Exotic Meat Month

Starting in March, one of hubby and my favorite restaurants - Bull City Burger and Brewery - is going to host "Exotic Meat Month."  The restaurant's website doesn't go into great detail, but frequent posts on their facebook page tell us that they will offer exotic meats such as alligator, elk, antelope, and kangaroo.  I honestly can't wait to be adventurous and test the limits.  And I'm sure that the artists in the BCBB kitchen will make these delicacies taste delicious.

On a similar note, I have a friend who has given up eating meat for Lent.  She mentioned that she is excited about "Exotic Meat Month" at Bull City Burger because of the Alligator burger with Creole sauce that will be on the menu.  I don't blame her.  She's originally from Florida and loves gator and cajun/creole food.

So here's the question...is alligator considered a meat?  Can't we just let this one slide since it's not a mammal but a reptile? 

A nursery in progress

Just two more weeks to go! Baby Natalie's nursery is finally beginning to take shape. Thanks to a cold, rainy, disgusting Sunday, hubby and I were able to spend time indoors and work on the room.

Three of the nursery walls are painted a very pale peach and the accent wall with the window is painted a darker papaya color. Most of the furniture is dark brown/espresso or white. The accent color in the room is green. Many of the elements and pieces of furniture are hand-me-downs from big brother Caleb. What a sweet, generous boy.

 

 

 

Shortly before our baby shower, one very loving grandmother called from Florida to ask what she could contribute to the nursery since she wouldn't be able to attend the shower.  Hmmm...I thought.  Why not curtains.  We had never invested in nice curtains for Caleb's nursery, or for any window of our house, come to think of it. Grammie/Debbie gladly accepted the challenge.

We sent fabric ideas back and forth, as well as measurements, and she began creating.  A few short weeks later and the curtains are complete, installed in all their glory.  Though hard to photograph, they are gorgeous. 

 

 

The letter 'N' for the wall was given to us by my friend Jenna.  It was a blank canvas and I decided to paint it to match the curtain fabric...sort of.

Since I painted something to hang on Caleb's nursery wall, I decided I had to paint a canvas for Natalie's wall as well. Caleb's nursery had a rainforest theme, so creating a rainforest painting was easy. Natalie's room has no theme really, so I was starting from scratch. I knew I wanted greens and peachy pinks.

I found some inspiration online by searching for floral images. Then I attempted to replicate the painting I liked on my own blank canvas.  I've never claimed to be a painter.  No, mine is not nearly as good as the original, but I saved some money.  (Yes, this is legal).

 

 Real artist version at left.  Homemade paint job at right.

A crib shot of baby Elmo. We finally got our crib retrofit piece in the mail Saturday.  The retrofit piece prevents the drop side from, well, dropping - since that is now considered a defect in cribs.

Elmo is safe and happy in the fixed crib.

There's a photo of Natalie's beautiful white blanket, made by Pam. It is so soft. I can't wait for Natalie to treasure and cherish it.

There's our toy chest, handcrafted by my dad.  Stained by hubby and myself.  For Christmas I told my dad I was in search of a toy box to contain Caleb's growing toy collection.  So many parts and pieces to stow away!  My dad went on a lengthy hunt and came up empty handed, mostly because we wanted real wood but didn't want to spend a fortune.  Finally hubby and I caved and purchased two really cheap toy boxes on Black Friday.  In the meantime, my dad was busy planning to build us a REAL toy box.  What resulted was this beautiful masterpiece!  I never even knew my dad could build things.  So now this beautiful piece has found a home in Natalie's room.  It couldn't have worked out more perfectly.

Then I joined Pinterest and found some inspiring shelves.  Five minutes after I found them I asked hubby to build them. He did so without hesitation. I created some framed letters to adorn the top shelf.

Sweet gifts from family and friends adorn the lower shelf.

 And last but not least, a darling mobile given to me by my supervisor at work.

It has won Caleb's approval already, so I'm fairly certain Natalie will love it too.

I realize that was quite the lengthy tour of our nursery, but I hope you enjoyed. It is a pleasant space in which to sit, and I hope I continue to find it calming once the baby arrives.

[One]

Last night, Caleb's school offered all preschool parents a date night and free child care for the evening.  What an opportunity, right?  So while our sweet two-year-old munchkin spent an evening with friends watching Cars and eating hot dogs and popcorn, hubby and I celebrated with an awesome meal.

We ventured to Shane Ingram's new(ish) restaurant, [One], for our fancy dinner.

Here's how the feast went down:

First course:  Hubby ordered a carpaccio dish. (Sorry I can't be more descriptive...the item doesn't appear to be listed on the online menu and I can't remember the ingredients).  Hubby loved it!

First course:  I ordered Grilled Endive Salad with 63° Egg, Frisee lettuce, pickled shitake mushrooms, shaved pecorino, caramelized onion

Second course:  I ordered Coffee Bruleed Foie Gras Torchon, King Oyster mushrooms, cauliflower puree, crispy duck confit, aged balsamic

Second course:  Hubby ordered Grilled Spanish Mackerel, Citrus chili marinade, butternut squash puree, fennel pollen, Spanish chorizo

Bread and olive oil. Yum.

