Sweet New Addition

I would like to introduce the newest sweet treat in our house!

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Meet baby Maeve, born September 3rd weighing in at just 6 pounds 10 ounces!  She is amazing, exhausting, adorable, confusing, lovable…. We are absolutely in love.

She is just over 3 weeks now and we are finally starting to settle into a bit of a routine (well, as routine as it gets with a newborn!). Now that there is a new “normal” in my life, I expect to not only be doing lots more baking/cooking, but hopefully I can pull the camera away from Maeve for a minute and take some food photos. I also have 3 recipes in draft form that I will be posting in the next week. So keep your eye out!

Weekend Dish – 8/25

Weekend Dish is a place for me to get a little more personal! If you just come to Sunny Side Up for the food, feel free to skip this post but be sure to check back this week for new food photos and recipes!

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve done one of these! I just can’t believe how quickly August has disappeared. Not that I want to rush things, but there are a lot of exciting things right around the corner – my due date (!!), fall, football season, cool crisp air and warm delicious food. I’m almost too excited for my own good! On that note, let’s move along to the Weekend Dish!

Blog Recap –

IMG_9538 Tuxedo Layered Cheesecake – I always look forward to making my birthday cake and this year was no exception. I think this rich, chocolatey, cake was the perfect way to ring in my 30s.

IMG_9470 Brownie Fudge Ripple Ice Cream – This ice cream was a great way to use up some left over brownies that I had. The fudge ripple just took it to the next level, really creating a an amazing ice cream.

IMG_9622  Citrus and Soy Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Pickled Cucumbers – This dish was inspired by my birthday dinner at a local restaurant. The soy and citrus create a sweet and salty sauce that is perfectly complimented by the pickled cucumbers. Huge hit at our house!

IMG_9449 Mexican Quinoa Bowls – A quick and easy, healthy, and delicious meal that is a regular in our dinner rotation. You don’t want to miss out on this!

Pregnancy Update –

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Check that belly out!! I’m 38 weeks pregnant and I can’t believe how much I’ve grown! I don’t really realize it until I look at pictures. Actually, the funny thing is that when I took the picture on the left I really, really felt like I had “popped” and looked sooooo pregnant. I did have a bit of bump going on, but nothing compared the basketball I’m smuggling now!

I think a lot of people at this point are getting tired of being pregnant. I can understand why, and I am definitely getting a bit more uncomfortable, but I can’t say that I’m tired of being pregnant. I keep thinking that once she’s out, she’s out. She won’t ever be back in. All of these secret little kicks, rolls, and hiccups of hers that only I can feel are feeling even more special now that I’m nearing the end. I’m selfishly enjoying my alone time with her. 🙂 Buuuuut, on the other hand, I am so crazy excited to meet her that I wish she could come out and play NOW! I guess I just have to accept that I can’t keep her in forever, and I can’t really evict her earlier. She’ll get here when she gets here. 🙂

My life through Instagram –

My obligatory cat picture. I looked over and both cats looked like they were just passed out drunk. Guess the kitty food was good. 😉

I was naively optimistic and thought I could put my rings back on one day. Not a great idea. Cold water and oil didn’t work for getting them off!

A soaked, frozen paper towel and Windex DID do the trick. I guess Windex really is magic!

Tiff is getting pretty comfortable in the baby’s nursery. I’m pretty sure she thinks it’s a special room designed just for her.

Last week I went on a freezing extravaganza! I prepared lots of meals and stocked my freezer. Hopefully this will make for some less stressful evenings once baby gets here.  *Also, I’m considering writing up a post on freezer meals. If you would be interested in a post like that let me know!

I’m a walking fool these days!

Well folks, that’s all I’ve got for today! Thank you so much for stopping by and reading. Make sure to come back later this week for fresh new posts!

 

Weekend Dish – 8/4

Weekend Dish is a place for me to get a little more personal! If you just come to Sunny Side Up for the food, feel free to skip this post but be sure to check back this week for new food photos and recipes!

Holy cow! I just wrote “8/4” in the title of this post. 8. As in the 8th month of the year. As in August. Wow, time is flying. Speaking of time flying, this is going to be a short and sweet Weekend Dish so I can get to writing a recipe post I’m pretty excited about!

