Weekend Round-Up: A Trip Down Devine Street

Date night tonight--woohoo!  We have decided not to go see a movie this evening, but do happy hour and dinner with friends instead.

Publick House  (image via here)

I think we are hitting up Publick House for happy hour drinks and apps--love their artichoke feta dip with pita bread.

Henry's (image via here)

Then, we're gonna head down Devine street to Henry's.  I've never been, but apparently they have awesome burgers and fried pickles, as well as a local sports-bar-type-feel.  I'm still missing Green's Sports Bar on Polk St. in San Francisco, so maybe this could be a replacement?  We shall see. 

I hit up Restaurant.com to get a $25 gift certificate for Henry's for $15--if you haven't used this site before, definitely check it out.  Awesome deals on restaurants in your area!  As an added bonus, when I checked to see if there are any current promo codes to use for Restaurant.com, I found one that gave me 80% off of my total purchase!  You read that right.  I bought a $25 certificate to Henry's and a $10 certificate to the Sheraton Roof Top Bar and my total was $4.  I felt like I was robbing the site!

image via here

Tomorrow we are going to try to finally make it to Baan-In, the Saturday brunch at Baan Sawan, featuring the Bone-In BBQ Truck.  For real, I have been talking about the sriracha pulled-pork stuffed French toast for weeks and have yet to try it.  (Hope they have it tomorrow!)

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Then we'll head back down Devine Street to KD's Treehouse for their Little Back to School Party.  There will be live music from my friend Jamie Beresford, a book-signing by a local children's author, a 15% discount on KD's merchandise with a donation to charity, and much more!

Sunday we'll be squeezing in some pool time, I think.
What are you up to this weekend? 
XO

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Jones- 6 Months

So, the babe is half a year old.  

Jones at his Christening a week ago.  In a dress my mother made and shadow-stitched.  Both cousins have worn it too.

He is such a joy--and such a chunk.  At his check-up this week he was in the 90th percentile for both height and weight!  He is wearing 9 and 12 month clothes already.

At the beach.

Love this one of Jones and my grandmother, MamaCat, smiling at each other.

The boy is finally sleeping through the night (most nights), and he cut his first tooth in the past week.  He is loving trying new foods--he has had brown rice cereal, squash, zuchinni, green beans, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, peaches, banana, honey dew, cantaloupe, prunes, apples with cinnamon, avocado, beets...his favorites are sweet potatoes, peas and beets!  Not digging banana yet, but we'll keep trying.  I am making almost all of his food and still enjoying it--just steaming/pureeing it all on Sunday for the week.  Organic, and sometimes local, produce as much as possible.

He can now sit unsupported and rolls over.  Most mornings we find him happily babbling and playing in his crib, waiting for us to come get him.  He is so mellow and laid back these days, it is so nice!

His newest "trick" is clapping along as we sing "If You're Happy and You Know It" to him.  He started this a few days ago, and now he knows that it elicits such a response from all around him, that he will clap randomly for attention.  The funniest is when we get him up to change his diaper at about 11 PM each night, (the boy leaks out of every diaper we've tried if we don't change it once in the middle of the night), and he is lying on the changing table smiling and clapping for us.  A half-asleep, happy baby might be one of the most amazing things in the world.

We feel so blessed to have a happy, healthy 6 month old baby boy and can't wait to see what the second half of his first year will bring.

XO,
B

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Short List for Date Night

Thinking of going to see this Friday night:
(I love Emma Stone and Julianne Moore and Steve Carrell)

Or this:

(James loves the Harry Potter series, and I find it entertaining enough)

Or maybe this, but only because it has J-Tim in it. 
(Except my husband would probably refuse)

So, anyone have an opinion on these flicks?  What should we see on our date night Friday?

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Cable-less and Loving It

About a month ago, my husband and I--sick of looking at our very-low bank account balance and lamenting the fact that we are always broke--decided that to save money we would get rid of cable TV.

We had AT&T U-verse for the past 6 months or so and we loved it, but since we canceled internet, (we can tether with our fancy MyTouch phones, so no need to have AT&T internet), the bill seemed a little ridiculous to pay for cable only.  We still have our Netflix membership (just switched to DVD by mail only, so we only pay $7.99/month), so we can watch full seasons of Entourage and Californication.

Who doesn't love to hate Ari Gold?!

(I heart Jeremy Piven).

And with Hulu we can watch many of our favorite shows, like The Office.  We're really not missing much.  Plus, I find that I am a whole lot more productive, I go to sleep earlier, I read more, and James and I have more "real" conversations.  (Not just conversations about what we're watching on TV).

