Monday morning.

Note the stationary. I've had it since 7th grade - they are gymnast bears. haha.

My Monday started earlier than usual since my little boy is teething and has not been sleeping well the past few days. Nights have been pretty rough around here. But, I finally got him down for his morning nap and made some breakfast and have been working on my menu and grocery list for the week. Breakfast was delicious -- I fried up 2 eggs (I just spray the pan with cooking spray to cut down on the fat) with some salt, pepper and hot sauce and then put them on top of this spicy bread spread with a wedge of laughing cow cheese. Served with a vat of coffee on the side!

Just some weekend tidbits...it was a great one!:

• Took a little break from cooking and ordered pizza from Papa John's. I don't care that it's a chain. It's delicious.
• Watched Dan in Real Life. It's one of our favorite fall movies. 
• Attended a good friend's son's 1st birthday party. She accepted donations to a local no-kill animal shelter in lieu of gifts. It was fun to watch all the babies play with the dog toys.
• Went to another good friend's wedding reception. It was a low-key cookout at his parents' house and it was nice to relax and catch up with friends I hadn't seen in awhile.
• Watched Notre Dame win!
• Watched a lot of Sunday football and my fantasy team score some good points. I think I might even win this week!
• Enjoyed a cool fall evening at the park last night. Eli and I sat on a blanket on the grass while we watched daddy play basketball. He also enjoyed swinging and me taking him down the slide for the first time.
• Made chicken and tortellini soup (adapted from this recipe) and the aforementioned bread for dinner. I'm declaring Sundays soup and bread day through winter now.

What did you do this weekend?
Have you made any delicious breakfasts recently?

30 & a weekend re-cap.

Me and my little man over the weekend. 

I turn 30 today. It's a little bit weird. I can't say I'm a 20-something anymore. Now I'm a 30-something. I'm sure I'll get used to it. I've been told that the 30s are better than the 20s so I'm looking forward to some good years ahead!

This weekend I...

• celebrated my birthday with some close friends and lots of food & cupcakes.
• had a birthday brunch with my family. My mom made eggs, sausage, pancakes (with peanut butter!) and hashbrowns. It was delicious.
• celebrated my cousin's daughter's 1st birthday at a park. That's where the above picture was taken. She was super cute and had a big cupcake smash cake that she proceeded to push off her high chair once she was finished with it.
• watched the Notre Dame football game with my husband's family. They won so that put them in a good mood!
• allowed my son to be left in the nursery without one of us with him. This is a huge step for me. He did great and alleviated some of my fears about leaving him since he tends to have some separation anxiety issues.
• watched the Browns lose and watched lots of other football games! My fantasy team lost too, but I'm hoping for a comeback next week.
• made chicken taco chili and cheesy beer bread for a fall dinner last night. 
• got to enjoy having the windows open since we have had some great weather!

What did you do over the weekend?

Introducing a little bit of fall...and some weekend tidbits.

We are slowly transitioning to fall in our home. I won't go into full fall mode until after Labor Day though, which I always view as the unofficial end to summer. Last night we lit our Woodwick Fireside candle and this morning I brewed some pumpkin spice coffee. It just feels nice to savor some of these little fall pleasures and think ahead to the next season.

We had a nice weekend as a little family. We visited my in-laws and had dinner with them, then ended up visiting some friends at the last minute and got ice cream from my favorite little ice cream place in our old town.

Eli was really into our in-laws' dog. I'm just not sure the dog is into him!

The next day we went to this cute little vintage store and then hung out at a coffee shop with some blended coffees. I chose a fabulous chocolate and peanut butter blend and will definitely need to try to re-create it at home! I made a Hawaiian pizza for dinner before Jon headed to hang out with a friend and I relaxed with a glass of wine and some magazines after our son was in bed.

What did you do this weekend? Have you started thinking about fall yet?

A busy weekend.

via Jame Laroche via Pinterest (unsure of original source)

I got to sleep in until 10am today. 10am! This has not happened once since Eli was born. He must have been completely worn out from this weekend's activities. I just hope this doesn't mean his schedule is going to be all off now.

We trekked 4.5 hours to Indiana for my husband's grandpa's 90th birthday and celebrated in style at the Old County Buffet. Hey, when you leave the decision up to a 90 year old birthday boy, this is what you get. I never eat at buffets because a) I have gotten sick from them before and b) I can usually make better food in my own kitchen, but it was a nice time and I found a lot of carbs (and dessert!) to eat. That night we stayed at his family's cottage, then hit up another buffet the next morning at an Amish restaurant for breakfast. I then got to enjoy a wonderful nap with my baby while the boys went on a bike ride. We stopped at the local Amish burger & shakes restaurant for dinner before heading back to Ohio, with only one small scream-fest from Eli on the way. And after all I ate this weekend, I am definitely ready for some vegetables and lighter fare!

