What's Up Wednesday

I have missed linking up for What's Up Wednesday the last month or two, but I am excited to share a little bit of what we have been up to lately today! I always look forward to seeing what everyone else has been up to, as well, so be sure to link up!

What We're eating

This past weekend, Mike smoked pork in the smoker we got for Christmas! So we enjoyed pulled pork sandwiches the night he made it, and barbeque chicken pizza on Sunday! This week we have been using leftovers, so Monday was pulled pork sandwiches and coleslaw again. I have also been using the leftovers with salt and pepper and brussel sprouts for lunch (seriously, he made a ton!) Besides pork, we grilled and out outside last night, and it was heavenly! These are the spring days we dream of all winter long in Minnesota. I would venture to guess pizza will be on the menu somewhere this week, because #wehaveaproblem

What I'm reminiscing about

Lincoln will be 11 months next week, and I cannot wrap my head around the fact that he is almost a year old. Wasn't he just born!? He wasn't the easiest baby, but those newborn days are honestly so fuzzy I feel like I blinked and we got to where we are today. While I was happy to see him outgrow the colicky phase, I sure miss those sweet newborn cheeks and noises.

What I'm loving..

I have been loving all of the spring fashion! I am obsessed with all of the floral things. How gorgeous is the Lauren Conrad dress?! I want it, it would be so perfect for Easter! I also am pineapple obsessed. I am planning on scooping up these bookends, as well as these shorts. I would have bought them already, but sadly I just have no use for them for at least another month :-(

I can't forget my new favorite shoes. Me (and every other person it seems) have been rocking them and they seriously go with everything. They are so pretty and perfect for spring!

What we've been up to

I have been party planning! I have Lincoln's birthday party next month, but I am also planning my sister-in-laws baby shower for next weekend. We are doing a brunch, and her nursery theme  is SO cute and we have had a lot of fun pulling together a shower that reflects that. I cannot wait to share it!

What I'm dreading

Nothing in particular really! I suppose as it is only March it is inevitable that we will have at least one more blast of winter at some point..I am just so ready for spring to get here and stay!

What I'm working on

The baby shower and Lincoln's birthday! I have also been putting some work into new projects for my blog and social media that I am pretty excited about! I am honestly amazed by how much work it actually takes to build a blog, but I am finally being presented with some exciting opportunities and writing and sharing my thoughts and ideas has turned into such a passion that I never imagined!

What I'm excited about

I am really excited to start pulling our yard together. We moved last year and did a bit of yard work, but then the cold temps hit. I want to get some flowers planted, some grass growing, and we have plans to do some stone to create a patio out back. I am not sure exactly when we will get all of this done, but I know that it will be happening eventually and after a winter spent inside, I am downright giddy about finally being able to use this big chunk of land that we live on and start enjoying it!

What I'm watching/reading

I have been reading For The Love for nearly a month. Woops! It really is good, but I struggle to ever sit down and let my mind turn off enough to read. Does anyone else struggle to open a book? I need to do it more, but I usually just end up doing all of the other things! Otherwise, our weekly shows of The Bachelor and This Is Us have ended, so Monday and Tuesday nights are a lot more sad now! We are still watching Grey's Anatomy, although most weeks I question why. And next week is the finale of The Walking Dead, which is our absolute favorite!

What I'm listening to

Mostly just the radio. That's What I Like by Bruno Mars is still my favorite, and I don't think I will ever get sick of Closer by the Chainsmokers. And when we clean or lounge around the house, we love to turn on what Mike calls 'shredders'. Your classic malt shop oldies, like Stand By Me, The Lion Sleeps Tonight, and all those goodies that make me wish I was in an old diner.

What I'm wearing

 

These shoes

These pants and These booties. On repeat. I love them, but I am so ready to change out to shoes that don't require socks and some light, airy dresses. The winter wardrobe is feeling stale!

These tunics. I am thinking they need to be changed up soon with some cute t-shirts to wear under my cardigans and blazers, so will be adding a few of these to the mix soon!

What I'm doing this weekend

There is nothing on the agenda as of now! If the nice weather keeps up, I am thinking there will be lots of time spent outside. I would love to get in a solid run, which just never seems to be something I can manage during the week, because by the time I have free time it is dark outside! It is probably jumping the gun to say we will do yard work, but maybe we will start cleaning things up a bit!

What I'm looking forward to next month

I am excited to throw a baby shower! We haven't had anything at our house since we moved that warranted inviting the extended family, so this will really be my first time 'hosting'. I am nervous and excited but can't wait to decorate and shower Laura and my future nephew with some love!

