derby newbie + those weekend things
Hi friends! How are you? How was the weekend? Hope you had a wonderful one, filled with relaxation and fun.
Friday night, the Pilot had to work late, so I made a Blue Apron dinner at home, and after he was back, we drank some wine and watched the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.
It was so.good.
I’d read the book years ago, and highly recommend it. The movie captured everything extremely well (and man. Oprah was incredible), and it was heart-wrenching, powerful, and intense. I had to give myself the pep talk to avoid dinosaur crying at the end. We crashed out fairly early, which ended up being a good thing because both girls kept us up all night.
*Insert crying emoji face*
P had the sniffles, which were driving her crazy, and Liv will sometimes wake up during the night and wander into the living room, looking for us. (I think she forgets that we’ve gone to sleep already.) Needless to say, it was a bit of a rough one. I felt like we were back in the newborn days, alternating shifts every 40 minutes or so.
On Saturday, instead of waking up to finish the girls’ rooms (hanging art and finishing the last of the bedroom unpacking), we took turns sleeping for a few hours during the day.
Even though we were both zonked, we rallied.
I did a liveFacebook workout with my barre bootcamp friends,
and then we got ready to go to a Kentucky Derby-themed party.
The party was a BLAST. We met so many new people, including quite a few neighbors (!), and the food and drinks were awesome.
I don’t know much at all about the Kentucky Derby.
I just know you wear a hat and drink a mint julep, so I did just that.
(dress is an older one from Miss Match –similar here // shoes // bag // hat <— my pool hat)
I didn’t even know it was just one race. I thought you bet on a few races (?) and we got so caught up in chatting with people, we forgot to bet anyway. #noobs
(So Dick Van Dyke. Step in time!)
They had a silent auction (we won an Apple watch — please tell me about your fave features/apps!), a live auction,
and dinner.
The eats were a mix of healthy options and picnic-style dishes with a Southern twist. Some of the options included Caesar salad with grilled chicken, watermelon salad with mint and feta, quinoa and black bean salad, bacon mac n’ cheese, soft ham sandwiches (that the Pilot LOVED), and pulled pork.
Something I missed dearly about living in the South: okra. Give me all the okra.
The desserts were mini cakes: chocolate, orange, and cheesecake with whipped cream and berries. The chocolate one was bomb.com.
We had a lot of fun getting to meet the parents at Liv’s new school, and after the festivities wrapped up, we came back home to call it a night. The girls slept in, which was a glorious treat after the previous night.
Sunday, we took it easy (slept through church. We needed it haha),
ran errands, played outside, cleaned up a bit, and finished off the day with a quick Sunbasket meal.
One of the deer friends from the backyard came right up to our patio window while we were eating. It was seriously amazing!! I’m glad they’re starting to learn that we’re not going to hurt them, and we’ve been seeing them a lot more often.
This morning, I’m subbing a HIIT class at the gym, and also teaching barre later today.
Hope you have a happy Monday and I’ll see ya soon with a quick and delicious protein-y treat.
xo
Gina
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The party looks so fun and you look amazing in that dress!
thanks, friend!
That party looks so fun! I’ve never been to a derby party, but now I think I’ll have to!
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Your dress is gorgeous. Love the pink! YEAH for sleeping in. I only wish my body would get that memo when I want it to.
thank you! hope you had a great weekend!
Hi Gina! You guys looked SO cute at the Derby party. And the mint julep is a strong bev, but you’ve got to do the traditions, right? Sorry to hear about the sleep issues! Hopefully this week is a good one for your clan! 🙂
thank you, friend! the julep tasted sweeter and sweet as the night went on 😉
hope you had a great weekend, too! i’m so excited for your ebook!
Looks like a great weekend (minus the girls not sleeping!)! I also attended my first Derby party on Saturday, getting to wear a hat was my favorite part lol! Now I’m just wishing that there were more places to wear a hat and not look out of place.
me too! it was fun to wear something so different 🙂
That party looks like a blast! Glad the girls let you guys sleep in Sunday, after a rough previous night.
i was so thankful hah. hope you had a great weekend, too!
