DITL Spring 2016

Why not return to regular blogging with a little day in the life post? I love reading these but let me tell you they are NOT easy to do - so many pictures and details. Gah! Thanks, Julia, for hosting!

Wednesday April 13th

BG is 3

Nate is 34

I (just!!) turned 33

12am

Hellooooo. Just sorting through my closet tonight. A local family lost EVERYTHING in a house fire and a friend of theirs was asking for donations. She came by earlier today for a bunch of baby boy things that I had and she mentioned they needed ladies 6-8-10 clothing - exactly the push I needed to spring clean my closet! She's coming by in the morning so I'm sorting, folding and getting it all to the door tonight. 

1am 

Found a bunch of baby books and some other odds and ends to give to them!

1:30am 

Dishes. I hate unloading the dishwasher but I need to run another load tonight so empty and reload it is. 

8am 

My little buddy is up! Yes, he still rocks a sleep sack in his crib. He's happy and sleeps like a champ. Why mess with a good thing?

8:30am

Need to wrap up a sports cookie order for drop off later.

9am

Gah! Need to leave soon but a bit of protein before we do! 

And dish unloading. Blahhhhh. 

10am

Made it to music class - we look forward to class every week! He really is a lover of all forms of music. We always have a special lunch out with our music buddies afterwards...so much fun!

11am

Another day. Another public potty. So proud of him for being such a big boy but I really prefer the days of diaper changes in the back of my car over public restroom stops.  

11:30

Dropping off some knives to be sharpened and buying a few pieces to add to my gold touch pans. LOVE them so much. 

12pm

LUNCH! We met our music class buddies like we always do - but boy oh boy did they seat us at a HUGE table! Then all of a sudden more of my favorite people showed up. A surprise birthday lunch! Thank you girls again...such a fun surprise...

2pm 

Dropped the ball on pictures but we left lunch and dropped the cookie order off then head home for nap time. BG fell asleep in the car - not a good sign for nap time. 

I get to work on my latest project - cleaning grout. I purchased a new product to help me and it's definitely working! This is the laundry/garage door area so super gross grout in no time at all and it seems to be working on the first line at least!

4:30pm

Alarm goes off on my phone - reminding me to send Karen dinner. BG has a cough/runny nose so we can't bring her a homemade meal - she chose pizza thankfully so order her favorite and a special dessert to arrive with it too!

6pm

BG has been up and we've been playing like crazy - I give him two options for dinner and he chooses breakfast for dinner. Waffles with a PB smear...yum!

6:30

Outside time before an early bedtime. He only had an hour nap (usually 2.5-3 - dreaded car nap!) so he's wiped and the fresh air is making both of us happy!

7:30

BG goes down. I pour a glass of wine and wait for a girlfriend to arrive to chat about Beautycounter. 

8pm

She's here so we chat and I look through what I'm going to order. I'm trying to eliminate unhealthy everything this year...not cheap but worth every penny to know we're wearing/using/ingesting the best we can. 

9:30

My friends leaves and I'm instantly texting another girlfriend about what I ended up ordering. 

10pm

Time to clean up a bit and prep for playgroup. We're hosting which is awesome but also means I need lots of coffee ready to go - and usually a tasty bite or two. I decide cinnamon rolls will fit the bill! Bravo is on keeping me company. 

11pm

Realize my Amazon package never did arrive even though it was guaranteed by tonight. Grrrrr. Thankfully it's not a HUGE deal but still annoying. 

11:30pm

End the day the same way it started - folding clothing. I don't mind sorting, washing and drying our clothes - but the folding and putting away is not my favorite. 

Signing off of this DITL until next time...

Spoiler alert - another birthday surprise! Cinnamon rolls got pushed to the side when these arrived with my sweet friends in the am! I've been so spoiled this week! 

four

Last week marked four years since I lost my dad. 

Four.  

I took some time away from the blog because I didn't have anything nice to say, and honestly, I was just sad. My mom had just left to go back home (enter worrying about her being alone) add in some other personal "bologna" (as my dad would say) and I just had nothing to say that you would have wanted to read. 

