One...more...week...

I should be ecstatic,

(and don't get me wrong, I am!)

but right now I am more stressed out than anything!

Subscribing to the following mantras to get me through til Friday...

Cannot believe it's almost over.

~images via pinterest~

It's a...

...BOY!!!

We are over the moon excited.

Cannot wait to meet this little man circa April 2, 2012.

P.S.

It looks like he's sucking his thumb,

but really he was punching up at the ultrasound tech for waking him up from a nap.

(April Fool's baby, already a jokester.)

Time to start shopping for all things "boy"!

~photos by b~

Husband hankering

Thank God, my home will physically be where my husband is,

when we are reunited in the Motherland in just about 10 days!!

Then my evenings can stop looking like this...

...and return to looking like this!!

Much better, don't you think?

;)

~Images via pinterest, photo by b~

Harvest soup

So I was going to make butternut squash soup the other day,

but my butternut squash had seen better days.

What's a girl to do?

Adapt!  I present to you... clean-out-your-pantry fall harvest soup!

Here's what you need:

1 acorn squash

3 small sweet potatoes or yams, peeled

2 small russet baking potatoes, peeled

1/2 sweet onion

Olive oil

Fresh sage leaves, garlic, paprika, chili powder, salt, pepper, nutmeg, & cinnamon to taste

Cut the acorn squash in half and seed.

Place upside down on a microwave-safe plate and nuke for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375.

Meanwhile, cut up potatoes and onions into medium chunks,

and sprinkle with olive oil and all seasonings except sage leaves.
(My advice:  Go light on the cinnamon.  It's a soup, not pie, after all.)

Roast veggies for 25-30 minutes until tender, stirring halfway through.

Add half of potato mix and one half of the squash (scooped out) into blender.

Add approximately 2 cups of chicken stock and a few sage leaves.

Blend until smooth.

Add to a pan over low-heat.

Repeat with remaining vegetables, stock, and sage.

Taste your soup to assure adequate salt and seasonings.

Simmer for approximately 15 minutes.

Laddle up into bowls, serve with some grilled & buttered crusty bread,

and you have a perfect fall evening supper!

A rich, creamy texture - sans the fat.

Enjoy!

~photos by b~

Reading radar

Looking forward to hunkering down and reading for fun...SOON!
For instance, how hilarious is this excerpt (about best friends' rights and responsibilities) from Mindy Kaling's book of essays...
(For those of you who don't know, she plays "Kelly" on The Office.)

I CAN BORROW ALL YOUR CLOTHES

Anything in your closet, no matter how fancy, is co-owned by me, your best friend. I can borrow it for as long as I want. If I get something on it or lose it, I should make all good faith attempts to get it cleaned or buy you a new one, but I don’t need to do that, and you still have to love me. If I ruin something of yours and don’t replace it, you’re allowed to talk shit about me to our other friends for a calendar year. That’s it. Then you have to get over it. One stipulation to borrowing your clothes is that you have to have worn the item at least once before I borrow it. I’m not a monster.

I MUST BE 100% HONEST ABOUT HOW YOU LOOK, BUT GENTLE

Your boyfriend is never going to tell you that your skirt is too tight and riding up too high on you. In fact, you shouldn’t have even asked him, poor guy. He wants to have sex with you no matter how pudgy you are. I am the only person besides your mom who has the right (and responsibility) of telling you that. I should never be overly harsh when something doesn’t look good on you, because I know you are fragile about this and so am I. I will employ the gentle, vague expression, “I’m not crazy about that on you,” which should mean to you: “Holy shit, take that off, that looks terrible.” I owe it to you to give feedback like a cattle prod: painful but quick.

I WILL TRY TO LIKE YOUR BOYFRIEND FIVE TIMES
This is a fair number of times to hang out with your boyfriend and withhold judgment.

I WILL TAKE CARE OF YOUR KID IF YOU DIE
I can’t even write about this, it’s too sad. But yes, I will do that. And you will have one awesome little kid who hears endless stories about how amazing and beautiful and perfect you were. Incidentally, your kid will grow up loving Indian food.

Haha!

Currently reading this before bed (so far, so good!):

With breaks for the following:

P.S.  How terrible is the "What to Expect..." cover?

Could that lady look any more miserable?

I don't think so.

She must be reading those nasty back chapters about all the horrendous things that could go wrong in pregnancy.  Either that, or she hates her Baby Daddy.

