Luce Ends: Aug 21st

My feet hurt.

Things got a lot harder this week—and I'm not just talking about my stomach in general.

I have said this every pregnancy so I feel confident I will be very wrong and this baby will be decidedly average once they arrive, but I’m still going to say it…I think this baby is big. It has to be. Because I feel huge.

We’re not that far out from October (I have stopped saying my real due date 1) because I will not be acknowledging it and already told my doctor I’m showing up with a bag and not leaving a week before that and 2) the anti induction freaks always come out of the wood work and I don’t need to give them more amo regarding when I’m evicting this seemingly massive child) and, while I’m not necessarily overwhelmed, I am…whelmed.

I am aware of the time counting down quickly and slowly. I am aware of it just being me and my girls (and Bill) for a little longer. I am aware of the sleep I barely do get and how I’m going to miss it, the already dwindling time with Bill that is going to become more fleeting before it gets better, my growing DVR that I pretend will get watched during the wee hours of the morning, the pitter patter of Frankie’s feet as she comes to our bed every night and the sadness I feel at teaching her to stop that for her own sanity and the lack of social life I’m fine with while hugely pregnant but will feel stifling come January.

I’m also aware of how much easier this all feels with my mom close. With multiple places to put crib. With family close by and also room for family to come visit. Christmas plans are already taking shape and people want to come to us, the rooms are filling up with furniture and starting to feel like a home. The credit card is back to a much less shocking balance after moving several states. And I’m not juggling my full-time corporate job and stress while counting down the days to being forced to return.

It’s a weird in-between this time around. We’ve done this before, we’ve got somewhat of a handle on two so a third feels…less daunting? But it’s the identity crisis looming that I’m probably watching the closest. It’s not just the individual me that has to evolve anymore, but the mom me. Someone is going to miss out on mom time. I’m going to miss moments. I’m going to have even less moments to myself. I feel insanely confident that this third baby is a missing piece of our puzzle, much more so than when we started trying for a third or even two months ago when we moved her because of it. But I can’t help but mourn the family of four we’ve been the last almost three years. It feels like I didn’t even have that time with Coco to think about what we were missing and I see it so much more with Frankie because she’s older, so I want to be present while also accepting the very real truth that this will be an insanely different ride so I can’t hold any of us to too many expectations.

…..this got pretty sappy for someone with two months left to go. Can’t imagine what those last few posts will look like!

This week’s Luce Ends…

• I’m actually going to miss The Valley?

• Fall Finds (yes, I’m already planning for Halloween and Thanksgiving bc by the time they get here, I WILL BE IN DIAPERS SO DON’T JUDGE ME!)

• Links on Links (but not that many links because I fit into nothinggggg)

Posts you missed this week….

RHUGT Roaring 20s Pyramid Rankings: Ep 2

Peaks and Valleys….and Peaks Again?

This week concludes one of the most depressing and realistic seasons of reality television and, despite all my complaining, I’m actually kind of sad about it?

Ok fine, sad might be the wrong word. It’s not like I can say the season itself was remotely enjoyable (minus Zack hitting his head on that street sign and wearing a bandage to the bars), but somehow I’m left wanting more. Maybe because this reunion is the closest we’ve gotten to saying the quiet part out loud when it comes to Danny/Daniel or maybe because I didn’t really like anyone (besides Zack, Lala, Jasmine and sometimes Schwartz and oddly Lacey?) so it was easy to hate watch and not feel guilty, but either way I will miss this fools and wanted to share some final thoughts on each of them….and if I missed someone? That’s on them.

• Lala: Say what you will, but we would have gotten nothing this season without Lala and certainly nowhere in this reunion. Do I think she projects her experiences with drinking onto Danny? NO I DO NOT. I think she’s been really careful with her words and is being really kind all things considered. I do think we need Scheana here to actually ruffle her feathers a little but all in all—happy to have her.

• Michelle: Michelle had a good season and a blah reunion—I do think she seems angry at Lacey (Jesse I am fine with) and feel like whatever progress she made with the audience this year is a little rocky after this reunion. I’m not saying Lacey is in the right but…I’m not sure Michelle is either.

