Welcome Back!

If you have noticed I have became quite good at the disappearing act in 2015. I felt like I made every excuse from juggling work and a blog and then pregnancy and now heres another one motherhood!

I gave birth to this little nugget on October 30th 2015 and ever since he has been my number one priority and still is. So between giving birth and moving I would say I have had my hands full these past couple of months. However, after doing this for three months I have gotten quite good at multi-tasking... its a quality thats jumped to the top of my resume.  So without going on for to long I would just to say I'm back and lets chat! If there is anything you guys would like to see on this space pop them in the comments below!

5 Things I've Learned Since Becoming Pregnant

So incase you missed my update post back in May, I'm Pregnant [read post here]! I am now 28 weeks along so officially in the third trimester. Its absolutely insane how fast time has gone, but at the same time it feels like its been forever. So through my pregnancy so far I have learned quite a bit about myself and pregnancy... at least my experience.  So today I'm rounding out the top five things I've learned since becoming pregnant.

1. The pregnancy glow may never come. I've always heard about this glow pregnant women have and it just never came in for me. The only glow I get is from my makeup.

2. Those crazy cravings you always here about, again may never really come. Now don't get me wrong there are times when I want something specific, but I definitely didn't go crazy if I didn't get it. I have yet to make the boy do a late night run. I would feel terrible!

3. My pre-pregnancy thought about people touching the belly, has still held on strong. To me there is something very rude about touching a pregnant women's belly without her consent. My theory is you wouldn't touch me if I wasn't pregnant, so don't touch me or the home of my unborn child now that I am pregnant. Is this psychotic? Now of course I let my boyfriend touch my stomach and children they really can't help it.

4. All those years you wished your boobs would grow, well they do and I don't want them. I give serious props to you girls out there who naturally have larger breast. These suckers are heavy and uncomfortable.

5. You will never get use to the feeling of your baby moving in your belly. It is the most surreal feeling in the world! I mean you GREW A HUMAN!

xoxo Franchesca 

I'm Back...With A Little One

Hello there long lost friends, it’s been a while since I’ve stopped by I know and for that I apologize. But I missed you guys! So without giving too long of a story I do have a reasonable reason for this.

These past few months I have felt extremely fatigued it got to a point where I nap during my lunch break, nap when I got go from work, make dinner and back to bed I was. It seemed like all I had time to do is sleep and work. After a month of feeling this way I went to the doctor. I know its normal to get worn out from day to day life, but you know when somethings not right. Lo and behold something was going on with me. I’m pregnant! Yup I have a little mermaid or merman growing inside me.

Once I found out why I was feeling the way I did, everything made sense! As I’m approaching my second trimester I do have a bit more energy these days, I still nap just not as long. So I fully intend to blog more and possibly even vlog as I want to remember these days. As of right now there is no set schedule. I will be writing as the inspiration hits but definitely keep an eye out for some pregnancy post. Hope you guys stick around and enjoy what’s to come here on City Mermaid!  

Thanks so much for continuing to support my little space on the web, even through my hiatus!

xoxo Franchesca

The Workout From Home

Working out for me always felt like a chore, something I felt I had to do, not wanted. But lately I'm all about it. My workouts consist of two routines, running and Pilates. I try to keep my workouts under a half hour as I have noticed my attention span for working out just starts to dwindle after thirty minutes.

Running is something I have a love hate relationship with. I do find that running is therapeutic for myself, but finding time to run is just difficult because I hate running indoors. However, I live right near a running trail, that makes going for runs a lot easier. My tip for running is try to keep a consisting jog for fifteen minutes and slowly work your way up. I like to look at time not distance, but there are some who do the opposite and look at distance not time.

I've recently gotten into Pilates, I like it because it has a higher tempo than yoga. I watch videos on YouTube and follow along one of my favorite channels to follow along with is Blogilates. I really like Cassey's energy, she's great. If you guys are looking to get into Pilates I totally recommend checking out her channel.

What's your workout routine, look like?

xoxo Franchesca

When You Have an Extra 10

Mondays are rough, but to make Mondays a little more bearable a little quick pamper can make for a great start to the week.

