Tuesday, June 18, 2013

A Madeline Island getaway

Last week my family and I spent four days in Madeline Island for a little getaway. My two brothers, my sister, their significant others, their daughter Chloe and my parents, Erik, Juliet and I all drove up north last Thursday. We stopped in Duluth for lunch on a patio and walked around a bit, enjoying the gorgeous weather and pretty views.  Juliet, Erik and my parents hanging out in Duluth.While we waited for the ferry to take us to the island, Juliet got to experience sand on her bare feet for the first time. She loved it and didn't mind the chilly water washing over her toes.
We got to Madeline Island mid-afternoon and after settling into our cabin, we headed down to the beach and had a little happy hour.  That evening my sister Katie and her husband made pizzas and we hung out, relaxing.  The guys built a fire but a few of us went to bed early (ok, all of us with babies).  It's tiring traveling with a toddler!

On Friday morning my brother Joel and his fiance Katie made breakfast sandwiches, which were awesome. We divvied up meals but everyone ended up bringing way too much food. We ended up bringing coolers filled with food home.

We spent Friday hanging out at the cabin and then headed to Big Bay State Park, where we spent the afternoon on the beach with drinks and snacks. It was a little chilly and windy on the beach, but Erik somehow managed to get sunburned.
Erik took Juliet for a walk in the Beco Gemini, which she loves. She was so comfy she fell asleep.

After the state park, a bunch of us headed into "town" and got drinks at a couple bars. My parents watched Juliet. Grandparents are a wonderful thing.

The rest of Saturday was spent around a bonfire, making s'mores, hanging out with toddlers, enjoying family time.Grandma pushed Juliet around in the stroller, which she loves because grandma goes fast!Juliet and I spent more time checking out Lake Superior, feeling the sand and cold water on our toes. I love the way Juliet is holding onto my arm in this picture.

On Saturday morning we watched my older brother Ron in an in-line skating marathon. He did great and came in 11th overall and 1st in his age group.
Yet another huge breakfast with waffles, bacon and scrambled eggs.  We love when she makes this face!
Hanging out with grandpa.My baby is getting so big!

We loved the cabin we rented for the trip, it had 5 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms and a huge kitchen well-equipped for big meals for big, crazy families.

The getaway was way too short, but lots of fun. I wouldn't say relaxing though...because having a toddler on vacation sort of eliminates the opportunity to relax. By the end of the day I was exhausted, and that was including having family to help out a lot!

I loved seeing Juliet having fun and experiencing new things. I'll be back with a 16 month update soon! There have been lots of miletones this month!!!


Monday, June 10, 2013

A girl's trip to DC

A couple weekends ago my friend Kristin and I flew out to Washington DC to visit our friend Amy. Kristin has a 6 month old baby girl and though she was anxious to leave her sweetie, she was in need of a little break. And to be honest so was I.

The weekend was everything we needed. 48 hours of wine, great food, shopping, beautiful weather and really good conversation with my best friends.

Sorry for the photo collage overload. These are all pics taken with my iPhone 5 either via Instagram or edited using VSCOcam. I didn't even bring my DSLR. I didn't want to lug it with me and I thought the weekend would be more carefree without it. It was.

Kristin, Amy and I went to Georgetown as soon as we got to DC. We ate a light lunch, shopped around and got pedicures. I bought a pair of blue skinny jeans that are still sitting in the Zara bag (I just remembered I bought them, mom brain).

Friday afternoon Amy took us to Union Market where we drank wine, ate hummus and olive bread and ordered a 5-cheese plate. A couple hours later we had some (more) wine on a patio and had dinner at the Red Hen, a great little Italian place with decent prices and tasty gnocchi.
Saturday was the best day. We drove to wine country in Virginia and went to three wineries. The weather was awesome and we had wine tastings and sat outside while listening to music. We ate more cheese. Drank and drank wine.

On the way home from the wineries we stopped at an Indian restaurant for a light dinner. We then spent the rest of the evening hanging out on Amy and her husband's new deck, with a pergola and lovely lights.

Our flight left at 11am on Sunday but not before we got iced coffee, breakfast bagel sandwiches and walked around the pretty Farmers' Market in Amy's neighborhood.

It was a short weekend, but we packed a lot in and it felt relaxing and exciting and amazing all at once.

As you've maybe noticed, this is my first blog post in two weeks. I've been getting busy at work, which means working in the evening after Juliet goes to bed. And Juliet hasn't been wanting to go to bed lately. Bedtime has been a struggle. She usually goes to sleep somewhere between 7-7:30 with no issues. But the past couple weeks she wakes up shortly after being put to bed, crying, not wanting to be rocked, held, or even breastfed sometimes. She wants to come downstairs and join Erik and I. But she's tired, so tired and she really should be sleeping. Anyway, this all means no time for the work that needs to get done and certainly no time for blogging.  It's a bummer and I'm having a hard time finding balance for everything.  I'm hoping for some better nights ahead and some more time for blogging.  Here's hoping!

If you've been checking back recently, thanks for sticking with me. I know things are different around the blog and I've just had to come to terms with the fact that Eat Drink Pretty is not the same blog it was a couple years ago. I envy those bloggers that somehow seem to have infinite time to do it all. I'm not one of those bloggers. On a good week I can squeeze 2 posts in. On a bad week, it's radio silence.

Anyway, I have a really pretty pink confetti baby shower to share with you later this week (if I can find the time to post it...I promise I am going to try.)

Happy Monday.

Monday, May 27, 2013

Healthy banana pancakes

Shortly after Juliet was born Erik took over on weekend breakfast duty. We all hang out in the kitchen and drink coffee while Erik cooks and it's the best way to wake up (it's usually before 7am, Juliet is an early-riser).

I'm always on the look-out for healthy pancake recipes and recently came across this one. No sugar and very little flour, awesome. I added chia seeds and skipped the chocolate chips the original recipe calls for and the  pancakes were a big success. I actually made the pancakes while Erik did everything else. I put Juliet in a sling and whipped these up and I love that you only need to use one bowl. 

We serve up the pancakes with organic pure maple syrup from Trader Joes. Juliet can eat almost an entire pancake by herself!

Healthy banana pancakes (recipe slightly adapted via Minimalist Baker

Makes 3 good-sized pancakes

Ingredients
1 very ripe medium banana
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
Pinch of salt
1 Tablespoon chia seeds (these are optional)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon butter
1 Tablespoon coconut oil (or canola oil)
3 Tablespoons milk 
½ cup rolled oats 
¼ cup whole wheat or unbleached flour 
Instructions
Preheat a skillet to medium heat 
Mash the banana with baking powder
Add egg, oil, salt, vanilla, butter, milk and stir
Stir in oats, chia seeds and flour until just combined
Scoop 1/3rd of the batter onto lightly greased griddle or skillet
Cook for 2-4 minutes on each side – until golden brown
Serve with pure maple syrup (or add chocolate chips for more sweetness)