What else is new?

Not much, really! I have a feeling our busy season is about to set in between babies being born, yard work beginning, and planning a wedding for my brother and his fiancé! So many exciting things happening over the next few months!

Tweet

All Things Pineapple: The Most Delicious Trend!

You guys! We are already halfway to the weekend! I spent the first half of the week at a work training, so today is my first day in the office this week, which definitely has me feeling a bit off kilter. Not only are we halfway through the week, but it is MARCH! It is such a good feeling to get through the brutal month of February every year. March in the Midwest still mean lots of snow and cold, but it is the home stretch. Soon enough, we will be able to start rocking spring dresses and cute shorts, and I cannot wait.
This year, I have noticed everything pineapple is the trend. Which is fine by me, because you know what is better than pineapple? Nothing. I decided to round up some of my favorite fun pineapple themed items today, whether you are looking to rock it on your clothing or in your home décor, pineapples are seriously everywhere!

via

How adorable are these little salt and pepper shakers? They would be so much fun for summer barbeques and celebrations. And with those summer meals, a fun cup is totally in order, too! Fun décor pieces in the home are a great way to pull in the pineapple trend, and HELLO this picture frame is adorable. I love to switch out throw pillows with the season, and this one is so fun and I love the gold metallic on it. I am also wanting fun pieces for the mantel, and I don't know why but I am obsessed with the idea of having a shiny, pretty pineapple to put up there. These bookends are so gorgeous, and fun while still being elegant!

I love a fun phone case, and this option is so cute and perfect for spring and summer. This little pouch is such a fun addition to throw in your purse to hold those odd and end items. I am always looking for a delicious smelling body wash, so anything that smells like pineapple is an absolute win in my book!

This pretty bracelet is the cutest piece, and yellow gold always has my heart. And this adorable swimsuit (from none other than Tar-jay) is about the cutest thing I have ever seen.

I shared these shorts last week, and am still just as obsessed with them. They are seriously the cutest!! And, if you need some for lounging, this pair is perfect, too. If you are into the romper trend, this little number is about the cutest thing I have ever seen, and would be perfect for a beach or pool day!

Wat are your favorite pineapple pieces? I seriously cannot get enough of this trend right now!

Linking up with Jenn and Jessi today!

Tweet

What's Up Wednesday

Hooray for Wednesday! Nothing beats getting to the middle of the week and knowing we are on the downhill to another weekend. I had to do a double take when I realized it is already the last week of September. Seriously, where did this month go!? Of course with the last Wednesday comes 'What's Up Wednesday', and I always love linking up with Shay and sharing a bit of what's been going on in our little world lately.

What we're eating this week..
I actually did a pretty decent job of planning meals this week! On Monday we had a sausage, veggie, and rice skillet. Tuesday was a knock-off of Olive Garden's chicken gnocchi soup. Today will be something easy like leftovers or some pasta. I also am wanting to make some stir-fry this week! I am sure ordering pizza (our favorite thing ever) will sneak in on one of the nights here :-)

What' I'm reminiscing about..
Darn time-hop on Facebook constantly shows me pictures from two years ago when Jackson was just an itty bitty. And I about die every single time. When do our babies stop being babies and become little people? I love so much about how he is now, because he is so much FUN, but I honestly cannot even remember what he was like as a baby some of the time!

What I'm loving..
I am so in love with the fall weather! It has been in the 60's all week, getting down into the 40's overnight. I am loving putting hats on my little guys, wearing cozy sweaters, and switching over from iced coffee to hot coffee ;-)


What we've been up to..
We have been pretty busy lately! We laid dirt and seed and are finally getting some grass growing, which has been a pretty big weekend project. This month also is both mine and Mike's birthdays, so both of those weekends we went out to eat. We drove up to a resort on a golf course last weekend as Mike's birthday request and seriously had the BEST food ever. It was amazing and delicious and we had such a good time on the long drive just listening to our music and remembering what it is like to actually enjoy a car ride!

We also had a wedding this month, which was a lot of fun! Three weekends in a row of having a night out just the two of us, and it is just good for the soul. 

Taking the time to feed our marriage and reconnect is so important, especially during the season of life that we are currently in.


What I'm dreading..
I am not looking forward to daylights saving time! Once we flip back the clocks, it is seriously dark so much. It is dark when we leave for work, and it is getting dark by the time we get home. It just isn't my favorite, and while I cannot wait for the holidays, I am already dreading the longgg and dark winter months.