• Kristen: Mariposa needs to stand up for herself a little. Luke is embarrassing them as a couple. He might be a great dad, I don’t know, but as a partner? He is more angry about her comments regarding Colorado than his own comments concerning her postpartum, MAKE HIM TALK TO A THERAPIST. Hell, make him watch the show back! Kristen wouldn’t stand for this with anyone else so it’s frustrating she is with Luke….and I really don’t know what to think about her obsession with protecting Danny and Nia. I really think she just doesn’t want Janet to be right, but she needs to take a long hard look at this side of the couches and wonder if this is the squad she wants to roll with…

• Luke: Clown. Just a clown. Like all first time parents, I don’t think “being a dad” is what he expected, but unlike many parents, I don’t think he’s willing to evolve. He side stepped Kristen about WWHL….as if she isn’t the star in this relationship?? As if asking him with Kristen wasn’t just a kind gesture from the WWHL execs???His reaction to couples therapy and Kristen in general is infuriating considering he “couldn’t” even watch the season. I think we need to use this as the final nail in the coffin and start fining people for not watching. If you need to protect your mental health from your own behavior, you probably shouldn’t be on the show.

• Danny: Denial Daniel is in full force and I wish him success on the road to realizing he has a problem with alcohol. There no more to be said, this man blamed Jax for his edit. I’m all for blaming Jax for pretty much anything but….come on. What’s really frustrating for me is he has Lala sitting right there as a prime example of, while the network obviously loves when people get drunk and messy, you can still collect your paycheck and not have one sip of alcohol!! The fact that he CAN’T give up drinking for the sake of his job/sanity/marriage, at the very least during filming, is a huge red flag, but, again, denial is afoot and we must let it work itself out.

• Nia: Sighhhhh. I want to root for Nia, but I fear she’s just as far down in the denial as Danny, it’s just sadder because we’ve seen her use her brain in other situations to think rationally. I really do believe Nia’s past and ability to pull herself out of shitty situations and make a beautiful life for herself has created a strong need for control or at least the optics of control. On paper, she has a very secure life—house, family, paychecks, husband—but she can’t acknowledge that Daniel is the wild card who could screw up a lot of that. She can’t control how he acts, especially while on camera and drinking, she can’t control how her texts or defensiveness are perceived, despite trying to course correct every word or thought everyone has…they both have paychecks tied up in their success on this show and one of them needs to start worrying about job security here!! Her very specific defense of asking Jesse not to “encourage” Danny to go to the after party versus not texting him about it….was ridiculous. You don’t trust your husband to make sound decisions when drinking. He was already drunk/tipsy/whatever, it was not about having a night with him. On the flip side, when Lala said she hopes Nia does leave Danny if it’s worse behind closed doors, Nia was the only person who could calmly rationalize what Lala was saying and respond!!! I think everyone wants her to just outright say “he should not be drinking”, but it’s clear she thinks she’s doing the least amount of damage by staying united in the face of the camera, so now her only option is to deflect and protect.

• Brittany: You know what, keep it up, Brit. She’s looking better than ever (post reunion dress from hell) and I just want that sparkle fully back and for her picker to get fixed before she’s scammed again.

• Zack: No notes, just get some furniture.

• Janet: I still find Janet exhausting but it was more exhausting watching Janet and the left side of the couches have to bite their tongues for two hours than anything else. She’s said what she needs to say and I do think she has some moving on to do, but Janet is not the problem here. If Danny and Nia leave, maybe she becomes the problem again, but right now I’m neutral on her right now and I’m happy with that!

• Jasmine and Schwartz: No notes, keep up the good work and side commentary, kids! (Also, Jasmine is right—having kids and being exhausted doesn’t excuse your bad behavior!!!) (Also also, Schwartz….you could step it up a LITTLE. You’re almost as pointless as Jason and he was gone half the season!)

• Jesse: This man is a scammer and might have some sort of Ponzi scheme in his future but I find him to be a great balance for television — I just wish he’d also stop defending Daniels’ sketchy behavior.

