A movie and a rule breaker

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Hi friends!

Did you have a good weekend? Ours was very low key and relaxing — exactly the kind of weekend that leaves you feeling recharged for the week. We have a busy week up ahead so it felt good to have a couple chill days.

Some of our smallgroup pals went up to Hartford for “Worship Night in America”. Joel and I couldn’t make it but it sure was fun seeing all the photos in our group chat.

Looks like there was quite the turnout! The last time we were at a similar event was when we saw Hillsong United at the Lakewood arena in Houston. It was fun living vicariously through the photos! 🙂

Meanwhile, Joel and I headed to the movies –> we wanted to see the new Avengers movie, but the seats were sold out, so we saw Amy Schumer’s movie instead (I Feel Pretty). It provided a good amount of humor to fuel our weekend. She is hilarious!

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My movie snack consisted of Nothing Added organic dried mangoes. I am very thrilled to see these back in stock at Target. I can’t recommend these enough. If they weren’t on the pricier side I would keep large quantities in our pantry at all times.

Dinner happened at home after the movie. I was still full from the dried mangoes so I was content with just a couple pieces of watermelon for my dinner. Joel didn’t have a movie snack and had worked up quite the appetite from yard work, so he was happy with his burger, topped with avocado, bacon, lettuce, and tomato, and a side of fries.

The best way to start a Saturday morning is with a nice big bowl of watermelon. When did we as a society make the transition over to seedless watermelon? I don’t think our grocery store even carries the kind with seeds. I remember as a kid having to spit out the seeds with every bite — ah memories haha.

We stopped in at Home Depot to pick up another can of teak oil so that Joel could oil up the remaining 2 patio chairs. I always feel drawn to the house plants, is it just me? I love having plants of all kinds at home. My very first plant was a bamboo which I purchased for our tiny Houston apartment at a local Asian market. The kind that sits in water, no soil. I still remember how excited I was about that little ol’ bamboo –> I wish I could remember what happened to it.

A mid-morning snack involved a bowl of granola and almond milk, always a winning combination in my book.

I grabbed a new pair of earbuds (similar ones here). My other ones randomly died, which shouldn’t be too surprising as they were maaany years old. I love in-ear earbuds because they don’t fall off, and are comfortable to wear even while working out. I like to tuck the cord behind my ear so it doesn’t hit me in the face.

Have you guys seen these little container tub things? I picked up a couple packs of large ones (here) and small ones (here). I use them for everything! They snap securely shut, and you just give the sides a little squeeze to pop them open. I like to store my earbuds in one while they are in my bag so they don’t get all tangled up. I also use the tubs when I travel since they are so easy to clean and are great for storing random things like vitamins, mints, jewelry, or toiletries.

We dropped Joel’s car off at the shop for a new tire (he had a flat last week). I need new tires on my car too, something I have not been looking forward to due to the cost… tires are so darn expensive.

While waiting for Joel’s car, we grabbed a late (ehh 4pm) lunch at Panera. Joel’s favorite sandwich from there is the steak and arugula. My favorite is the chicken frontega. He also got a small bowl of broccoli cheddar soup. This soup and I go way back –> I remember getting it in college when my friends and I would decide to get a meal off campus. We would sometimes go read magazines or study at the Barnes and Noble that was right next to the Panera, or stop in at the nearby mall.

After picking up Joel’s car from the shop and spending a few hours getting chores done around the house, we went back to the movies (thank you MoviePass!) and managed to get seats for the Avengers. Yay! We also decided to actually buy concessions hah and grabbed some plain popcorn and a coke.

You guys, the movie was so good! I love all the Marvel movies so I knew I’d enjoy it. There was QUITE the shocker of an ending –> I won’t spoil it for you but if you haven’t seen it yet (and you like Marvel movies), you really should!

Sunday was a little cooler (60) and very overcast –> all day long it looked like it was going to rain any second. It ended up drizzling in the evening.

We put the cushions on the chairs so that we could have lunch out there. Patio life is the best life.

We then got the teak table and chairs set up for the season. I am getting more and more excited for all the meals that will be happening out here.

The rest of Sunday afternoon was quite uneventful –> we both spent a few hours getting caught up on work. Not the most exciting of afternoons, but we felt very productive. When dinner time rolled around we opted for salad and some lasagna. It was more like lasagna soup because it didn’t hold together in the slightest, but it tasted good. 🙂

Why use a napkin when you have a convenient belly to catch falling food?

And finally, dessert was had while watching a Clint Eastwood movie. Instead of a bowl and spoon, Joel went with a plate and fork for his ice cream. What a rule-breaker 🙂

What did you do over the weekend? Have you seen the new Avengers movie? How do you feel about house plants?     

*This content uses referral links. Read my disclosure policy for more info.

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The winning combo + T minus 2 months!

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Hi friends!

I cannot believe May begins tomorrow. The months are flying by faster and faster it seems. What did you guys do over the weekend? We caught up on a few errands and things around the house, did some relaxing, and had a nice little date night.

Our Friday night involved Longhorn Steakhouse –> we had one of these restaurants near us in Houston but we never went. This was actually our first time eating there together (my friend Bernice had a lunch here last month, so I went for that, but Joel missed out because he was out of town).

The margharitas on that drink menu looked pretty darn incredible. Can’t wait to sip a margharita on the patio after the baby comes. 🙂

Soft, delicious bread, warm and fresh from the oven. They know how to do it right at Longhorn.

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Salads to start. Joel’s dressing of choice was olive oil. My favorite dressing of all time is THIS ONE <– you have gotta try it.

I went with chicken and asparagus for my meal, and Joel opted for steak. There were chopped jalapenos in the pico on top of the chicken, which I was not aware of until I bit right into a big one and set my mouth on fire. Phew!

Our date night continued with a movie! I am pretty sure MoviePass is one of my favorite things. We tried to see the new Avengers movie but it was sold out, so we went with Rampage instead. I have to admit I had my doubts on whether I’d like it, but I ended up really enjoying it. I suppose the best way to ensure liking a movie is going in with zero expectations haha 🙂

Our date didn’t end there… we then grabbed ice cream at Wentworth 🙂 Chocolate with salted caramel and oreos for me (yess), and rum raisin for Joel. He’s always been a big rum raisin fan, and I gotta say, I just don’t get it..?

