Baby Shower & Downtown ATL.

Ok last time I promised you I would tell you about my amazing baby shower in Raleigh, so here it is!  First let me say that Brad and I are so fortunate that he has a job flexible enough for us to be able to head to North Carolina for long weekends - I love being able to do that!  We headed first to Winston-Salem with our friends Heath & Jalyn (& their almost-2-year-old Braxtyn) and spent a couple days with my folks.  It was fun getting to tour Old Salem and NO ONE can go to Old Salem and not get their famous Moravian sugar cake.  No one.  Seriously - I dare you to walk past that bakery and not stop and buy some.  Saturday morning we headed to Raleigh (Cary, if we must get technical) and grabbed some lunch before the shower.  It was SO much fun being able to catch up with friends that we don't get to see anymore, and every detail of the shower was so sweet and so adorable - I am absolutely blessed to have so many great friends.  I'll show you some pictures to prove how great of a job the hostesses did (thank you Kristy, Kelly & Brynn!!)

 

2 of the hostesses (Brynn & Kelly) hard at work!

 

Even the books at the food table went along with the food (Green Eggs & Ham next to the ham sandwiches, for example) - they had so many fun little details!

 

A sweet wreath we can hang on our door when baby girl arrives!

 

 

Sweet Brynn!

 

Mom & Kelly

 

Jalyn by far travelled the furthest for the shower - they were so sweet to come up all the way from Georgia!!

 

And Braxtyn was sweet to come all that way too :)

 

The beautiful mother of two, Sarah Lewis!

 

I understand that it is not that normal to get excited about diapers, but them jokers are expensive!

 

And plenty of wipes, although I'm sure she'll never make any kind of mess so I'm not even sure why I need those.... :)

 

This one is kinda cheating because it was actually taken at Betsy's shower the week before, but we didn't get a good picture at my shower, so this will do!  Betsy and I used to be neighbors before we moved to Georgia, but Betsy is actually from the Atlanta area so I got to go her shower in Atlanta, and she came to my shower in Cary - it worked out just perfectly!! Betsy is due just a couple weeks before me, and I can't wait to meet sweet baby Madison.  Now if we can only get her to move back to Georgia so our baby girls can be the best of friends...

 

Ok I also have to sneak in a couple pictures of our niece, Spencer, because she is the cutest stinkin' baby ever!!  We had so much fun cuddling with her and I can't wait to see her again when baby girl is born!!

 

 

Enjoying a good book with her Aunt Jen.

 

Annnnnd enjoying a good laugh with her Uncle Brad.  It's ok, I laugh when I look at him sometimes, too, Spencer :)

 

Alright before I go, I also promised last time to tell about our weekend getaway to downtown Atlanta.  It was a combined birthday trip/babymoon/early anniversary trip, and it was so much fun!  We took Marta into the city Friday around lunchtime, dropped our stuff off at the hotel, and headed straight for the Varsity for lunch.  I haven't been in years and I forgot how yummy their burgers are.  It is such a fun atmosphere, so if you go to Atlanta and have never been, you definitely gotta go! 

 

 

Friday afternoon we took it easy and walked around town a bit, although this pregnant momma doesn't do TOO much walking anymore before needing to sit down - that's why we stopped at Rooms-To-Go on the way to dinner just to "check out" their furniture - I think I sat on every sofa and chair they had in there, and we never had any intention of buying a thing :) We headed to dinner at Buckhead Diner, which was so quaint and quite delicious!  Saturday we got up and had breakfast at Starbucks and headed to Piedmont Park.  We walked around, had several people comment on my growing belly, and sat on a swing and read for a while - it was so relaxing and the weather could not have been more perfect.  We grabbed lunch and relaxed a bit before heading to the Aquarium, which I had been dying to see.  It's always fascinating to go to aquariums, but the dolphin show there just blows your mind - if you ever come down, we are going to that thing!  I still can't wrap my mind around how they can train the dolphins the way they do!! 

