Good morning and Happy Monday! I hope your weekend was a good one. We spent the past few days enjoying a mix of relaxation and fun with friends!
On Friday evening, Ryan, Chase and I headed over to our friends Lauren and Tony’s house for a cookout! I met Lauren through Burn Boot Camp when we realized our little ones were the same age (Lauren’s daughter Claire was born four days before Chase at the same hospital!) and it’s been so much fun watching our babies grow up together. Chase and Claire had a great time with their fellow baby buddies, Lilly and Ella, and we all enjoyed watching them play in Lauren and Tony’s play room.
(Pic from my Instagram – Chase is officially in the leg-grabbing stage!)
While the babies played, we enjoyed a delicious dinner of steak and chicken kebabs on the grill with plenty of chips and dip, honey roasted sweet potatoes, veggies and more. I brought two variations of Kristin’s no bake ice box cake for dessert. (I need to share my chocolate rendition with you guys soon because it was so easy and a big hit!)
I’m not going to lie, it’s a pretty great thing to have friends who are in the same boat and plan cook outs that begin around 4:30 p.m. to maximize baby playtime to the fullest. Since we’re all on similar schedules, our early bird BBQ worked perfectly and we were able to relax a bit as the kids played for several hours before we headed home to put Chase to bed a little after 8 p.m.
Saturday
Saturday morning began the sweaty way with a Burn Boot Camp class! The workout of the day incorporated a lot of cardio which is my favorite on a Saturday for some reason. Typically I love strength training most, but there’s something about kicking off the weekend with a sweaty cardio workout that I adore. It’s kind of like the way I would feel about tackling a long run on Saturday mornings when I was training for half marathons. Sweaty Saturdays are the best!
By the time I made it home, Chase was ready for hi s morning nap, so I nursed him and put him in his crib before grabbing a quick shower and hanging out with Ryan for a bit.
I had lunch plans with girlfriends and fortunately Chase’s nap timing worked well, so I was able to feed him again right before I left. While Ryan and Chase enjoyed some guy time, I drove to Luna’s Living Kitchen in Charlotte’s South End neighborhood and met up with a handful of friends, all of whom I met through Pure Barre when Ryan and I first moved to the Charlotte area.
I absolutely love my time with Chase, but it sure was nice to not feel like I was multitasking my way through lunch and I had a blast catching up with friends over Luna’s amazing organic plant-based food. (FYI for any Raleigh readers out there, apparently Luna’s is opening another Living Kitchen location on Fayetteville Street soon! You must check it out if you love quality vegetarian fare.)
I ordered the avocado and basil collard greens wrap with lemon parsley hummus and cashew sour cream and it was fantastic. I had no problem inhaling every bite and would gladly eat food from Luna’s every single day if I could!
After our long lunch (hooray for quality lunches that last two and a half hours!), I realized I was close to Sunflour and popped in to grab a couple of sweet treats for me and Ryan after I said goodbye to my girlfriends.
I inhaled my oatmeal chocolate chip cookie on the car ride home and Ryan seemed to love every bite of the key lime cupcake I brought back for him.
Chase woke up from his afternoon nap within 20 minutes of my arrival home, so we spent the next couple of hours hanging out as a family and swinging on the swing in our backyard.
If Sadie looks totally spooked in the above picture, it’s because a thunderstorm was rolling in. It poured for a couple of hours on Saturday night which gave the evening a cozy feel. I love summer rain on nights when we have no plans on the agenda! (And yes, Chase is wearing the same outfit from Friday night. I did laundry on Saturday morning so it went right back on him because it was the first thing out of the dryer.)
Chase ended up tiring out pretty early on Saturday night (I think this was due to a later-than-usual bed time on Friday night), so he was asleep in his crib by 7 p.m. which meant our Saturday evening was a rather relaxing one! At my friend Carrie’s urging, Ryan and I started watching Bloodline on Netflix and made it through the first two episodes.
It definitely drew me in right away, though I felt a little stressed out watching it! I kept feeling like everyone was going to murder someone any second. Clearly I am a paranoid drama show watcher…
Sunday
Sunday began with coffee, meal planning and eggs and waffles for breakfast before Ryan, Chase, Sadie and I headed out on a short two-mile walk around the neighborhood.
By the time we made it home, Chase was rubbing his eyes and in need of a nap, so while he napped and Ryan worked in the yard, I started typing up this blog post and tackled a few work-related tasks on the computer.
