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Two Years

September 4, 2013

Today is our two year wedding anniversary (!!!) and I cannot believe how much has happened the past couple of years. We’ve been together for 4 1/2 years total and it feels like a lifetime with all that we’ve experienced. I cannot imagine spending my life with anyone else. It truly is the best feeling to go through life with your best friend sharing every moment with you. This past year raising a child has defintely been the most challening but I feel that we have grown closer through the ups and downs and it makes life that much sweeter. I am so grateful to God for giving us to each other and excited for many more years together!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from our wedding day <3

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Let’s Talk About Fall Y’all

September 3, 2013

If you are a fellow Georgian like myself, you are probably over this shit weather we have had all summer. You know, the kind that rains every single day for weeks straight and then has a blanket of humidity that wraps itself around you as soon as you step outside. If you know me in real life, you hear me complain about this in nearly every conversation we have. (sorry!) But seriously, I am ready for Fall to be here. It’s my favorite time of year … the crisp air, scarves, long sleeves, football, apple cider, Halloween, pumpkins, warm colors, Starbucks drinks, etc. I have to stop myself or this list would keep on going. We even had pumpkin pancakes TWICE bed this weekend at 10pm. Don’t judge, they were amazing. I have been ordering the Carmel Apple Spice from Starbucks for weeks and wearing a jacket whenever I feel any sort of breeze. Henry has gotten into the fall spirit too by only eating the Pumpkin, Cranberry & Apple Earth’s Best Pouch. I tried some and I have to admit I see his point. Every store I go into already has their Fall, Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations up and I am itching to start decorating.

{Pumpkin Pancakes as Friday/Sunday night 4th meal}

{jacket and a caramel apple spice}

{Henry’s favorite fall pouch}

Speaking of Fall and Football, last weekend we had our NFL Fantasy Draft party! This year is my first year playing fantasy and after years of watching The League and The Falcons, I think I am ready (and my husband has taught me well). We have an awesome fantasy league with fun people and are so grateful to our friends for hosting and organizing. I cannot wait for game days this fall with the babies and friendly competition. I think we all wound up having decent teams and although I didn’t get all of my first picks, I still have a well rounded line up that includes Tony Gonzalez, Colin Kaepernick, Ray Rice, Steve Smith and Mike Nugent to name a few.

{leave it to my kid to be eating straight outta the cheese puff tub}

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend! 3 day weekends are the best aren’t they?

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Five Things Friday – Hoop Art

August 30, 2013

I have been a fan of hoop art ever since my best friend gave me the one below (left) for a housewarming gift after my husband and I moved into our forever home. Since then I have been collecting them and dream of having a hoop art collection above a little reading nook. I feel like I could read a book a day if I had a space like that. Oh and no job, no husband and no baby. So that wouldn’t work. However the hoop art above the crib is something that could probably be in my future. Another friend of mine is (hopefully) going to start making custom name hoops with cute bunting. I am dying to get one for Henry because she is so talented and they look amazing. I also couldn’t narrow it down to just 5 favorites this week so I added an extra (and that was even hard). Do you guys have any that you love to add to the list?

{image of nursery via pinterest}

1. Bunting with Custom Name – $30

2. Blessed (can be made custom) – $175

3. Dream Big – $11

4. Home Is Wherever I’m With You – $42

5. Silhouette – $18

6. Wonderful Love – $38

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{Henry’s} Life Lately

August 27, 2013

This has probably been our busiest summer to date. Not a weekend goes by that we don’t have something planned. I have been so fortunate to be apart of a wonderful mommy group and have met so many new friends for myself, my husband and Henry. It has been so fun watching all the babies grow and have their first birthdays. Since most of the babies are within months (and some days/weeks) of each other, there has been a birthday party every weekend since Henry’s back at the end of June. I love all the adorable themes the moms have chosen and no two have been alike. Recently we went to a western themed first birthday and guests were encouraged to wear their best western gear! It was so much fun. The host even provided the babies with cowboy hats, bandanas, and sheriff badges! I happen to love Henry in western garb and seeing all the babies in similar attire was too cute.

