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New York in 29 Hours

Post author:Melanie
Post published:June 9, 2014
Post category:Events / Family / Travel
Post comments:2 Comments

Holy cow what a great weekend! It was so completely exhausting but so incredibly worth it.

Let’s begin the weekend recap by showing off the fabulous items I won from Caroline’s giveaway a couple of weeks ago! I won a pair of new balance shoes which are super comfy and light weight, and a super roomy New Balance tote/gym bag. I still can’t believe I won. Awesome giveaway!

On Friday morning, Dana and I were off to New York for my cousin Stephanie’s wedding. Our flight was at 6 am which means I was up at 3:30 am. YIKES! By the time we got to our hotel, hung out with the bride to be and bridesmaids (btw I felt very honored to have been able to hang out with them as they got ready!), grabbed lunch with Dana, and finally got to check into our room, I was pooped. It was only about 3:00 and I knew that if I was going to survive the evening I needed a nap.

I napped, got ready, and was ready to go to the wedding! I realize I didn’t take a full on photo of my dress but in case you were wondering, the dress I went with (I didn’t go with Rent the Runway) was a black cap-sleeved adorable dress from Kohl’s. I felt it flattered my growing body very nicely and I felt pretty in it. I wore a white chunky floral necklace, cream heels, a red clutch, and even sported red lips!

My drink of choice for the evening was sparkling water with a splash of cranberry juice. 🙂

The ceremony and reception were so beautiful. The weather was perfect. The couple was stunning. The view was insane. It was a great wedding!

Another huge congrats to Steph and Jeff! I am so happy for you both! xoxo

On Saturday we met up with the gang for lunch and then it was time to head to the airport. Back home we went.

I slept super well on Saturday night back in my own glorious tempurpedic bed. I woke up Sunday morning ready and raring to go and in some serious need of physical activity. My body was tired of being cooped up on that plane!

I soaked up the sun and got in a nice long walk.

I’d have to say this was what you call an epic weekend. New York in 29 hours…done.

How was your weekend?!

Have you ever taken a trip this quick?

Baking, Shopping, and Good Food

Post author:Melanie
Post published:June 3, 2014
Post category:Beauty/Fashion / Family / Recipes / Restaurants / Snacks
Post comments:9 Comments

I am most definitely linking up with Becky for Treat Yourself Tuesday today because I have been treating myself quite a bit lately.

This weekend I treated myself to time in the kitchen. I baked up a couple of loaves of gluten-free bread using brown rice flour and almond flour.

And I made these amazing snack bars!

I enjoyed a relaxing evening with two calming essential oils: gentle baby and lavender. I also treated myself to a couple new ones: ylang ylang which smells AMAZING and citronella to try diffusing when we are sitting out on the deck to help keep the skeeters away.

On Saturday Dana and I treated ourselves to lunch at The Bulldog in Minneapolis. We were both in the mood for a good burger (typical these days) and Becky recommended this place for amazing burgers, so we thought we would go check it out.

Patty melt for me! So good!

I treated the babes to a new outfit from Target. It was on the clearance rack for $5 and I just couldn’t resist.

I also treated myself to some maternity clothes and some looser fitting regular clothes. Besides pants and shorts, I should be set for a while! I stocked up on dresses!

Last night I was treated by my brother as he cooked up an awesome stir-fry dinner for me and the fam! As much as I love to cook, I love it even more when someone else cooks for me!

Thank you Becky for hosting the link-up!

How did YOU treat yourself this week?!

Gender Reveal: It’s a….

Post author:Melanie
Post published:May 30, 2014
Post category:Events / Family / Pregnancy
Post comments:22 Comments

I think I have finally absorbed all of the excitement from the gender reveal party last Sunday so that I am now able to share it with you all. It was the most incredible, exciting, and anticipated day.

Let’s talk about the food first because the food was just awesome. I decided to have a taco bar considering tacos are one of my favorite foods. I loved that I could do all of the prep before our guests arrived so that I could just relax while they were there.

