Good Stuff

My sister-in-law spoiled me at Christmas and gave me a Sunday Riley skincare set. It's crazy expensive, but the UFO oil is amazing. I've been using it every night. I love using face oils before bed. I'm also really enjoying this REN radiance serum in the morning and this DermaDoctor eye cream day and night. Can you tell I'm really into skincare at the moment? 

This HM Cardigan has been my absolute favorite! It's soft and comfortable and washes well. I'm obsessed. It's my lounge-around-house sweater, but I also wear it out. It's especially good for traveling. I wear it for days in row. It's currently on sale for $14.99 🙌 I 'm going to get a back-up. 

Bath & Body Works Blue Ocean Waves Candle smells amazing! I bought this last week when we were having horrible weather. It instantly cheered me up. Smells a lot like Endless Weekend, which wasn't available in store, but I ordered a couple online.

Lemon ginger honey tea has been the best part of my nighttime routine. It's sooo good. I use the juice from half a lemon, about one inch of ginger (finely chopped) and a teaspoon of honey. I love anything with ginger, but this combo is especially good.

Weekend Update

It was another low-key weekend.

We've had winter weather for the last couple weeks. It was cold and rainy most of the weekend. We finally got a break from the rain on Sunday. We headed out for a long walk, otherwise we spent our time at home.

Evie actually took her first step this weekend😳 She only took one step then fell so we aren't counting it as "walking." She did this on Friday and Saturday. She's getting so close to walking! We will have a toddler soon.

 She loves shopping, but she always wants to stand in the cart😒

 Dada made pancakes on Saturday 

 She loves standing by herself (and sharing Dad's cereal)

 Focused on the news

 Family walk!

 Evie napping

Napping while the baby naps lol

Sorry, these weekend update posts are becoming monotonous. I'm focused on my 2018 goals (linked here) so we've been watching our diet and budget closely. Unfortunately, that makes our weekends pretty boring.

My Meal-Prep Staples

I've been meal-prepping routinely for nine months. I think I've only missed one week in that time frame. 

It has drastically improved my diet. I'm no longer rummaging through the fridge to piece together a meal or snack. I used to bring the most random foods to work for my "lunch." Now I have an actual meal, which has really helped my energy and stress level. 

Meal-prepping definitely takes a bit of effort, but we've worked out the kinks. We found a system that works for us. We started with a shared list in our phones. I create the shopping list. Brady does the grocery shopping on Saturdays with Evie (she loves the grocery store). I spend a few hours on Sunday prepping breakfasts, lunches, snacks and usually two dinners. 

Here are our staples...

Grains

Rolled oats, quinoa, brown rice, whole-grain pasta

Protein

Chicken, salmon, ground beef, ground turkey, eggs

Vegetables 

Sweet potatoes, broccoli, zucchini, bell peppers, red onion, brussels sprouts, spinach

Fruit

Bananas, blueberries, blackberries, kiwis, clementines, tomatoes, avocados

Grocery shopping with Dad in jammies 

 This girl loves to snack on fruit

 Lunches ready for the week - brown rice, chicken, roasted veg

 Evie's snacks for daycare - chicken and veg

 Spaghetti is Evie's favorite (1/2 whole-grain spaghetti, 1/2 butternut squash noodles)

 Spaghetti for dinner and clementines for dessert

 Burrito bowl prep 

Daddy's little helper

 Overnight oats are my go-to breakfast

Forever roasting vegetables 

Weekend Update

Evie has been fighting a cold for weeks. Her cough and congestion actually got worse this weekend. Plus, I think her molars are hurting too. She woke up three times on Saturday night😩 I totally jinxed us with her 11-month update. Needless to say, we spent the majority of our time at home.

We went on a couple short walks, made delicious shrimp tacos (recipe linked here), played with Evie, rented movies, and I finally ironed all my delicates👌 Not the most exciting weekend, but I enjoyed it!

 Super hot, but so delicious

 I love these baby feet

 Saturday morning walk to barre

 Enjoying a Diet Coke with my girl

 Rainy walk

She's looking at Brady

Eleven Months

Still loving this stage...

Evie is such a little charmer. She is full of smiles and laughs. She has never met a stranger. She is happy and bubbly whenever people are around. Evie had a great first Christmas in Iowa. She was incredibly spoiled with gifts and attention. She loved every minute of it. 

