2023 Black Friday sales to shop

November 23, 2023

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Here’s a comprehensive list of the best Cyber Week sales of 2023.

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Easy, everyday outfits: no. 1

September 25, 2023

I’m back on the blog with easy outfits for early fall!

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What I Wore: Oct. 11 – 18

October 19, 2022

The weather is cooling down and the outfits are heating up. Here’s what I wore last week.

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Life Event – Skirt The Rules | NYC Style Blogger http://skirttherulesblog.com NYC Style Blogger Mon, 08 Mar 2021 03:31:52 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 My First Trimester Recap http://skirttherulesblog.com/2021/03/10/my-first-trimester-recap/ http://skirttherulesblog.com/2021/03/10/my-first-trimester-recap/#comments Wed, 10 Mar 2021 12:00:00 +0000 http://skirttherulesblog.com/?p=20464

Sharing my symptoms, cravings and overall thoughts during my first trimester!

Man, it feels like it’s already been ages since my first trimester. Granted, I’m writing this while on the cusp of my third trimester, but hey – better late than never!

*We took a pregnancy test in the morning, then flew to Arizona* a few hours later.

Excitement first, then exhaustion

While I was hoping that it wouldn’t take too long to get pregnant, I was also somewhat expecting that it wouldn’t happen as quickly as it did! We started trying in late July/early August. By September, I was knocked up! I felt both equally blessed and bewildered!

But really, we were over the moon and couldn’t wait to share the news with our family and friends. Coincidentally, the same day that we took a pregnancy test, we had plans to fly out to Arizona to spend time with our siblings for the week. We kept the big news quiet for the most part, but told James’ brother and his wife since we were staying with them for the week. Before becoming pregnant, our favorite pastime was drinking (a lot) together, so it would’ve been impossible to avoid without telling them!

By the time we got back to New York, I was technically four weeks pregnant and all of sudden, it felt like I was hit with a wall of bricks. I can remember it as probably the crappiest day I’ve felt in this pregnancy, but I’m thankful that it wasn’t anything that spending a whole day in bed couldn’t fix.

*Four weeks into my pregnancy and it felt like I was hit by a wall of bricks.*

Learning to take things slow and steady

The lower-than-normal energy levels carried with me through the rest of my first trimester. It was probably the toughest adjustment I’ve had to make to my life so far (harder than saying goodbye to alcohol and sushi – both of which I love dearly!). Pre-pregnancy and especially pre-pandemic, I moved 100 mph, had 50 windows open on my desktop at all times and didn’t like to waste a single minute of my time.

I spent the first couple of months of pregnancy having to rewire how I approached life – to take things slower and to not beat myself up if I didn’t check everything off of my to do list. And on the days that my day was a complete wash, I reminded myself that of all the things I didn’t do, I still kept busy building a baby!

*The only thing I wanted to eat during my first trimester was carbs, carbs and more CARBS.*

Food just didn’t egg-cite me anymore

When I found out that I was with child, my search history quickly became flooded with questions like: “Can I eat ________ while pregnant?” Turns out, about a month into my pregnancy, my stomach and my appetite would turn upside down.

I feel lucky that I never had any intense cases of morning sickness. Maybe some light nausea here and there, but for the most part, my first trimester symptoms manifested itself in exhaustion and food aversions. Nothing sounded good anymore. Pre-pregnancy, I would eat eggs nearly every day but the thought of a gooey yolk made me want to hurl. Same with salmon. It made meal planning really difficult, because I would never know what I’d be in the mood for until it was time to eat, and even then I would only want carbs (bagels, cinnamon raisin toast and cheese puffs to be specific).

At one point, I had trouble even taking my prenatal vitamins every day because they made me queasy. I ended up switching to gummy prenatals, which I know are not as effective as a capsule, but hey – whatever works. I tried ginger chews to help curb some of my stomach issues, but really didn’t love the taste.

So by the time I had my first OBGYN appointment at eight weeks, I had already gained a bit of weight from unhealthy eating. My doctor suggested that I try eating pears when I felt nauseous or not in the mood to eat and it actually helped! It was crunchy, light, refreshing and not too sweet – just the right balance to settle my stomach and get my appetite going again. It still crave and enjoy a crisp pear now, and always keep a few on hand.

*My first ultrasound at eight weeks – such a surreal moment!*

All in all, I’d say I had a fairly mild first trimester. It was a learning curve for sure – learning the do’s and don’ts of keeping my baby healthy and safe (I found Expecting Better to be a really insightful book!), sharing the big news with our family and friends and finally starting to see my bump go from food baby to real baby! Have any pregnancy questions that you’d like me to cover? Feel free to email me at jen@skirttherulesblog.com or DM me on Instagram!

