Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Babymoon Series: Kraków, Poland

If you've been following along, Dan and I went on an epic babymoon adventure in March. We had a BLAST. I've already written about our time in London and Cambridge, but Kraków is where my heart was.

I had wanted to travel there since I was in seventh grade... so for 14 years. It was incredible to say the least, and I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity. I will write in more detail about the reason why I so desperately wanted to go, but in short: Auschwitz. That deserves a post all of its own at a later date, though... so today, you get Kraków.

The architecture was stunning, everything was inexpensive, and the food was completely hit or miss. We had a wonderful few days exploring this gem in Poland, and we would go back in a heartbeat!





Don't worry - mine was Sprite. Dan got six vodka samples (large) for $5 US! Crazy! I was slightly super jealous, so we'll just have to go back someday when I'm NOT pregnant!





Have you ever been to Kraków or anywhere in Poland?
Would Krakow be on your travel bucket list?


    

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Bumpdate: Weeks 19-20

If you missed my previous bumpdates, you can check out weeks 5-12 hereweeks 13-14 here, weeks 15-16 here, and weeks 17-18 here! I've decided that at the very end of this, I'm going to make a book out of all of my weeks so Baby Cookie can look back and read through them someday. I also hope to make one giant blog post compiling all of my weeks together to see the progress.

How far along? 20 weeks

Size of baby?
19 weeks: mango
20 weeks: artichoke

Total weight gain? Still down two pounds from before, but I finally talked to my doctor about it, and she is not concerned because baby is still growing as she should be. 

Gender? GIRL! You can read about it here

Maternity clothes? I have jeans, shorts, and several solid colored shirts. I also bought a pair of HUGE running shorts... because they were $10, and the maternity ones were $34... so why not?! They will fit forever. I think Dan could fit inside them with me if we tried. They're THAT stretchy. 

Sleep? I have good nights and bad nights. I love waking up refreshed after a great night of sleep, but the following night always goes downhill fast. 

Work outs? Work outs? It's tough enough to roll out of bed. Kidding... kind of. Just walking still. 

Cravings? I'm not really craving anything lately. 

Aversions? No REAL aversions, but I'm still avoiding tomato based foods for fear of reflux.

Best moment of this week? Finding lots of cute clothes for baby!

Worst moment of this week? Realizing that it's tough to sleep... because my belly is in the way now.

Looking forward to? The weather warming up! It's still in the 50s here, and we can't wait to go on a picnic and go for more walks outside! 

Am I the only crazy person to feel super ecstatic about being half way there?! 


    

Monday, April 27, 2015

Babymoon Series: Cambridge, England

Part two of our babymoon adventure kept us in England. We ventured to Cambridge with our friends, Lucy and Simon, and we had a blast. It was so much fun walking around the campuses and checking out each individual college - even from outside. They were so gorgeous, and the weather was pretty great that day!

We wandered around, eventually finding lunch with Lucy's parents. It was awesome, and Dan was in heaven with the 'real' English pints! After lunch, the four of us went punting - which was so strange to me! It was a lot of fun, though! And no one fell in!

When we were finished punting, we checked out a really neat RAF (Royal Air Force) bar that was covered in patch stickers from the USAF as well - and Dan LOVED that. And finally, we headed out for a really fancy afternoon tea at a hotel... and it did not disappoint. It was my first time doing a traditional tea like that, and let me just tell you - it was amazing. I wish I could do tea EVERY afternoon. That would be the life... but I would gain SO much weight!

I'll just let the photos speak for themselves now...














While we were in Cambridge, we stopped at a really cute (huge) bookstore... and decided to buy Baby Cookie her very first book and stuffed bear! We didn't know she was a girl yet, and we decided on Paddington... can't get much more British than that! 

Have you visited Cambridge?
Have you ever gone punting? 


    

Friday, April 24, 2015

Easy Waldorf Salad: Recipe

Is it already Friday again? Hey, I'm not complaining! But that means it's time for another recipe, and I am so excited to share one of my favorite cold side dishes ever... Waldorf salad! 


If you are having company over and need one more item to go with the fabulous meal you have prepared, why not try this out? Now that it's warming up outside, it's even better - but I won't lie: Waldorf salad is even on my Thanksgiving menu. Yum. 

It goes great with BBQ, grilled meats, or anything heartier. It lightens up the meal just enough... and I find that even people who claim to not like celery enjoy this salad. Maybe it's the crispness of the green apples... I don't know. But it's a winner for sure.




A lot of people make this with grapes instead of raisins... and I totally like it that way sometimes. Just know that you can substitute them, and the salad will still be delicious. And I also wanted to point out how I love that this is called "salad" because it's definitely not very healthy... but it makes me feel better. 

You can also choose to use walnuts instead of pecans. I enjoy both, but sadly, I am allergic to walnuts... so I try my very best not to eat them. Luckily, pecans are just as delicious, and they work very well in this recipe. You choose whichever you like best! There's a lot of room to play around. 


I just made this for Easter last month, but now I want it again. Just reading the ingredients list has me craving it. I guess there are worse dishes to crave, right? ;-) 

Do you like Waldorf salad?
What's your favorite side dish?