Thankful November...

I try to be thankful every month but November seems to be the trendy month to write what you are thankful for everyday... I'm going to update here instead of on facebook, etc. I'll just keep adding to this post.

Day 1- I'm thankful for my family and friends. They are always there for us and love Luke more than anything. I wish I could see my family more often but I have also made some amazing friends here.

Day 2- I'm thankful for our home and heat/electricity. With Hurricane Sandy devastating the east coast, I am thankful that we are safe and have somewhere warm to live. My parents are still out of power in PA since Monday (it's Saturday) but luckily they are ok. <<they were out for 7 full days! but they're back on the grid now!>>

Day 3- I'm thankful for my amazing husband. Dave is a loving husband and great dad. I love him more everyday and can't wait to see him next. He is also wonderful with Luke and he also looks forward to seeing his daddy everyday.

Day 4- I'm thankful for a happy baby! Luke is so much fun.

Day 5- I'm thankful for a part time job that I love. It's a great feeling to go to a job I love and still spend so much time with my baby.

Day 6- I'm thankful for my Right to Vote. Regardless of what happens, it's an amazing right that not everyone has.

I'm back...

Yes, I realize it's been awhile... but I haven't had many adventures in life, travel or cooking lately. Lots of adventures in mommyhood but I'm blogging that over here...

We've been super busy with just normal stuff. I have told myself I will go back to the gym in November and start working on myself again. Luke is 6 months old now, it's time I take care of myself too.

I'm hoping to start cooking again soon so maybe I'll have something to write about!

California Babymoon!

I realized I didn't link our latest travel to this blog.
Read all about our Perfect babymoon here!

Valentine's Date Day!

Dave and I don't always celebrate Valentine's Day (and very rarely do we on the 14th) but this year I'm all about excuses to have a date with my husband before Babelet arrives. We have plans for tomorrow to have a date day :)

We are starting the morning with a class at Sur La Table, the cooking school. We're taking the Essential Knife Skills class which I've heard great things about. Dave's excited and I definitely need some skills- I have an irrational fear of knives - even in the kitchen! He wouldn't be excited about too many classes so I'm excited to do this together!

After the knife class, we'll do our normal errands but then we are going to dinner at Portland Prime. I love steakhouses and we haven't been here yet. It's supposed to be pretty good.

I'm looking forward to a great night with my favorite guy!

YUMMMM

tonight we tried out the new fryer again- this time for onion rings. I never was a huge onion ring fan but ever since I got pregnant I can not get enough.
Today I found this recipe for the best onion rings- we bought panko bread crumbs so they were extra crispy. Wow, they were good. We definitely could've made 1/2 an onion - we definitely didn't need the 10+ rings we each ate but we couldn't stop!

Lisa's Baby Shower!

This weekend we had a baby shower at my house for our friend Lisa who is due Feb 13th. Sarah, Caitlin and I planned a jungle/monkey theme! Lisa's nursery has jungle vines and monkeys painted on the walls so it was perfect for the monkeyin' around theme!

I made monkey bread muffins (they came out drier than I would've liked and I didn't use any light ingredients... not sure about that), Sarah made monkey bars and we had coconut m&ms to go with the theme!

Caitlin planned fun, non-traditional baby shower games. We played "Guess the Celebrity Baby" and also to go with the jungle theme an "Animal Cracker Guessing Game" which was very challenging!
Deep thoughts... which animal is it?

I thought it turned out well, I hope Lisa had fun. We can not wait to meet her little boy in February and to have lots of play dates this summer!

Jaime (28 weeks, Lisa 35 weeks, Caitlin 24 weeks)

New Years at the Coast!

The Oregon Coast is probably one of my favorite places to go. I love going there all year long and just listening and watching the waves. A room with a view doesn't hurt since it can often be too cold to actually be on the beach (although Dave did brave a polar bear swim-pic above- in the Pacific Ocean to celebrate his New Year's Day!)
This weekend we rented a beautiful house with a group of friends- 4 couples total and rang in the new year in an amazing house overlooking the ocean. The view from my bed included crashing waves and I spent most of my weekend on the couch relaxing watching the ocean.
It was a very relaxing weekend- lots of reading, puzzles, and games and of course amazing food and great company! The wives also ventured down to Lincoln City on Sunday for a great time at the spa. I had a facial at Salishan Spa they have a really nice spa there!

The menu included: my creme brulee french toast, fondue night, rib night and great other food!
Unfortunately, now reality has to start back up again and to be honest- I'm kind of dreading going back to work.
But, it's going to be an amazing 2012 - we have a lot of adventures planned for the next few months, I'm sure it's going to fly by!