Random

After I posted that video the other day, a well meaning friend suggested I promote the girls beyond the first letter of the alphabet because even though I am a total Houdini at manipulating them into what are probably considered glorified training bras, there will apparently be a day in my near future when a humiliating wardrobe malfunction is imminent.

Lest it involve breast milk.

As a result I spent the better part of this afternoon trading in my dignity for boulder holders, postpartum workout girdles, nursing pads, and two different styles of maternity belts. I am now fully equipped to be strapped, tucked, wrapped, folded, lifted, pressed and not leaking. Andrew plans to check every twenty minutes or so to make sure I'm still breathing.

Aside from that, we're packing and working our way through a few odd projects that need to be taken care of before our tenants move into The Historic House By The Water.

Like this.





I'd love to meet the person whose idea it was to put a wood frame window under a showerhead without any type of moisture barrier. at. all. The brilliance. We closed that puppy up, which made me simultaneously sad (goodbye natural light) and relieved (no more mildew concerns). Luckily we had enough original brick salvaged from our kitchen renovation to be able to give to the mason for the facade, so at least we were able to match the exterior fairly closely.

In other news, do any of you watch Parenthood?




I keep going back to Sydney's little red retro play kitchen and I finally figured out where in the heck it came from. Maybe you've seen this set before, but I'm sort of consumed with this adorable white version. If it included a miniature Top Chef contestant it would be GAME ON.

Also, before I forget, guess who has finally leapt into the world of Pinterest?





You can find me here.

One more little piece of business before I go. A few of you have asked about specific pieces in the shop posts. I should probably be more clear, since the color of my links went ape shiz during the blog redesign, but if you click on the descriptions underneath of the photos it will send you directly to the listings.

That's it for now!

Meet The Parents

Recently

During the first trimester I pined for a perfectly obvious baby bump, the kind that makes strangers understand that ralphing in the post office parking lot at eleven o'clock in the morning has nothing to do with alcoholism. Probably.

Through the miracle of stretchy pants that moment has finally arrived.

The baby mountain makes the entire parenting thing seem progressively more imminent, and Andrew has taken to having fatherly discussions with our child, things like, "Stop making your mother puke, you little punk," which he whispers directly into my belly button.

Too bad we are dealing with an anarchist.



In related news, apparently I have a thing for teeny tiny shoes. And boots. And sandals. And socks. I am three pairs away from a fetish.

Let's talk about something else.



Robert Novogratz bought a set of our Meakin plates for his new HGTV series, Home By Novogratz. Remember him from 9 By Design? With the seventy six offspring? Can you imagine all of the tiny shoes in that household?

I love their family.

Let's see, what else happened this week?



Oh. I made apple pizza for the first time, and I'm proud to report that it was devoured in less than three and a half seconds. It was sooo good.

Almost as good as tiny shoes. On teeny tiny Novogratz's.

Questions + Comments, Part 2

More questions. More comments. More answers. Sort of.
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Pregnancy gets better. It does.

Thank you for this. I hope you're right.

This is nothing compared to after you give birth. You'll completely lose your privacy and you'll never sleep again. Also, you'll get stretch marks and you will probably die.

Save the stretch marks, you just described architecture school.

What are you doing with The Historical House By The Water?

We rented it out to a couple from Texas. We were a little concerned about finding tenants this close to the holidays, but we threw an ad on the internet and a sign in the ground and were pleasantly shocked at the response. Luckily, after turning down two other applications, we found the right fit after only eight days.

Is there a waiting list I can be put on for when it becomes available next?

Sure.

Did you try ginger for the nausea?

The nausea comes and goes, but it doesn't seem to correlate with any foods or smells EXCEPT for ginger. Because I'm lucky like that.

What kind of workouts have you been doing since you got pregnant?

I do most of the same things I did before, just a bit slower. Running, walking, kicking around the soccer ball, P90x, lifting, yada yada yada. They seem to help. The only things I cut out completely after the first couple of months were jump rope and traditional sit ups.

