It's a simple message and I'm leaving out the whistles and bells

Yesterday I wore this outfit for an errand in downtown Athens and then for hanging out in the evening in Agia Paraskevi:

Striped tank: Old Navy Maternity

Black skirt: Dress Barn, remixed

Turquoise sandals: Nine West (Athens), remixed

Wait, what?

It's true, people. I have a bun in the oven. I don't know if you've noticed that the quality and quantity of my posting became kinda bad, oh, about two months ago? Yeah. That's why. Between dissertation and the dawning of this new stage in my life...I've been busy.

[And there were a few days when I didn't feature outfit posts because no one needed to see my streaked eye-liner post-barfing. Oh. Was that TMI?]

I'm not particularly interested in turning this blog into Chalkdust and Booties, mostly because I'm loath to feature my family on here, but I am excited to explore what will be going on with my figure/fashion as my pregnancy progresses and beyond. I hope you'll stick around.

I'm only just starting to show a bit of a belly and starting to prefer some maternity clothes, especially as some of my non-maternity clothes (I only packed stretchy, comfy dresses and tops, anyways) are starting to look decidedly odd. Plus, I only own four maternity items, three of which I ordered from Old Navy just for the summer, just in case. 

I'm delighted. It's true. I cannot wait to have this baby and play with it and teach it the ways of the world. And my husband is over the moon. Our families are so happy that it's almost obscene; we are lucky that our first child is going to be born in an environment of so much love.

But I'm also scared. I've never done this before, you see. And I'm dealing with stuff that I honestly didn't think would be a problem. You see, people, I lost about 30 pounds - by making more informed nutritional choices and becoming a smarter runner/gym-goer. But the perks of the weight-loss, especially in anticipation of skin-baring summer clothes, were also welcome. Then I found out I was pregnant. Now I'm gaining again, which I know I should do (and I'm certainly not limiting myself... ooh, cheese!). But because I don't always look obviously pregnant, I can get really self-conscious at times. Plus, my energy was zapped for the entirety of the first trimester and I'm only now starting to be up for taking just a walk again. Oh, have I mentioned it's constantly hot, hot, hot in Greece and pregnant ladies get hotter quicker? Yup, it's glorious. So I don't always feel at my healthiest. Anyway, I know this makes me sound like a self-centered, shallow biyatch, but, hell, this is a blog that focuses on my interest in style and clothes. I have a bit of a body image problem and I've had it for many years. I honestly thought pregnancy would put me more at peace with all my issues - and I truly believe it will when I'm bigger - but for now I have to settle for "looking a bit schlubby in profile." And it would be dishonest of me not to write that it sometimes frustrates me. 

And don't think I don't know that my fear probably comes from a deeper place, which is hopefully perfectly natural to a first-time mom: I've seen 'Rosemary's Baby.' 

[Oh, you should've seen the look on the nurse's face when I told her that everything I knew about pregnancy and prenatal care came from that novel/movie. My husband almost lost it.]

Now on to lighter topics, yes? My mother-in-law recently gave me a sort of amulet that's been in the family for generations, "forever," as my husband simply states. We think it's an antique of some sort and it's given to the pregnant women of the family for luck. I've been carrying it in its box in my purse, but we bought a leather cord for it the other day and now I've been wearing it:

I don't think it's the most aesthetically-pleasing ornament I've ever seen, but I'm all for tradition and luck. When, if not now, is the time to be superstitious?!

Anyway, um, that's what I've been keeping from y'all! Again, I don't foresee this turning into a baby-centered blog, but you'll obviously be seeing a lot of my changing body and sartorial choices stemming from that. Let's have fun, shall we?