She's here!

Our beautiful daughter, Elliot Mae , made her appearance Thurs, Oct 20 at 10:43 PM. 7 pounds, 6 ounces, 20 inches. I'm still amazed by how beautiful she is, how full my heart is, and how proud I am to be her mother. I am so excited for this new journey, and I am beyond lucky to be on it.  

Baby Girl's Nursery

Here it is! The nursery is finally done!!

I really didn't have much of a theme going into the nursery. We played around with woodland creatures but didn't want anything overpowering. We chose to paint the walls a light grey so that it was neutral and could easily be repurposed. Please note this room has been bright pink with brown polka dots and then a bright teal. Hubbs refuses to paint it ever again. Can't say I blame him!

The crib is from Target. The fox mobile was made by our dearest friend Danielle. The puppy dogs in her crib were both given to me my first year of college by my little brother and by my husband. Baby girl already has tubs full of toys to play with and blankets to snuggle. 

My husband wanted a comfy chair, so we went with a brown leather La-Z-Boy. The pillow cover is from H&M, and the rug- which is one of my favorite things in the nursery- is from Marshall's. The pink curtains are from, I believe, JcPenney. They were in my bedroom when I was in high school. So glad I hung onto them! 

The changing table is a dresser from Target. I am super excited about the salt lamp too. And there's a cute red fox that we found at Marshall's next to it. 

I didn't want to hang anything on the wall too close to where baby girl will be, so all the pictures are on one wall. The one on the far left is from Marshall's. It says, "We Made A Wish And You Came True." 

The middle picture is a beagle puppy. It was painted by my aunt when she was in high school. My grandpa hung it in the playhouse he made me when I was 2. Sadly, we sold the playhouse when I moved in middle school, but we took the painting out of it. I'm so glad I saved this as well. 

The picture on the far right is from Target- "You Are My Greatest Adventure." My husband and I bought it when we first decided we wanted to have kids. I've been holding onto it for a few years now and am so glad it finally has a home.

The pink trunk was one my dad made me in high school. If you remember from the baby shower, he repainted it for us to put in baby girl's room. On it are various stuffed animals she's been given as well as books from our vacation travels that we've been buying her (Munich, Prague, Budapest, New York, etc). 

I really love how her room turned out. The pictures don't really capture the colors as well as I had hoped. Super excited to finally have baby girl in here to enjoy it with us! She'll be here before we know it! I'm so excited!!

Taking It Easy

The baby countdown is on. And we made relaxation a priority this weekend. Friday night, we hit the town just in case it was our last date night. We decided to go to Black Sheep since it was the last date night we had before we found out we were having a baby. Same thing- same food- so I didn't take any pictures.

While we waited for our table, we hopped over to MudHouse for some coffee. I tried an italian soda with cream and pumpkin spice. It was different, but really good! I'm glad I tried it! It was like a creamy, pumpkin flavored cream soda.

Saturday morning, I didn't do much of anything other than hold down the couch. 

Saturday night, I wanted some dessert. Surprise, surprise. I've been on a smores kick, so I popped some plain popcorn kernels on the stove top then added marshmellows, crushed graham crackers, and some chocolate chips. I popped it into the microwave for about 15 seconds so it could all gel together. Delicious!!

Sunday morning, I beat Hubbs out of bed and made him some gingerbread pancakes. They were pretty simple, not super healthy- but very delicious!

And that was pretty much the highlights of our weekend other than lots of football, the debate, and putting some finishing touches on the nursery- which will be my next post. Stay tuned!

Staycation Eats

Saturday night, we hit the town for dinner. I have to say, it was nice leaving from our central hotel instead of our house that's a little bit outside of town. Makes me want to move! We started at Barley, Wheat, and Rye. They were closed for a little bit wrapping up a private party, so we walked out to the community garden behind it. There's this neat little pavilion that you can sit in. And the cloud makes it rain on a tin roof. Very relaxing! 

Then, we enjoyed a cheese and meat plate (and drinks for Hubbs) at Barley, Wheat, and Rye. The weather was gorgeous so we watched the sunset from the patio. 

I love this place. It feels like a grandfather's study and is just cozy and relaxing.

We wanted wait for a happy hour to start, so we decided to skip to dessert first. Hello, Pumpkin Pie Concrete from Andy's. Man, I love these!! I think I'm a custard girl more than ice cream.

Then, we headed downtown to Kai for dinner. Ps. Their website lies. There is no happy hour at 9 pm on a Saturday. That was a little frustrating, but hey- I got sushi, so I was still happy. 

We always get the Miami Vice. Sex and the City is a staple too. We tried a new one that came out on fire, that was a fun surprise. Overall, tasty- even if it wasn't at happy hour prices. And. I think this stop at Kai completes our list of favorite restaurants that we wanted to eat at before baby comes. So crazy!! Great last big date night in the books before parenthood. Here we go!! The waiting officially begins.

Staycation at TownePlace Suites

Saturday, the Hubbs and I celebrated our 11th anniversary of being together! I beat him out of bed (a first) and whipped up some Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese Filled French Toast. 

Hubbs also surprised me with these at work on Friday. Gorgeous flowers, and they smell so good!! He's the best.

Later Saturday afternoon, we headed to our hotel. I had a Marriott Free Night that I earned from a promotion, so we decided to use it for this anniversary. We booked TownPlace Suites in Springfield. It had an indoor pool which was high priority, and it was right across from the hospital- just in case I went into labor. Spoiler: I didn't. :) 

This Marriott was also pet friendly, so we brought Snoops along this time.It was his first time riding next to the car seat. He did really well! Can't wait to see how he interacts with his baby sister soon!

I have to say, I've stayed in A LOT of hotels- and this one really surprised me, especially for being in Springfield. We walked into a little kitchenette. It was stocked with cups, plates, utensils and all the the little things you would need.

Then, you enter into the living room. I love how tiny and compact everything is, but it still felt really spacious. 

Snoopy was in heaven. 

We made him a spot by the window so he could watch everything outside. 

Then, we hit the pool! It was a saltwater pool. And you can't see it in this photo, but there is a tv on the left side of the pool- so we turned on some college football and watched while we swam. It felt so good to relieve the pressure on my hips!!

After swimming, we cleaned up and headed out to dinner. Before we left the hotel, we used the free drink coupon they gave us and relaxed with a glass of red wine by the fireplace. Well, hubbs relaxed with the wine. I jealously watched him. 

Stay tuned for more dinner details in the next post! But, I have to say, this little stay was perfect for us. It was right in town, the hotel was great, relaxing, convenient. And I really loved the decor, the friendly staff, and the thoughtfulness. The one downside is that I ordered an e-gift card with my rewards points to cover the pet fee. It's Tuesday, and I still haven't received it. Note- this is not a sponsored post- just sharing my experience with you!