Pickles and ice cream. Weight gain. Difficulty putting on shoes. I’m going to be honest: before I became pregnant, that was about all I knew about these 9…but really 10 months…of carrying a child. Right now, I am 26 weeks pregnant. And this whole beautiful journey has been one huge eye opening experience. Coming from a family of two older brothers, and being one of the first in my friend group to have kids…I had absolutely no clue what I was “in for” going into pregnancy. You see, I think there’s this misconception that just by being a girl, you know all of the secrets and ins and outs of car ..read more

Happy Eclipse Day, everyone! What an exciting day! Cincinnati is right on the edge of the path of totality, so we got a 99.9% eclipse, and wow was it awesome! We watched it from the roof of our condo, and thankfully it was a clear day! It got super eerily dark — like dusk — and chilly, and all the birds flew away. I’m going to be honest, for a minute there, I had a bit of an adrenaline rush being spooked out. But I’m very glad that we got to experience it! I listened to an incredible homily about the eclipse, and it was just amazing. It was about how God made the heavens and the earth — in ..read more

Hey friends, and happy Friday! Oh my gosh you guys – I don’t know if you’ve ever had to “show” your house when you move, but my goodness…I don’t think I’ve ever vacuumed this much in my entire life. We’re talking multiple times a day, whenever we have showing….you’ve gotta have those “vacuum lines”…you know what I mean? The stripes of fluffy, clean, freshly vacuumed lines. It actually really does make a huge difference in making the whole space feel really crisp and clean. ANYWAY — enough about vacuuming…. lol Being pregnant with our daughter has been one of the most exciting times of my li ..read more

Hey friends – I apologize for the lack of posts on Thursday and Monday. I’m not going to go into detail, but I had a bit of a family health situation, but nothing to worry about. Everyone is fine, the baby is fine. And now I’m back to my regularly scheduled programming. Just wanted to say thank you for your patience with my absence. This Easter was probably one of the most meaningful, powerful Easters I have ever experienced. I don’t know if it’s the fact that it’s Steven and my first Easter together as a married couple, or if it’s the fact the I’m pregnant with our daughter right now. Or jus ..read more

Oh friends, do I have a fabulous recipe for you tonight! If you’ve ever been to New York City, you know that chopped salads are a mainstay for fast-casual lunches for the work crowd there. Chop’t, Just Salad, and Sweetgreen are the “Big Three” there, with a made-to-order salad counter that has a line out the door come lunchtime every day, rain or shine. And Sweetgreen is far and away the best of the best. Local, organic ingredients, a creative and seasonally-changing menu. It’s definitely a pretty penny, but you get what you pay for. It was, safe to say, my favorite place to eat for the 12 y ..read more

Hey friends! Oh my gosh it’s 9:05pm, and I haven’t sat down yet all day! Apologies that this post is late…as I mentioned in last week’s post, WE BOUGHT A HOUSE! And so we are running around like crazy getting everything ready to sell our condo downtown! They’re coming on Wednesday to take pictures of the condo for Zillow, and so, of course, everything needs to look perfect. Our realtor told us that we need to do some major thinning out of the closets…because right now they’re full of all the boxes that have been arriving with baby shower gifts. So literally Steven and I are in the car bringin ..read more

I was spending the week with my parents last week, and I’m always so grateful for the conversations that inevitably end up happening. My husband has to travel to New York once a month for work, and so I get to spend some time with my parents, as I hate staying alone But my mom and I were having a heart to heart just about life recently. Ever since I went to inpatient treatment for anorexia back when I was a senior in high school, my life has really never been the same. Not because of the fact that I kicked my eating disorder to the curb and adopted recovery…that is, safe to say, a life-chang ..read more

Oh my gosh, you guys — it has been QUITE A WEEK!! I can’t wait to share with you the details soon, but wowsers — I thought being pregnant was exciting…things are only just getting started! SO – tonight I thought I’d share one of my all time favorite dinners that my husband and I enjoy on weekly basis: TURKEY BURGERS. Now listen: most people, when they think of turkey burgers, think of dry, bland, hockey pucks that are a pathetic excuse for a real beef burger. Well, NOT THESE BURGERS! Introducing the best dang turkey burgers you’ve ever had! And honest to goodness, I actually prefer these to ..read more

Hey friends and happy Thursday! We’re merrily rolling along through this pregnancy — 22 weeks already! Wow! Yesterday, I published a YouTube video: My Favorite Pregnancy Meals – so please check that out and give it a like, if you have a spare moment! OK — we need to talk about something that has been occupying my thoughts for the last 48 hours: there whereabouts of Kate Middleton. Otherwise known as #KateGate – the world is in an acute tailspin asking: Where is Kate Middleton? If this is the first time you’re hearing about this, I will break it down with a cohesive timeline. But basically, sh ..read more

Hello friends! Gosh, I want to start out tonight by thanking you for the outpouring of love, joy and excitement for Steven and I after our gender reveal video post! We are absolutely shocked and overjoyed that we have a little girl on the way! We both thought — with absolute certainty — that this little nugget was a boy, just given the fact that I’ve had: 1. Absolutely zero morning sickness. 2. No nausea 3. No acne 4. No mood swings 5. No food aversions 6. Salty cravings However, those who have seen me in person, and can see that I am “carrying round” all guessed GIRL, and well…they had it ri ..read more