Saturday afternoon bump. T minus 2 months till this little guy makes an appearance! I’m feeling big for sure, but surprisingly good still. No issues to speak of, just happily pregnant over here 🙂

My book club book has finally arrived. The German Girl (find it here!) looks like it’ll be an interesting read. I’ve heard good things so I’m looking forward to diving in 🙂

We finally had a day that was warm and dry enough to oil up our teak furniture –> the oil works best above 50 degrees –> something about the pores in the wood opening up…

I love Spring! It feels so good to sit outside. I am pretty sure that the amazing Connecticut Spring is our consolation prize for surviving the winter hah.

Berks + socks on the patio once again –> probably one of my more stylish moments to date 🙂

This very cool guy took care of the entire furniture set himself. That’s right — the big table plus 8 chairs. And not only that, he also spent some time trimming our rose bushes and getting all the plants around the property nice and ready for the season. He’s the best.

After a long day of strenuous yard work (Joel), cheerleading of said yard work (me), and some couch surfing (also me) we were ready for some Thai dinner. Joel opted for a papaya salad with pineapple rice and chicken.

I went with garlicky salmon, veggies, and some of that very delicious pineapple rice –> it all made for quite the awesome experience for my taste buds. 10 out of 10. This will definitely be a repeat dinner.

Sunday morning involved church –> we arrived late and ran into a friend in the lobby so chatted out there for a bit. There were a few paramedics around tending to a young woman who had passed out during the service. She was sitting up, talking, and seemed fine by the time we saw her so I hope everything was ok. Since we were super late by the time we made it inside, we headed up to the balcony where we found Jeff, Jessica, and Mike. Yay for having friends to sit with 🙂

Post-church lunch happened at Tandoor with Jessica and Bernice 🙂 It feels like forever since the last time we saw them, so it was nice to catch up.

The Tandoor buffet lunch is pretty stellar, and the place was super busy this time around, the busiest I have ever seen it! There was a big line for the buffet, which I suppose should not be a surprise, judging by how good the food is. This week the goat curry and tandoori chicken were the stars of the show. 🙂

I also very much appreciated the gulab jamun dessert –> they also had rice pudding, but man oh man, the gulab jamun simply cannot be beat. It’s probably my favorite Indian dessert that I have tried.

We stopped in at the store to pick up a few food essentials, and while we were there, we also picked up our first watermelon of the season 🙂 Last year we planted watermelon seeds in our garden, but they didn’t do too well –> we think there may have been too much clay in the soil, or maybe too many rocks? Maybe we will try again this year since we have some nice rich soil from our compost…

I picked up some Crystal Light in the pink lemonade flavor (here!). It tastes very similar to the regular lemonade flavor which I love, so of course I am a fan. The only difference as far as I can tell is the color 🙂

Leftover Thai food for Sunday dinner hit the spot. There’s nothing better than having yummy leftovers waiting for you when dinnertime rolls around.

The very best way to start a Monday is with a big bowl of perfectly ripe watermelon for breakfast. This is a fact.

When I got home from work, I found Joel cleaning out the grill in preparation for having Joseph and his wife over next week. Joseph and Joel have been friends since freshman year of college –> they were in the same engineering program and had most of their classes together. They went to Burkina Faso on a mission trip during one of the summers, which was a really amazing time for them (I missed him very much while he was gone but it was very cool to hear all about the experience when they got back!). Joseph and his wife currently serve as missionaries in Burkina Faso –> they are temporarily back in the USA and driving through Connecticut on their way to Boston, which is a perfect opportunity to for us to have them over for dinner!

An early dinner happened –> white pizza with the winning combo of toppings: extra pineapple, extra ham, and light cheese. I also added a good amount of red pepper flakes for an extra kick. Yum!

 

Are you a rum raisin ice cream fan? Do you add red pepper flakes to your pizza? What’s your favorite type of cuisine?    

*This content uses referral links. Read my disclosure policy for more info.

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Calypso music + naughty squirrels + cookies!

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Hi friends!

Dare I say it… Spring is finally here! And it sure is welcome after the long months of cold. I love spring, summer, and fall in Connecticut, but I’d be fine with fast-forwarding straight through winter. A few spring blooms are showing up in the yard and I could not be happier about that.

Dinner Friday night consisted of salmon, broccoli, zucchini, and a spring roll while working on the ol’ blog. I have been sticking contentedly with my goal of having salmon (or some kind of pregnancy-friendly seafood) twice a week, and will probably continue this indefinitely.

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Saturday morning meant yard work. Hey stud 🙂

He’s done a good job getting that enormous woodchip pile spread out amongst the trees. It looks great! I’m glad he knows his landscaping stuff.

The birds (and a few naughty squirrels) have been enjoying the seed we set out for them. This is supposed to be an anti-squirrel feeder but those cheeky little things still manage to get into it. Anyone know how to prevent squirrels from stealing your birdseed?

Another one of our spring traditions is underway: the annual oiling of our teak furniture! Teak is one of my favorite types of wood –> it’s extremely durable in all weather conditions, lasts forever, and looks beautiful. Applying oil to the wood with a cloth or sponge helps to keep it looking supple and conditioned year after year. We get an oil made specifically for teak, like THIS. The oil isn’t necessarily mandatory –> we could just leave it alone and it would still be fine (left alone, the teak eventually takes on a patina aged finish which is also quite lovely). We got this patio set about a year ago at Jordan’s – it was our very first time buying patio furniture and we have been extremely happy with the purchase!

For lunch, we headed to Olives and Oil in New Haven. The last time we were there was for my birthday over a year ago, so we were long overdue for another visit.

The menu looks like a vintage magazine, which I loved. I also thought it was cute that they call their wines “grapes on tap”. 🙂

Bread, green olives, and olive oil with seasoning for the starter –> we chuckled over the flower pots 🙂 Love that creativity 🙂

Joel went with the olives panini, which came with tapenade, arugula, and faro. It also came with a pastina soup – he enjoyed every bite of his meal thoroughly.

I went with the “day trippin” pizza, topped with mushrooms, shallots, truffle oil, fig, balsamic, and smoked mozzarella. It was one of the most interesting pizzas I’ve ever had. The flavor profile was quite… complex… I felt like there were so many unfamiliar flavors on my taste buds that my brain didn’t quite know what to make of it!

