Yoga on the lake and other fun

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The weekend was awesome, one of the best I've had in a while.  Juliet was in good spirits and we had a blast together. 

On Saturday morning we met my friends Melanie and Kristin and did yoga on Lake Harriet in Minneapolis.  It was for mommas and preggos and was super empowering to be around so many women, listening to music, moving our bodies, snuggling our babies (the event is called Bellyrama by Blooma, be sure to check it out next year if you live in MN).  Juliet loved being outside and it was perfect weather.  After yoga we got ice cream and coffee and hung out for a bit before heading home. When Juliet and I got home Erik was grilling brats and potatoes.  We ate lunch and he went golfing for the afternoon while Juliet and I hung out.  It rained all Saturday afternoon (not great golfing weather) so we played at home and snuggled on the couch.  After Juliet went to bed for the night (at 6:30pm, uh way too early) I worked on a presentation. Sunday morning was spent playing with the sweetie while Erik made a simple, but tasty breakfast. We did a lot of playing and hanging out Sunday afternoon as well as running a few errands (the blanket she is playing on was Erik's when he was a baby!).  Juliet is getting good at sitting up.  She is still wobbly so I am careful to sit close to her so she doesn't topple over.  She was watching herself in the mirror and it was way too cute.  Juliet and daddy also did plenty of playing and flying while she laughed and laughed.  {Instagram photos, you can follow me @eatdrinkpretty}

Yoga on the lake was my favorite moment of the weekend.  All in all it was a pretty damn great couple of days. 

Our favorite go-to meals

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{Photo credits: Martha Stewart}

Despite both having demanding jobs and a baby, Erik and I make it a point to sit down to a homemade dinner together every night.  We have lived in our new house for almost three weeks now and have only eaten out once, the day we moved in and had no groceries.

Like everyone, we have go-to meals that help make our lives easier.  These meals are quick and manageable, and most are great for leftovers.  I am not posting recipes for these meals because they are pretty self explanatory, and everyone has their own version (of the majority of these meals).

Here they are:

Spaghetti - I suspect this is a stable in many households.  It's a 15 minute meal, add a piece of garlic toast and you're done.  Erik and I easily get 2-3 days worth of meals out of spaghetti.

Tacos - tacos are one of Erik's favorite meals.  He once ate 13 hard shell tacos in one sitting.  Usually he eats 4, but he must have been extra hungry that day.  Tacos are awesomely easy.  We always have ground beef in our deep freezer because we buy lots of it from Erik's hometown in North Dakota.  Tacos are a 10 minute meal.

Chili - we have a great chicken chili recipe made in the crockpot.  Next time I make this I will take a photo and post the recipe.  It's worth sharing.  We love chicken chili and it tastes better leftover (so does spaghetti).

Reubens - or any sandwich/melt.  Melts are a favorite of Erik's as well.  Sometimes we make ruebens, sometimes it's just turkey and cheese.  We don't mind keeping it extra easy on melt night.

Pulled porks sandwiches - these are great for 3-4 meals in a row, usually including packed lunches for work.  I buy a 3 pound pork shoulder/butt and cook it on low for about 8-9 hours in the crockpot with a can of beer, seasoned with salt and pepper.  It shreds easily and is super versatile.  We add buffalo sauce or BBQ sauce, depending on our mood.

Rotisserie chicken salads - rotisserie chickens at the grocery store are about $5-$6, plus a bag of salad mix and you have a meal for under $10.  On salad night, Kody the kitty gets extra spoiled and enjoys a plate full of shredded chicken.

And there you have it, Erik and my go-to meals.  Obviously we have more meals in our arsenal but sometimes it's hard to think outside the box.  What are your go-to meals?  I'd love to add some to our list.  Please comment and share!

Juliet tomatoes

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{Photo taken with instagram on my iPhone4}

My sister brought over a bag of Juliet tomatoes that she found at the St. Paul Farmers' Market. She bought them because of their lovely name. But they were also delicious.

I used them for an appetizer with baguette and brie.  It was a simple, but tasty app and nicely added to the leftover spaghetti Erik and I had for dinner.  We love leftovers in our home.  Anything to make our evenings easier.

I've received a few awesome party submissions recently and I hope to get to posting them very soon!

In the meantime, have a wonderful Wednesday.

Juliet: 6 months

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My sweet girl turned 6 months last Thursday. When Juliet got up that morning I just stared and stared at her, incredulous that 6 months have gone by. 

This month brought a few milestones:

• Juliet started sleeping through the night. The real deal, not just the 5 hour deal (which is actually the true definition of a baby sleeping through the night).  She sleeps from 6:30pm (I know...way too early! I want to keep her up and play with her when I get home from work, but she is so sleepy, she has to go to bed) until 5:30am when she wakes up to eat.  I feed her and she sleeps until 6:30am.  She is my amazing sleeper.  I feel so lucky because it wasn't always this way.  The memories of waking up 6 times a night to feed her every two hours is still very fresh in my mind.  But those feedings/wakings tapered off until we were down to 1-2 feedings and to be honest, when Juliet started sleeping through the night I missed our time together at night, breastfeeding in the peace and quiet. 
• Juliet had her first solids and loves them.  We started two weeks ago and since she has had rice cereal, peas, carrots, prunes, bananas and green beans.  She pretty much likes everything and I have hope that she will be a great eater. 
• Overall, she is so much more engaged with Erik and I than ever before.  She loves to play, she loves to be held and grab my face in her hands.  She loves when daddy lifts her high in the air and she squeals with happiness. 
• We discovered Juliet is ticklish and we have way too much fun with this as she laughs and laughs. 
• Juliet learned to scream/yell.  And loudly.  Not when she's crying, just anytime she's playing with toys and happy. It's funny and sometimes it's so loud she startles herself. 

Juliet had her 6 month photo session on Saturday.  95% of the time, Juliet is in a good mood and is the sweetest baby.  So of course, during the session, she had a bit of a meltdown.  I was STRESSED.  These sessions are so important to me (not to mention they are not cheap!) and I want them to be perfect.  Erik was upset because he hates seeing Juliet cry and was trying to cut the session short.  It was kind of chaotic.  Life with a baby is never predictable.  I just hope we still got some good shots.  We had about 20 minutes of a happy girl so I'm sure there are a few.  Oh and I can't wait to see the shots of Juliet and Chloe (her cousin who is 4 months older).  The two of them together are a sight to see.  So cute. 

Happy 6 months my sweet, precious babe.  You make me one happy momma. 

Impromptu date night

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Erik and I had a really nice evening. We grilled steaks, opened a bottle of cabernet and sat outside on our deck and marveled at the quietness of our new house. It's surrounded by tall trees and we feel like we are tucked away inside our own private little forest. It is really quite lovely.

Erik and I haven't been on a real date since before Juliet was born.  Well, we grabbed a burger and beer when she was three weeks old while my sister-in-law watched her so I guess that counts.  We also went out to dinner another time, but with Juliet in tow.  Not exactly romantic.  So needless to say we are due.  Overdue.  And having dinner on the deck with him made me realize just how overdue we are.

Anyway, the impromptu date at home was awesome.  Erik grilled the steaks to tender perfection and the wine tasted extra good.  Sometimes it's the simple things.

The weekend

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{Photos taken using my iPhone 4 on Instagram}

It's another crazy work week so I'll keep this short. Here are the highlights from my weekend:

• Going to a friend's beautiful, outdoor wedding on a lake
• Breastfeeding on a dock, such a peaceful moment with my baby
• Seeing Grandma Karen!
• Eating peas for the first time.  Juliet made the funniest faces like she wasn't too sure about them but she finished the whole jar.  On the road we brought Earth's Best organic peas (otherwise I am attempting to make all her food homemade, so far we've made carrots and green beans and it's been super easy).  I like Earth's Best if we do the packaged route because the jars can be recycled and the ingredients are literally just the organic vegetable and water and she really seems to like that brand (we also use this for rice cereal). 
• Spending an entire Saturday morning with Juliet, playing, singing, cuddling and watching her nap. It was awesome. 
• Eating a steak with a glass of cabernet.

Big eyes, small spoon

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Well I lied when I said I'd have a post earlier this week. The internet was supposed to be set up on Monday. It wasn't. So no blogging for me. But work was super insane all week anyway so as soon as Juliet went to bed I was working which meant no blogging. No fun at all.

What is fun is watching my little one eat solids. So far we've just given her rice cereal. She loves it. Today I bought carrots and green beans at the farmers' market. I steamed and pureed the carrots and we're going to give those a try tomorrow. I hope to make the majority of her food but we'll see how it goes. I used our blender and it didn't work the greatest in terms of getting a smooth puree. Are those special baby blenders/bullets worth it?

We're all settled, for the most part, into our new home. When my husband and I decided we were going to move, we spent a lot of time looking at houses online. We must have looked at hundreds before the this one came on the market. It was the only house we had a realtor show us in person. And we made an offer the same night. Erik and I aren't really "go with your gut" kind of people. I do tons of research and Erik is usually very thoughtful about big purchases. But for some reason with this house we just knew it was meant to be. And I really really love it. It felt like home the first night we slept here. Juliet's nursery is being recreated as closely as I can to the one she had at our other house. I was a bit sad packing up the place we brought our precious girl home from the hospital to.   But this is a new chapter and we'll have lots of new memories here.

Erik, Juliet and I are heading to a wedding this weekend and will be staying in a hotel. Hopefully it goes smoothly. And hopefully I'll be enjoying a few glasses of wine at the wedding and doing a little thing called relaxing, which is not a term I've been very familiar with lately.  

Happy weekend!

It has been a big week

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Perhaps you've noticed that it's been crickets around these blog parts. Life has been just a tad busy lately. Here is a quick update and I will be back with a real post hopefully tomorrow or Wednesday.

- We moved! Dudes, moving is stressful. But I guess everyone knows that, right? We made it easier on ourselves by hiring movers. It was the best decision we made. If you're in the Mpls/St. Paul area, check out Big Gunz Professional Moving Services.  I LOVE our new house.  It has a big kitchen and a major openness that will be wonderful for entertaining.

- Work is INSANE.  Lots of big presentations coming up.

- Juliet ate her first solids yesterday.  In new parent-land this is a BIG deal.  We recorded it.  We took pictures.  We oohed and aahed at her adorableness with rice cereal all over her face.  She loved the cereal and I can't wait to start introducing more foods soon.  The Direct TV guy also got to enjoy her first solids experience.

So that wraps it up in a nutshell.  I promise I'll be back soon!