Happy Friday, friends! I’m on a deadline today, but in the spirit of Wednesday’s post – I’ve made some plans to meet some of my colleagues for lunch today. And, despite having a lot on my plate at work (not to mention all of the thoughts floating around in my head), I know it will do me some good to get out and spend some time with work friends.
This has felt like a long week (why can’t weekends ever feel long?), add I’m happy to be closing the chapter on this one. It’s been a good one, but it’s just been one thing after another at work. Everyone is trying to check things off the to do list before the holiday, and it’s made for a hectic schedule. But, there have been lots of fun parts of this week too, so why don’t I get into some of my favorites?
Thanksgiving Menu
I finalized my menu for Thanksgiving last weekend, and I stumbled across one of my favorite (healthier) side dishes. Give my healthy broccoli casserole a try if you are in the planning stages of your Thanksgiving menu.
Turkey Day Prep
My mind is going a mile a minute these days. In between my family coming to visit, this upcoming wedding, work and baby – it’s been difficult to focus. That said, I realized I wanted a festive tablescape for my guests. And, because my Christmas stuff isn’t up yet, I needed some rustic/fall place settings. I ordered these (thank you, Amazon), and they arrived yesterday.
And this is what they look like with my china (I have the Vera wang Blanc Sur Blanc pattern). I’m so glad Aaron and I went with wedding china. A lot of people told me that I wouldn’t necessarily use it, but we make it a point to pull it out and get some use out of it.
Cool Weather
Houston got a true cold front this week. It was in the 40s, which is about a 30-40 degree difference from where we were just a few weeks ago. So, to combat the cold, I’ve been bundling up for our dog walks – and enjoying my Starbucks holiday cups.
Here’s the thing. I am a huge afternoon cup of coffee gal. Then, I got pregnant, and I developed a coffee (at any time of day) aversion. Luckily, that aversion is gone, so I have my one cup of coffee in the morning (remember, just ask your doctor. I’ve been told the rule of thumb is that one cup of coffee a day is now acceptable – so that’s what I’ve been doing). However, I still crave that afternoon cup – so this week, I treated myself to a decaf holiday beverage from Starbucks. I got the white toasted mocha, which was delicious.
New Car
I officially treated myself to a new-to-me car this week. Remember – my husband sold my previous one, and I’ve been on the hunt for a perfect mom car. Now, my husband owns a dealership, so I’m a bit spoiled when it comes to car shopping. He just brings them home for me to test drive – and I don’t have to go in to sign my paperwork. So, I’ve been test driving some cars over the last several weeks, and I thought for sure I was going to go back to the exact same car (just in a new body style of the one I sold), but I decided to switch it up. I felt like I needed something a tad bigger for all the baby gear I’m going to have, so I went with a Range Rover this time around. We are making a few modifications to murder it out a bit (hey – who said mom cars had to be boring) – so I’ll show pics when it’s finished. But, I’ve officially got the mom car checked off the list (I’m wildly unprepared for anything else – but at least we have the car thing figured out). Side note: always buy used, friends. Cars are depreciating assets the second you drive them off the lot. I’ve heard my husband talk about this enough that I would never buy a brand new vehicle 🙂
Working out
When I say my mind is complete chaos right now – I wasn’t kidding. So, the Peloton has been coming in clutch to help me clear my mind a bit. We’ve also had several rainy and cold days, so it’s been especially nice to be able to just pop into my garage to get a good sweat in. My doctor has cleared me to run – since it’s an activity that I did before I was pregnant – I just take a bit longer in my warm-ups – and am very intentional in my rest portions. That being said, I’ve actually felt great lately, and I enjoy a good challenge on the Tread. One day this week, I finished in the 2nd spot. I’ll do a whole post on my workouts in the first trimester, but I plan to keep my body moving as long as it still feels good!
Puppies
My puppies have been extra attentive lately. They are going to love all of the attention from my parents this next week (it’s actually going to be my parents first time to meet them). In the meantime, they’ve been hogging my pregnancy pillow.
Wedding Photos
The wedding photos from the October wedding have started to come in, and this picture made me smile this week!
I’m going to end on that high note! I hope that you all have a wonderful weekend. Ours is jam packed – I’ve got a hair appointment, I need to grab my Turducken, we are looking at some nursery furniture, we’ve got dinner with some friends and more!
