Friday Favorites

Hey friends! It's time for another set of Friday Favorites!

1. Long time readers of this blog know that I am seriously obsessed with peppermint. It's my favorite flavor (tied with strawberry - though they'd be kinda gross together) and this time of year makes me soo happy. When I heard that the red cups had arrived at Starbucks, I immediately hit the drive through (Have you tried the peppermint brownie cake pops yet? Get your ass down there and get one!).  So when the Hubs, Z, and I were tooling around Target the other day, this lovely package caught my eye (and one or two mysteriously jumped into our cart).

If these puppies can make it long enough with out being eaten, I have grand plans to use them in a post-Thanksgiving cookie or brownie recipe to kick off the official start of Christmas. Mmmmm...

2. Since the Hubs and I have been chowing down on seasonal Oreos for the last two months (thanks a lot most-addictive-cookies-in-the-world!), I've tried to get back into running. Let me add to that by saying that I am a horrible runner. An asthmatic with bad knees and dreams of being a marathoner.  Not really, but I would like to at least survive a 5K. So I started Couch to 5K and got an awesome pair of running shoes at the Nike Outlet.  They may be the most comfortable pair of runners that I have ever put on my feet. After my first run, I think I may have told the Hubs that it was like running on a memory foam mattress. My knees are happy again. Now if my lungs would just get with the program.

Nike Flyknit Lunar1+

3. You all know of my love of Philosophy products, and this is the time of year when I get to use my most favorite! I swap out my regular body wash for Philosophy Peppermint Stick. It smells outstanding! The only thing better than chowing down on candy canes, is smelling like one!

4. Despite the 85 degree temps in SoFlo, my heart is anywhere that cooler temps reside. I am so ready to start wearing jeans and fuzzy socks on the reg, not to mention cozy lounge pants (a staple for any WorkAHM or SAHM). Right now, I've got my eye on these and these from the Gap (maybe with one of these waffle knit tees from Old Navy?). They just look so comfortable and I can almost imagine myself lounging on the sofa near an open window with a cool fall breeze blowing in. Then I wake up and remember where I live, and the fact that I have a 9 month old. Not much actual lounging going on here...but it's nice to dream!

5. Finally, five years ago today, on a day that was just as blustery, but much much colder that this one, the Hubs and I said our I Dos in front of our closest friends and family. I won't go into the mushy details, but I will say that I am one lucky muchacha. So, I'm not sure if my final favorite is the Hubs, marriage, or anniversaries, but all three are pretty wonderful!

Happy weekend!!!

A Little Randomness for Your Hump Day

So these last few weekends have been packed full of business. We are still in the middle of our Ikea hack, the project that will never end. Not because it's particularly difficult, just that other things keep taking us away from it. Just needing to paint and stain, which the stormy afternoon/evenings have prevented. And I'm almost done with my new chalkboard (also delayed by the weather). Hoping to get those finished soon so I will have something to show you guys.  In the meantime, I wish you all a Happy Hump Day and present you with a little bit of randomness for the midweek.

For some reason, this camel cracks me up! I know this is crazy, but I really feel like that should be his voice! Makes me laugh every time! Let me throw in one more exclamation point!

Speaking of Ikea (well, sort of), two kind of awesome things happened: #1-We declared September 8th "New Sofa Day!" About a month ago, we trekked down to Ikea to check out the sofas, without any real intention of actually getting one anytime soon. Our current furniture has about had it, and once we had chosen something new, our old stuff started looking worse and neither one of us could get the new sofa out of our minds. So, next Sunday, the Tuna family will once again trek south with my step-dad's truck (since the giant boxes definitely won't fit in my VW Rabbit) and pick up this puppy:

IKEA Karlstad Corner Sofa

Of course this means that now we will need a new rug and coffee table and so many throw pillows!

And #2 - This arrived in the mail yesterday! Woot woot! It's the little things these days that make me giddy, and I have to say that coming home to see the 2014 catalog on the table made me squeal with glee. (I probably need to get out more!)

We did manage to make the most of the one and only storm-free evening by taking a walk around the neighborhood, something we haven't been able to do much this summer thanks to the mosquitoes and suffocating heat. This also marked Baby Tuna's first ride in the stroller like a big kid - without the infant carrier!! Of course, Abby Cadabby had to come along for the inaugural ride!

So, seven Labor Day Weekends ago, one of my oldest friends and I went out for a few drinks. That very same night, a tall and handsome fella happened to be in town and at the very same bar with a buddy. Well, I think you can figure out how this story ends. Even though we knew each other in high school, the Hubs and I didn't start dating until that night. We call it the night we "re-met." So this weekend we celebrated our "Re-Met-aversary" with a yummy dinner and what I call "Half-Assed Cookies & Cream Cupcakes."