I was one of those people that always had the TV on for background noise more than anything else, (I've read this is a sign of ADD, but who knows).  Since recent research has shown that babies under 2 really shouldn't watch TV, it is also better for Jones that we got rid of cable.  Now we listen to NPR and music on the radio a lot more instead of the TV. 

The one thing I do miss is Jeopardy--it was the one show we watched pretty religiously, and full episodes are not available on Hulu.

I miss this--I mean, it is "America's Favorite Quiz Show," after all...

Anyone know how I can still watch Jeopardy without cable?
What about you--have you given up anything to save money lately?

XO, B

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A Word for Wednesday

 


nit: an agitated or irritated state

I discovered this word by trying it in a game of Words With Friends last night, and it worked!  I wasn't entirely sure of what it meant, but I had an idea. 

It makes me think of the word "twit," and when used to describe how someone looks, as in "she looks as if she's in a snit," then it makes me think of the mean step-sisters in Cinderella.

image via here

And there, my friends, is the strange free-association that goes on in my brain sometimes.  You're welcome.

Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische.
Definition via dictionary.com.

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Pinning Foxes for Jones

Have you found Pinterest yet?  It's a great place to find inspiration and ideas, as well as keep up with your internet finds.  You can also "follow" other people's boards to see what they're "pinning."

You can keep multiple "inspiration boards" and it is super-easy to save things directly to them via a handy internet browser tool bar button.  My boards include: Stuff for Jones, Books Worth Reading, For When I Have a Girl, and Feeding Baby, among others.

I have quite the obsession with foxes as of late, not sure why, but here are some "foxy" things I've added to my "Stuff for Jones" board lately:

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And some other random things that I would love to have for Jones:

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And, there's where my head is today...have you been "pinning" lately!?

Happy weekend,
XO

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Weekend Round-Up

There are plenty of fun things to do in Columbia this weekend!  I will be attending my nephew, Ben's, 4th birthday party on Saturday, and Sunday I hope to make it to the Columbia Museum of Art with baby and hubs.

Ben's birthday party is being held at Woodland Park, a really nice, shady park in our neighborhood.  My sister has asked that instead of gifts for Ben, guests bring art supplies to donate to the kids in the after-school program at St. Lawrence Place.  What an awesome thing to do, don't you think?  Ben will get plenty of gifts from family members, so he won't miss out on presents, I assure you-- and what an amazing and easy way to teach kids about giving back to those less fortunate! 

image via here

Speaking of talking to your kids about helping others, Central Carolina Community Foundation has introduced an initiative to do just that: help you Talk About Giving with your children.  There is a game you can purchase and play with your kids, and right now they are giving away a $2,000 award to a local non-profit.  (By the way, St. Lawrence Place would appreciate your vote if you have a quick minute!)

The Columbia Museum of Art is currently exhibiting Rembrandt: From Sacred to Profane.

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And have you heard about their new monthly event: Craft. Bar. Happy. Hour?!  You bring your own craft project to the museum and enjoy snacks, adult beverages, good conversation and inspiration.  Craft kits are available for purchase, and a different local artist/crafter will be on hand each month to display his/her work.  Cost is $20.  This month's event is Tuesday, July 26th at 6:00 PM and the artist is Sally Peek of Nana Bags.  (Her bags are sooo chic!)

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 Also, if I can swing it before the birthday party, we may head to Baan Sawan for the Bone-In Artisan BBQ Truck's  Baan-In Boozy Saturday Brunch!  Thai Bloody Mary's and Sriracha pulled BBQ pork-stuffed French toast.  Sounds awesome, right?
Follow the BBQ Truck on Twitter here so you always know where they are!

What else is going on in your life and town this weekend?
Happy Friday, loves!

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Thursday's Thinking of Food (for babies)

Jones is eating baby food--and loving it!  He hasn't tried anything yet that he doesn't like; his favorite is peas.  I've posted before about making his food, which I am still doing and loving, but there are times when it's not the most convenient option.  Here is my short list of convenient, store-bought organic baby foods.  Here's what we've tried so far:

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The Plum Organics food pouches are organic and eco-friendly.  They have food for babies and toddlers, and you can find the line at Target and Whole Foods, as well as on-line.

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Boon makes a special reusable spoon that screws onto the end of Plum Organics' pouches for easy dispensing and serving on-the-go--genius!

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Ella's Kitchen organic baby food pouches are also easy to dispense and serve, and available at Target. 

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Jones has tried the sweet potatoes, pumpkin & apple and the carrots, apples & parsnips so far--loved both.

Got other recommendations on good store-bought organic baby food?

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