Lemons vs. Lemonade

Well, it has been a rough couple of days.  Matt's car was broken into, the car battery died, Sadie stepped in tar and tracked it through the condo, and I stepped in dog sh*t and tracked it into my car.  As you can imagine, there were many tears and more than a few curse words.  But then I filed a police report, fixed the battery, shampooed and razored the carpet, wiped down Sadie, and dealt with each situation.  These were my "lemon" moments; the not so good times.     

But, man, have I had my share of "lemonade" moments too.  And it's way more fun to focus on these times - when you take a deep breath and think life is good and exciting and unpredictable and is meant to be enjoyed.

Here are my "lemonade" moments.

cookies overflowing with icing. made from scratch cinnamon buns pre-roll.

great beer. colorful jeans.

dog beach (that is not our chair or umbrella, btw). chai latte.

first warm weather ice cream cone. san diego sunset.

I hope that you are enjoying your "lemonade" moments.

Sadister Weekend

This past weekend went to the dogs (or dog, I should say).  It was filled with Sadie events.  And before you continue reading, please know that I am completely aware that I have crossed the line and joined the crazy dog owners.  Actually, I crossed that line a long time ago.  I’m okay with it. 

On Saturday, I had a Woof Walk for military families at one of the local San Diego military bases. I met a couple of friends there and we participated in a 2-mile walk, obstacle course, and other doggy activities.  Sadie loved every minute of it. 

Here are some pics…

ready to rock...

the outfits say it all...

time for a water stop...

not really getting the whole obstacle course thing...

On Sunday, we had a pirate themed doggy birthday party.  It was a hoot!  A couple of friends put together a birthday party for their dogs (one was turning 1 and one was turning 7).  The party featured a dog birthday cake, favors for the pups, dog decorations, and play time outside in the yard.  Sadie loved hanging out with her other dog friends. 

how will they ever top this!

party planners - jason, emilee, brian, kelly

my pup.

let them eat cake!

just chillin' after a long weekend!

Knit Happens

I used to pass a store called Knit Happens every day for work.  It made me laugh every day!  So when my sweet and thoughtful mom suggested that I sign up for a knitting class, of course, I thought knit happens!  All of this is really to say that last week I went to my first knitting class.  And it was awesome…

You see, I have a life bucket list (I say life because I also have a San Diego bucket list, a travel bucket list, a food bucket list, and so on).  But one of the things on my life bucket list is to learn how to knit.  I can easily picture myself knitting scarves, blankets, wraps, sweaters, and the list goes on and on.  (On a side note, I think that I have said before that I can picture myself doing a lot of things – and that is true – hence all of the bucket lists.)  Well, I had to start somewhere and that somewhere is The Grove.

This is an absolutely adorable store in South Park (an area of San Diego).  I like to describe it by saying that when my mom and I own a store one day – it will be like this one.  It is a book/yarn/fabric/gift/everything wonderful store.  I signed up for a beginner knitting class and spent two hours learning the craft.  Surprisingly, I picked it up pretty fast, even though I’m worried about what will happen when I actually try it on my own tonight.  I sat there peacefully knitting, listening to the live saxophone music that was playing at the ice cream shop next door, learning something new, and thinking life certainly is good. 

So here is what I leave you with – pictures of a little knitting paradise.

Pinterest Challenge: Rice Krispies

Like everyone else in this world, I am obsessed with Pinterest.  This past weekend, I decided to try one of their recipes.  You know the ones – the ones that look soooo easy when you are looking at the pictures, but halfway into the recipe you figure out things are not turning out exactly as pictured.  I made chocolate dipped Rice Krispie clovers and hearts for St. Patrick’s Day.  They were incredibly easy to make and very good!  I would definitely recommend trying these at home.

Here is my first foray into a Pinterest challenge (and be warned – I have plenty more challenges in store – so stay tuned). 

*Original and more detailed recipe here.

 

Original PIN

 Here is my attempt...

Melt marshmallows

Add rice krispies

Firmly press into pan

Make clover and heart cut outs

I tried to make rice krispie lollipops for a second.  This is where the recipe went a little wrong on my end.  I didn't press the sticks in far enough.

Heat heavy cream and mix in chocolate chips

Melt chocolate

Dip rice krispie cut outs into chocolate

Final product.  Not too bad!  I sprinkled a little green sugar on them for St. Patrick's Day.

Baby Announcement!

So it's about time I blogged about the biggest event in my life since marrying Nick..

I'm pregnant!  We're having a baby girl who is due August 22nd!  We definitely feel very excited and lucky that everything with my pregnancy has gone smoothly so far.

Being pregnant is the craziest phenomenon and your body does lots of weird things!  I normally have clear skin and haven't since being pregnant, normally I'm a great sleeper and have been tossing, turning and getting up to pee all through the night, I'm normally not a napper and go to bed late, but 5pm naps and 10pm bedtimes became the norm...there are digestive issues I'll spare you from....but all in the good cause of our baby girl!

this book told me that all the weird changes were normal!

Food has been the biggest struggle but is much better now! Weeks 6-10 I was constantly starving but with no appetite and could not stomach meats or seafood. Lots of bagels, grilled cheese, pizza, peanut butter and jelly. One nice, healthy aspect is that I've been craving fruit!! I can't get enough citrus or fruit in general...I am already dreaming of peaches and nectarines this summer. I also really like salads which I don't normally choose to eat, so that's good.

 

There are some major things I miss though...all I can dream about is sub sandwiches, a spicy tuna roll, a cold beer, and a smooth glass of red wine! Those women who say they don't miss drinking during pregnancy are nuts! At first it was fine...my body was definitely due for a detox...but now, well let's just say I'm looking forward to having a Corona, or Sam Adams Boston Lager, or Blue Moon in my hand Labor Day weekend.

                        

Now I'm 17 weeks along and feeling great...restored appetite and energy, just trying to make sure I eat frequently enough and drink an insane amount of water.

4 of these a day!

We've had 4 ultrasounds which has been awesome. It's really great to see the baby so much! She is looking so good, has a nice strong heartbeat, and loves to wiggle around. Our last ultrasound was kinda an unplanned bonus one to do some measurements and we got to find out the sex :) This was something Nick and I had been going back and forth about since way before she was even conceived. I have never really wanted to find out, but Nick has always wanted to know. We discussed it a lot and as the pregnancy became more real to me, I browsed baby sections in stores and I realized I wanted to buy boy or girl clothes.  I also think preparing for the baby will be a little bit easier knowing the gender. So we found out!  It was an amazing  moment and since we can't always share in our excitement with family and friends due to distance, we made a video to reveal the gender.

it's a girl!

So now begins my expanding belly...I'm finally showing a bit!! People I work with were like, "you don't look pregnant at all!", such a bummer, but it's becoming more obvious.

10 weeks

14 weeks

15 1/2 weeks

16 1/2 weeks

Also begins the baby prep...we browsed Pottery Barn Kids and Buy Buy Baby this weekend which made our heads spin! Luckily I have many ladies close to me who are more than willing to share tips which I plan on using! 


It will certainly be adventure which I will share along the way. In a month Baby G and I will take a flight to visit Aunt Casey!! I'm so excited to see her and enjoy some west coast sunshine :)

Lately in Jersey

So yes I'm farrrr behind in blogging!  There's lots of changes going
on in the Gupta household.  Here's a little catch up...

Valentines day (yes, a month ago) was so nice.  We made dinner at
home, nick created a menu for "Cafe Academy Court", I set the table
for a romantic dinner at home and we had fun cooking together.
Sometimes its nice not to deal with a restaurant that will over charge
for a fixe price meal on Valentines Day.  We finished the night
snuggling on our couch watching our favorite shows...perfect.

 table is set!

 menu

Nick is so creative 

yummy bruschetta!

 delicious salad

salmon steaks 

 Academy Court Cafe had great service!

to die for dessert 

strawberry cake I made just for Nick!

Nick had a big adventure traveling with his Dad to Berlin for a long
weekend...leaving me here alone with Cole for 5 days, 2 of which
included a big work event at a NJ ski mountain.  Don't worry...I
survived ;)


Nick's Berlin pics:

We've been in jersey since New Years practically  every weekend except
for traveling for work and for my Nana's funeral...I am OVER winter
and over being here every weekend.  I'm getting very antsy, so we have
had some semi-local fun activities....

Flyers game in Philly followed by dinner and drinks with Allison and
Jared who came up from DC!  We had a great time hanging out with them
that Saturday...we headed back home that night in some major snowfall!

Dinner and a show in NYC...Book of Mormon!  This is the top ticket on
Broadway right now...tickets are $$$ and hard to get. It's a new show
that won a bunch of Tony awards and gets rave reviews.  I kept my eye
on Craig's list for last min tickets....narrowly missed a money card
scam....and scored great tickets for a reasonable price from a nice
older New Jersey couple! Success!! We had a mediocre dinner in the
upper west side (convinced us AGAIN that there are only a few good
restaurants north of 14th st) and saw the show.

We loved it!!  Definitely worthy of the hype. It is completely
INAPPROPRIATE and offensive...lots of cursing and basically makes fun
of the entire Mormon culture and religion as well as poverty and the
AIDS crisis in Africa.  BUT if you can take light that it's all in
good humor and remind yourself that it was written by the same writers
as the colorful adult cartoon, South Park (bom is their first stage
writing) then you will laugh your ass off and enjoy it.  The singing
is phenomenal, the acting superb, and the dancing just wonderful
while also being very funny. I am so glad we saw it early in its
tenure with the original cast...they are so talented.

Projects update....found awesome pillows for the couch at Pier 1, our
wedding photographer is working on our album, and the baskets for the
storage shelving unit has to come to a disappointing end.  I won't be
able to find baskets to fit all the different sized cubbies and still
match, so I got a custom basket quote which is $$$$ and not worth it
for the $150 ikea piece, so it stays this way for now.

I have another blog set for Thursday....stay tuned!