Simple Summer Salad

Every Monday night I try and make a salad for dinner. It's a nice way to detox from the weekend and start the week off on the right foot. 

I had been on a steak salad kick the last few weeks but this past Monday was the first day in LA that really felt like summer, so I decided to mix it up and make this yummy summer salad.

I used the recipe as my base, but I made a lot of changes based on what I thought would taste good - and oh my god - what came out was delicious.

And I tossed my salad before I had a chance to snap a pretty pic!

• Arugula
• 1 pkg of goat cheese, crumbled
• 5 cooked beets (prepackaged at Trader Joes), cut into strips
• 1 avocado diced
• 1/2 pkg of shaved carrots (prepackages at TJs)
• 1 large peach, sliced thinly
• lots of Candied walnuts

For the Toasted Walnut Balsamic Vinaigrette:

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup candied walnuts, finely chopped and toasted
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• big pinch coarse salt and pepper

Hope you enjoy!

Bumpdate: 22 weeks

 weeks 5-12 ::: week 13 ::: week 14  ::: week 15 ::: week 16  ::: week 17 

          ::: week 18 ::: week 19 ::: week 20 ::: week 21  

   

How Far Along? 22w, 4d - due October 15, 2015

Gender: BOY!

Weight Gain: 12.5lb - solid 3lb jump in a week

Maternity Clothes: Jeans and a few shirts here and there. I need to find some soft white and black tank tops that I can wear with cardigans.

Nursery: Joel put together a metal shelving unit for the babies room. It was an enormous pain in the neck for him, but I was so impressed he was able to do it. I have a handyman coming in July to hang decals and put together the more annoying furniture so that Joel doesn't officially kill me.

Movement: This kid moves all. the. time! It's still the most cherished part of this process for me. I used to only feel him at certain parts of the day, and mainly when I was laying down, but now it's almost every hour. Joel has felt him pretty much everyday this week and he really like to actually see the kicks and watch my stomach move from it. We joke that watching the kicks is like when we go whale watching in Mexico. We go very quiet and try to be really patient, and then when he gives us a big kick we hoot and holler....just like whale watching, it just doesn't get old or less magical.

The only time I don't love it is when he kicks me in bed because it's hard to sleep through it.

Symptoms: I was sick this week with a cold that came on rapidly. Not being able to take my normal arsenal of Dayquil/Nyquil was annoying, but I was able to take a decongestant that really helped. I just pounded back mugs of tea and honey, took lots of Emergen-C, and slept with the humidifier and Vix vapor rub and tried to get lots of rest. I'm feeling better but not 100% out of the woods.

Sleep: Not that fun. I toss and turn a lot and I get up to pee a lot

Joel: He was a trooper while we registered and we actually had a lot of fun (at times). The bedding at Pottery Barn Kids overwhelmed me, but Joel was good about holding my purse which I swear weighs like 9,000 pounds and kept us on track when my mind would get overwhelmed by all of the descisions we had to make. I mean, how many bottles should I get? Really though?

Workouts: Three - 2 gym and 1 spin - but they've stopped since Thursday when I started feeling sick and I'm still being cautious about pushing it.

Mood: Being sick hasn't been super fun.

Cravings: bland foods....plain pasta, toast and eggs, crackers....

What I Miss: My non-cold infested self! 

Random Things: We worked with a dog trainer this week to start getting Roscoe ready to live in a house with a baby. Roscoe's biggest issue is greeting guests - he barks incessantly for ten minutes - and it just drives. me. crazy. We are going to work with the trainer to make entrances for guests more routine, which will in turn make Roscoe quieter (fingers crossed)! 

Best Moment This Week: Baby kicks and I've looked at my registry about 100 times imagining it coming to real life!

Looking Forward To: I'm heading to Nashville this week for one of my best friends Bachelorette parties!! I'm really excited to see all of my college girlfriends, celebrate Sara's soon-to-be wedding, and have a weekend filled with girl time! I'm also really excited for my cousin Amanda to get a chance to feel the baby kick...and on Sunday I'm able to spend some time with our extended family that live in Nashville, so I'm looking forward to that too.

