Good morning and happy Tuesday!
I started writing my blog post yesterday but couldn’t bring myself to do it. My eyes were heavy, and sitting down made me want to take a nap (thank you, pregnancy!) I decided to shut the laptop for the day and dedicate my entire day to cleaning the house, going on a walk, picking up groceries, and catching up on everything I didn’t do over the weekend. I’m so happy I did that because I feel so much better now that things are caught up, and I can relax while writing!
I hope you’re all having a fantastic week! It’s finally going to be in the 60’s today, so I’m going to get everything done by the afternoon so I can go on a long walk with Leo. 
It’s crazy that I’m only a few weeks away from entering my third trimester. Where has the time gone? The months are flying by! I think Leo knows something is up because he’s extra cuddly and gentle around me. Or maybe he thinks my belly is a comfortable pillow.
On Monday afternoon, I made my favorite 20-minute soup recipe. It’s a white bean, chicken & kale soup! All you do is heat chicken broth, white northern beans, cooked chicken (I use rotisserie), kale, canned green chilis, garlic powder, sea salt, onion powder, and black pepper to a pan on high for about 15 to 20 minutes! I will do a post about this recipe soon! We top the soup with tortilla strips and cheddar cheese.
Next up on weird pregnancy cravings: These Annie’s bunny grahams with frosting are so good! It’s like the better version of Dunkaroos. 
On Tuesday, we picked up Firehouse Subs for lunch. This was my first time trying out this spot, and holy moly, was it delicious. I had a wheat chicken sandwich and added bacon, banana peppers, bell peppers, and left off the mustard. I often crave sandwiches during this pregnancy, and it’s hard since I can’t have cold cuts, but this sandwich does the trick! 
I was up bright and early on Wednesday for my appointment. The baby wasn’t fully cooperating last time, and they wanted to get a better look at their heart, so we had an ultrasound planned, which made me so happy since it had been a month and a half since we’d seen the baby last.
Before the appointment, I had a bagel with cream cheese, macadamia nuts, and raspberries.
The ultrasound and appointment went well. They finally got the baby to a position to see their heart, and everything looked perfect! The baby was doing all kinds of silly things like sticking their tongue out, putting their foot in their mouth, yawning, and wiggling all around.
When I got home, I was so hungry, so I had some cheesy eggs and Popchips!
After finishing up some blog posts on Thursday, I sat down with my lunch and started “The Book of Lost Names.” It is so good! My friend, Meighan, recommended it, and it’s so hard to put down! I hope to finish it up this weekend.
My smoothie had strawberries, yogurt, banana, almond milk, and protein powder.
On Friday morning, I headed out to run some errands and then picked up Chopt salad for Kyle and me. We were expecting a ton of snow that evening, so I picked up a frozen pizza for dinner that we could have with our Chopt leftovers. I ordered the harvest bowls! It came with rice and grains, brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes, chicken, pumpkin seeds, marinated kale, and I added cranberries, falafel, avocado, goat cheese, and the house vinaigrette as extras. If you have a Chopt, you need to try this combo. It’s amazing! 
We were both fighting a sweet tooth Friday night, so I made our favorite chocolate chip cookies! I swear by these! Here’s my recipe, just exchange the cranberries and dark chocolate chips for semi-sweet chocolate chips. It’ll be the only chocolate chip cookie recipe you’ll ever need! The trick is to take them out before they’re fully cooked and let them continue to cook on the baking sheet. They are so chewy and delicious. 
We went out at 5 am to almost three inches of snow! The dogs were in heaven, and I don’t think it’ll ever get old watching Tux experience the snow! He loves to roll around and rub his face in it. The boys will also eat as much snow as they can 
For my snow day breakfast, while the dogs played outside, I had a bagel with cream cheese with a parfait on the side. My parfait had Greek yogurt, banana, blueberries, raspberries, macadamia nuts, granola, and honey.
So much fun in the snow on Saturday morning! They did not want to come inside. 
I was so excited I could cry when these two blueberry bushes showed up on my front porch. Kyle’s mom sent them to me for my birthday, and I love when people fuel my plant addictions. She got me the patriot blueberry bushes, which grow so well down here! I picked up some pots for them and will keep them in my guest room with the rest of my fruit trees until it’s warm enough outside. I now have blueberry bushes, lemon trees, and raspberries growing in my guest room. I think a clementine tree is next! And how cute are these pots I found at Homegoods? They reminded me of blueberries!
On Saturday morning, I made some more chocolate chip cookies to drop off at my parents and some for my neighbor. I was in the baking mood, and these cookies went quick. 
Kyle and I finished up our firehouse sub and Chopt leftovers when we got back.
On Saturday evening, I got to work on a fun project! I was setting up and shooting a cake smash for Sunday afternoon. The theme was Paris, so I made the prettiest little Paris-themed cake with ombre layers.
I topped the cake with macaroons and a gold Eiffel tower cake topper I found on Amazon. I loved how the cake turned out (even if it was about to get smashed!)
The shoot went so well, and I couldn’t get over all the cuteness! I built the little cake stand from a crate, added an awning, and decorated it with pink and gold balloons.
