Burlap pots (DIY)

You wouldn't know by reading our blog at this time, but we have done quite of few DIY projects.  I feel like we (lydia and I) mainly do them during the summer or when one of us is planning a party and need some fun decor.
Summer is officially here so I wanted to kick it off with a simple DIY project.  I will be hosting a few baby showers this summer and clearly need some fun and cute decor.  This project literally took me about 30 min and I was able to make 5 pots.  Great idea for a potted gift of herbs or succulents, which is how I will be using them.  I have a quick break down of what you  need below:

Time: About 30 minutes
Materials: Terracotta pots, roll of burlap, ribbon and spray adhesive.
Quick tip *spray adhesive is key in many projects, all materials can be found at Michaels don't forget to get a coupon first here.

Gather your materials and head outside.

1. Cut burlap to fit width of pot (add a little length)

2. Spray adhesive all around pot

3. Wrap the burlap around the pot stretching it as you go, it may be a little uneven but that's OK.  Wrap on a slight angle to cover top to bottom. 

4. Cut ribbon to make a bow and tie around pot 

It was that fast! Pot them with flowers, herbs or easy the care for succulents.

Spread the love,
XoXo

Peanut butter protein cookies {gluten free}

Sweet treats mid week... Yes please. We love these high protein peanut butter cookies and can guarantee your taste buds and waist band will love them too. 

What you need:

1- mixing bowl

1- egg

1/2 C - brown sugar

1/2 C- granulated sugar 

3/4 C- peanut butter of choice * I used natural crunchy

1 Tbs- vanilla 

1/4 C- vanilla protein powder * I use Dr. Jays egg white protein 

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. 

Beat egg in mixing bowl add sugar and mix, blend in peanut butter, vanilla and protein powder.  Mix until creamy. 

Use 1Tbs to scoop batter onto baking sheet.  

Yields about 12-14 cookies 

Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes. 

Enjoy

Xoxo 

Baby Bump: 18 Weeks

Dress: Express (non-Maternity); Shoes: Tory Burch

It's hard to believe I'm almost half way through this pregnancy.  It's the first week that this bump is making a real appearance, but I think it's deceptively smaller in person. 

Dressing in the morning has become extremely challenging.  I've gone from quite an expansive closet to only a small selection of comfortable pieces to choose from.  Only a few items that actually fit properly {sigh!}. 

I love this summer dress from Express.  It's non-maternity so I figure this will be the last time I will get to wear it this year.   And the shoes - I currently live in wedges...especially cute Tory Burch wedges.  The snake skin detail on the platform makes this pair dressy yet versatile. 

{scroll down for my week 18 Update}

How far along? 18 Weeks

Baby Size: A Sweet Potato!  He's about 5.6 inches long and weighs about 6.7 ounces.  He's yawning, hiccuping, sucking and swallowing. He's big enough now that I can feel him twisting, rolling, punching and kicking too!

Total weight gain/loss: 5 pounds

Maternity clothes? Not yet.  Although I did buy a couple pairs of maternity jeans this week...let's hope that fit well.

Stretch marks? Nope

Symptoms:  Not much

Sleep: Still OK. Trying to sleep on my side more which is proving to be more uncomfortable than I anticipated.

Best moment this week: Started feeling flutters and little kicks/jabs

Worst moment of the week: Every morning...when I spend a good 20 mins staring into my closet, finding absolutely nothing to wear!!!

Have you told family and friends: Yes!

Miss Anything? Going on a good long run.

Movement: YES. See best Moment of the Week

Food cravings: Kettle Brand potato chips.  Honey Dijon is my fave but Thai Spice is good too.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope, thankfully!

Have you started to show yet:  Yes, officially popped this week.

Labor Signs: Nope

Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy...it was a 3 day weekend!

Looking forward to: Starting to plan the nursery and building a baby registry.

Bye for now!

XOXO,
Lydia

{Pregnancy Update} The 1st Trimester

My posts don't normally stray too far from weekend outfits and getaways, but I thought with all the changes in my life, it might be perfect timing to get more personal.  What I love so much about blogs are the quick glimpses into the lives of real people, who are open and honest enough to share the good along with the bad....the real stuff.

I hope to use this space to share my pregnancy/baby experiences with family and friends; But largely for myself as well.  To document a journey that I know will change my life...in every way.

 

I am a little behind on progress updates so I'll try to wrap up the entire first trimester here.  So far, I've been extremely blessed to have had an easy pregnancy.  Except for a few weeks of extreme fatigue, I've had no morning sickness, no nausea, no bleeding or cramping, no weird skin issues (to my knowledge) and no severe aversions to food.  All-in-all I feel pretty much like myself except for my pre-pregnancy pants are starting to hate me just a little bit - they are definitely being stretched to their limits. 

