Author: femmeindenim

My name is Marina and I’m a mid-thirty year old lifestyle blogger from San Diego. The truth is, I’ve found it challenging to find a blog or website that I could fully relate to. Most of the blogs that I found are either written by 20-something-year-olds that are still single and have the kind of freedom I don’t have anymore, or by middle-aged women that are way more established and much further along in life than I am at this point. I’m no longer that 20-something year old party girl that lives a life of leisure, but am not quite that 40-something year old woman whose life or plan is fully set or developed either. Basically, I’ve felt like I’m a middle-aged tween that’s too old to sit at the kids table, yet not grown-up enough to fully sit with the adults either. Not only was I feeling like it was hard to find the right blog age-fit for me, I also found that I was having to look to multiple blogs/bloggers and would be switching from a fashion, to recipe, to travel, to wellness, to motherhood blog to satisfy all my varied interests. I’m passionate about a lot of things – family, fun, food, travel, fashion, relationships, fun, wellness and more and although I’m no “expert” in any of these things, I do have a voracious appetite for all of them, like I’m sure many of you do as well. So that’s what this blog is about – it’s bits and pieces of everything and it’s going to be filled with both the good and bad, because that’s what life is all about. It’s varied, it goes up and down, it’s crazy at times, and you never know what you’re going to get or when you’re going to get it, but if done right, it can be pretty amazing too.

Birth plan

With my due date two weeks away (yay!!), a lot of people have been asking me about my birth plan and how I was planning the big day so I decided to finally sit down and write it out, so here’s my plan:

Deliver a healthy baby, with as little stress on the baby as possible

Yup, that’s it. That’s my birth plan. I will be delivering in a hospital, and I will be getting an epidural if I am able to and other than that, I’m going to go with the flow and face any issues or obstacles as/if they come up. I learned early on in my pregnancy to give up control over a lot of things. I thought that I would be able to maintain some sort of control over my life and body during my pregnancy but I soon realized I had very little control over even the simplest of things. I had no control over how much weight I would gain, how much energy I would have, what I could or couldn’t eat, what my sleep would be like, how my body would change, or anything really. I learned to take things day by day, and hour by hour, and learned to let go and just go with the flow. I found that I actually felt so much better once I was able to do that, and found my stress and anxiety literally melted away and I was able to enjoy my pregnancy journey so much more. So when it came time to thinking about my birth plan, I realized that the most important thing to me was the health and safety of my baby, and that the birth was about my baby and not about me, or my husband. It wasn’t about what I wanted to get out of the experience, or what I thought I needed to feel or experience as a woman because it all has been, and will continue to be, an incredible and unique experience no matter how the birth itself happens. Of course it would be amazing to be in labor for just a couple of hours, without any pain or meds, and get him out with just a few pushes, but the chances of that happening are pretty slim to none so I just need to be realistic and expect the unexpected. I just want to make sure that my boy is delivered in whatever way is best and easiest for him, and am not going to force any of my expectations during the birth process because honestly, anything can happen and I accept that. I think that the sooner we learn to give up having absolute control the better. We aren’t going to be able to control our pregnancies, births, husbands, babies or children 100% no matter what, and the sooner we accept that the less stress and pressure we will feel in the long-run. I get that a lot of women won’t agree with my plan and that’s fine. No two women, pregnancies, births or babies are the same and we are all going to have our own unique journey, and I just wish for all of us that we enjoy this miraculous experience as much as we can, no matter how it happens. However, if you are looking for a detailed birth plan template, this one from the Bump is a great one that I found that covers a lot of bases without being too overwhelming.

Happy New Year!!

Wishing everyone a very happy and healthy New Year…here’s to 2015 being the best year yet!!
Xoxo

Green Juice Detox Recipe

Feel like you indulged a little too much over the holidays? Good, because you should have! It’s the holidays and it’s the one time of year that you should be indulging and enjoying good food and drinks with your family and friends without feeling guilty.

But alas, after too many days of indulging, and with that post-holiday bloat and sugar crash kicking in full force you might be wanting to get back on track and re-set your system even before the new year rolls around. There’s no better way to not only detox from the holidays, but also get a head-start on those healthy eating resolutions than with a great green juice. This is by far my fav green recipe that’s energizing, refreshing, full of nutrients and antioxidants, and tastes super yums.

Ingredients:
– 5 large leaves of kale, ribs removed
– handful of spinach
– 1 cucumber
– 1-2 ribs of celery
– 1 lemon, peeled
– 1 apple
– 1 inch knob of ginger, peeled
– 1 sprig of fresh mint

Throw everything into your juicer and enjoy. No juicer? No problem. Chop up all of the ingredients and throw them into a blender with 2/3 of a cup of water, blend, then strain through a fine mesh strainer and drink up!

No juicer or blender? Grab a fresh juice at your local juice bar or pick up a bottle at your local grocery store – Suja or Blueprint are my top picks.

Best Italian Restaurants in San Diego

You can’t go to Cucina Urbana without ordering the squash blossoms

I’ve been lucky enough to have eaten and drank my way through Italy a couple of times, and when I’m looking for a taste of Italy here in San Diego, these are my fav Italian restos in town (no passport necessary):

Bice: If you’re looking for a more upscale Italian dining experience, this is the spot for you. Must eat: a sample from their killer cheese and salami bar
Cucina Urbana: Italian food with a fresh, California twist is what sets this apart from the rest. Must eat: stuffed fried squash blossoms
Buona Forcetta: With a pizza oven imported straight from Italy and a staff consisting of mostly Italians, this is as close to the real Italian experience as you’re going to get in San Diego. Must eat: any of their pizzas
Pizza heaven at Buona Forchetta
Alexander’s: I’m a sucker for all-white candlelit restaurants, and if you couple that with some amazing Italian food, you’ve got a winning combo in my book. Must have: baked vodka bolognese
Davanti Enoteca: Rustic comfort food at it’s finest. Must eat: ragu of the day
Polenta so good you’ll want to lick the board it’s served on
Bottega Americano: Although it’s the newest Italian restaurant to pop up in San Diego, chances are it’s probably going to be your favorite. Must eat: lamb osso bucco

Boy’s Baby Shower in San Diego

With my baby boy due next month, I was lucky enough to be showered with so much love at my baby shower last week!! Surrounded by family and friends, I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day and felt so blessed to have the love and support of so many people that are close to me, and I can’t wait for Enzo to arrive next month to meet them all!!

I didn’t want a “theme” for my shower per se, so everything was kept really simple and elegant, with little touches of blue everywhere!

The table decorations were simple and elegant and all the guest got to take home these cute mugs filled with chocolates and a blue Christmas ornament!

Guests were able to choose between a soup and a salad to start with, followed by a variety of entree options which ranged from different pastas, chicken, fish and more, but we all started out with margherita pizzas…my fav!

Why have just one cake when you can have two?? The cake above is the black and white cake from Michele Coulon is a rich and indulgent combo of vanilla and chocolate, while the cake below is the Passion Fruit Ricotta cake from Extraordinary Desserts which is an amazing light option for fruit lovers.