After lunch we strolled around New Haven — it was a lovely sunny day, but the wind was chilly enough that we both wore coats. These bubble teas were perfect fuel for our walk around town — Joel got the taro flavor and I opted for Thai tea flavor. I prefer bubble tea on the rocks instead of slushy-style, but it was a nice change. Both flavors were good but I think Joel made the better choice, because the taro was a little yummier…

We happened upon some live music on the Yale Green. There’s nothing like calypso music to make you feel like you’re on a tropical island.

There were a few little kiosks set up where people were selling things. It was nice seeing so many people out and about enjoying the spring weather.

Saturday night involved a redbox movie –> The Commuter. It wasn’t Joel’s favorite (he kept falling asleep), but I enjoyed it! Liam Neeson never fails to bring it. Note to bad guys, do not ever threaten Liam’s family or he will come. for. you.

Sunday dawned bright and early with more yard work.

We worked up quite the appetite and were excited to head to Lenny’s in Branford for an early lunch.

Joel started with a cup of clam chowder. Fun fact: I used to despise chowder of any kind (clam, fish, etc)… it was all super gross to me. But my tastes have changed and I am now squarely on the clam chowder bandwagon. Yum.

I went with a lobster roll for my meal –> they were quite generous with the lobster which made me happy! Lobster is another one of those foods I didn’t used to like but definitely do now. So good. Funny how your tastes can change, right?

After lunch we walked along the Branford River. It was another lovely sunny day but those coats made another appearance on account of the brisk wind coming off the water.

Sunday afternoon meant a good mix of relaxation, catching up on work, and running a few errands. I popped into Target for a few essentials and after meandering through the shoe section, came away with a new pair of kicks for just $8.50. 🙂 What a steal! I love the clearance section at Target.

Another errand I ran was picking up a few groceries, which included the impulse purchase of these frozen chocolate Greek Yoghurt bars –> they are gooooood!

When Sunday night rolled around, we both had salads on the brain, but neither of us felt like going to pick up salad stuff from the store, so we decided to stop by Eli’s. My salad was topped with corn, beans, cherry tomatoes, and guacamole (so darn good) and Joel’s salad was topped with 2 kinds of beets, goat cheese, and salmon. I seriously feel like guacamole goes with anything, it makes everything better!

Our dinner concluded with cookies and ice cream split between the 2 of us. Prior to this, I had not eaten a chocolate chip cookie in quite a long time… they haven’t sounded particularly appetizing to me since getting pregnant, but I’m happy to report that I enjoyed every last bite.

What did you do with your weekend? Any tips on how to prevent squirrels from getting into the bird feeder? Do you have any spring traditions?   

*This content uses referral links. Read my disclosure policy for more info.

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Orange soda and a blood test

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Hi friends!

We made it to the end of another week 🙂 I’m excited for a weekend of relaxation and fun. But first, let’s rewind…

Last weekend, while browsing the isles of Ulta, I picked up a new-to-me lip gloss. It’s marketed as a lip plumper but honestly I don’t think it does much plumping. But that’s totally ok, because I didn’t buy it for its plumping claims, just its glossiness! It definitely delivers that shine and is actually rather moisturizing. I find that it lasts a long time and is quite comfortable to wear. Some glosses, like the MAC ones, can feel drying to me, but this is one that actually makes my lips feel hydrated. At $10, I wouldn’t call it cheap for a drugstore gloss, but it’s a solid choice that I am currently here for. This is the box it comes in (the actual gloss is in my bag hah) –> it’s got quite the name, right? But let me tell you, it has quickly become a favorite.

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I met up with Natasha for some shopping. I was running late and needed some quick sustenance, so dashed into McD’s for a couple of their chicken tenders. They got the job done (needed that protein) and worked wonders to fuel the next couple hours of shopping.

We did some damage at a few different stores, including a quick stop at Old Navy to pick up some sandals for Natasha’s 2 year old daughter. I snuck a peek at the little boy stuff — so super cute! Those little shoes are so adorable.

For dinner, Joel was in the mood for lasagna, so I picked some up from Sergio’s on the way home. I like that they put their food in a cardboard box – it’s easy to carry and we can recycle the cardboard.

When I arrived home, I found him tending to the leaning trees by our driveway. He used steel cables to secure them so the leaning isn’t nearly as pronounced as it was before. We are hoping they will re-root and be strong enough to withstand future storms. He’s also prepping the area for wood chips and mulch –> it’s going to look pretty darn good.

He was pretty hungry after all that manual labor. He enjoyed his lasagna entree, complete with a side salad and garlic bread. We are fans of Sergio’s! They also do some really good pizza, but Joel’s favorite thing to get there is their lasagna.

Later that night we cracked into the chocolates that Joel brought back from France. It’s technically cooking/baking chocolate, but it tasted pretty great on its own as a dessert 🙂 If I remembered that my Glucose Tolerance Test (blood test for gestational diabetes) was taking place the next day I probably wouldn’t have indulged quite so hard.

The following day, I was on the way to my doctor appointment when I passed this billowing column of white smoke/steam pouring out of the ground. I am not sure what was happening but there were lots of security cars and they blocked off the entire street. Thankfully I was still able to get to my appointment on time, and they seemed to have fixed the issue by the time I was leaving.

Before my blood test, the nurse gave me a sugary beverage to drink. I have heard terrible things about this drink – that it tastes awful or makes you feel sick –> but I actually enjoyed mine! To me, it tasted like orange soda except without the carbonation. Give me a straw, some ice, and a warm summer’s day and we have ourselves a golden afternoon hah 🙂

I had an hour to kill after drinking the orange stuff (they draw blood exactly an hour after you drink it to test how much sugar is in your blood). I tried to focus on reading my book but only managed a couple pages. My favorite time to read is at night before falling asleep, and I had a hard time focusing on the book in the light of day (hah!). I ended up mostly texting friends and catching up on emails during that hour wait. But the 2 pages I did manage to read were good ones 🙂 For the record, I am very much enjoying this month’s book club pick: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng. I love her writing style and find myself very interested in the characters. Can’t wait to make my way further into the book tonight 🙂

After finishing up the blood test, we went in for our OB appointment. While waiting for the doctor, I sent this photo to Kristi who promptly called us dorks for kind of matching 🙂 Totally unintentional, but we’ll own it!

Date night happened in the evening at the Amici Tavern in North Haven. It was our first time here and we give it two thumbs up!

