I loved food before I was pregnant. But, since making it through that first trimester I have realllllllly loved food. Every meal is just so good. I know it must sound like the goofiest thing! I'm just enjoying this whole new appreciation for all kinds of food!

I pack most of my cooking into weekends since weeknights seem to get so full with work, errands, and social commitments. Here are a few recipes I'm making this weekend (and one I made this past week!) that you might enjoy, too!

1. I'm making this carrot cake for Andrew's birthday. His actual birthday is Tuesday but we're celebrating a little early with my family tomorrow after church. I've made this cake a few times and it is hands down the winner of the most compliments from my husband. A few nights ago he asked if I might make make this for his birthday. Well, twist my arm! Yes, goodness! He asks for so little. And, if I'm honest, we BOTH love this cake. :)

2. This egg salad. Oh my heavens, you will love it (If you're into egg salad. Which I am.)! I made this earlier last week (doubled the recipe) and had egg salad sandwiches every day for lunch. I love the addition of the cherry tomatoes...so tasty.

3. Andrew and I are in a couples small group that meets twice a month at rotating houses. Earlier this month the couple that hosted served this chili. And my life has never been the same. I begged them for the recipe and they kindly shared the link with me. This is so easy to throw together...perfect for the Super Bowl weekend!

4. I've never made a pot roast, but I feel like Ree Drummond's Perfect Pot Roast might be the place to start. I'm serving it for Sunday lunch tomorrow...hoping it's as easy as Ree's photos make it look! (Don't you love picture tutorials?)

What are you cooking these days? I would love to hear some of your favorite recipes!

Letters to Baby Fossen // Volume 1

21 weeks pregnant! // Rifle Paper Co. iPhone case // Target Maternity sweater

Dear Baby Fossen,

You precious lamb! We can hardly wait to meet you! We're over the halfway point now! Soon it will be Maytime and we will be meeting you face to face. What an overwhelmingly happy moment that will be.

You are prayed for and loved and wanted far beyond anything we could express. Your Dad and I are SO excited to be your parents. We feel a bit daunted at the idea, too. We're going to be parents? Isn't that something that, like, older people do? :) This whole thing feels a bit surreal and wonderful.

Even feeling you move (which I've just started to feel...and recognize!) is surreal! Your movements are miraculous! There you are...still such a tiny creature...fashioned by the hand of a loving God...moving and flipping and stretching. You do your thing, Baby Fossen. Be all that He's made you to be!

We are filled with so much wonder about you. We wonder, will you be a boy or a girl? Will you like farming? Will you be mesmerized by the sound of the ocean the way we are? Will you enjoy music? And if you do, will you lean more toward Bruce Springsteen (that'll be your Dad's genes), or Bach (that will be mine)? We wonder what color your hair will be and if you'll have blue eyes or brown (or green?). We wonder whether you'll be introverted or extroverted, whether you'll like engineering or the arts, whether you'll feel more at home in the country or the city. We wonder and wonder and are filled with wonder.

We pray so many things for you. Your Dad prays for you and it melts my heart whenever he does. We pray that you'll be healthy and strong, and that you'll come to know God in a personal way. Our hearts are always restless until they find their rest in Him. We pray that you'll recognize that all of life points to the wonder and magnificence of a Creator God, and we hope that you'll come to know and love Jesus in a deeply personal way. 

We adore you. We can't wait to meet you! You are a gift from God and already we treasure you so immensely. Baby Fossen, we love you!

Hugs and kisses galore,

Your Mom (and your Dad, too!)

Baby Fossen!

Happy new year! I'm back after a few months of radio silence! I promise I have a good excuse...Andrew and I are expecting Baby Fossen!!! We are so over the moon excited...and elated...and happy...and thrilled! :) We're due in May! Yesterday I celebrated the halfway mark at 20 weeks. I've been feeling great (once I made it through that first trimester!). Honestly, I feel so thankful to be feeling as good as I do. The last few months have just flown by, and we're eagerly anticipating these next 20 weeks!

Baby Fossen, you are a gift from God and we can't wait to meet you!

Our Bermuda birth announcement! :) Celebrating the new year with an 18-week baby bump...

Our nursery chair! A Craigslist gem! I think Admiral Byrd is going to adjust to Baby Fossen just fine. :)

Sis took this photo of Andrew and I in October at our local Farmer's Market. We had told her we were pregnant (because it is impossible for me to keep a secret from my Sister!), but we hadn't shared the news with everyone else yet!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

It's my Mom's birthday today! Happy birthday, Mom!!!

Here's the thing it's easy for me to forget about my Mom: she fills a lot of other life roles than just 'mom'. She's a wife...a daughter...a sister...a sister-in-law...for a lot of years she was somebody's daughter-in-law...now she's someone's mother-in-law...she's an aunt...a cousin...a friend...a small group leader...a neighbor...a mentor...

That's a lot of roles for one woman!

