"Babymooning" in the Outer Banks!

I honestly had never heard of a "babymoon" until two or three years ago, but their trendiness seems to be on the rise! I think for some great reasons, too. Our babymoon to the Outer Banks totally helped us feel more relaxed and relationally ready to welcome our son into the world in the next couple of weeks!

Keeping Up with the Capra's: Triathlons, Graduations, & Mother's Day

These last two weeks have been full. It is so nice to be out of classes and to experience the first feelings of summer!

Keeping Up with the Capra's: Girl brunch, pedis, and parenting practice

The school year is finally over! Woohoo! Let the summer nesting begin!

Keeping Up with the Capra's: Feeling... 24? Birthday and Easter Celebrations!

These two weeks have been two full ones! Especially since my birthday fell on Easter weekend, there were lots of reasons to celebrate:)

Paint!

Jon and I finally picked out some paint for the nursery and the bedroom... only to dislike it once it was on the walls! Which is always disappointing. But hey, we're moving in the right direction! Any recommendations for grays?

Easter Sunday

Our Easter Sunday was different this year! We had Easter dinner in my parents front yard with my mom's extended family, and it was absolutely beautiful. And the weather made it one of the most beautiful Easters I can remember! It was also the first year Jon and I have been invested in our church, which means our Resurrection Sunday celebration was even more exciting.

Birthday Celebration

Funny story, for the whole week leading up to my birthday I thought I was turning 24! Nope, only 23... but I'm not even that old and I'm already getting my age confused 😂 #mombrain

Jon took the day off, which was the best. And see the hanging flowers + the planter under my window in our Easter picture? He knew exactly what I wanted for my birthday 😄
We went to breakfast at a little place called Dock Taylor's on the oceanfront, got Starbucks, saw Beauty & the Beast, had dinner at our fave local sushi place, ate at Rita's for dessert, AND finished the day with a lounge in the hammock and a bike ride with the pup. It was a super full day, and involved so many of my favorite things. My husband is so good to me.

In the kitchen...

Finding things to make for Easter was difficult, but lead me to the oh-so-inspiring place of Pinterest! For our Easter potluck, I made Quinoa Vegetable Salad with Lemon Basil Dressing, and it was sooo so yummy. Cool, quinoa salads are great to make the day ahead and chill overnight, because the longer they sit in their dressing, the yummier they get! This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, and vinegar free, and high in protein, but would also be great if you added some feta or a crumbly cheese. 

I also made this Maple Oat Mixed Berry Cobbler. Next time I make it I'm going to double the amount of topping the recipe calls for, but it was such an easy recipe! I used a giant bag of frozen mixed fruits, which was cheaper than buying all the berries separately (I just stuck them in the oven for a few minutes before I put the topping on, to let them thaw out.) This recipe is gluten free, sugar free and vegan! (Sidenote: while it's hot it's a little runnier, but when it's cold/cool it isn't as runny... but just as delicious.)

A couple of days later, I made these Flourless Banana Chocolate Chips Muffins! I wake up SO hungry in the morning that I've been trying to have easy, protein-packed breakfasts that are quick to grab. They are also gluten free, dairy free, and egg free... and if you sub the honey for maple syrup, it would be vegan, too! They were really yummy, and I'm making them again for a brunch tomorrow! (Surprising, because they are made of beans!!!)

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Currently: Watching, Reading, Wearing, and more!

After such a full two weeks, it feels like these next week are going to be so calm! Plus I only have one last exam to do on Thursday... and then I won't be back until next January (when my self-proclaimed "maternity leave" is up!😜). After that exam, I will be free to nest for the rest of the summer, and I am so so excited.

What have you been up to?

Linking up with some awesome parties here!

Keeping Up with the Capra's: Spring Things

These last two weeks have been full ones! Not only were we able to get out of town for a day, but spring just seems to make everyday life just a little bit nicer (minus the pollen! 😝)

Keeping Up with the Capra's: All things BABY!

Hey friends!

I feel like the last two weeks have been PACKED. The first week was spring break for me, and the second was full of Gender Reveal party preparation! (Not to mention cleaning my entire house!)

And while these posts are all about our family life updates, I realize that all I have to talk about this time has to do with pregnancy, babies or maternity! 😳 Lol. Sorry! It's all I seem to be able to talk about these days 😂

Keeping Up with the Capra's: Knitting, Adventuring, and New Kitchen Shelves!

You know how they say that when you're a mom "the days are long, but the years are short"? Well, I I feel like my days are short and my weeks are short, too! Maybe it's my lack of energy or possible "preggo brain," but it feels like this year is flying by.
(Not that I'm complaining... I can't wait for August to get here!!!)

So, we are long over due for an update, so here we go:

Hammock dates

Jon's brother sent us a hammock for Christmas, and this beautiful, early-spring-like weather means we've finally been getting to use it! (Good timing, too, before I get too pregnant to be safe!)