They have a popcorn machine right in the entryway, so freshly popped popcorn is the first thing you smell as soon as you walk in. Yummm. They brought over a plate of it to the table for us to munch on while we perused the menu. So good.

I had a salad to start off, with balsamic vinaigrette on the side. I love a good house salad, especially when the tomatoes are perfectly ripe. You guys know I stay far away from tomato sauces of any kind, but fresh tomatoes, yes please!

For my meal I had the salmon with spinach and rice. It was exactly what I hoped for and I am 100% going to order this again the next time we go back. Joel got the ribs, which were cooked to fall-off-the-bone perfection. I eyed his corn-on-the-cob with only a small amount of envy –> I am already looking forward to grilling corn when it warms up.

Our date night continued at the movies, where we saw A Wrinkle in Time. I remember reading the books when I was in 6th grade and loving them. As usual, I thought the book was better than the movie, but we both enjoyed the movie. Side note: are there any movies that are actually better than the book? I feel like the book is always better? Anyway, the costumes and makeup for Oprah, Reese Witherspoon, and Mindy Kaling were quite dramatic which made for some cool visuals, and the younger actors did great.

Do you have a favorite time of day (or location) to read a book? Can you think of a movie that was better than the book? What are you up to this weekend?      

*This content uses referral links. Read my disclosure policy for more info.

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NYC, Sunday lunch crew, and an update

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Hi friends!

What did you do with your Saturday and Sunday? We had a decent amount of rain over here but that did not put a damper on our weekend.

Things started out with a potluck style get-together with a few other moms. I made some super easy blueberry muffins 🙂 The group meets every other week at the home of one of the moms. It’s really laid back (which is my cup of tea) and we all just hang out and talk while the kids play. I can’t wait to introduce our little kiddo to his/her future playpals!

Afterwards, Joel and I made a quick trip over to Target for a new pillow. I have been using the same pillow for about 10 years and it finally bit the dust. I noticed a year ago that the memory foam inside was hardening and breaking/forming chunks. My beloved pillow grew more and more uncomfortable to the point that my ears hurt to lie on my side. It gets old waking up multiple times trying to find a comfortable spot for my head –> I know I will be waking up lots in just a few months so I’m trying to preserve my sleep as much as possible beforehand 😉 We ended up getting me this memory foam pillow. It is so comfortable and has helped me catch those precious Zzz’s.

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Then we headed to the movies –> we are getting a lot of use out of our MoviePasses! My movie snack was avocado sushi rolls again, followed by sour patch kids. The sushi hit the spot but the sour patch was a definite miss. They tasted good but made me feel icky afterwards. We enjoyed the movie though (Game Night)!

We headed to New York City with friends on Saturday! I’m so glad we have amazing friends in our lives 🙂

We met up with my brother Freddie and his wife Sonia in China Town! It was good to see them again — I love that they live relatively nearby (the rest of the family is overseas). Whenever I am in China Town I like to buy goodies/foods to bring home and freeze. This time I stocked up on steamed yellow bean buns (I usually get red bean but am interested to try the yellow bean), steamed pork buns, and baked pineapple egg cream buns.

The Chinese New Year parade was out in full force! Lots of Chinese lions, dragons, cymbals, and drums.

We had some incredible dim sum for lunch at the Jing Fong restaurant! Freddie, Sonia, Joel, and I have been here before, but it was the first time for Walter, Kelly, and Ro (they liked it!) The food is consistently delicious and the Jing Fong experience never disappoints. It also felt extra festive with all the Chinese New Year celebrations 🙂 I can see why there is always a crazy line outside the restaurant… it is well worth the wait.

After we wrapped lunch we headed over to the American Natural History museum to check out some of their very cool exhibits. We saw some really interesting stuff but didn’t get to spend as much time browsing as we would have liked –> we certainly will be back again to see more!

We made sure to stop in at a bagel place to pick up some famous New York bagels to bring home. Our freezer is looking pretty well stocked at this point 🙂 Joel loves ‘everything’ bagels and onion bagels (I am not a fan of either – even the smell of everything bagels makes me crinkle my nose lol). I’m happy with plain or asiago bagels. Unrelatedly, while at the bagel store I felt a deep and immediate need to chug this ice-cold gingerale –> I was super parched! Turns out walking all over NYC can sure make a girl thirsty.

Our last order of business for our day in NYC was to grab a sweet treat from Magnolia Bakery. This was Kelly’s idea and I am ridiculously glad she suggested it! There were so many tempting options it was hard to choose just one, but I finally went with this “Magic Cookie Bar”. The coconut tasted incredible! Joel picked the exact same thing (we didn’t realize it until later when we were trying to figure out whose dessert was whose). Great minds must think alike.

Sunday lunch friends 🙂

We all went to House of Naan after church for some Indian food (Joel and I have realized that Indian food is becoming our Sunday tradition and we are ok with that). The table split these unreal Tikka Fries (fries topped with tikka sauce, cheese, and chicken –> not your average bowl of fries).

We also had saag paneer (spinach and cheese) and lamb curry, along with rice and naan. Side note: House of Naan really does live up to its name –> they make the BEST naan in my opinion!

Here’s a pregnancy update… (and a bit of venting)…

My energy came back when I hit the 2nd trimester and the heartburn has gone down (phew!). I feel the baby kicking on the inside which is super exciting, and Joel is looking forward to feeling those kicks from the outside too. We are really excited to find out the sex at our Gender Reveal! The cantaloupe love is still going strong, and grapes have also made an appearance on the “love” list. Our friends and family have been overwhelmingly positive and supportive, and we so appreciate everyone sharing in our excitement!

I must say though, all of the pregnancy bliss has not been without a dash of weirdness.  -_-  Case in point: one person recently made a comment about my bump being “big for 21 weeks” and it did not make me feel good at all. Even though I know that the baby and I are healthy, in normal range, and the person has not even seen me in years (the comment was about a photo), I STILL felt hurt and judged. It’s hard to articulate exactly what bothers me –> it just came off as insensitive and thoughtless. But I’m shaking it off and focusing on being thankful that the baby is healthy and all is well. I won’t let the comment make me feel bad for another millisecond. That concludes my venting…phew! Thanks for letting me get that off my chest. I feel better now 🙂

Weird comments aside, I am definitely enjoying the experience of being pregnant. In all honesty, I am PROUD of my bump and our precious nugget inside it! It genuinely makes me happy to see that belly growing, and know that the baby is growing right along with it. Sidenote: it’s also a nice perk that I actually look pregnant now instead of just bloated lol 😉 Every day our kiddo is bigger, stronger, and more ready for the world. I love having my little companion with me everywhere I go, and am incredibly amazed by the entire process. Can’t wait to meet our cutie 🙂

Words of advice on how to handle those weird situations? Any suggestions on places to go for our next NYC trip? What’s your favorite thing to bring to a dinner potluck? What about a brunch potluck?  