For all the roles you've played in my life, and all the roles I see you play in other people's lives...I'm grateful, Mom! I love you!

Guernsey, Channel Islands // England

Happy September! My Dad's parents were married on September 1st years and years ago...and Andrew proposed on September 1st two years ago! Technically it was his second proposal...in 24 hours. :) You can read all about that special weekend here.

Our engagement anniversary has had me reminiscing all day! And, when my friend Katie posted this photo on Instagram a few weeks ago, my mind went soaring back to our honeymoon travels in England!

Have you read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society? Oh goodness was it ever a wonderful little book. I think there might even be a movie adaptation in the works. I read the book several years ago and thought it was downright delightful. It made me want to visit the Guernsey Islands...

...fast forward a few years later and my soon-to-be-husband and I were talking honeymoon plans! We both wanted to travel to the British Isles. Andrew scheduled the whole trip and a few weeks after our wedding we were off on our European adventure!

The first stop on our trip (after a flight into Heathrow) were the Channel Islands...and Guernsey! THE Guernsey! From that wonderful book! I was SO excited. Guernsey was as charming, darling, and precious as I'd imagined. I didn't want to leave! Andrew and I explored a few historical sites, and then wandered into the downtown area for a cup of coffee. The town was gearing up for a parade later in the week and shop owners and townsfolk were spread around the main street hanging banners and decorations for the parade. It was like something out of a Disney movie. I loved every second of it.

If you ever get the chance to visit Guernsey I hope you'll go! And if you never get to go, read the wonderful little book about the island and its people...a pseudo-traveling adventure! :)

Living Room Artwork

When Andrew and I bought our house the thing I was secretly most excited about was hanging artwork on the walls. So long, shared college dorm room! Adios, apartment living! This was going to be the place we could make ours. I had plans to decorate the walls with all sorts of goodies.

Little did I know we'd spend the first six months of home ownership just trying to get the wallpaper down! Haha! Getting artwork on our walls has been a work in progress, like most of this house. :) 

I feel like we've finally crossed the finish line with the wallpaper removal, painting, spackling, etc. Now on to the fun part...artwork! I'm a big believer that it takes time to make a house a home. I'm not looking to throw just any old artwork on our walls. I want it to have significance for both Andrew and I, and reflect the life we're building together {I don't have high expectations for it at alllll ;)}.

Several months ago Andrew and I popped into a print store in Charlottesville, Virginia. We stumbled across some maps from the 1873 edition of Gray's Atlas. There were dozens of prints from the atlas, but the two we fell in love with are featured below. One depicts a map of present day Oklahoma (labeled 'Indian Territory'!) and the other is a map of the Dakotas. My Dad was born and raised in Oklahoma, and Andrew's Dad hails from North Dakota. These maps reminded us of our dads...two incredible men who have had such an impact on both of our lives. I don't think Andrew and I would be the man and woman we are today had it not been for the fathers we had. We put the maps up in our living room, and every time I glance at them I think of the legacy of love that has been passed down to us. I hope it's a legacy we can pass on to many generations!

{We framed the prints with a rustic barn wood material. Seemed fitting as both of our dads grew up in farming communities! I like the masculine feel it brings to an otherwise pretty fancy feeling room.}

Living Room Before & {Almost} After.

Hello! Hasn't this summer flown by?!?! I can hardly believe September is right around the corner...! I feel like I'm still trying to catch my breath from what has felt like a whirlwind summer of family visits, vacations, celebrations, and home projects!

Ah, yes, somewhere in between all the summer activity Andrew and I have been trying to spruce up our living room. :) You may remember around this time last year, I was writing about painting these built in bookshelves (which I still just adore! They're one of my favorite parts of the whole room).

We finished up that painting and didn't really touch the rest of the room. We were gearing up to host our small group for the year, and the room worked fine. We decided we would get to more painting, decorating, etc. later on. (We did move that dresser though!)

Well, "later on" arrived this past spring! It was time to get a handle on this room. Andrew has given me free reign with every paint color in our house. I so appreciate his vote of confidence in my judgement. :) While thumbing through a Southern Living Magazine I came across a feature on the Nathaniel Russell House in Charleston, South Carolina. Sherwin-Williams worked with the Historic Charleston Foundation to develop a gorgeous paint color called Verditer Blue. It's a rich creamy turquoise color combining shades of blue and green. I was SOLD. 

We put a sample on the wall, cleared out the room, and got to work!

About this stage of the game I realized just how much color was on our walls. I started to have a bit of uncertainty...but your kind comments on Instagram, and my family's genuine words of encouragement led me to believe it might not be all that bad! :)

Here's our (almost) finished living room below! We've got a few more items to get on the walls and mantel. Window replacements are coming. And blinds. Drapes. Throw pillows (my friend, Julie, compiled arguably the best throw pillow suggestion post for this room!!!). It's a work in progress! But, it's real life! :) A new room made with plenty of helping hands, a few gallons of paint, and a little bit of hard work...totally doable!