I got my grocery shopping done today for the week so I'm glad that errand is completed since I think I will be spending the majority of tomorrow unpacking and cleaning the apartment. I swear it was clean before we left!

What did you do this weekend?

Weekend recap!

Sorry I have been MIA, but I was out of town over the weekend and by the time I got home on Sunday I just wanted to sit on the couch & relax!

I love this photo from Etsy seller bomobob.

Here's what went down:

Thursday

• Visited our friends and their new baby in the Cleveland area
• Fed my craving for Chick-fil-A - finally!

Friday

• Hung out at our friends' house and had a delicious breakfast made for us
• Stuffed ourselves at a local gyro shop for lunch
• Celebrated a friend's 30th birthday with some of my favorite people (I also got introduced to Words with Friends and now I think I am addicted....oops!)

Saturday

• Helped my mom host her family reunion where I ate a ton of good food and saw family members that I haven't seen in years

Sunday

• Went to my church growing up and had a donut AND hot chocolate (I'm blaming that idea on pregnancy cravings)
• Finally came back home & watched football for the rest of the day (and then hung out with Jon once he got home from work!)

It was a fun, but very busy weekend!

What did you do over the weekend? I want to hear!

My weekend starts today...

and it's going to be awesome.

First up...the Foo Fighters concert tonight! It is our 4th year anniversary today and my parents and brother gifted Jon and me with these tickets. I am so excited. I'm also stoked that they will be baby's first concert! He/she needs to learn good music at a very young age. I'm sure we will grab dinner somewhere too, but the concert is the most exciting part of our anniversary for sure.

More weekend updates coming in the next couple of days.

What are you doing this weekend?

I heart Saturdays.

Source - King Arthur Flour via Pinterest

 I woke up extra early today and got my cleaning finished so I could spend the rest of the day doing the things that I really like to do. So far my Saturday has consisted of:

• A quick run to Target to pick up a few essentials, plus a new microwavable mug for my lunch soup
• Loading up the crock pot with ingredients for chicken tortilla soup - dinner - check!
• Whipping up an apple pie that is now baking away in the oven - I use Crisco's crust.
• Cheering on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish - please win this week!

I also plan to:

• Bake some easy cheesy beer bread to go with the soup - it's safe for pregnancy :)
• Watch Ohio State take on Miami - Go Bucks!
• Catch up on some magazine reading

What are you doing this lovely Saturday?

Weekend tidbits.

I had a pretty low-key weekend, which is exactly what I needed before school starts this week. Speaking of that, I was able to get a job for the first day of school! It's only a half-day, but I really didn't think that I would be working that day at all. I'm hoping to fill up the rest of the week quickly.

Friday

Source

I ended up throwing out the pot roast that I cooked the other night, which unfortunately resulted in no leftover sandwiches for Friday's dinner. So we ended up ordering grinders from a local shop, which I then paired with fresh corn on the cob and salads. We also watched the Browns 2nd preseason game. They lost, but preseason doesn't really matter. It's just nice to watch football!





Saturday

Source

I spent the day cleaning, running errands and reading, but then got to watch gymnastics! Gymnastics is not on TV very often, but I love when it is. The Visa Championships this year also showcased some gymnasts who could potentially be on the 2012 Olympic Team and there were a couple of girls who I think can do really well if they make the team. I also enjoyed watching Shawn Johnson, Alicia Sacramone and Chelsie Memmel who all competed in the 2008 Olympics.

 Sunday

Source

Source

 

Sunday afternoon I finished reading a new young adult book. I don't always read young adult, but sometimes a book catches my eye in my monthly Goodreads newsletter. I also like to read a few young adult books so I can recommend good books to students. It was an interesting read and on a topic that I typically don't gravitate towards (witches), but I liked it. You can click on the source under the picture for a synopsis on Goodreads. Jon and I ended up watching Arthur (a re-make of a 1981 movie) after dinner and I thought it was a cute/funny movie (not the best movie I've ever seen, but I did like the cast).

What did you do this weekend?

Memorial Day weekend.

Source via weheartit.com

I am extremely excited for this sunny 3 day weekend.

I plan to...

• visit my family
• visit some friends
• read outside
• go on long walks
• eat ice cream
• eat a lot of fruit
• grill out
• go shopping for vacation items
• be outside as much as possible

Have a fabulous Memorial Day weekend! What are your plans?