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The perfect movie snack discovery

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Hi friends!

Did you have Monday off from work? Joel did not – he had a couple conference calls with clients in Europe. I had a pseudo off day, meaning I got to sleep in a little longer than usual and got some work done at home.

Lucky for me, Jessica was available for a lunch date! We went to Maison Mathis, a place I havent been in quite a while. I debated getting an omelet but finally decided on the quinoa salad.

Hot chocolate and quinoa salad (I added an egg and some avocado). I have to admit it was not the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had… it tasted watered down.   However, the food was absolutely delicious! Between the sundried tomatoes, artichokes, kale, quinoa, egg, and avocado, the salad was bursting with yummy flavor –> I did not need to add a single drop of the vinaigrette that came on the side. 🙂 I ate half and brought the other half home. Now that I am pregnant, I get full faster so I can’t eat big meals all at once. I have been eating frequent smaller meals and so far it has been working out nicely.

Jessica and I sat there for a while after finishing up lunch, just chatting about life, work, the future, etc, and all that talking meant that we worked up a second appetite for dessert! 🙂 I had my eye on the layered mousse until I saw the price… then changed my mind to go with the mini-eclairs instead.

When I asked the guy behind the counter about these mini-eclairs, he surprised me by saying that I could have them on the house –> he said I was the nicest customer he’d had all day. 🙂 I thought that was very nice of him! I haven’t had an eclair in forever and these were lovely! Perfectly chilled, and somehow also very light. Yum!

Jessica opted for a strawberry waffle — she let me sample some of it and boy oh boy was it delicious! Joel and I have been talking about getting a waffle-maker for the longest time and this just sealed the deal for me! In the meantime, I will be going back to Maison Mathis for their waffles in the very near future –> they have a “loaded waffle” which comes with a ton of different berries, and has my name written all over it.

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I just started a new book: The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters (here). I’m only partway into the first chapter as of now, but I’m interested to see how the story progresses. I picked this book up purely based on the cover when we went to the library and had only 20 seconds before it closed. I didn’t want to leave empty-handed so grabbed this as I was hustling out of there. Hope it’s a good one!

Bernice has been eating rice cakes for her afternoon snack –> when I saw THESE lightly salted rice cakes at the store I thought of her and had to pick them up. I haven’t had rice cakes in YEARS! Back in college I used to eat the cheddar-flavored Quaker Oats rice cakes all the time (here!). They are pretty tasty for a snack. I remember going to the convenience store to buy snacks like this all the time. There was also a specific protein bar I used to get all the time, because it was easy to throw in my backpack for days when I had hours and hours of biology or chemistry labs.

Green grapes for lunch because that is what sounded good to me. I can’t get over how good these green grapes are. They are a little smaller than normal so I assumed they would be tart, but they are actually perfectly ripe and juicy, not too tart at all! I should definitely have bought a few more bags of these. 🙂 Speaking of grapes, what do you think about those enormous globe grapes? They look so huge. Do they taste like regular grapes?

Plantain chips make my day — I LOVE these crispy, salty little things. I have never tried to make my own plantain chips at home, but perhaps I should! I can’t imagine it being too difficult… (famous last words?) haha

Joel and I decided to catch a movie one evening — The 15:17 to Paris! Did you follow this story in the news when it was happening? I remember being glued to my screen when the story first broke. When I heard that there was a movie coming out based on the real events, I couldn’t wait to see it. The actual guys who were involved in the incident portrayed themselves in the movie. The acting was a little stiff at times (can’t blame them, they aren’t professional actors), but the story was pretty interesting.

I have discovered my new favorite movie food… sushi! There is a sushi place right next to the movies, so we stopped in to pick up a snack. Joel got a couple spicy salmon rolls (I can’t wait to eat those again), and I got an avocado roll and a cucumber roll. We asked the restaurant to wrap the rolls in aluminum foil, which made them super easy to transport. Since I did not get any soy sauce or ginger, it was very easy to eat these with fingers without creating a big mess. I’m officially a fan of sushi at the movies, it made for the best movie food ever!

My lunch today: eggy french toast –> 2 eggs on whole grain bread with a bit of kosher salt. I don’t usually add anything to my french toast (Joel likes to top his with maple syrup). Over the past couple days, I have noticed that I have been using mostly eggs as my protein source rather than other meats. This is pretty much because of how easy they are to whip up. Eggs just make life easy.

My nightly snack of late has consisted of fresh peaches –> these are so good! I remember the first time I met Joel’s family, they lived in a house that had a peach tree in the yard. We would pick beautiful peaches and munch on them all the time! His family has since moved away from that house, but I still remember that peach tree fondly. It makes me want to plant one in our yard too. How awesome would it be to have gorgeous fresh peaches right from our own back yard? 🙂

What’s your favorite thing to put on waffles? Have you ever had sushi at the movies? If you had to pick either peaches or grapes to grow in your back yard, which would you choose?   

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Floor seats + lunch crew!

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Hi friends!

I hope you had an awesome weekend, wherever in the world you are! My family seems to be having a nice time celebrating Chinese New Year in Singapore. My sister in red, her husband, and their two kids (they live in Holland) with my mom and maternal grandmother who live in Singapore:

Meanwhile in Connecticut, our Friday night consisted of a movie date! We are putting our MoviePass cards to good use. This time we opted for The Greatest Showman. The cinema was totally packed and we ended up sitting in the front row –> not ideal seats but the comfy reclining chairs helped to make the movie enjoyable still. I liked the storyline of hard work and acceptance, and had the songs in my head for a while 🙂

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Saturday involved ice skating! Our church rented out one of the ice rinks in the pavilion so admission and skates were free of charge to us. The little kids were super cute with their tiny skates. 🙂 It was Bernice’s first time skating so she made sure to get a few helpful tips from Joel.

Joel explaining and demonstrating proper skating technique to her.