Even with such luck, the one pregnancy symptom I couldn't escape was...worry.  I'm not sure if there is another significant human experience that leaves one feeling so helpless....like you have absolutely zero control.  Yes, you can eat super healthy and take all your prenatals, but no matter how much you think you're doing everything right, you'll still wonder and worry about how that little creature growing inside is doing.  And it seems the doctors and everything you read just exacerbate the worries with general statements and statistics – 25% of pregnancies end in miscarriage in the first few weeks, bleeding and cramping are signs of miscarriage, don't eat soft cheese or drink caffeine because it will cause miscarriage, high body temperature caused by exercise will cause miscarriage or birth defects......so on and so on.  If you weren't worried before, you might be now.

I've learned the true test of faith and trust in God is in this crazy, but miraculous, process of creating a human being. There is no reassurance that the little cluster of cells in your early weeks will develop into a fetus, surpassing the uncertain "miscarriage stage"; and there is no way of knowing your fetus will grow into a healthy human with 10 fingers and 10 toes.  Basically, no guarantees.  All you can do is pray that its God's will.  For me, trusting in that makes the everyday fears of pregnancy a lot more bearable.  If it’s meant to be, it will happen.

Now that I'm in my second trimester (officially in the "safe zone" and supposedly the easiest Tri), I will continue to trust in my faith and do my part so that this baby grows well and healthy...even if it means gaining weight via frequent trips to In-N-Out burger.  Sacrificing for your kids starts the moment of conception after all! :)

I saw this pregnancy list on various blogs and thought it was such a fun way to share weekly updates! Here's mine from my last week in the 1st Tri {which was a few weeks ago now}:

How far along? 13 Weeks

Baby Size: A peach!  He's about 2.9 inches long and weighs about .81 ounces.  He has vocal cords, teeth and even fingerprints (wow!).

Total weight gain/loss:  {Maybe} 2 pounds

Maternity clothes? Not yet.

Stretch marks? Nope

Symptoms:  Amazingly, I feel like I'm having the best hair days of my life and its growing like a weed.

Sleep: So far so good!  I've never had a problem with sleep {I'm out as soon as my head hits the pillow}, so I hope it continues.

Best moment this week: Finding out we're having a boy. Actually found out at 12 weeks.

Worst moment of the week: Being super busy at work when all I want to do is sleep.

Have you told family and friends: Yes!

Miss Anything? Being able to have a glass of wine with dinner.

Movement: Not yet

Food cravings: Candy to keep me going at work for lack of caffeine!!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope, thankfully!

Have you started to show yet:  Nope, thankfully...since I haven't started telling people at work yet.  {Keep in mind this is from week 13 which was a few weeks ago.  I have since told EVERYONE.}

Labor Signs: Nope

Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Tired but happy.  My husband would probably say moody.  :)

Looking forward to: So many things!  Decorating the nursery, buying baby clothes, and MEETING this little creature who’s taken over my body!

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO,

Lydia

ML Photoshoot at Balboa Island

Whats a good blog without good photos!  We realize we're way overdue for decent photos of ourselves on the blog, so we dragged convinced our wonderful husbands to put those DSLRs to good use.  The results were not bad for first timers....

Exciting News!

Hey there, its Lydia.  And I'm back.  Yes, I know I've been a bad blogger {Thank goodness my partner in crime is amazing and has been holding down the ML fort!}.  But for good reason, I promise.  

These first few months of year have been the craziest, busiest and most unexpected months EVER. All in good ways.  We're definitely brewing up some good changes!  If you couldn't' guess by now, we're excited to share that the Modern Lyfe family is growing by a half.  A baby...due in October!  

Naturally, we'll be adding a new flavor to our posts!  So you can look forward to regular updates on the joys and challenges of starting a family, being pregnant, to include my growing dress size and the inevitable fashion dilemmas.  And of course, many bumpdates ahead. 

I'll start today by sharing our announcement photos by the sweet and talented Christine Donee.  

XOXO,

Lydia

Stuffed mushroom {paleo friendly}

This recipe was thrown together last minute yesterday, and boy was it yummy.  It was a warm Sunday afternoon, I really wanted to sit out on the patio and grill. My mom was the inspiration behind this because she always tells me to grill mushrooms {and it was Mother's Day!} 

It takes about 10 minutes to prep:

2 -Large cleaned portobello mushrooms

1/2 -LB lean ground turkey meat

1/2 -Sweet onion chopped 

3 -Cloves garlic chopped 

2 -Roma tomatoes chopped 

1/2 -Jalapeño *optional chopped 

1/4 -tsp onion powder 

1/4 -tsp red pepper flakes

1 -Tbs EVOO *for sautéeing 

2 -Tbs good balsamic 

Sautéed chopped garlic and onion in EVOO until fragrent. Add tomatoes, jalapeño and ground turkey adding in onion power and red pepper flakes. Cook until turkey in browned. 

Clean and dry mushrooms. Drizzle 1 Tbs balsamic on the inside of each mushroom then stuff with turkey mix. Top off with another 1 Tbs balsamic. 

Grill for 15 minutes on medium high until the stuffing is browned on top and mushrooms is fragrant. 

Enjoy 

Xoxo

ML