• Lacey: I don’t know if I’m coming or going with Lacey, but I do know they brought her out to the couches and never sent her back and that says something. I feel like she’d be an interesting addition to RHOC but I do think these girls need her wacky behavior to work against and she humbles Jesse where Michelle can’t. Do I necessarily believe anything she says? Oddly no. But I don’t mind. There’s some rationalness even behind her nonsense and I can live with her on this cast full time.

• Jason: Respectfully, Jason and his bum leg did absolutely nothing this season and somehow even less at this reunion. You can tell he’s even tired of inserting himself (the entire left couch is) so I sense he will not be giving up his day job anytime soon—not with Adelaide waiting in the wings for his spot!

Fall La La La La WTF Do I Buy

If you know me, you know….I hate Halloween. Which is funny, because now I’m having an October baby and thus feel obligated to lean into the holiday that has haunted me since childhood (I hate NYE more due to it’s overrratedness and pressure, but that’s another story.)

So my fall decor was already lacking. And now, with a baby coming and a new house to decorate, I feel like one of those assholes who spams people in July with fall shit just so they can make a quick buck—THAT is not what THIS is. This is panic. This is stress. This is me wanting to recreate the seen from the most underrated Nora Ephron movie of all time, Hanging Up.

This is one of those “if you know, you know situations” because all I have is this janky screenshot from YouTube to shared, but anywhere….that’s where I’m at!! Mentally!! A janky screenshot and nothing else! I think I threw away my sticky bats from last year!!

So what do people do that isn’t too spooky and too cheesy and certainly not too expensive? The sticky bats and the hanging hats I feel like are a must, but where are we getting ghosts?? Frankie did walk around with a life size skeleton last year but….now I don’t know where he is packed away either.

I’m stressed and worried I'll miss the holiday all together because….well, there’s a baby I still have to plan for. I’m suddenly very behind.

I’m at the stage of “what the actual fuck could I possibly recommend right now that I even enjoy?” I’m so large even Bill’s oversized t-shirts are working overtime. My Nancy Meyers button downs and drawstring shorts are working overtime. I even lost motivation when it came to buying home stuff this week because….as stated, I’m tired.

So anywho, here’s what I have recently bought/been gifted/have been eyeing. It’s a smorgasbord of stuff! Enjoy!

As always, sharing my ShopMy and Amazon pages here and this week’s Luce Ends shown below linked here!

• My Cann code is alive and well and they have a new flavor (I’ll let you know when Bill tries it since I SADLY CANNOT) - code LUCY20 for 20% off

• My big (but packable) makeup back is on sale! Under $20!

• I love this red button down. I love all button downs (thank you, Nancy and Nora) but I think I need a red one.

• These brown pants were a best seller during Abercrombie’s last sale and are on sale again! 30% off!

• This jute-ish Ruggable is AMAZING. We got it for outside, but once we rolled it out and realized how soft it was, we decided to order one for inside too!! Code LUCYO10 for 10% off

• These tennis shoes are very cute

• I’m still on the hunt for sheets and I think I’m just going to go with these Amazon ones again because they really are great and soooo cheap (but why are duvets SO EXPENSIVE??)

• I love this OUAI hair spray—I just ran out and am restocking!

• Hotel Lobby sale ends 8/23!!!! 20% off site wide!!! (also how is August almost over??) Anything New York is worth snagging if it’s not already gone and don’t sleep on the hand soaps!!!

🎙Keke on Amy Poehler was appropriately hyped—honestly, it could have been more hyped!!!

💃I still don’t know if this is true, but the rumor that JULIA STILES will be joining DWTS….as if I wasn’t hyped enough for this season!!!

🍝I just found out there’s something called the “pasta olympics” and I need to know how I can be invited next year!!!!

🎈We’re less than 100 days out from Macy’s 100th Thanksgiving Day Parade and I am so hyped I can barely see straight and Macy’s has announced a slew of returning balloons that will complete their pared this year (I just need to know how we’re topping Busta Rhymes on the Ninja Turtles Float)