Midweek Randoms

• Every time D and I see an armored truck (think Brinks Security), we joke about robbing it. That is what watching The Town too frequently will do to you. (Or, we are just big weirdos.)

• I've created a pizza loving monster. The excitement Grace exudes when "PI-AHH!" is on the dinner menu is just a little extreme. I don't blame her though, pizza is the best... especially since I don't often make it myself. :)

• Grace insisted on taking a baby doll to school with her this morning. I let her because I'm a pushover and also, because it was about the cutest thing ever to see her holding that baby in the car, on our walk in, and in those mini little school chairs. She's going to be such a good big sister one day.

• A long weekend is right on the horizon! D has off Friday-Monday and I have off Monday as well. We're thinking about having a little BBQ at the casa for some friends...I'm forcing D to invite his co-workers who have wives so that we can expand our little circle.

• Hot weekend plans include breakfast in Savannah on Saturday morning followed by a trip to the new Children's Museum. We are also working on throwing a date night in the mix. Gotta get 'em in while we can.

• Thank you all for the messages, comments, texts, emails, and calls regarding D's upcoming deployment. I am so thankful to have such an amazing support system and am looking forward to some visits and trips that have already been planned.

• I've started making lists: Things to do before D leaves and Things to do while D is gone. The Before list is basically a massive Honey-Do list, that I'm sure he is excited to tackle. You know, things like "stain the deck", "participate in neighborhood yard sale." The After list has things to keep me excited like, "Watch Magic Mike and The Hunger Games" and "Order Grace's big girl room furniture and don't consult D on the price." :)

• Last thing. Also because posts without pictures are boring. Should I put up with the awkward hair phase and go long again or chop it off? Vote.

   ........or........ 

xo,
H

Weekend Round-up

Happy Monday! One of my co-workers and I (human kind, not dogs...ha) start every Monday by saying that and it's stuck.

Hope you all had great weekends. We definitely did, probably one of the best in awhile! The weather was GORGEOUS here...which was such a tease, because as of this morning it's back to rain and humidity. It was a breezy couple of days in the upper 70's and we made sure to make the most of it.

Friday we went out to Fish Tales for dinner, got some seafood, sat and watched the boats docked and the pretty water and got the weekend off to a relaxing start. D knows me well enough to have suggested we go grab something (we do dinner out prob once a week) and by Friday afternoon I am always down to not cook.

 

I posted this on Instagram (hmmorgan1), but I seriously can't stop laughing at it. Towards the end of dinner Grace was wiggly and ready to get out of her seat, so D took her out to the dock to run around while I finished up (aka housed all the leftover food on the table). When I met them outside, this is what they looked like walking towards me. D told Grace that she wasn't allowed to play with a fire extinguisher and she was less than pleased. She has a pretty ridiculous pout. I wish the picture was more clear to capture it in all of it's glory...

 

On Saturday Grace and I started out the morning by meeting my friend Elizabeth and her friend D in Savannah for breakfast so that we could see each other one last time before she heads home to Oregon today. It was sad to see her go, but I'm thankful that we got the chance to visit several times while she was here and am happy to have met her friend D, who lives in the area and has a sweet little boy who is a little younger than Grace. I have a feeling I'll be seeing them again. :)

 

 

 

Stole these from Facebook. Totally going to make a hair appointment asap...I'm really letting my Louisiana roots catch up with me. Woof. ;)

 

Later that afternoon was our obligatory errand running, which led Grace and I to PetSmart during Adoption Saturday. After witnessing the joy that was my child in PetSmart, I will no longer be shelling out dough for the zoo. (Lie. We all know I will still do that.) Seriously though...Adoption Day is Grace's crack. She was all over that store like her momma during a Kate Spade 75% off sample sale. We hung out for about 45 minutes, saw dogs, birds, fish, and our new favorite: kittens. We did not come home with anything, because I haven't gone that crazy yet. Give it a few years and I might be open to another fur ball.

 

 

 

Post nap, someone (fine. me.) decided that we should get frozen yogurt treats for snack before hitting the grocery store. No pictures were taken as faces were busy being stuffed. Later that night we wrapped up with a meal time fail (lentil stuffed portobellos) and probably made up for it with dessert.

 

Sunday started off early with meeting a friend at J.F. Gregory to get our run on. 7 miles later I was a happy, sweaty mess. This is the first weekend run in awhile that I didn't cramp up and only stopped for a breather once. Already looking forward to 8 this coming weekend and hoping this Sunday wasn't too good to be true.

 

After my run, I relieved D of Grace watching duty so he could get in a quick round of golf and G and I got our hangout on. Smoothies, pushing babies outside, and then park time with dad once he got back from golfing. Nap time for both of us (always a win) and then a family Starbucks run to round out the afternoon. We made homemade pizza for dinner...second time this week, if you are counting (like D is...) and it totally made up for the ick dinner the night before. We wrapped up the weekend with outdoor play for everyone, dogs included, and got to meet some awesome neighbors who were on a walk with their little girl, who is a month younger than Grace. We ended up outside talking until we realized it was quickly approaching bedtime and walked away with a new phone number, which is a total mom score.