Third course:  Hubby ordered Grilled Veal Loin with Crispy Sweetbread, Braised lentils, grilled Belgian endive with apples and celery, charred onion puree, avocado cream

Third course:  I ordered Grilled Striped Bass, Snow peas and raddichio, leek and chickpea ragout, cherry pepper gastrique

For dessert we headed to Franklin Street in Chapel Hill.  It was hubby's idea to try Sugarland, a highly praised bakery in downtown Chapel Hill.  Little did he know it was only cupcakes and gelato.  I thought it was going to be a candy store.  We were a clueless team.

Nonetheless, I love cupcakes and I ordered a Dulce de Leche cupcake.  It was heavenly.

Hubby ordered a beer for dessert.  Not my idea of dessert, but he was happy.

What a wonderful night! I'm so glad we got to try a new restaurant.  It is absolutely one of my favorites now.

Wishes for baby

I just wrapped up a wonderful week at work, one that was made exceptional by the surprise baby shower that was thrown by my thoughtful coworkers.  It was a phenomenal party filled with delicious Mami Nora's catered food, homemade sides, salads, cheeses, and sweet confections.  I was in heaven - and in serious shock.  I did not expect a shower at all, but this party went above and beyond.  Thank you coworkers!!

When I walked into the party room, there was one of my maternity photos projected onto the wall and a cake made out of little pamper newborn diapers as the centerpiece of the table.  I've always wanted a diaper cake!

But what really stood out about this party were the games.  We played "guess whose baby photo," which was much harder than I thought it would be. And then we passed around these fill-in-the-blank sheets of paper that had "Wishes for baby" written in dainty pink script across the top.  Down the page was written phrases such as: "I hope you aren't afraid..." and "I hope you become..." and "I hope you love..."  All my coworkers got to fill in the blanks for their wishes for baby Natalie.  I left the shower feeling very grateful, and very hopeful for my daughter-to-be.

Here are some of my favorite responses from the fill-in-the-blank game:

• I hope you learn to speak Spanish.
• I hope you aren't afraid to love without reservation.
• I hope you love Jesus with your whole heart.
• I hope you get what you don't know you need.
• I hope you laugh at yourself.
• I hope you never forget how much your family loves you.
• I hope you ignore the yucky stuff.
• I hope you become the person you're meant to be.
• I hope you respect those worthy of such.
• I hope you grow to be a strong woman.

Doesn't that just leave you with the best feeling?

An atypical night's sleep, even at 36 weeks pregnant

Sleep has been rough lately.  It's commonplace for pregnant folks to get up throughout the night to relieve their bladder; but last night was beyond the normal 4-times-a-night potty break situation.

So as to allow me to vent my exhausted frustrations, below is last night's schedule:

9:30 pm  I make my way to bed with my heating pad.  I am asleep almost instantly.
10 pm  Potty break #1
10:45 pm  Hubby arrives home from his Superbowl festivities with friends.  He is quiet, but I still awaken.
11 pm  Potty break #2
11:15 pm  Caleb awakens and darts into our room, stormtrooper style. Hubby puts him back in bed.
11:30 pm  Fully awake now, hubby and I decide to read books and eat snacks in bed.
12 am  Potty break #3
1 am  I drift off to sleep (or at least that's my best guess).
1:30 am  Hubby coughs a horrendous cough that sounds like he's dying.  I'm now awake.
1:45 am  Potty break #4.  My mouth feels like a desert, so I drink water even though I shouldn't.
2:30 am  Awaken with a numb arm and hand. Side effect of having to side sleep during pregnancy.
3 am  Hubby coughs another horrendous cough.  Awake again.
3:30 am  Potty break #5
4 am  Pinto the 10-year-old cat coughs up a hairball for about 15 minutes.
4:30 am  Awaken with a numb arm and hand again. Potty break #6.
5 am  Awaken with desert mouth.
5:30 am  Potty break #7.
6:25 am  Caleb charges into our room, stormtrooper style.  I pull him into bed with us.  Hubby plops an extra pillow under Caleb's head. 
6:30 am  Ignition starts in neighbor's car outside bedroom window. Remains running and revving for 10 minutes.
6:40 am  I peel myself from the bed.  Time to get up and get ready.

I'm looking forward to getting more sleep once the baby arrives.  She'll want to eat and have her tiny little diaper changed every 2 hours.  It'll be a refreshing change of pace.

Alright, thanks for letting me vent.  Now off to a full day at the office!

The growing belly

Not only did my friend Bridget throw me the world's greatest baby shower, but she also offered to take maternity photos of me following the shower.  Bridget has been taking photos now for only about two years, but her skills have grown so fast. 

She is an amazing photographer and I am thrilled she convinced me to go for maternity photos during this pregnancy.  Initially I wanted photos...and then I didn't...and then I did again...and then I didn't.  She finally forced me to commit.

We took these photos at a park in Durham on a very cold Saturday at dusk. I am 32-weeks along in the photos.  Enjoy!

 

 Caleb and hubby are studying a photo sample I am holding in the above photo.

 

 

 

 

I know...this one doesn't even show the belly, but it does show the mommy and daddy smooching. And that's important too.

Photos courtesy Sofian Studios.