a day at the beach + our picnic loaf

 ever since our rainy, cold weekend in montauk, i've been dreaming about a good day at the beach. one that's hot enough to love the water and windy enough to cool off. we had planned to go earlier in the week with my sister's family, but the threat of rain had us all a little bit unsure... so we ended up not going that day. later in the week the weather looked up and we headed to ocean city for the day. it really was perfect. we got a leisurely start, didn't hit much traffic, found a good spot before it got crowded and bummed it up. reading and chatting till it got too hot. playing in the ocean until it got too cold. repeat!

we had a great picnic lunch. the picnic loaf was a new sandwich that i'm definitely going to make again.  basically it was a petite french loaf that i cut the top off of and scooped out some of the inside bread to make room for the fixings. you could put anything inside really... it's a rather fun way of keeping everything contained, instead of falling out the sides. this particular combo was tuna with balsamic vinegar, sea salt and olive oil. pesto spread onto the bread, tomato, mozzarella, roasted red pepper and fresh basil. so good.

36 weeks

9 months:

•  strange how time moves so much faster these last couple of weeks of the pregnancy, compared to the first few after finding out!
• celebrated Jason's first father's day!
• celebrated our 5 year anniversary with a relaxing day together and dinner at the melting pot!
• finished up my last day at work and a few cake orders i had left to do. a strange feeling when your only obligation some days are to water your flowers, do the laundry and make food.
• hope to post an update on the bear cub's room this week ( stay tuned)!
• our shower broke :( luckily this happened now and not right as we are groggy new parents... jason being the handy one he is ( with help from our brother-in-law) fixed the situation within the day! THANK YOU for being awesome and sacrificing an afternoon kayaking!
• wondering when this child will want to make it's appearance in this world?
• still enjoying watching and marveling at seeing it's limbs move across my stomach!
• is thankful for the cool breeze today brings!
• is trying to take it in stride that my mind and body are fighting with each other constantly over how much is really acceptable to get done in one day.
• i've been enjoying swimming so much!
• thinks we just may get a day in at the beach this week! 
  
  
  
  
  

dear husband

5 years ago we took a vow to be husband and wife. best friends for life! one of the most special and important moments in my life. you constantly remind me of what a truly wonderful life we are sharing together each and every day.

i love you, jason, from the center of who i am!

finished projects + bits and pieces of summer here!

 here we go! finished baby quilt! with the help of a dear friend and sowing mentor i was able finish it up in time! what a fun first experience at quilting!

 really loving the fact that my herbs are thriving, besides some pesky snails eating my basil. i think i  have that more under control. if not i planted some in a pot on the porch. got to have basil. it's a summer necessity!

 finished roadtrip photo book. jason and i have been enjoying the journey for a "second" time!

enjoying the beautiful summer so far.

happy father's day my love! you're going to be one of the best!

34 weeks + Baby Shower

 this post is long overdue. i'm almost 36 weeks by now, and let me tell you, time is flying. with the lack of posting there has been a flurry of accomplishment and activities

• our baby shower was a lot of fun. we had amazing support from our loved ones. it was truly a special day, getting to see everyone and have them share in the life of our future little one!
• i have finished my roadtrip book
• cleaned and organized the baby's room. just a few more decorations and little things and we'll be set.
• tackled my flower beds with my mom ( hopefully for the last time before baby) this bending over business is getting a wee bit hard to do
• have my last day of work on saturday!
• almost finished my baby quilt i've been working on
• decluttering and organizing where ever possible
• went swimming for the first time this summer and loved every minute of it!
• baking here and there for people
• can't get enough water and cherries ( any seasonal fruit really) these days
• caught up with some old friends
• finished our birth classes
• spent time with my nieces
• trying to enjoy each day as it comes and all that it's filled with!

cake update

 here are two cakes i did recently. one was for a wedding in may. the birthday cake was for this past weekend. i have a couple of more orders before i go on "maternity leave" for the summer!

almost...

so i have an enormous pile of "almost complete" projects, rooms, things, to do lists, etc. one of my almost complete projects is our photo album of our roadtrip last summer. which got me to thinking of this map i colored in once we were done our travels. 15 more states i'd like to visit. 35 is a pretty good accomplishment for now. got to save some adventures to share with our wee one!

so i'm taking a blogging break because i can't look at any more pictures. i can't finish the babies room because we have to finish up with some touch up paint (oh and putting all the furniture back in) did i mention we got carpet! first room in our house to have carpet. we love our crazy wood floors and one day hope to have them refinished, but for now that is not a reality, so this carpet thing seems like a little luxury!

my flower beds just might be one of those projects that doesn't get done this summer, i'm not feeling it these days.

need a few more baby items, like cloth diaper covers, socks, little things that i'm almost done getting together.

this pregnancy is almost done. crazy... just a little over a month to go.

so this is an almost done week for me.

hope to have a 34 week update soon, you know before it almost 35 weeks.

until then.

just thought i'd share

this has been a favorite read of mine lately. love the blog too! 

check out the digital copy here!

strawberry picnic pies

i made these little treats last week for a dinner we had with some friends. they are called picnic pies ( or hand pies). recipe can be found here. so i made them with strawberries and they were really good. it got me to thinking how good they would be with peaches, apples and plums... any fruit really. a great little portable snack, unless you want to serve them with ice cream, which you totally should!