When we last left off, it was April 1 and I said I didn’t have any April Fools’ Day pranks planned. This was totally true at the time but then I stumbled upon a free app that let me add a fake ear piercing to a picture of Chase…
Of course I had to try to fool my family with it and added a diamond stud cartilage piercing to Chase before texting the picture to Ryan, my sister and my parents, giggling away and feeling awfully proud of myself. Despite the not-so-great quality of the picture, I thought I might get at least one of them to believe me for a hot second, but no dice. Worst April Fools’ Day prank everrr. But at least I cracked myself up, right?
Saturday
My Saturday began on a sweaty note with a full body burst workout at Burn Boot Camp. I attended the 8 a.m. camp so I would have enough time to nurse Chase, shower and get ready before I had to leave to pick up my friend Melanie to head to a baby shower that was about an hour away.
The mama-to-be we were off to celebrate was our friend Amii!
I met Amii a couple of months after we moved to the Charlotte area and used to see her almost every day when we were both regular attendees at the 6 a.m. Pure Barre class. It was so great to spend the day with some of my favorite Pure Barre buddies (including one of my favorite instructors) as we celebrated Amii’s baby girl!
The shower took place at one of Amii’s best friend’s house and her home was perfect for hosting such a gorgeous party. Though the day started out rainy, the sun came out in time for the shower and we spent most of the time on the beautiful porch enjoying the breeze and lovely 70-degree weather.
I am such a sucker for adorable decorations and loved the onesie banner Amii’s friend made using iron-on numbers she purchased through Etsy.
I’m already bookmarking this idea for any baby showers I may help plan in the future! (Her friend ordered numbers made with Lilly Pulitzer fabric because Amii is a big Lilly fan. So cute!)
This is the first baby shower I’ve attended since I actually became a mother myself and I must admit watching a mom-to-be open presents was a lot more interesting now that I actually understand the purpose behind a lot of the gifts! I tried to stick to Amii’s registry for one of my gifts (Sophie the giraffe teether and book), but couldn’t resist throwing in a cute pair of pink moccasins for her little girl and an Aden + Anais burpy bib set we use regularly when feeding Chase as well.
The food at Amii’s shower was delicious and included homemade tarts, a ginger mango and blueberry salad and a fresh tomato salad, along with a refreshing cucumber spritzer drink that everyone loved. 
The cake was the highlight for me and I had no problem polishing off every last bite of my piece.
(FYI for the locals, the cake came from Savory Plum in Denver and was fantastic!)
We had such a nice time celebrating Amii and Walt and their baby girl at her shower and I’m so grateful for the extra time with some of my favorite Pure Barre friends. Congratulations again, Amii! You will be a wonderful mom!
After I dropped Melanie off at her house, I drove back home and spent the rest of my Saturday with Ryan, Chase and Sadie. We went for a walk around the neighborhood (and ran into the friendliest blog readers – thanks so much for saying hi!) before calling it a night and hanging out at home. We got sushi take-out for dinner and ice cream for dessert and it was glorious.
Sunday
Sunday began with a frittata breakfast and meal planning! All Burn Boot Camp locations are starting a 30-day “Commit 2 Fit” challenge today and while I’m not planning to follow the nutrition guidelines to a tee, I am going to make an effort to clean up my diet a bit in line with the challenge.
My main goals are to try to be mindful of my sugar intake (and reach for healthier options like dates and fruit when my sweet tooth kicks in) and up my vegetable intake. I’ve noticed that vegetables are the first thing to go in my diet when I don’t take the time to plan or prep meals earlier in the week so I’m trying to focus on including them in as many meals and snacks as possible.
On the menu for this week:
- Monday: Rotisserie Chicken with Cauliflower Fried Rice
- Tuesday: One Pot Chicken Cabbage Bowl with Sesame Ginger Broth (I can’t stop making this one!)
- Wednesday: Easy Marinated Pork Chops with Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Braised Red Cabbage
- Thursday: Pizza Egg Bake (Hoping my idea for this dinner turns out well enough to share with you guys!)
