Peanut Butter Lovers Day!

Did you know that was today? Did you know it was even a day at all? Well it is! And it's today! Looks like I will be making these from Smitten Kitchen.

Eva is literally doing flips for them right now!

Happy Peanut Butter Lovers Day everybody! :D

Monday Miscellany

Happy Monday! This is truly a happy Monday for me because despite the mass amounts of random super bowl food I ate last night, I did not wake up feeling sick! Hooray! I will warn you ahead of time, this will be a random, incoherent post. I just have a lot things floating around in my mind, so welcome to the chaos that are my thoughts.

First, I know it's been a while since I've posted any baby bump pics. I feel like I don't look too much different. I feel a lot bigger, but I think I only look slightly bigger. I was in the fabric store the other day and a lady did comment, which made me feel good because up until now, I've felt like I look more like I've just eaten a big burrito or slung back one too many brewskies than like there's actually a baby in there.

Also, I'm sick of posting things with no visual interest at all, so today I share with you the plans for our second full bath.

Please excuse the low-res image of the vanity...that's really only to help me visualize what the existing vanity will look like painted, something Brendan is less than thrilled about. But I think he'll realize how good it will look when it all comes together. The yellow fabric will be the shower curtain, which I have to order, and I have to order the light fixture, but other than that, we have everything, so we should be able to knock this out soon!

At first I was going for a little more sophisticated design, but then I realized that this will ultimately be a kid's bathroom, so I wanted it to be something gender neutral, bright, and clean. There are sooo many little things to get done around here. I can't wait to see them all come together!

Additionally, I can't wait for watermelon season. I saw this on Pinterest recently and the craving is in full swing. Seriously, how delicious does this look??

And the last thing I can't wait for (well, at least as far as this post is concerned)? Running! I know that's totally weird and random, but lately I've just had these random ridiculous urges to go running and I'm just not so sure that's a good idea right now. I even dream about it. I'm not a huge runner, and would run here and there before getting preggo, but nothing too hardcore. I guess absence makes the heart grow founder.

Welp. This has been sufficiently random. Hope your week's off to a great start!

16 Weeks + TGIF

Sixteen-week belly! Here it is. I've felt preggo for a long time, but now I'm finally starting to look it! This morning when I looked at myself in the mirror I felt like the bump had just popped out overnight. And I swear I've felt a few faint flutters. But I've also been eating a lot of broccoli...so...

Anyway. Have I mentioned how much I love Fridays? Duh, everyone likes Fridays but Fridays are Brendan's Saturday and this morning, in a record-breaking turn of events, we slept in till 10:30, hung out downtown, ran into some long lost friends, had coffee at Kudu, and are now vegging on the couch watching crime shows. De. Lightful.

And on the books for tomorrow: painting the bathroom. Can't wait:)

Hope your weekend's grand!

Little Updates

Well...

• I got my maternity jeans in the mail. One word: disappointment. Really, Old Navy?? That's the size I ordered?? The "baby band" which was disproportionally tight compared to the rest of the sagging "skinny" jeans was so low that they might as well have just been ill-constructed elastic waist jeans that I don't think anyone would be caught dead in. Not to mention that the charcoal cowl neck sweater I also ordered was somehow confused by the same geniuses for a hideously pleated bazar black sweat shirt that looks nothing short of amish. And to add to my madness?? I drive 25 minutes to Mt. Pleasant to return the horrendous items only to be told that they don't accept maternity items in the store.

Thanks. For. Nothin.

• In more uplifting news, since I was at the Towne Centre, I stopped in Pea in a Pod, which I should have done all along, and got some much more satisfactory jeans. Thank ya Jesus for well-fitting preggo jeans.

• Brendan and I went to the wedding of our good friends Jeffery and Ashleigh this weekend and I had Brendan take a baby bump picture before we left, but after further review, I hate it, and therefore will not be sharing. Maybe now that I got some better jeans, I'll post one soon.

• 16 weeks was Sunday...and the roller coaster continues. Many more ups than downs, but still, Monday was rough.

• First house project complete: blinds for the downstairs! Yay! So now when I'm working, I don't share awkward glances with people walking by outside. Next step, blinds for the second and third floor and the bathrooms/half baths!

This is what we're doing in the second floor half bath. I'm still scouting out the mirror, just the version that doesn't cost $300. I know I can find it cheaper. And so the hunt is on.

Mmk, friends. I'm off make brownies for our Code Orange viewing party tonight. What's that, you ask? Elevation Church in Charlotte is hosting a 12-night event where speakers, pastors, and musicians from all over the country (and the world) are taking the stage and our very own Pastor P will be speaking tonight. So if you can, check it out! It's streaming live tonight at 6PM here.