I'm feeling better this week. Ready to tell a funny little story. Ready to laugh.  Ready to focus on being happy - even though a part of me is just really really sad. 

I'm not sure when that part stops but I will tell you this - you should call your parents and tell them how much you love them. Visit them. Hug them and enjoy that feeling of safety and pure love that parents give to you so effortlessly and unconditionally. If I could have one more day with my dad you better believe I would want it to be filled with "loves you lots" and "loves you too, kiddo" and the safest hugs I'll ever know - and introducing my BG's to each other, of course!!!

My dad was the best. 

(I know, yours is too. That's the greatest part about parents - they really just are simply the best to their children.) 

My dad wasn't dramatic but he was loving. He was strong and stubborn but he was truthful, giving and compassionate. He lived a life full of putting family first, being respectful to all people and stopping whatever he was doing to help someone in need. 

A true gentleman. 

I'll never forget this dance. He was so passionate about our song choice and we sang it to each other as he led me around the dance floor. 

And now when I sing it to BG I can feel his presence so strongly. 

The good and the bad

Having mom in town allowed me to accomplish so many items on my to-do list. When I realized her visit overlapped with my friends chemotherapy treatment I knew I needed to drop my to-do's and just keep her company during treatment. It was such a blessing to sit with her and have uninterrupted conversation for hours. We talked about politics, laughed over old memories and even cried a little bit talking about both of our futures. 

Karen is one the strongest people I've ever known. She is fighting this awful disease with everything's she's got and I was so privileged to support her while she kicked some cancer booty. 

After I took her home I started listening to my song for Karen - when I first heard it over a year ago I couldn't stop crying and aching for my friend. Listening to it now isn't any different but it did get me thinking about modern medicine. 

This specific "cocktail", if you will, is extending my friends life - so that she can see another day with her son. This cocktail also knocks her on her rear for days at a time. It allows her another chance to breathe fresh spring air. It caused her to lose her beautiful hair. But she's here with us...battling this disease with dignity and a lot of spunk. 

We love you, Karen...

Spring

Spring has definitely sprung here in Charlotte! We're trying our best not to turn the AC on just yet but these 80 degree days are just heating up the house! 

Before my mom left we journeyed up north to see some dear friends. Faith was a gracious hostess and mom loved seeing all the work they'd done on their new home. I just loved getting to see my friend for awhile with an extra adult around - I think we actually squeezed in a good bit of adult conversation while our little turkeys played the beautiful Spring morning away. 

Brew Crew

Having my mom in town for so long allowed us to do an all day brewery tour within Charlotte. I'd been wanting to do one foreverrrrr but just couldn't find the right time. Well, we finally got the chance to grab our buddies and cheers the day away! 

We pretty much stuck to the Noda area - trying our best to avoid the craziness of St Patty's bar crawls in other parts of the city! It was a wonderful way to spend the day...with friends old and new! 

Side note: Don't you just love when your face hurts from laughing too much? Me too. 

Mule with a twist

Do you have a favorite cocktail? I go through phases where I love one in particular and then move on to the next craving.

I like ordering Moscow mules when we're out and about. They always taste refreshing to me versus boooozie. My girlfriend has been telling me about her favorite twist on a mule for well over a year but I just never got around to trying it. Then we were at the beach together and she made this as my first drink away from BG and it. was. perfection. 

The ruby red vodka is tart and yet sweet. The lime juice is not as sweet as simple syrup and the ginger beer is just refreshing. I usually squeeze fresh lime into my glass as well. Served over ice I can't help but relax as I sip away.

Thanks for finally getting me hooked too, Anne!

Epipen Free

As of March 1st we are an epipen free home! 

For the past three years BG has suffered from (and now outgrown!) a peanut and an egg allergy! I'm so thankful for him and for us - food allergies can be so scary! We waited the 12 months suggested after final oral challenge (he sat in a doctors office eating eggs/peanuts under crazy supervision increasing dosage every 15 minutes until it was clear that he no longer had any allergy symptoms) before finally emptying our epipens and recycling the cartridges! 

One less thing to carry and one less worry for all of us! Cheers to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!