  

 

Buckhead Diner

 

View from our hotel floor

 

View from our hotel room

 

Piedmont  Park

 

 

Aquarium

 

Friendly Sea Horse

 

After the aquarium we walked around Olympic Park and headed back to get ready for dinner.  We ate at South City Kitchen, and let. me. tell. you....that junk is delicious.  We both got the fried chicken and ate every last bite.  I highly, highly recommend this place if you need a place to celebrate a birthday, anniversary, etc.  Probably the best part of dinner, though, were our dinner guests.  Ok we didn't actually have dinner guests, and they have no clue that we exist, but we DID get seated upstairs next to some famous people - we must just have that famous look about us (ha!).  All you sports fans will be excited to know that to our left was Mike Tirico, a Monday night football announcer on ESPN.  Brad thought that was really exciting, and I thought it was pretty cool - but then I looked in the back corner, and guess who I saw?

 

Yep. Jeff Daniels, aka Harry Dunne of Dumb & Dumber fame.  I figured I'd play it cool, but I just need to admit that I don't do well around famous people.  I couldn't stop staring, and even though the people beside us somehow knew him on a first-named basis, we couldn't stop quoting Dumb & Dumber.  Apparently he and Mr. Tirico are also friends, because they stopped to chat as Jeff Daniels left and Brad snapped this blurry picture.

 

 

I know its completely impossible to tell who those people are - especially with that guy blocking our view, so you're gonna just have to take my word for it.  Mike T. was in town for the Monday night Falcons game, and apparently they are filming Dumb & Dumber II in Atlanta - so maybe we'll spot Jim Carrey too at some point?!

 

Anywhoo, we were pretty stinkin' excited and that just topped off our weekend.  I'm so thankful to have a husband who enjoys travelling (even if its not that far) and is sweet enough to take me on a mini vacation before baby girls comes in 5 weeks!!!

 

Lastly I'll leave you with the belly shots!

 

 

Week 33.

 

 

Week 34. It must be the angle - I'm pretty sure she didn't shrink.

 

Week 35.

 



Making a house a home.

Seeing as a month has gone by since my last post, I figure it's about time to update you all on life again, since that's what this blog is all about, I suppose!

We have been slowly settling into the new house - arranging and rearraging furniture, hanging pictures, putting away boxes, etc.  I am still so in love with our house and am so thankful that the Lord worked things out the way He did - we couldn't be happier with where we are!  The house is still pretty barren, but things are starting to come together.  I got a few house plants and decorated for fall, which always seems to help warm the place up.  I also got 2 beautiful pictures from my sister (holler!) that go just perfectly in our living room.  They are now hung up on the wall, but weren't when I took the picture, and I'm too lazy to take another one...

The baby's room is coming along, with a fresh coat of gray paint on the walls.  I'm so glad to have her room painted so I can start decorating and decluttering it.  My plan at this point is to do everything pink and gray, so if the next Armstrong baby is a boy we can just switch out the pink accents for yellow ones!  I'm hoping I'll still love those colors when the next baby comes along.  My plan is also to make as much of her stuff as I can, cause I am super cheap. (Those of you who know my husband know how proud he'd be to hear me say that - he's starting to rub off on me!)  I made her crib skirt out of some adorable gray fabric I found at Hobby Lobby (LOVE that place) and a pink twin sheet I found at Home Goods (LOVE that place too).  The measuring took forever, as did the cutting, but once everything was cut I was able to knock it out in just a few hours.  I'd love to give you a tutorial, but sadly I hardly remember what I did because I was just wingin' it most of the time.

I also made her blackout curtains out of the same pink sheets and hung them on an adorable curtain rod from Lowes.  I'll be honest - the first panel I made was alright, and was kinda my practice panel. Does it look homemade? Yes.  Do I care? Eh.  Will I remake them? A resounding "heck no!!" They weren't too difficult but these days it is way too hard to get in the floor to do all my measuring and ironing, and I just aint got the energy for that!  The 2nd panel ended up doing much better, but I'm not sure why. Maybe I had more patience? Maybe I was more diligent in my ironing and pinning? I have no idea, but regardless I am fairly pleased with how they turned out.  Eventually I'll get little gray or white ties to hold them back during they day.

All these little pink elephants I keep seeing are adorable, so I decided to make her some to go on her wall.  I got a couple of canvases from Hobby Lobby ($3) and covered one with the same fabric as her crib sheets, and the other with pink fabric from H-L ($1.50).  I cut out a couple of elephants, put some backing on them, and stuck them to the canvas.  I love how simple they were and how they turned out - I can't wait to finally hang them on the walls!

