Friday Favorites

Happy Friday everyone! I haven't done a Friday Favorites post in foreverrr! Happy to be back in my blogging grove. Here are 5 quick things that are my favorite this week :) I hope you guys have a great weekend!! 

1. My sweet sidekick(s)

This pup follows me everywhere. Everyone in the family is benefiting from me working part time from home - but I think this pup is liking it best! She just goes from room to room sleeping every chance she gets. 

Between Molly being connected to me at all times, little guy growing rapidly in my belly and MJ knowing her days as a single child are dwindling.. my lap is ALWAYS full. A few nights ago I was soaking it all up while watching AJ work on nursery things. 

2. March Madness

When we moved to North Carolina, I totally didn't think about how big of a basketball state it is. But holllyyy cow, March Madness around here is like November/December in Athens. Between Duke and UNC, the whole state is lit up with anticipation. I think between AJ and I, we have four bracket challenges we are participating in. We have been invited to March Madness parties and everyone's yards is decorated in some shade of blue. Nothing will ever compare to UGA football, but I think I can get behind this energy :)

3. Zucchini Boats 

I have struggled a LOT with food aversions.. I don't want meat hardly ever - if I do, I want chicken nuggets or taco seasoned ground turkey. So I asked my bestie over at The Healthy Peaches to help me get more protein in my diet. We came up with different ways to use taco meat, incorporating more beans, eating beef or bone broth and yogurt! And TMI.. my digestion is wayyy better these days! 

When I posted this pic on insta, I received several requests for the recipe. Here is a hodgepodge of a few recipes I mixed together to get what I was searching for:

1.. Cook 1 pound of ground turkey in taco seasoning and set aside. 

2. Split zucchini and scoop out insides..then use the leftover remnants of taco goodness to saute a half onion and zucchini insides (salt + pepper). 

4. Mix meat, onion, zucchini, 1 can of corn and 1 can of black beans together. 

(This makes SO much that I put half in the zucchini boats and save the other half for the next night to serve over rice.) 

5. Scoop goodness into boats, top with Mexican cheese and cook in the oven at 350 for 25 minutes. 

6. Garnish with hot sauce, sour cream, and cilantro! 

4. Maternity Style

In Charlotte it has been cold wet and rainy for approximately 65 days, ha! I have been wearing the same leggings and three shirts over and over and over. So when it hit 60 last week, I jumped at the opportunity to wear something new!! 

These outfits were from our weekend in Charlottesville. Surprisingly, I snagged BOTH of these dresses at Goodwill for $4 each. I haaaate spending money on maternity clothes and I just couldn't pass this deal up. They are both sleeveless, so I paired a cardigan/jacket with them for the cooler weather.. They are both super comfy and I will be wearing them weekly until July! 

5. Grace Ann Designs

I saved my absolute favorite for last.. I'm opening up a small shop! I have been researching for weeks to find a creative outlet that I can do with my spare time. I thought about monogramming, party planning, even opening a dry bar! But I finally settled on creating handmade jewelry from home. It is very little overhead and doesn't take a huge initial investment. I have been playing around with different textures, materials, and price points in supplies, and I finally have nailed down "my style". I am SO excited about this new venture and I cannot wait to show you guys my designs! 

I am starting out with statement earrings only. I LOVE fun, girly statement earrings, but have a hard time finding ones that are light enough for my ears. I have pretty stretched out earlobes that I am super conscious about, so I also prefer to only wear post earrings opposed to hook. So a majority of my designs with be in this form. Next week I will be doing a giveaway over on my instagram and will be officially launching early/mid April. It would mean the world to me for you to like, share, and follow Grace Ann Designs. 

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Parents' Weekend in VA.. MJ's weekend with Gigi

This past weekend we had a parents' only weekend to Charlottesville, Virginia. When we saw Mumford and Sons were touring near us we knew we had to go.. we considered the Charleston show, but it was middle of the week, so we bought tickets to the one in Virginia for a weekend getaway! We left after lunch on Friday for the 4ish hour drive through some gorgeous mountains and vineyards. 

We checked into the hotel, and had a yummy Italian dinner and walked around the outdoor mall by out hotel. Andddd maybe stopped at Kilwin's for dessert :) It was so low key and just what this Mama needed. 

The next morning I told AJ he had to pick out breakfast since I had made the dinner reservations. Well.. he picked the BEST meal of the whole weekend. We walked the two smiles to Moose's by the Creek. Super old joint, linoleum floors, taxidermy everywhere, no dish over $9..And it was COMPLETE HEAVEN. I'm still dreaming about that french toast on good ole Sunbeam white bread. Thank goodness we had to walk the 2 miles back to the hotel to counterbalance a tiny bit of this feast. 

We shopped a little.. AJ found a barber for a much needed haircut, we took a glorious two hour nap.. def skipped lunch after that mound of a breakfast we had.. and got ready for date night number two!

