Blondies, a baby shower, and a babysitter

Hey there,

It seems I’m not the only one with strong opinions about the ridiculousness that is 50 Shades of Grey   I loved hearing the phrases that irked you.  Feel free to add more!

The title pretty sums up this weekend:

Blondies:

I had plans to meet up with my mommy group at a park on Friday and figured a sweet treat would be welcome.  That and I had to make something for Zach’s work for a certain someone.

Enter: Brown sugar butterscotch blondie bars!

I followed the recipe for Brown sugar chocolate chip bars with some minor changes – butterscotch chips, upped the vanilla, added cinnamon, and baked for closer to 50 minutes. 

These bars were super sweet, but oh so very good.  I had a bit of a fat kid moment when it came to eating the ‘crust’ along the edges – love that part.  And they were a hit amongst friends as well.

A baby shower:

Saturday we were able to take part in a lovely surprise baby shower for one of Zach’s coworkers at his boss’s home.  The surprise went off without a hitch and the mom-to-be was none the wiser.  Success!  I didn’t take any pictures of the amazing food spread (mainly delicious Indian food), but trust me when I say my plates were shamefully large.  Oye. 

I did however snap of pic of my new maxi dress with Zach and Naava’s butt.  Lovely, no?

The dress is Max Studio and the stripes are forest green.  Super comfy and a total steal at Marshalls

A babysitter:

See that person hiding behind bean on a bike?  Yep, that’s his babysitter for the week.  Otherwise known as his Aunt Carly   I think they are both pretty darn excited for some special bonding time and shenanigans. 

How did you spend your weekend?

Where have I been???

I haven’t blogged since last Thursday.  A lot can happen in just a few days.

Like, if you’re 9 months pregnant, you could have a baby.

Right?

Wouldn’t that be amazing?

Yeah, I didn’t have Sawyer yet   He’s still baking, but almost done – I can tell.  I did get a smile out of every tweet and message wondering if his arrival was the reason for my absence. 

Frankly, life got in the way.  It happens. 

But I’m back and will pick up where I left off.

I’ve definitely been enjoying my maternity leave and using every possible moment of it.  Productivity has been the name of the game and I am going to continue to push until I can get everything taken care of.  I’m almost there!  I’ll do some baby – specific posts coming up.

But Saturday I was able to celebrate something else very special with this girl:

Her sisters threw her a baby shower while she was in Cali so that more people could participate.  They did a fabulous job and you can tell the bestie was surprised:

It was so great to be able to contribute and participate in such a fun pregnancy milestone.  Sure 20 weeks is on the early side, but it’s never too early to show some love

She totally made a haul with all of her awesome gifts too! 

So happy for my bestie

Unfortunately the rest the weekend didn’t go as planned.  I was really hoping to get the Christmas tree up and decorated since our lil man could arrive any day, but it looks like the tree will have to wait.

I’ve also spent a good time at the mall recently looking for the perfect ‘going home’ outfit and that’s proven to be difficult – even after going to nearly 10 baby stores! Seriously!  Argh. 

At least I’ve been getting my cardio on and squeezed in another prenatal yoga last night.

And of course, the thing that makes every thing better –> Baking!

I’ve had a boxed pumpkin pound cake mix for nearly a year and decided I should give it a go – I just had to add the butter and eggs.  And of course, rather than use a traditional loaf pan, I used my mini-loaf pan.  The bestie and I agreed this is far superior because then you don’t feel like you’re eating as big of pieces (so, then you just have more..haha):

If you’re looking for a good pumpkin bread recipe from scratch, try this one from Fitsugar.

And because it’s the holidays, it’s only fitting to make some festive Hershey kiss cookies, right?

Oh and if you’re 9 months pregnant and becoming very clumsy with a giant belly, this may happen:

What is your favorite Christmas cookie?  I’m a sucker for a good frosted sugar cookie or gingerbread man   Sadly I don’t tend to make either.  Therefore, I’m willing to be sent donations!

Weekend of Gifts

Good morning my friends!

If you haven’t already, check out my giveaway.  You can enter to win a pretty great necklace that may be perfect for you or as a lovely gift for someone else!

Speaking of giving, let’s talk about gifts.

Gifts aren’t always the tangible, the physical, or of huge monetary value.  In fact, the best gifts, tend to be those that fall outside of the categories above. 

Maybe it’s the time of the year, or maybe it’s this beautiful gift growing in my belly, but I was reflective over the weekend

First is the gift of time.  I sort of love having my off-Fridays actually off.  It’s amazing to have that one extra day over the weekend to have a little ‘me’ time, to sleep in, to get all those things done that pile up over the busy work week. 

Another gift, is that of making new friends.  It’s not always easy making new girlfriends, particularly when you work in a predominantly male field and live in a high-tech area.  So I’m pretty grateful for becoming friends with an amazing blogger Shayla.  I feel like we’ve known each other for years and hanging out on Friday just solidified how awesome of a connection we have. 

Oh and yes froyo is also a gift.  We headed to ULove and their flavors are pretty damn faboosh.  I went with the peanut butter (to die for), the english toffee, and topped it with Kit-Kat, Snickers, Nilla wafers, peanut butter chips, Butterfinger, and…hmmm…that may have been it

She also bought this adorable knit monkey cap and booties for Sawyer (and maple cookies for me!):

Being able to nurture others through baking is a gift.  There are few things that bring me as much joy as baking something scrumptious and sharing it with loved ones.  Shayla and I tackled Pumpkin Cinnamon Raisin Bread Pudding on Friday as well.  It smelled and tasted amazing.  I’m going to make it again on Saturday with a number of tweaks and will post the recipe then (such a tease!).

Saturday Zach and I were met with yet another gift.  The gift of good friends and coworkers who hosted a joint celebration of newly purchased homes and also baby Sawyer.  I hadn’t anticipated the baby shower so didn’t bring my shower to take photos, but Zach managed to snap an iphone pic of the delicious cupcakes they had: lemon (with lemon crème filling) and mocha cappuccino.  Usually I’m a lemon person, but the mocha was out of this world good!  Thank you so much to Zach’s coworkers for hosting a fun day and all the adorable gifts!

The gift of seasons, and the gift of change keeps me awestruck.  I don’t know how many times this weekend I commented on just how breathtaking the trees looked.  I can easily say this time of year makes me the happiest – I’m very much like my Dad that way

What gifts are you celebrating?

Are you in love with Fall as much as I am?