The incredibly fresh color, once too closely ties to 60s and 70s mod, has made a revival in a bright cheerful way...and I am loving it!  Here are some of my favorite green inspirations:


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Have you read Bridget's blog yet?  She is ah-mazing...  Her recent post about her chicken pot pie had my mouth watering.  Bonus: Bridget's post left me without any need to think about dinner.  All I had to do was walk home and check out what veggies I had from my CSA.
turnips (shhh....I love "hiding" veggies like turnips in casseroles and crock-pot meals!)

Other ingredients that I tend to keep on hand:
olive oil
butter
chicken breasts
refrigerated biscuits in a can (for a super easy top crust!!)
milk
cream of celery soup



1. Dice and brown chicken breasts with olive oil, a bit of butter, and garlic

2. When chicken is good and brown, add the veggies (all chopped about 1 inch pieces) and cover to allow veggies to soften.

3. In a separate bowl, mix cream of celery soup and one can full of milk to form the creamy sauce.

4. Mix everything together bowl and then pour into casserole dish.

5. Pop in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.

6. Just before the pot pie is finished, open the can of biscuits and spilt each biscuit in half (like opening a hamburger bun) to form a thin layer on top of the casserole.

7. Cook with biscuits on top for 12-15 minutes (as directed on the biscuit package).




Super fast and easy, no need to measure, pot pie!

From with two cats to...Grandinroad!  Head over to by clicking here to enter for a chance to win!

While in Boston, Mark and I took lots pictures at our favorite orchard.  Still contemplating "professional" maternity photos, but these are fun in the mean time.

Here is where we found all of the awesome stuff for the nursery.  Some we have purchased or been given as gifts already.  Other items remain on our registry or we are saving up for!

I am really appreciate the concept of idea boards.  I have started to create them for parties I plan, parties others ask me to create invites for, and of course my baby nursery!

{visit with two cats here}

Back in September I posted a sneak peek of my nursery inspiration here.  Now you can view our entire idea board over at: With Two Cats here.  Not only does this site have incredible idea boards, but it is also the home of Violet's famous nursery that has gone viral and inspired hundreds (more?), including myself!!

p.s. I will be posting the details of where I purchased everything soon!

Well...this part was actually in BOSTON with my GIRLS!  But it was still part of Alumni Weekend...

1. Went to church at The Vineyard with Karlene and Mike

2. House shopping with Karlene and Mike

3. Lunch at The Fireplace in Brookline.  The pickles were awesome, seriously!



4. Football watching and birthday celebrating at The Harp.

5. Wedding planning at Paper Source

7. Visiting Katie Macs a-p-t!  Woot Woot!  Hung out for a bit...talked baby stuff and doctor stuff...and received this totally stellar picture:

Shannon :: Katie :: Julie :: Karlene

8. Yelling, Screaming, Jumping...things girls do when they are asked to be bridesmaids...

9. Dinner at Upper Crust.  Mmm...so good!



10. Mad hunt for Hot Chocolate (pregnancy craving) before hitting the hay at Kar's house.

All in all, it was a FANTASTIC weekend!  I love visiting the people we love in Boston!

You got Wednesday-Friday yesterday...but Saturday was the true meat of the trip!  A full day jam packed with goodness.  So here we go...

1. Saturday morning, bright and early, we ran the 5K Gordon Scot Trot with Hull, Nora, and Honey.


2. Went back to the house to finish off the delicious cider doughnuts from Russell Orchards.  They make a great post-race meal.

3. Met Sam!  The newborn son of Sara, one of my former lax teammates.  Sam arrived a few weeks early (and healthy!) which was perfect timing to meet him!



4. Watched the Gordon Field Hockey game were I got to see Krista, Sara, and Becs, my former lacrosse teammates.  Here is Sara, Becca and I with Sara's newborn Sam:


5. Walked down to the Quad for lunch and some Soccer game watching where we ran into Bermuda and Bahama!


6. Back to the turf for the Men's Lacrosse game vs. the alumni.  Mark had a sick goal!  He's still got it!


7. After the game, we had an awesome cookout including fresh lobster!  It was a great way for the current players and alumni to hang out after the game.  I got to hang out with a bunch of the women's alumni too!



8. More time with friends for the rest of the evening!


9. Back to Don and Amy's house with Warren, Lindsay, and Phil to relive the lacrosse glory days over hot brownies and ice cream!