Five on Friday

 

::: 1 :::

It's been one of those weeks around here. 

We had a hole in our patio that needed to be repaired. Well, it's been raining a lot in the mornings here so each day that I arranged to be home for a 6-8 hour stretch the repair guy would have to cancel on me last minute. We literally had to reschedule 6 days. They were finally able to come on Wednesday afternoon (day 1 or the 2 day repair)...

::: 2 :::

....Well, all of the jack hammering on our patio caused the rod in my freshly organized closet to come crashing down. Not a fun process, and poor Roscoe was in his kennel at the time underneath all of those clothes, totally unharmed (thanks to a strong metal kennel) but scared out of his mind! And now we wait for another repair team to come out.

::: 3 ::: 

 

I was able to sneak in a hair appointment in this week and my hair dresser totally nailed the color. I'm always obsessed with Kristen Taekman's hair so I gave my hairdresser the instagram images as inspiration and 3 hours later it was pretty damn close!

::: 4 :::

I've never worn foundation or concealer, but my skin has taken a hit these last few months, so my girlfriend Laura - my makeup guru - did the research for me and recommended Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue. I'm obsessed (I wear a level 4 if you decide to buy it too). It goes on like face lotion but it's really light, leaves a little bit of a dewy look, totally brightens and evens, and doesn't feel like I have makeup on my face at all. I've even stopped using my bronzer because I really don't need it with this product. I hate spending money on makeup, but this is something that I will not allow to run out! Highly recommended!

::: 5 :::

This weekend we are pretty packed in! We are celebrating our friends MBA graduation from UCLA tonight, working with a trainer to get Roscoe ready for baby, registering at Pottery Barn Kids and Buy Buy Baby, celebrating a girlfriends birthday AND getting ready for a friend's visit and my trip to Nashville next week! It should be a good one!

It's Raining

And in LA, when that happens, you really do need to just stop, sit and listen.

I've got a lot going on in my forecast (see what I did there?), so on days, or in hours, like this one, that I don't have anything to do, it's really nice to just sit down and watch the rain fall. 

---

The two major topics going on this week for me is that I leave for Nashville next week and we register on Sunday.

Any advice on either?  

Shoot away!

Bumpdate: 21 weeks

 weeks 5-12 ::: week 13 ::: week 14  ::: week 15 ::: week 16  ::: week 17 

          ::: week 18 ::: week 19 ::: week 20 :::                       

   

How Far Along? 21w, 4d - due October 15, 2015

Gender: BOY!

Weight Gain: 9.5lbs

Maternity Clothes: Jeans....I'm starting to feel like I may need to get some workout clothes, and I may invest in a swimsuit too.

Nursery: Major happenings were made this week! We were gifted a crib, and even though it isn't white, I actually love the contrast against our walls, so we are going to keep it and make it work! We also purchased the daybed from ikea, the Moroccan pouf from Wayfair, ordered swatches for a glider, and bought a very cool metal bookshelf! 

 

Movement: By far my favorite experience of pregnancy so far. Of course, since I do feel him everyday, sometimes when he is quiet or we go a few hours with nothing, I get a little neurotic about it but, that's just my personality. I still love finding time to just lay down when he is moving to just soak it in. Joel has felt about 5 hard kicks and even saw my stomach move with a few kicks too which is amazing.

Symptoms: Pretty solid week....touches of heartburn,

Sleep: I fall asleep pretty easily but by 4am it gets really choppy and I just toss and turn until I have to get up. Plus, I'm getting up in the night at least 4 times to use the bathroom so I'm always very ready to go to bed by 9.

Joel: Put the crib together this weekend which I feel like is a really cute dad-to-be rite of passage.

Workouts: Four - 2 gyms sessions (one treadmill session next to Guiliana Rancic), 1 tennis, 1 swim session.

 

Mood: I had a total tantrum this week playing tennis. My tennis skirt and workout shirt were SO tight and I felt slow, and annoyed, and majorly uncomfortable the entire time and pretty much pouted off the court.

Cravings: I need my cup of coffee in the morning badly! I've never needed coffee, but now that I'm not sleeping amazingly, I feel like I cant function without it.

