Random Friday

Yesterday we decided to go to Chicago. It was supposed to be above freezing, my man had the day off, and I didn't have any hair appointments scheduled; perfect! We planned to leave during Bella's nap time hoping she would sleep on the way there and therefore be able to enjoy a day in the city. She did. YAY! We didn't really have a plan. We just thought we'd find a place to park, walk around for awhile and then find a great restaurant. The walking around part was cut short due to the bitter cold wind, gotta love the windy city. So we thought we'd just find a place to eat. There is this seafood restaurant that we went to in the summer and they had this super yummy blue crab fondue served with garlic pita bread. Mmmmm. That's what we wanted. So we walked through the icy wind a few extra blocks for the sake of blue crab. We have not gone out to eat with our daughter in a few months (because she is too wiggly) so I was a little nervous. As it turned out, there was hardly anyone in the restaurant so we let Bella walk around a bit (which means she stayed happy).

She was really excited to see food. It's her favorite!

We were ready to order the minute we got there; no need to look at a menu. But alas, they no longer serve the yummy crab fondue. (Insert sad face here.) Oh well, at least we got to go out and enjoy the city. And Bella was sweet as pie the whole time :)

I've also been busy making jewelry. I noticed my inventory was getting pretty low so I spent some time designing a few new pieces. What do you think??

These 2 aren't new, but they are perfect with the new designs!

Everything is available now at Bella Regali.

The Chocolate Diet

So, I have this problem. I didn't use to be this way. I have good intentions of trying to do better, but I keep slipping back. It's just so alluring....

I am talking about my addiction to sugar. More specifically chocolate. I went nuts baking for Christmas and now I just can't stop. I've been know to eat truffles for breakfast. And maybe cookies for lunch....sshhhhh!

I use to eat super healthy and workout everyday. But all that ended when I got pregnant with Bella (yes, I know that was nearly 2 years ago). I was too sick to eat anything except the occasional piece of dry toast, and I was on strict bedrest so I couldn't workout anymore. And then she was born and I wasn't sick anymore, but I was too tired to workout everyday and, well, I was still eating mostly carbs. Then I started having major wrist pain and that kept me from doing my beloved yoga every morning.

That leads us up to today, where I occasionally work out and occasionally eat healthy. I really want to do better. It's not that I want to lose weight. Somehow in the midst of my Chocolate Diet (copyright pending) I've managed to drop about 20lbs below my pre pregnancy weight. Go figure.
But I do want to be healthier. I need to be a good example to my munchkin :)

So me and my man are workout buddies now. It's way more fun when you have a hot guy working out next to you, am I right?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not giving up chocolate. I'm just not going to treat it as a meal anymore. :)

Psssst....

Just a little reminder,folks! The Bella Regali sale ends tomorrow. All earrings are buy 1 get 1 FREE as long as you are a follower of my blog! There's a variety of styles to choose from, I hope you can check it out! (Thanks to those who have done some shopping already!) Happy Friday! :)

Snapshots of My Year

Since I am new to the world of blogging I thought it would be fun to post a few of my favorite pictures from the past year. This way you can get to know me a little better and see my highlights of 2009. Since we have our precious Isabella now, she is heavily featured in my photo collection :) I know you mama's out there understand.

*First Smiles

*Valentine's Day flowers from Daddy

*Gotta love babies in hoodies!

*Giving her mama birthday snuggles - my favorite!

*First Easter

*First flight and family vacation. We went to Myrtle Beach, SC.

*First time at the beach/ocean (don't be jealous of my hunky man)

*Getting to meet her great-grandparents! (This is one of my all time favorite pics)

*My first Mother's Day!!!!!!

*Our 5 year anniversary and 1st date night since having a baby!

*Hubby's 1st Father's Day!!

*Fun summer days spent in Chicago (The picture in my header was taken the same day - it's one of my favorite pics of the two of us!)

*Can't stand it, can you??

*We met up with old friends - we all had babies within months of each other!

*Family day at the apple orchard

*Yay, another date night!

*Halloween. Isn't she the cutest pink leopard?

*Our baby turned 1, how did that happen??

My itty bitty premie is a big girl now!

I made her a princess castle cake...

and Daddy helped blow out the candles.

*And to top it all off...one last date night! (They are few and far between so we have to document them, haha.)

Oops! I meant to add just a few favorite pictures - instead you basically get a virtual scrapbook! Hope you enjoyed some snapshots from my year, thanks for reading!

Be Still

Something so sweet has happened. I just have to share it with you. My 1 year old daughter is a very active child. She doesn't stop going all day long. But when I sit to read my Bible each day, she comes and sits next to me on the couch and let's me read aloud to her. There are no pictures. She doesn't understand the story. But somehow even she knows that it is good to be still and know that He is God.

Get Them While You Can!

In light of my Bella Regali BOGO earring sale, I thought I should list a few new designs to sweeten the deal. Here are some earrings I made today.

All you have to do is follow my blog and all earrings are buy 1 get 1 FREE! They start as low as $5, so this is a perfect time to get some new, unique accessories!

Shop Bella Regali

Who Doesn't Like FREE Jewelry??

You know that feeling you get after taking the Christmas decorations down? It's nice and clean but now it's seem so boring. Well I feel that way about other things too. Like after you've worn an outfit a few times, it seems dull even though you loved it when you bought it. I think this is why I heart accessories! I am a jewelry junkie! New jewelry can make an old outfit fun again. And it's especially fun if it's FREE, right??

Many of you know that I have an Etsy shop called Bella Regali, where I sell all of the jewelry and accessories I design and make by hand. Since it's my shop, I can do what I want, and I want to give my blog friends some free jewelry!!!

This is just a sampling of some earrings I have in my shop. Of course I also have lots of necklaces, bracelets, and watches!



For 1 week only starting today ALL earrings are buy 1 get 1 FREE!!! There is no limit to how many items you can get free! Most earrings are under $10 each anyway, so this is a great time to stock up and get some fun, unique jewelry that no one else will have! (I just love having something one of a kind, don't you?)

All you have to do is follow my blog and voila! FREE jewelry!

Because this sale is for my blog followers only, when you checkout it will show the full price. Just mention my blog at checkout and I will send you a refund ASAP!

I do make custom pieces as well, so if you have a request for something just ask! :)

Feel free to email me if you have any questions.

Shop Bella Regali

PS: If you place an order of more than 4 items NOT on sale I will happily give you a discount ;)