When I find I have 10 minutes to spare, I immediately reach for a face mask my go to mask is the NARS aqua gel luminous masque. It's a hydration surge for the face, during these winter months I need the extra hydration.  While the face mask is working its magic  I reach for eye pads to help with with my tired puffy eyes. Recently, I picked up the A! Absolute cooling eye pads. These are great for waking up my tired eyes. I like to keep them in the fridge to maximize the de-puffing.  These two steps allow me to put my best foot forward at the start of the week.

Oh, and don't forget your tea!

xoxo Franchesca

A Day at Cedar Hill Farms

This past weekend the boyfriend and I took his little girl to a pumpkin match out in the outer Washington D.C area. We went over to Middleton's Cedar Hill Farm where we went through a maze, pet some farm animals, took a hayride and picked some pumpkin.

There was a charming atmosphere throughout the farm. Its been family owned and operated since 1660,only during the holiday seasons do they get help from outside the family. I love the fact that they are still family owned, they were super friendly and professional. Now they're not "technically" an organic farm, but they are natural. They had a ton of activites to keep an active kid busy, along with any adult. They also allow you to pick your own starwberries in the spring, I see a trip in the future.

xoxo Franchesca

Fall Reading List

The days are getting shorter and the temperature gets lower. There is nothing like cozying up with a good book and a cup of tea during the cooler months. So today I thought I’d share my reading list for this fall/winter season.

The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin (19th Century US) Currently Reading

The Fortune Hunter by Daisy Goodwin (19th Century Europe)

The White Princess by Philippa Gregory (15th Century England)

The Other Queen by Philippa Gregory (16th Century England)

The Queens Gambit by Elizabeth Fremantle (16th Century England)

Sisters of Treason by Elizabeth Fremantle (16th Century England)

The Shadow Queen by Sandra Gulland (17th Century France)

All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (WWII France)

Fallen Beauty by Erika Robuck (1928 New York)

The Romanov Sisters by Helen Rappaport (20th Century Russia)

#GirlBoss by Sophia Amoruso

How to be a Hepburn in a Hilton World by Jordan Christy

Do you all sense a theme here? I defiently like my historical fiction pieces so if any of you have any other reccomendations... send them my way.

Let Me Explain...

So lately I have been MIA on the blog, but  I have a reason I swear... Here it is!

1. Finals week was pretty busy as expected 
2. Packing up my college apartment 
3. Spending some quality time with friends before we all go our separate ways
4. I Graduated! 

So these past couple weeks I have been pretty busy with just life! Hope you all didn't miss me to much, lol. But now that I'm back in Jersey I will be back to my normal blogging schedule. 

Hope you all have a lovely day!

xoxo Franchesca 

My Weekend In Photos!

My Weekend In Photos!

My Weekend In Photos!

My Weekend In Photos!

My Weekend In Photos!

Night in Valentines Day!

Weekend In Photos!

My Weekend In Photos!

My Weekend In Photos!

Hey everyone!

Hope you all had an amazing weekend. My weekend was rather mellow... compared to my previous weekends. This weekend the east coast was hit with some snow and I say some because yes it was a lot but the reason most people at least on my campus stayed in was because snow removal was just not existent for some reason. The roads and sidewalks were just awful! So most of this weekend happened in my apartment, and well lets just say we got creative and had drunk bowling with some old handles. Drunk bowling was a lot of fun, I'm kinda disappointed we just discovered this.

This weekend was the weekend were I surprisingly went out a bunch to grab some food. I fell in love with a local coffee shops white chocolate latte, legit heaven in your mouth. I went to one of my favorite pizza and beer spots in town, Pie and Pints. Their pizza is just so good, if you have one near you [so if your in Ohio or West Virginia] stop in and get their black bean pizza, its just AMAZING. Pies and Pints was great till I realized I was there with another guy, while some guy I talk to occasionally worked there, can you say awkward...

If I wasn't out and about getting food (cause all I do is eat), you could've probably find me on my couch watching some show. This weekend was a bit of a medical kick and watched Emily Owens and Hawthorne.

What did you all do this weekend?

Have a great day!

xoxo Franchesca 

My Weekend In Photos!

My Weekend in Photos!

My Weekend In Photos!