So...it's kinda been awhile.

It's been a great weekend so far. 

Last night we got together with a group of friends to celebrate our friend's homecoming from Japan. He had been teaching English over there for a couple of years, but came back to the States due to everything that's happening in that area of the world. It was great to catch up with everyone and it makes me happy that we all still try to get together at least once a month even though we don't live in the same towns anymore. I forgot my camera (again) so no pictures to post, but they would have been filled with tacos, drinks, laughing, talking, paper grading (one of our friends is a 3rd grade teacher & we like to help her grade...haha) and a horrible OSU basketball game.

Today I have just been enjoying a relaxing Saturday with reading, coffee and sweet potato and black bean hash.

I got the recipe here.

I did add a little too much cayenne (that's what I get for dumping instead of measuring) so it was a spicier than it should have been, but still really good! I saved some for tomorrow too. :) 

Read more about this book here.

I've been reading In the Woods and it reminds me an episode of Criminal Minds, which is one of my favorite shows. I'm only about half-way through, but I hope to finish it this weekend!

What are you doing this weekend?

Weekend review.

Source - The Little Red House

Before getting to my weekend I just want to say that I am praying for Japan & any involved in the latest natural disaster. One of my very good friends is there now and fortunately safe, but the situation is still scary for all involved.

Here's some snippets from a lovely weekend:

Friday

• Made stromboli & watched Love and Other Drugs with Jon
• Started reading a new book

Saturday

• My mom came to visit! We...
• Ate brunch at First Watch - I had the bacado (bacon, avocado, monterey jack cheese w/ salsa & sour cream) omelette & it was delicious.
• Went to the local farmer's market & picked up some homemade caramels
• Got a cute summer dress at Target thanks to my mom :)
• Went to the OSU women's gymnastics meet where they won by almost 3 points - that's a lot in gymnastics!
• Went for a walk on my neighborhood walking trail through the woods
• Got Graffiti Burger - love their burgers & fries!
• Movie marathon with Life As We Know It, Role Models and The Breakfast Club 
• Ate snickerdoodles that my mom made for us Jon
  

Sunday

• Ate breakfast that Jon made for us
• Read magazines at Barnes & Noble
• Did some shopping at Bed, Bath & Beyond, Old Navy and Kohl's - no luck finding anything though!

It's a weekend full of friends.

I think spring is really coming. I am starting to come out of my hibernation shell and get out more. I think it's also been good for my mental health because whenever I don't see people enough I start to get a little crazy. I suppose that's the extrovert in me.

My weekend started on Thursday. One nice thing about subbing is that I can make my own schedule. I finally got a chance to go to Cocktails at the Conservatory, where we drank martinis and looked at pretty flowers & glass art. It was nice to see some green plants after not seeing anything living for awhile. We then grabbed some dinner at Barley's Smokehouse and Brewpub, which is a local microbrewery. I got the burger with bacon and avocado slices...so good!

Picture from Conservatory website

Last night some very good friends came to visit us. We grabbed dinner at California Pizza Kitchen, checked out a few stores at the mall, got Coldstone for dessert, then came back to our house for a couple rousing games of Outburst Remix and Scene It Xbox edition. Most of the time my friends don't like to have game nights with me because I tend to be overly competitive and get pretty angry when I lose, but I actually held it together and did not complain when I lost both games. Am I finally learning to enjoy games just for the sake of playing them with friends for fun? Let's hope so.

Today I plan on getting a few things done around the house, doing a little reading, grabbing coffee with an old friend, and possibly hanging out with some other friends later tonight.

What are you up to this weekend?

An absolutely wonderful weekend so far.

Source

We had an amazing Friday with some of our friends. A canceled weekend trip turned into an impromptu visit to our old town. We...

• Ate at a favorite restaurant
• Bought an entire cheesecake sampler
• Watched Easy A (and I liked it...)
• Had interesting conversations
• Dreamed about vacation in 3 months
• Watched (more like listened to) the boys play FIFA Soccer 2011
• Ate cinnamon rolls for a late breakfast  

Today we spent some time with Jon's parents doing a little window shopping at the mall, eating dinner at Macaroni Grill, and watching the Notre Dame basketball game. Well, I mostly read magazines during that time, but I paid attention during the important parts. :) We are now home and ready to sleep in tomorrow!

How's your weekend so far?

A spontaneous 3-day weekend.

