a tearful goodbye

today is my last day of work at the hoop
i am a complete basket case over it

back in april .. while walking the beach in florida .. my mom let me know that if i ever wanted to come back to work for her that there would always be a place for me
she was not trying to lure me away from the hoop .. she knows how much i love it here .. she was just letting me know that i had the option if i was interested

while i was in college i went to school full time .. worked part time for my mom .. and part time at the hoop
then a couple of years ago my boss offered me a full time position as the manager here and i jumped at the chance

but in light of babyP coming .. RT and i had to evaluate what is best for our family
he is extremely supportive and would be happy with me doing whatever i want to do
so when it came down to it .. i had to make the final decision

what ended up being the deciding factor is that we have endured a lot to have this little girl and i want to spend as much time with her as possible
working for my mom i can still work full time but i get off much earlier in the day and have school schedule so i get more time at holidays and stuff like that

i am excited about what the future holds for us and our family and i know i will love my new job but i would be lying if i said i am not heart broken to be leaving the hoop

this store
this job
my boss and coworkers
they have been family to me for the last seven years
they have been my home away from home
they mean so much to me

i will be forever grateful to have had the opportunity to work here
to have been taught everything i have learned
to have connected with all of the coworkers and customers

the hoop has been such a blessing in my life and i will always cherish my time here

such a sad sad goodbye
but they will be seeing me often :)

outfit selfies are terrible

top: babakul

pants: sam+lavi

shoes: mia

disclaimer .. i am aware of how awful outfit selfies are .. all i can say is i'm sorry but sometimes it is the best that i can do :)
disclaimer #2 .. the non maternity buttons on this shirt are audibly screaming today .. it's lovely :)

moving on ..

like a lot of other little girls .. when i was young i used to picture my future
honestly i still do that .. just on a much different scale

i used to play house and pretend that i was all grown up .. late twenties ageish {ha!}
living in the city i have always lived in
married to the cutest boy in the third grade {duh!!}
working as a majorly awesome fashion designer
raising my three children

now i am living that future but not like i thought i would be

i do live in the city i grew up in
but not because it's what i always thought i would do
we live here for many reasons
RTs job is here
my family is here
his family is very close too
our friends are here
and as each day passes .. more and more .. our whole lives are here
but i would move
we live here because we want to and we can .. not because we have to or we should

i am not married to the cutest guy from my third grade class
praise the Lord!!
not that he isn't probably a great person but ya know .. i'm not in third grade anymore
instead i am married to the cutest guy in the world
and he is so much more than just cute .. his looks are just a nice bonus :)

i am not nor do i aspire to be a fashion designer
i do still love clothes and shoes and makeup and all things fashion
but it turns out retail is where i found my fashion calling
and sometimes changes are made for reasons bigger than just what you like {more on that monday}

and i am slowly nearing the end of my twenties and am still cooking baby number one
nothing close to three kids before thirty like i always thought

my point in all of this is that is doesn't matter how we always thought things would go
God has a plan for our lives
and i am constant living proof that His plan is very rarely in line with ours
the good news is that i am also constant living proof that His plan is always better than ours

happy wednesday!!

a new do

dress: free people

shoes: michael kors circa many many years ago

i actually cut my hair like ten days ago but RT and i have both been working kinda crazy schedules so this was the first time we have had a chance to do real deal outfit pictures

i have been wanting to cut my hair off for a long time now
i was thinking i wanted a full on pixie but my friend connie cuts my hair {she is the best!! if you live near by you NEED to go see her :)} and she thinks baby steps are better
and honestly .. she was right
i absolutely love the cut and it is not so different that it is shocking or overwhelming at all!!
thanks connie!!

i am working this weekend but am going to be at the lake with my family as much as i can
my parents were out of town over father's day weekend so we are going to celebrate this weekend

what are you all going to do??
hopefully something awesome!!

happy weekend!!

muffins

cooking light .. morning glory muffins

i have officially begun my third trimester now and it is crazy how my body knows that automatically

heartburn .. oh hello .. you are fun
tired .. where did that second trimester energy go??
shortness of breath .. i swear i have tried to stay in pretty good shape .. but alas the breathing thing is harder and harder
gotta go again .. my bladder isn't thrilled {tmi?? sorry!}
oh you want to bend down and pick that up off the floor?? good luck!!
when is your baby due?? do you know if it is a boy or a girl?? have you picked out a name?? .. baby girl is plenty big enough for strangers to feel comfortable asking about my pregnancy
she is also working hard on her gymnastics skills .. homegirl even moves in her sleep .. i love it!!
i am still counting my lucky stars
this pregnancy has been really enjoyable so far!!

as far as cravings have gone .. i haven't really wanted anything crazy
pickles in ice cream sounds just as gross to me now as it did before i was pregnant
but during my first trimester i really didn't want meat
protein isn't an issue .. beans cheese peanut butter nuts yogurt milk eggs .. all still good but chicken beef turkey pork .. bleh!!
my second trimester i was fine with anything
now i am back to meatless

so this week as i was making my grocery list i was thumbing through my cooking light vegetarian cookbook trying to find recipes that could be dinner for me and a side for RT next to some sort of chicken breast or whatever

that cookbook is where i found the recipe for these morning glory muffins and they are the bomb not to mention pretty simple to make

here's what you will need ..
one cup of whole wheat flour
one half a cup of all purpose flour
one cup of regular oats
three fourths of a cup of packed brown sugar
one tablespoon of wheat bran {my grocery store didn't have that so i substituted oat bran}
two teaspoons of baking soda
one fourth of a teaspoon of salt
one cup of fat free plain yogurt
one cup of mashed banana
one large egg
one cup of chopped pitted dates
one half a cup of dried pineapple
three fourths of a cup of chopped walnuts {optional}
three tablespoons of ground flaxseed

here is what you do ..
preheat your  oven to three hundred fifty degrees
combine flours .. oats .. brown sugar .. wheat bran .. baking soda .. and salt in a bowl with a whisk
combine yogurt banana and egg
add wet to dry ingredients and mix it all up
fold in dates pineapple and walnuts {if you are using them .. i didn't .. RT doesn't like them}
line muffin pan with cupcake liners and spray with cooking spray
spoon batter into cups
top evenly with ground flaxseed
bake for twenty minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when poked in the center
cool .. butter {if you want to} .. eat .. and then eat another one because i mean seriously!!

