one last time!

I got to see my boy one last time today before I officially welcome him into the world. The doc was concerned that he wasn't growing based upon my tummy measurements, so she sent me in for an ultrasound and he's weighing in a 7lbs 2 oz! He's doing just fine! I carry more into my back rather than a basketball outfront, hence my measurements being small. So that's good news!

Also, I am so excited that baby boy's nursery is being featured today over here! 2nd and Strand is a wonderfully unique design blog hosted by two incredible women, both whom I idolize and adore. Check it out!

Have a great LABOR day. {i kinda hope i do go into labor... ha ha, I kid... but mostly not kidding}

our little mermaid

A short and sweet video of our little fish.
She's a swimmer like her mama!
Maybe brother will be a pole vaulter like Dad.

so this is what it feels like

Peace and quiet. With nothing to do but read a book... aaannndd eat a bowl of chocolate nutty ice cream. Jared started his FINAL semester of grad school last night. It had been so long since I had a whole night to myself that it took me a while to figure out what I should do with my time {i mean, after my pinterest perusing and fall clothing wishlist making}. I eventually plopped down on our bed, put some headphones in and wrote in my journal, followed by a good library book. I equate productivity with keeping busy, and so for me to agree with myself to do nothing was so weird but so awesome. And it felt good.

Oh, and fyi, you'll be interested to know that I have a stress fracture in my left foot. It has been panging me the past two weeks so I went to the podiatrist and I guess pregnancy is enough to crack my fragile bones :) Luckily I can take the boot off when I'm at home relaxing, but it's a sore eye out in public. It's really too bad I don't have a cool story to support the huge thing!

it's ending...

follow along @koakden

I can't believe summer is coming to an end! Labor Day is the official closing date of the season for me since the pool shuts it's gates. And my friends, when the day comes that I can no longer tan then it is no longer summer. But I am so looking forward to Fall! Autumn here in Virginia is just breaktaking. And it will be such a joy to have two kids to dress up for Halloween this year :) Forgive me while I do another countdown, but only 23 days until baby boy comes (or sooner!)!

In more exciting news for you, here are the FOUR winners of the Stuck on You Giveaway! Happy Monday!

colors of the wind

Before we ventured into Richmond we went a bit east to hit up Jamestown, America's first English settlement and America's first love story, or so Disney says. As much as I love the music in Pocahontas, I can't believe how much Disney botched the true story of the Indian princess. There's not much left of the original fort, but the view was enough to convince me to set up permanent camp. Evelyn had a grand 'ol time swinging from the rafters of the old hut and from the cannon. She is quite the gymnast these days. I need her to start makin me the $1 million buckaroos like Gaby Douglas!

** also, today is the last day for the latest giveaway! Jump over and enter if you haven't already :) Winner of Dream Catcher Baby giveaway announced here.

in the Capital of the South

This past weekend we decided to take one last getaway as a family of three before morphing into a family of four. Evelyn is NOT the best traveler, so we decided on somewhere not too far away so we all would stay sane in the car {We also bought a portable dvd player, which SAVED us. Judge all you want, but after our last road trip of screaming for 4 hrs straight, no nap, tears, this trip was heavenly!}.

I spent my childhood in Richmond, Va and with such fond memories I thought it'd be nice to re-visit with the two loves of my life, and luckily they conceded :) Richmond is such a fabulous city, with so much history being the Capital of the Confederacy. I wish we had more time to do more historical things, but with limited time we did the "fun" stuff.

We first walked Carytown. It's such a charming street with little boutiques and the Byrd Theatre is iconic. I mean, look at it! The interior is a brilliant red velvet, with gold trim, and antique lighting. Before the evening show, an organist pops up and plays beautiful melodies. The place has not left the 1920's and it is magical. While we didn't see a show, we did eat some fab ice cream across the street at Bev's much to my delight. After our window shopping was done I had my sights set on Maymont, a beautiful mansion estate whose grounds are home to Japansese Gardens, a "zoo" and a children's petting farm. It was rather fun to see Evelyn run the same paths that I once did as a girl. I don't feel much older than my 5 year old self, you know.

While we were chillaxin on a bench, some jazz music could be heard off in the distance. Evelyn pulled out her best dance moves, which had Jared and I roaring. I love that girl!

Thursday Giveaway from Stuck on You!! {CLOSED}

name puzzle, sketchpad, lunchbox: c/o Stuck On You

I may be biased, but I think Evelyn has the prettiest name :) So when I saw that Stuck on You had all kinds of ways to personalize items from towels, to travel tags, to backpacks, to waterbottles - pretty much anything - I was sold! Evelyn has been working on shapes lately, namely putting them in the right holes in the bucket, so I thought a puzzle would be fitting for our morning "school" time. She loves it! It's been a great exercise for her as she has repeatedly learned letters and shapes simultaneously :)

Evelyn is also a coloring fiend. We were going through paper like caarazzy. I love that with her sketchpad she now has her own personalized coloring "space" where the paper is just spacious enough for her little hands to scribble like mad and no more paper pile messes because her artwork is kept together :) It's super handy to take to church or other places where she needs to be in her quiet mode. 

And how adorable is that lunch pail?!? Bah, I love it! It is the cutest thing to see her carry it around. It's so light weight and easy to clean that it is perfect for even an 18 month old to manage the responsibility of carrying her own lunch :) We've been able to use it on several occassions so far and I love that this will be something she can have for years to come. I was also able to get my hands on some of their stick-on and iron-on labels, which will be helpful at future playdates when we accidentally leave a cup or jacket behind.

How bout all that jazz?! And to think that Stuck On You offers a plethora of customizable gifts and labels beyond this, possibilities are endless! 

Today Stuck on You is offering 4 readers, YES, FOUR, 

a $50 voucher to their store!!

To enter, both are mandatory:

1. Be a follower of Little Almanac 

2. Visit Stuck on You and leave a comment saying what item(s) you would use your voucher on!

Giveaway ends Thursday, August 23.

Good luck!

Winners!

Congratulations! Send me your email ladies at littlealmanac@gmail.com to claim your win :)

they better have this in heaven!

If you follow me on instagram, you will know that I attempted to make Key Lime Pie for the first time this past Saturday....and.... The angels did come out and sing folks, it was THAT GOOD! While my fingers were burning from the acid of squeezing 20 limes, it was all worth it for that sweet creamy tang and homemade graham cracker crust. Wanna give it a whirl?

Key Lime Pie
originial recipe here

Ingredients:

Graham Cracker Crust:
1/3 of a 1-pound box graham crackers {I prefer Trader Joe's Cats Cookies - sooo yummy!}
5 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
1/3 cup sugar

Filling: 3 egg yolks
2 teaspoons lime zest
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2/3 cup freshly squeezed key lime juice

Topping: whipped cream

For the graham cracker crust:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Break up the graham crackers; place in a food processor and process to crumbs. If you don't have a food processor, place the crackers in a large plastic bag; seal and then crush the crackers with a rolling pin. Add the melted butter and sugar and pulse or stir until combined. Press the mixture into the bottom and side of a pie pan, forming a neat border around the edge. Bake the crust until set and golden, 8 minutes. Set aside on a wire rack; leave the oven on. 

For the filling:
Meanwhile, in an electric mixer with the wire whisk attachment, beat the egg yolks and lime zest at high speed until very fluffy, about 5 minutes. Gradually add the condensed milk and continue to beat until thick, 3 or 4 minutes longer. Lower the mixer speed and slowly add the lime juice, mixing just until combined, no longer. Pour the mixture into the crust. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the filling has just set. Cool on a wire rack, then refrigerate. Freeze for 15 to 20 minutes before serving. Pipe whipped cream on however you please!

baby boy's "nursery"

I think it is important for each person to have a "space" in a home that is theirs. This is even true for babies. With Evelyn, we had a 1 bedroom apartment, yet I still decorated her little corner in our room. We are now living in a 2 bedroom, but that again leaves us with a baby in our room. Luckily we have a little nook right off our bed that is the perfect spot for baby boy to go. A while back I did an inspiration board  which I love, but I couldn't validate spending money on stuff to decorate a corner. So here's my design on a dime :)

So... tada! That's it! Simple but sweet, right?! 36 more days! Oh, and inspiration for airplane mobile here.

take a space ride with a cowboy, baby

First off, what was NSync even thinking with that song "space cowboy?" Have you ever listened to the lyrics? What does it even mean? Moving on... This past Saturday we decided it was time to take Ev to one of her happy places. Although she never told us the National Air and Space Museum was on her happy list, we figured with her love of trains and airplanes we could bet a good buck or two that she would be enamored with it. And she was!! Jared and I have actually always been fascinated with space. One of our favorite movies is "October Sky." The other day Jared was just humming the theme song and got goose bumps, so we like to think of ourselves as space fanatics. Couple my obsession with space ice cream + Jared's fascination with flight + Evelyn's love for anything that has wings {including pigeons!}, the Air & Space Museum was a successful trip!