What I'm working on..
Trying to decorate our house! It is seriously a neverending process, especially when you are basically starting from square one. And, my toddler thinks all home décor is a toy, so some of the cute stuff I have purchased cannot even be put out because nothing is safe when Jackson is around!
I have also been trying to plan meals a bit better, so I have been figuring out recipes that I can prep for on Sundays making it quick to toss things together during the week. I really want to stick to this, but we will see how it goes. Pizza delivery is just soooo convenient ;-)


What I'm excited about..
Target was having an awesome sale this week, and this blanket that I haven been wanting to use as a throw in our living room was 30% off, and then another 10% on top of that! I have been watching it for awhile, so I knew I had to scoop it up with this sale. We have a lot of quilts which are super cozy, but I really want something for the living room that matches and can serve as both a decorative as well as functional piece. You know you're adulting hard when you are excited about throw blankets. #momlife


What I'm watching/reading..
I really want to read Balancing in Heels, but just have not been able to manage time to even order it, let alone sit down and read it. I did pick up the Taste of Home fall magazine, and Jackson loves looking at all of the food recipes and scanning the pages with me, which is very sweet and I love :-)
Once the little ones are in bed, Mike and I, so far, are really loving This Is Us, and I cannot wait to see where the show goes. We are also watching American Horror Story which is spooky and eerie this season, as usual. And, Thursday nights are Grey's Anatomy! #whydidyoudoitkarev #istillmissmcdreamy I am SO excited that fall TV is back in action. We seriously had so many shows we never were able to watch over the past year when we didn't have DVR, and I am loving that we are finally able to record things and have some shows to look forward to. Tune in for this piece next month, when I have found out who died on The Walking Dead and will still be in mourning.. #ijustknowitsglen


What I'm listening to..
Nothing in particular lately. I enjoy listening to the radio on my drive into work, we have a local morning crew that I really enjoy. I am loving Sia lately. Now that the weather is changing I really am going to have to get my hands on some standards and start enjoying that in preparation for my most favorite music season of all (Christmas music is acceptable after Halloween you know).


What I'm wearing..
It has seriously cooled off here, with high temps in the 60's, so I have not been rocking my pencil skirts much lately. I am obsessed with these colored skinny jeans, and these blush cords. They are a great addition to my work wardrobe for days where I can dress up a bit less.
As always, I am literally living in these tunics, and have days where I tell myself that no, I cannot wear the same shirt twice in the same work week.
I am rocking my booties now, too! And secretly loving that I don't have to worry as much about having a pedicure anymore. Don't judge, aint no one got time for things like that ;-)

Sweater // Skinny Jeans // Booties

Tunic // Blush skinnies

Tunic // Skinny Jeans // Flats (similar)

What I'm doing this weekend..
After a few weeks that were pretty busy, we don't have much on the agenda this weekend! We will likely get in some yard work, I hope to *finally* get some pictures hung up on our walls, and spending some time snuggled up with my boys. Apparently the Vikings play on Monday night, so I am just not too sure how we will fill our Sunday afternoon!


What I'm looking forward to next month..
So many thing! I want to take the boys to a pumpkin patch. Jackson is at such a fun and precious age, and I think he will have so much fun. We are also having Lincoln baptized, so that will be special. The Walking Dead. Need I say more? Halloween and dressing up our precious boys. I think October just might be my favorite month of the entire year.


What else is new..
Diverting a bit, but Jackson has really started picking up with his speech lately! We had him assessed for therapy, and he does qualify for them to come out and work with him. While this has me feeling a bit of mommy guilt, like perhaps I should have/could have done more, I am so excited to hopefully start seeing lots of progress soon. Even without even starting yet, he is literally saying a new word every single day now for the past week or two, which is truly music to our ears after having him saying little besides 'mama' and 'dada' for so long. Mike caught a fly in our house in a Tupperware container (sick and cruel even though I hate the darn things) and Jackson took to it kind of like a pet. It was his 'gug' (bug). SO cute when he runs into the room and declares 'GUG'! He is also obsessed with the school bus and will say bus over, and over, and over. He is starting to say animals, as well as all of the sounds they make. My favorite is the puppy, when he says 'foof foof'. And, in my opinion the most precious addition this week is his discovery of the moon and stars in the sky. At bedtime, he will turn off the light, run to his window, and declare 'moo! moo! stah!' Over and over. And then he will throw in bus two or twenty times for good measure. It about makes my mama heart burst. I knew he would break through the barrier and start communicating eventually, but after having him be delayed, it seriously has felt magical these past few weeks. His sweet innocent voice is music to my ears and tugs on alllll of my heart strings.


