FRIDAY Q&A: BOY NAMES I LOVE BUT WON’T USE, GETTING PREGNANT WHILE BREASTFEEDING, REVIVING WILTED HYDRANGEAS, AND MORE

Happy Friday, friends! We’ve had the most incredible spring weather in Connecticut this week and I’ve been walking outside as much as possible to try to get this baby in prime position. 🙂 It’s crazy to think he could be joining us any day/week now! I hope you’re all seeing signs of spring where you live and gearing up for a wonderful weekend. xx

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1. Moving to Dallas and nervous! Any recommendations for apartments, things to do, where to eat? Did anything surprise you about Texas?

Congratulations! I found Dallas to be a very welcoming and super social city and I hope you’ll have the same experience! We lived in University Park but there are a ton of Dallas-based bloggers who could probably help with more current neighborhood recs depending on what stage of life you’re in! A few of our favorite restaurants there are José on Lovers, Mi Cocina, Neighborhood Services, and Shinsei. Oh and I loved City Café To Go for takeout salads at lunch! 

2. Would love to know design choices you regret and what to do when you realize! 

I think most of the design choices I wind up regretting are ones where I was trying too hard to step outside my comfort zone. For instance, I’ll occasionally get a comment about only wearing or decorating in blue and white and I used to think, ugh, maybe that’s too boring or too narrow a sense of personal style to build a successful blog around… but then when I’d do something like order a bright green lacquer dresser, I’d find myself wishing I’d stuck with what feels most classic and true to me. Luckily very few decorating decisions are truly permanent (and I’ve since had that dresser repainted in a glossy white that I love!) and I’ve gotten better at trusting my gut (and dressing and decorating for myself/my family instead of worrying about whether it suits other people’s taste!) over time.

3. Do you like having the name Mackenzie? What baby girl names are on your list?

I do! I was always the only Mackenzie in my class growing up and while I think that’s changed and I’ve met a few other Mackenzies over the years, I like to think it suits me pretty well! I also love that it presents a lot of nickname possibilities (my family and friends call me Kenz or Kenzie but I’ve heard of other Mackenzies going by Mackie which I think is so cute!). Going to keep my baby girl names on the DL for now as we’re still hoping to have more little ones after this pregnancy. 🙂

4. Any boy names you love and aren’t using? I’m pregnant with my first and can’t decide! 

Congratulations! I plan to keep most of my favorite names to myself until we hopefully have a chance to use them, but two that I love and know we won’t be using are Beau and Benjamin since either would be a mouthful with the last name Beuttenmuller. And my cousin’s baby is named Hayes which I just love and suits him so well!

5. Did you get pregnant while breastfeeding or did you have to wean first?

I got pregnant while breastfeeding 4x/day around 8.5 months postpartum (TMI but my regular cycle returned at 4 months postpartum despite breastfeeding exclusively) and weaned more abruptly than I would have liked just after Teddy’s first birthday when I was 10 weeks pregnant. I wrote a little more about this in this post!

6. How are you feeling after your vaccination? Which one did you get and any side effects?

I got my first dose of Moderna a week ago and other than having a sore arm for a couple days, I felt completely fine! I booked my appointment on VAMS and got Will an appointment through CVS and both of our experiences were super streamlined in person. Everyone there was so excited and grateful and it put such a skip in my step!

7. Any cover-up recommendations for the beach or pool? Hoping we’ll have a more “normal” summer as more and more people get vaccinated!

Same!!! I love this brand (you can see a couple pieces of theirs I’ve worn here and here) and I think the linen shirt I wore in this post would be adorable as a cover-up. A few other styles I like here, here, here, and here!

8. What is the hand steamer you use for bed linens?

I use this steamer for clothes and an old/nothing special iron I’ve owned forever on our bed sheets (admittedly only if I’m photographing them — otherwise I’m happy to sleep in wrinkled sheets!). I’d love to be able to steam our bedding but the steamer I have spills water if it’s not held upright — if anyone has a more versatile rec, I’m all ears!

9. Do you do anything to care for nice shoes and bags? Any alterations to make more comfy?

I’ve gone to a cobbler and had padded soles put on nicer pairs of heels and flats I want to keep looking new, but I haven’t done anything for bags or increased comfort! Would love anyone to share in the comments if they have a better answer here!

10. Is there a secret to buying cut hydrangea blooms from the grocery store and keeping them looking nice? Mine wilted in the vase within a day.

Yes! I’ve been meaning to write a post or film a video about this, but what works for me is to cut the stems on the diagonal when you first get them home and put them in water. If you notice any of the petals starting to wilt, 1) pour out the water and refill with hot water, 2) give each stem a fresh diagonal cut, and 3) cut up the stem to allow even more water to flow up the stem. You’ll be amazed at how quickly this brings them back to life and keeps them looking fresh!