busy weekend = sleepy monday

happy monday everyone!

we had an extremely eventful weekend, so we are equal parts tired and happy we got so much done.

saturday was my company's annual boat party. every year in july, we rent out a double-decker boat and have a day-long party on lake norman. needless to say, this year was a little different than usual given that my 3rd trimester actually started on saturday, but it was still really fun! it rained off and on, and was sort of chilly, so i didn't even have to break out the maternity bathing suit. it was a really relaxing and fun day. it's funny how sitting around and talking for 8 hours can wear you out though...michael and i left the boat at 5:00, got food on the way home, and were passed out on the couch at 7:30.

yesterday we went to church, went grocery shopping, and ate lunch out before we started some major work around the house. i cleaned, did laundry, and got stuff together for goodwill while michael mowed, pressure washed the house and fence, and put down new mulch around the house. then we pruned bushes, made a trip to lowe's and the auto parts store, and finally sat down to relax for dinner. i don't know where our huge burst of energy came from, but it was awesome! it wasn't the day of rest that we should have on a sunday, but it was a great day nonetheless.

[side note: i also discovered my new favorite outfit yesterday. i ordered some maternity leggings from old navy and just got them in the mail this weekend. those, plus a tshirt of michael's (since my lounging around shirts are officially too small) will be my standard outfit at home from now until october.]

now that the boat party is over, we have a lot of fun events coming up to look forward to! this weekend is our first baby shower, which will be at our house, and we're so excited to have our friends come over to celebrate ellie! courtney and harris are even coming in from norfolk for the weekend, which will be so much fun, especially given their recent baby news! i have a feeling there will be some serious dad-to-be conversations between our 2 dudes.

michael is wrapping up summer school and only has a couple of weeks left, so he will be getting a week off soon to relax and get ready for another full year! i'm so proud of him and how great of a student he is-hopefully ellie inherits his work ethic and math brain!

august is going to be really busy for us, in fun ways of course! we're taking maternity pictures in about 3 weeks, and we have several classes scheduled next month at the hospital where i'll deliver. we also have a baby shower at home and at work in august. we feel very blessed to be showered with so much love!

to wrap up this little life update, here's a picture of our youngest but biggest dog kona, who smiles all day long. this is a snapchat that michael sent last week. i think kona is going to make the best pony for ellie! anyone know where i can get a dog saddle?

diy crib mobile

happy hump day everyone!

if you follow me on instagram, you've already seen the final product of my diy crib mobile project. i'm really not a fan of any of the mobiles that i've found in stores or online. they're all just a little cartoony and kitschy for my taste, so i decided to make my own!

i had 2 inspiration pictures that i pinned on pinterest awhile back that i used as my guide:

from the glittered barn etsy shop

this one is from a blog that provided the instructions i used

making this mobile was SO easy! the hardest part was picking out the ribbons (as my bff can attest to, who thankfully was with me when i made the trip to hobby lobby for supplies).

all you need is:

• embroidery hoop (i used a 12" size)
• spray paint (if you want! you could also just keep the hoop its natural color)
• assorted ribbons, cut into varying lengths
• hot glue
• twine or some other hanging material

step 1: spray paint your embroidery hoop (if you choose to!). i used krylon's brushed metallic champagne nouveau with a valspar clear sealer top coat.

step 2: lay out your ribbons and figure out the pattern before you get started gluing. i actually ran out of a couple of types of ribbon and had to change up my pattern 3/4 of the way through, but thankfully you can't tell at all! try to have a plan, but if it doesn't work out it's no big deal.

step 3: start gluing! you want to separate your embroidery hoop and glue the ribbons to the inside of the large hoop. try to glue them so that there's no (or very little) excess sticking out on top.

step 4: once all of the ribbons are in place, put the small hoop back together with the large one and cut off any excess ribbon at the top. tie your twine in 3 places around the hoop for hanging. stand back and admire your super cute and easy diy mobile. :) then ask your handy husband how to hang it...

my favorite veggie side

main dishes get most of the recipe love on this blog, but there's one really simple side that we eat a lot, and we both really love: baked zucchini with mozzarella.

i think i originally got this idea from pinterest/another blog awhile back, but the recipe is from memory at this point!

you will need:

• zucchini (duh)...decide how much you want based on the size of the zucchini in your store and how many people are eating. usually i just get one for each of us.
• seasoning salt (we usually use lawry's or garlic salt. you could also just mix plain table salt with any seasoning you like!)
• shredded mozzarella

1. preheat your oven to 350.

