Pregnancy

Adventuring and Getting Creative in the Kitchen

Pittsburgh has been getting some warmer weather and sunshine lately! So much so that we mowed our lawn twice this week and it was warm enough for Mavis and I to take a little adventure to a creek near our house.

Cocker spaniel puppy by water

This was her first experience with a body of water and she was definitely curious, but not super into it. Lola enjoys water, so I wish she had been with us to show Mavis how fun it is, but I’m not confident taking two dogs by the water with an almost 20 week baby bump, lol.

The warmer weather has me dreaming of gardening, too. Jimmy and I were back and forth on starting a garden this year since our baby is due in September and we have done like zero things to prepare for his or her arrival, but we figured we’ll just make the garden smaller this year and if it gets neglected, then oh well. We love gardening too much to give it up 🙂

I’ve been having fun in the kitchen lately! I think my favorite way to cook and bake is to see what we have on hand and then improvise and create meals or treats out of those items.

Tabbouleh ingredients cucumber, tomato, green onions, bulgur and quinoa mix, and lemonTabbouleh

I realized we had some of the classic tabbouleh ingredients on had yesterday, so I improvised off of this recipe and our little side dish turned out wonderfully!

I had also bought a container of cocoa powder and was in the mood for cookies, so I made these chocolate drop cookies and highly recommend the recipe. It’s simple and they definitely hit the spot.

King Arthur Flour Chocolate Drop Cookies on cooling rack

Other ways I’ve been creative in the kitchen lately include whipping up my favorite homemade baked beans and adding some extra spices, making a strawberries and cream oatmeal creation, and cooking cereal bars with marshmallow fluff, vanilla Chex, and Mr. Goodbars.

Alright, I better get going. I’m having my mother-in-law, mom, and sister over this evening and need to clean up our house a bit! I got the kitchen all cleaned from the aforementioned cooking and baking, but the rest has been a bit neglected 😉

Do you like to get creative with cooking and baking?

Five Things

It’s currently snowing in Pittsburgh as I type this blog post. Man am I ready for a nice, long stretch of warm weather! We had a gorgeous, sunny day in the 70s (it may have even hit 80 degrees?!) on Saturday and it was lovely. Cannot wait for more of that.

Okay, enough about the weather. It’s time to share five random things from my life!

1. Farm fresh eggs.

Farm fresh chicken eggs

My sister’s in-laws have chickens and Jimmy and I buy eggs off them from time to time and they’re so, so good. The difference between these eggs and the eggs I get from the grocery store is unreal. Have you ever had farm fresh eggs?

2. When work = photography.

Young couple smiling at each other under shade of trees outside

I met up with my brother and sister-in-law last week to take photos of a house they’re listing (they’re both real estate agents for my family’s real estate agency) and couldn’t help but snap a few shots of them afterwards! While I love doing the marketing and social media for my family’s business, it’s always a treat to get out and use my camera.

3. The return of coffee.

Dunkin Donuts iced coffee latte blueberry decaf

I think coffee and I are back on good terms again (pregnancy made me averse to coffee for a bit)! I stopped by Dunkin’ Donuts over the weekend and ordered a decaf blueberry latte and it was amazing! Do you like Dunkin’ Donuts coffee? What do you order there?!

4. Pregnancy updates.

17 weeks pregnant baby bump

I think this is the first picture I’ve posted of my bump?! It was last week, when I was 17 weeks along.

I have to admit, I feel a little conflicted blogging about pregnancy because I know it can be such a sensitive topic. I don’t want to overshare, but I also want to document the journey here on the blog. What do you guys think? Any advice or thoughts?

Here’s a quick little update: I’m 18 weeks today. Jimmy and I both felt the baby move on Saturday night and it was the coolest thing ever! We find out baby’s gender in two weeks and are taking everyone’s votes on which gender they think he/she is. Let me know your guess in the comments! I have no feeling one way or the other, and Jimmy is getting boy vibes.

5. Vlogging.

I’m on a vlogging kick lately! A few of you said you liked seeing more of my daily life and being able to put a voice and personality to my face, so here’s another vlog. I filmed this one yesterday and it was just a basic Monday for me 🙂

Alright, I’m going to get going! I have a few projects I’ve been chipping away at lately for church and my family’s business, so I’m hoping to make a dent in those today.

Tell me something random from your life!