Healthy Breakfast Smoothie

I've been loving this smoothie because it's healthy, delicious and so easy and quick to make in the morning. 

          You'll need:

• 1 pear, cored and chopped
• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 2 cups milk (I use almond milk)
• 3/4 cup rolled oats (instant will work too)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon 

Combine all ingredients in blender and blend on high until smooth. Recipe makes two smoothies.

The pear acts as a natural sweetener so there's no need to add any sugar. The oatmeal really thickens up the consistency of the smoothie and helps me feel full until lunch.

A tip that makes this smoothie come together even faster is to pre-cut a week or so worth of ripe pears and freeze them. I cut all my pears into 8 chunks so I know that putting 8 chunks in the blender will always equal 1 pear.

Pregnancy Update / 24 Weeks

How far along? 

24 weeks...16 weeks to go!

Gender?

The sweetest baby boy

How big is baby? 

According to my app, Miles is the size of a cantaloupe this week. At my last ultrasound appointment two weeks ago he was 1.1 lbs, so I can only imagine what he weighs now. The doctor told us he already has big feet, so he can thank his Dad for that! haha.

Total weight gain/loss? 

I've gained 9 pounds so far.

Maternity clothes? 

Right now I'm wearing mostly dresses and tunics with leggings.

I've found a ton of cute and affordable clothes at Pinkblushmaternity. I love it because the shirts and dresses I've ordered don't have a strictly maternity feel so I'll be able to wear them even when I'm not pregnant, which makes it seem like it's not such a waste of money. 

I can still wear my pre-pregnancy pants with a bellyband, but I find bellybands to be very annoying and uncomfortable.

    ^dresses from pink blush

Sleep?

No issues sleeping, yay! I've gotten used to sleeping on my side but I still find myself fantasizing about when I'll be able to sleep on my stomach again!

Best moment this week?

Miles kicked the doctor when she was listening to his heartbeat at my prenatal appointment haha. He is so active right now, I love it!

Food cravings? 

Are words really needed here? haha

I've always loved sweets, but before I was pregnant I loved chocolate and peanut butter whereas now I'm all about vanilla and cinnamon. Menchies frozen yogurt, specifically the vanilla and cinnabon flavors twisted together and mixed with white chocolate chips, pieces of cinnabon dough, strawberries, granola and topped with cinnabon icing has been my obsession lately. It's not totally unhealthy, but it's also not great for me either, so I'm trying to limit myself to getting this only once a week. 

My healthy alternative is vanilla greek yogurt with a ton of cinnamon topped with granola for a little crunch and fiber :)

I'm also craving sugar cookies. The iced pumpkin cookies they have at Starbucks right now have been another thing I'll occasionally treat myself to.

Food aversions? 

I can finally say no to this! Throughout the entire first trimester and well into my second I had terrible aversions to any kind of meat. Just the thought of it would make me sick to my stomach, so I ate a vegetarian diet for months. Poor Ryan was left to fend for himself a lot of nights. He is such a good sport!

Labor signs? 

Not yet...keep cooking in there baby Miles!

Belly button in or out? 

It's about halfway out.

What I miss?

Stomach sleeping, fitting normally into my clothes, sushi and soft cheese!

What I'm looking forward to?

I have a level II ultrasound appointment in three weeks and I'm hoping to get a cute profile picture to add to our collection. At our last ultrasound he was completely balled up and facing my back so we couldn't see his cute little face at all, I'm hoping he's a little more cooperative this time around!

Also looking forward to getting our 3D ultrasound done when I'm around 30 weeks :)

   October 6 ultrasound <3

Babymoon in St. Augustine, Florida

A babymoon was a new concept to me until I found out I was pregnant and started my journey into researching all things pregnancy and baby. Basically, I learned that a babymoon is a relaxing and romantic vacation for parents-to-be to take before the baby arrives. I loved the idea of getting away for a weekend with Ryan, and we always wanted to go to St. Augustine so this was the perfect opportunity.

We are huge fans of B&B's so it was a no brainer that we stay at one for this trip. I heard that parking is hard to come by in town so I used Trip Advisor to find one that was located in the historic district so we could walk wherever we needed to go. We settled on Casa De Solana and it turned out to be a great choice! It had a quaint and historic feel that matched the vibe of the town. 

Our B&B was located at the end of Aviles Street, which is actually the oldest street in the USA, so cool! I loved that the street was all cobblestone and had cute cafes, boutiques, and art galleries on both sides. It had a very European feel.

The employees were beyond sweet and helpful. We made a reservation to eat at the Raintree our first night in town and one of the ladies at the front desk overheard us talking with another couple about it and came in to tell us that she would call and have the restaurants complimentary driver service pick us up. She also gave us great suggestions for places to eat in town. It's so nice to get recommendations from locals when you are new to an area.

We started with a mussel appetizer, which was in a Lemon, Garlic and White Wine Butter Sauce that was to DIE for!

Beef Wellington

Seafood Thermidor

Ryan's favorite part about B&B's are obviously the breakfasts...

We also love that most of them (including this one) have a complimentary cocktail hour where wine, beer and snacks are served in the lobby. It's a great way to meet other couples, and share experiences about what to do and see around town.

Ryan's favorite thing we did by far was visiting the fort. He is a history major and major dork so he literally read every. single. plaque. and loved every second of it. Luckily they had benches so I could take a break from all the walking and standing while he was in all his learning glory haha.

My favorite was the sunset sailboat cruise on Schooner Freedom Charters. Ryan and I have never been sailing before and it was always on my bucket list. We also met some really sweet couples who shared their parenting experiences with us. It was so touching to hear them talk about their "grown up babies", we could really feel the love they have for their children and that was so special to us.

Another cool place we visited was the Fountain of Youth.

 Here's to forever!

I would recommend St. Augustine to people who enjoy history, photography, lots of walking (we walked 5+ miles each day!), and great food. Overall, we felt that it was a perfect place for our babymoon!

Not a sponsored post. Post contains my genuine recommendations and opinions.