We set up our bar area with the tortilla chips, tortillas, refried beans, and taco meat (I went with beef because that’s what I’ve been gravitating towards lately). We kept the beans and the meat in crockpots to keep them warm throughout the evening.

On the kitchen table I set out all of the condiments: onions, black olives, lettuce, jalepenos, cheese, tomatoes, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, cilantro.

When it was time to eat, everyone did their own thing and made their own tacos. It was perfect! The actual dinner portion of the party didn’t happen until after the gender reveal however, so this post is a little tweaked and out of order.

I had zero appetite after our gender reveal because I was so hyped with adrenaline, so while I waited for it to arrive, I munched on some delicious desserts.

Here is my plate of food that finally got eaten a couple hours after the reveal!

Okay, now to the reveal…

The ultrasound tech had written down the gender of our baby and put it in an envelope. I then gave the envelope to my girlfriend Stacy and asked her to do the honor of filling up a balloon with either blue or pink confetti depending on the gender of baby so that we could pop it on the day of the reveal. Needless to say she found the biggest, awesomest balloon in town! That big balloon stared me down until it was time to pop it!

Going into this, I really had no idea if baby was a boy or girl and I was SO ready to find out.

Dana and I both had our large safety pins and it took us a few minutes to get all settled in and ready.

We had our friends and family count down from three.

THREE……..TWO……..ONE……POPPPPPPP!

We are having a BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The excitement of this moment was so unexplainable. Having so many of our dear family and friends with us as we all learned the gender of our baby was so special. The pregnancy began to feel more real at this point (well actually it wasn’t until the next day that it really sank in that we were having a boy but still).

Thank you so much to everyone for supporting us and celebrating with us. And a huge thank you to Stacy for taking care of getting the most important item of the day— that balloon!

We are so thrilled to prepare our home, lives, and hearts for a precious baby boy.

Beautiful Changes…

Post author:Melanie
Post published:May 23, 2014
Post category:Events / Family / Home Life / Moose
Post comments:33 Comments

Moose is getting ready to be a big brother!

He is studying up and learning about the all of the changes that will be coming to our world this November!

To say that we are excited would be an extreme understatement. Can’t wait to tell you more later!

xoxo

Protected: Mother’s Day, Spring Rolls, & Smores Cookies

Post author:Melanie
Post published:May 12, 2014
Post category:Breakfast / Dinners / Events / Family / Sweet Treats

An Incredible Easter Weekend

Post author:Melanie
Post published:April 21, 2014
Post category:Dinners / Family / holidays / Sweet Treats
Post comments:7 Comments

This weekend flew by way too fast. No, wayyyyyyyy too fast.

We had two Easter celebrations: Saturday with Dana’s family and Sunday with my family. We ate very well all weekend enjoyed so much great company and lots of laughs.

Saturday

I brought this fabulous pear salad that turned out just as good this time as it did last time I made it.

We had ham, cheesy vegetables, roasted potatoes…

And refreshing key lime pie. Everything was excellent!

Then we cozied ourselves on the couch and all hung out together as it rained outside.

Easter celebration #1 = success.

Sunday

On Sunday we headed to church with my family. I love Easter service. It is so bright and uplifting!

Then we headed back to mom and dad’s for Easter goodies….

And another absolutely amazing meal: ham, asparagus with cheese, cheesy potatoes, deviled eggs, pickles, olives, and fruit salad.

And for dessert I made homemade lemon bars with ZERO refined sugar (minus the frozen yogurt alongside the bar).

I made the crust from this recipe: crust

The gooey lemon bar part from this recipe: bar

They turned out so delicious! I didn’t miss the white sugar AT ALL!

We spent quite a bit of time outside yesterday because it was in the 70’s! It felt amazing to have the sun on my skin. Yay for spring!

Easter celebration #2 = success.