Spring weather

Saturday we spent a great deal of time at the park - after stopping by Home Depot for the children's workshop of course! If you haven't visited one yet with your little one please do - it's free and so much fun!  BG's latest project is my favorite one so far!

I didn't take many pictures - the very best sign of having too much fun! I tried to capture my mom and BG leaving the park together and although it's blurry it's still special to me. 

We had planned to meet our friends and their boys at the park. While we were waiting for them to arrive one of BG's other very favorite people showed up to play!  Such a special surprise for these little turkeys!

We just can't get enough of this beautiful weather!

New Eats

I was so spoiled this weekend - delicious meals and great company.

I met two of my favorite girls for drinks and dinner at Crepe Cellar. They had a local raspberry beer on tap that was so refreshing! We shared pesto Brie fries (amazing) and ended the night with a Brownie in a Blanket (a crepe filled with a brownie and candied walnuts...whoa.). I had the cellar burger for my entree (based on my girlfriends recommendation) and I'm glad that I did because it was divine! We all left absolutely stuffed.  

Friday night we decided that we just couldn't decide on one place to go with our friends so we just did a mini-progressive dinner. Nate and I started with cocktails at the bar of The Summit Room before our friends arrived and we got a table for appetizers. 

Hello lovely cheese plate (and several more cocktails)...

We moved across the street to Kid Cashew for entrees. Nate got this delicious basil infused cocktail and I think it was better than any of the other drinks we'd had that night (and I tried sips of everyone's!). Dinner on the other hand? Far from memorable but I didn't have to do any cooking or dishes so I can't really complain! 

We planned to swing by another spot for dessert but by the time we arrived (after 11pm) it was already closed. Womp.Womp.  Truthfully? We were stuffed and didn't really need another treat...

What a delicious weekend...

Cookies. Cookies. Cookies.

Goodness - this has accidentally turned into a baking blog this week!

I had two ladies contact me for baby boy shower cookies last week - perfect timing to just make one big batch! I had fun experimenting with a few new techniques I'd found for royal icing.   

 

 

I also finished an order for BG's yoga teacher this week. She's been hoping to use these cookie shapes in promoting her business and I was thrilled to show her a few ways that she could decorate them! 

  

 

 

Nothing makes me happier than baking at the end of the day...especially when it's for others!

 

Blackberry Pie

I was in charge of a special birthday treat for our beach weekend and one of the birthday girls requests was a blackberry pie. Done. 

 

I always struggle with making pie crusts and this crust was no exception. Although lattice pies look the most appetizing to me they also challenge me the most, which I love!  

I spent several days trying to find the right recipe for blackberry pie finally settling on this delicious recipe from Marilyn Batali (Mario's mother) featured in Food & Wine magazine.

The only changes that I made were using cornstarch instead of flour (I'd definitely use less next time). I also did an egg wash on the pie crust followed by a sprinkle of nutmeg. I think a nutmeg sprinkle really kicks fruit pies up a notch!

Carrot Cake

My in-laws were in town last week so BG and I decided to make a special treat for us all to share. My hubby chose carrot cake and I was thrilled! I saw this recipe in my Southern Living magazine last March and have just waited for the chance to make it! The brown sugar-cream cheese frosting was FANTASTIC!

The recipe doesn't include this but I highly suggest chilling the frosted cake before serving. We enjoyed a slice immediately after frosting it and then again the next day when it had been refrigerated. I couldn't believe how much better it tasted cold!

Ocean Isle

This was our view over the weekend - rough, right?

To make a long story short - a first date joke between two of our buddies turned into a birthday weekend getaway for all of us! 

We'd never been to Ocean Isle before so it was lovely to explore a bit of the beach in between cocktails and piñata hitting (btw that piñata was handmade by the birthday girls beau and full of mini liquor bottles - perfection). 

While BG was safe at home with my mom (being spoiled rotten) we got to let loose. I came back even more exhausted than when we headed there and my face hurts from laughing so much but boy oh boy was it refreshing to just worry about what cocktail I wanted next.

So thankful for these girls...they've listened, challenged and entertained me every. single. day. since I first met them...

Happy happy birthday sweet ANNIEEEE!