2. wash and slice zucchini into rings, about 1/2" wide.

3. line a baking sheet with tin foil, and place the zucchini slices on it in a single layer.

4. sprinkle each zucchini with seasoning salt. 

5. bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes.

6. remove from the oven and sprinkle mozzarella on each zucchini. put back in the oven and bake until cheese is melted (about 5 more minutes). 

this recipe is simple, fast, and pretty healthy, so it makes its way into our rotation often. 

hope you enjoy!

salsa chicken tacos & mexican corn

we had such a great dinner a few days ago that was so easy i just had to share!

[actually michael cooked this whole dinner himself, but he vouched for how easy it was! i figure the meal planner/recipe finder can still take some credit, right??]

crockpot salsa chicken (original recipe from recipe-diaries.com)

3 frozen chicken breasts

1 16-oz jar salsa

1 package taco seasoning

1. dump everything in the crockpot and cook on low for 5-6 hours.

2. shred.

3. (yep, that's it!)

we then took the shredded chicken and put it in hard taco shells with some cheese and jalapenos to make some pretty awesome tacos!

picture courtesy of recipe-diaries.com

mexican corn (original recipe from iwashyoudry.com)

3 ears of corn, shucked and cleaned

1/2 tbsp. mayonnaise

1 tbsp. sour cream (we used greek yogurt instead)

1/4 cup shredded parmesan

1/2 tsp. chili powder

salt & pepper

1. heat grill over medium heat and spray rack with non-stick cooking spray.

2. grill corn, turning frequently, until slightly browned and heated through (roughly 10 minutes).

3. meanwhile, combine mayo and sour cream/greek yogurt in a small bowl.

4. in a separate bowl, combine chili powder, salt and pepper.

5. slather hot grilled corn with mayo mixture, then sprinkle on the chili powder mix. coat in parmesan cheese.

[you can top with cilantro if you like, but we're not huge fans!]

picture courtesy of iwashyoudry.com

enjoy!!

ellie belly update : 23.5 weeks

hey everyone!

i don't know about you, but summer already seems to be flying by. i know summer didn't officially start until a few days ago, but to me it's summer when memorial day comes and goes. i always start panicking by this time of the year that i'm not doing enough to take advantage of these long summer days!

while this is not a pregnancy blog and i don't intend it to be one, i do read a lot of blogs that do weekly updates with questions that they ask themselves to keep track of how they feel and what's going on each week. i haven't done this before and i may not do it again, but i thought it might be fun to keep track of the somewhat-midpoint of this pregnancy with a little dedicated blog post.

let's give this a go!

baby ellie is 57.5% baked :)

michael and i have been taking weekly pictures like the one above since the 9-week mark. this one was taken last saturday. it is so funny to flip them through them all and see how i've changed! i don't typically share them (other than with my mom and bff), so this may be the only one you get! enjoy :)

how far along?: 23 weeks and 4 days

maternity clothes: oh yeah. the dress i'm wearing in this picture isn't maternity, but it's really loose and forgiving so it's perfect right now! if i wear jeans, i'm wearing maternity jeans. i've tried a couple of days lately with my regular jeans and bella band, but there's just no comparison in the comfort level, especially for a full day at work. i can still wear a lot of my regular shirts that were loose-fitting originally, but i'm working in a good amount of maternity shirts too. i also bought my first maternity bathing suit! talk about a weird experience...

stretch marks: nope! i've been using palmer's belly butter every morning and coconut oil every night to try to keep those away. thankfully i hear they're mostly genetic, and my mom was able to avoid them during both of her pregnancies, so let's hope i do the same!

