Happenings

I haven't been very good at consistently writing out things we've been up to lately. A tiny little human clearly takes priority, but I would like to occasionally document things for my own memories sake. I figured I would post every so often things we're making, reading, doing etc.

Reading: Children's books & tons of them. Our favorites right now are The Cat at Night, Pout Pout Fish, The Wonderful Things You Will Be, The Mitten & Goodnight Goon (even though this is a Halloween book we love reading it). Books on our reading list (whenever we find the time...) Two by Two & The Girls for me. North Water & The Underground Railroad for Nate.

Making: Once a week, I try to make a meal we've never tried. The last one was a Moroccan pulled pork over rice & this week I'm making skillet chicken with pasta. Both recipes are from here.

Eating: All the sweet seasonal treats! Peppermint stick ice cream, ginger bread cookies & these Pfeffernusse cookies from Trader Joe's. They're addicting.

Drinking: A ton of coffee. We love Trader Joe's coffee. It is the one thing we splurge on. Their Guatemalan coffee is by far our favorite. We've also been trying all the seasonal beer. We really enjoyed Flying Bison's 'Blizzard Bock' & Harpoon Brewery 'Winter Warmer.'

Listening: Holiday music. You only get to listen for so many days out of the year! But other than that we've been listening to a lot of the new Kings of Leon & The SteelDrivers.

Watching: We basically binged Stranger Things. We really loved it. Most recently we watched West World and thoroughly enjoyed that as well.  Now that we are finished with both of those we are cramming in all the Christmas movies & holiday baking shows!

Doing: At the beginning of November we took Theo to his first Penn State game! He was a champ. He cried a few times very briefly, but you didn't even know it with all the cheering going on! We recently saw The Trans Siberian Orchestra for the first time! It was my wedding anniversary gift from Nate. We really, really enjoyed it! Totally put us in the holiday spirit. We took Theo & Joe to see Santa Claus. Each of them were really great! The Santa's were a whole other story...

Wanting: Hats. Give me all the hats. I manage to fit a shower in each day, but actually getting to do my hair is a rarity. Thankfully the cold temperatures make my hat wearing adventures seem normal.



Happy Wednesday! :)

Monday Morning Pick Me Up

It's a Monday. Once again. This week has snow in the forecast every single day for us & polar vortex like temperatures (y'all remember that?). In any case, I'm sure we could all use a little something to get us going this Monday morning!

This toy. I saw a similar one at Home Goods recently & made sure to store it in my memory for Theo (maybe next Christmas...). It looks like a multitude of injuries, but oh so fun. 

Taylor Swift has a new song for 'Fifty Shades Darker.'

This was about a week ago, but still worth the watch!

2016 Haters Guide to Williams & Sonoma. If you've ever shopped there you'll know a $25 gift card is  the perfect gift for your worst enemies.

The 'Hamilton Mixtape'.

Moscow mule recipe.

Pantone color of the year. And if you're not sold on it some decorative ideas that may change your mind.

Happy Monday to you all!

Making Our List & Checking It Twice

It's time for all things Christmas! We wait for this time of year with so much anticipation & then it is gone in the blink of an eye. It often feels so overwhelming to fit in all the holiday magic before it's over, but we've found that creating a list can help us cram in all that jolly goodness!

(this has become a tradition of sorts...)

Here's our checklist:

Get a Christmas tree (check!)

Drink hot cocoa with buttloads of marshmallows.

Bake! Lots of baking.

Send out Christmas cards.

Watch Christmas Vacation, Home Alone, The Santa Claus & all the cheesy Hallmark movies.

Have a Christmas themed breakfast.

Go visit Santa Claus (oh. my. gawd. I can't wait)

Have a Christmas music dance party (already had a few...)

Do a Christmas craft (snowflakes, gingerbread house... the possibilities are endless).

Make peanut butter pinecones for all the sweet woodland creatures (I sound so creepy).

Have a picnic under the Christmas tree lights.

Make orange & clove stovetop potpourri.

Read The Night Before Christmas (and all the other adorable Christmas books we plan to buy).

Cuddle up by the fireplace.

Drive around & look at all the pretty Christmas lights.

Make snowman pizza (because why the hell not?)

This list will just continue to get better as Theo gets older. We are so excited to create traditions with him. One thing we really want to show Theo around this season (and really everyday) is to give. We have always loved doing random acts of kindness whether they be small or large & each year we find a cause to donate to. This year we are donating to a local organization that provides gifts to children who suffer from traumatic experiences such as domestic violence, trafficking & mental illness. 

Here are a few we have donated to in recent years:

OXFAM 

Operation Christmas Child

WWF

Books for Africa

Charity Water

Also, this website has a ranking of thousands of charities! Any gifts made today will be triple matched!