{ugh, we are at that stage where it is almost impossible for me to get a picture with henry without him moving or being distracted}

Henry also had his first trip to Chuck E. Cheese! He loved almost everything except for the moving cars. This was the first thing I have seen him be afraid of. He has always been such an independent baby and has never been afraid of strangers, so this was our first experience with him being scared. Poor baby. Once he was out of the cars he was fine and had a blast running around and playing with all the games. Chuck E. Cheese has some pretty sweet pizza too I might add. We went with one of Henry’s besties and when I watch them together I have a feeling us momma’s have some trouble ahead of us!

Other notable adventures: having dinner with PopPop and breakfast + a target trip with his future girlfriend <3

{these two can put food down like nobody’s business!}

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Bone Marrow Soup

August 25, 2013

Okay okay, that sounds gross I know. I got all excited when I was making my soup and texted my mother only for her to text back “Ugh! That sounds disgusting!” But seriously, it’s delicious and so good for you (more on that later). I have been inspired lately by one of my friends and fellow mommy’s to start branching out on Henry’s diet and trying more food. Hanna is such an amazing cook and is always coming up with new and original recipes. (Henry and her daughter are similar in the fact that they can eat like nobody’s business). She has a wonderful blog where you can find all of her tasty creations here. One of the recipes she told me about was a bone marrow, radish and leek soup (Whole Foods did not have the type of radishes needed to they are omitted in this recipe). Leeks have a high amount of Vitamin K & A and are easier to digest than onions. Bone marrow is packed full of protein, calcium, and iron and is great for brain development. Read more about the benefits of Bone Marrow here and here.

Step 1: Clean & Chop Leeks. Cut off the root of the leek and the very top green ends (which are usually torn). Separate each leaf from the stem, cut lengthwise and wash throughly. Leeks are very dirty and mine had a little bit of wet mud in between the the leaves. Once washed and patted dry with a paper towel, chop finely.

Step 2: Dice Onion. You will notice in my picture that my onion did not get chopped that finely. Mostly because I was tearing up so bad you would have thought I was watching Beaches and Steel Magnolias simultaneously. But it’s cool because we are just using them for flavor.

Step 3: Put all ingredients into crock pot and fill with water. Add in 6 cloves of garlic, salt and pepper. Cook on low for 8 + hours. The longer the better because the water will soak up all that marrow. I actually cooked mine for 14 hours.

Step 4: After cooking, drain in a fine mesh strainer or with cheese cloth. There should not be any chunks of meat, marrow, onion, etc. You only want the soup. (side note: I gave the bones to my doggies after they cooled).

Step 5: Serve as a soup or over rice. I poured the soup over rice and spoon fed it to Henry. He LOVED it (but really, there isn’t much this kid doesn’t like). I keep the soup in a tupperware container in the fridge and heat up when ready. I also freeze portions as well.

**You will know you have gotten all the marrow out of the bones if you soup congeals in the fridge.**

This will last all week and since Henry likes it so much, I am thinking about serving it to him daily. Another upside? This was super cheap to make. I bought all the ingredients for just under $17. Here is how the soup looked once it was in the fridge overnight, so you have a reference.

I hope your little ones like this as much as mine did! xo

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Five Things Friday

August 23, 2013

I have obsessed over teepee’s for the longest time and have been waiting for the day when Henry can have one in his “big boy” room. That probably won’t be for another year or so but a Teepee is definitely on my Christmas wish list for him. (hint hint mom!) There are so many to choose from that I would love to put one in every room of the house, because sometimes adults need a place to relax right? I am currently under the weather with a major head cold and my head feels like it weighs 50 pounds. I hope everyone has a great weekend filled with lots of cool breezes and crisp air (if you live in Atlanta, that will not be happening).

1. Multi Colored – $185

2. Navy Polka Dot – $195

3. Red and White Stripe with Letter – $152

4. Black and White Stripe – $115

5. Ruffle – $260

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San Francisco Part 3

August 22, 2013

Sunday we had an early start with our van picking us up at 7:45am for our Napa/Sonoma Valley Wine Tour & Muir Woods Visit. We booked this tour and the price included 3 winery tours (with wine!), transportation for the day, and a visit to Muir Woods National Park. For $95 each, it was a good price for being able to visit Wine Country and have a relaxing day different from the city. The drive into the Muir Woods was super windy and steep on these little roads and there were a few times I thought we were going to go over the edge. My husband just laughed at me and said I was being paranoid, but I really was scared. Once we got there I was able to breathe again and we walked around the forest and marveled at the amazing trees that seemed to reach the sky.