Bernice managed to make it all the way around around the rink with the help of Joel and another friend. She is determined to properly learn how to skate so that she can skate at the Rockefeller rink (one of her bucket list items for this decade).

I opted to watch all the skating from the bleachers as I did not feel like risking falling. I made sure to bring a few Rolos (find them HERE) to munch on. They are so good!

I also had my trusty water bottle with me (similar HERE), and my book. My habit of carrying water everywhere started back in college. I felt like everyone at my school carried water bottles with them wherever they went — is this a college thing or was it just my school? One of my college roommates, Kelly, was on the volleyball team. She carried around not one, but three of these liter-size bottles with her wherever she went. THREE. She drank somewhere between 4-6 liters of water every single day.

I am almost done with Beneath a Scarlet Sky (available HERE) –> it is a super enjoyable read and one I happily recommend! I would probably love it even more if I hadn’t taken a hiatus halfway through to read Middlesex (this month’s book club pick HERE).

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Random question: Do you have a favorite bookmark? I have been using this 26.2 sticker which I got at my very first marathon. It is my favorite bookmark and always reminds me of my very first time running 26.2 miles. The race was a major struggle but I finished on my own two feet. However, I did not have the race I wanted due to my plantar fasciitis injury. I received a cortisone shot in my foot 10 days before the race and did not run a single step for those 10 days. Not the ideal way to taper for the race (hah) but the good news is I got it done.

I would love to go back to run Hartford again one day. It’s a great course, has decent turnout, tends to have nice weather, and it just happens to take place about 40 minutes from my house!

After the ice rink we were both hungry so decided to stop in at Eli’s again for lunch. Those fish tacos were calling my name for the second week in a row! Joel opted for a Philly Cheese Steak and a wheat beer. My tacos came with a coleslaw and black bean pico on the side, but I didn’t end up touching either of those — I was very focused on my tacos 🙂 Just like last time, I ate 2 there and the third came home with me.

We relaxed at home for a few hours before heading to the Yale vs Harvard women’s basketball game! We swung by Walter and Kelly’s apartment to pick them up, and then met up with Joan later at the game. We got floor seat tickets through one of the coaches who goes to our church. It was the first time in my life to sit that close to a game… it is quite a different experience compared to regular seats!

One of the perks included with our floor seat tickets was access to the lounge and food, including a two salad options, various types of pizza, and a couple types of cookies for dessert. Drinks included wine, juice, and water. Great spread! I felt very spoiled!

The Yale mascot is a bulldog named Handsome Dan. Sometimes Handsome Dan makes an appearance at games –> sadly we did not see him at the basketball game, but we have seen him before at football games. This is the original Handsome Dan from the early 1900’s. Bulldogs used to look so different:

Sunday morning we were late for church, partly because Joel was snow-blowing our driveway, and partly because we took our time with breakfast. I made him some eggy french toast (2 whole eggs and a bit of salt on one piece of honey nut whole grain bread, cooked on stove top with olive oil). He sometimes adds maple syrup on his french toast but this time he opted for raspberry preserves.

After church we headed to Brother Jimmy’s BBQ for lunch. None of us had been there before, and we all enjoyed it!

Joel got the brisket sandwich with brussel sprouts on the side. Back in Houston we always ate brisket with pickles and onions, so he made sure to request some.

The lunch crew! Can’t wait to do this again!

After lunch we headed to our grocery store to pick up essentials for home. Joel and I are in agreement that this is the largest amount of cantaloupe we have EVER gone through. These pregnancy cravings are somethin else. I could skip cantaloupe for a day but that is not something I’m interested in doing anytime soon 🙂

The rest of Sunday evening was super relaxed. We hung out at home watching the Olympics and vegging on the couch. I am currently sipping on watermelon-flavored sparkling water while typing this, with Joel snoozing next to me. It’s a very relaxing Sunday evening around here.

What did you do over the weekend? Do you put anything on top of your french toast? Any books or movies to recommend? 

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General goals + our sunny Saturday!

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Hi friends!

Welcome to the last week of January! Now that we’re almost one whole month into 2018, I would like to know: did you make any New Years resolutions, and if so, are you still sticking to your goal?

A couple years ago I made a resolution to run 2000 miles over the course of that year. Between my Garmin watch (I have the Forerunner 620 – HERE) and my training log, I have been tracking all my miles for years. I was well on my way to achieving that 2000 mile goal (I made it about 1500 miles)… then I got injured. Boo! 😦

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This year I didn’t make any specific resolutions. However, I do have some goals for life in general, one of which is to incorporate more fish into my meals. So far I’ve been sticking with this pretty well! I cook salmon about twice a week, and it has been a lovely addition to our meal rotation. 🙂 Friday lunch involved salmon, black beans, brown rice, salsa, corn, bell pepper, onions, and tomato!

Another life goal I have is to incorporate more strength training into my workouts. When I’m in marathon training, I normally do hip/glute strength exercises to support healthy running. These exercises include clam shells, single leg squats, and hip hikes, among others. When deep in training, I also faithfully stretch and foam roll (this is the roller I have). It is weird but I find it easier to stick to a strength/stretch/roll routine when I’m consistently running higher volumes. It’s a LOT harder to keep up with all the “little things” when I’m not preparing for a specific race. But I know I really need to stay on top of it, regardless of where I am training-wise.

Looks like my favorite balega socks (similar ones here) are going to be sporting an extra hole very soon. I got these 2 years ago on sale from RunningWarehouse.com <– my absolute favorite place to buy running stuff! (they have great deals and free 2 day shipping) These are some of my most frequently worn socks, especially during winter because they come up above my ankles. I wear them ALL the darn time, so it’s no wonder they are looking a little threadbare!

Our Friday night consisted of sweet potato, pork, steamed broccoli, and a movie (King Arthur: Legend of the Sword). We made it through 45 minutes before calling it a night. The movie was “meh” — not my cup of tea, but Joel enjoyed it. We finished it later in the weekend.

On Saturday my friend Priscilla and her family were supposed to come over for the day (she lives in Queens) but her 7 month old came down with a fever. Poor little guy! We rescheduled their visit for February and I’m looking forward to seeing them when Edgar is all better! It was about 45 degrees (nice and mild!) so Joel and I headed outside to enjoy the lovely day. It felt great to walk around outside in the sunshine!

