rockabye baby

even before i was pregnant, hubby and i knew that we had to get a couple of rockabye baby cd's for our kids some day.  we're both big music lovers and were totally in love with the idea of taking classic rock and turning it into lullabies. 

and then in all of the fuss of buying the essentials, these kind of got left behind.  until one of my best friends picked up where i left off and got us the beatles and bob marley for a shower present.  and they are fricking awesome.  hubby and i have been listening to them in the background while we do things around the house and we're committed to getting a bunch more of them for the future.  i'm sure they're going to be a staple around here in the future.

my favorite {probably because it's one of my favorite songs of all time} is hey jude.  so good it hurts.  i can't wait to listen to this with baby girl and teach her about all of the awesomeness that is our ecclectic music collection.

this is not a sponsored post, just wanted to share the love!

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maternity leave

today is my first day of maternity leave
i've got a bazillion things to do in between now and baby's arrival, but at the same time i'm wondering what i'm going to do to fill my time if she comes late
i'm captain schedule, queen of the to do list.  even tropical vacations have a timeline and a list of activities.  and although i've got things to do, i think it's going to be odd for me to live life without a prescribed schedule.
and probably even harder once a little one comes that doesn't want to stick to the schedule that i've decided on.

 a couple of pics of the nursery in progress and my big belly for fun...

at this point, i'm not sure if i'll be posting more or less...i'm pretty in the dark on the whole newborn thing and i don't have a clue how much time i'm going to have once she gets here
but i'll do my best to keep updating
and i'm going to try to keep posting recipes and occasional life updates over at little kitchen, big bites
because the freezer meals that i'm putting together can only go so far and a girl's got to eat, ya know

any tips from the mommy bloggers out there on how to balance blogging and a newborn?
or do you just not?  and take a maternity leave from the blog too?

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instafriday

holy moly, today is my last friday at work!
i have two days next week and then i go on maternity leave.  i feel like time crept by for the first part of the pregnancy and all of a sudden it's flying.  and i'm still not processing that it doesn't just mean an extended vacation, but that the movement in my belly is going to translate into a sweet little baby in a few weeks.  weeks!  how did that happen???

anyway, let's talk about instagram {find me at rachelh0123} and all of the random nonsense from this week.

this lady.  where do i start.  i would not be the person that i am today without my amazing mama.  i am so blessed to have her as my mother and my friend, and baby girl is going to be so lucky to have her as a grandma.  i know that everything i am as a mother will come from what i've learned from her and i hope to be half the mama that she's been to me.  love you mama.
we spent mother's day grilling and hanging out in the back yard.  it was a perfect, wonderful, relaxing day with family and i couldn't ask for anything more.

it's been gorgeous and a half here in so cal.  and all of the plants that i thought were just ugly shrubs are now blooming.  like this one that i almost pulled out of the ground a month ago.  thank goodness for pregnancy laziness...

hubby said that he was going to take me on a date night to olive garden.  and honestly, that was all i needed in the world.  there's nothing like their soup, salad and bread sticks. 
but then he surprised me and said that we were going to cafe firenze instead.  as in fabio's restaurant.  from top chef.  as in one of my favorite top chefs ever in the history of my complete and total obsession with the show.  and it was ah.maz.ing.  we split a flatbread and lobster bisque and then i pigged out on short ribs with polenta.  food is my happiness.  and i only have a few more weeks of blaming it in the baby, so i might as well take advantage while i can. 

hmm, another food related picture.  i'm sensing a theme.  but i went to sprouts for the first time and wow, guys.
this place is so cool.
at some point i'm going to wander the aisles and take some of every single bit of rice, grains and legumes and cook them all.
and the chocolate covered fill-in-the-blank aisle?  it's pregnancy paradise.