sleep: still good! i've been waking up more often for bathroom breaks, but i fall right back to sleep. i have been waking up about 20 minutes before my alarm goes off in the past week or 2, but that's not really unusual for me. i do use an extra pillow, but that's the only thing i've changed.

best moment this week: michael put the crib together and hung curtains in the nursery last friday, which was so exciting! my parents visited us on saturday and bought us what we needed to finish up the crib: mattress, mattress pad, sheets, blanket, crib skirt, bumpers, etc. it was so fun! the crib is so precious and i love it.

miss anything?: i miss sleeping on my stomach every once in awhile, and getting out of a low car without thinking twice. i didn't realize how much my balance was already affected until this past week when i almost fell out of our altima onto the sidewalk in front of our house. and yes, a neighbor was watching. :)

movement: all the time! she's most active in the morning, around 4-5pm, and when i get in bed at night. we're having so much fun feeling (and sometimes watching) her move!

food cravings: i haven't really had any cravings to speak of. i've wanted a lot of things, but i've been able to live without them, so i don't think that really qualifies. :) in the first trimester i wanted a lot of carb-y stuff like sandwiches and crackers, as well as my intense need for laffy taffy. i've always liked laffy taffy though, so i don't know if it was necessarily a craving or something i just really wanted! i'm still not craving anything, but cold things sound so good all the time (ice cream, italian ice, cold water, cantaloupe that's been in the fridge, cucumbers...i could go on). last night i couldn't stop thinking about ice cream so we went to dairy queen and i had a confetti cake blizzard...you outdid yourself with that one, dq.

anything making you queasy/sick: nope! i've been really lucky on that front too. i was pretty nauseous when i got hungry during the first trimester, but since about 12 weeks i've been feeling normal. 

exercise: still steady! i've been doing the tracy anderson pregnancy project video at least 3-4 times a week, and michael and i take the dogs for walks at night pretty often. feeling good about my exercise so far!

gender: girly girl :)

symptoms: my back will hurt randomly after a long day, and i have had a few days of swollen feet after especially active days at work, but that's about it. 

wedding rings on or off: thankfully on! i imagine this might become an issue later on, especially in the heat of july and august, but as of right now i can't tell any difference in how they fit.

looking forward to: our next major nursery purchase, the glider! we already picked out the one we want, so it will be exciting when we order it and add it to the growing furniture collection. also looking forward to my next doctor's appointment in july, even though it will include the glucose test that i've heard so many stories about!

crockpot chicken & stuffing

happy the-week-is-halfway-over wednesday! as soon as summer rolls around and i know it's warm and sunny outside, my work week countdown goes into serious mode.

today i'm sharing a not-so-summery meal, but it's SO good. i mean, i could probably eat an entire crockpot full of it.

crockpot meals don't scream "summer", but they're really convenient all year round. they don't make your house hotter like an oven tends to do sometimes, and i enjoy the smell of food cooking all day regardless of the time of year. this meal in particular is especially fall-ish due to the stuffing, but i personally think stuffing is under-used and should be eaten way more often than just at thanksgiving!

as usual, i found this recipe on pinterest. it's originally from i save a 2 z. 

crockpot chicken & stuffing

• 4 chicken breasts (recipe calls for defrosted but you can really use frozen chicken too. we did, and we just accounted for the water that would come from the frozen chicken when the recipe calls for extra water in step 6)
• 2 small cans cream of chicken soup (lite if you can find it!)
• 2 boxes of stuffing mix
• 1 cup sour cream (again, lite if possible)
• 1 small package frozen green beans

1. spray your crockpot with cooking spray.

2. put chicken breasts in the bottom of the crockpot.

3. pour the dry stuffing mix over the chicken.

4. in a separate bowl, mix together the soup and sour cream. put this mixture over the dry stuffing.

5. add the frozen green beans as the last layer. (my smart hubby, who is the one who actually made this meal, waited until everything was about halfway cooked to add the green beans. that way they didn't get soggy.)

6. add about 1 cup of water to the top of the mixture. (this is where we accounted for a little extra water that might come from our frozen chicken. we only added about 3/4 cup)

7. cook on high for 4 hours or low for 7-8 hours.

here's a picture of the finished product courtesy of i save a 2 z:

this meal smells amazing, tastes even better, is super easy, and is pretty cost-conscious. win-win-win-win.

enjoy!

highlights (and a few lowlights) from our euro trip

we made it back! our trip to europe was wonderful...so much fun, full of adventures, and lots of quality time with my man. as always though, it's so nice to be home and back with our puppies.

here are my favorite (and a few least favorite) things from our trip:

paris

paris was cool! i really think i set myself up for disappointment in paris because i had such high expectations. i just thought it would be a romantic wonderland of beautiful sparkly things (i know...i know). needless to say, it wasn't, but we did have a really good time there!

our hotel in paris was the smallest of the trip, but it was in a good, walkable location in a safe neighborhood. 

we decided to use subways as much as possible during the trip to save on cab fares, and i'm so glad we did! we ended up using the subways in paris, london, and rome, and they were all good experiences. SO much cheaper than taking cabs everywhere, and it's so fun to ride along with locals and listen to them talk.

one of my least favorite things about paris was the amount of homeless people (and dogs). there were homeless people everyyyywhere, and 80% of them had dogs with them. while i'm glad they take care of the dogs and all the dogs we saw had food and beds, it still made me so sad!

we took a hop-on, hop-off bus tour in paris and i recommend it! we used l'open tour, and it took us to all of the major sights (the louvre, notre dame, the champs-elysees, arc de triomphe, eiffel tower, etc.). we did the tour the first day we were in town, because we landed at 7 am and couldn't check into our hotel room until about 3. we dropped off our luggage then went on the tour in an attempt to stay awake. we almost made it all day before finally succumbing to naptime.

my single favorite moment in paris was having dinner in the eiffel tower. there's a restaurant on the first floor of the tower that serves 3-course meals and is so romantic and beautiful! our dinner reservation was at 9, so we were inside the tower when it started lighting up and twinkling. the food was good, and it was such a memorable moment for us that i'm glad we were able to do.

notre dame..so beautiful, inside and out

laduree for macarons...such a beautiful store,
and amazing sweet treats

celebrated both 20 and 21 weeks while gone...you
have no idea how long it took us to find a 20 that i liked!

favorite moment in paris...dinner in the eiffel tower

london

london used to be my favorite city in the world (so far), and after our trip, it's still my favorite city in the world (so far). i realize i may visit somewhere in the future that trumps it, but as of now it's at the top of my list! it's just so clean (for a major city), i love british accents, and i'm a sucker for the monarchy. i love seeing crowns, royal parks, etc. everywhere..just so different and fun.

we did another bus tour in london since there's SO much to see and it's fairly spread out. we used the original london sightseeing tour and loved it! we made a huge loop of the city and saw all of the sights we wanted to. the bus tour also included free tickets for a thames river boat tour, so we took advantage of that halfway through our main sightseeing day. it was nice to sit and cruise down the river while still seeing some cool sights.

our hotel in london was fabulous! we stayed at the kensington hotel, and, while the room was a little smaller than we're used to, it was beautiful. the staff was awesome, and it was in a great location. we were only about a 5 minute walk from the nearest subway station, which took us everywhere we wanted to go in less than 15 minutes.

we also can say we (sort of) saw the queen! when we visited buckingham palace, we were out front by the queen victoria memorial statue and saw some commotion over by the road. the queen was leaving in her motorcade! we didn't really see her (or much of anything really), but it's fun to say we were there!

ellie's gift from the trip-the cutest onesie
covered in pink crowns!

my handsome husband in front of big ben

a police officer stopped us from walking down this one particular
sidewalk and when we asked, he said there was a parade coming!
trooping the colour was a few days away, and the parade was part of the
festivities kicking off the event. so fun!

venice

i'm so glad we went to venice on this trip! we didn't really know for sure what the 4th city we visited should be, and venice was sort of a random choice, but it was the perfect 3rd stop! 