happy tuesday!!

in all its glory

the maternity band at the top of my pants and shorts is officially here in all it's glory {so sexy! ha!}

it is a little bit rainy today so a hat is a must and this striped michael stars number is just the ticket

paired with this lace back heartloom top .. jean shorts from target that i distressed myself {thank you pinterest} .. and my new seychelles lucky penny booties {obsessed!!} .. makes for a perfect work day outfit :)

happy thursday!!

finding my style

here is the thing .. i am loving being pregnant and while my body is for sure way different than it has ever been .. i am doing pretty good at embracing the changes so far

my only complaint is that the large majority of maternity clothes are really basic

i get it that for most people that is great
basics are what people want

but not me .. i want some fun and funky stuff!!
i want my true style and self to shine through even more now than ever

and i know there are people out there that would advise against buying maternity clothes at all .. if you can get away with that more power to you
i however cannot .. like i said .. my body is different {i.e. bigger} than ever before
bottoms don't fit
tops don't fit well
maternity clothes are a must

so continuing in my search i turned to polyvore and found some pretty great stuff!!

happy monday!!

Prince Peter black crop tank top
$130 - coggles.com

Floral Print Kaftan Top (Maternity)
$61 - next.co.uk

TOPSHOP Maternity Iris Print Kimono
topshop.com

H&M MAMA Jersey top
$17 - hm.com

TOPSHOP Maternity MOTO White Ripped Jamie Jeans
topshop.com

TOPSHOP Maternity V-Front Dip Hem Blouse
topshop.com

Esprit Maternity Top
$34 - zalando.co.uk

ESPRIT blue pants
$120 - zalando.co.uk

TOPSHOP Maternity Aztec Jersey Tapered Trousers
topshop.com

TOPSHOP Maternity Bleach Boy Shorts
topshop.com

Aquazzura high heel sandals
mytheresa.com

Rag & Bone genuine leather boots
$625 - shoescribe.com

Jeffrey Campbell hi top
nastygal.com

Dolce Vita cut out lace up sandals
revolveclothing.com

Bee Charming long necklace
pinkmascara.com

Sole Society black hat
solesociety.com

the magicians

one of the things that was highly recommended that we do while in portland was to go to powell's bookstore

we walked past it several times but being there such a short amount of time and me being the only real book lover in our relationship .. we never ventured in

so on monday while we were waiting to board the airplane home .. i walked around in the little branch powell's has in the airport

i found several books i put on my to read list

one of the things they had was a table of staff picks and with each book there was a little card that gave a very short synopsis of the book .. told which staff member chose it .. and why

when i saw the synopsis of the magicians by lev grossman i was intrigued but then at the very end it said no one who has escaped into the worlds of narnia and harry potter should miss this breathtaking return to the landscape of the imagination and to top it off the staff member's reason for choosing the book was because it is like harry potter for adults .. sold!!

i am a shameless harry potter fan
i read all of the books as soon as they came out
i have seen all of the movies multiple times .. they are all on our dvr and are my favorite choices for sunday afternoons and/or background noise while cooking or cleaning or whatever

so needless to say i bought the book and couldn't wait to get on the plane and spend the 3.5 hour journey home reading

as i pulled the book out of my purse once the plane had gotten above the clouds .. i was struck by something surprising .. it felt so nice to be holding and actual book

i read all the time
several books a month usually
but i just download them from amazon onto the kindle app on my ipad and read them from there

holding an actual paperback copy of a book
the smell of the paper
the act of turning the pages
it was kind of nostalgic

which is slightly shameful and makes me want to throw all of my techno gadgets out the window .. kind of {ha!}

anyway .. i am off to read .. i will let you know what i think

happy wednesday!!

meatballs on monday

homemade meatballs are one of my favorite go to 'i don't really have anything to make for dinner' things to make. they are quick and simple and oh so yummy!!

here is what I do ..

combine one whole egg .. one fourth of a cup each of breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese .. and a big pinch each of salt pepper and italian seasoning in a bowl {i also add a little pinch of crushed red pepper flakes sometimes if i am feeling spicy}

add one cup each of diced onion and bell pepper

then add one pound of whatever ground meat suits your fancy

i used ground bison this time but i often use turkey or beef too

mix it all up and roll them up into whatever sized ball you want and place them either in a baking dish sprayed with cooking spray or your crook pot sprayed with cooking spray

then cover them with whatever pasta sauce you like {i thin mine out a little with vegetable stock but you don't have to do that}

if you are cooking them in the oven .. cover the dish with foil and bake at 200° for six to eight hours
if you are cooking in the crock pot turn it on low and cook for six to eight hours

then you can do whatever you want with them
serve them over pasta
put them on a hoagie roll with some fresh mozzarella and or provolone for a meatball sub
eat them on their own

it doesn't really matter .. they are great no matter how you eat them :)

happy monday!!