eat your way through brooklyn

My trip to NYC with the husband in mid-September was probably one of my favorite vacations ever. We rented an apartment through Airbnb to save a ton of money on lodging and have a full home base. It was the cutest studio apartment in a great part of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and the girl we rented it from was the sweetest person ever with the best food and shopping recommendations. Shoot me an email if you're interested in staying there and I'll give you the scoop!

We did plenty of the cultural / touristy things one normally does in NYC, so I'll spare you the details on that stuff and go straight to my favorite part of the trip (and life): EATING.

(beautiful picture of beet & apple soup stolen from Brooklyn Soup Club)

Diner is an awesome little restaurant that was right around the corner from our apartment. Their menus change daily, which is fun. The Husband and I went there with our friend (who is a private chef! how cool is that?!) on our first full day in NYC, and all three of us were really impressed by our food. I am also committed to reproducing their beet and apple soup here at home one day soon, it was that tasty. Recipe will be posted here if I ever figure it out.

what i've been up to

It's certainly been a while, hasn't it? I blame the morning sickness that has persisted for the entirety of this pregnancy thus far and exacerbated by looking at a computer screen. Thankfully, I finally admitted I needed some help and got a prescription for Zofran from my doctor. Thank you modern medicine!

In the past couple months, I haven't really accomplished much, besides continuing to grow a human, taking a wonderful trip to NYC, taking a few small trips throughout Southern CA, and preparing for the arrival of said human as much as I can. I also discovered a fun little iPhone app called Studio App, which is like lazy Photoshop for your phone. I'm using it to make fun little illustrations for an upcoming NYC post. Stay tuned.

Until then, here are just a couple images from the past month or so.

(a woefully outdated 17 week belly shot)

(20 week belly photo taken at 4:30 am, hence the cut off faces)

(i'm reading every pregnancy/parenting book i can get my hands on. even the crazy ones.)

(a sweet surprise gift from The Husband - a pretty diaper bag i had been coveting)

(central park)

(one of the many nursery projects that are current in progress. hardware coming soon)

(the studio app is so fun!)

our anniversary trip!

The Husband and I celebrated one wonderful year of marriage with a day trip out to Santa Cruz Island, part of the Channel Islands National Park off the coast of Santa Barbara. Santa Cruz Island has an amazing history. The Channel Islands have never been attached to the mainland, so there are many native species found nowhere else in the world. Santa Cruz had also been used for ranching, sheep raising, grape growing, and a ton of other functions in the 1800 - 1900s, before the island was purchased by the NPS. It is currently being restored to its original / native state.

this weekend

This weekend will not be easy, but it will be important and valuable. Honoring an old friend from high school who was taken too soon. Hoping we can get around this fire to do so (and thank you so much, firefighters, for keeping us safe despite this scary situation). Celebrating a dear friend's new and beautiful home. Soaking up the sunshine and 90+ degree heat of the valley. Checking out the art deco buildings in Beverly Hills. Hoping for another set of zebra-print bath robes in our hotel room (only in LA, right?).

LA, here we come.