My Etsy Wish List

I have been more obsessed than usual with Etsy lately. Here's a few of the things on there that I'm lovin'! (Note: If you're not my husband, you don't have to read this)


Wallet
Cotton Purr-$48


Rough Baroque Pearl Stud
Hanyou23-$25


Baby Blanket (for the new nursery!)
Baby Mae Boutique-$33


Vintage Wrap Dress
Repodress-$65


Vintage Paisley Dress
Linbot1-$18



Pink Geo Earrings
Amerrymishap-$13.99



Seashell Locket
Baby Loves Pink-$23



Yellow Dress
Pohlmans-$15


Mint Chocolate Chip Fudge!
Ohfudgestore-$10

Throw on and Go Classic...

I had an OB appointment early this morning, and between getting the three of us up, fed, and ready, and the twenty minute drive there, I didn't have a lot of time to dress myself. It's even harder to grab an outfit and go these days because of course some things either just don't look good right now or aren't comfortable.
Here's a classic 'throw on and go' outfit-A slouchy sweater, skinny jeans, and booties that will look great whether you're expecting or not!
I added some pearl studs and chunky rings to keep it simple but add some girly touches since the boyfriend sweater has such a masculine feel to it.

Sweater-my husband's
Jeans-Motherhood Maternity
Booties-Macy's

20 weeks!!

I also got just a couple pictures of my running-errands outfit yesterday, before my camera died. Just a cotton tunic and some leggings, but it was actually one of the most comfortable preggo outfits I've worn so far (not counting pajamas, of course!)

 Tunic-Wal-mart (I got it on clearance for literally $7!)
Leggings-Old Navy Maternity
Boots-Target
Earrings-Kendra Scott

And there's my wee bump again! I really liked this outfit because it skimmed my stomach enough for me to look pregnant (I still feel a little self-conscious about being in that stage where it looks like you're gaining weight but isn't always obvious that you're pregnant), but wasn't tight or form fitting.

I'm trying to drag myself through the rest of this day...the G baby woke up at 5:20 this morning, which is about an hour earlier than usual...an hour really makes a difference these days!

xoxo,

L

Impress the man in your life with (easy) chicken-fried steak!

This is one of those meals that looks/sounds way more complicated than it is. I was scared to try it. Frying anything always seems to be a long, arduous process (not to mention messy!) and I have never before made gravy from scratch. But unless the the man in your life is a health nut (because let's be honest, this isn't the most diet-friendly meal out there), I promise he will be impressed with this! I found it extremely delicious myself...so much so that I sneaked into the kitchen around 9 last night to eat a little bit of leftovers.

You will need:

3-4 cubed steaks

1 sleeve saltine crackers, crushed

1 cup flour, divided into 3/4 cup and 1/4 cup

3 1/2 cups milk, divided into 1/2 cup and 3 cups

oil, for frying

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon red pepper (crushed or ground will work)

salt

pepper

1/4 teaspoon paprika

Instructions

1. First, pour about 1/2 to 1 inch of oil in your frying pan (do NOT use a nonstick) and heat it up on medium heat. The sprinkle a little bit of salt and pepper on your steaks and set them aside for now.

2. Crush the beejesus out of your crackers. You really want them to be as close to a powder as you can get them, to ensure that they'll stick to your steaks. I found it was helpful to crush them some in the original cracker sleeve, pour them into a plastic baggie, and then crush them with the end of a screwdriver, lol (we don't have fancy kitchen tools at my house!).

3. Mix cracker crumbs, 3/4 cup flour, red pepper, baking powder, paprika, and about 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and about 1/2 teaspoon salt together. Mix in bowl but then pour on a plate to make it easier to coat your steaks.

4. Mix 1/2 cup milk and your egg together in a bowl. Then Dredge your steaks in the DRY mixture first. Then dredge in the milk and egg, and then BACK to the Dry mixture again. Don't be afraid to push the dry mixture in a bit to make sure you get a great coating.

5. Gently place your steaks in the heated oil and fry for about 3-4 minutes on EACH side. Remove, and place on foil-lined pan and keep warm in oven (I had my oven set at about 250 degrees).

                                             There's my steaks, looking all sexy in the oven!!

Now for the gravy!