 

This morning, because this is how my life works, Grace slept in until after 7 (which NEVER happens on weekends) and it's already back to rain. I did, however, just realize that we have a long weekend coming up, which have some fun plans in the works already. Hope you all have great weeks and I'll be around with some things we have going on throughout!

 

xo,

H



Fall Fashion - Toddler Girl Edition

I've already told you all about how ready I am for Fall. It's welcome to come and stay anytime it would like. :) It's actually been pretty mild here this week (upper 80's), but no where near the breezy upper 60 degree weather that I'm looking for. While waiting for the arrival of the new season, I decided to start stocking up on some of Grace's fall clothes. Anything to hold me over...plus there have been some nice pre-season sales!

Here are some of my recent buys:

Fall by hmmorgan1 on Polyvore

 

School Days by hmmorgan1 on Polyvore

Reds by hmmorgan1 on Polyvore

Grey and Pink by hmmorgan1 on Polyvore

I'm pretty horrible at creating Polyvore sets, but those are a few outfits worth of my lady's wardrobe update. As far as the shoes, I've only bought the silver sneakers, but those Tom's are soon to follow. Also- I don't pay full price for anything I buy Grace (although the Toms might have to be an exception). Gap and Old Navy have discounts pretty much weekly these days and for little splurges like Crewcuts, mama goes to the outlet. I do the same thing when it comes to myself most of the time...although I can justify some full price items for myself as I am not constantly growing like she is. Makes shopping feel like a treasure hunt. :) Happy Fall purchasing!

 

xo, H

Keeping it fluffy :)

News I enjoy reading:

Photos of Naked Prince Harry Surface in Las Vegas

I've always liked Prince Harry. I seriously feel like if I were to meet him, we'd be instant friends. Well...maybe if I were to meet him back in my single, college days...haha. Harry wins points for being way less stuffy than the rest of the royal family and actually acting like a real dude in his 20's. Go you, Harry.

Someone I think needs to go away:

Ryan Lochte

 

Seriously though, everything about him bugs me. You know when someones voice just grates at you? Or when their interviews are SO bad you cringe and feel embarrassed for them? I literally can not watch or listen to anything he says or does. Him becoming the next Bachelor is my nightmare. Also? Not attractive! Just better looking than the rest of the swim team. Tell me I'm not alone on this one?!

 

This is funny though: 10 Reasons Why Ryan Lochte is America's Sexiest Douchebag

 

Another thought provoking post by Yours Truly.

 

xo,

H





Here

You guys. I am the worst. We have tons going on, but there is a good bit of it that I haven't known whether or not I wanted to discuss on the blog, so it's been easier to sort of sit in silence.

The first piece of it all involves D's job. Without being all sorts of cryptic, he does have a deployment coming up later this year and I guess I am sort of wrapping my head around it still. I don't think it will necessarily be a bad thing, but it will be a big change for us. D is the most hands on father I know, I mean seriously, he is just out of this world awesome at being a dad. Grace is also going through a major daddy phase and it is all sorts of adorable and worrisome to me at the same time. I just hope we can have smooth transition and make things as easy for her to deal with as possible. I won't be posting many details or talking about it much here on the blog, but those of you that want to know more know how to get in touch. :)

Serious business.

Aside from that we are getting excited for visitors in the coming months! My dad and bff Amanda both booked their flights yesterday with my dad coming out for a visit over Grace's birthday weekend in late September and Amanda coming to town on my birthday for our half marathon weekend in November. Love guests! So write that down and plan your trips accordingly.  ;)

Speaking of the half, training is going pretty well. I'm having a hard time increasing my mileage, but given everything going on lately, I think I have some pretty good excuses. I'm feeling good and looking forward to pushing it to 7 miles this weekend. Fun times.

Lastly, my friend Elizabeth is here from Oregon (we met at Ft. Polk) and I am super pumped to have her over this afternoon. We have plans to hit the park and running trail with Grace (who hasn't been in the jogging stroller in about a year...we will see how that goes) and then head back to the house for some dinner and hang out time. Looking forward to some friend time.

Hope everyone is having a great week and as always, I'll do my best to get back on the blogging train here shortly!

xo,
H

P.S. I have a 23 month old who is less than a month away from being 2. Yowza.

Recipe Catch-Up

Hola. Ever have days where you want to give blogger the middle finger because it weirdly replaced a post you hadn't completed with another post draft? No, just me? Awesome.

Anyways, wanted to share a couple of recipes we've made lately that warrant sharing!

The first is last week's Summer Stir Fry. I started out by using a Pioneer Woman recipe, and added my own spin on it. Let's be real...a meal with no base of rice or pasta and I would have heard D complaining about still being hungry 30 minutes later.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
4 cloves Garlic, Minced
12 whole Jumbo Shrimp, peeled, de-veined, tails off*
2 whole Zucchini, sliced
2 ears Corn, kernels sliced off
1/2 cup Grape Tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise
Salt And Freshly Ground Pepper, to taste
Chopped Basil
Orzo Pasta**
Crumbled Feta Cheese

*If you are big seafood fan's like we are, get more! I did a half pound, which was closer to 15 shrimp divided between two people. The original recipe says it will serve 4...not in this house.
**Couscous or rice or really any type of pasta would work just as well.

