It has been a beautiful past two weekends, and Adam and I have had so much fun doing things outside! But, of course, let's start with indoor activities.

We helped my parents celebrate their 28th Wedding Anniversary on April 23 at Pricci. They had a gift certificate, so let us tag along (apparently just to take pictures!).

I hung out with my favorite little boy while Meagan ran some errands. Jude is so fun these days - scooting all over the place and just a joy to be around.

My fabulous Aunt Kathy and Granny bought us our stroller! Although she ordered it online, we decided to go look at baby stuff anyway. It was hilarious watching her and my mom pick up everything and say "Now why didn't we think of this?!"

Our church hosted a picnic at Laurel Park, so Adam and I joined in on the festivities. We've never been to that park before and it was only about 5 minutes from our house. In addition to the playground, there's a pond with ducks! I see ourselves coming here quite a bit in the future!

After the picnic, we headed up to the Marietta Square to check out Taste of Marietta. Of course I had to partake in a fried brownie! (It was obviously delicious.)

In addition to all that fun stuff, Adam and his dad successfully wired our girl's room for a light switch (it's the little things, y'all) and a ceiling fan! Now we just have to get the fan installed, and we can check off a huge to-do!

Speaking of the babe's nursery, I actually did an ARTS AND CRAFTS project this weekend! Really, I just spray painted these frames. But that meant I had to have an idea, buy the frames and spray paint, and actually do it. They turned out great, and I can't wait to start piecing her room together.

Saturday was apparently one of the biggest days for sports - Mayweather vs Pacquiao fight, the Kentucky Derby, NHL and NBA playoffs, NFL draft and MLB games. Oh, and Adam and I played tennis with my parents! So much fun! I was jealous of all the fun Derby cocktails I saw on Facebook, so I made myself a little mocktail to celebrate. It was basically the same thing (kind of, not really).

Sunday started with church (quickly becoming one of my favorite parts of the week) and then Adam headed off to play golf with Doug while I headed to PDK Airport to bring Jeff and his copilot some beloved Taco Mac. His plane was in Atlanta for a few hours, so we got to go see him for a bit and hang out in the fancy jet.

Apparently the planes are not built for pregos. (Plus, Jeff squished the seats together on purpose.)

And because I'm so nice, I'll end this post with my mom's amazing chicken and broccoli casserole recipe! I made this Friday night and it fed us all weekend. It's always been a family favorite, and I was so proud of myself for (finally) making it!

Ta da! (I accidentally put the cheese on top, instead of between the layers. But it still tasted the same, so there!

Out and About

This past weekend we had absolutely beautiful weather (and it hasn't stopped since!), so Adam and I decided to take advantage. It takes a lot to get me (showered/put together/etc) out of the house these days, but since I've been feeling pretty good we went for it.

Saturday we headed over to Red Hare Brewery for a little pre-St. Patty's Day festivities with Evan and Dominica.

Since when?? (Just kidding.)

Adam and Evan kept the party going at Mulligan's and 120 Tavern, but I called it as day after the brewery. I'm so glad Adam finally went out with friends!

Sunday was a super fun-filled day! After church, Adam thought of the genius idea to go putt putt at Mountasia.

After our game of putt putt, we took the pooches to the dog park and it was basically the greatest day of their lives! (But everyday is the best day of their lives.) For the first time in forever, we also menu planned for the week (gasp!) and went to the grocery store. Weee! It's fun to be old!

I lost at putt putt (but only be one hole!), so I've promised Adam a week of home-cooked dinners. I really was on a cooking kick prior to getting pregnant, but now it's the last thing I want to do at night. Here's the first meal I made on Monday.

Cast Iron Sausage and Green Peppers

-3 green peppers, one diced
-1 cup heavy cream
-1 lime
-1 package (of 4) chicken sausages cut into 1/2 inch slices
-1/2 pound rotini pasta (I just used half a box)
-1.5 pounds mozzarella cheese
-coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Place two peppers on a small baking sheet and broil until charred and black all over (about 10 minutes)
2. Place in a plastic bag and let steam for 10 minutes
3. Remove the skins, stems and seeds
4. Places roasted peppers in a food processor along with the heavy cream and a good squeeze of lime juice, a pinch of salt and pepper. Blend until smooth.
5. Cook the pasta
6. Saute the chicken sausage in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high, until browned all over.
7. Add the diced peppers and saute another minute.
8. Add the cream sauce and simmer on low for a couple more minutes.
9. Add the cooked pasta to the skillet and toss to combine. Sprinkle the mozzarella on top and slide skillet into over (on Broil) until the cheese is browned and bubbly (about 3-4 minutes)

And voila! I have to say, it turned out real pretty and even tasted pretty good!

Tuesday was St. Patrick's Day and the Taste of the Nation chef photo shoot. Even though I don't work at Share Our Strength anymore, I still got roped into being the Restaurant Committee Co-Chair, which I love. It's always a fun morning! (Plus, I was able to demolish a couple Sublime donuts. Yummm!)

We followed it with a festive lunch at Fado Irish Pub - and baby girl finally popped out to say hi! Allison is due with her little girl in 7 short weeks, so there are actually 5 girls in this picture!

This recipe calls for a blog post!

Hope you weren't hoping for something exciting/important, because you will be severely let down. HOWEVER, it's very exciting/important to me! I just made the most amazing paleo banana bread muffins!! As you should probably know by now... 1) I'm not the best cook and 2) Paleo hasn't been the most fun for me.

I am so proud of myself I could cry. Instead, I'll just share the recipe here and hope that everyone finds it so hard and burns every batch - so I'll just be the best cook, EVER.

(WARNING: This only makes 7 muffins, which really disappointed Adam. Double or triple it, if you please.)

Ingredients
• 1 1/2 cup almond flour (this stuff is so expensive...ugh)
• 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• pinch of nutmeg
• pinch of salt
• 2 very ripe bananas, mashed
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cups chopped walnuts, plus more for topping

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place muffins cups in muffin tin and set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together almond flour, flaxseed, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt.

In a separate bowl, add the mashed bananas, eggs, honey, vanilla and olive oil - mix well.

With your hands, make a slight well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. (I DID THIS!!! And I took a picture because I thought it was so cool. Now I'm instantly regretting that decision.)

Add in chopped walnuts. Stir until combined.

Fill the baking cups about 3/4 full. Bake muffins for 21-23 minutes or insert a toothpick into the center and if it comes out clean, it's time to remove.

Let cool for 5-10 minutes and enjoy!

(Is this what my life has come to? Writing/taking pictures about FOOD? Yikes.)