Happy Giving Tuesday! :)

Cold Season Essentials

I feel like it's time to start our winter weather cold arsenal. Now that we have Theo I am even more interested in preventing any sort of illness in our home. Besides some minor sniffles, I was able to escape a serious illness or even a real cold last year (and I even had a depleted immune system due to being pregnant... just sayin'). I would absolutely recommend doing your own research for ways to prevent illness in your own home. I simply thought I would share what has worked for my family the last few years.

Astragalus. This is an herbal supplement I have taken for a while now. It works to boost your immune system & helps to fight disease. I whole heartedly believe this works to boost the immune system & would highly recommend it. (This is the brand we have used). Unfortunately, I avoided taking it last year due to my pregnancy & I won't be using it this year because of breastfeeding. It is said to be safe to use, but there just isn't enough research for me to feel comfortable.

Vitamin D. This is my new alternative to astragalus. It supports immune health & helps with mood disorders (SAD in our case). Last Winter Nate & I had a really hard time adjusting to the gloominess in our new new city. It is far less sunny in Western New York in the Winter than any other place we have lived. So, we jumped on the bandwagon & decided to test it out this year. I also recently read a study that suggests Vitamin D cuts the risk of contracting a cold in half! 

Essential oil diffusion. This is a new one for us. I still have so much to learn about essential oils, but from what I've read so far there are so many benefits! I started using them last year when I could no longer take my herbal supplement. I decided on lemon, orange, lavender & eucalyptus to begin with. I diffuse the lemon, orange & eucalyptus throughout the day because of their air purifying qualities, plus they make our home smell so fresh! We use the lavender at night for its calming properties & it worked wonders on our nasal passages anytime we had the sniffles! It also really seems to calm Theo & help him sleep throughout the night.

Disinfect. I can't suggest this enough. I disinfect every surface & door knob each time we clean throughout the whole year, but during the cold and flu season I do it multiple times throughout the week. Since Nate is in the medical profession our chances sort of increase of contracting a cold with all the possible germs he could bring home. We also have hand sanitizer in the nursery, our cars & the stroller so that we always have it on hand!

Fruit juice/fruit. This might sound a little silly, but for as long as I can remember I have had a glass of juice at breakfast. I quite literally can't start my day without it (and of course coffee). I also try to eat as much fruit as I can even though it is increasingly more difficult in the winter months.

Exercise. We do this year round, but we make it more of a priority in the cold months because it is so much harder to be motivated to get up & out! It helps that we have a dog who loves the outdoors, but it is so important to get exercise in even if it's something small. Plus, fresh air can work wonders! 

We also do tea, multivitamins & good ol' chicken noodle soup :) Feel free to share any tricks you have up your sleeve in preventing nasty colds.

Stay healthy!

Apple Cheddar Soup

We went apple picking a couple of weeks ago. It was a lot of fun & we picked a ton of different varieties that have all been delicious. We've made applesauce, breads, used them on salads, given buttloads away & were still swimming in a mound of them. We've been on the hunt for clever ways to use them up!

Naturally, now that it is soup season, we made an apple cheddar soup. I will whole heartedly own up to the fact that Nate is a far better cook than I am, but I can make a mean soup. This soup was really easy to make & we paired it with a rosemary and olive oil bread.

This soup was on the sweet side, so after the fact we added some red pepper to give it a little kick.

Apple Cheddar Soup

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1 tbsp. butter

2 medium baking potatoes & 1 large sweet potato

2 cups apple cider

1 tsp. thyme

1/3 tsp. salt

Dash of cayenne pepper

2 medium apples

1/2 cup milk

2 tbsp. all purpose flour

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Fresh apple slices for garnish

In a large saucepan cook onion in butter over a medium heat until tender. Stir in potatoes, cider, thyme, salt & cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat. Simmer, covered for 15 minutes. Add chopped apples, simmer, covered for 5 minutes or until potatoes are tender. In a small bowl, combine milk & flour; stir into soup. Cook & stir until bubbling. Slowly add cheese, whisking until the cheese is melted. Garnish with apple slices. Makes about 4 to 6 servings. We doubled the recipe.

Enjoy! :)

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Friday I'm in Love

Another weekend is here! It's a rainy one for us, and I'm not mad at it. It's going to be a cold & cozy couple of days which is something we haven't had in a while. We may even use our fireplace for the first time this season! :)

I plan on making this in the near future since we still have so many apples from apple picking.

Emma Stone's 73 questions. Her Britney impression is on point.

Theo is obviously too young for these activities, but they look like fun! I plan on doing a tummy time painting session with him soon.

I have never bought anything from Patagonia, but this makes me want to.

I don't think I could quite pull this off like she does, but I really dig it all the same.

Happy weekend! :)

Fall Filled Weekend

We had a festive Fall weekend around here! The weather was absolutely beautiful on Friday, so we made a trip to the pumpkin patch in the morning & grabbed all our carving pumpkins. Theo seemed to enjoy it (as much as an almost 3 month old can). We saw alpacas, goats, sheep & chickens and even a teepee made of thousands of corn husks.

Saturday was rainy & filled with a ton of college football & couch snuggles. Sunday was the epitome of a fall day with a cool breeze & slightly overcast skies, so we made the first pot of chili for the season! We also started the Netflix series "Stranger Things." It couldn't be more perfect for the month of October with it's creepiness! I would highly recommend it. It sort of reminds us of The Goonies, meets Steven Spielberg.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! :)

Friday I'm In Love

Hello weekend!

It's the first weekend of Fall & I've got pumpkins on the brain! We are going tonight to get all the green & white pumpkins we can possibly fit into the car. Which won't be many since there will be a baby & a dog along for the ride.


image via Pinterest

Jimmy Kimmel's mean tweets

This mask is beyond creepy, but absolutely perfect for Halloween.

Jimmy Fallon's #FallSongs

If you dig heartwarming, "gee why didn't I think of this" kind of things, then this Instagram account is the perfect one for you to follow.

McDonald's has pumpkin spice french fries??? Whatttt? No, thank you.


Happy, pumpkin spice everything filled weekend! :)

Fall Mini Style Favorites

I have loved having Theo in just a diaper with all the high summer temperatures, but I am more than ready to dress him in all the adorable Fall clothes! I am gladly hunting down a new wardrobe for the little dude since he is growing like a weed! 

 I have put together a few of my favorite finds lately for all you boy mamas & things I would without a doubt dress a little gal in!

Cardigan // Bear Hat // Booties // Romper // Bow // Dress // Bloomers // Ballet Flats

I also bought Theo these pajamas for Halloween & these! You can never have too many holiday jammies... especially when they are grown out of so quickly!

Are there any cute Fall mini styles you have your eyes on??? Hope everyone is having a great week! :)

Fall Mommy Favorites

One of my most favorite times of the year begins this week, the first official day of Autumn is Thursday!!! These 90-100 degree temperatures the last couple of months have been no walk in the park. The cooler temperatures that are hopefully on the horizon are going to be welcomed with open arms! We're looking forward to cool, morning walks & cozy slow cooker meals!

I've put together a few favorite Fall items I've come across lately. So looking forward to ankle booties, flannels & all the cozy sweaters!

Earrings // Jeans // Sweater Vest // Fedora // Shirt // Booties


Hope you have a wonderful start to a new week! :)

Two Months with Theo

Today Theo turned 2 months old! (and yes, it simply is "Theo" not "Theodore") It is safe to say time is indeed flying by with this little guy. At his 2 month checkup he weighed 12.7 pounds and was 24 inches long! His personality is beginning to shine through! He is a pretty happy, laid back baby who still loves being held & rocked. He LOVES the words "poopy" & "boobies" (go figure) and is thrilled when we talk or smile at him. He is always quick to greet us with a dimpled smile & a bunch of coos!

He is a champion sleeper, besides the fact that he is also the world's noisiest sleeper. His schedule is pretty consistent each day, with feedings every 2-3 hours. He is typically in his bassinet by 8:30 or 9. He has a feeding again around midnight and then most often sleeps until about 4 or 5 (even 6 when I miss my alarm...). Soon we will transition him to his crib since he is about to outgrow his bassinet!

Theo loves being outside. Our daily walks are his favorite or anytime we are out on the patio. We are almost positive he will begin rolling over any day now. He has gotten so much better at longer stretches of tummy time. He holds his head up like a champ & has started to really notice the dog. He loves music & looking at books when we read to him.

His smile is seriously the sweetest thing and it's so exciting to see him smiling & giggling more each day!

Happy two months Theo Thomas!

Blueberry Coffee Cake

Around this time of year I get giddy with the anticipation of football season, pumpkin everything (so basic, I know...) & all the delicious comfort food that I can't wait to make! 

This recipe still screams a bit of summer with the blueberries, but also gives me all the feels of the warm, cozy meals in the near future. It's easy-peasy & will be crammed into your face lickety split!

Ingredients:

Crumb Topping

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup butter, softened

Coffee Cake

2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup shortening

3/4 cup milk

1 egg

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (thawed & drained)

Vanilla Glaze

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 teaspoons hot water

Directions:

Heat over to 375 degrees. Grease bottom & sides of a 9 inch springform, square pan, or pie dish with shortening or spray. In a small bowl, mix 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour & the cinnamon. Cut in the butter with a fork until crumbly. Set this aside.

In a large bowl, stir together all coffee cake ingredients except blueberries; beat with spoon for about 30 seconds. Fold in blueberries. Spread the batter into a pan & sprinkle with topping.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for about 10 minutes.

In a small bow, mix the glaze ingredients until smooth & thin enough to drizzle. Drizzle over warm coffee cake.

Get your bake on & happy almost Friday! :)

One Month with Theo

Our little Theo is one month old already. It literally seems like yesterday that we brought him home from the hospital, but I suppose the lack of sleep will do that to you! It's been the fastest month of our lives & although it's had it's fair share of difficult moments, it's also had an abundance of sweet ones.

Theo is beginning to acquire those scrumptious baby rolls on his thighs & arms. His hairline is still that of an 80 year old man & a light shade of brown. His pretty blue eyes always light up whenever we talk to him & he is constantly taking in the world around him. He LOVES to be in motion at any given moment & rides in his carseat/stroller like a champ. He holds his head up like it ain't no thang & loves his bath time. We are certain he is going to give us a real, true smile any day now!

(totally pee'd his pants...)

Theo sure was the sweetest, most perfect addition to our family! This month has flown by & we want him to stay teeny, tiny forever, but we are beyond excited to see the little person he becomes! :)

Happy one month, Theo Thomas! 

Newborn Favorites

It's crazy to think Theo is almost a month old already! We are still very much in that stage of parenthood where it feels like we're in the trenches taking grenades (name that movie...), but we are slowly finding our rhythm as a family of four (can't forget Joey!). Theo is a pretty easy going little dude, but "good" baby or not it's still hard with the lack of sleep, feeding schedule & all around newness of adding a tiny human into your life. We definitely have an arsenal of newborn items that have been our saving graces during this last month & I thought I'd share them! 

A baby swing was one thing I had said "absolutely not" to because of the lack of space in our apartment. Plus, I had read that often times babies don't even like them & then it's just a big ol' waste of money. But praise all the God's that Nate talked me into getting one. Theo is a baby that absolutely love, love, loves motion (we have chalked it up to the miles & miles of running I did while he was in my tummy)! The 4moms Rockaroo was the perfect option for us because of it's size & look. It is really helpful during dinner time since Theo more often than not instantly falls asleep in his swing.

The stroller was one of the first items we purchased for baby Theo! We knew we wanted a jogging stroller because of all the running/hiking we do, but I don't think we really realized how much we would love it. We've used it almost daily since Theo's birth & he LOVES it too. It rides so smoothly & has an easy adapter for his car seat.

I have mentioned the Little Unicorn swaddles before Theo was even born, but since his birth we have really, truly fallen in love with them. They are so soft and breathable & a really nice size! These bottles are also a must have. Although I am breastfeeding, I really wanted Nate to be able to have those bonding moments with him too. I know they tell you to wait a few weeks so there isn't any nipple confusion, but Theo has done great & a bottle feeding sure is a nice break for me! I should also mention these pacifiers. Theo was given his first pacifier when he spent a night in the nursery for observation & it is by far his favorite. Lastly, Baby Einstein. This was another item I was all "oh, hell no!" about, but being the observant guy he is, Theo loves it! It's a huge help during those fussy diaper changes.

Hope you find this helpful! Happy, happy Tuesday! :)

Theo's Nursery

I am so excited to share some photos of Theo's nursery! This room is definitely our favorite. It's really the first time we've ever done a room like this together & we are so happy with how it turned out. Since we didn't know whether Theo was a boy or a girl, we went with more of a color theme for inspiration. Our favorite thing in the room (and Theo's favorite as well) is most certainly the cockatoo art print.

Hope you enjoyed the nursery photos & maybe find a tiny bit of inspiration! :)

Hello Cocky! print // Changing pad cover // Crib Sheet // Pillow // Baskets  

Bunny // Swaddles // Rug // Shelves // Rocker

Happy Monday! xoxo

Overnight Oats

Mmmm. An easy jar of deliciousness. Almost like a dessert for breakfast! It can't get much better than that, am I right???

I've heard A LOT about overnight oats. An abundance of positive things. How easy they are & how damn tasty they are once they hit your mouth hole. So, I finally jumped on the bandwagon & decided to test them out.

They truly are so simple to make. You layer, layer, layer, pour in some sort of dairy whether it be milk or yogurt or a dairy substitute, twist on a lid & boom you have yourself breakfast (or lunch or even, dare I say dinner) for the next day!

This is what I did for our version. I poured 1 cup of oats into a pint size mason jar. Then added a spoonful of peanut butter, sprinkled in some mini chocolate chips (because chocolate anytime of the day is acceptable). Then added a handful of strawberries & blueberries. Finally I poured about a cup of milk over everything until it just covers the filling. Top all that off with a lid & let it sit overnight in the refrigerator.

The next morning we drizzled a wee bit of maple syrup all over those goodies. Gave it all a little stir & then shoveled all of that into our faces! You can obviously add whatever the heck you want to make your own overnight oats & I'm sure whatever you choose it will be soooo good!

Enjoy!