We're getting closer to being ready to reveal our baby's gender with all of you! I was hoping Phil and I could find time to make a fun video for the announcement, after we finally make and send out cards to family. But in the meantime, I want to milk all of this not-knowing time for all its worth.

Here's little Phil, just as cute as you suspected he would be as a youngster. I wouldn't mind having a little boy like that, all my own to cuddle and love on. Or a little girl... what do you think? Last time I'll ask! If you want to make your guesses, now's your chance. There will be no prizes for winning guessers, just know that you are awesome if you guess correctly. ;)

The night the hospital nurse told me I could finally eat solid food again in the morning, I literally dreamed about oatmeal. I'm a silly girl, but to me, a heathfully loaded bowl of oats is the perfect, if not craveable, way to start the day. Of course, the oatmeal they brought me in the morning was worthy of only nightmares, but as soon as I came home, my mother made me some oatmeal just the way I like it. Even my no-hot-cereal-eating husband loves this healthy version of oatmeal! "It tasts like apple pie!" His words, not mine. Though I whole-heartedly agree.

The trick to this recipe is cooking the oats with apple in milk instead of water.

I N G R E D I E N T S   F O R   O N E   S E R V I N G :

• 1 Cup of Old Fashioned Oats
• 1 small apple, chopped (I used Gala)
• Cinnamon to taste (I just used probably 1/16 of a teaspoon)
• 3/4 Cup of milk (I used skim, not non dairy milk should work too!)
• Honey to taste

• optional: apple slice for garnish (and eating, of course!)

M E T H O D :

Combine all ingredients except for the honey in a small sauce pan, cooking on low temperature for 5-10 minutes, or until oats get a little mushy. Be sure to stir frequently so the milk doesn't burn and the oats don't stick to the pan. When finished cooking, I usually leave the lid on the pan for a few minutes so everything softens up a tiny bit more.

Pour into your bowl of choice, top with the apple-slice garnish, and drizzle with honey. You'll love the dimension that the cooked apples and cinnamon give to the oats, and I promise, when adding honey to the cooked apples, you won't even miss the sugar!

Jumpers are a favorite wardrobe staple for me, due mainly to their versatility, but also for their little-girl vibe. I swear I'm more inspired by vintage children's fashion than anything. That'll make shopping for baby clothes a breeze, but maternity clothes? Yeah, not so much.

When I found this dress on clearance at ASOS, I knew I had to snatch it up right away. I bought it during my previous pregnancy, and even though that ended before I started showing, I knew this dress would be good for any season. Wear a blouse under it, a sweater or blazer over it, pair it with tights and boots, or go bare-legged with a pair of sandals. Jumpers are amazing.

O U T F I T   D E T A I L S

jumper/dress: ASOS Maternity | shirt: thrifted | socks: past of my high school uniform!
shoes: a now defunct Etsy shop | hat: Wear It Again Patty on Etsy

Today's Fine & Dandy shop update is full of hand-selected vintage items that are dear to my heart. All of these purses are from my own wardrobe, and I've decided to let them go in lieu of the diaper bags and mom purses I will soon be carrying! The shoes are also great- I love the details in each pair! Click the numbers below to see each specific item. (The shoes range from size 5-8.5)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Just when I thought I had depleted Netflix's selection of great classic films, I stumbled on this beautiful gem of a movie, Sons and Lovers from 1960. I didn't think I recognized any of the actors*, but the movie had great reviews, and had won lots of awards in 1961. So I gave it a shot, and I'm so glad I did!

Sons and Lovers is a UK film from my favorite decade in British offerings of cinematography and screenplays. Just as expected from this genre, the screenplay was engaging and meaningful, the subject just a little daring for the time, and each pan of the camera was like a beautiful moving photograph.

Set in the early 20th century, this simple story takes place in a sleepy English mining town, where progressive thinkers like Walter Morel were quite the rarity. While his father and brother worked in the dangerous coal mines, young Walter was encouraged by his affectionate mother to foster his creative talents, and to not settle down with any of the local towngirls who just weren't women enough to eclipse her place in Walter's heart. His mother's own life was a disapointment to her, and Walter loved and pitied her too much to leave her to pursue his own dreams. So off he goes searching for love and the meaning of life with different women, all the while seeking approval from his mother most of all.

While reading about this film, I discovered it was based on a book by the same name. Much like East of Eden, the book and the movie vary especially due to the fact that the movie versions focus more on the younger generation, and their love lives. I didn't miss the whole family history that one could discover from reading the book Sons and Lovers, and as a simple movie viewer who knew nothing of the book, I was able to piece together information about each character's background, based on clues told on the actors' faces and their interactions with eachother. It's not too difficult to speculate what their past must have been like, but it was mysterious enough to give another layer of depth to the storyline.

I read some reviews that remark on the movie's falling short of D.H. Lawrence's novel, which isn't surprising considering its 1 hour 42 minutes run-time. Everyone knows you can't fit the meat of a novel into the timeframe of a movie. And this one seems to have done a good job at focusing on one aspect of the story, and really drawing in the viewer. And judging by Sons and Lovers' awards sweep in 1961, apparently the Academy agreed with me.

*I did recognize Walter's mother (seen in image two, looking towards the sky) immediately as Wendy Hiller, an actress I enjoyed in Murder on the Orient Express, and came to adore in my childhood favorite, Anne of Green Gables, as Diana Barry's feared Great Aunt.

I've been fielding the questions left and right. Even all of the garage salers were speculating as to whether my bump was harboring a boy or a girl. Last night my friends drew sketches of the kind of baby they thought was growing inside. And there was a while there where all I could do myself is wonder- Boy or girl? Now that we know the answer, I can't help but lord it over everyone for a week before all of our family finds out. So what do you think? Bambino, or bambina?

I also wonder if the baby will look like me or Phil. Or a morph of both of us? We were looking through our baby pictures wondering and telling each other that we want our baby to look like the other. On our next trip down memory lane, I'll share you the to-die-for pictures of baby Phil! (I can tell you are so excited.)