Looks like a fantastic weekend!
Would you mind sharing where you got your dining table? We are searching for one in that style that is a little more durable! (not always needing placemats and coasters). Thank you!
we got it from world market years ago. i love how sturdy it is. lots of baby food bites and art projects have lived on that table haha
oh it looks like they still have it: http://rstyle.me/n/cna3vmb5i37
You look stunning Gina!! Love your shoes, thanks for the link:)
thank you! yes, they’re the perfect height enough to look cute but comfy enough to dance and wear all night with no probs
You looked Ahmazing !!!! Love the Pilots tie too!! Gina (from Mass)
thank you, friend!
A word of caution about the deer: they can carry a lot of disease. The major concern for humans is Lyme’s (transmitted by ticks that deer carry). Be aware and be sure to check everyone, including the dogs regularly. The little buggers especially like to hide in creases and crevices (think armpits). For just the pups you may want to make sure they have the lepto vaccine, as your vet suggests of course.
Less caution and more nuisance: the less scared they are of people the more likely they are to get hit by cars or do major property damage. A buck in season will easily attack its reflection in a sliding glass door. Then it gets in and destroys the house!
thank you so much for letting me know. the dogs are on flea and tick meds, but i wonder about the girls playing outside. do you know of any good ways to make sure ticks don’t end up on the girls? i guess fleas and ticks are super common out here, but the potential of lyme is pretty concerning
the good news is that the deer aren’t just chilling in our yard. they tend to just make their way through every couple of nights for a short bit (usually until bella barks and scares them away)
i researched the lepto vaccine, and the potential side effects are alarming, especially since bella is an older dog. this is an obviously biased website, but includes sources from WHO and american veterinary medical association: http://www.thevaccinereaction.org/2016/07/leptospirosis-vaccine-may-be-killing-dogs/
We use Picaridin http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/PicaridinGen.html#study spray on our kids when they are playing outdoors as they have both had ticks on them in the past- not even playing in tall grass! It doesnt have a strong smell so thats nice. We usually have them tuck their pants into socks (when it isn’t as warm) if thats possible and always check them when they come back indoors. Make sure to check crevices, like Diana mentioned above, and especially behind ears and in hair as your girls have longer hair.
I would encourage you to give the dogs the lepto vaccine. My boyfriend didn’t have his dog vaccinated, & he got it & almost died. 🙁 We really didn’t think he was gonna make it.
Thanks for the info. We had our dog vaccinated (as part of his puppy vaccines), but as I said it’s really up to you and your vet. The highest risk is animals that might be exposed to other animals’ urine, so if they’re just passing through it might be a pretty low risk.
Another colder weather trick is to cinch tick collars around your ankles (outside socks and pants) if you’re going to be out for a long time.
I didn’t know about the spray! Thanks Lindsay!
My little guy slept really poorly last night, I feel like a zombie lol, thank goodness for strong coffee!!
Sounds like a fun weekend, except for the sleep trouble! Thanks for still doing the live workout on Saturday even with such a rough night of sleep – that was really fun 🙂 And you still rocked that workout, even while talking! So impressive.
Hey girl! Are you still doing a meal delivery service since you’ve moved or did you stop?
hey! yes, we’ve done blue apron and sunbasket since we’ve been here 🙂
I just watched this movie too and loved it! Though it took me ten minutes in to go, “wait, is that Oprah?!”. The book was amazing as well. Have a wonderful week!
Okra? Uck. I still haven’t really taken a liking to the stuff. I get it in my CSA and I always eat it because I feel bad wasting it and because it is really good for you. The only way I eat it is in a curry. You might want to try that out. Last year’s okra crop was really strong so I had soooo much okra curry. I even had to make curry okra burritos and freeze them.
The Pilot’s bowtie is amazing! Totally Dick Van Dyke!
You need to give us a tour of the new house! That view from your dining room looks amazing! Speaking of looking amazing… you looked great in your Derby outfit!