Before I knew it, Chase was up again and the two of us had plans with some of my girlfriends and their little ones for a pool play date!
Chase got together with his friends Lilly, Mack, Braydon and Oliver for a picnic with lots of puffs and plenty of poolside playtime.
I love this group of babies and their mamas so much!
Every time we all get together, I leave our play dates feeling so grateful that I have such a kind and supportive group of women in my life who are going through similar challenges and joys and only want the best for their beautiful babies. Plus, it’s so much fun to watch our little ones change and grow up together!
By the time we made it back home, Chase somehow got a burst of energy, so Ryan and I laughed and played with him as he crawled all around our bedroom exploring and touching everything. I wasn’t sure how the evening would unfold since he didn’t go down for his afternoon nap until close to 4:30 p.m., but thankfully he slept for about an hour before we took a family trip to the grocery store.
The rest of our Sunday night included bath time before bed for Chase and another episode of Bloodline for me and Ryan once he was asleep in his crib.
Our weekend passed by in a flash, but it was a good one. I hope you guys have a wonderful week and a great Monday!
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I feel like I’m the same way with dramas. I really like watching shows that I can pause because sometimes I need to take a break from the intensity. Whenever I watch something that’s really intense or violent, I end up getting murdered in my dreams. Favorite drama shows: Sherlock, Grey’s Anatomy, Season 1 of Revenge.
I totally had to stop watching The Walking Dead because I kept having seriously vivid zombie dreams!
What a fun, and yummy! weekend!
Ohhhhh I thought Living Kitchen sounded familiar! I love the Raleigh food scene but am definitely ready for some new places. Thanks for the tip!
Hope you love it! I’ve loved everything I’ve ordered from there so far!
I love Luna’s! I travel down to Charlotte for work every year and I always try to stop in there.
So fun!!! Your wrap looks amazing. And I’m looking at it through pregnant eyes. Now craving a wrap lol.
That wrap looks insanely good. I might have to try to recreate it! Looks like you had a great weekend..hope you have a great week!
My husband and I just finished watching season 2 of Bloodline — I feel like I’m hiding behind my pillows most of the time expecting something horrible to happen, but the storyline is SO addicting!! It’s a good one :).
Exactly!! It’s intense but I’m already ALL in!
Those collard greens wraps look SO GOOD! I have tried so many times to make things like that at home but they never look quite the same (usually they don’t look very edible). Glad you had a great weekend!
https://thedogtribe.com/2016/07/18/weekend-in-philly/
I love how involved you are within your community! I’m from New Orleans and just recently moved to the D.C. area and I have ZERO idea how to make friends here! I wish I could uproot my friends from back home and have them here with me. Your friends from Pure Barre and Bootcamp… how did you become friends?! Did you just started talking to them and exchange numbers? I’d love some insight on how to become better integrated within a new community!
https://poweredbysass.com/2016/07/18/dating-someone-in-the-military-what-we-dont-always-tell-you/
Yes! I second this! I’d love to try to meet people outside out work or my husband’s friend’s wives. We don’t have kids yet, which seems to be a common divisor at times (the haves & the have nots.) I’d love some insight also!
You guys had quite the busy weekend! We had a combination of busy and relaxing – Saturday was crazy busy with a BBQ for my husband and dad’s birthdays (they both are July 15th!) and then yesterday because we were so exhausted and I got hit with a summer cold at the end of last week, we did nothing all day. Haha!
Looks and sounds like an amazing weekend!
I definitely get you at how awesome it is to have friends at a similar life stage as you. While it’s wonderful to be able to connect with old friends, making friends that have babies, are fellow bloggers (I call them my co-workers), or are in similar couple stages is always great to be able to talk things through and, at least for me, to make sure that I’m not going crazy!
Also, Saturday morning workouts are the best! Our gym opens at 9am on Saturday and I’m regularly waiting by the door to crush a good cardio. It just has a way of making sure that the weekend starts off with a bang! Love it!
XO, Jessica
http://www.semisweettooth.com
So many babies and fun activities! I always feel strange transitioning from a fellow gym attendee to try and make friends. What are your tips?
We are now on season 2 of Bloodline and it totally stressed me out every time we watch it! It’s such a good show though!
My husband got me to watch the new Netflix series “stranger things” with him over the weekend and it was so freaky. I seriously went to bed scared of the dark! Too stressful! We’re halfway through it though so I have to finish it to see how it ends.