Directions:
Boil pasta according to directions. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add minced garlic. When oil/butter is hot, add shrimp and cook for 3 minutes. Remove to a plate. Do not clean skillet.

Add the rest of the butter and oil and heat over medium heat. Add zucchini slices in a single layer and cook for one minute, tossing once. Scoot the zucchini to the edges of the pan, then add corn kernels to the middle of the pan. Cook for one minute. Add grape tomatoes, salt, and pepper, and toss around, then add shrimp. Cook for an additional 30 seconds, then remove from heat.

Plate over pasta with your basil and garnish with feta. Quick, easy, and still a light dish!
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Next, one of my family's Fall staples- Lentil Barley Stew. I grew up with this and still love it. It's hearty and honestly just needs a side of bread to make a pretty filling meal.

Ignore the shadow...I was too hungry to mess around with a good picture.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. margarine
3/4 c. Celery
1/2 Onion, chopped
1 clove Garlic, minced
3/4 lb. Ground beef

3/4 c. Lentils, rinsed
1/2 c. Brown Rice
1/4 c. Barley

1 28 oz. can diced Tomatoes
1/4 tsp. Pepper
1/2 tsp. Rosemary
1 tsp. Cumin

Shredded cheddar for topping

Directions:
Saute vegetables and brown meat. Drain. Add 6 cups water and next 3 ingredients. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and cook 20 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and simmer 40 to 60 minutes in covered dutch oven. Stir frequently. Great with shredded cheese and Hawaiian rolls...freezes really well, too. Enjoy!

xo,
H

Things

This is what I do when I have nothing of substance to dedicate an entire post to...I'll have more to come soon, promise. :)

• I left my keys in the car last night - not in the ignition this time - and had to make D come home from work 30 minutes away in the pouring rain to unlock it for me so that I could get Grace to daycare. I'm sort of in the dog house today...oopsies.
• G's school is still going well, although when I ask her if she had fun at the end of the day, she will shake her head no (even after I walked in to her running around having a blast on the playground). Baby steps.
• The school has someone from an early intervention program that comes once a week to work with some of the kids on their speech. I've signed Grace up to be evaluated and I am anxious to find out what they say. She is very chatty...just in her own little language. She does have many words that we can decipher, but only strings together a couple little two word phrases at this point.
• That child is going to give me gray hair. Speaking of which, I need to find a new hair place like yesterday a month ago.
• I miss CrossFit. I've done some garage workouts, but they don't compare to the competitive rush that comes with being pushed by other people working out around you. Boo.
• On a happy workout note, I've been running a lot more and am working on uping my distance again. Got a 6 miler planned for Sunday morning followed by breakfast at our favorite local morning spot. Running for food is a great motivator. ;)
• Speaking of food...it's been a rainy, gloomy couple of days and I am celebrating by making my mom's Lentil Barley Stew for dinner tonight. It's warm and tomato-ey and meaty and topped with a heaping serving of grated cheddar and is comfort food at it's finest...and good enough that maybe I'll be out of the dog house by dinner time?

Have a good day everyone. :)

xo,
H

Randoms

• This week we had crown moulding installed and I'm loving it. In the words of D, it is now time to "pump the brakes" on house things until we've completed some smaller tasks first...like, I dunno, hanging curtains?
• Grace has started transitioning into daycare at a Montessori school this week. To say I was worried for her is an understatement, but girlfriend has handled the change beautifully. I went in to pick her up after lunch time yesterday and watched from outside as she ate lunch with her new little friends and acted like she'd been there for weeks.

D took this pic while spying on craft time. Grace is on the left.

• Don't shun me, but I'm sort of over the Olympics. Between all of the spoilers, it's sort of ruined it for me. I still love me some USA, but c'mon NBC! Side note: I still totally cried watching Missy Franklin win 100 back.
• I am 1000% ready for Fall. I realize it is only August, but I seriously get all warm and fuzzy thinking about cooler weather, pumpkin spice lattes from Starbs...and pumpkin spice cookies that I made wayyy too often last year. Football watching, cute clothes, the smell of outdoors, and the November half marathon I have scheduled. Fun times ahead. :)

These taste like mini pumpkin cakes. I want.

• I'm in a recipe rut. I need some new ones to try out and get in our rotation. My suggestion for ordering pizza every night this week hasn't been going over well (which makes me crave it even more). Instead I'll be trying Summer Stir-Fry tonight. Looks like an easy win.
• I've started slowly trying to gather ideas for G's "Big Girl" room. There isn't really any rush right now, but I'd like to have it done by Christmas so that when we get back from the holidays, we can work on transitioning her.
• A: What did we do before Pinterest?
• B: This is me trying to comply with "pumping the breaks"...as you can see, I'm off to a great start...
• D goes back to work tomorrow. Thank GOD. Love that man, but it's his time to get out of the house between the hours of 7am-4pm. I only have room for two co-workers in this house and they do a much better job of keeping my toes warm than he does:

xo,
H