We had dinner at The Local - recommended by two different friends. It did not disappoint. The building has been everything from a mechanic, a coffee shop, a photography studio.. and has now been completely opened up for a two story restaurant. Great vibe and would recommend if you are in Charlottesville! 

AJ's local beer and duck.. I had some soup and salad that wasn't worth a pic, but very yummy.. ha!

We had a parents only weekend last month, this month and have another one in May! We joke that Mom is making up for all the time we were in California and couldn't help us out. We are def getting our time in now before baby number 2. We can't thank Mom (and CC) enough for being so willing to always spend time with our girl!! 

  

Charlottesville is super cute - reminds me so much of Athens (prob bc UVA is there), but with more mountains. TONS of breweries and wineries too that I can't wait to try when we go back in September for my bestie Kelsey's wedding. (She and her fiance both went to UVA.) 

  

And then concert time! The UVA basketball stadium is an amazing venue.. usually in sports arenas you really compromise on sound quality, but not here! I am already thinking who we can see there next! 

We saw Mumford at Wakarusa wayyyyy back in 2011 - and they are even better now. They jam SO hard, cycle through 20+ instruments, and interact with the crowd so much. SUCH a good concert!! 

  

We got stuck in the parking lot.. and of course had to get a snack.. and didn't get to bed until after midnight. Suuuuper late for this 24 week pregnant mama, but it was all SO worth it! Love, love, love weekends getting one on one time with my hubby.. and paired with amazing music just makes it that much better!!  

Meanwhile back at home... Maddie and Gigi made unicorn cookies.. 

MJ showed Gigi her soccer skills at practice on Saturday morning..

And of course they went shopping! At the first store, Maddie Jane ONLY wanted to buy baby brother stuff. She picked all these out right by herself. Gigi even said they had to put some stuff back, ha! 

And don't worry... Fancy Nancy didn't get jipped. Because she was SO sweet getting stuff for baby brother, Gigi rewarded her with this insane haul! Again Maddie Jane picked out everything! Fingers crossed this helps some of our clothes arguments, ha! 

OBSESSED with twirly dresses. 

And then she wore THIS get up for their dinner date on the McDonalds playground...

And the weekend was topped off with ice cream of course! 

We woke up suuuuuper early on Sunday morning to get back in time to meet these two for brunch! We had to take mom to my favorite place to get crab cakes benedict :)

Safe to say.. they both had the best weekend and we did too :) So thankful for you Gigi and all you do for our kiddos!!

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Big Week of FIRSTS

That picture up there describes how Maddie Jane felt about last week. It was a BIG week in the Pryor house, with a bunch of firsts. Thank goodness Gigi is coming this week, because I don't think Mama can compete with all the excitement we had! 

First up we had our very first swim class! We did a mommy/me type class in LA, but it was really just exposure, not learning to swim. With this class, she went in the pool by herself, and I watched behind a glass wall. When I told her we signed up for it, she asked me pretty much every hour if it was time for swim class.

I'm pretty sure her cheeks were sore from all the smiling she did during those 30 minutes. That girl is FEARLESS. Afterwards, the teacher came to let me know how the class went. She said with most kids, they are getting them comfortable and not scared.. with Maddie Jane we have to work on her actually having reservation until she is a strong swimmer, ha! 

As soon as class was over, she asked if we could come back again the next day. Safe to say... Wednesdays are her favorite day of the week now :) 

We unintentionally had two new sports start all in the same week. About a month ago, we signed Maddie Jane up for a 5 week soccer league called 3 and Easy. It's totally for fun, no actual games, just teaching kids the basics. 

Again, this girl couldn't stop giggling with anticipation of trying something new! It was a chilly, foggy morning, but that didn't damper her spirits a bit! 

They asked for parent volunteers and Age was a "tiger" .. the kids chased him around trying to steal his "tail". 

And she scored her first goal!! The coach is absolutely amazing with the kids. He totally hams it up, and makes them feel like superstars! 

She LOVED soccer, but her first words off the field were... "Mommy, I'm really dirty. I need to take a bath and put on my jammies." Oh my diva girl. Never change. 

And to really top off this wiz bang of a weekend, we went to our first princess party with Lily! We dressed for the occassion as Elena of Avalor! 

It was the sweetest little event.. the princesses showed them how to curtsy, wave, and twirl like a princess. 

We got to meet and greet with each of the four princesses that were there. And Maddie Jane promptly talked their ears off! haha

Maddie Jane thinks Lily hung the moon. These two are the cutest together! 

One of Maddie Jane's favorites - Rapunzel! She tells me almost daily how she will have Rapunzel hair soon.

 The smiles! Oh it was just the sweetest little morning event! 

Belle did a story time, Moana did some games, and Rapunzel did a dance party! 

And I promptly started researching Disney cruises after all this fun! 

Fam pictures are rare these days! Thankful for Pamela snagging this one for us.

And that was a whooooolle lot of excitement and firsts for one week. I think we need to spend the next month exclusively on the playground or at home to bring it all down a notch around here. HA

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Restoring Grace

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