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A National Harbor Wedding and Grandma’s 96th Birthday

Memorial Day weekend has come and gone and much too quickly at that. My sister and brother-in-law came to town, we celebrated my grandma’s 96th birthday and we went on a yacht for a wedding in National Harbor. It isn’t too often that the parents are able to get dressed up and out of the house, but we made the effort to make it work and we were rewarded with a beautiful evening out on the Potomac.

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Saturday

We met at my dad’s house for lunch when Hanna and Matt arrived on Saturday morning. Brady had to leave mid-afternoon for a rehearsal dinner and the rest of us went for a walk in the neighborhood. Henry rode his scooter most of the 2-mile hilly walk and Avery napped in the stroller with a fan since it was a pretty warm day. Brady met us over at Brighton Dam for a walk before we went home.

sitting on the porch
brighton dam
view of triadelphia dam
toddler on playground
summer outfits
baby and older brother
Black Market Bakers, Edgewater, MD

Sunday

Sunday morning was a slow start but we started out for downtown Annapolis with Hanna and Matt around mid-morning. I quickly realized that it was likely the Naval Academy graduation weekend and going downtown would not be pleasant, so we diverted to Black Market Bakers’ new location in Edgewater. This was our first time visiting the brick and mortar store since they opened – we’d previously only visited the food truck – and we loved the new setup. Everything looks great and the treats were top-notch as always. We had cruffins, danishes, buns, muffins, and scones for breakfast and took a couple of loaves of focaccia home. I’ve been waiting for a good bakery to open up and BMB has been an answer to prayer! I cannot recommend it enough to any locals.

We had wanted to head down to the water but we were running out of time. Brady had to be down at National Harbor a little earlier than I did to report for groomsman duties. I got the kids ready to go to grandpa’s house and got myself ready for the wedding. Avery had already been watched by somebody else, but this would be about twice as long away from us, so I was a little nervous. I wrote out a lot of instructions on pace bottle feeding and hoped that everything would be alright. You know it probably will be, but it doesn’t keep this mama’s heart from being nervous.\

National Harbor Wedding

Hanna and Matt drove the kids to my dad’s and I went to pick up my sister-in-law, Lauren since her husband was also in the wedding. I’ve only ever driven by National Harbor on the beltway so it was an interesting experience navigating there and we were also a little nervous since there was a “strict boarding time” and we didn’t want to be late. We found our way there with time to spare and enjoyed catching up with old friends and acquaintances prior to the start of the wedding.

It was picture perfect and they couldn’t have asked for better weather for an intimate wedding in National Harbor. The groom was a high school classmate of mine and Brady’s and the bride was in the same year but at a different school. They dated most of high school, broke up, and then reconnected at the beginning of the pandemic even though they were living on opposite coasts. One of their mutual friends officiated the wedding and it was so well done that I was convinced more people should be married by their friends. The ceremony happened while we were still docked so it was fun to occasionally glance down at the observers on the pier who happened to cheer along with everyone on the boat when they were announced “husband and wife”.

We had a nice dinner and then spent the rest of the evening up on the deck soaking in the beautiful breeze and the sunset. We lingered a while after deboarding to catch up with a few more people and got home late (for parents who aren’t used to being out late). My sister had already brought the kids back from my dad’s and put them to bed so we chatted with her and Matt for a little while before bed.

National Harbor Wedding
Wedding in National Harbor on the National Elite Yacht
National Harbor Wedding
National Harbor Wedding
National Harbor Wedding - The Capitol Wheel
chai oatmilk latte

Monday

Monday morning was relaxed since we were leaving around midday for my grandma’s birthday party. I showed Hanna how I make my current favorite obsession – an iced oat milk-chai latte. It is so creamy and flavorful and while I could get something similar from Starbucks, the home version is significantly cheaper and tastes a lot better. I’m pretty sure I could make at least 10-12 lattes for the cost of between 1-2 drinks from Starbucks. It would be cheaper if I made my own oat milk but I haven’t put in that effort yet.

