Before & After: The Dining Room

I may have a long list of to-do's in my house, but at least I have one room done. The dining room.

The house before we bought it

Move in day

New Curtains & Paint

Christmas Time!

Partying Here 

Cleanse Day 1&2

9 am: Woke up. Ran upstairs to weigh myself and rushed out to bring my new car into the shop (I'll vent about that later!). Which meant I only had time to make some green tea on the go to tide me over.

11 am: After a few errands and returns, I started my breakfast. I'm following this blog to a "T" for today so, here was breakfast. 

2 Egg Whites
1 cup Spinach
1 cup Raspberries 
1 tbsp silvered almonds
Cinnamon

I scrambled the egg whites and spinach together with a little olive oil and sprinkled crushed black pepper and garlic powder to add some taste. 

In a seperate bowl, I put the raspberries, almonds and cinnamon together. Boiled up some water for another mug of green tea and VOILA! Breakfast!

 Consensus... Not bad. I'm not a huge fan of cooked spinach. It brought me back to going to my grandmas and being forced to eat cooked, canned spinach and crying. I might not cook the spinach again or i might try different spices. The eggs were pretty good with the pepper and garlic. I absolutely love raspberries, then to have almonds and cinnamon. Delectable! 

Having my breakfast at an actual table (that doesn't happen often), looking outside at the snow, Kari Jobe pandora playing in the background, blogging and budgeting, with my favorite sweater/scarf on. Its a good morning so far. 




3pm: Made myself a parfait using the frozen raspberries, greek yogurt, silvered almonds and a little cinnamon!

I just layered everything starting with the yogurt, then raspberries and sprinkled the almonds and cinnamon and repeated again. 

 Yuuuum

 It was SO DELICIOUS!!! I ate this while driving to Sara's (shh... don't tell). Using the frozen raspberries made it a little tangy but the yogurt calmed that down a bit. 


Now... Here's where I messed up. It took me about an hour and a half to eat this cause I was driving so, once it came time for dinner, I wasn't hungry. Then, on the blog there is also a snack/dessert, I was way too exhausted to make that smoothie! I would NOT recommend that!!! I went to bed with a really bad headache (also could be from no coffee... I'm a coffee addict) and woke up with a headache as well!

If the headache wasn't enough to tell me to eat, I didn't eat breakfast! I know, I know... Stupid! But, once I got to work I ate 2 hard boiled eggs with pepper sprinkled on the top, a serving of almonds and a huge bottle of smart water. Headache gone!

I was running late for work today so I couldn't prepare my dinner so as boring as it was, I just ate 2 more hard boiled eggs with the almonds and water... lots of water! Now I'm home and vegged out on raspberries dipped in almond butter with a S. pellegrino that i threw a lemon slice into. 

Here's to a better tomorrow!! Good night world!

{L}

Belated Birth Announcement!

I had good intentions. I really meant to get these printed. And sent out. Then life just happened so fast, and time got away from me... But they exist and I wanted to prove it. And share it with you.

HUSBAND BRAG! He made this beautiful announcement.

10 months later....

{S}

Chunks be gone

Alright ladies and gentleman, Lindsay is back on Twenty-Somethings and with a few extra unwanted pounds. It's been too long for me on here and I'll blog all about what life has been up to, but first I'm gonna start with the "here and now".

It's been a crazy time between finishing school, starting a new job and apprentice program, holidays, babies, new year... which means I eat whatever is easiest (nothing healthy!!) and it's time to STOP!!

There are so many fasts, juice, liquid, cleanse diets out there how is one supposed to chose? I have terrible self control and eat/drink what I'm craving in that moment, which means a lot of carbs and starbucks. I don't think I'd be able to stay on a liquid or juice diet, there would be nothing to chew! And the thought of downing some water, cayenne pepper, maple sugar and who knows what else cleanse, grosses me out.

So, on my nightly pinterest run-thru, I stumbled across this blog and found this awesome cleanse. It consists of 5 different foods; egg whites, spinach, raspberries, plain non-fat greek yogurt and almonds/almond butter. No salt, coffee (eeek!), caffeine, soda, or added sugar! I'm hoping that being on a high fiber cleanse doesn't leave me feeling hungry all the time making it something I can stick with. I'm also hoping this will get me excited to start working out and eating healthier even after the cleanse. It's a new year and a healthier me!

And so it begins...

{L}

 

Baby La Joie

I once made a comment, "I wish I was good at something..." I said this to Lindsay. (Girl, where ya at?! Miss your written word!)

She responded with "you're good at knitting." Annoyed, I rolled my eyes and wish there was something else.

It took a few years, but I love my trade. It's therapeutic. There's absolutely nothing like feel of the yarn slipping through my fingers with perfect tension. The needles clank as I create something beautiful. It is beautiful. I have accepted that.