What I Miss: Clear skin, day drinking, and sleeping soundly.

Random Things: Along with being gifted a crib, our friend gave us a brand new pack and play too. Serious question, are all pack and plays so impossible to click together? This damn thing made us look like major parent rookies! We did do it successfully 3 times, but we were both sweating when it was over. 

 

Best Moment This Week: We had a doctors appointment this week and got to hear the babies heartbeat (clocked in the 140's). Seeing the crib in the guestroom is very surreal and very fun, and I bought some more baby clothes this week too - including a few pieces with the babies monogram!! No going back now!

Looking Forward To: We are going to register on Sunday!

Five on Friday

::: 1 :::

Summertime and tennis are synonymous for me, so Joel and I have been trying to play one night a week after work. 

In case there was any question, Roscoe is a very big tennis fan as well

My game is horrible right now...and the pace of game we play is almost painful since I'm not exactly running to get to the ball, but it's been nice to just be outside and moving, although I don't have high hopes for keeping up this routine for long, to be honest....the one hour left my back sore and achey from all of the swinging and bending, so...I may be sideline watching Joel's league sooner than later ;)

::: 2 :::

 

Side perk to playing tennis at 6 is that I don't prep dinner, so when we finished, I convinced Joel that we had to stop for an ice cream cone. LA is all but obsessed with their frozen yogurt shops but literally it's is all but impossible to find a soft serve machine in this city! If your local, this goody was from Carvel in Westwood.

::: 3 ::: 

So summer TV sucks, but it's good timing since a lot of new books have hit the shelves. I just started 800 Grapes by Laura Dave (who I love...if you haven't read The First Husband, that's a great summer read too) and so far, I'm obsessed.

::: 4 ::: 

I'm drinking a lot of water these days. I think I fill up my 33oz camelback like 10 times a day, and I normally make myself a Lime LaCroix/Cranberry mocktail or two at night. Needless to say, I pee every 12 minutes, but I'm also starting to tire of both plain water and my little mocktail combo. I've been steeping cold teas, but I'm also going to try and make a pitcher of fruit infused water too. The W hotel always has the most delicious flavored water, so I don't see why I can't copycat it at home.

::: 5 :::

We have another low key weekend on the books. We're going to walk to dinner tonight for burgers, stay in tomorrow and visit our local library for a book fair, and then on Sunday we are making a much anticipated and equal parts dreaded trip to Ikea. 

Hope you have a great weekend! 

Summer Goals

But first, let's check in and see how I did on my Spring goals. It's funny to look back, when I wrote this post, I was still keeping my pregnancy under wraps

::: Book a Summer Getaway - FAIL We were 99% sure we were going to do Aspen, but now we are backing away from it. Our summer is just so busy that adding another trip doesn't sound relaxing to me. Now we're thinking about staying at a nice resort for a few nights somewhere local to just relax.....time will tell....

::: Purge and Reorganize PASS

::: Add Some Summer Classics to my Wardrobe PASS - I found a really solid pair of black sandals and added a few dresses, white jeans, and some cute tops. I'll have to be shopping more in the future, but that never ends.

::: Update our Bathrooms FAIL

::: Keep up with Church PASS  We've been really good about getting to church these last two months. If we're in town, we've been!

::: Try 1 New Class at the Gym PASS I'm counting the pool as a "new class".

::: Read at least 2 New Books PASS

And now, for my summer goals! 

::: Get to the Beach

You would think this would be a no-brainer, but the beach here in LA (for me) is kind of a pain in the ass, so I actually avoid it at all costs. However, Paradise Cove in Manhattan Beach is a really fun place to just enjoy being outside with friends, so I want to get there at least once this summer. 

::: Stay up Later

 

I know, I know, "I should be banking all of my sleep"....(which is impossible)...but I actually want to try and stay up just a little later each night and just be selfish with my time (since I know that is ending here soon). 

::: Have a picnic at the park

::: Explore a New Town/Area

Fashion Island,  Los Feliz, Carlsbad....It doesn't have to be far but I'd like to take a drive with Joel and the dog, have brunch in a new town, walk the streets and just explore a little. There is still so much of Los Angeles that I haven't seen and I don't want my time to expire here and to think I left a lot of stones unturned. 