Blog Recap –

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Peanut butter. Chocolate. Buttery, cinnamony, crumb topping. Need I say more? Peanut Butter Coffeecake with Chocolate Chip Struesel

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As I mentioned at the beginning of the post, it’s August. Baby girl is coming in September. Which means next month. Actually, her due date is September 4th, which just so happens to be exactly one month from today. Eeeekk! I have some of the typical new mom fears, but overall I’m just really excited. I can’t wait to meet her and bring her home. Even more so now that we spent the weekend putting together her nursery. All that is left is setting up the glider/ottoman, which will be arriving this week!

My week through Instagram –

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The other day I couldn’t find Tiffany anywhere. Finally I checked behind the shower curtain and, yep, sure enough there she was. What is it with cats and hanging out in the tub? Weirdos.

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I’ve been slowly washing and prepping all of the cute baby clothes. Teeny tiny dresses and seriously important Bengals onesies. Cutest load of laundry ever.

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I have not made nearly enough ice cream this summer (probably because my standing mixer/ice cream maker spent most of the summer in a storage box). I took steps to correct that problem earlier this week. Results were amazing and coming to you soon!

That’s a wrap! Thank you so much for stopping by and reading. Look for a really exciting birthday recipe this week!

Weekend Dish – 7/28

Weekend Dish is a place for me to get a little more personal! If you just come to Sunny Side Up for the food, feel free to skip this post but be sure to check back this week for new food photos and recipes!

This week really seemed to fly by! I’ve got just a few more weeks left of my summer semester so I’ve been trying to wrap up a lot of that work. I’m not typically a “work ahead” kind of student (more like a “better finish that assignment that’s due in an hour” kind of student), I am just so over this class that I actually have motivation to just get it over with! Between that and starting to really prep for the baby, time flies. I had intended to get two new recipes up this week, but I was fighting with myself over what photos to use for the second recipe and then the week was over. So that recipe will go up tomorrow (and you won’t want to miss it!!). Now for a little weekly recap –

Blog Recap –

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Creamy Spinach Stuffed Pork Chops – A dream child straight from my pregnancy craving dreams. The filling was so scrumptious that I may or may not have just pulled it out of the left over pork and eaten it on its own with leftover rice.

Pregnancy Update –

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The expanding belly!
15 – 22 – 33 weeks

Holy COW! I am almost 35 weeks pregnant! Do you know that today I bought a carton of heavy cream that doesn’t expire until AFTER my due date. Yeah. Unbelievable. I still remember looking down at my belly and wondering when I would start to show and when we would know what we were having and when we would feel baby kick. Now I have a second bedroom with a CRIB set up. And I spent part of my week washing and prepping cloth diapers. And I’m contemplating which of her adorable outfits I should as her “coming home from the hospital” outfit. All of that because…. I’m going to be a mom!! EEK!

In other news, I have chosen my new Chicago OB. I was pretty nervous about this, as I didn’t know as many people to give me recommendations. But the doctor seems nice and seems to be on the same page with me. This week I’m going to bring a copy of my birth plan (yeah, I’m one of those people) for him to look over. I tried to keep it short and sweet and totally respectful of medical team’s talents/knowledge. Hopefully he thinks it’s as awesome as I do. 🙂

My week through Instagram –

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Are you at all familiar with this? Growing up my sister and I had the book and we also listened to the record and cassette tape. I think it’s originally from a made for TV special in the 70’s. It’s pretty awesome stuff. Takes me straight back to childhood. My wonderful mother sent this as a gift for baby girl. I can’t wait to play it for her! In case you’re wondering what it’s all about, just check this out.

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Friday night I made some of the largest (and most delicious!) calzones ever. They were humongous and exactly what we were craving. And it totally hit me that I have yet to post a calzone recipe on the blog. One will be coming soon, because calzones are one of our faves!

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Saturday we decided to check out this famous Chicago restaurant to see what the fuss was all about. Walking in and ordering we were totally overwhelmed, but once our order was ready we fell in love. YUM!

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Obligatory weekly cat pic. Aren’t they the cutest? (This was a rare moment when they actually shared the cat tree, usually they take turns)

That’s a wrap! Thank you so much for stopping by and reading. Stop by tomorrow for a fresh  new recipe!