Regardless of her beef,

I'm looking forward to mornings or evenings that look like this:

What books are you currently curled up with?
Be sure to send the rec's my way!

~images via Amazon & polyvore~

Rainy day inspiration

Hello, lovelies.

It may be rainy and cold outside,

but sometimes that's the perfect canvas for inspiration.

Melancholy music with perfectly harmonized vocals.
(Kind of reminds me of Jeff Bridges & the Crazy Heart soundtrack.)

BEAUTIFUL paintings.

Loving those pops of red against the dark and stormy backdrops.

Very San Francisco chic, if you ask me.
I think they'd look amazeballs hanging on the wall in my future mudroom.

Or how about the fabulous J. Crew outerwear this season?
Toggle coat with wool-cashmere.

A belted boulevard trench.

Schoolboy blazer in classic Donegal tweed.

Why didn't I buy a tweed jacket when we were in Ireland again?
Grrrrrrr.

And how about these boots?
The yellow bows are just too cute for words.

Hope this cold November Rain doesn't get you down!

~Images via shaw gallery, bourbon & pearls, J. Crew, & joules~

Good life

I find my mind wandering today, daydreaming about "the good life".

The one that's hopefully about to come our way.

In the past 9 months
of us getting a cancer diagnosis, fighting/beating the cancer,

the last year of grad school with its long hours of NP residency & thesis-writing,
trying to get pregnant,

searching for jobs, quitting jobs, starting jobs,

hunting for a place to live,

getting ready to pack & move and settle into a NEW city & state,

before we bring a baby(!) into this world

and officially begin "our family"...

with all the emotions and stress, the highs and lows,
 that all this transition can bring...

it is so wonderful  to remember where we started and how far we've come...

those days of bright eyes & infatuation, full of hope & happiness...

...and I'm just SO thankful

that there's still  plenty of those feelings to go around.

(sigh)

Almost there...

~Images via housetweaking.com & etsy~

Lazy Sunday afternoon

Back from Madison after another fun football weekend!

After an extra hour of sleep and a delicious breakfast from The Old Fashioned - 

my leftover perfectly cooked Belgian waffle with pears and plums,

and a side of Jordanal Farm ham!

YUM.

Got back to IL to find the satellite dish out.

Booooooo.

So instead of watching the Packers,

I am downloading the new Florence + The Machine and Coldplay albums,

while doing laundry,

making butternut squash soup,

wrapping the hubby's birthday presents,

drinking hot English tea with honey,

and hopefully finally working on my thesis presentation!

Not too shabby.

Happy Sunday, my lovelies!

~photo by b, image via Saying Images~

Festive mantles

While we're in the decorating mood...
I'm loving these festive fall mantles.

Colorful banner from Etsy:

And an earthy collection via the chic line:

Lots of great DIY inspiration!

~Images via etsy & the chic line~

Turkey Day tablescapes

If you're hosting Thanksgiving this year,
it's time to start thinking tablescapes.

We eat with our eyes first, after all!

(I personally CANNOT WAIT to host holiday family dinners!)

Here are some faves from my inspiration archives...

Those orange dahlias are absolutely STUNNING.

And I just love that bronzy silverware.

I am dying to "gild" something, aren't you? So why not pumpkins & gourds?!

Beautiful against an unexpected blue & white theme.

Along the same lines,

these painted white mini-pumpkins make ADORABLE place cards.

(If we're getting serious here, and I think we are, 

I would print out the Webster definition of "thankful", cut it into a tag,

then write the guests name over the top.

I mean, COME ON.  Love it.)

Cranberries are one of my favorite parts of T-Day.  (Underrated in my opinion!)

So why not incorporate them into the decor?

They look simply gorgeous in a vase,

and the matching richly colored Gerbers and votives just take things over the top.

I am also digging the combo of white and orange pumpkins

against those dark plates & natural linens.

These monochromatic, natural gold tones have me swooning!

And I love everything about this tablescape.

(Maybe that green Depression-style glass the most.)

Last but not least...

These gold bowls are the perfect vessel to hold floating candles & pretty fall leaves!

If you're fortunate enough to be able to spend part of the holiday outdoors,

this is a great way to go!

What fun, creative things are you doing to your Thanksgiving table?

Disclaimer:  All of these images are from my own inspiration files and I do not know their source.

If you know, please inform me and I will correctly cite.