::: Visit the Hollywood Bowl

I want to go on an off night and just have a date night at the Bowl. It's one of my all time favorite things to do in LA.

::: Try a New Class at the Gym

::: Update our Bathrooms

Since it's a fail up top, I have to get it done this summer. 

::: Go on Evening Walks (and get ice cream)

After we clean up dinner, we sit our butts on the couch and we move until its time to go to sleep! So boring! And since summer TV is realllly lack luster, I want to try and take an easy walk at night every now and again and just enjoy the summertime evenings and indulge in soft serve ice cream cones. 

::: Eat Outside During the Week

We often will sit on the patio over the weekend when we grill out, but I want to try and move dinner outside a few nights a week just to mix it up.

::: Try not to Complain about the Heat
I don't like being hot, and I'm really concerned that being pregnant and hot is just about the worst thing ever, but I'm going to try and keep my complaints to a minimum (and Joel has promised to keep his air conditioning complaints to a minimum in return).  

::: Enjoy (and STAY) in the moment

I'm going to give myself until Labor Day to wrap all of this up. What will be crazy, is that my "Fall Goals" will very different from any other season we've ever had in our life.

Happy Summer!!

Bumpdate: Halfway!! 20 weeks!

 weeks 5-12 ::: week 13 ::: week 14  ::: week 15 ::: week 16  ::: week 17 ::: week 18 ::: week 19 :::                        

 How Far Along? 20w, 4d - due October 15, 2015

Gender: BOY!

Weight Gain: 9lbs

Maternity Clothes: Jeans

Nursery: Step 1 was cleaning out the closets in the guest room and moving Roscoe. Both were accomplished this weekend and I put together a little inspiration board! 

Movement: This little baby moves a ton and it's my absolute most favorite thing in the world. Normally after lunch is when he really kicks into high gear so I've been trying to take 15 or 20 minutes to just sit on the couch with no distractions and just feel him. It blows me away everyday and I'm very anxious for Joel to feel him. 

Symptoms: I've never had it in my life before now, but I can officially say that I have heartburn. It's not horrible, I haven't had to take anything for it, but it's definitely there and showing up more frequently with every passing day. It seems to bother me around the late afternoon, it will relax for a little and then sometimes show up again after dinner.

 Sleep: I get up at least 3 or 4 times a night to go to the bathroom which is obnoxious, but overall sleep has been really good. 

Joel: Him and I are in a very good place. I feel like I can say that since we've been together for going on nine years now. Sometimes you have good places, sometimes you don't, and right now, we are enjoying being in an upswing. He is over-the-top helpful and doting and fun and I truly feel lucky to be able to do life with him.

Workouts: 5- 1 gym/weights session, 1 hike with a girlfriend, 1 spin class, 1 pool day, and Joel and I played tennis last week too.

Mood: Happy but I had did have some bouts of anxiety this week. Working out and keeping busy are the best for my overall mood - its quiet downtime that gets me.

Cravings: Nothing distinct

What I Miss: Clear skin

Random Things: Standard week

 

Best Moment This Week: Feeling the baby move this week has been amazing. And even though it was a lot of work to clear out the guestroom and reorganize everything, it's been fun to imagine what this room will look like as a babies room. It's starting to get more and more real with every passing day.

Looking Forward To: Doctors appointment this morning and a distinct belly bump. 

Nursery Inspiration

We spent the better part of the weekend cleaning out our guestroom and reorganizing all of the closets in our house to make room for baby. We made a ton of headway and over the next few months we will making some major nursery purchases. My goal is to have all of the major work done by the end of August.

Nurseries are expensive, but we are trying to be really smart in where we are splurging (dresser) and where we are saving (crib). 

Above is the look I'm going to try and shoot for. I know when I'm shopping, other gems will catch my eye and swing us in different directions, but I hope to come out of it with a room that is simple, classic, and calm.