i know it's sort of obvious that you have to take boats to get around in venice, but for some reason i was still so surprised when we got off the plane at the airport and had to book a boat instead of a taxi to our hotel. it was so fun though! pulling up to venice and starting to navigate the canals on the way to our hotel is one of my favorite memories from the trip.

our hotel in venice was awesome! we stayed at the aqua palace, which was in a great location, about a 5 minute walk from st. mark's basilica. it was right on a canal, and we had a first-floor room with windows opening out over the canal. it was so nice to sit in our room with the windows open and watch the gondolas go by.

we didn't do a gondola ride ourselves while in venice, for a few reasons. one, the whole gondola deal looked a lot cheaper and more touristy in person than i thought it would. i had grand ideas of secluded, romantic gondola rides with singing italian men in striped shirts, but really the only accurate thing about that dream was the italian man in the striped shirt. i only heard a couple sing, and there were so many gondola stands trying to get you to pay them for a ride. it was also pretty expensive for a ride at/after sunset, which is when we would've wanted to do it, so we opted out. i don't feel like i missed anything!

the pizza in venice was awesome, and we had a really good time just sitting at the outdoor cafes talking to people and watching crowds walk by. there's not a whole lot to see in venice like there is in the other places we visited, so it was nice to take some time to just sit, relax, and binge eat gelato. :)

pizza! 

boating

michael hates this picture of himself but i love it. this is a little
stoop at our hotel where they had stools and tables for you to just
sit and watch what was going on in the canal. so nice!

rome

rome was the most difficult city to navigate for me. first of all, it was about 95 degrees both days we were there, and more than half of the establishments in rome don't have air conditioning. secondly, all of the sights we wanted to see were fairly spread out, and not necessarily on a subway line, so it was harder to figure out whether to walk or take a cab to each. finally, being 21 weeks pregnant, i needed pretty frequent bathroom breaks. rome was the least convenient place to find a bathroom on the whole trip. not a huge deal normally, but to pregnant me trying to stay hydrated, it was annoying.

all that being said, the history nerd in me LOVED the sights in rome! it is amazing to see things that were built in 100 a.d. it's hard to even wrap my head around dates like that.

visiting the vatican and doing the guided tour of the vatican museums and st. peter's basilica was probably the highlight of the rome leg of the trip. we reserved the tour in advance through dark rome tours, and they were great! we had a group of about 15 people, and each of us had headsets so we could hear our tour guide talking. she was really knowledgeable about all of the art and history of the vatican museums, so we learned a lot from her.

since we had advance tickets, we were able to skip the mile-long line of hot, tired, and somewhat angry people that were already lined up at 9:30 am. if you go to the vatican, get your tickets in advance! it would be crazy to wait til the day of and waste time in that line.

st. peter's basilica was huge and beautiful, pretty similar to what i expected. we toured the underground grottos too, to see some tombs of past popes. we saw st. peter's tomb and the pieta, which was beautiful. 

i'm not a big fan of art in general, but the art i saw at the vatican was just overwhelming! to see paintings, sculptures, and architecture by raphael, da vinci, and michelangelo all in one place was pretty amazing. unfortunately you can't take pictures in the sistine chapel, but seeing the humongous last judgment painting by michelangelo in person was incredible.

inside the colosseum

outside of st. peter's

pieta

overall, we had a fabulous time and are so happy that we decided to do this trip! we saw a lot of people struggling with kids, strollers, etc., and we're really glad we did this trip before we have kids to either haul with us or leave behind. it was a perfect babymoon, and we are all adventured-out for quite awhile. i have a feeling our next few vacations will be of the all-inclusive beach variety. :) courtney-here's looking at you and harris for a joint vacay!

also, by way of baby ellie updates, she is now moving and kicking like crazy! my belly grew noticeably while we were gone, and i got several comments from strangers while on our trip. i also got offered a subway seat which was a fun, stereotypically pregnant experience :) it's so nice to be able to feel her move-it makes things seem so much more real!

now that the trip is over, we're in full-time nesting mode. nursery updates and a diy or 2 coming soon!