Vintage Plaid Skirt and Striped Bolero

This past week, I have been feeling morning sickness unlike the sickness I felt with Asa. It lasts all day, from the moment I emerge from beneath my covers, sloth-like and groaning in the morning light, to the hour I re-enter the dark cave of sleep and bliss. Frustratingly, I cannot stand the smells and flavors of food; the pungent herbal aroma of chicken gravy, the so-strong-you-can-taste-it invasion of garlic, the bold red meatiness of ground beef… I can’t stand any of it. I am left with very few options: fruits, bland vegetables, bare sauces with no spices to speak of, and a craving for plain potato chips and dully-flavored Ramen noodles.

It’s been the death of my Whole30, unfortunately, but had I planned a little better I would have known to avoid these weeks when I knew that my stomach would revolt to some degree. With Asa, I was not this picky; I remember eating a lot of tomato-based foods — spaghetti, canned Ravioli, spaghetti-O’s, tomato soup — and a lot of red meats, but other than hating the smell of peanut butter and bread, I don’t remember being so adverse to all foods with any sort of aroma whatsoever. But this will be the worst of it. I know in a few weeks, my stomach and my senses will return to normal and perhaps begin to crave real food again. Or so I hope. I don’t know how long I can subsist on fruits and plain noodles alone.

Today, thankfully, has been better. I have a theory, which will probably remain unproven, that the better-ness of today has to do with my coffee consumption, which I had ceased this past week due to the revolting of my stomach. I had assumed that the strength of coffee would only worsen the revolt. But today, I decided coffee might be nice. And today, I felt sick only to the point I drank the coffee. Coincidence? Miracle? A fabrication of my coffee-loving mind?

Whatever the case, if this strange antidote continues to work, I will not argue. I’m not afraid of a cup or two of caffeine during pregnancy; far from it, studies show that two cups a day, which is the recommended dose for any healthy human, is just as safe for a pregnant woman. Time will tell.

Because of the week’s queasiness, today is the first time I’ve dressed myself in anything other than pajama pants and a shapeless tee. I was set to do a review of Hollow City today, but when I put on the dress I had chosen to mimic the girl on the cover, I felt so incredibly shapeless that I realized I haven’t felt beautiful in a while. So, I skipped doing the book review today in favor of my favorite skirt and this unique vintage bolero that I’ve had for some time but never, ever worn. It’s cut a bit shorter than your usual cropped garment, and I find that it wars with most of my waistlines.

Pregnancy, though, has a way of evening those things out. My skirts sit higher to make room for this growing belly (I cannot believe how much I’m showing already. I’ve heard it said that each subsequent baby shows sooner and sooner, but I didn’t expect this.), and the season of empire waists in my life has come.

Shoes, vintage skirt, and vintage bolero, thrifted | gray undershirt, Target | white camisole, Fred Meyer

I hope you are all enjoying the last day of your week! Happy Friday!