I love seeing this lost art gain interest with others my age and younger. What a great and amazing way to express yourself.

As some of you know, my mom and I started an Etsy shop. Everything is hand knit.

We both learned when we were 5.

I was hooked from that moment on.

I absolutely love baby items. Before I was even pregnant they were my favorite to make. There is so much variety and creativity behind it- it makes it the most fun.

Here is our shop and the beginning of items being listed-

Joie is pronouced "Jwah". French for joy. Baby Joy. I believe it's always good to be delighted in your little one.

Check us out on Etsy. www.babylajoie.etsy.com

We are also on twitter { @babylajoie } and have a facebook page! We'll keep you updated on what's new through there. On here of course too!

I am so excited to share this area of my life with everyone. It's certainly a passion and a joy of mine. There will be a variety of items- legwarmers being the most common. There will be a few blankets, sweaters, and mittens as well!


{S}

Let's Grow Old...

"...I wanna make you smile whenever you're sad
Carry you around when your arthritis is bad
All I wanna do is grow old with you..."

I once had  a fear of growing old. I didn't want wrinkles. I didn't my hair to change. I didn't want to feel anything but youthful.

When you first get married, you are just getting used to each other. You're figuring out life, growing together, and setting the foundation of the rest of your life. Then you have kids and it changes your known reality. You move past the notion of being young and living selfishly. As much as I want time to stand still, lost in this moment forever, I am no longer afraid of growing old. Would you like to know why? I have build a foundation with this guy.

We started out best friends. We have been through a lot together. We know each other. We choose love in the difficult times. We respect each other. We are there for each other through thick and thin. We forgive. And now we are going through this journey of parenthood. Our lives have barely begun.

I know he will be there as a father. I know he will be there as we someday welcome another child. I know he will be there when our kids go to school. He will be there when we become empty-nesters. He will be there when our children build a foundation of their own with someone. He will be there when we have grandchildren.

We will be able to laugh with each other as gravity takes it's course. We will travel the world together. We will be more financially free together. We will be able to stand on the foundation we built. I am not afraid to grow old with this guy.

He's the guy that hates Valentine's day, but buys me a card early saying love should be celebrated every day.

He's the guy that goes out of his way to surprise me.

He's my match and I am so excited to spend forever with him.

Here's to growing old and loving the journey that takes us there.

{S}

H-U-D-S-O-N

here is one of the onsies!

I was working on this project a couple months ago, and didn't want to show the result until until Hudson's room was completely decorated. Unfortunately, you will have to stay tuned. My goal is to finish his room by his birthday! 4 months after being in the house and I am still not finished decorating!

Before Hudson was born, I found some Hurley onsies that were just adorable. When he was finally big enough to wear them, we had already sold our house and was in homestead limbo.  I decided his next room theme from these onsies. Hurley/surfer/sea. I made a lovey for him out of bright ocean hues and waited to find our next home. I am just a few items on the wall away from finishing his room now. Here is one of my favorite parts I made for it.

A couple hours of twine, a glue gun, and a lot of winding round and round... I have some really cool letters to hang. I just need Mr. Twentysomething to help hang it! They give a nautical/beachy feel. Stay tuned for a nursery reveal in the next couple months!

{S}

These Are A Few of My Favorite Things: Baby Snacks

Little Hud is the least picky eater I have ever known. He will eat anything that goes in his mouth. If he doesn't like it, he makes a face and continues to eat.

It's really important to me that he eats as pure as possible while I have a say in what goes in his body. I originally was planning on making all of his baby food. I started out that way and it became difficult when we would go out to eat and if I didn't get a head start in thawing it out when he was hungry. I would go back and forth between homemade and organic baby food.

He has been doing a lot more finger foods lately. I started out with Gerber puffs. I tried one and realized how sweet they tasted. Sugar was one of the ingredients. Really?!

I then was on the hunt for a cracker type food for his age. Sugar, Sugar, and more sugar. WHY?! Infants don't need everything sweetened and why would you want to start them out with bad eating habits?

I then came across a couple brands I am in love with. I started out with happypuffs (click the here for their website)

They are sweetened with juice. This flavor contains kale and spinach- sounds scary, but they are delicious! I try everything Hudson eats- I won't give him anything that tastes terrible.

I also wanted something he could learn taking bites out of. I found happy munchies. These also taste amazing and dissolve fairly quickly.

I also am really big on probiotics. I believe they helped Hudson with his acid reflux and keeps him healthy when I am diligent in giving him it every day. Right now I have a powder that I mix in to his pureed food. I also am starting him on yogurt. I was going to buy some of those yogurt melts, but again didn't like the ingredients. I found happycreamies and happy yogis! Yogi's are dairy and the creamies are dairy free- made with coconut or rice milk. I bought him a package of the coconut creamies and one of the yogi's. I have only tried the coconut ones as of yet and so far, it's two for Hud, one for mom. They are SO GOOD. They have both fruit and vegetables in them so its a win-win-win! Not to mention how good coconut milk is for you.