Ciao!

Big Apple Love

{As Promised}

So two weekends ago, I went here:

You might find it bit odd that I would go to NYC right after a blizzard, but if you really know me, you'd know that it's not odd at all. I love this city.

It wasn't nearly as cold as it looks. In fact, thanks to some awesome rain boots we bought at Tertorn in SoHo and these amazing fur hats, we were totally toasty.

Here's a look at our trip:

Red Velvet + Dulce de Leche {Crumbs}

CP ♥

Purl Soho {love this place}

Washington Square {The Village}

Park Ave. {flowers} | Bryant Park {snowmen}

Tretorn saved our lives! {and our feet}

Do as ze Russians do.

CP

SoHo

Hello, Kate Spade.


The Rug Company | SoHo



Ze Pod.


{taxicab yellow} the accent color of the city

A Message From the Blogger Impaired

Ello ello! This is the time I should say something like "Ohh I'm so sorry I haven't blogged in a long time" or talk about how ridiculously busy I am or give a whitty list of possible reasons why I haven't been able to blog including but not limited to: loss of fine motor skills, an unsuccessful encounter with a samurai which rendered me handless or slipping into a comatose state initiated by over-consumption of the typical holiday goodies starting with Halloween (a likely scenario).

Mais non. I will not bore you with such tacky antics. I have not blogged. That's that. Now I am blogging. Yay!

Let's start with Halloween. We went trick-or-treating with our nephew and brother and sister-in-law. It was fun and Hayden and his buddy Landon were the cutest kids on the block. Seriously.

Brendan tried but he couldn't really pull it off...

Ha.

And basically since Halloween to Thanksgiving we've been working like crazy people and time not spent at work has been a blur of football, chili, friends and cats breaking things.

Thanksgiving was a short trip up to Raleigh to spend some time with the fam. I have to say that I am so amazed by the men that my brothers are becoming. I feel like just yesterday they were smelly little dirty boys who asked awkward questions and couldn't pronounce their r's. Now we always seem to slip into conversations that leave me in awe of how smart and grown-up they are. I ♥ them.

Grandma sunk the bag on her first shot. And quit while she was ahead. She's a smart cookie.

And that brings us to now. We've completed approximately 87% of our Christmas shopping which I am very proud of/relieved about since it's not even December. We've also put up our Christmas tree (still needs to be decorated) and have decked out the outside of house with the help of our neighbors who coincidentally have the same affinity for putting Christmas lights everywhere as we do. I'll put up some pictures once it's done.

In other news, I made my first ever successful cheesecake (chocolate with chocolate ganache- yeah, yum). It wasn't burned and it wasn't gooey. It was a Christmas miracle. And it didn't even look too lumpy or misshapen as one might come to expect from me. I was going to photo-document this momentous occasion in my otherwise bleak baking repertoire, but our aforementioned neighbors and Brendan got to it before my camera did. It may or may not have been our dinner. Don't judge us.

Wednesday Whimsy: Not So Hob-Nobs

Hello, lovely.

To me, there's nothing more charming than good hardware. It's like a the cherry on top of a terrific sunday or the sprinkles on a perfectly iced cupcake. Whether it's a desk drawer, dresser, armor, cabinetry, thoughtful hardware is essential to pulling off the intended look. Not only is a great eye candy, it really expresses an attention to detail that can turn an ordinary piece into a unique manifestation of style and personality.

These are some of my favs, all hailing from the mothership of whimsy, the beloved Anthropologie.

Love!

Our Weekend in Bullets

You know, organizational ones. Not violent ones.

• Chapel Hill: beautiful, unexpected
• Sugarland Bakery: lovely and delish, a Southern rival for Crumbs...

• Clemson lost, but UNC fans were still nice

That's a sad face.

• Ravens won
• Redskins won
  
• Brendan cleaned gutters: did not fall, Grandma was happy!

• Gigi broke my vase: SO MAD
• Got some pretty legit dresser/nightstands for our room...pics to come...
• Got some pretty legit pottery from Carolina Pottery.........." "....
• Forgot to bring my camera: typical
  

That is all! Happy Tuesday!

Wednesday Whimsy

I wouldn't necessarily describe my design style as completely whimsy all the time, but I do believe in a little whimsical goodness peppered in with more classic and/or clean elements.

Particularly relating to kitchens, I think open shelving is a lovely element that does lend itself to being whimsical and colorful, adding instant interest and even a little bit of warm fuzzies.

This yummy eye candy says it all: