As for the bedding and paint...

Yes, I have put my very talented (and did I mention awesome?) mom up to the challenge of making the bedding and pillows for the nursery.
I am so excited about the bright, fun fabrics that are going into it.
The pink fabric is for a few accents, because I figured...what little girls nursery is complete without a splash of pink?
I love the neutral and calming paint color for the walls, and the yellow paint is for an old dresser that I am refinishing. The same dresser was actually in my nursery when I was a baby.

I can't wait until this all comes together and *hopefully* the vision in my head will come to life!

Wish me (and my mom) luck!

This and That for the Nursery...

...and getting anxious to get it all put together!

California Lovin'...

Over Valentine's weekend, Josh and I headed down to San Clemente, Ca with my mom, brother, and his family.
We were lucky to have beautiful weather all weekend with temps in the 70's.
We spent one day at Sea World, the next at Disneyland (which was ridiculously crowded), and the last day lounging at the beach.

The Shamu show at Sea World

Excited for the Shamu show

Matthew and Brandy on Dumbo at Disneyland


Josh and I with Tub Tubs and his big sucker.
I love his green tongue!


Lovin' Chub Chubs and his beefy bod!


Matthew is such a ham!


The beach all to ourselves...
Matthew and Josh spent their time making sand castles while I lounged around and fried my legs.
My legs are still peeling and it was a month ago.
Oh well...




We obviously had an exhausting and fun-filled weekend!

Like air. Like water. Like food...

...these might just be another one of those "needs" in my life.

The Menagerie Bookends from Serena and Lily

Yep...definitely another one of those "needs"!

A few favorites...

As I am writing this, I am enjoying these delicious treats and looking forward to warmer days and spring.
Oh how I love spring!



But anyway...back to a few favorite things that Santa brought me this year.
I guess these things are more for Lily Belle than me, but I was still super excited about them!
We didn't know that we were having a girl when Christmas came but am glad we are, considering that these things are on the girlie side of the spectrum.

They are Monkeez and Friends stuffed animals and Clothbound Penguin Classics for children.

I LOVE them!

Seriously! It doesn't get much cuter than this. Well, at least in my opinion anyway.

These adorable children's classics can be found at Anthropologie and these cuddly Monkeez and Friends were found at Modern Display.

A long wait...

... but I am so very happy and grateful that I am pregnant and this baby girl is healthy!

It hasn't been the easiest road getting to this point, but I feel like I may have needed these experiences to fully appreciate the miracle and beauty of having a child. Well, I don't have a child yet, but I feel confident that this baby is here to stay.

The road getting to this point started December 2009. Josh and I decided we were ready to have a child. So...I got pregnant. No problems...easy as pie. I had a couple ultrasounds during the course of this pregnancy and everything was looking good. At 14 weeks we went in for a normal appointment. No heartbeat. I had an ultrasound. No movement. No heartbeat. I thought I was over the miscarriage scare part of the pregnancy. Wrong.
The next day, March 24, I had the routine surgery to remove the baby.
I was numb from any sort of emotion. In fact, all I wanted to do was run away from life.

It is crazy that this happens to so many women, so it shouldn't be a big deal, right?

Well, it was a big deal for me. It took me about 6 months to climb out of the dark place I put myself in.

I was finally ready to try again. In August, Josh and I headed out on the most amazing vacation to Australia and New Zealand. I got pregnant. Once again, easy as pie. No problems. I only knew I was pregnant a week when I started to miscarry. The odd thing was that during that week I kept saying, "third time's a charm". I guess I sort of knew that the second time wasn't the time.

Third time's a charm...
After that miscarriage, I wanted to keep trying right away. So...two weeks later, I found out I was pregnant...once again. I am so glad to know that I have no troubles in the "getting pregnant department". I worry all the time, but have had no troubles at all during this pregnancy.

I am now just a day shy of 23 weeks and couldn't be happier. I am able to feel her move all day, and it is so comforting to know she is kicking, twirling around, and everything is o.k.
I have a ton of ultrasound pics, because I have been going in quite often just to make sure everything looks good.

These are some pics of our baby Lily Belle...

This is when she was just a bean at about 9.5 weeks.

This was my favorite ultrasound, because she was doing flips and moving all over the place.
She is about 12.5 weeks in both of these. I love her little hand waving in the pic above.



At almost 18 weeks we found out we were having a girl! So exciting!

This is a cute profile of Lily Belle at about 18 weeks.


Another great hand shot of baby Lily Belle at 21.5 weeks.

And just to make sure she is really a she, another pic of her girly parts at 21.5 weeks.


Belly shots are kind of funny to me, but oh well!
This is the bump starting to grow around 15 weeks.


Please excuse the dorky face! This is the bump at 22 weeks. I am growing quite fast now!

23 weeks down...17 to go. It feels like I have been pregnant forever!
Lily Belle is expected June 18, 2011. We are thrilled to meet this little one!

I die...

...as Rachel Zoe would say...
I would go bananas to wear all of these outfits.

but...
these are all miniature-sized.

I love it...ALL!

Just imagine a little teacup-sized 2-year-old in all of these.

Like I said...I die!

And...all of these pieces just so happen to be on sale over here.

Tub Tubs and Pumpkins...

Last week, Tub Tubs wanted to get his picture taken.
Matthew loves to have me take his picture, then look at it right after it has been taken.
He is pretty narcissistic, if you ask me.

So...he decided to head outside and pose with pumpkins in his cute skeleton shirt.
I think he kind of deserves to be a little narcissistic. I mean...he is pretty cute.

This one with the hose cracks me up.


After the photo shoot, we moved on to making cupcakes.
Chocolate with cream cheese frosting, to be exact, and they were yummy.
Obviously, Tubbies enjoyed the batter... a lot!





I had to post this pic of Tubbies and Chubbies in their matching jammies.
They are just so cute.

Savory Goodness...

This southwest chicken soup is super easy to make and oh so yummy.

Add the homemade tortilla strips...and wowza...it is good!

I don't think this picture gives the soup justice, but believe me, it is delish.



Ingredients...

1 jar of Pace Salsa Verde
1 Rotisserie Chicken
(Costco sells these and are a couple of dollars cheaper than at your regular neighborhood grocer, but Costco is awesome like that. Am I right or am I right?)
1 (15 oz) can of white beans drained
1 (15 oz) can of black beans drained
2 (32oz) cartons of chicken stock
(I get the six pack of Kirkland Chicken Stock from Costco and and use 2, or just under 2 of the cartons.)

garnish: shredded cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream & homemade tortilla strips

Directions...

Remove skin from chicken and shred meat with forks. Combine all ingredients into a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 10-15 minutes. I like to let it simmer for an hour or so just to let all of the flavors blend together, but it is still good if you are short on time and can only simmer for 10-15 minutes.

While your soup is simmering, in a large frying pan add about 1/2 inch of oil (I used vegetable oil) and set to medium heat.

Cut corn tortillas into strips or triangles for chips.

Fry them for about 4 minutes or until the strips are crispy. You’ll know the oil is hot enough when you drop 1 in and it bubbles and floats to the top quickly. If it sinks and sits there… you’re not hot enough yet. Once you are hot enough you can lower your temp to low/med.

Throw them on some paper towels, cover them with paper towels and give them a good shake so you can get a lot of the grease off. Then douse them with salt.

Voila!

And so it begins...

I have been meaning to post pictures from our Australian and New Zealand adventure for quite some time now, but it is awfully daunting when I have, literally, over 1000 pictures to sort through.

So...to help ease my mind...I have decided to divide and conquer.
Let me start with our first destination (and what a fabulous destination it was)...

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Josh and I have always wanted to visit Australia, and since our good friends (Chris, Chelsea, and their son Kip) are living in Sydney, we decided it was the perfect time to go.


We did a lot of sightseeing while in Sydney, and top on our list of things to see was the
Sydney Opera House.

This awesome building definitely did not disappoint.




Sydney Harbour Bridge




We visited the Taronga Zoo, and Chelsea and I sure had a roaring good time.


While we enjoyed the seal show at the zoo, we experienced the attack of the sea lion during the "encounter" part of the show.

If you ask me, the kid had it coming to him.

Here is a news story about the sea lion mishap.
Our friends Chris and Chelsea were the stars of this news interview.
Check it out...

Here is a picture of Chelsea being interviewed. She is totally famous now.



I think the mountain goats have the best view.
You can see the city and the Sydney Opera House right from their very own backyard.
I would have to say the Taronga Zoo has some of the best real estate in Sydney.

I had to post this picture of a baby pygmy hippo.
Seriously...so cute!


I can't miss this precious pic of us with the kangaroo eating his own feces.


We also visited the Australian National Maritime Museum in Darling Harbour.



On our last day in Sydney we went to Long Reef Beach.
We spent our time on the beach flying kites... well, Josh and Chris flew kites while Chelsea, Kip, and I enjoyed the views.


I love this picture.
Josh flying a kite, Chris taking pictures, Chelsea and Kip twirling... just plain fun.


This is Manly Beach, which has a ton of little shops and restaurants all around.


I can't forget to tell you about the amazing view from Chris and Chelsea's home. Balmoral Beach is just down the hill from them.
Amazing!
We took in the view while devouring our new favorite breakfast...

Need I say more?

We discovered this creation while eating breakfast in Lake Wanaka, New Zealand.

Hot cakes..bacon..fried bananas..oh so good!