This is the flavor I have for these too! I love that they have made it easy for busy mommies to provide healthy alternatives to their littles! I buy them at Target. They seem the most reasonably priced. Next on my to try list is their probiotic hot cereals!

{S}

Malt Shop Grill

There's this sandwich. It's one that continually comes to mind. It's unique... and delicious. It was created at this cute Malt Shop in Chaska, MN. Tommy's Malt Shop. They have many tasty treats- but the sandwich!

I have to be honest, when I had this sandwich I was 11 weeks pregnant. I was nauseous. Nothing smelled or tasted good. So my experience wasn't the best, but through the nausea and masked taste buds, I could tell there was something special about this sandwich.

Lately, a year-and-a-half later, I can't stop thinking about it. So I tried making it at home. Success! I bet you're wondering what kind of sandwich it is... Ready for the anti-climatic moment? It's a grilled cheese. I promise it's different than any you have ever tried. They used multiple types of cheese and rosemary. I did mine a little differently.

I know it looks nothing to be admired, but you have to taste it to believe it.

Here's my version.

You need:
Bread
Cheese (I chose colby jack!)
Butter
Italian Seasoning
Honey

Start normally- butter the outsides of your bread. Sprinkle lightly with italian seasoning. Add cheese... Heat the sandwich on a griddle or stovetop. Here is the important part- right when the sandwich is done squirt a few dabs of honey on the top side of the sandwich. Flip. Do the same on the other. Flip. It will only need to be heated momentarily with the honey. Enjoy!

I hate to admit this, but I have make two of them in the last couple days. Mmm...

{S}

Today.

Today I feel burdened. Today I feel like the world is crashing down. It may not even be true, and it may not even be a big deal... but it doesn't matter. It's how I feel right now, and my emotions are taking over.

I could use some prayers for Hudson. He has had a scratch that has looked pecular for 2 weeks. After 3 different doctors taking a peak today, they are unsure what it is, or what is going on. They had a guess- and after researching it myself, I pray to God that this "scratch" is healed. We are being referred to the U of M and cannot get in until next month.

I am trying to not let my fear and worry consume me. It's easy when you are a parent and its your responsibility to fight for your little one. Besides it being my child, it brings back memories of the uncertainty of what my lymphedema was.

As he sleeps in the room next to me, I am praying to my God for healing and miracles. All I want to do is take him in my arms and know that this is just a fluke, and will soon go away.

Will you believe with me? Will you please say a prayer for my little one? My God is bigger than this problem. He is bigger than my fear. He loves my baby more than I can imagine or comprehend.

Will you pray that this "scratch" will heal before our appointment takes place? I am believing I can call and cancel this appointment.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6

Thank you for your love and support!

{s}

Slower, Please

There is not much in this world that can melt me like my son. I am sure all mothers can relate.

His life has consisted of meeting milestones, one at a time. In the last couple months I have thought, why are so many things happening at once?! Since he was born it's been, "Oh look! He's smiling!" "He laughed for the first time!" "He rolled over!" over the course of a few months. Month 8 and 9 it's been one thing after another. It makes me excited that my little baby is growing into a little boy, but seriously, does it have to go so fast?

Clapping, pulling himself up, crawling, standing alone, 4 new teeth, and doing his sign language are just a FEW of the new things that have been going on. I can hardly handle it- I stare at this little wonder in amazement. Like a true doting parent, I just repeat to him, "you are so smart!"

I am so proud of him and it's only just begun.

 

 

MMM the best :)

 

{S}

The Wish List: Before Photos

I have been excited about posting before & after photos of our new house... we haven't gotten to the "after" part in too many areas. We have only painted as of yet.

I have a long list of "to-do's". Not sure how long they will take to be accommplished, but I am sure it will be some time. Here is my list in photos.

New Counters and backsplash.

Change all of the hardware to...

This hardware

Paint and refurnish all of the cabinets

New floors. Wood. This is in the kitchen and dining room.

This wall has gotta go! My living room/dining room/kitchen will become open concept!

This is number 1. I never knew I could just want a simple shower curtain! It is hard to clean, hard to bathe Hudson, and if I hit my shin one more time...

This brick wall in the basement. Brick by its self- unique and cool. Brick with large, arched, weird mirrors- umm no thanks. We are thinking about doing a wood wall.

Guest bathroom. Needs lots of help! Counter top...

Paint and add new hardware to the vanity...

New floors...

... and paint. Really thankful all the guest bath needs is cosmetic.

Hope the "afters" come sooner than later!

{S}