(And when I say "early-spring-like," I'm not kidding... Everything bloomed these past two weeks!)

Artichoke baby!

Between January and this current week, the baby has grown from the size of a strawberry, to the width of an artichoke! This week (19) it's officially 6in long! (The length of a mango!)

The last couple of weeks I'm in that awkward stage between outgrowing all my clothes and not quite fitting into maternity clothes. Everything is either too small or too big! And I'm constantly pushing my belly out in hopes that I will actually "look pregnant" 😂

(And yes, both of those mirror pics were taken in thrift store fitting rooms 😂)

Norfolk cafes and museams

This past week was my friend Emma Rowan's birthday! So we spent last Saturday trying out a macoron cafe, standing in crowded, hipster coffee shops, and walking around an art museum! It was fun to have a girl day.

P.S: if you saw my Instagram story a few weeks ago, this is also the beauty that won Miss Deep Creek! woohoo!

Kitchen plants for kitchen shelves

Jon was a total babe of a husband last week and hung up some new shelves for me in the kitchen! My tiny kitchen is a blessing, but also a kitchen nightmare... and even though these shelves will mostly be housing my canned goods and veggies, I still wanted them to look cute! So what did I do? Buy plants 😋 #whitegirlstatus

Can't wait for these little beauties to grow! (and to finish filling my shelves!)

Thistlefish Knits

Hey, remember my knitting shop? I started it on Facebook, but I'm super unhappy with how that's working out... so by the end of this month, I will have a functioning Etsy shop! Woohoo!
I had a lot of fun projects, including some girl/boy twin blankets (so fun) and a tri-stripe fuzzy blanket!

My first shipment! 

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Next week Jon and I will find out what our little sparrow is, girl or boy!!! I can't wait! So this next week for me is all things Gender Reveal Party inspiration 🙈 (You can check out my reveal party pinterest board if you want a peak at what I've been planning!)
So I want to know, what are your fave gender reveal ideas?

Linking up with some awesome parties here!

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Keeping Up with the Capra's: Holidays, Snow, and... Springtime?

Welcome back to normal, holiday-free life everybody! Honestly, it's always a bummer when the holidays are over, but there is also something fresh and inviting and exciting about a new year, a new planner, and unlimited possibilities for the coming months.

I took a longer break than I planned, but something in me is always hesitant to jump back into blogging before I feel excited and refreshed. This keeps me from treating it like an obligation or another homework assignment. So, I'm sorry for my absence, but not sorry for how I've spent it!

Holidays!

Jon and I are so fortunate to live very close to both of our families, and we were able to spend a lot of time with all of them, for Christmas and New Years. It was great! And fairly restful, since we didn't have to travel. 

And of course, it was our first Christmas with Penny-girl;)

My favorite part of the holiday week, though, was our Christmas Eve service. I didn't go to a lot of Christmas Eve services as a kid, but since Jon and I have grown to love our church so much we didn't want to miss out. It was a candle light service, and if you've never been to one, let me tell you what surprised me most: how much light fills a room when everyone is just holding one, tiny candle! It was incredible, and symbolic, and brought tears to my eyes. 

New habits

I have a word for the year I want to focus on (more on that later) instead of making a bunch of goals, but I've still be trying to pay attention to the habits I'm bringing into to 2017. For the last two weeks I've been reading more and doing yoga every couple of days, along with drinking tonssss of water. January is such a great time for optimism and big goals, but I'm still trying to keep is low-key and realistic, especially since I'm still in classes. 

Snow days

Our corner of southern VA got a bonafide blizzard last weekend! It shut down schools for a whole three days, and I got Jon home for an extra week day. We took the pup on a lot of snow walks, but spent more of the days holed up inside watching movies and watching the snow fall.

Jon's Birthday!

This week, along with the snow, we celebrated Jon's birthday! I didn't get any pictures because he was at work all day and we didn't get to go out...  Even the rum cake I tried to make him didn't work out! We did, though, get to go out the next night for AYCE crab legs with his family which was a lot of fun.

Happy birthday to my crazy funny husband, you're my greatest gift of grace and I love you more than anything 💘👫 #Studly #studlieststud #studhubby

A photo posted by Casey Capra (@caseygcapra) on Jan 10, 2017 at 6:17pm PST

And after snow... comes 70-degree, sunny days???

Yes, you read that right... we went from snow on the ground to a 70 degree day that promptly melted it all away! But hey, I ain't complaining! The sunshine was a welcome change, and Penny and I enjoyed our walk feeling less like winter and more like spring!

I obviously don't have an current posts to share with ya'll, but I'm very excited about what I have planned to share with ya'll in the next week or two!

What was your favorite part of the holidays?

Have you had any schizophrenic weather lately?

Linking up with some awesome parties here!