I've been saving the above images on Pintrest, so I don't have sources for everything except for the few pieces we know we are moving forward with: Pottery Barn dresser, Crate and Barrel rug, Jenny Lind crib, PBK lamp, and Ikea daybed. I haven't decided where I will get our glider from, but I know I want a rugged, gray material like the picture above.

Confessions

My sweet friend Ally recently posted a bunch of confessions and I figured it was due time I fess up around here too...

::: I confess I have to change the channel when the preview for San Andreas comes on. The small earthquakes I've been in are not fun and the thought of "the big one" will keep me up for nights.

::: I confess the only thing that gets me out of bed quick is the thought of a toasted bagel and a hot cup of coffee.

::: I confess that when speaking of bagels, I really should say it's cream cheese. The bagel is just the vehicle.

::: I confess I've been wearing leggings at least 3x week and on the days that I don't, I change back into them as quickly as I can. 

::: I confess, and this is bad....but....I've been binge watching Bringing Up Bates (on the UP channel). It's basically the same thing as 19 kids and counting. I have no idea why I am so intrigued with these families but I am, and I'm addicted....and I stalk their instagrams!

:::I confess that we haven't done anything for the nursery or registry, and I'm starting to think that maybe we're behind schedule? Hopefully not, but the task just seems daunting and I keep putting it off but now that we have shower dates on the books, I need to get my butt in gear. 

::: I confess that we have a baby name that we are in love with, and not changing, but it absolutely annoys the crap out of me that I know someone else that named her son the same name in our hometown. We have plenty of mutual friends, and we both chose the name because its a family name for us both, so it just is what it is, but it still does irk me.

:::  I confess that I've been reading the cheap $2.99 kindle books for a mindless read. They are so bad, and I've read like four horribly written books, but they're relaxing and light and it's just what the doctor has ordered, and who am I to argue with that?

:::I confess I really, really miss Chicago between now and December. LA totally wins January-May, but now is when I really have to manage my homesickness blues.

::: I confess that I'm pretty much a joke at my spin class. I show up, and for me, that's my goal, but I kind of want to wear a sign that says "I'm pregnant" because I'm the only not leaving drenched in sweat. I'm pretty sure the instructor is looking directly at me when he screams "DIG DEEP" or "GO HARDER"....I try and like awkwardly touch my stomach to see if he will pick up on my hints but I think he just thinks I'm being lazy and not trying as hard as I can.

::: I confess that it is hard to watch the number go up on the scale. And I know that it is absolutely the best reason, that there is no sense in worrying about it because it aint changing, AND that it is just a freaking blessing to have this problem, but it is taking me a little getting used to.

:::I confess that I feel really, really, really uncomfortable complaining about any aspect of pregnancy. I am truly thankful and overwhelming grateful for a healthy pregnancy and a healthy, developing baby that I'm trying to really keep my minor annoyances and complaints to a bare minimum.

Ok, don't leave me hanging....confess something good from this week....

Bumpdate: Week 19

 weeks 5-12 ::: week 13 ::: week 14  ::: week 15 ::: week 16  ::: week 17 ::: week 18

                       

 How Far Along? 19w, 5d - due October 15, 2015

Gender: BOY!

Weight Gain: 8lbs

Maternity Clothes: Jeans but that's it.

Nursery: June will bring some changes.

Movement: I think I'm feeling him (!!!) a lot. I try to feel him from the outside, but that is still pretty tricky. I only feel him when I'm sitting down or laying down but it's a pretty wild feeling. It still feels like muscle twitches but sometimes it takes my breath away.

Symptoms: Feeling full does not feel comfortable at all. My skin is still really bad. I have had a zit/mark in the middle of my forehead for three weeks now, and I feel like my skin is much greasier than normal. My stomach is still not fully "popped" but in the morning and at night when I lay flat, my stomach sticks far out.

Sleep: I'm still sleeping pretty solidly, but I definitely need to sleep with a pillow between my legs.

Joel: He and I have been having a lot of fun calling the baby by his name. While we were shopping over the weekend, my cousin and I popped into a store and Joel was just waiting outside for us to do our thing. When he realized that it was a baby store, he came in and found us and was like, "well I would have come in if I knew we were shopping for the baby". It was really cute and we bought a little KickKee Pants blanket with a really cute print of a dog playing fetch which was exciting.

