bits & pieces

We had a very eventful week and weekend! On Thursday night we went to an Orioles game. The weather was beautiful and although I don't know anything at all about baseball, it was a lot of fun. Derek explained a lot to me, but we were in the third row and I was more focused on being ready to catch a ball!

Over the weekend we visited our parents, which is always so nice. We had lots of wedding ideas to talk about. I am so grateful that my parents will be driving a moving van up with some furniture for us next weekend. I can't believe we are moving in 4 days!

bits & pieces

My goal is to make this a weekly post, to keep our family and friends updated on what is going on in our daily life!

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I sprained my ankle last Monday evening while trail running. :(

Several days a week, we take Kaiah to run a few miles up at the Baltimore County reservoir on some rarely used mountain biking trails. She gets to run off leash and chase squirrels and deer, while we get a really challenging workout. It is usually a win-win.

This time Derek's workout got a whole lot more difficult, because he carried me 2 miles back to the car, up and down hills, over the uneven, rocky ground.


On Friday evening, I came home to this pretty face, and a bouquet of red roses "just because"..

Have I mentioned how lucky I am to be marrying this guy?


Over the weekend, I made delicious White Bean Chicken Chili and also Chicken Enchiladas.
Follow the links for the recipes!

bits & pieces

**I realized that I never published this post from a few weeks ago! I just couldn't let it sit forever as a draft!**
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On Tuesday, we got some exciting news... Derek was admitted to graduate school!

After work, we walked to appointments at the salon down the street, and then we picked up Kaiah and walked to get celebratory pizza. It was a beautiful day and the perfect day to sit outside for dinner. 

The pizza was delicious, and dare I say... possibly better than Tony's! 

As usual, Kaiah enjoyed all the attention she got from people walking by.

My grad student! 

bits & pieces

We had a very cozy, rainy weekend, and gladly accepted the weather as an excuse to take naps and watch movies.


On Friday evening, we made naan pizzas and watched A Thousand Words.

The movie was hilarious, and the perfect way to end the work week. We stole the idea for naan pizzas from my mom, who makes them better than I can and is always coming up with new ideas for toppings. I will post the recipe one of these days, minus a few family secrets ;)

On Saturday morning, we ventured into the city to stop by the farmer's market and go for a long run on the harbor. We expected it to rain lightly, but of course it began to downpour once we were a few miles away from the car. The waterfront was empty, so Kaiah got to run off leash most of the way, with only one... incident.

She spotted a group of baby ducklings and decided that they needed a momma. Derek noticed her crouching and dipping her feet toward the water, and grabbed her by her back legs just before she jumped in the water. She was so quiet about it, not wanting to disturb the babies, so we were lucky to have caught her! I don't even want to think about what a mess it would have been trying to pull her out of the harbor.

We eventually made it home, all soaked. Kaiah couldn't wait to dry off so she rubbed against the wall all the way down our hallway, even turning around to repeat a few times.

Once we were dry, we went and watched Spiderman, and picked up dinner and canollis! I made some fancy mozzarella and tomato appetizers.

Sunday was a lazy day. This sleepy face helped me do laundry before she joined her daddy for a nap.

bits & pieces

This week was exciting because I went on my very first business trip! I stayed at the Hilton Alexandria right next to the Mark Center and enjoyed room service and The Bachelorette. Even better than the view from my room was the fact that my parents were able to come visit me one evening. The next evening, Stephanie and I had dinner at the Fish Market in Old Town Alexandria.

Last weekend, Derek and I must have eaten at least 3 pounds of blueberries each! They were on sale and they were delicious, so we made blueberry pancakes, blueberry smoothies, and snacked on them all weekend long.

I have been proud of myself for sticking with doing yoga before work every morning! We have a yoga instructor come in to the office twice a week, and the other days I have started doing it on my own at home. Kaiah has been enjoying the yoga mat too!

I am not sure how we've never noticed, but we can watch the sunset from our living room! It is so nice to take a moment to stop and admire it each night.

A Perfect Afternoon

We spent a beautiful Saturday afternoon sitting on the harbor, and browsing waterfront shops. We even found a few dog friendly stores! Kaiah was so excited when she got to go  with us into Su Casa, one of my favorite Baltimore furniture stores. She was extremely well behaved and made herself right at home on a cozy rug, underneath the coffee table that we were considering.

Afterward, we sat by the water with some cold iced tea, enjoying the harbor breeze.

City lights

We love going for walks and runs around the harbor! Now that it is getting nice out, we run along the water almost every Saturday morning. A few weeks ago we decided to go on a Friday night, instead. The city lights reflecting in the water were so beautiful!

The pictures below were taken up on Federal Hill, my favorite spot in the whole city. The view is incredible!