Gentleman Sites

My husband is the master at working hard and playing hard. He is a fantastic father, husband, businessman, triathlete, sous chef, scotch drinker, joke teller... you name it. So today, in honor of him, I thought I'd pass along some of his daily reads. My daily reads are posted on the sidebar at right, but Mr. Evans has some great guy reads all his own. Feel free to share these with the guy in your life, or check them out yourself.

Keep in mind, these are for fun. :) He, of course, always first reads the news (he is very up on politics and current events) and a finance site, amongst whatever else he is into for the day/week (i.e. the Kentucky Derby, Bond books, etc). Triathlon training and sales blogs/sites are a whole other topic.

http://rulesformyunbornson.tumblr.com/

http://aconversationoncool.tumblr.com/

http://coolhunting.com/

http://www.details.com/

http://www.gearculture.com/

http://www.bureauoftrade.com/

http://gentlemint.com/

What does your man like to read and peruse?

Flower Butt

The flowers are blooming and so is Nina's rumpus!!

So, get this - I bought this adorable outfit before Nina was even born at my favorite baby store, Goo Goo Gaa Gaa (With Child is another fav). Anyway, we cancelled her six-month photos (since I take so many myself), so we never officially got to use this photo worthy outfit. My pics don't do it justice... this hat matches as well! So, she wore it for 2.5 seconds. Literally. If anyone wants to buy it off me, let me know. We barely squeezed her pudgy little sausage arms and big noggin into this outfit, so it'd probably be better suited on a 3-6 month old. Nonetheless, let me know! If not, enjoy this little girl!

Have a great Wednesday!

Five bits

1. Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize.

2. Avoid foods that have some form of sugar (or sweetener) listed among the top three ingredients.

3. Avoid food products containing ingredients that a third-grader cannot pronounce.

4. If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, try to avoid it.

5. Eat animals that have themselves eaten well.

6. Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself.

7. Have a glass of wine with dinner.

8. Eat slowly. Spend as much time enjoying the meal as it took to prepare it.

9. Cook.

10. Break the rules once and a while.



** These are my favorite "rules" from Michael Pollan's Food Rules and In Defense of Food. I've had these books for a few years and every once and awhile I like to revisit them to remind me how to eat. I highly recommend them.

** I know there are 10. Whoops. :)

MN Love!

Someone in Minneapolis loves Nina! Thanks, Meg!!

Have a great weekend!

Time and priorities

Love this... It's so spot on, I had to share.

Instead of saying “I don’t have time” try saying “it’s not a priority,” and see how that feels. Often, that’s a perfectly adequate explanation. I have time to iron my sheets, I just don’t want to. But other things are harder. Try it: “I’m not going to edit your résumé, sweetie, because it’s not a priority.” “I don’t go to the doctor because my health is not a priority.” If these phrases don’t sit well, that’s the point. Changing our language reminds us that time is a choice. If we don’t like how we’re spending an hour, we can choose differently.

Fresh cut daffodils from our yard.

Quote source: here

Cousins Fun and Paella

I love spending time with family and I love to cook. Pretty much the only things I blog about, right?

A few weekends ago, I returned home from downtown Chicago (it was Kerri's bachelorette party - how fun, wish I would've brought my camera), and Mr. Evans and Nina picked me up from the Amtrak station. Since the Milwaukee Public Market is near, we had lunch at the Fish Market and purchased a few ingredients for my favorite Paella. I lived in Spain in high school and this dish brings back memories from my trip. Anyway, we decided to do a last minute get together with my cousin Mike, his wife Kala and our goddaughter Evie. 

Clockwise: Evie has perfected the Zoolander face. - Hugging. - Evie trying some Paella and peas. - Just two adorable cuties.

A quick snapshot of Nina.

I used Ina's Easy Paella recipe. I know it's not authentic, but it will do.

We use this Paella pan. Just don't make our mistake and forget to season the pan before its first use. Who knew Paella pans ought to be treated like cast iron?

Happy Spring!

Spring officially begins today! 