She's so playful at this stage. Everything is a toy - tupperware, toilet paper, car keys... everything. We've finished baby-proofing the condo. She has gotten too good at opening drawers and cabinets. We've left some drawers accessible to her because there's nothing dangerous in them and she loves playing in drawers. Everything else is locked up. Brady and I have to use a magnet to open nearly every cabinet in our kitchen and bathroom😒 Evie also loves rough-housing with Brady. She spends a lot of time upside down, flying through the air, spinning in circles. She's a little thrill-seeker. She's always rolling with laughter while playing with Brady. 

This girl is also sleeping like a champ👊 I haven't had to get up in the night in TWO WEEKS. She's going to bed at 7:00PM and waking around 6:30-7:00AM. She's crushing it. I hope it lasts, but teething always ruins these good runs. 

Evie loves food and she eats a lot. The amount of food she puts away always surprises my mom. Current favorites are pancakes (made with eggs, banana, oatmeal), omelets, blueberries, blackberries, kiwi, sweet potatoes, salmon, ground turkey. She tried oysters and kimchi fried rice for the first time and loved them both. She also tried a mini chocolate cupcake (for my birthday) and devoured it! 

She's become quite the little chatterbox. There's a lot of "dada" and a fair amount of "mama." Sometimes it seems like she's referring to us and other times it's just babbling. She's also started standing independently. It's usually only 5-30 seconds. It's longer when she has something in her hands to distract her. We're getting dangerously close to the walking stage. I'm not ready for a walking baby😩

No new teeth! That makes it a great month. However, those molars are still swollen. I think they'll come in soon. 

Previous posts: Ten Months, Nine Months, Eight Months, Seven Months, Six Months, Five Months, Four Months, Three Months, Two Months, One Month

Weekend Update

We had amazing weather this weekend! Seriously, it felt like spring🙌

The birthday celebration was low-key this year (just the way I like it). Brady got me flowers and my favorite foods... shrimp, lemon cheese and pear cider😋 We put Evie to bed and cozied up for the night. It was great. 

Saturday was delightful. I went for a nice, long run. It felt sooo good. The sun was shining, my hip didn't hurt, I was listening to a 2000's playlist👌 Thoroughly enjoyed that one. Then, we intended to go for a walk in town, but found ourselves heading north for Marination Ma Kai😊 We ate kimchi fried rice on the patio. We all loved it, including Evie. Then we walked around West Seattle before heading home.

 Saturday morning shenanigans

 Cuties

 This weather😎

 Evie's first time at Marination Ma Kai

 We were bundled up in the shade

 So good

 I have too many of this photos lol

 Seattle skyline

Sunday was also beautiful. We got things done around the house before heading out for a long walk. We came home and went straight to the gym to start BBG week 7👊 Brady does it with me occasionally and we let Evie roam around the gym while we complete the 28-minute workout. It was leg and cardio day... a real burner. 

 Walk, walk, walk

Cool down after BBG

This Is 29

The last year of my twenties starts now😩

I'm handling this one surprisingly well (next year will probably be a real doozy). For years I said I wouldn't age past 28. I loved being 28! I felt like a grown-up that people took seriously, but still young and hip (maybe?). Plus, it's the year I became a mama and having Evie made it the best year ever. I'm not ready for it to end.

With that said, here are my goals for 29...if it must happen.

1 | Workout five days/week

I've been doing well the past couple months because I've found a good routine. I do BBG three days each week. I run once weekly and I do a barre class every Saturday. I really want to try OrangeTheory, but the location near me hasn't opened yet.

2 | Read 12 books/year

This has been a resolution for me every year and usually I surpass this goal. However, last year was a fail. I probably only read six books and none of them were favorites. I'm going to put more time into researching good books and try to have the next one ready to go. 

3 | Meal-prep each week

I started meal-prepping when I returned to work from maternity leave. Really, I should credit my sister for this. I started meal-prepping because Brie started meal-prepping #littlesister. It's made such a big difference in my life. Evenings are calm and relaxing because the work is already done. I want to remain mindful of how much this has improved my overall (mental and physical) health.

4 | Drink two liters of water daily

I struggle with this one. I can easily drink one liter of water each day. It's that second liter that I always seem to forget about until it's time for bed and I don't want to guzzle water before going to sleep. My goal is one liter by lunch and the second liter by the end of my work day (4PM).

5 | Stick to a monthly budget 

Brady and I reviewed our December "budget" (if you can even call it that). It was eye-opening to see where all our money is going. We're setting a budget and sticking to it this time! We really need to limit how much we spend on take-out, clothes, and Amazon Video ($5.50 per movie is a total rip-off, but we are the suckers paying it).