Grandma’s 96th birthday bash

My grandma’s birthday party was at my aunt’s house and we got to catch up with all the local extended family. One of my cousins with kids was going to come from out of state but couldn’t after they tested positive for covid so we were sad to miss out on seeing them. I spent a little while chatting with my grandma about naming babies, family names, and how she chose my mom’s name. She got to spend a few minutes holding Avery even though he’d been a little fussy. My grandma has (I believe) 16 great-grandchildren now so it’s extremely special for me to get to share my babies with her while I still have her.

grandma's birthday cake
grandma holding baby
baby in a basket

On Monday evening, Hanna ordered some Chinese from a place near our house that we’ve never tried. It turned out pretty good which is exciting since I love Chinese and I’ve just been too nervous to try a new spot for whatever reason. We played a few quick games – Love Letter, Q-bitz, Square-Up, Hues and Cues, and Taboo – before we went to bed. We woke up at 1 am and attempted to get watch the supposed “once-in-a-lifetime meteor shower” but it was a bust and we went back to bed.

Hanna and Matt left after midday on Tuesday and just like that it was all over. It was a jam-packed weekend with all the events but I still got to spend a lot of time together with my sister so my family-loving “love tank” is filled.

baby in a hammock
Food, Life, Recipes

Mason Jar Virgin Mojito and Blueberry Picking – Friday Favorites #9

I’m here to share of few of my favorite things and I hope that you find something here to brighten your weekend! We don’t have any special plans but we’re looking forward to Henry having his cast removed on Monday morning! Luckily, having a broken wrist hasn’t been too hard for him or us, but things will be a lot easier once he can use his hand again. Without further ado, here are some of my favorites including a fun recipe for a mason jar virgin mojito below!

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Food, Healthy eating, Recipes

Favorite Recent Eats

Being in quarantine has changed my life in a lot of ways. There’s been some difficult stuff to deal with but I’ve also been making some positive changes. I was dealing with depression leading up towards Easter and those addictive Cadbury eggs gained me an extra 10 pounds. I’ve been cooking a lot more and my typical grocery budget has at least doubled. I’ve been discovering a lot of new recipes, rediscovering old ones, and really trying to cultivate my cooking skills.

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Food, Weight loss

A Week Without Sugar Challenge

I’m going to do a week without sugar and it’s not going to be easy for me. A couple of months ago, I read The Obesity Code which opened my eyes to how we’ve been taught to lose weight vs what we should be doing to lose weight. I want to dive into the book a little deeper in a later post but a key take-away point from the book is how refined grains and sugar react in our bodies.

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Food, Recipes

Potato Salad Recipe | What I Ate: Pregnancy Edition

I’m still physically recovering from the wedding weekend which took a lot more out of me than I thought it would. I’m having a hard time sleeping between the tossing to find a comfortable position and waking up 4-5 times (or more) a night to use the bathroom. I’m feeling a shift in this pregnancy and I’m finding it’s hard to have the energy to make food. In this post, I also included my potato salad recipe so be sure to check that out!

Breakfast: 9:30 am

I made basic overnight oats with rolled oats, chia seeds, yogurt, and almond milk in a pint-size mason jar on Tuesday night. I made mine with vegan yogurt and one for Brady with whole milk yogurt. When I finally got out of bed to alleviate my pregnant hunger nausea, all I had to do was slice a peach and top with sliced almonds. It was like a refreshing peaches and cream dessert and tasted way too good to be a regular breakfast. I was sad it once it was gone.

Peach and Almond Overnight Oats

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Food, Life, Pregnancy

Our Peter Rabbit Baby Shower

On Sunday my sister threw us the sweetest Peter Rabbit Baby Shower! We had the shower “early” at 28 weeks for a typical baby shower since my sister leaves for summer camp in Tennessee next week. It works out well that it was early though because it gives us a few weeks to really finish up the nursery and get organized before I’m in the depths of the third trimester. 

With a Peter Rabbit baby shower, there are so many opportunities for adorable set ups and I was blown away by the effort put in by my sister, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law (with help from other family members as well!) It was overwhelming to receive so much love in anticipation of our little one’s arrival but I am so grateful. 

My dress is a non-maternity wrap dress that I ordered from Just Fab (so I could finally cancel my subscription). I ordered it in an XL and had to do some tailoring myself to get it to fit normally since the waist is supposed to sit much lower. It took about 1-2 hours for me to get it right, but I’m so glad I was able to figure it out since I felt really pretty in the dress and it seemed like the perfect baby shower dress for a hot day!

Peter Rabbit Baby Shower

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