10. Hit the hay for a good night's sleep before heading into Boston on Sunday...(another post!)

Over columbus day weekend we traveled up to Boston for alumni weekend.  We had such a wonderful time, but I have been dreading this post.  How do I sum up an incredible weekend?  Well, here is what we did, in order of when we did it!

1. Wednesday night drove to New Jersey to visit Jeff and Shannon and see their new place!

2. Thursday morning we set out to finish our drive to Boston and visit Mark's old office.  We waited to spring the baby news in person and it was a blast!  We got a ton of well wishes and enjoyed catching up with everyone.

3. Take a stroll around Gordon before the chaos of the weekend begins.  Bump into Donna Loy, Dorothy Boorse, Ashley McWilliams, and a whole host of other folks we were excited to see!

4. Head to our old abode (because we had the best landlords ever!) where we stayed for the weekend.  Hung out with the family, ordered chinese take out, and basically felt right at home!

5. Friday morning Mark played in the alumni golf tournament with his lacrosse buddies while I went to lunch with my dear friend Lindsay.

6. Russel Orchards and...



7. ...bike ride to Crane's Beach and Castle Hill!


8. (we snuck in a maternity photo shoot, but that is for another next post!)

9. Back to Gordon for lacrosse practice and quality time with the alumni

10. Late night dinner at Nick's Roast Beef, a North Shore staple!

Whenever we come back from a trip, I have loads to share and equally as much to do around the house.  Needless to say, I am behind in my blogging.  But lots of good stuff is in the pipe; I promise!  In the next few days you will hear about:

• Alumni Weekend at Gordon
• Our Adventures on the North Shore (including a bike ride and a 5K while 28 weeks pregnant!)
• 2nd Impromptu Maternity Photo Shoot
• Maryland Baby Shower
• Surprise Work Baby Shower
• My most recent design inspirations
• Our Nursery

Here is a sneak peek of the views from our bike ride:

Just to make your day...

Loving is play gym.  Our little guy has the same one, hopefully he likes it just as much!


 
Watching the Phillies!  A true fan...or should I say phan?



Talking to our baby boy!  Sammy would coo and poke at my stomach, and our baby would kick right back.  It was adorable.  We couldn't get a peep out of sam other than when he was hanging out with my belly.



How are babies so cute?  Even when they sleep?!?!

A few weeks ago Bridget posted this amazing "Swiss Family Robinson" meets dream vacation vacation home here.  Well, I added a bit of "Tarzan meets Jane" to the mix with this inspiration, taking this tree house to a whole new level:

{both images found here}

I wonder who I contact about booking my reservation.  Mark likes to camp.  If this could be considered camping, I am willing to give it a shot!

Number one questions asked while pregnant:  "How are you feeling?" asked with sincerity.

Question number two:  "Any weird cravings?!?!" asked with interest and intrigue.

Welp, here they are:

{seen here}

Today is my brother Michael's 21st Birthday.  I cannot believe he is 21!  He is my kid brother...he can't be that old already! 

Here is a picture of the 4 siblings after my grandfather's internment at Arlington a few weeks ago:


{Me, Julia, Brooke, Michael}



I warned you...

...don't say I didn't warn you.

I just have difficulty getting "into" books in September. 

I have back-to-school phobia...

...or senioritus...

...or perhaps I simply want to soak up every last warm day outside before summer officially slips from my grasps.

So I only read two books.  Both Nicholas Sparks.  Are you surprised?


Well...now that it is cold and blustery and damp I have started reading again.  We will surely get back to the goal of 5 for October.  Can't wait!

 ...a boy and we couldn't be more thrilled!


{you can't actually tell from this picture}



For those of you who haven't heard.  Mark and I had a hard time deciding if we wanted to find out the gender of our baby.  First I did and he didn't, then we switched positions.  Somewhere leading up to our 20 week appointment we decided we would put the sonogram picture in an envelope and open it on our wedding anniversary, September 30th.  Yesterday was very exciting, and our son has already given us an incredible gift.  He spent 6 weeks being uncooperative for the sonogram technician, preventing the doctors from fully analyzing his anatomy - tibia length, kidneys, head size, heart ventricles, the works.  So we HAD to have a sonogram on our anniversary.  We spent nearly an hour yesterday watching our little boy - it was an incredible experience and a great anniversary gift! 

Here are a few more pictures from yesterday: