 2

Happy hump day! Today is part 2 of our maxin' out series - this was a look I wore for a relaxed Sunday coffee with a friend and casually walking around Harvard Square. I paired a simple black maxi skirt with a fitted striped tank and jean jacket - super comfy (and almost entirely thrifted)!

And jeeze am I getting huge! Some days you capture the bump at just the right angle to perfectly resemble a blimp. Hahaha but boy do I love it. Thanks so much for reading!

Old Navy maternity maxi skirt (here), thrifted tank top (similar here), thrifted jean jacket (similar here), thrifted Dooney and Bourke bag (currently here on ebay), gold watch (similar here)

P.S. Linking up over at the lovely Marionberry Style, check it out here for more gorgeous maxi looks!

Maxin' Out Part 1

Nothing says summertime preggo like a maxi dress. 

This week I'll be bringing you 3 different looks featuring maxis and my 26 (now 27) week bump.

Today's look was for a yummy girl's night out of tapas! 

Free People maxi dress (here), Charlotte Russe cardigan (similar here), Abercrombie flip flops (similar here), thrifted belt (similar here), vintage Louis Vuitton clutch (sale on ebay now here), gold watch (similar here)

P.S. Linking up over at the lovely Marionberry Style, check it out here for more gorgeous maxi looks!

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to the best dad ever. A man about his work and about his family, who not only whooped me into shape when I needed it but always had my back and has never let me down. As we get ready for our own daughter I'm thankful to have been raised by this man and to have N be that for our baby girl. I know she'll be a daddy's girl just like her mommy.

Father and daughter against the world.

A Day of Food

I've been getting lots of questions about my diet and exercise habits especially now during pregnancy. 

I figured I'd give you a peak into all of my meals for a day!

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. Days I'm not running late I try to include lots of protein and some fresh fruit. 

A go-to is strawberries and 1% cottage cheese with an egg sandwich on a 

low fat whole grain english muffin. So satisfying! 

For a mid-morning snack (especially the days lunch happens much later),  

I have half a peanut butter sandwich on my absolute favorite 15 grain whole wheat bread 

with a cup of skim milk. 

Mid-afternoon I might have the other half of the sandwich if I start to get hungry.

For lunch I'll usually try to be good and bring leftovers from dinner the night before -
of course this means lunch is only healthy if dinner was ;)
This was leftover ratatouille with garlic cous cous (yum!)
I had for lunch with a half cup of fresh blueberries. 

And then dinner.  You can't always plan your meals perfectly and sometimes you end up with pizza
for dinner. I see nothing wrong this, especially when you've been eating well throughout the day!
Enjoy the pizza!
(Not my actual pizza, this actually looks much healthier than mine. At least more veggies...)
Image {via}

So there you have it! An average day of food for me. Not going to bother counting calories because that's not what really matters, more about gaining pregnancy weight at a good, healthy rate, getting enough nutrients for me and baby, and staying active! 

Would love to know if you guys have any other questions or post ideas you'd like to see (besides the usual outfit posts!). 

Thanks as always for reading, and happy Friday!!

Rainy Day Stripes

Nothing makes me happier on a rainy day than stripes and a rain jacket. And then I pictured dressing my baby girl in stripes and a mini trench and I decided that that just might be the best thing ever. With rain boots jumping in puddles of course.

Old Navy T-shirt and jeans (here and here), Target jacket, flats and bag (similar jacket here, flats here, and bag here), Scarf from boutique in Cape Cod (similar item on Etsy here), Watch (similar here)

Black Linen

Nothing like a breezy linen top on a warm day. Picked up this one and another in white and have been in love - who knows how long they'll fit though - we all known linen does not stretch!

H&M linen top (similar here), Forever 21 jeans (here), thrifted Dooney and Bourke bag (on ebay currently here), Target sandals (similar here), Gap sunglasses (similar here), watch (similar here)

Birthday Weekend

This year my birthday actually fell on a weekend, and on top of that, a weekend both N and I had completely off! Saturday we enjoyed an amazing brunch in Cambridge and spent most of the surprisingly gorgeous day (rain was forecasted all day) roaming around Harvard Square. That night we got a little fancy and headed out for delicious tapas on Newbury St. Our waitress was amazing and the second she realized I was pregnant (it took her a while I guess?) she had the bartender make me a special non-alcoholic sangria - sooo good! Sunday was spent sleeping in... meaning waking up at 8am :) When you're in medicine you get used to very early mornings and "sleeping in" is usually waking up at 6... so this was a treat. {This is also why I giggle when people try to warn me that I'll never sleep in again after baby... nothing new for us!} And then it was time for looking at new apartments! Which was very exciting, we're crossing our fingers for a place we fell in love with! 

I hope you all had beautiful weekends as well.
Thanks so much for reading!

Birthday Time!

Today is my birthday, today I celebrate a short 25 years of existence. On a day to day basis it's nice to just "be" and "do," and not think about your accomplishments and where you are (at least for normal people, I guess there are those who enjoy thinking about their accomplishments a little too much).
But at a quarter of a century I think it's pretty cool to reflect on life so far.

I graduated high school, graduated college, traveled all around - through Europe and beyond, started Harvard Medical School, delivered babies, took out tumors, treated pneumonias... almost an M.D.
And now beginning the greatest adventure of them all - that of being a wife and a mother.

 Here's to 25 more. 

Chambray Bump

 Forever 21 chambray top (here), JCPenney black leggings and gold watch (similar leggings here, similar watch here), Target bag and sandals (similar bag here, similar sandals here and here, Gap sunglasses (similar here)

A simple outfit I will be playing on repeat until this baby girl arrives - the leggings and big shirt combo. I never understood why women think they can only wear sweats and big t-shirts once they start to get "big" - leggings and a bigger top/tunic are just as comfy and look so much more put together! 

Happy Hump Day lovelies!

Bits of the Weekend

Just a few snapshots from the weekend. All last month I was working in the hospital finishing my required fourth year medicine sub-internship at the hospital - I wanted to get the hardest month of fourth year out of the way before baby girl gets here - but having a whopping total of 4 days off in the entire month takes a toll! It was a great month though, I loved really feeling like I was the doctor for all of my patients (Thank you, Dr. Laura! many of them would say). 

Saturday  was my last day at the hospital and that night we enjoyed dinner on the waterfront (and almost sprayed water out of our noses laughing so hard at the site of us trying to pull apart this lobster) and spent Sunday at the beach. Perfect short weekend. I hope you all enjoyed yours as well!! 

{Bathing suit from Target, here}