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What I Ate Wednesday – Anniversary Edition

Posted on October 23 by Jillian416 • 2 Comments

I’m so excited to share my What I Ate Wednesday, this week!

As some of you might have read, yesterday was my anniversary! Seamus and I are on vacation, so we took the day and just spent it together. We cuddled, talked and just flat out relaxed, it was one of those days that you dream about later on when things get stressful. We also went out for a delicious lunch to one of our favorite restaurants, Sea Bar. The first time we ever went to Sea Bar was for our first anniversary, last year. Sea Bar isn’t baby friendly, so we don’t get there a lot, but the second an opportunity presents itself, we go. Since we had decided to take Emmett to day care for the day, we ventured out on an adult date to Sea Bar, in downtown Buffalo.

We’ve probably only been to Sea Bar 4 or 5 times, but every time we go the food is out of this world! I’m a creature of habit, so I order the exact same thing every single time, and it never gets old. My thought is, if you find something you like and that tastes good, why switch it up? Stick with what you know! 🙂

While we waited for our table to be ready I realized two things; one was that I was no longer nursing and could order an alcoholic drink with lunch and two, this would be my first drink with alcohol, in almost two years. Yikes!! I was super excited about ordering a Bloody Mary, my absolute favorite drink and Sea Bar did not disappoint. It was unbelievable, spicy and tangy with just enough vodka to give it a kick. I was worried that Seamus would need to drive us home (since it had been 2 years without any liquor), but I ended up being just fine.

I apologize for the low quality pictures, but the wall to my right has light displays that switch colors so it’s hard to capture something well. You’ll notice it more in the next couple of photos where things look very blue.

I love the table settings at Sea Bar, simple but elegant and slightly modern.

I started with a bowl of Sesame Noodles and we split a spider roll. Just looking at these pictures makes me drool all over again!

Alright, let me tell you about my main course. It’s call The Cuban, and it is to die for! It’s freshly cooked and shredded pork, ham, thinly sliced dill pickles, and some hearty spicy mustard smothered with cheese and then placed between pieces of crusty bread. I think they throw it on the panini press for a bit too, but, OH MY GOD! This thing is amazing! Oh, and the french fries are pretty damn good too. The coleslaw looking salad on the plate, is actually Kim Chi. It is VERY hot, so I always avoid it but I’m sure that would be good too, if I ate that sort of thing.

I didn’t get any photos of it, but Seamus got delicious Pork Enchiladas. His reaction to the food is similar to mine. I’m telling you, if you live in Buffalo, GO TO SEA BAR! Their menu isn’t extensive but every single thing on there is mouthwatering. We’ve never gone for dinner, or had anything off of their dinner menu, but I’m sure it is equally incredible.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing at home and then eventually going out to get Emmett. Before we headed home we went to the mall to grab a few things we needed and to get some Cheesecake for dessert. Last year for our dessert we had our wedding cake from the year before, since we didn’t have it this year, we opted for a close second…Cheesecake! Yummy!

Once home, Seamus headed out to the gym and I stayed home with our little bugga-boo. Emmett and I read and then FaceTimed with my mom and dad for a little bit. Oh! And Emmett wanted everyone to see his What I Ate Wednesday.

He loves apples and does a pretty fantastic job of eating most of it, once he gets going.

Okay, folks! That’s it for this week’s What I Ate Wednesday. Be sure to stop in at Peas and Crayons and check out Jenn’s blog and link-up.

Your turn!

What are some of your favorite eats from the past week?

Filed Under: What I Ate Wednesday

Active Weekend – Unofficial End to Summer

Posted on September 2 by Jillian416 • 0 Comments

Since this weekend is considered the unofficial end of summer, I wanted to make sure I made the most of it. We were active and busy every single day and I wouldn’t have it any other way. If you had asked me a year and a half ago whether I’d want to have a jam packed active weekend, my answer would have been no. Now? I love it! I love having something to do with Emmett and Seamus, it makes the weekends so awesome!