 

Anyways, enough about that sweet little girl's room!  This may be my only post with pictures of a recipe I made - I'll get to that in a minute.  One thing Brad & I love to eat is homemade Ñoquis (gnocchis).  My sweet friend Eve taught me how to make them while I lived in Argentina, and I taught Brad how to make them on our first date (insert "awwwww" here).  The recipe makes a TON of dough, so we're always looking for ways to use it up.  Then my old (former, not elderly) coworker, April, introduced me to a recipe that was just perfect - Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup.  And boy was that stuff good.  In case you're interested, I stuck the recipe underneath the picture below.  If you're still wondering why this may end up being my only post about food that has a picture, it all started with this little picture right here:

 



So right after I took this picture of our yummy dinner, I may or may not have dropped Brad's new iPod touch directly into the soup.  And then I may or may not have panicked and froze and just left it there to soak in.  Thankfully Brad was sitting next to me and rushed to my aid, grabbing the iPod and saving it from what could have been its last picture.  At least I know that he's quick to act when something important to him is suffering - this will come in handy with our daughter, I'm sure.  Anyhoo, here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

- 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 Tbsp. butter
- 4 Tbsp. flour
- 1 Quart half and half
- 1/2 Cup celery, finely diced
- 1 Cup onion, finely diced
- 2 minced garlic cloves
- 2 14-ounce cans of chicken broth (if you enjoy thick soup, use one can)
- 1 Cup carrots, finely shredded
- 1 Cup chicken breasts, cooked and diced (or use rotisserie chicken)
- 1 package gnocchi, cooked
- 1 Cup fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. thyme
- 1/2 tsp. parsley
- 1/4 tsp. nutmeg (optional)

Directions:
Sauté the onion, celery and garlic in the butter and olive oil over medium heat until the onion becomes translucent.  Add the flour and make a roux.  Let the butter and flour mixture cook for about a minute before adding 1 quart of half and half.  Cook gnocchi according to package directions.  Add the carrots and chicken to the roux.  Once the mixture becomes thick, add the chicken broth.  Once the mixture thickens again, add the cooked gnocchi, spinach and spices.  Simmer until the soup is heated through.  Before serving, season to taste by adding additional salt, if necessary. 

Let me know if you try the recipe, I'd love to know how it turns out for you!

Ok friends, that is enough for this post!  I'll leave you with the most recent belly pictures, since baby girl is really growing (and kicking)!!  I'll post soon about my baby shower and our fun trip to downtown Atlanta and the famous people we ate dinner next to!

 

Week 26. (sorry for the blur)

 

Week 27. (Hello 3rd trimester!)

 

Week 28.

 

Week 29.

 

Week 30.

 

Somehow I missed week 31? I have no idea how!!

 

 

Week 32.

 

Time for some yard work...

Yahoooo!!!!!!! Yippeeeeeeee!!!!!  Wahoooooooo!!!!!!!!!!  HOOORAYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry, can you tell I'm a wee bit excited?? Well let me tell you why - we bought a house!  And we moved in!  And we're all unpacked and settled in!  HA. So the last one was a complete lie, because we are nowhere close to being unpacked, settled, organized, decorated, or any of that good stuff.  But praise the Lord, all the boxes are out of the old place and at least somewhere in the new house - now it's just a matter of finding them all and figuring out where all of our junk treasures should go.  So if anybody wants to take a trip to Cumming, GA, please feel free 'cause this girl is pregnant AND she also has 0 decorating sense.  Please excuse our mess in the pictures, hopefully one day in the near in future I'll be able to post some of a neatly organized & nicely decorated house. Until then, these will do:

Getting the old place all packed up!

 

Pullin' out with our first load!  Thanks for bring the truck, dad - it was a HUGE help!

 

 

 

All piled in the truck.

 

Check out that dodge neon.  She's lookin' good and lovin' the new house!

 

 

Quite possibly my favorite room of the house - my beautiful kitchen!

 

The formal sitting room/office/catch-all room/who-knows-what-we'll-do-with-it room.

 

Living room with all of our pictures leaning against the wall - where they may or may not still be.

 

Our dining room currently has 2 chairs + 2 folding chairs.  We like to keep it classy, folks.  Only the finest furniture for the Armstrongs.