- Friday: Burgers with Caramelized Onions and Mushrooms served with Roasted Carrots and Brussels Sprouts
By the time I had my grocery list for the week complete, Chase was up and ready for a playmate. After Chase nursed and ate bananas for breakfast, we spent most of the morning playing, reading and goofing around with our favorite little guy before he was ready for his morning nap. I used the two free hours to begin working on this blog post, tackle a load of laundry and straighten up the family room. And then Chase was up and we were off to Barnes and Nobel to pick up some new books for the family.
We stopped by the story time area to read some books with Chase but it was pretty crowded, so we changed our plans and set up camp by the trains for a little while which entertained him quite a bit.
Ryan and I each picked out some books for ourselves before leaving. Those of you who follow me on Snapchat (—> juliepbfingers) already know this (and saw my embarrassing video!), but I nabbed The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty since I loved a bunch of her previous novels. I’m hoping this will be a good one as well! (If you are looking for a great beach read this summer, I highly recommend Liane Moriarty’s The Husband’s Secret. I read that one last summer and thought it was great.)
I also picked up Defending Jacob by William Landay (please excuse my child eating the book…) which has been on my radar for years thanks to so many of your glowing recommendations. I’m excited to dive into that one soon!
Before heading back home, we swung by Clean Juice for a little pick-me-up and the combination of beets, apples, celery and ginger in my juice was so refreshing!
We spent the rest of our Sunday outside walking around our neighborhood for almost two hours, grocery shopping and relaxing at home. After Chase went to bed, I got to work in the kitchen prepping a bunch of food for the week including egg muffins, chia seed pudding, a ham and sweet potato casserole (I’m crossing my fingers that one tastes okay…) and lots of veggie chopping. I’m looking forward to starting the week on a healthy note!
I hope you guys had a great weekend!
![\"Quantcast\"/](\"//pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-1e3-7hOJ_U8Bg.gif\")
Your snap was so funny! I loved both of the books you selected, hope you do too!
I started Defending Jacob last night and am already really enjoying it!!
I listened to “Defending Jacob” on CD last spring…SOOOO GOOD!
My friend wore the same dress your friend did to her baby shower! SO CUTE!
I LOVED Defending Jacob, definitely a book you won’t be able to put down. I am so glad you shared this Liane Moriarty book, I didn’t have it on list but I thoroughly enjoyed The Husband’s Secret , Big Little Lies and What Alice Forgot!
Lovely shower. The menu looked perfect and so did the cake. So pretty. Your menu for the week looks great. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for sharing your meal plan for the week. I always appreciate it, and it gives me great ideas!
Btw, did y’all ever figure out if that animal on Chase’s mobile was a turtle or a frog?? 😀
Ha!!! We didn’t! We’ve started referring to it as a “trog” or a “furtle” because we have no idea. It’s a mythical creature. 🙂
Lol!
Looks like a fun weekend! I love both your and Amii’s dresses from the shower. So cute. That juice looks delish! YUM!
Sam
Love that onesie idea for the bunting at the shower! Genius! And it would totally help a mama out with those monthly milestone photos! That is awesome that you are meeting so many wonderful people in Charlotte – I am so nervous for the day we move and have to start over “meeting friends”! Eek! Do you feel like it’s been easy for you guys to meet new people after moving somewhere totally new?
Everyone in the Charlotte area has been SO friendly and it’s been a lot easier to meet people here than it was when we moved to Ocala and didn’t know anyone there… just based on the fact that there are a lot more people our age here! Ocala is an older community and a lot of the people who live there were born and raised there, so I think the fact that Charlotte has a lot of transplants from all over has helped a ton since it seems like people are looking to meet new friends and connect with people who may be new to the area. I definitely struggled in Ocala so this has been a breath of fresh air for me in terms of meeting friends easily who share similar interests, etc.
I was glancing at that picture and was surprised that you went with the cartilage piercing. So glad it was a joke, haha!