On to what made this last weekend of summer, so great…

Emmett actually let us sleep in until quarter to 7 on Saturday, which was wonderful considering he had kept us up most of Friday night. Once he did wake up, we spent our usual time in our bed cuddling and waking up and then got up for breakfast. It was still early, and the cloudy sky had started to turn sunny, so I decided that Emmett and I would head out on a walk and end up at the Farmer’s market. It was pretty humid, but it felt good to get outside and to grab some delicious fruits and veggies from the market. This week’s spread was similar to last week’s.

I grabbed some tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, red onion (that ended up being rotten inside, yuck!), nectarines, a cinnamon roll (for Emmett and I to share) and finally some First Light Farm and Creamery Garlic and Dill Chevre (of course).

Once we were home, we attempted to put Emmett down for a nap but since he had taken a quick little nap in his stroller, he fought going down in his crib. He fought hard too! He scratched me and kept hitting me to get down, I knew he was exhausted because he kept rubbing his little eyes and yawning. Eventually I gave up trying to put him down in the crib and we went back in our bedroom and took a family nap.

Have you seen anything sweeter?

I eventually dozed off too, for a good hour and a half! I think we were all still behind on sleep from Thursday night / Friday morning. It felt good to nap and we all woke up in much better spirits! We played for a bit and then went out to grab some Five Guys for dinner, definitely not the healthiest but it sure was tasty. My favorite part about Five Guys are their fries. They fill up the fry container and then just throw (about) another small fry on top of the bag, and they’re SO good.

I made plans Saturday evening, to go out for a bike ride with a couple friends, and Emmett in his trailer, on Sunday morning. Emmett woke up bright and early at about 5:30, which gave us plenty of time since our ride wasn’t until 7:30. We ate breakfast, got dressed and then played, while we waited for my friends to show up.

We rode 5 miles down to Canalside where we stopped and got some coffee (and milk for Emmett). It was gorgeous down there! The City of Buffalo has done a really nice job of beefing up the waterfront to attract more visitors. Emmett was so cute by the water, I let him out to walk around, he was watching the birds bounce around and playing silly games with my friends. Rest assured, he had a good time!

Our ride back was decidedly more difficult than the ride down. There’s a very steep incline, that you have to go up in order to get back home. Sadly, I got off and walked at one point, I just couldn’t make it up the hill. I couldn’t peddle fast enough to keep my bike moving forward. I think if I didn’t have the trailer and Emmett, I might have been able to make it. It would have still been a challenge but definitely something I could have accomplished. Either way it was a great workout with great friends!

We got home, Seamus had just finished up his workout at the gym, so we all had a small snack, showered and then headed out for some lunch. We ended up at Milos, the food was fantastic! Seamus needed new work pants so our next stop was the Eastern Hills Mall once we were finished with lunch. We weren’t in any hurry so we walked the whole mall just to see what other stores were there (we haven’t been to this mall in years) and so Seamus could find a couple pairs of pants that weren’t astronomically expensive. He found the best deal at Sears and bought a couple different pairs.

Emmett was the best little boy. He just sat and was friendly with all the strangers we came across, smiling at them and waving. He was very very happy!

We got home and played for awhile and eventually it was time for dinner, then bath, milk, cuddles and bed. We were both so worn out!

And finally today, Labor Day! Emmett once again had us up early at 5:30, I went in and nursed him and then we went back to our room where we all cuddled and tried to get Emmett to sleep for just a bit longer, it didn’t work out. We were up and making breakfast before we knew it. That’s okay, when you’re up early, it gives you time to get everything done that you need to.

We went to Target and got some household items that we needed, and also a few items that weren’t needed. (It’s just not possible to go into Target for only what you need.) Then to Wegmans for our weekly grocery shopping, it was dead when we got there but eventually got pretty busy. I’m assuming it was because of all the kids who return to school tomorrow and Wednesday.

We got home, put the groceries away and then put Emmett down for a nap. While he slept I was able to relax, clean and work on my blog! Call me productive!