Puffs are SUCH a lifesaver!!! I’m thinking I need to start transitioning to Cheerios to save some money, ha!
It’s wonderful to have a group of people at the same life stage as you, whose kids are going to grow up right alongside Chase!
Keep watching Bloodline!!! That show is the epitome of a “slow burn” – my boyfriend & I watched Seasons 1 & 2 and while we obviously got hooked in the beginning, each season REALLY starts to ramp up around the episode 6/7 mark. It will be difficult to think about anything other than the show at that point! and you will be wishing for season 3 by the time the credits roll on the last episode. Nail biter for sure! =)
I also recommend The Fall on Netflix! Super suspenseful!
I think kids wearing their clothes more than once – even UNwashed, is fine (minus maybe a throw-up incident). Don’t stress about what we think, only people without empathy or common sense would be critical over that. You’re an awesome mama! Small related story: when I was just old enough to start dressing myself, but still very VERY young, I started to get this itch to change clothes often, and eventually my mom put her foot down, because I was swapping out shirts multiple times per day and she said, “enough! I’m not doing that much laundry! You will wear all your clothes more than once. I’m not washing anything until it’s dirty.”
Loving your bbq – and side note, even though my friends don’t have young kids, we still all have our bbqs in the afternoon. There’s something about afternoons that screams bbq, more than evening! Those kebabs sound very interesting. I’m also starting to get intrigued by the idea of chimchurri on a steak, too.
Thanks for the fun update, as always. 🙂
I cringed when I read you went grocery shopping on a Sunday afternoon! I’m jealous. 🙂 Stores around here (LA) get so crowded on Sunday afternoons and Monday evenings that I truly do everything in my power to avoid them altogether those days. I hope your experience was a mellow one!
P.S. Chase is TOO cute! Love that blonde hair!
So much fun that you have friends and couples in the same boat. It helps so much! Our weekend looked similar- TV time for us after bedtime and lots of relaxation! 🙂
Oh my gosh we were just by Luna’s today. We are visiting family in Rock Hill, SC and took the train to go to the 7th St Market, which was closed. I thought Luna’ s menu sounded good but not everyone thought so. We ended up . At Chipole across the street! The South End neighborhood is great.
Tomorrow, Surf City for the rest of the week!
The picture of Ryan and Chase on the swing where Chase is smiling and what looks like a wave = melt your heart! He’s the absolute most adorable 🙂
The food at Luna’s Living Kitchen looks so delicious. I can see why you could eat there everyday!
Oh man wait until you finish the first season of bloodline and move on to the second..we finished it in 3 days!!! IT’s soooo stressful but yet hooks you so quickly!
Love watching Chase play with his buddies, I’ve been really lucky to meet some great moms in our neighborhood and from the gym as well, it’s soo nice when you feel like you can connect with friends but they understand you might have to rush out for a nap, a meltdown or hunger at any given moment!
Our little guy just turned one yesterday and I just can’t believe how quickly it’s gone !
I haven’t been to your blog in awhile, and it’s obvious because baby is SO SO SO bigggg!
I love busy weekends with close friends and I really love thunderstorms! It’s the best time to cozy up on the couch and watch a good show 🙂
Sounds like a great weekend–Luna’s Living Kitchen sounds amazing! I hope I can check that place out if I’m ever in that area!
Oh my god – Blooodline is amazing! Once I discovered it… I binged watched it.. You have been warned 😛
We can’t stop!! Now 4 episodes in…
Not really sure how to write this without sounding like a creepy stalker! I’ve followed your blog for years now (at least 3), but never really commented/interacted. A couple of months ago after being so completely inspired by you i started my own blog and I just wanted to say thank you. I love blogging so much and it’s given me a really creative outlet to publish my recipes and travel stories. I know you don’t know who I am but i just thought you should know that you inspired someone to make a huge change in their life and find a real passion for something.
Thanks so much Julie
PS I love your daily entries and look forward to getting them in my inbox. Your family is the cutest and I love the way you share so much of your life with your readers!!
Sadie looks like she is pouting 🙂
Bloodline is SO good! It starts out a little slow, but once you get half way through the first season you won’t want to stop watching!! I can’t wait for season 3 to come out!
Luna’s looks so delicious! I would love to visit if I ever come to North Carolina!
Oh I am SO excited to hear about Luna’s opening in Raleigh! I’ve been dying to try it, but have been too busy on my work trips to Charlotte lately. That wrap looks delish!