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!

4-Ingredient 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!

Pregnancy Diaries: My First Trimester

September 2018

Artwork by Kimberlee.

Hello there friends! It’s been a while since I’ve had time to sit down and write a more personal post… we are currently traveling through the British Isles but Blake and I have nestled into a cozy coffeehouse in Inverness, Scotland and are taking a break from the hustle and bustle to soak up quality time with our computers…ha! Not going to lie, it always feels therapeutic to sit and calmly get in some writing or jot down my thoughts for future posts. That said – my sister just sent over THE cutest illustration so I can document my first trimester of pregnancy on my blog… she totally hit the nail on the head with ALL of these…Blake and I just had a good laugh looking through the “cravings” section…that is a very real reality!!

I am currently 17 weeks (baby is the size of a pomegranate this week and his/her feet are the size of gummy bears! We find out the sex on Sept. 12th…omg we can hardly contain our excitement!) and thus, am already into the second trimester. However, given that this is my very first pregnancy, I am excited to document everything for both myself (hopefully we’ll have more kiddos and I can reference this post ha!) and also share what it’s been like for those of you who may not know…which was exactly me just a few months ago.

Red Curry With Cauliflower Rice

September 2018

By Jessica Lee

Raise your hand if you’re ready for Fall to make an appearance already. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Summer, but I’ve got sweaters and boots that are dying to be worn. Anyone else feeling the same way? Well, let’s manifest Fall with this tasty red curry recipe. I think if enough of us make it, the weather will cool down just enough…. Maybe?!

This is one of those great recipes where you can mix and match ingredients. Got green beans that are on their last leg? Throw them in! Want to swap in brown rice for cauliflower rice? Go ahead. Prefer chicken or shrimp in your curry? You do you! It’s pretty much a choose-your-own adventure meal. Aka my favorite kind of meal…

Blackberry Sage Cobbler

August 2018

By Jessica Lee

A friend of mine shared a cobbler she made in a cast iron skillet on Instagram Stories, and I immediately hounded her for the recipe. I’d never seen cobbler made that way and it seemed pretty genius. Cast iron is perfect for getting that crispy crust that tastes divine on cobbler. Fast forward to today, and I’ve updated the recipe a bit to combine two of my favorite ingredients: blackberry and sage…

We’ve Been Keeping A Secret…

August 2018

We’ve got a little (okay…a BIG) secret to share with y’all…we’re having a BABY! On June 14th, our lives changed forever when we found out some very exciting (and surprising!) news. To say the last few months have been an emotional roller coaster would be extremely accurate haha – I have never been so happy/excited/nervous (insert all the feelings) in my entire life to know that Blake and I are creating a tiny human together. It’s been crazy to watch my body change, our conversations go from work banter to discussions about how we want to raise this child and the good we want to instill in him or her. We are welcoming this next chapter with open arms and grateful hearts!

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