It was quite the weekend. I slept for a solid 10 hours last night. All of that eating and sitting around sure does wear a girl out. 😉 I hope you all had a great weekend full of relaxation, celebration, and family and friends.

Happy Easter!

xoxo

Treat Yourself Tuesday: Snacks & Girl Time

Post author:Melanie
Post published:January 21, 2014
Post category:Family / Friends / Gluten-Free / Lunch / Snacks / Sweet Treats
Post comments:8 Comments

Today I am linking up with my lovely blend Becky for Treat Yourself Tuesday.

“Do whatever feels best for you. Do something that will make you feel relaxed and loved and happy. Remember this is about treating YOURSELF – not your friends, not your family, not your spouse, not your dog – so make sure you really focus on you. Treat yourself well and treat yourself often so that you will become the best you possible and in turn be your best for others in your life!” source

Little treats, big treats…it doesn’t matter.

Little things like making homemade almond butter on a Sunday afternoon. This was made with raw almonds, unsweetened coconut, and a touch of stevia. It will never compare to my beloved peanut butter but I do enjoy it still.

Fruit strips from Target made with fruit juice; 45 calories a piece and 9 grams a sugar. It’s a nice little sweet treat.

A lunch date with my friend Kalley and homemade vegetable soup topped with parmesan cheese!

Air-popped popcorn on #NationalPopcornDay seasoned with olive oil and salt.

Girls day with my beautiful mama. Manicure, pedicure, shopping, coffee. Yes, it was glorious!

How did you treat yourself this week?!

Friday Favorites 1/3/14

Post author:Melanie
Post published:January 3, 2014
Post category:Dinners / Family / Friends
Post comments:8 Comments

Happy Friday! Thanks to the holiday falling mid-week, this week absolutely flew by and it is the weekend already! Woo woo!

This past week has involved a lot of healthy eating, exercise, sleep, water consumption, and spending time with family and friends. It’s been a pretty good week. Here are some of my favorites from this week. I’m linking up once again with Katie who is hosting the Friday Favorites link up!

1. Spending time with family and friends. It is one of my favorite things to do!

2. This strawberry spinach salad: spinach, strawberries, avocado, black beans, feta cheese, pecans, and a small drizzle of Newman’s Own Lite Honey Mustard dressing. This is one of my all-time favorite homemade salads and it’s so easy.

3. Tacos! One of my favorite meals of all time. Everytime we make tacos I remember just how easy they are AND how delicious! This photo on the other hand could use some work…

4. My new FitBit Flex! I am having so much fun with it as I watch the step counter go up throughout the day. It motivates me to get moving!

5. Remote car starter. It has been ridiculously cold this past couple of weeks, so being able to start the car up without going out in the cold to do it is so nice.

6, My soft brown blanket given to us from Betsy at one of my bridal showers. It keeps me warm and cozy when I’m hanging out around the house.

I hope you all have a super weekend!

Any fun plans this weekend?!

The Christmas Recap

Post author:Melanie
Post published:December 27, 2013
Post category:Breakfast / Dinners / Family / holidays / Sweet Treats
Post comments:10 Comments

Did everyone survive Christmas? Is anyone else feeling the post-Christmas blues at all? I am a little bit. I am definitely going to keep the Christmas decorations up for a little while to help myself wean off of the holiday high.

Christmas was a blast. The majority of the celebrating started on Christmas eve morning.

Dana and I volunteer every year at the Children’s Hospital where we help wrap presents that have been donated to the children who have to be in the hospital at Christmastime.

I am always amazed at the amount of gifts that are donated. Each child gets 5-8 gifts and the bags with their gifts are all labeled so that we know the first name of the child and the age. It breaks my heart to think of anyone having to spend Christmas in the hospital, and I hope receiving some holiday cheer helps to lift their spirits.

This is about one-quarter of the amount of gifts that were wrapped.

Once we were done being elves, we dashed home to get ready for Christmas Eve with Dana’s family. I threw together a fruit salad (recipe from Katie!), made myself some lunch, changed into my Christmas outfit, and headed out the door.