Afterward we grabbed lunch at the deli. There were a ton of university students inside the deli — I think most of the group consisted of the Quinnipiac lacrosse team. I ordered a cup of chili for my lunch, and Joel got clam chowder and a roast beef sandwich. Our food took quite a while to come out (probably because it was so crowded) and the very friendly manager apologized to us for keeping us waiting. We weren’t in a hurry so we didn’t mind at all. When our meal finally arrived, the manager told us it was on the house! We weren’t expecting that in the slightest but it was a nice turn of events. 🙂

Sunday morning involved an earlier-than-usual wakeup time (or maybe it just felt earlier due to staying up late finishing the rest of the King Arthur movie) and church. We stuck around for a bit afterwards chatting with various friends. Speaking of, Joel and I were laughing about how as kids we were always super impatient when our parents would take forever chatting after church (let’s goooo) but now here we are doing the very same thing lol!

We headed over to a semi-recently discovered Indian restaurant, Zaika! They have a great lunch buffet and since we arrived before their lunch rush, it was fairly quiet. It felt like we had the whole place to ourselves 🙂 They had a different spread on offer this time around, including a lamb curry (amazing!) and a new dessert.

The dessert this time was Golub Jamun 🙂 This sweet little treat brings back some memories! Years ago in Texas my friend Anita introduced me to the huge variety of Indian desserts… we went to this incredible sweet shop in Houston that had probably a hundred different Indian treats. Joel and I went back a couple times to sample a few and were never disappointed. I wish I could remember the name of the exact shop, but all I recall is it is on Hillcroft Avenue. Nevertheless I can VERY MUCH appreciate the deliciousness that is Golub Jamun! 🙂

There’s nothing like a refreshing glass of water! Another one of my general goals is to drink more water every day, and so far I have been doing pretty well 🙂

Question: does it count if the water is consumed with hot chocolate? hah 🙂  My Sunday afternoon consisted of a good chunk of time with my nose buried in my book. For some reason I felt a little chilled, but a mug of hot chocolate sorted that right out. I am halfway through my book (find it HERE) and very much enjoying it! There are so many interesting themes and the characters are so rich. Strangely, the main character (the narrating voice) is the least developed as of yet because the story has mostly revolved around the grandparents and parents. It’s been an interesting thus far, so no complaints from me. I have heard that the second half of the book is mostly about the very unique main character, so I am excited about that 🙂

Joel serenaded me with a couple songs — it’s a good life 🙂 Before we started dating (about 15 years ago), my friend Priscilla taught me how to play the acoustic guitar. One day she and I were in the dorm lounge where she was teaching me new chords so that I could play a song. I remember Joel randomly walked in and chatted with us. We sorta had crushes on each other at that point 🙂 He grabbed a guitar and effortlessly played the song I was trying to learn, making it look way too easy. Just one of the many things I thought was pretty cool about him. Ah memories 🙂

What book are you reading? Do you play any musical instruments? Your favorite Indian dessert?

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The first few days of 2018… it’s going to be a good year, guys!

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Hey friends!

How are your first few days of 2018 going?

I’m sure you can guess it is STILL pretty darn cold here in the northeast. My inner nostrils are so dry… sorry for the TMI but does anyone have any remedies for dry nostrils? They hurt! To all my northeast pals: I heard a rumor that it should warm up some next week, so let’s all cross our frozen little fingers and toes for that! After all the bone-chilling sub-zero temps, being in the 30’s would feel pretty balmy, wouldn’t it?

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Are you a movie person or a show person? I appreciate a good movie but I must say, I am definitely in the show camp. Speaking of movies, Joel has been dying to see the Last Jedi, and he finally got to see it. He said it was awesome! I guess I will have to catch it when it’s out on Netflix. 🙂

I baked a cake on New Years Eve — it’s a vanilla cocoa cake with cream cheese icing! The actual cake was awesome, but I slightly regretted the icing… it tipped the whole scale a little too far on the sweet side. But I’m sure you know that didn’t stop me from still enjoying a piece! What’s your favorite part of a cake… corner, side, or middle? I am all about CORNER pieces if it’s a brownie, but with cakes I prefer the MIDDLE!

One of Joel’s favorite holiday beverages is Martinelli Sparkling Apple Cider! We always get several bottles at a time (like 6 lol), and crack into them on Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and sometimes Easter too! –> we’ve been loyal Martinelli fans for years! They should probably put our faces on the label or something 🙂 It’s become something of a tradition around here! We have tried all the other flavors but the APPLE CIDER is our fave!

Something not at all surprising: I’m still squarely on that cantaloupe bandwagon — I kid you not, I wake up thinking about it. I eat large quantities for breakfast, and often go back in-between meals to snack on more. One melon only lasts about one day around here… 🙂 It’s just so refreshing and delicious, I can’t resist!

Joel braved the cold once again to play ice hockey. Pretty sure he is the only person in Connecticut who DOESN’T want it to warm up –> he doesn’t want the ice to melt!

While he was on the ice, I stayed home and dug into my book Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan. I’m about 100 pages into it and enjoying it so far. The story follows “Pino,” an Italian teenager who helps Jews escape the Nazis by guiding them through the mountains from Italy to Switzerland. I haven’t gotten very far into the book (it’s a long one) so I’m sure there is a lot more “story” to come. According to the preface, the book is based on real historic events as recalled by various people who were interviewed by the author. So far so good.

Neither of us felt like cooking for dinner, so we picked up wings from Falcon Pizza. I’ve never really been a buffalo wing person, but I can be persuaded to appreciate the spicy, vinegary bites every now and then. I like that these wings are slightly crispy on the outside. We ate them with celery!

Joel did a quick store-run to pick up some random things we needed (broccoli, spinach dip, CANTALOUPE!). The broccoli section was looking a little sad so he ended up grabbing a couple heads of cauliflower instead. Cauliflower is one of those veggies that I have always loved deeply, but I don’t buy often because it isn’t Joel’s favorite. What’s your favorite way to cook cauliflower? I love it HOWEVER it comes, but I especially love it roasted with olive oil and salt!

