a long weekend at the lake

We headed out of town early last Friday (5:00am early!).  Earnest did great during our little road trip.  We had a wonderfully long weekend at the cabin spent with Josh's parents.  Ernie Boy enjoyed ranger rides, playing with the pups, wrestling with grandpa and grandma, and dinner cruises on the pontoon.  

 The life jacket was a bit snug with all of his layers of clothing :).

 Ernie couldn't get enough of grandpa beeping the horn.

It's Friday tomorrow!  I hope you all have fun plans.  

I am going to celebrate 6 years of marriage with my guy :).

the weekend

Hello!  How was your weekend?  It was quite rainy here.  But, I enjoy a good rainy day every in awhile, don't you?  It was perfect weather for finishing up work on an engagement session I photographed a few weekends back.  

Here are a few of my favorites from the session:

 

You can find more from the session here.

Another highlight of the weekend was accompanying my husband on a date to one of our favorite coffee shops.  It was a great place to catch up over a cup of tea.  A big thank you to Uncle Zach and Auntie Justine for watching our little guy while we went out :).

Speaking of our Ernie Boy, he's 9 months old!  

Here he is at 9 months:

{Stay tuned for an Ernie update later this week.}

In other news, this is our last week of the whole 30!  We will be ending a day early because Josh is going to take me out for a little Mother's Day date on Friday evening (that's the only time that worked for a babysitter, a.k.a Jemimah, to watch Earnest).  So far, we've still been feeling pretty good.  I've learned to cook quite a few new recipes and fresh new ways to incorporate more veggies into our diet.  


Here are a few more Paleo friendly recipes that I'd recommend:

1. This "spaghetti" is so good.  I didn't even miss the noodles!  Josh and Jemimah liked it too.  I don't have a mandolin slicer so I just sliced the zucchini into thin round slices. I also used Whole Foods italian pork sausage and added a little thyme to go with the rosemary.  I'll definitely be making this one again.
2. Meatloaf may not make my top ten favorites.  But, I must say, this meatloaf might have just changed my mind.  Josh really loved this dish too.  You have to try it with guacamole.  Carrot cauliflower mash makes an excellent side to accompany it too.
3. Do you like shrimp?  Josh just made excellent coconut shrimp yesterday!  It was so easy too!  He just dipped shrimp in egg and then a mixture of coconut flakes and a little bit of salt.  He then fried the coconut shrimp in a coconut oil.  Once both sides of the shrimp are nice and golden, they are ready to eat.  We had shrimp with a salad of: spinach, blueberries, strawberries, toasted almonds, and a raspberry vinaigrette. 
4. As a breastfeeding mother, I get hungry in between meals.  I've been munching on these snacks lately: Trader Joe's dried unsulfured, unsweetened mango (IT'S SO GOOD!), pistachios, sliced apples with almond butter, Lara Bars (apple pie, cherry pie, and cashew cookie are all whole 30 approved!), raisins, or carrots and celery with guacamole.

While we've been enjoying the meals as of late, we still are looking forward to having a piece of bread, a side of rice, or a special dessert every once in awhile.  I can't wait to have a splash of cream in my coffee this coming weekend :)!  

What were a few of your favorite things from the weekend?

some cute baby photos to start your weekend off right

Hey There!  I just finished up posting some photos from a newborn session I did a few weeks back.  His name is Isaac, and he's one good looking fella!  Here are a few:

The whole newborn session can be found here.  You can also find Kitestrings on Facebook.  

Have a splendid weekend, friends!

good mail

Hello Friends!


Don't you just love getting a piece of good mail?  You know the kind I'm talking about, birthday cards, packages, and other unexpected surprises.  Well, I just got some GREAT mail yesterday!  My friend Kathy from Life, Really, sent me a gift card to the Texas Roadhouse!  I entered her blog contest a few weeks back and won (still can't believe it)!  I am so blessed by this sweet gift....Josh and I can't wait to use it for a date!  Thanks again Kathy, for such a generous, thoughtful gift!  You all should definitely go check out Kathy's blog for yourself; I'm sure you'll want to stay a while.  

(source)

Happy Weekend Everyone!

Send someone a card "just because" :).

Love,

Jen

a long weekend

In less than one hour we will be packing up the car and driving north for the weekend.  I love the cabin this time of year!  The leaves may be past their peak but it will still be beautiful.  It's also sweatshirt weather; my favorite!  I'm looking forward to board games, books, and baking an apple pie :).  I'm also eager to take Jemimah's senior photos.    

What are your weekend plans?