Source

 

 

I fully intended on subbing today, but ended up having an unexpected snow day instead. It was nice to sleep in much, much later than I normally do! Jon also has these next 3 days off and I am excited for us to actually have a weekend together since he typically works those days. And I'm not sick anymore so that makes it even more enjoyable! (Or I should say I'm not that sick anymore...I still have that stupid cough.) We plan to make some visits this weekend....tonight we'll see some good friends and tomorrow we're hanging out with Jon's family. Hopefully Sunday will be a day of relaxation and maybe some Oscar viewing. I've only seen Inception and Toy Story 3 though. But, I do like both Anne Hathaway and James Franco so hopefully the hosting will be good!

What are your weekend plans?

The beginning of my weekend.

I only worked three days this week, but it felt like much more than that. I also went back to the doctor and got more antibiotics because I can not get over this illness. It's starting to be ridiculous. Anyways, on to my Friday. We had some friends come down and visit us last night and the girls went to see the Ohio State gymnastics meet against Michigan State. It was my first meet and I really enjoyed it! I hope to attend at least one more before the season ends. Then we came back and ate pizza and ice cream with the boys. Healthy, huh? Sometimes you just have to splurge! Here's a really bad quality picture from my cell phone (that I cropped) that I took at the meet last night:

How was your Friday night?

Yep, still sick.

I don't think I've ever been sick for as long as I have. Well, except the time I had chicken pox and was basically forced to stay inside for half the summer. I think this is worse though since I don't get sick days as a substitute teacher. No work = no money. My illness has now turned into pneumonia. I'm really glad I finally decided to go to the doctor and not just waved it off as something that will go away on its own. I have antibiotics now so hopefully I can kick this thing! Therefore, my weekend did not turn out as I had originally hoped. It was definitely low-key and not really noteworthy...but it was nice to lay around with Jon and watch a couple of movies (Grown-ups & Toy Story 3)! I also got a chance to read The Girl in the Green Raincoat by Laura Lippman today. It was a quick little mystery read and kept my interest throughout, which is always a plus.

Source

My sister-in-law and I did get a chance to make some chocolate-covered strawberries, which was the only thing I planned to do that actually happened. They are delicious and hopefully I won't eat the rest of them in one sitting. :) I plan to answer the Ape House questions of the week tomorrow so stay tuned for that if you are part of the book club!

How was your weekend?

It's the weekend of love.

My husband and I don't actually get into Valentine's Day all that much, but I still thought I would share some pretty pictures for the occasion since I know many will be celebrating this weekend. I am still battling a cough, but if I'm up for it then this weekend I plan to get coffee with a friend, make chocolate covered strawberries with my sister-in-law and maybe catch a dollar movie with Jon. I would like to cook a nice meal just for fun too. All our plans are still up in the air though!

Both images from weheartit.com.

What do you have planned this weekend?

Weekend updates.

Source
via Lavender and Lilies

Even though I was still getting over my illness this weekend, I still managed to have a pretty good time! 

Friday: Celebrated a friend's birthday with Mexican food and bowling. Our team came in 2nd and I'm a pretty sore loser, but I did get a few strikes! It was so great to see all of our friends who we don't get to see on a regular basis now.

Saturday: Hung out with my family for the first time since Christmas, then drove home in the snow where I almost had a panic attack. And I wasn't even the one driving! I think my husband thinks I'm crazy. We spent the rest of the evening making spaghetti carbonara and relaxing. 

Sunday: Picked up a few books at the library (Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang, The Art of Racing in the Rain, The Girl in the Green Raincoat, The Conscious Kitchen) & did my usual Sunday activities of grocery shopping and laundry. We were also able to watch the Superbowl on our now cable-less television and I am extremely happy that the Packers won!

How was your weekend?

My weekend so far.

Friday:

BBQ at Hoggy's.

Magazine reading at B&N.

Saturday:

Yoga (apparently my mirror needs cleaned - oops!)

Menu planning (and yes, I have gymnastics note pads from 7th grade still).

Grocery shopping.

New book reading.

Pretty low-key weekend so far. I like it!

What have you been up to so far this weekend?

Sundays are bittersweet.

Remember that Christmas tree that never made it to the curb? Yeah, it still hasn't. Fortunately no one can see the snow piling up on it in our backyard but us! I like the relaxing feel of Sundays, but I hate the feeling of dread about going back to work on Monday. I plan to enjoy today as much as possible though. I am going to make some brownies for dessert & I have pizza dough rising on my counter:

This will be turned into stromboli later tonight while watching the Jets beat the Steelers. I'm not a Jets fan, but I really dislike the Steelers since I'm a Browns fan. So naturally I have to root against them! :)

How do you enjoy Sunday to the fullest before going back to work?