I love reading about your pregnancy. Will you write about it more?

I feel like I'm boring you when I do. I also feel like I'm somehow being inconsiderate or disrespectful to those who are having difficulties conceiving or creating a larger family.

Please stop writing so much about your pregnancy. Don't turn this into a mommy blog.

That would be on par with the European financial crisis and global warming, wouldn't it?

Thank you for being so honest about your pregnancy.

Carrying this beast has been such a strange experience for me. There are so many little moments, precious ones, but they get squelched between bouts of feeling like my stomach is under a three thousand pound rolling pin.

If I add regular sugar in lieu of the Splenda mix, will your recipes turn out the same?

I'm actually not a fan of Splenda (or sucralose, in general) in any form, but because I usually cut the sugar way down in most of what I make, I add a bit of the Splenda mix to keep the texture right. My body doesn't seem to do well with sugar for whatever reason. Anyway, yes, any of my recipes will work with all regular sugar (even a lot more regular sugar).

Are you doing cloth or disposables?

Cloth. I'm thinking Bum Genius Adjustables. I'm very open to any tips or suggestions.

Is the first project in the new house going to be the nursery?

There will be a lot of smaller projects and planning for the first year. The first large project will most likely be the Master Bathroom.

You look huge.

I am huge.

I thought you weren't ready to have children?

Even though we conceived around three and a half seconds after we started trying, do not mistake this pregnancy as anything other than one of the most well considered decisions of my life. Still, I'm under no illusions that I'm prepared.

One of the reasons I've always been so hesitant about parenting is because I think that, on some level, conscious reproducing takes a certain amount of arrogance, at least a teensy bit of believing that you are brilliant enough to form an entirely capable member of the next generation.

And I lose my car keys at least six times a week.



Questions + Comments, Part 1

I Mean It's Not Like Making A Hot Dog

Is what Andrew said to me when I asked him why it's taking so long to bake this baby, and I was this close to yelling, "WELL WE BOTH KNOW WHOSE HOT DOG IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS."

Pregnancy brings out the rational side of me.

It's also turned me into an unbelievably groggy, ridiculously large and disproportionate, shell of my former self. I'm awkward and pukey and none of my clothes fit. I'm like a hungover Sumo wrestler with the flu and a closet full of size zero skinny jeans. The other day I squeezed myself between two boxes while trying to get out of the garage and I couldn't unwedge myself. I fall asleep doing everything from talking to typing to eating to television watching to taking a shower. I fall asleep five minutes after I wake up and then I fall asleep fifteen minutes after I wake up from that. I probably fall asleep while I'm sleeping.

I'm not even certain I'm awake right now.

The only upside to that last part is that sleeping is one of the rare activities that keeps me from vomiting, the other two being working out and eating, which added together pretty much sums up how I've spent my recent days.

So while I probably should be packing, I've been going for runs and walks and making soup and braised ribs and taking afternoon naps.

And evening naps.

And morning naps.

Anyway, all of that to explain why I'm posting another recipe.



Turkey Meatball Escarole Soup

serves 2

1 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 sliced carrot
1/8 cup diced red onion
1 chopped garlic clove
salt
1/2 teaspoon tomato paste
1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 head chopped escarole
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup water
1/2 cup whole wheat elbow pasta
9 precooked frozen turkey meatballs
1/4 cup canned navy beans
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Warm the olive oil in a large pot over medium low heat. Stir in carrots, onion, garlic, and a pinch of salt. Saute four minutes. Add the tomato paste and red pepper. Stir one minute. Mix in escarole.

Add chicken stock and water to the pot and bring to a boil. Add pasta and simmer for five minutes. Add the meatballs and beans and continue simmering another eight minutes or until meatballs are heated through. Mix in lemon juice, black pepper, and more salt, to taste. Ladle into bowls and top with Parmesan.