We spent the afternoon and evening munching on delicious appetizers, sipping wine, opening gifts, and eating a nice Christmas eve dinner.

Beef tenderloin, asparagus, horseradish mashed potatoes, and my fruit salad…

Later in the evening Dana and I met my family at church for 10:00 pm mass. They played my favorite song and mass was beautiful.

Christmas Day

On Christmas morning, we made our way to my mom and dad’s. Awaiting our arrival was this glorious loaf of monkey bread. I was amazed to learn that not everyone knows what monkey bread is. You have to try this stuff! It is caramelly and cinnamony and so darn good!

We all hung out, watched A Christmas Story, and waited for everyone else to arrive.

Once the crew was there, we sat down to dinner.

Ham, cheesy potatoes (!!!), asparagus, and strawberry spinach salad…So good!

I filled my tummy to the perfect amount of satisfied, and then we all dove into the Christmas gifts. That was quite the lengthy ordeal! We must have been very good this year because there were LOTS of presents!

After gifts we opened up our stockings and then reeeelaaxxeed. A major theme of these two days.

Eventually, it was time for dessert: Christmas cookies and ice cream, but not just any ice cream, Edy’s slow churned caramel delight ice cream. Oh my goodness, so good

We finished watching A Christmas Story, watched a home video, and then headed for home. It was such an incredible Christmas as always—we really missed Jeff and Ana though. Muchos xoxo’s to you!

I am so lucky to have such amazing families! I love you all.

So tell me about YOUR Christmas! What was your favorite treat? Your favorite gift? Most memorable moment?

Extended Thanksgiving & Now It’s Time for Christmas

Post author:Melanie
Post published:December 3, 2013
Post category:Breakfast / Dinners / Family / holidays / Moose
Post comments:16 Comments

Well, hello. How’s everyone holding up after the holiday weekend? I know I’m a little late with checking in as Thanksgiving was officially last Thursday, but many of us continued to celebrate over the weekend so I’m not too far off!

The last time I checked in I was recovering from Thanksgiving food coma #1. I’ll catch you up from there as the celebrations continued over the weekend.

On Friday, I started the morning off right with a slice of homemade gluten-free almond bread with peanut butter and a touch of organic maple syrup.

Mid-morning I got a four-mile walk in on the treadmill while watching Gossip Girls, again. 🙂 For lunch, LEFTOVERS of course!

After I filled my belly with turkey, Dana and I headed out to find our Christmas tree. Every year we go out to a tree farm and chop our own tree down. This year we went to two different tree farms, trekked around for a good hour and a half, and realized we were much too picky when it came to finding our tree this year and we left with nothing.

We weren’t finding one that was full enough or fat enough, so instead of settling, we moved on….to Costco. After our long hunt all bundled up in winter gear in the tree farms, we ended up buying our tree at Costco this year. It is absolutely perfect and was half the price too! We can’t say we didn’t try.

We set it up on Friday but didn’t decorate it until Sunday because the tree needed to settle, but here is the finished product from Sunday! Da da da da………

Moose was unimpressed but I’m impressed myself. It turned out great!

On Saturday we headed over to Dana’s parents to celebrate Thanksgiving with them. They made my favorite cheesy veggie recipe which I go crazy for.

Au gratin sweet and russet potatoes…

I contributed a fruit salad made with whole cranberry sauce, crushed pineapple, grapes, walnuts, and whipped cream. This was so easy and very tasty.

I cleaned my plate and loved every bite. Apparently I didn’t snap a photo of dessert but it was a very delicious piece of homemade pumpkin pie! Num num num. I love celebrating Thanksgiving twice!!

Now that Thanksgiving is over, it is officially time to think about Christmas. Who am I kidding, I was already listening to Christmas music before Thanksgiving. But now it is in full swing: music, shopping, treats, snow, potlucks, mint mochas, family, friends, parties! I am excited!

Happy day to you all. I hope you had a great weekend!