Our weekend ended with a trip to Babies R Us for new shoes for Emmett, he lost the pair we got him two weeks ago, well we have one shoe but the other is gone, it disappeared into thin air. We also hit up Kohl’s for gym shorts for Seamus and then Anderson’s for ice cream for the whole family.

We were active and busy and it felt good to enjoy the last “unofficial” weekend of summer.

Your turn!

What fun things did you do this weekend, to end your summer right?

Filed Under: Daily Updates, Family

Life is Good!

Posted on July 21 by Jillian416 • 0 Comments

Anyone who knows me, knows that I’ve struggled with depression and anxiety for several years. The best way to combat the yucky feelings is to venture outdoors for some exercise and sun, I did exactly that this morning!

Most Sunday mornings start out the same way in our house, Emmett lets us know he’s awake by yelling a little bit, I head in, change his diaper and nurse him and then we head back into our bed for some cuddles. I seriously dread the day when Emmett decides he no longer is interested in the cuddles. This time is one of my absolute favorites! It allows Seamus and I to gradually wake up, plus we get to cuddle our sweet boy. We then usually progress into breakfast, getting Emmett dressed and play time but I wanted to try something different today.

I work full-time outside the home, so I struggle almost daily to find time to workout. Last night, as I’m drifting off, it hit me, why not workout while Emmett is eating breakfast and getting dressed, then I’m not missing out on time with him AND I’m getting a workout in. I let Seamus in on my plans and he was A-OK with it, so out the door I went after, our ultimate cuddle session.

I did about 6 miles on my bike and I made sure that I hit some serious inclines so that I got a good burn. I felt amazing! It was sunny and warm, but not humid, it just felt great to be out there moving.

And in case you’re one of those skeptics that think there is nothing beautiful in Buffalo, then you’ve never ventured into the city. There are gorgeous old homes, lakes, trails, views, etc., to look at while you move along. The picture below doesn’t do the scene justice, we have a beautiful little lake about a mile from my house where they rent out rowboats. At night they chain them all together in the center, every morning I pass it going to work and I just envision the stunning pictures that could be made with a better camera than my iPhone.

I also want to mention, that if you live in Buffalo, or even if you don’t and are looking for somewhere to donate, consider the Buffalo Zoo. They currently have a campaign going on to try and build a new habitat for the Polar Bears and they need the help of our community to do so.

On my way home I swung by Starbucks and grabed an iced coffee, because really, is there anything better in the world than Starbucks iced coffee? I think not.

Venti Iced Americano with a shot of Vanilla and splash of cream, please! Thank you!

I took my water bottle in with me so that I could chug some of that while I waited for my coffee.

Once home, I walk in the door and get the biggest smile from my little boy. Whether he missed me or not, I have no idea, but there is no doubt of the love he has towards me. It makes me so so blissfully happy seeing him smile! I had some breakfast while I cooled down and hung out with E-dog.

Chobani with slivered raw almonds and a banana.

Then after my shower it was time for Emmett’s nap, so he and I hunkered in for a bit more nursing and then lots more cuddles.

You tell me, is there anything sweeter than a sleeping, cuddly baby?

The day is only half way over and it has been perfect! Now to keep this positive momentum going into the stressful week I have ahead.

How do you start your Sundays?

Filed Under: Daily Updates, Family, Food & Fitness

Trader Joe’s

Posted on November 5 by Jillian416 • 0 Comments

I’ve had a not so secret obsession with Trader Joe’s since I went to one in Atlanta while visiting my sister. Unfortunately, up until the beginning of October, there weren’t any nearby, so I was forced to live vicariously through friends…but NOT ANY MORE! Seamus and I headed out to Rochester with the baby for their first trip to TJs. Seamus never quite understood my excitement and used to just kind of laugh and shake his head when I would talk about the store. I mean, I can kind of get it, it’s just a grocery store, except it isn’t, it’s like no other grocery store I’ve been to. They have such an amazing selection of goods that it would make you crazy if you didn’t love the store (I’m only kidding, I realize not everyone shares my obsession).

I thought I’d shared some of the super duper awesome goodies we purchased!