Drain MOST of the oil out of the pan that you fried your steaks in. You want about 1-2 Tablespoons of oil left, and any cooked parts of steak/coating that were left behind when you removed your steaks. You won't really be able to measure the oil (since it will be extremely hot) so you kinda just have to eyeball it.
Mine looked like this:

Okay, now Whisk together 3 cups of milk, 1/4 cup flour, and about 1 teaspoon of pepper and salt, each. I just whisked mine together in the cup I measured my milk in. (Less clean-up!)

Okay, now pour that in with your drippings. Constantly stirring, cook it at medium-high for about 10 minutes.

I served my gravy over the steak, and also made some mashed potatoes. It was super-good!

And on a completely unrelated note, here is what the G baby looks like after he gets in my mousse!

At least he knows where to put it I guess?

XoXo,

L

What I've been wearing lately...(and an announcement)

I still haven't really bought any maternity clothes. I've been trying to avoid it, because on my budget, it literally pains me to think about buying a piece of clothing that I will only be wearing for six months or so. The problem is, I don't really have anything to wear! I do have two pairs of maternity jeans...and some leggings. So pretty much this has been my uniform the past month or so:

Yep. My husband's camoflauge pants, timberland boots, and a t-shirt under a zip-up fleece jacket. We've been spending a lot of time outside lately, so it kinda works.
Now that the weather is finally cooler, we've been trekking all around the land around our house. Some of the hills in the woods are pretty steep, so I feel like the hiking days are numbered for this pregnant lady!
Here's some of my favorite photos from over the past month...

 Hiking on the Blue Ridge Parkway while visiting my parents in the mountains for Thanksgiving...it's cold up there!

 Same outfit, totally different day. I told you guys!!

 No, that's not a fox-it's our Shiba Inu Miles. (And my husband).

 The advantage to wearing my husband's clothes is that sometimes we have on the exact same outfit, and then I can tease him like we did it on purpose and say things like, "look how cute we are" and "I knew you loved me, but geez."

 The G baby and his grandpa doing some coloring while the Turkey cooks.

                                                                          Vogue pose.

 I have a long series of photos that my husband took of the G baby and his Uncle Kendrick (my sister's husband) rough-housing. They're all pretty funny when you look at them in sequence, but this is one of my favorites.

                                     The aftermath of one of our walks around the land. It tires this pregosaurus out!

 This is about the closest that I will get to our horses. Some people would say that I'm afraid of horses, but I would say that I just greatly respect their size. Anything that can render you brain damaged/dead with one kick deserves it's distance.

 These are my little brother's size 32x34 Levis. They fit me up until last week. Also, here is the G baby looking cute in his pom hat and walking stick.

And...we found out the sex of the baby!! Everything on the ultrasound scan looked good, which is a relief to us, as you may or may not know that the G baby has a possibly genetic kidney issue (he's okay though).
So...

My husband  brought home this adorable little cupcake that one of his classmates made for us. It was such a nice surprise, I was actually really touched. Plus, it was super delish!!
I am really excited about having a little girl-and the G baby didn't really seem disappointed like I thought he would be. My husband and I will hopefully start turning my office into a nursery while he is on Christmas break-yippee!!
Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and start of December!

XoXo,

L

L's Fabulous Finds Under Fifty (bucks)!

I have been a blogging failure lately. To put it mildly, my motivation is in the shitter. But don't take it personally, because I haven't even been motivated enough to send my husband a Christmas wish-list, and usually by this point he will have already gotten three different ones emailed to him by now! Which is why I am able to provide you with my latest amazing internet finds, as my search for what this pregnant lady wants for Christmas goes on. Side note, I have all my shopping done for my family and mostly wrapped, yeahhh!


I love this simple but sexy dress for the upcoming holiday party season (or work even!) The gold buttoned back is an awesome addition.
    
Asos-$47.37
(Asos always gives you free shipping, no matter how much you spend=awesome!)

How funny are these personalized 'Real Housewives of .........(you fill in the blank with your city or town)' t-shirts? They come in short-sleeved as well.

Signals-$24.95-$26.95


I really love the structure of this jacket, it looks really luxe for the price.

Need Supply-$48

I have to say that a fitted long sleeve black tee under this jacket would be amazing.

Forever21-$42.80

Needham Lane is a southern company that has to-die-for hostess gifts. These slippers come in a ton of colors and designs-I love them all!
      
Needham Lane-$30


Magic wand salt and pepper shakers?? Too cute!

Francesca's Collection-$12