*Bonus* What is your favorite fall recipe..
I am hoping to whip this up over the weekend. I have made a lot of apple desserts, but this caramel apple pie is Mike's all time favorite, and all of the apples are in season and on sale right now, and nothing says fall more than the smell of baking apples in your house.

Tweet

More Life Changes!

Despite my best efforts, the blog continues to take a backseat to our every day life. For those of you that follow along, you know that life is plenty crazy over in our neck of the woods. Bringing home a new baby and building a house, which required Mike to be gone nearly all weekend every weekend for a few months, left little time for me to sit down and dump out my thoughts into this little space. The free time I have had, truthfully, has been used to shower, watch the Bachelorette, and spend what little quality time with the hubby that I could manage.

So, of course I couldn't help but throwing something new into the mix. I was offered and accepted a new position at work! So, after twelve weeks of glorious (or ridiculously stressful, depending on the day) maternity leave, I returned to a new title, new office, and new job. Why, you may ask? The decision was actually a pretty easy one. As you may know from reading in the past, I completed my MBA back in December. I am pretty determined in regards to my career, and knew that I want to continue to grow and rise to new challenges early on. I didn't do all that work including weekend projects and late nights away from my baby just to sit on a degree, after all! So, while I was on maternity leave I thought it was, in fact, a great time to explore and pursue new options if they made sense. And wouldn't you know, a position was posted within my company that called upon my past skill set, was a step up and therefore a promotion, and in a department that more directly reflected the type of working role I aspired to move into.




In quite the whirlwind of events, I had both a first and second interview in a matter of days, and was offered the job with about two weeks of maternity leave remaining. Upon accepting, I was able to get it worked out so that on my first day back, I was able to come straight to my new role, so there was no short-term return to my old position. It worked out perfectly, as I had really tied up loose ends and passed off tasks back in May before going on leave.


I am now into my third week in the new role, and am really enjoying it. I love the new challenges that are in front of me, and am enjoying having more creative and decision making power. I have some big visions for what I am going to do for my new department, and I cannot wait! So here is to a new job, new house, new baby, and hopefully settling into some semblance of normalcy this fall for the first time in nearly three years!


Linking up with Jenn and Jessi for 'What's Hap-pinning' today!

Tweet

What's Hap-pinning: House Status

Today I am linking up with Jenn, Jessi, and Holly to share what is going on with us lately. Of course, most posts tend to revolve around my son, my pregnancy, or our moving process.

Well... we are officially under construction! It was the longest time coming EVER (at least in my mind), but it is finally getting going and I couldn't be more excited! We closed on our loan about two weeks ago, and the next day the brush was trimmed and the space was being cleared. The following Monday, I drove by to see this most beautiful of sights:

 

Big old machinery on our lot! They were hauling dirt and moving things around and digging that hole I have been dreaming about for the past month! By the end of Tuesday, we had a driveway (and a port-a-potty!)

 

I don't have a great picture, and with this rainy and wet week we are having walking the land just isn't high on my list of things I want to do, but in less than a week we have all of our block in, insulation being placed, and as of last night we were informed the plan is to be pouring concrete next week!

 

I am so excited about the progress. I have been told it goes really fast in the beginning, and once they start working on the inside you obviously see less 'visible' process, but after waiting for SO long, seeing changes every single day right now is so much fun! My husband and father in law will actually be doing some of the plumbing and in floor heating this weekend/early next week, which seems crazy to me. After months of waiting, to all of the sudden be doing the things we discussed is both stressful and a 'pinch me' moment, all at once! 

In other house news, last week, we met up with our construction project manager, and we picked out our siding, trim, railings, door handles, roof shingles, and a list of other little things for around the house. It was crazy to knock so many things off of the list in one appointment! Our manager actually commented that we were making things too easy! Aside from going back and forth on the house exterior and colors, we really did agree on pretty much everything. Discussing beforehand and agreeing on the general style we liked (clean, straight lines for us; nothing with too much rounded edges or woodwork!) made it really easy to narrow down choices and go with the logical best options to keep our interior clean and consistent throughout. 

Next on the list will be picking out the stone for our exterior, meeting with the designer for our cabinets, and then little things like the garage door, getting our final few appliances, and whatever else pops up. Oh, and light fixtures, which I have my fingers crossed will be an easy and joint decision between myself and my husband ;-)

Tweet