Babymoon Series: London, England

Remember when Dan and I went on our epic honeymoon across Europe last summer? Well, it was amazing, but it was cut short due to a family emergency. We never made it to England or Poland... both of which were high on our list. We are so thankful for Dan's accommodating schedule, as we were able to head back to Europe in March to finish our honeymoon - except this time around, we called it a babymoon - and it was so much fun!

We started out in London. Okay, that's a lie. We started out in Ramstein, Germany, but that's another story for another day. I promise I will eventually chronicle our Space A adventures. But for now... we begin in London.

Dan and I had London on our list for two reasons: 1) he went there for some Air Force training in 2012 (during the Summer Olympics, might I add - JEALOUS!!!)... so he was planning on showing me around since I'd never been... and 2) We have great friends who live there! Actually, they don't just live there... they are from there, and we affectionately call them "the Brits". You may remember my post about Lucy from when they visited us in Colorado in 2013... so we just HAD to go see them!

During our time in London, our friends had to work... so we played tourist around the city during the days and hung out with them in the evenings. We had a lot of fun and saw so many cool things! I wouldn't say that London is a favorite of mine... I prefer Paris, Rome, and Athens to it... but it was awesome being able to see a new place!

Also, don't mind our jet-lagged faces in these photos... we were TIRED after all that traveling.

Overall, we had a great time exploring the city and spending time with our friends - and they will actually make an appearance in the Cambridge photos... I promise! 

Have you ever been to London?

What's your favorite thing to do there?

    

Why I've Been Absent

Well, I have certainly not been around as much as I'd like to be lately. There are a couple reasons for that... one is awesome, and one is awful. I'll start with the bad, though, to get it out of the way.

1. I had another kidney stone. This time, it took two ER trips (again) AND getting admitted to the base hospital for three days. No fun. It was absolutely awful... both the stone and the care I received. My arms are STILL bruised from my hands up to my elbows from techs and students trying to draw blood and start IVs every 30 minutes. It's been 11 days, and the bruises are still clear as day. It hurt. And they did NOT manage my pain very well... partially because I'm pregnant so there's only so much they can give me, but also because they didn't respond to my requests for more for 90 minutes... yep, an hour and a half. Oh, and the kicker? They "accidentally" flushed the stone I passed... and it NEEDED to be tested to see what the heck is going on. I'm not pleased, and neither is my husband, who definitely let them know how we felt. This whole situation makes me want to switch to Tricare Standard, but I LOVE one of my doctors, and I don't want to lose her. Decisions...

2. The better news! Yay! I have been swamped to Etsy sales. Part of that stems from getting behind while in the hospital, but I also have received an influx of orders. It's not quite like Christmas time again, but the orders have been for several canvas photo collages and a couple large orders for wedding favor magnets. It's intense around here... so I've been cutting, gluing, and spraying to my little heart's content. It's nice to be busy. I hit 600 sales last week, and it feels wonderful!

And now... my photo dump for the time I've been gone from around Blogland.

I had to try the Birthday Cake frap from Starbucks. It was amazing.

Smudge and I went for a nice long walk/run on a trail one day, and exactly one mile in, it started POURING. Not sprinkling... but pouring down rain. We hightailed it back to the car to wait for Dan (who was doing an interval run), and I'm not sure which one of us smelled more like a wet dog.

One of my cats (this time Stormy) ALWAYS has to play in the scratching post when I'm taking my weekly bump photos. Yes, I set my camera on top of the cat scratching post... which I put on top of our dining room table. Don't judge. It gets the job done.

When your husband says he has a surprise for you, and it ends with this... mmmmm.

I had to document being in the hospital... of course.

My new concoction for hydrating to get rid of these nasty kidney stones. GO AWAY.

One of my amazing friends sent me this fruit infuser bottle in the mail to help me stay hydrated to prevent more stones... so I filled it with lemons, and it's awesome. 

My husband turned 26 the day I was released from the hospital (and also the day we found out our baby is a girl!)... so despite being exhausted, I took him out for BBQ and beer. Don't worry - I've rescheduled his birthday for this coming Sunday so he can have a whole day of me spoiling him. 

This is Smudge's look of appreciation after going for a long (and dry) walk. 

The weirdest pregnancy craving so far... I never eat cheese popcorn, but I HAD to have it... with peaches... and the urge would NOT go away until I ate them both.

The cats love snuggling, as per usual. 

And somehow they manage to stand on the ledge of the window... not sure how, but they make it work.

And sweet Mister Gilligan turned eight years old! I can't believe I've had him since he was a tiny kitten.

Have you been up to anything interesting lately?

    

Blackberry Almond Baked Brie: Recipe

I know, I know. It's been a few weeks since I've had a Food Friday on the blog. I apologize... life (aka being in the hospital) kind of gets in the way sometimes. That said, I am super happy to share one of my favorite holiday appetizers today. And heck - you don't have to make this ONLY for the holidays. I don't. I just happen to make it for all holidays in addition to the random times. It's a crowd pleaser for sure. I bring to you...

The recipe for this week's installment of Food Fridays is... you guessed it... Baked Brie. This isn't just baked cheese, though. This is ooey-gooey French cheese deliciousness... covered in blackberry preserves, crescent dough, and almonds. Can it get any better than that?! I think not. 

This recipe is seriously so easy too. The ingredients may look pricey, but I was able to find all of these at my local Aldi's. The whole wheel of Brie was only $3 - score! I should have bought them all. 

I should also note that if you don't like blackberries for whatever reason, you can easily substitute any type of jam, jelly, or preserves. I've made this with blueberry and raspberry before, but I bet even apricot would be delightful.

Doesn't that just scream, "eat me with a fork... right now!" because I totally think it does. 

And now the good part... I know you want this recipe. You should serve it the next time you host an event. But you should probably make it for a taste test before that... just because you want it. And you'll be able to eat the whole thing at once. Oh, is that just me? 

I usually use Triscuits to dip into this, but I have definitely eaten it plain before too. It's all a personal preference, so enjoy this however your cheese-loving self desires. 

Do you like brie?