Workouts: 1 gym, 1 spin class, 1 pool session and 2 hikes with my cousin. It was an active week - but also a food filled one - so it kind of balanced out.

Mood: Joyous most of the time but I do quickly irritate.....

Cravings: Same....I do find myself craving a smoothie if I go a few days without one, but otherwise, not much

What I Miss: Not much.....I did take a pass on oysters this weekend but it wasn't that big of a deal.

Random Things: Baby got his first gift from his Coco (I'm trying to convince my mom, Connie, to go by Coco....isn't it super cute?) and I pretty much just died with the IL onesie. 

 

Best Moment This Week: Honestly, just knowing the baby is a healthy baby boy. We were given a DVD of our ultrasound from last week, so Joel and I watched it once together, and then my cousin indulged me watched it again with me, so she got a chance to see her nephew and all of his gymnastic moves. It's been a very, very sweet few weeks.

 Looking Forward To: Next week we have a normal check up appointment

Weekend Report

This weekend was just perfect. My cousin Amanda came into town on Wednesday night for business and was able to extend her trip and stay the entire weekend. We both had to work on Thursday, but we managed to sneak away in the late afternoon for a trip to the Farmer's Market and then met up for dinner with Joel and our other cousin Erin.

We had a great dinner at Scopa in Venice. It was our first time trying it out and we all really liked it. It's Italian small plates, and while the waiter did forget to bring out one dish (he made up for it with a comped dessert which was really nice), we found the overall experience to be really fun and delicious. I would definitely go back. 

Friday morning we woke up early and got a hike in at Runyon Canyon. The weather forecast for the entire weekend was a little on the cold and cloudy side (for LA), but it actually turned out to be far sunnier and more pleasant than we were expecting.

After hiking, we headed into Santa Monica to spend the day. We hit up the promenade since every store  was having major Memorial day sales but neither of us went too crazy. I did find this super cute blouse at Anthropogie for a steal and I'm pretty sure I'll be wearing it all summer long.

We had lovely lunch at The Misfit and after a walk to the water, headed back home to chill out. We ordered in Thai food that night, hung at home, and watched the third Hunger Games movie before Amanda and I crashed on the couch.

Saturday morning all of us walked into downtown Westwood to get coffee and pastries at Profeta.

Joel and I have been wanting to go to Profeta for years, but of course it took a guest to come into town to finally take advantage of the cute little coffee shop. It's a great place to enjoy a cup of coffee so I'm hoping we make it a regular weekend spot.

Later that morning we went to Erin's to hang out, and then had lunch  lunch at Baltaire in Brentwood. The first thing the waiter commented on was that there was no way we were from LA since we all looked very "Memorial Day".

Guilty as charged. 

We left Erin and the three of us headed to Manhattan Beach. We honestly just wanted to hang out in a beach town, shop, see the water, have a great dinner - and Manhattan Beach fit that bill perfectly.

   

          

 It can be a hike from our house, but it's such a great beach town, I was really glad we spent the day there. 

We met up with friends for a few minutes and after we were done shopping, we put our names in at Fishing with Dynamite and got lucky enough to score a table at 7:30.

 

Fishing with Dynamite is easily one of our favorite spots in LA. Everything is just spot on and our dinner there was no exception. 

 

 

I played DD and got us all home around 11.

Sunday morning, even though my energy was starting to fade hard, we made it out for an easy hike on Westridge, and again, the clouds just seemed to part for us.

   

We took it easy that afternoon and then we hosted my cousin Erin and a few of her friends that were in town for a BBQ at the house.

Erin brought over a bunch of wines from her work so everyone had a really fun time tasting different whites and rose's and Joel whipped up ahi poke, ono fish tacos, and we ended with SusieCakes for dessert. It was the perfect kick off to summer.

Monday morning showed up way too quickly and before I knew it, I was driving Amanda back to the airport for her to head home. We had such a fun, quality weekend and it was just so nice to have her part of our life for 4 solid days. There is never enough time for my family, but we have 4 trips lined up to see each other between now and October, so that really helps soften the blow of the departure gate.