Five bits

1. You can't cross the sea merely by standing on the shore and staring at the water. - rabindranath tagore

2. Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better. - samuel beckett

3. Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow." - mary anne radmacher-hershey

4. You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing you think you cannot do. - eleanor roosevelt

5. At the center of your being, you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want. - lao tzu

May the luck of the Irish be with you...

I love everything about St. Patty's. Last year, we celebrated St. Patrick's Day with this and this. Nina's photos below are our celebration so far this year! Hopefully more photos will come. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Six Months

Nina turned six months on March 13th! That morning, she said "ma-ma"!! I have video to prove it. What a big girl! :)

Happy Sitter and Spitter!

Lately for the past month or so, Nina has enjoyed playing while sitting up. She likes to grab for things and roll over to get toys. She's even starting to get used to the idea of crawling. I was hoping this vertical position would help her reflux and keep some of her food down (not that she has a weight problem... haha). Nonetheless, her reflux continues stronger than ever. Oh well. It's just a laundry problem. She's a happy spitter. Did I tell you I even took Nina to the chiropractor for help? I'm all about chiropractic, but that didn't help either. I thought I'd exhaust all of my options. No luck.

So for now, I leave you with a few photos. :) Enjoy your day.

Quick Trip to San Diego

Last weekend, I was in San Diego on a business trip. I mainly spent my time in a convention hall, but managed to snap a few quick photos on my iPhone.

Mr. Evans stayed home with Nina and loved it. She went to daycare, but at night they biked on the trainer together, went to the sushi bar together and visited Meemaw and Grandbear (my in-laws). He and she are the best! I missed them terribly. How could you not?

Clockwise: Nina's California license plate. I didn't buy it, but was surprised to find her name. - The harbor in San Diego where we had lunch both days. - My favorite airplane snacks (Ginger ale and Garret's popcorn from Chicago). - The gaslamp district where we had dinner every night. 

Oh, hello.

Oh, hello. Good Morning. Happy Tuesday!

Here's my content little baby with her big flower hat. The bigger the better, that's always been my philosophy. :)

Five bits

1. I know He has purpose in even the things I cannot understand. - romans 8:28

2. We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. - joseph campbell

3. Out of clutter, find simplicity. From discord, find harmony. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity. - albert einstein

4. Faith assures us of the things we expect and convinces us of things we cannot see. - hebrews 11:1

5. She stood in the storm, and when the wind did not blow her away, she adjusted her sails. - elizabeth edwards

Prayers

Please pray for healing and peace. If you know my extended family, you know to what I am referring.

Source: here

Five bits

1. There will always be a "lie" in believe, an "over" in lover, and "end" in friends, an "us" in trust, and an "if" in life. - unknown

2. And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you. Because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it. - roald dahl

3. Failure isn't falling down. It's remaining where you've fallen. - unknown

4. In every way, in every day, you are showing people exactly who you are. You're letting your life speak for you. And when you do that, you will receive in direct proportion to how you give in whatever platform you have. - oprah winfrey

5. God is love. - rev run :)

Marching 4th!

Today's the day!! How are you marching forth? Leave a comment below or link to your blog where you post how you're marching forth on March 4, 2012.

I am marching forth by choosing to live more deliberately. Sometimes days just pass by, and before I know it it's a new week, a new day. I truly have an amazing life, so I want to center on living purposefully and appreciatively. It sounds simple, but if you know me you'd know that I am a planner... always looking ahead. Well, in doing so, I forget about today. Today's where the magic really is. Marching on, moving on, moving forward.

I hope you like this little holiday. Maybe we'll do it again next year? What do you think?

Nina's Baptism

On October 9, 2011 (less than a month after Nina was born) she was baptized. Somehow, I realized I never posted about this special occasion. I was reminded because yesterday we got her baptism bonnet back from being monogrammed. I took a quick snapshot on my iPhone. The bonnet was a sweet gift from her godparents. It's neat because it morphs into a handkerchief for Nina's wedding day. How special.

Nonetheless, even though her baptism was months ago (we had it early because Nina's godmother Katie was 8 months pregnant with our now godson, Evan), I thought I'd post a few photos.

P.S. Don't forget to participate in this!!! :)
P.P.S. These photos make me miss my blonde hair!! I think a few highlights are in order.