I love to bake. My love of Oreos is pure and true, and I try to incorporate them into a lot of my baking endeavors. Usually I bake cupcakes from scratch, right down to the frosting. No frosting from a can in this house. But with a six month old, you gotta make some concessions here and there. So here's how it goes...For Father's Day, I made a batch of chocolate cupcakes and froze what we didn't eat that weekend. I love this recipe from Kevin and Amanda. Yes, it's from a mix, but it's so doctored up and chocolatey delicious, I may never make chocolate cake from scratch again. I use the gluten free Betty Crocker mix. They freeze and thaw so nicely so you can have cupcakes anytime you want! 

Now for my half-assed frosting...

To frost 4 cupcakes (plus a few spoonfuls to taste-test), I used half a tub of the new Cool Whip Cream Cheese frosting (which I would normally make myself), threw some Oreos (about 7 or 8) into my food processor and mixed all together. The frosting on it's own didn't taste exactly like homemade, but once the Oreo crumbs were mixed in...yum-o! Pipe onto thawed chocolate cupcakes, sprinkle with Oreo pieces, and Viola! Chocolatey Oreo yumminess! 

And finally, since it's now September, which should mean instantly cooler temps (but unfortunately it doesn't),

Just know that this temp does NOT include the insane humidity...it felt like at least 500 degrees!

I had to pop in to Starbucks to pickup my first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season. I usually wait till the temps cool off a bit, but I couldn't resist. So since the babe had fallen asleep in the car, which meant I needed to kill some time while she slept, I hit the drive-thru. And having it iced wasn't so bad.

Now I'm ready to decorate the house for fall and am dreaming of fuzzy socks and open-window weather...which is still at least two months away. Boo to that!!

26 Weeks

How far along? 26 weeks and 3 days

Total weight gain: Who knows! Feeling a bit like a stuffed turkey after enjoying all of the deliciousness yesterday.  

How big is baby? The size of a head of lettuce. She’s about 14 inches long and probably weighs about 2-2.5 pounds. Baby Tuna’s eyelashes have also grown in.

Maternity clothes? Some of my original tops don’t cut the mustard anymore…time for some shopping!!!  

Stretch marks? None so far…I LOVE my Burt’s Bees Mama Bee Belly Butter!  

Sleep? Ok in the last few days…with the help of lots of pillows and fresh air from having the windows open. Waking up with sore hips and knees, though, from sleeping on my side.  I’ve also noticed that I wake up every morning at exactly 6:57, without an alarm. Wonder if that will be a significant time come February?

Best moment this week? Thanksgiving/Anniversary (aka “Thanksiversary”) was quite nice. My brother was able to come down for the day, and we also had our parents down for the feast. The weather was perfect and even Scout behaved herself!

How are you feeling? So much better than last week!!  

Miss anything? Starting to miss getting in a good workout. Don’t have the energy to do much these days beyond a walk with the dog and a 15 minute pilates session, and even that is a huge stretch. Looking forward to getting active again in the spring.

Movement? Although she dances around throughout the day, I think the Baby Tuna is most active in the evenings. If I’m sitting very still, sometimes she will move so much, my whole body kind of vibrates. Wonder what’s goin on in there!

Food cravings? Sweet! Candy, chocolate, fruit. All I want is sweet!!!

Aversions?  The smell of turkey kind of grossed me out on Thanksgiving. As a vegetarian, I don’t ever eat it, but the smell doesn’t usually bother me. But this year, I had to leave the kitchen at one point to get away from the smell.

Anything make you queasy or sick? See above.  

Gender: IT’S A GIRL!!!

Any names picked out? We have a first name picked out, still working on the middle name.

Labor signs? No

Belly button in or out? Still an inny…but it’s trying to flatten out.

Wedding rings on or off? On

Mood?  Happy!! But don't get on my bad side. Hehe! 

Looking forward to: Decorating for Christmas, which will begin tomorrow; getting our Christmas tree; and continuing work on the nursery. We want it to be perfect for our baby girl, and now it’s down to the fun details.

Four Years of Wedded Bliss

In addition to Thanksgiving, yesterday also marked our fourth anniversary. It's crazy to think that I've been a Mrs. for that long. But at the same time, it feels like we've always been together. The time has really flown by.

We met in high school, and, twelve years later, started dating. I think we both knew right away that this was something different. And now here we are, expecting a baby girl.

We can't wait to meet her, and I can't wait for the Hubs to be a daddy. I know he will be AMAZING! 

I feel so blessed and sometimes can't believe my luck. I have such an incredible husband.