Our first stop was in Napa, at the Mayo Family Winery. This was a smaller winery and their wine samples were very generous. Out of all the wines we tasted that day, these were our favorites. Especially for me because I love champagne and their bubbly was so tasty. Here is a link to where you can purchase it, I know I will definitely be ordering some for the fall. Champagne and Fall go together right? This winery was also a more personal setting and our group were the only ones there.

After the winery in Napa we headed to old town Sonoma for lunch and ate at the Sunflower Cafe (which was mostly all organic food). We had purchased a bottle of champagne from the Mayo Winery and were allowed to drink it during lunch with no corking fee. The champagne was so refreshing and went great with our food. We started with the goat cheese filled piquillo peppers, followed by the wedge salad and smoked duck sandwich. Again, the food was amazing (we didn’t have a bad meal on our trip). We also stopped at a cute little market and got some chocolates and fudge for later.

In Sonoma we visited two wineries, Madonna Estate (they had the most amazing barrel room!) and Cline Cellars Winery. The drive in wine country was so beautiful, filled with acres and acres of grape vines everywhere. It was so peaceful and calming, plus the weather was amazing. Cline Cellars did not let us tour their facilities or barrel room and also had their sampling set up outdoors in the cool breeze. Their main house was laid out on a huge piece of property and had the most beautiful trees. We sat on the front porch in rocking chairs and enjoyed this special time together. I am not sure if I have mentioned it yet but this was our early anniversary trip! While we missed Henry tremendously, it was nice to have some time to ourselves and focus on each other.

{This photo was not taken by me, it is from their Flickr site)

On our way back to San Francisco, we drove through old town Sausalito which was so cute and charming. I definitely want to go back and spend a few days there on our next visit. All the little wine and coastal towns have so much character to them. We didn’t get back to our hotel until almost 8pm. This will sound very un-touristy, but we were so worn out from the day that we stayed in and ordered pizza and a cal-zone (which were very yummy). We took it easy, watched TV and crashed out early. Monday morning we woke up refreshed and ready (and sad) for our last day in SF. We took advantage by heading to China Town, Fisherman’s Wharf, and up to see the Painted Ladies (totally not near each other so we did a ton of walking again!) While we were at Fisherman’s Wharf we came across this super cool Antique Coin Operated Arcade with tons of vintage/classic games that were all fully functional. We had so much fun there playing Pacman and taking pictures in the photo booths. This another “must” on my SF to do list. You won’t find any games like this at your local mall.

We also hiked it up to Alamo Square Park to see the famous Painted Ladies! A staple in nearly every movie or TV show based in San Francisco (hello Ms. Doubtfire!). You would not believe all the people there just standing and taking pictures, marveling at their awesomeness. It makes me wonder if people actually live in those houses and how they feel to have people looking at their homes year round. So, I did some googling and people do live there, one was even on the market a year ago. Check it out here to see what the inside looks like.

When we took the bus back from Alamo Sq. our stop was literally right in front of the new Converse store. It was a sign. The displays and visuals in this store were incredible. I have never seen so many converse in my life. From the classics in every color, to the Dr. Seuss shoes, there was definitely converse eye candy everywhere. They even had a design center where you could customize every part of your shoe. I wish they would bring one of these stores to Atlanta because it really it a sight to see.

We wrapped up the day with some drinks at Hotel Adagio, followed by an incredible dinner at Fino, an Italian restaurant in the classic Andrews Hotel. This was probably some of the best Italian food we both have ever had. We started with the hand cut french fries tossed with fresh garlic, parsley, truffle oil and parmesan cheese. I think our taste buds had literally exploded. If I had to choose something to eat on a weekly basis for the rest of my life, these would be on the menu. I also had the Gnocchi and it was cooked to perfection. Cooking Gnocchi can be so hard because you have to keep a constant water temperature and the water can never drop below boiling. I highly recommend this place if you visit.

Well folks, that’s a wrap on our San Francisco anniversary trip! I hope you enjoyed the photos as much as I enjoyed living those moments. I am already dying to get back. I think about the weather the most. I think it has rained every day this month in Atlanta and the humidity is like a fleece blanket wrapping over you. A friend told me today that we have had as much rain as Seattle has this summer. Fall can’t come fast enough. xoxo.

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