]]> http://skirttherulesblog.com/2021/03/10/my-first-trimester-recap/feed/ 3 Celebrating 5 Years of Living in New York City http://skirttherulesblog.com/2017/08/28/celebrating-5-years-of-living-in-new-york-city/ http://skirttherulesblog.com/2017/08/28/celebrating-5-years-of-living-in-new-york-city/#comments Mon, 28 Aug 2017 09:00:17 +0000 http://skirttherulesblog.com/?p=15343 Navy New York Sweatshirt

New York Sweatshirt (only $49!) / Ripped Jeans (plus another option here) / Chloe ‘Marcie’ Crossbody Bag / Daniel Wellington Watch (c/o) / Leopard Flats

Five years ago today, I moved to New York with two oversized suitcases and no job. I said goodbye to my then-boyfriend, now-husband behind while he finished his last semester of grad school in Arizona and moved in with a random Craigslist roommate for two months. After a month and a half of unemployment, I landed a job in marketing and communications – also from a Craigslist ad. Two months later, Hurricane Sandy rolled through and our apartment was without power for ten days (to give you a perspective of how much that sucked – I lived on the 17^th floor and there was no way to get up except by climbing the stairs). In the first few months of living in New York, I wondered how long I could actually last here.

New York Navy Sweatshirt

Fast forward to present day and NYC feels more like home than Arizona ever did. The longer that we stay here, the harder it is to imagine living anywhere else. There’s something about walking out your door and knowing that the entire city is basically your backyard. Even though the city will run your funds dry, New York has afforded me so many incredible opportunities – best in class food and drinks, incredible friends, and two amazing careers … just to name a few. To celebrate living in NYC for half a decade, I thought I’d share so my favorite memories, experiences and insights of my home sweet home.

What I Love About Living in NYC: Never Being Bored
If there’s one thing I can guarantee about living in New York, it’s that you’ll never run out of things to do or places to eat and drink. When people ask me what my favorite restaurant in the city is, I struggle to give an answer because we rarely go to the same restaurant twice. We living in walking distant of the East Village, which is where we spend most of our time on weekends, but I there’s just so much more to explore. Brooklyn and Astoria are on my list of places to really get to know.

What I Hate About Living in NYC: Being Far Away from Family & Friends
There’s a lot to hate about NYC (lack of space, cost of living, a variety of rodents), but this one’s the hardest to deal with. As much as New York feels like home, it’s not easy being on the other side of the country from friends and family. I went from seeing them every day to a handful of times a year – if I’m lucky. It’s one of my goals to be better at maintaining long-distance friendships.

Favorite Spot in NYC: Flatiron
I might be a little biased, but Flatiron is one of my favorite neighborhoods. You’ve got the original Shake Shack in Madison Square Park, all the Italian food imports that you could ever need at Eataly and plenty of shopping options on Fifth Avenue. My favorite spot is the public sitting area on Broadway, between 23rd and 25th Streets. From this vantage point, you can see the Flatiron building to the south, and the Empire State Building and the buzzing glow of Times Square to the north.

Favorite Hidden Gem: Conservatory Gardens
I kind of debated whether I should even share this hidden gem, because I love going up there to shoot outfit photos or see rows of cherry blossoms without to battle crazy crowds. It’s a small oasis tucked into the northeast corner of Central Park. Here, you’ll find rows and rows of the brightest blooms, artists quietly capturing the landscape on canvas and on occasion, an intimate wedding complete with their very own string quartet (true story).

Least Favorite Spot in NYC: Times Square
Okay yes, everyone should see Times Square lit up at night at least once in their lives. But let it be known — Times Square is nothing like the rest of New York. It’s full of big name chains and ridiculous peddlers like the Naked Cowboy. My last job was headquartered right at the bottom of Times Square and every day I would see Elmos, Minions and Hello Kitty’s with their heads off, smoking a cigarette or taking a phone call. It was terrifying sight that I hope you never have to see.

First Place I Ever Ate in NYC: Nicoletta
I will never forget my first night in New York – five years ago today. I dropped off my luggage at my new subletted apartment and met up with two college friends. We walked aimlessly down Second Avenue until we found a cute little pizza place in the East Village. When James moved to NYC, I brought him there. I introduce my friends to the little corner spot whenever they have a hankering for pizza. Now, every year around my New York anniversary, James and I visit Nicoletta as a little tradition. (Fun fact: his first meal was Thai food delivered, so that’s what we get around his anniversary in January).

The One Thing on My NYC Bucket List: Be in the Audience of Saturday Night Live
As I mentioned earlier, there’s a lot on my to-do list in terms of eating, drinking and exploring my way through New York. But there’s only one major thing on my bucket list that seems nearly impossible to achieve: going to a filming of Saturday Night Live and watching it live – literally! I grew up on SNL, during the days of Will Ferrell. Cheri O’Terri, Molly Shannon, Tim Meadows and the like. It’s still a weekend ritual for James and I to watch whenever we stay in for the night (which is more often than not these days!). The only way to get tickets is to enter a lottery every August and hope they pick your name. Fingers crossed this year is the year!

Fall Style / New York Graphic Sweatshirt & Ripped Jeans

Cheers to five years in New York City – I can’t wait to see what adventures await! If you have any questions about living or visiting NYC, let me know in the comments section below (or fill out this quick survey). It’ll help me come up with content just for you!

Get the Look:

New York Sweatshirt (only $49!) / Ripped Jeans (plus another option here) / Chloe ‘Marcie’ Crossbody Bag / Daniel Wellington Watch (c/o) / Leopard Flats

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