happy friday! Pin It

little kitchen, big bites recipe digest

have you been over to my cooking blog little kitchen, big bites?
it's kind of my baby before my baby gets here
and, let's be honest, with an infant coming soon, there may not be time to frequently update

but cooking is my passion, and i'm definitely planning to keep it up, even with the little one.  and i may even end up withe more updates over there than i have here.
below are a collection of favorites {lots from the crock pot...shocker} that i've whipped up in the last month or so
i also have some awesome ideas and freezer meals coming up, so hop on over there, browse through the recipes and enjoy!

peanut butter cup cookie brownie bars

slow cooker bbq buffalo meatballs

easy fudgey peanut butter cup m&m brownies

slow cooker cheddar potato & asparagus soup

bbq citrus salmon with strawberry mango salsa

slow cooker asian beef lettuce wraps

enchilada stuffed portabello mushrooms

skinny orange chicken with asparagus & quinoa

 

slow cooker hot & spicy asian noodle soup

semi-slow cooker crispy mexican chicken burritos

so check out the blog, fire up that slow cooker, and enjoy! Pin It

growingggg {36 weeks}

i keep growinggggg
i'm almost at 37 weeks today and i can't believe that this adventure will be ending beginning soon!
baby girl will be full term tomorrow, so i figured i should give another pregnancy update

you can also see the slow evolution of the nursery behind me...

i maintain that this striped tank makes me look bigger...but i kind of love it for that reason...

{sweats: juicy, white tank:nordstrom, dress: rosie pope, striped tank: old navy, leggings: charming charlie}

how far along?  36 weeks, 5 days
baby size?  baby girl is the length of a honeydew {yum!} or a small watermelon according to some sites {yikes!}
maternity clothes?  as much as i can...but my work pants still work with the bella band and some of my leggings and tops are still a'ok {although i may regret stretching them out later...}.  the maternity clothes is definitely more comfortable, but at this point i feel like there's no point in buying more than the limited set that i have
cravings?  nothing crazy...just eating a lot of the stuff that i wouldn't let myself splurge on before.  sweets and french fries come to mind :)  but i've also been eating a lot of salmon and berries so at least this little one isn't hurting too much for good food
feeling?  a little exhausted and sore every. single. time. i stand up {i have a slip in my sacroiliac joint that can't be fixed until baby gets here so my back isn't my friend}.  and super super excited to meet this baby!
best moment this week?  relaxing on mother's day with my family
sleep?  doing ok...up more than i used to be with being a little uncomfortable and having to use the bathroom every few hours, but still getting enough.  i figure waking up every few hours is good practice anyway...
miss anything?  still deli sandwiches.  and i could use some sushi too!
movement?  all the time.  my stomach looks like there's an alien about to break out of it.  and sometimes up and under my ribs.  ouch.  but it's seriously the most amazing thing ever.  i think it's going to be all kinds of weird after baby comes when i can't feel her bumping around in there anymore.
anything making you queasy or sick?  still squash/pumpkin/sweet potatoes.  luckily it's not the fall, so it's no big deal.
looking forward to?  meeting this little one in a few weeks!  holy smokes! Pin It

instafriday {showers and doggy and headbands, oh my!}

this is the last of the baby shower pictures
i feel like they've taken over my blog lately, but with four showers in two weeks i feel like i have to share all of the love and amazingness with you
 

did i mention that the girls went all out?  that it was the most spectacular thing ever?
yea, i think i did.  about seventy times.  but i'll say it again.
it was an amaaaazing day!

does this dog look guilty or what?
after telling her half a dozen times that this new, adorable little piece of furniture from my coworkers is not for her, I turned around to find her sitting there. 
so i kicked her off again.
but seriously, how do you stay mad at that face?

girly nonsense.  i couldn't help myself.
this headband will be prominently featured in baby girl's newborn photos if i have anything to do with it.
buy it here from izzy's attic
{in no way sponsored by her nor did i get the headband for free...it's just too cute not to share!}

not to end on a bummer note, but we were close-ish to all of the fire craziness that was burning in so cal this week.  we got to see this big ol' smoke cloud and had some nice raining ash.  luckily, our house was ok, as were all of our local friends and family.
stay safe and practice fire safety, my friends.
that's my psa for the day.

happy friday loves!