We munched on some carrots and spinach dip that Joel got at the store! We normally get this AMAZING dip, but the store weirdly didn’t have it, so we settled on a different dip (not as amazing but still pretty tasty) — carrots dunked in spinach dip is SUCH a good snack — we finished off the whole bag just the 2 of us 🙂

Joel made progress on painting! He got the first coat of grey down. It looks so very nice! I would LOVE for all the walls in the house to be this color! I’m sure he’s thrilled to hear that (hah!) — anyone want to come paint my house? 🙂

The other corner of the room… this is how it looks with one coat of paint. There are a couple spots where the pink still comes through, but a second coat of grey should take care of that! I really like how it looks so far 🙂

I really appreciate clementines! Fun fact: I used to think clementines, tangerines, and mandarins were all the same thing… they are not. 🙂

Joel put up the window treatment in the dining room! 🙂 He had to take it down to install the blinds, but now all is back in place again. Eventually (probably YEARS from now) I would like to repaint this room a lighter color, and switch out the window treatments for something else (tbd)… but we’re totally fine with it as it is for now! 🙂

I am happy to report that my fiddle leaf fig is still going strong! I moved it to the corner of the staircase temporarily since we had a mini Christmas tree in the foyer where it normally sits. I might actually leave it there as it seems to be happy in that spot. It usually grows one or two leaves every spring, and I’m looking forward to seeing some new growth!

So far, our 2018 is off to a great start! It’s crazy to think we have been living in the house exactly a year now 🙂 Time sure does fly! I hope your year is off to an incredible start! It’s going to be a GOOD ONE my friends!!!

Regarding cakes/brownies, are you a corner, middle, or side person? What’s your favorite remedy for dry, painful nostrils?

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Repainting our walls, deviating from my breakfast norm, and what I add to noodles

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Hey there friends!

Happy FRIDAY everyone! It’s been a long week so I’m excited to get some relaxation in this weekend! Joel was in Michigan for a 2-day business trip earlier in the week, so I held down the fort here at home.

I watched a lot of “Lizzie Borden Chronicles” on Netflix — quite creepy and intense at some points, but very good! I have loved Christina Ricci since the Casper movie (talk about a throw-back!). Lizzie Borden is not exactly a “feel-good” show… it actually got rather gory at times, so be warned! Watch with caution! I feel like my gore tolerance has increased after seeing all the various zombies (and killings thereof) on Walking Dead. So although I found some parts kinda gross, they didn’t render the show un-watchable for me.

While we’re on the topic of shows, who here watches THIS IS US??? It has got to be my favorite show of all time! My favorite character in it, Randall, is played by Sterling K. Brown, who was nominated for a Golden Globe. I really really hope he wins! It would be so well deserved!

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Remember all that snow from last weekend? It’s mostly gone now after temps raised to above freezing and it rained… but this is what it looked like when the snow was done coming down — we got around 6 inches total. It was very pretty! There’s something so magical about freshly fallen snow. Everything is so quiet and peaceful. 🙂

Temps have been up and down all week long (mostly down hah), which means I haven’t been excited about spending a lot of time outdoors. But you know what, it sure is nice to snuggle up indoors in cozy blankets! It may be chilly out there, but I love how festive and warm our home is with our Christmas tree lights twinkling. Speaking of the tree, I mentioned before that we were going to tie string/fishing-line to these pinecones and hang them on the tree…

…we finally got around to it! I love how the pinecones look on the tree 🙂 I also really like that these came right from our very own backyard — our first DIY Christmas “ornaments”! It was so easy. I am thinking it would look extra pretty to spray-paint white “snow” onto the pinecones (like THIS!).

Guys, remember how I ordered a 20-pack of ramen noodles from Amazon? They arrived earlier in the week! I’m super excited!

The first thing I did was whip up some noodles for lunch… ramen topped with salad leftovers and grilled chicken! It was pretty delicious 🙂 It’s got to be the easiest and yummiest meal ever! And it’s also a good way of incorporating leftover veggies and/or proteins into a meal without feeling like you’re repeating the same thing over again (although I do not mind repeating meals haha) 🙂

…Case in point… my inability to stop putting this vinaigrette on EVERY salad in sight! I should probably just go ahead and buy stock in this company because I foresee many bottles in my future. I still haven’t tried it with strawberries yet so I think THAT must be my next mission. 🙂

Joel usually eats 2 eggs every morning for breakfast, and on most days I happily join on in on that bandwagon. However, yesterday I decided to deviate from the norm and instead munched on a honeycrisp apple with my favorite peanut butter. For some totally unintentional and unfathomable reason, it’s been a while since I’ve had peanut butter – I think it’s because I was on a nutella kick recently, but I sure am glad to have it back in my life!

So I finished my book club book “Water for Elephants” by Sara Gruen… it was such a good read! I found myself genuinely rooting for the main character, and I shed a tear at the end because my heart was so touched (I got super invested hah). I love the pace of the writing, and felt like it was so palatable all the way through. I am actually sad that there aren’t more chapters to read. I’ll definitely be checking out more works by Sara Gruen! I’m a fan of her writing for sure.

I can’t wait to meet with my book club to discuss Water for Elephants, and hear everyone’s opinions. We will meet in mid-Jan which seems so far away! I definitely have time to read another book in the meantime. I ordered Wonder and am very VERY excited to get started! 🙂 I haven’t seen the movie yet (I’ll wait till I finish the book) but based on previews and book description, I have a feeling the book will majorly tug at my heart-strings!

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So guys, when we bought our house, two of the bedrooms were painted light pink. The previous owners had two daughters so the pink made sense. But it isn’t really “us” so we have been planning to repaint both rooms.

I actually repainted one of the rooms back in February so that Joel could use it as his office. The color we chose was a “blue-toned white” (it reads more light blue than white). The lighter color REALLY brightened up the room and make everything feel incredibly fresh. Sidenote: Joel didn’t end up using that room as his office because he decided he needed more space, so he ended up moving his office down to the basement. The room has now been converted to a guestroom. In any case, we are pretty happy with the new paint color.

We are now finally getting around to painting the second pink room. We picked out a light grey color and got some swatches up on the wall. The color is called “grey cloth” which I think is quite appropriate! I wish our whole house was this color!

On the left is the swatch with two coats, and on the right with one coat.

The floor boards and window frame are currently varnished wood (not sure what kind of wood, but maybe oak?) and we plan to paint all of those white. I love a grey and white color combination! I’m excited to jump into another house project and freshen up this space. Hopefully we’ll be able to get it all done this weekend!

What do you have planned for your weekend? Any fun holiday festivities or parties?

Got any tips or hacks for painting walls? What house projects have you worked on? Did you DIY any of your Christmas ornaments?

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