The Gift Of Sleep

December 2018

I have been compensated by QVC for this post. All opinions are my own.

Ohh to take a nap. Or rather, to simply get a good nights sleep these days. Between having to pee every three hours and two dogs waking me in the wee hours of the night…let’s just say sleep is something I could use a heck of a lot more of! And while the whole “baby pushing on my bladder” thing can’t really be helped at this point, wearing noise-masking sleepbuds can absolutely assist with the whole “dogs rustling around the room” thing (which to be honest, is 99% what keeps me awake anyway). Which brings me to the topic of this post: the importance of sleep and rest. Not only has my sleep improved since I got my Bose noise-masking sleepbuds in the mail, but Blake has also benefited from these powerful little guys. We take turns using them (…I think I’ve got a good Christmas gift idea in mind…ha!) and lemme tell ya, these things are straight up LIFE CHANGING.
read more

Chicken Tortilla Soup

November 2018

By Jessica Lee

News flash! It’s finally cold in Texas! I know to some of you this may not feel like a huge deal, but for those of you who live in the Lone Star State, you know what I mean. Sweater weather is a day-by-day thing down here, and a perfect winter day can quickly turn into shorts and a t-shirt weather. Womp womp.

So, when the mercury drops, we celebrate immediately with soup. Or at least I do! This Chicken Tortilla Soup is insanely simple because I made it in a Bella 6-in-1 Multi Cooker. Have you used one of these before? It’s kind of like a slow cooker, but SO. MUCH. BETTER. I use mine to make rice, hard boiled eggs, soups, risotto and so much more.

This Chicken Tortilla Soup is made almost entirely in the multi cooker. How great is that? Any recipe that requires minimal pots and pans is a win in my book!

L’Occitane Holiday Gifting

November 2018

‘Tis the season for gifting! Pour yourself a mug full of hot chocolate, turn up your holiday tunes, put on your coziest loungewear set and grab your wrapping paper! (All before Thanksgiving…we’re so on top of it this year! 😉 ). Today I’m thrilled to partner with L’Occitane and share their limited edition holiday gift sets. The best part? L’Occitane is a brand that prides itself on giving back to communities all over the world. They go further by providing women with work opportunities, promoting fair wages and sustainable conditions. Through business development training, L’Occitane empowers 10,000 women in Burkina Faso, in environmentally-friendly Shea processing. Not to mention, one very special item in their line of holiday gift sets gives opportunities for children through their partnership with UNICEF, including providing supplements to children in the fight against preventable childhood blindness. A gift that gives – LOVE this mission!

A big thank you to L’Occitane for sponsoring this post! All opinions are my own.

Triple Berry Crisp

October 2018

By Jessica Lee

I recently went to a friend’s home for a small party they were throwing and was asked to bring dessert. Wanting to bring something that could feed a lot of people but wouldn’t take a ton of time to make, I finally settled on this Triple Berry Crumble. And it was a hit!

Pregnancy Diaries: My Second Trimester

October 2018

**Illustration by Kimberlee Watson

Happy Monday, friends! And happy 23 weeks of pregnancy over here! Baby boy is the size of a grapefruit this week and his little face is fully formed, now he’s just growing growing growing. This week he starts to recognize my voice and once born, will be able to know it’s me when he’s out and in the world. Pretty incredible stuff! My first trimester is long gone, but the second is in full swing (until week 27/28 weeks apparently)…which means a whole slew of new feelings and physical changes. Excited to share them with y’all today – plus I’m sharing a few of my fellow pregnant blogger friends in case you want to follow along with their journeys, as well! Each month we’ll all be posting about a new pregnancy topic…this month is our current bump-date and introductions, while next month will be all about maternity fashion (yay!). That said, let’s get to it…

We’re Having A…

October 2018

…Eek! We’ve been enjoying this big secret of ours for over a month now – and we are so excited to finally share the news…!! I asked my Instagram followers if they think we’re having a boy or girl this week…55% said girl, 45% said boy…SO! …Drumroll…Baby P is a…

