What's Up Wednesday

Joining in today for What's Up Wednesday...

1. What we're eating this week:

I'm on a hiatus from Smoothie Bowls (gasp, right?) and I've been doing breakfast bowls using greek yogurt and tons of toppings. They're actually smoothie bowls in disguise, basically the same ingredients, just not blended and frozen. The one above has greek yogurt, granola, strawberries, banana, almond butter, chia seeds, honey and cacao nibs (I stopped short of the kitchen sink). The breakfast bowl below I call my Caramel Apple Breakfast Bowl (I need the heart eyes emoji here). It's a base of greek yogurt topped with chopped green apple, granola, and (wait for it) homemade caramel (I use this recipe from The Pioneer Woman and it tastes like heaven). Seriously, if you haven't tried making your own caramel sauce, it's so easy and a must-do. 

2. What I'm reminiscing about:

Parker just had a visit from his Gigi, in from Dallas - all the smiles!

3. What I'm loving:

Spring tulips! I can't get enough of them! If we don't already have a bundle on the kitchen table, I just can't help but popping a bunch into my cart when I see them for sale (and sometimes, even if we already do, ha!). 

4. What we've been up to:

With Max's mom in town, he and I were able to sneak away for a day date! We hit up our neighborhood 1892 East for Sunday brunch. Enjoying my husband's company and not having to cut up all the food on the plate next to me? Delightful! As were the sweet potato donuts with Mexican chocolate sauce... yum. It was our first time dining here for a meal other than dinner; we found the Sunday Brunch atmosphere lively and fun, the service excellent, and the food spot-on.

5. What I'm dreading:

Tornado season. This California Girl just cannot take it! 

6. What I'm working on:

Oh, you know, just working on my fitness ;) Pure Barre is still a favorite - especially the Platform class! This is a breakdown of a one-hour Pure Barre Platform class on my Apple Watch - I've been having so much fun tracking my activity on it :)

7. What I'm excited about:

We have a spring beach trip planned! We'll be headed to the Gulf Coast this year once again with our sweet Nashville family friends. Being a West Coast gal, the Gulf of Mexico is so new and novel to me. It's awesome that these white sand beaches are the ones within driving distance of Northern Alabama!

8. What I'm watching/reading: 

I've said it before - if Parker is napping and I'm by myself doing laundry or cooking, I love to have something streaming while I work around the house. I'm a few episodes into Big Little Lies, the HBO miniseries based on the book (read me book review here). One of my mom friends watched an episode or two before I started it, and she shared that she had trouble matching the actors to the characters after reading the book. At first this made no sense to me, as movies will most always show someone different compared to what a reader was imagining while reading the story. After watching it, however, I totally concur. Shailine Woodley (though I love her) is completely unbelievable as a mother. Like, not convincing at all. And the incredible Nicole Kidman and amazing Reese Witherspoon just do not (in my mind) fit their characters. They are so fantastic as actresses that it doesn't really matter, I just thought the casting was a little zany. Some of the episodes have been a bit graphic and disturbing - it's odd how you can read something and not be nearly as affected as watching a depiction of it. Overall, I adored the book so I know I'm going to enjoy every bit of the series :)

My sit-down-and watch right now? Homeland. Husby and I have been watching this together since the beginning. Way back then, we both had full time jobs and would binge watch the show in our Scottsdale theatre room into the wee hours of a weekend morning ("Just one more episode" we would say over and over). Now, we're lucky to get one episode in on random weekday after we get Parker down for the night, cozied up in bed watching on a laptop, trying as we might to stay awake until 10pm. 

If you haven't seen Homeland, stop what you're doing and download the first five seasons now. It's currently in Season Six, and each season has followed CIA operative Carrie (Claire Danes) in different locations. The spy stuff is accurate enough to satisfy Max, and the shows are always action-filled and clever. It's one of our very favorites. 

9. What I'm listening to:

Y'all, I just discovered podcasts. I know, I'm slow. I kept thinking there would be something tricky to getting them - turns out, nope. There's a built-in app on iPhones so it couldn't have been easier. My first order of business - listening to the YHL podcasts from the last year. This was the first blog I ever read, and I just about cried when they ended. The couple is quirky and funny - plus they have tons of amazing ideas. I have a bit of car time to myself every day after I drop P off at preschool and on the way to pick him up, and it's been so much fun doing the podcast thing while I'm in the car by myself! 

10. What I'm wearing:

Layers, because spring.

White Jeans | T-Shirt | Cardi Sweater | Necklace | Leopard Belt

11. What I'm doing this weekend:

We have our last Huntsville Havoc (our minor league hockey team) game of the season. Parker is all about hockey these days, insisting on being called "goalie" and hitting around a ping pong ball in the house with his hockey stick any chance he can get #boymom #momlife

12. What I'm looking forward to next month:

This will be my third year attending our botanical garden's Spring Plant Sale (the largest in North Alabama - it's a bit crazy) . The first year, I had no idea what I was in for, but luckily I had my mom in from California to help. 

How tiny was little man in that photo? I cannot believe that was two whole years ago, and that we're in our third year living in Alabama! This year, I think I finally have the whole Spring Plant Sale thing down, which is good because husby expanded my garden area and I have a ton of room to plant! 

13. What else is new:

We had our final cold front come in this month - this was us at the St. Patrick's Day Parade downtown! But our "last frost" date is April 3rd, and we are expecting temperatures nearing eighty this week, so I think it's safe to pack up the cold-weather gear! 

Happy Wednesday!