Pumpkin Bread Plus Bananas Minus Pumpkin

This is what you get when you have four overly ripe bananas and a hankering for pumpkin bread.

Goodness.

Are you wondering what happened to the other ten or so slices?

So is Andrew.


Banana Bread

1 1/2 cups white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup Splenda Sugar Blend
1/4 cup Smart Balance 50/50 Butter Blend, softened
2 large eggs
3 or 4 mashed ripe bananas
1/3 cup plain lowfat yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.

Place sugar and butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed for a minute or two. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the banana, yogurt, and vanilla. Beat until blended. Add the flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until moist. Pour batter into a loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 65 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack. Remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Questions + Comments, Part 1

I'm learning that everyone has an opinion on baby baking. And house buying. And my banana bread.

You may or may not have noticed that I've been ignoring questions and comments and emails with links about the dangers of thumb sucking and how it can lead to premature hair loss. Not because I'm not interested in that time that your great great great second half cousin bought a historic home that was exactly like the one that we're buying except that it came with two rabid squirrels and a bad roof which fell down around his ankles thirty two seconds after he moved in which, don't worry, will totally not happen to us probably, but by the way, did I hire a good inspector?

Because you were just wondering.

No, mostly I've been unresponsive because, well... truthfully... I'm exhausted... worn out, well toasted, whatever you want to call it, and it's making me a bit overly sensitive. (The fifteen weeks of throwing up may have something to do with it too, but who wants to hear about that?)

Anyway, here are some of the things that you're saying.

And (finally) what I think.
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Are you going to breastfeed?

I'm going to try. I'm pretty committed, but we'll see.

You're having a girl, aren't you?

So says you and every single other person in the world. But the holy ultrasound has yet to give it's magic reading.

Do you think it'll have red hair?

Nothing would shock me at this point.

Have you bought any maternity clothes yet?

Still squeezing into my size 25 jeans. Which do not belong on a belly this size. I fully expect to split a seam any day now. Or crack a rib.

The new house has a ton of wallpaper. Have fun with that.

Actually the staging company removed most of what you see in the photos. Otherwise, we'd just get pregnant again. Cheap labor force.

I kind of liked the wallpaper.

Strangely, me too. Not in it's current context, but in a Laura-Ashley-early-eighties meets Italian-farmhouse sort of way.

Are you gutting that kitchen?

Yes. Along with much of the house.

Are you feeling any less nauseous yet?

No.

I'm coming through Florida, can we visit?

Reread the last question. As long as your gag reflexes are in check, I'd be down for a cup of tea.

That house is big. You're getting ready to have sixteen kids, aren't you?

Probably not. We just love the house.

You're getting ready to adopt more dogs then?

The house that backs up to the backyard is asking four times the price. And the house two doors down just sold for twice what we paid. Also, we really just love the house.

Have you had any cravings?

I've had all kinds of bizarre cravings. You really don't want to hear about them. Trust me.

Don't you love being pregnant?

Honestly, no. I'm not fond of the way that I look, and I do not like the way that I feel. For some nonsensical reason, in the past, I'd always thought that if I ever got pregnant I'd take it in stride, eat it up, sunbathe in my state of impending motherhood. But, no, it's a lot of burping and ralphing. Basically, it's gross.

Is there anything that you actually do like about being pregnant so far?

I seem to have that whole glow thing going on. And the ultrasounds melt me.

Have you named the new house yet?

The Lake House.

I really like those back stairs.

Me too.

That sun room is gorgeous.

It really is a great space. We're turning it into a dining room. The view is amazing.

Be careful with that bump. Stop climbing ladders and sniffing paint.

You're right. No, really. I am trying to be careful, but I need to be reminded. Or smacked.

Where We're Headed

Andrew asked, "The question is, do you love it?"

I said, "Yes, but..."

"But do you love it?"

Of course I love it. It's just. Why would I do that to myself right now?









He said, "Why not?"

So we did.