 

Guest bedroom - where are you people with sleep when you come visit us!

 

And that's where you'll put your clothes.

 

And that's where you'll do your thang.

 

Baby's room! The walls will eventually be gray, but I love that she has hardwood floors. She is just like her momma - so fancy.

 

Master (and still unpacked) bedroom.  Yea, that's a wood burning fireplace.  And yea, it's flippin awesome.  I may start a fire even though it's in the 80s just because it's so enticing.

 

Again, unpacked and disorganized.  We'll get there eventually.

 

 

Master bathroom that will eventually be redone.  I love gold, just not for my bathroom.  Unless it's gold jewelry that is in my bathroom.  That I'd be ok with.

 

Bonus room/extra bedroom/current office/sewing and craft room.

Not to mention it has this awesome fan with spaceships and a globe light.

 



 

And our other favorite part - the backyard!!!  Fenced in so kids can run free, a swingset for them to play on (although they may have to fight Brad - he keeps calling it his fort...)

 

 

They even left a garden for us, which currently has a massive amount of basil, tomatoes, giant jalapeños, green & red bell peppers, mint, parsley (I think?), and pretty flowers.  I'm super excited about all the yummies we'll get from there.

 

Brad hard at work with his new lawn mower!

We absolutely LOVE our new house.  We love the big fenced-in backyard, the swing set, our beautiful kitchen, our fireplaces - we just love everything about it!  And the location is better than we could have ever asked for.  The Lord has been so good to us and I'm extremely thankful that He has brought us here!  Now all that's left is a sweet little baby girl to put in the nursery that isnt even close to being finished :)

I can't move on to another subject without giving a HUGE shoutout to everybody that helped us with our move.  Our good friends Jalyn & Heath (& little Braxtyn, of course), Bri & Jay (with the help of Bowyen, Boston & Braven!), [these 4 folks and their kids also made us an AMAZING dinner so we wouldn't have to worry about cooking while unpacking, which was such a huge blessing.  They are good people, folks. Good people.] Ms. Katherine Hupert, Jon & Jess Christerson (LOVE my wine bucket & poo-pouri, by the way) ;), and of course, the biggest helpers of all - my parents!  They drove all the way down from North Carolina and spent several days here helping us pack, clean, unpack, clean some more, unpack some more, organize, shop, feed friends, and unpack and clean some more.  We literally would not have been able to do this move without their help and we are so grateful to them!  Thank you, mom & dad!!

In other fun news, we got a crib!

 

And a stroller! 

 

 

We are slowly making progress in getting baby girl the 5 gazillion things she apparently needs before she's born.  I am really excited about the crib because it makes her room actually start to look like a nursery :)  Now it's time to try my hand at making a crib skirt and possibly curtains - if anyone has experience and would like to teach me so I don't have to try by trial and error, I will not say no :)

Speaking of baby, homegirl LOVES to move.  She likes kicking, punching, flipping, elbowing, dancing, swimming, jumping, yoga - honestly I have no idea what she could possibly be doing in there.  Our first glimpse of that was at her ultrasound, because she would just not stop moving!  She seems to like her own space - if I bend over too far and crowd her or wear shorts that are too tight, she kicks and kicks and that spot until I change into looser clothing.  Last time we were at the doctor listening to her heartbeat, she even kicked the doppler to let us know the nurse was pushing a little too hard and she needed to back off.  If I had to guess, she's going to have quite the personality, and maybe even follow in mommy and daddy's footsteps and be a little soccer player herself!  And let's be clear - I wouldn't have it any other way.  Anyone who has had children knows what an amazing and special feeling it is to have your baby dance on your bladder in your tummy.  Thankfully she isn't big enough (about 14 inches and about 1 2/3 pounds) to cause me any discomfort or pain yet, so I'm just enjoying this stage while I can.  Only a couple more weeks and we'll be in the 3rd trimester - my how time has flown! 

Ok, if anyone is still reading - congratulations!  I'll leave you with weeks 22-25 of the belly!

Week 22

 

 

Week 23

 

Week 24. (Please ignore the fact that I'm wearing *almost* the same outfit.  Clothes are very limited these days...

 

Week 25.

 

I'm serious people - I expect visitors. And soon!!!