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southern baby shower

i'm feeling so blessed in the last few weeks. 
even with being sick and exhausted, with a constantly aching back, i have so many wonderful people who have surrounded me, hubby and the baby with love and support that i can't help but smile through it all. 

my girlfriends threw me an incredible southern themed baby shower {for derby weekend, and for baby girl's name, which has a little southern flair} last weekend.  In.Cred.I.Ble.
i'm telling you, they went all out.
from the gorgeous flowers and oodles of decorations to the delicious fried chicken, hand made mini pies and red velvet cupcakes, to the *pitter patter* punch in lace tied mason jars with pink stripped straws, to the ridiculously creative bib decorating, it was just perfect in every single way.
i literally couldn't have imagined a more amazing shower in my wildest dreams.  they thought of every little detail that would make me smile {crown included} and made it perfect.

with my lovely hostesses

i had an amazing relaxing time just hanging out with my closest friends, reminiscing about old times, and looking forward to all that's to come in the future.
now i just need to have the rest of them get knocked up so this little girl has some automatic friends for life
i can only hope that she is as blessed with wonderful friends as i have been.

The alphabet was hand made by this amazingly talented girl.

I keep begging her to start an Etsy shop so stand by...

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instafriday {and a life update}

so i was really excited to write my instafriday post last week
and to give you some updates on the baby and the nursery this week
and perhaps to talk about some other random nonsense
but then i got a stomach virus and went off the grid for a full week

we're talking bad times people.  stomach bugs suck enough in the first place, but when you're trying to grow a human and in the middle of a super busy work season at the same time, they suck even more.
and when you get so dehydrated that you start having labor pains and have to go to the hospital they suck even more.
suffice to say, the only instagram picture that i took this week was this one, of some lovely garden roses that my mama brought when she came to take care of me.

but on to happier things.
let's just pretend this week didn't happen and rewind to last week.  because last week i took some fun pics and had some fun times

so there was a baby shower.  i think i posted about it about 20392812 times.  but how cute is this diaper cake???  seriously, i die.  baby girl is so spoiled.

oh hello bump.  you're getting rather large and round.  even the stomach flu can't keep this baby from stretching out and growing.  love you baby girl.

i took a day off a few weeks ago.  i needed it.  i got some errands done and i felt like the world wasn't ending anymore.  and i didn't feel guilty about enjoying my breakfast outside with my pup.  and it was amazing.

this is the queen of coffee bean.  we go there almost every weekend.  so this weekend, we decided to turn her water cup into a crown.  because we're great doggy parents like that.  oh good lord what is this poor child in for...

i just like taking pictures of the flowers that spring up in my garden.  because i'm not the one who planted them and they seem to be magically jumping through the ground all over the place.  oh, spring.  how much more i appreciate you when i have my own yard.

this weekend is my second baby shower with my girlfriends and i just. can't. wait.
what are you doing this weekend?  Pin It

shower time

wow.
that's all i can say
the outpouring of love that came for baby girl and i this weekend at my family shower was just incredible.

i'm not going to lie to you guys, i've been stressed about not being prepared for this baby.  but every hug, every reassurance, every gift, and every conversation that i had this weekend made me feel otherwise.  i am so blessed to have such an incredible network of women that i am related to {or who are such close family friends that we might as well be related} to welcome me into this amazing time in my life.

and on top of that, i am so very lucky to have a mommy and mommy-in-law who put together the most incredible shower for their granddaughter.  if this weekend was any indication, this little girl is going to be spoiled to the moon and back.  thank you thank you thank you to my mamas, the future grandmas to baby girl :).

so without further ado, a few photos of my pink and green baby shower, complete with little flowers for each guest to bring home and gorgeous orchids that doubled as centerpieces and game prizes {can you tell my mama's a gardener?}

gorgeous, right?
how was your weekend?

find the recipe for peanut butter oreo brownies on little kitchen, big bites! Pin It