And a cake from Denver?! I haven’t tried Savory Plum, but we have a celebration coming on the 11th (big news on Semi-Sweet Tooth, hooray!) I’m in.
Thanks for the tips! Glad you had a great weekend. 🙂
The cake is from Denver, NC. 🙂 Also, excited to read about your exciting news!
Awww, maaaan! Okay, next time I’m in Denver, NC, ha! 🙂
Where do you get the pink baby moccasins? Are they freshly picked or are they an etsy shop? Looking for shower gift ideas 🙂
I got them on Zulily! The brand is Sweet Lemon Boutique. I have a pair of Freshly Picked moccasins for Chase (we received them as a baby shower gift) and we LOVE them. They are honestly the only shoes he wears right now! I ordered a pair of Sweet Lemon mocs for him once he grows out of his FP mocs because they are a little cheaper and were half off on Zulily, so my hopes are high!
Looks like a lovely shower! The idea of doing the numbers in Lilly fabric is so personal. I’m a huge Lilly fan so I’d love that.
I’m doing Commit 2 Fit, too! I think a grain/alcohol free (or light) month is a good idea for me since I’ve been a giant pizza and wine monster lately. Are you doing the Instagram part too?
When I don’t meal plan veggies are the first to go for me, too! So interesting. The baby shower decorations were perfect! Love the onesie idea 🙂
I bet Chase will love that prank years from now!
Looks like a great baby shower! That cake is decorated beautifully. Perfect for Spring!
I deleted my Snapchat a while ago but I kind of want to get it back just to keep up with your snaps of Chase!! 😛
Pizza egg bake?! That sounds so interesting (and yummy!) haha. Can’t wait to hear how it turns out!
Just finished Reconstructing Amelia based on what you wrote. Um, it was a lot of pieces involved. The ending was too much, don’t want to give it away but I felt like saying “enough”. I thought it got a bit ridiculous.
It kept me intrigued tho for the whole book.
Any chance you know where Amii got her dress from? I am 6 months pregnant and am looking for a cute dress to wear next month. Thanks!
The dress is Seraphine maternity a UK based brand. Have loved all of their clothes!
I definitely have the same taste in books as you! I read both of those and loved them.
Also, per your rec I just got the Happiness Project and I can’t wait to read it!!
Your friend Amii is so cute and this shower looks like it was a blast! 🙂 I’m glad you had such a fun weekend. 🙂
I made your chicken and cabbage bowl tonight for the first time and it is great! My 4 year old loved it and asked for a straw to drink up the broth!
You both look beautiful and I’d love to know where both dresses are from. And where do you like to shop most?
aww i love all of those shower decorations—im always obsessed with the cute little etsy stuff too and i love when people have those little menu signs!
I wish we had a burn boot camp here! I was on their website the other day and it does show there will be one opening soon in Asheville and Hendersonville! Yay I would love to do the “Commit 2 Fit” challenge. It just helps me to be more mindful of everything I am eating. I roasted brussel sprouts tonight with olive oil, garlic salt and pepper, when they were done I drizzled them with a little balsamic glaze from Trader Joe’s. They were awesome! My husband even ate them and he does not like brussel sprouts.
Haha, maybe that wasn’t the best April Fool’s prank, but considering I couldn’t think of ANY, yours tops mine!
That cake looks SO GOOD, and I’m loving the decorations.
Where is the dress from?! 🙂
Just started The Last Anniversary a few days ago too and it’s soooo good! I was trying to read All The Light We Cannot See but I found it to require too much attention to be a “wind down before bed read.”
Loving the pics from your weekend! I sometimes find myself eating too many sweets as well and always look forward to a healthy start. Dates, pb, and one small piece of dark chocolate is one of my favorite combos lately.
Loved, loved having you there to celebrate Julie! xx
I am a huge Liane Moriarty fan, but did not like The Last Anniversary at all- just thought it was super slow and boring. Big Little Lies and What Alice Forgot are excellent though!!
Your dress is adorable, mind sharing where it is from?
Just wondering where I would find the answers for you Baby Shower Candy Game?