Ps. Shoutout to Blake who prefers not be in my blog content…unless coaxed with “…but you can hit the golf ball!” Haha!! But I mean, that swing tho! 😉

9 Things I Didn’t Know About Pregnancy

October 2018

**Illustration by Kimberlee Watson

Hey friends! How’s your week been? I couldn’t happier that it’s FRIDAY – YAY! In other news, we got a new puppy this week (more to love around here, right?! Printy fam = kinda a circus lately and we are ALL about it, ha!). Here’s a pic from my IG if you haven’t seen her yet…her name is Lulu and we are in love…Watson isn’t so sure yet, but we have faith they’ll be best friends soon enough!

More personal news: I am 21 weeks along in my pregnancy, the baby is 11 inches long and each foot is about the size of a paper clip (!!)…and I am feeling baby kicks whenever I slow down and sit for longer than five minutes at a time. Those little kicks are completely magical and surreal! Also – I started getting charley horses in my legs while sleeping this week…OMG WHAT. Apparently this is extremely common…which brought to me write this post because I have learned SO MANY THINGS about pregnancy that I feel like no one told me beforehand. All the “you’re glowing!” comments might be true for some, but for me there’s been some rather tough moments I had no idea were headed my way. Then again, if that “glow” people see is simply happiness being emitted given a new baby on the way, regardless that I have teen acne all over my forehead, well then, I’m definitely “glowing.” Maybe in the third trimester all the funky physical things will subside and that “glow” will finally make an appearance – or at least I’ll feel more like myself and less “I want to hide in my house and wear sweatpants all day.” 😉 Until then, I am still living in comfy clothing, testing out a whole lot of concealer brands and mustering all the strength in my being to take a 20 minute walk around the block…ha!

Fall Comfort Food: Potato Chip Cookies

October 2018

Is your mouth watering yet?! …Mine totally is! Last weekend I got into fall mode and decided to try a cookie recipe incorporating Cape Cod ® Sea Salt Potato Chips. Sweet, salty, comforting…trust me, these cookies are SO GOOD and the chips on their own sure are delicious, too! If there’s one thing I am forever a fan of, it’s a sweet treat and a hot cup of coffee. Add some pumpkins, a cuddly pup and a cozy flannel to the mix and I am one happy gal! The weather in Austin has finally cooled off a bit and this weekend called for jeans, plaid and some quality time spent soaking up the weather from our patio!

Traditional Irish Soda Bread

September 2018

Is your mouth watering 1. looking at pictures of the bread above and 2. just thinking of bread?! YES ME TOO. Okay, glad we’re on the same page about that one… 😉 If there’s one thing that Europe does right (well…they do a lot of things right but we won’t go down that rabbit hole haha), it’s most certainly bread…scones, croissants, french bread, focaccia…you name it, it’s delicious and gives my heart pangs because there’s simply nothing like sipping hot coffee or tea and indulging in freshly baked bread, homemade butter and yummy jam…especially while at an outdoor cafe in Paris or better yet, at a darling cottage house in the midst of the Irish countryside. Yes, that scene I just set was REAL LIFE for all of four glorious hours and I am so excited to give y’all a closer look AND share a super easy, wonderful Irish soda bread recipe.

Mediterranean Orzo Salad

September 2018

By Jessica Lee

Raise your hand if you pack a lunch for work! I’ve gotten into the habit of bringing mine and not only does it mean that I save some money (more to spend on cute clothes!) but it also is so much healthier. I usually just save some leftovers from dinner and pack it as I’m cleaning up so it’s ready to go in the morning, but occasionally, I’ll do a quick meal prep on Sunday that yields food for the week. This orzo salad is the result of one of those meal preps. It makes just enough to get me through Friday. As Ina Garten would say, “how great is that?!”

This is another one of those recipes that you can mix and match as you see fit. If you’re not crazy about olives, I think a roasted veggie like zucchini squash would be a great trade. If your a meat eater, grilled chicken would be a substantial protein to add. If you’re trying to do the low carb thing, cauliflower rice could be subbed in for orzo. It’s totally up to you!

Lifestyle